Homeward bound

After 4 years in India, Mama and me are coming home. We will certainly return to Mysore as it has been our first family home, but for the next year, our sights are set on Manchester. Our bags are packed, Mama has had to sit on each of them to close them! We have said our goodbyes, to the; vegetable market men, the Barista boys, the charming girls of the Green Hotel (who were very sad when we left), the Rajasthani moustache man who waves to us every morning, our tailor Madhu, our ironing wallah, and of course the wonderful, warm, happy Anita. We shan't be sad to say goodbye to the monkeys who have terrorised us every day for the last 3 weeks! Mama will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible in between lectures, studying and looking after me! xxx

Comings and goings...

Hello everyone,
I hope you enjoyed my new video performance! As you can see I am as active, inquisitive and happy as ever. This week Mama celebrated her 35th birthday and even Papa was able to take the day off which was just lovely - I didn't leave his side all day! We had a great day together; we had a delicious lunch at our favourite Italian cafe then we went to Karanji Lake which is a beautiful park surrounding a lake which is home to a vast array of tropical birds and butterflies. I was really fascinated by the butterflies as they were so big and were fluttering around my pushchair - maybe they thought my orange pushchair was a big flower? This week we also said a sad goodbye to Mama's good friend, Kim, who is returning to Denver after many years in Mysore. "Kim Aunty", as she is known to me, has been great fun and we have loved every minute of her company! Mama has told me that we are returning to England in a few weeks' time to set up, temporarily, in Manchester where Mama is starting a new course. I am excited about being back near family again but I know that we will miss Papa and he will miss us, thank goodness for Skype. I love you very much and will see you soon! Champion xxxxxxx P.S Here are some photos of me with Kim Aunty and my Indian Mama, Anita!

Happy boy

Jingle jangle bangle

To infinity and beyond!

Hello everyone!
I know it has been a long time since we have signed in, we have been on holiday in England for a month and only returned to Mysore a couple of weeks ago. We had wonderful time at home, we spent some time with Nanny, Grandad, Aunty Faye and Ava in Shrewsbury and some time in London with Granny, Grandpa and Aunty Em. I also had TWO parties when I was there; one for my Christening and the other was my first birthday party, I ate lots of cake - yummie. My journey of discovery continues apace and has indeed gathered pace since I have started walking with earnest! What fun! Naturally, I was a bit shaky at first and found that leaning on "Henry the hoover" for support was genius, but now, I have found my feet and love nothing more than walking around, I even point out my feet when Mama puts on my shoes - taking off the velcro straps also gives me endless distraction! My other big news is that I have started attending a nursery next door to our house, I go for an hour every day and I love it! I am the youngest there and the only boy so I am in my element. Mama's friends' children go there too so we have lots of fun together. At the end of playtime we sit down and share our lunches, today I launched forward and grabbed someone's biscuits and a big slice of cucumber. I was too quick for them and the girls looked on shocked and a little forlorn - I devoured it quickly! Here are some photos of the christening and some more of me (of course) since our return to Mysore. I love you lots and miss you, but don't worry, I am very happy and keeping Mama on her toes! xxxxxx

India calling

Happy Easter!

Since my last posting I have been to Delhi and back on 4 flights, I am really racking up my frequent flier miles! Papa had a meeting in Delhi with the British High Commissioner's wife as Raleigh is hosting a posh party there in July. Whilst Papa was sipping tea with Lady Stagg, Mama and I splished and splashed in the hotel pool which was blissful. I really do love the water and kick my legs away most happily. I can't wait until I can have my first pair of armbands and a rubber ring! We had a wonderful, albeit fleeting, trip to the metropolis and now we are back home. Rupert, one of Daddy's friends from Head Office, is staying with us now. Mama and I are very happy as he has bought me a fresh supply of rice cakes, Humzingers and he has bought Mama some chocolate! I had my first taste of chocolate yesterday, needless to say, I loved it! Nanny tells me I have a few chocolate Easter eggs waiting for me at home too, yummie. As you can see from the video I am now proficient at answering the phone. I am also most proficient at peeling my bananas and, most of the time, eating the right end of it too. My diet is so rich in exotic fruits here, most days I have mango or papaya with my Weetabix, an incredibly messy start to the day, but good fun. Mama, Papa and I have breakfast on the balcony from where I can scream at the cows as they saunter past. We are all so excited about coming back to England in a couple of weeks, Mama tells me that I will have two parties whilst I am there, what a lucky boy. In these photos I am with Tatie Fabienne (Mama's French friend, I love pulling her plaits!) and in the other one it is Raquel (Mama's Spanish friend) with her 2 month old son, Omar, my new friend. Love you all lots and see you very soon xxxx

Bathtime fun

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

Honey Monster

Splish, splash, splosh

Namaste!
These are some photos from our family trip to a nearby water park last weekend. There was a perfect baby pool for me with lots of slides and waterfalls - I even went down to the big slide with Mama and Papa - lots of splashes! We are all well and happy. My latest toy is discovering how to turn the tv on and off and the fact that it swivels on its stand - amazing. I am not interested in watching the tv at all, just turning it on and off, endlessly. Well at least it is better than exploring the balconies! We have now booked our flights to come back to England so we will arrive on the 4th May. I am so excited about the flight as I will have 10 hours to explore every inch of the plane, there is absolutely no way I will sleep, I don't want to miss a thing. Just think, maybe Papa will take me to visit the pilot.....It is so hot these days, I am sleeping in only my nappy, one night I also slept in Mama and Papa's room with the ac on - lovely. Got to sign off now as we are going to Mama's yoga class - Friday is 60 sun salutations in a row, she always looks a peculiar colour when she comes out! I love you lots and lots xxxxxxxx

Baby Buddha

Mama and I took an outing to a Tibetan monastery today just two hours away from Mysore. Mama has been there a couple of years ago but she never imagined she would be returning again with me! Bylakuppe is the name of the Tibetan settlement where the monastery is housed. The monastery is home to 4000 monks and 700 nuns and it has 5 stunning temples which contain 68ft high gold statues of Buddha and his reincarnations. A lovely friendly monk, Tayshi (which means "good luck" in Tibetan) gave us a tour of the temples and explained the tenets of Buddhism to us and even showed us a holy stupa which usually non-Buddhists cannot visit. Being a baby has lots of perks! Apparently my name should be Buddha as he was the first son, not so far fetched as you might imagine given my slightly Tibetan looks. Even Tayshi suggested I might be a reincarnation..... Before we left this morning I also helped Sujatha make chappattis as you can see in the photo - flour everywhere!
Daddy has a day off tomorrow with us - yippee! xxxx

Joseph Schumacher!

Dora the Explorer

I hope you emjoy these videos that Mama took of me today. As you can see, I have an inquisitive intellect and am currently attracted to cleaning items! Mama continues to do her yoga every morning and I go along too and have a power nap and then a walk in the leafy avenue with Sujatha until she comes out, looking a bit hot, but full of renewed energy! I went to Papa's office this morning, I really do love it there. I sit happily in my cot in the main office watching all the activity. We go next door to Mangalama's house for lunch. Today I chomped through a sweet chappatti and some rice whilst at the same time trying to get into the kitchen to help to roll the chappatti dough. I just can't understand why I wasn't allowed, it looked so much fun, and so messy! Every afternoon Mama takes me out in the sling, forward facing now (da dah!) and I absolutely love it! Of course we attract lots of attention but everyone smiles at me which makes me and Mama smile too. I particularly like going to the local fruit and vegetable market nearby, the fruit sellers always give me a free banana and Mama a flower for her hair. Happy days.

Curioser and curioser