Eight years

Eight years! It seems at once longer and shorter than that. Eight years since that squally rainy night when Ads was born, and our lives have been immeasurably enriched and happi-fied ever since :)
We had a party at home as usual. 15 kids, 14 of them boys. It was a riot! Having this many friends to call over is no mean feat for Ads, considering we have been in this home for just a few months and given the leisurely pace at which my kids make friends! I can see Ads growing better at this gig over the years -- does the fella even have a choice???? As much as I dread planning for birthday parties every year, as much as I wait for it to be over, I have to admit that once the party actually  begins, I enjoy myself a lot. I love organizing the games, clicking snaps and observing Ads have the time of his life. Every year, I promise myself that the next year I'll hand over the whole thing to Pizza hut or something similar, but every year I cave in and let myself into planning a far more fun, intimate and personal party at home.

On his birthday (the next day), we went out for a nice lunch, followed by Planes, which all of us enjoyed. Same old same old plot and treatment but fun nevertheless. S had also arranged for a cake to be delivered to our table during lunch. Ads was astonished and the grin on his face was something else! On top of that, there s a magician who came upto the table and showed the kids a lot of tricks. They were blown away with the personal performance. Ads got gifted several books by us and my parents - Geronimo Stilton and Horrid Henry are big favourites now.
So, that's another year of living and surviving Ads, behind us. He has turned into a naughty kid (late bloomer!) over the last several months - far more mischievous and sassy than he used to be. Also much more assertive and unafraid of standing up for himself which I am very happy about. On the flip side, the tiffs between brother and sister have escalated dramatically with neither of them budging from their positions and both being loud and vocal about their PoV!
Ads says his resolutions for the year are to cry less (!), fight with me and Y less, read more and start writing a daily diary. We plan to get him a new scooter. He's been using the old one for the last 4 years and its on its last legs, causing him much embarrassment. It creates such a racket when he's zipping around on it that I can hear him even when he is far far away :)

I think we made this birthday really special for him. Back to regular programming now and taking a breather before starting to plan for Y's birthday! 

This place in time

It's nice to have babies, but it's nicer still to have older kids.

I don't have to read their face or gestures to guess what they want or what they're thinking. They can tell me. Brutally, frankly, truthfully, and sometimes even when I don't want to hear it!

I don't have to plan ahead for meals when we are going out. Some water and fruit does the trick. Sometimes I forget and it's ok.

They know my phone number so they can call me if they need to.

They get their own water and plates to the table, serve themselves, clear up, brush their own teeth, bathe themselves. None of this is perfect and free of spills but they are getting there.

We can go out carrying just a handbag, some napkins and a hand sanitizer.

They stay quiet when I need them to and they can entertain themselves.

I don't need to break my head over holiday itineraries any more because their needs are pretty much the same as mine.

They can tell me all about their day. It's invariably interesting and entertaining!

They mimic me and make fun of me and my quirks, and I love that.

They are my biggest critics but they forgive me every time. They are my biggest fans and I savour that because I know it might not last for much longer.

We went out with friends the other day. They have an infant and it was sad to see them take turns to eat while the other rocked the baby. S and I heaved a sigh of relief - those days are long gone for us!

Though last week I held an infant in my arms and it was something else. 

But yessir, its nice to have older kids :)