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

Catch me if you can!

My first fancy dress party

Hello, happy Sunday

Yesterday Mama and I went to my first fancy dress party! I was outnumbered though by lots of girls. I was a little shy at first and sat on Mama's knee taking it all in, but then I got into my stride and chased balloons around and ate chocolate cake. I had lots of fun. In the photos I am wearing a traditional Indian kurta and dhoti with my silver jingly ankle bracelets on. Mama said I looked like a prince from 'The King & I'. I think I may wear this for my christening too...if it still fits. xxxxxx

Multitasking - talking AND crawling!

Life in the fast lane

Buenos dias.
We have just returned from a romantic Valentine's break to the fabulous Leela Palace in Bangalore, another taste of 5 star luxury for me! I just keep lapping it up! Within moments of arriving all the staff knew my name, from the Gurkha doormen to the Duty Manager, one bat of my big eyes and everyone came running! Papa had some meetings there, in the meantime, Mama and I did some shopping, had a dip in the pool and I did a lot of crawling and exploring around the lobby, hauling myself up, effortlessly, on the silk divans and generally loving my new surroundings. Mama and Papa had planned a romantic evening meal and I was fast asleep but as we left the hotel room I opened my eye and I twigged what was happening and decided to stay awake all throughout dinner. I like to keep them on their toes! So we celebrated Valentine's evening en famille - he he he. Crawling is passe now and I much prefer to be standing at every opportunity, as you can see from the photos. Mama can't baby proof the flat fast enough!

I also want to wish Nanny Happy 60th Birthday!!!!! We love you and miss you very much, you're the best. xxxxxxxx

Happy viewing!

Here are a couple of videos that Mama has taken of me this week. During the "Dinnertime" video Mama mistakenly held her hand over the speaker in the last bit of it so don't think there is something wrong with your computer when everything goes quiet! I am very well,really loving standing up against anything going and I love following Mama from room to room. My latest discovery is that the toilet seat makes a great noise when I bang it! The other video is of me playing with my favourite "toy" which is the telephone, no matter where I am I make a beeline for it. Itkeeps me entertained for ages, especially when it starts to play a song. We love you all and miss you every day. Ciao xxxxxx

Sleeping and standing - my two favourite pastimes!

My favourite toy!

Photo gallery

Hello

Here are a few photos from the last few days. I now love standing up using anything within reach, usually Mama's legs. Daddy and I went with Mama for her tennis lesson on Sunday as the court is in the middle of farmland. Whilst Mama was playing Daddy took me for a walk on his shoulders, I held onto his hair for support! I loved being outside "mooing" at the cows and "baaing" at the sheep. Our cleaner, Sujatha, now makes me chapattis every morning which I have with my lunch, they are so tasty. Today I had a banana flavoured one which was just yummie. I love all my food really, especially the fresh strawberries which are now in season and the extra juicy pineapples. Mama has also made me some delicious chicken recipes, my favourite is chicken and apricot with lentils. Yum yum.

Love you all, remember you can skype us! xxxx