It’s been a while since I wrote about li’l Tiger.

When my book on parenting was first published, all my near and dear ones insisted that “I should do another one for Tiger too!”  And, my reaction was : “It’s not the writing that’s tough, it’s the ‘getting published’ part!”  But, the fact remains that writing about your second child is harder than it seems.

The reasons behind it are many.  For one, it’s so much easier for me, as an adult, to identify with my almost-six-year-old who has impeccable communication skills and a much-advanced intellectual development (naturally!) than my two-year-old who has just started on that road.  There’s also the fact that every thing was so new and interesting when it first happened… I end up wondering whether or not readers of this blog will enjoy reading similar experiences written about another child, the second time around?

Be that as it may, Tiger is a unique individual who faces the world in his own distinctive way.  So, starting today, I’m going to make an effort to blog about him, as often as I can…

Over the past few months, Tiger has gone from “pointing to something and grunting for it” to “trying to name the object in broken speech” to “constructing complex sentences that are almost grammatically sound”.  Sure, he still has difficulties with some of the sounds that all kids his age would.  But he’s getting better at it, and fast!  Not to mention, he’s equally fluent in English and Hindi.

By nature, Tiger is one of the naughtiest and most adorable babies I have ever encountered.  Full of beans, he doesn’t tire of energy till the time he retires for the night.  He can never get enough of his mama.  And, he can never have enough of repeating what his “Pumpkin didi” says or does, which drives her nuts and provides wholesome entertainment for the rest of us.

Tiger is an outdoor baby.  He’s always ready for what he excitedly refers to as “drive-drive”, and enjoys watching the world go by his window, like a happy puppy in the car.  He really makes the most of his trips to the garden, and wants to accompany any member of the house, every time any one is going down!

Earlier today, he participated in his playschool’s Annual Sports Day, where he was among the youngest participants of them all.  His batch – the Yellow group – participated in two races: Obstacle Race and Socks Matching Race.  True to his nature, he gave it his all and had a lot of fun along the way.  By the end of it, he’d come first in one race and second in the other!

Too young to even understand the concept of “winning a race”, he was happy to be handed shiny packed gifts, every once in a while, by the organizers.  As a parent, I was, naturally, happy to see that my child had won.  But more than the victory in the race, I’m even prouder of the way my li’l champ has turned out…