Its been some time since I wrote something on my baby. Ah the indefatigable toddler! She sleeps late but more often than not, sleeps on her own. She likes me telling stories… as long as the central character is an elephant! She has an impressive vocabulary now. Hold her in front and she says "kangakoo"! I was pleasantly surprised the first time she used it! She can make herself understood almost completely although you do have to keep in mind the context since her pronunciation is still not 100 % accurate. . She is putting three four words together now into basic sentences. Is bilingual, speaking words in English and her mother tongue. Its funny to see her launch in to a soliloquy with words learnt interspersed with words manufactured! I realize that baby girls tend to emulate their moms. That’s how they learn and play. So my daughter 'cooks' ‘makes’ tea for me... mops and sweeps... feeds her doll... its so sweet to see her do all that. I now go to work for few hours in the morning. And an occasional site visit in the afternoons. But I make it a point to be home at noon to put her to sleep. She used to cry not because I was leaving but she wanted to be taken along! But these days she waves me good bye and it’s a relief. I don’t have to sneak out. I say a proper good bye and leave. And of course we have many mommy - baby times that I cherish. I like to take her out to the garden in the evenings to water the plants. Our bougainvillea sapling bore two magenta flowers. And this small Tabaernamontana dwarf variety we got esp. for her is in blooms. She likes to play in water and it’s hard to keep her away but I let her enjoy it. We sometimes feed the crows that visit us. She takes it very seriously. Calls them... kaa kaa baa (crow come) and then tosses the bread crumbs. She is delighted when the crows oblige her by swerving gracefully to devour the tidbits. We also see other birds occasionally. Blabbers, Cuckoos, Mynahs, Drongos, even Partridges. It’s a time of the day I enjoy as much as my girl. If it weren’t for these moments I would not have known that the laburnum pods when you pry them open have seeds arranged in compartments separated by a sticky black gum coated sheath. I planted few of the seeds just to see a plant grow ... and it did. Fascinating. My daughter has been a catalyst in helping me reconnect with nature in a way. I hope she grows up into a nature lover... watching birds and plants ... tending flowers, watering plants.