Ashwin at 4 months and other things

Ashwin has started rolling both ways ever since he completed four months and a half. He had been trying since the time he turned three months, but somehow he wasn't able to do either. And then one day Sameer shouted to us that Ashwin has rolled on his own from his tummy to his back. The next day he again rolled from his tummy to his back. Guess what, his 'maalish' and diaper changes have already become a bit hard, as he wants to do a 'palti' from his back to his tummy all the time. Some other things he really enjoys is being held up on his feet. He loves to climb on me or splash water in his bath tub while I hold him up, or just stand in one place to look around. He really enjoys watching TV! It doesn't matter if it's ads or a game or a movie. He'll watch it so intently.

He has very good neck control already. He has always enjoyed lying on his tummy and that might have helped. He loves to talk to me and Rahul and wants to touch us, our faces and Sameer's as well. With Sameer, he loves to watch what Sameer is doing. Sameer also loves to watch Ashwin in action, letting Ashwin pull his hair at times. Today Ashwin pulled off his hat and started sucking on it and Sameer found it really funny and then Ashwin started smiling on seeing Sameer laugh so hard.

Although I did catch Sameer twisting Ashwin's ear one day (yes!). I wonder what will happen once Ashwin starts crawling.

Aha, that reminds me, today he managed to scoot backward a little, just a little, but it was still exciting to see that. He is able to lift himself on his arms really well and will try to lift himself on his legs. I know there is still some time before he'll really be able to do that, but it's so much fun to see him try.

He is not as seedha (सीधा) as he used to be. He hates being left alone for more than a few minutes. Earlier he would be content playing with a rattle and some other small toys that we gave him, but not anymore. This evening I had to have Sameer sing to him all kinds of songs that Sameer could remember while I was in the kitchen. In the mornings, I'll take him out in our backyard and front yard for a little bit, before putting him down for his morning nap.

I can't believe it's almost time to start his solid feeds. Somehow he seems so small for it. We are planning to start him on solids once he turns five months. Sameer was a wonderful eater, very adventurous. I have a feeling that Ashwin will be the same way, maybe even better, in that he will start feeding himself earlier than Sameer.

Some things I wanted to note about Sameer are: he plays bowling on Wii really well! Somehow his hand action is wonderful. He usually gets a strike. I don't know if it's luck or skill. We need to take him to a real bowling alley soon. He has been learning to add on his own for a few months now and he loves it. He loves to read, and he is beginningto learn to read on his own. He has moved on from fiction to non-fiction now. He really enjoys books about places, he is big time into space and planets. His favorite book these days is Touchdown Mars! It's actually a very nice book about flying to mars and coming back. Each page highlights a word with a letter. So the first page has A for astronaut, third page has C for countdown etc. He found it himself in the library and we have been renewing it since then. He has been trying to use logic and rational thought, although all logic is lost when he is in a bad mood. But otherwise it's fun to carry a conversation with him. I have to remember to note down some incidents, otherwise I forget them.

Will add other things as and when I remember them.