Mysore and me

We are surviving the heat (35 degrees) most days thanks to our AC (thank you Granny and Grandpa!) which is a godsend. I now sleep in Mama and Papa's room as it so cool in there and it helps me to sleep much better, I usually wake up before them so I just throw all my toys at Mama until she opens her eyes - perfect. I'm continuing with my adventures aided by me walking almost by myself now, I totter for a few seconds unaided, otherwise I cruise from tables to chairs like an orangutan swinging through the vines in the jungle! My favourite drawer in the kitchen is the saucepan lid drawer, I am just fascinated by them and love taking them out one by one and them putting them back in again, such a tidy baby(!). I love the mornings as Mama and Papa take me out onto the balcony for breakfast to see Mysore wake up; we watch the cows and oxen tinkle past, the dogs bark, the chicken cockle-doodle-doo, the sheep baa, the vegetable man sings out his wares, the herb man cycles past with his huge bags of herbs balancing precariously from his handlebars, then the milkman pedals past and the ladies hurry out to catch him, the children play and shout in the school garden before classes begin - and all before 8 o'clock. Never a dull moment. Today was a special day as we accompanied Papa to one of the villages where Raleigh has been working to inaugurate their completion of 45 eco-friendly toilets. I was the guest of honour, I was even given my own flower garland, the petals were really quite tasty. I sat up on the podium on Mama's lap whilst Papa delivered, what I assume was, a very important speech, everyone clapped afterwards. We loved our trip to the village as it reminds Mama and Papa of why they came to India and of the incredibly valuable and rewarding work that we do here. Papa took me on a tour of the village on his shoulders whilst I held the umbrella over us to ward off the strong midday sun. Such fun. Mango season has arrived here so I tasted this succulent fruit in my Weetabix this morning, just yummy. Mama has bought some papaya for me to try too, I also love apples as you can see from the photos. A big help with biting into the apples is that I have two more teeth protuding (hence the fitful sleep recently) which means I now have six - all the better for chewing with I say! We are so looking forward to coming back to see you all, only just over a month now. Watch out, I will be into everything! xxxxxxxxxxx