Year and 13 days

He just got out of another bout of gastro. I hate that thing because it means I have to take him off his milk and give him ganji neellu (rice broth) in his bottles instead because, apparently, lactose tends to aggravate gastro and I still need to keep his fluid intake up. This prompts Praveen to call him "Mr. Ganji Neellu" from time to time. This time, the new GP we took him to recommended I use a lactose-free formula instead of the regular formula for a week. So no more ganji neellu.
He has started to cry at the child care again when I pick him up in the evenings. Anna leaves sometime during his afternoon nap these days and I think he misses the presence of someone he bonds to when he wakes up. He cries with a sad face when he sees me in the evening like he used to when he was adjusting to the child care.
On the growing up side, he has started his tantrum phase it seems. Apparently, it is never too early for that phase according to Niru and seems true enough. He cries insistently when we take something away from him. Our choice method to deal with his tantrums at the moment: ignore him. He has also learned to do a phony, pitiful kind of "abba abba abba" cry with his face all screwed up into a I-am-in-distress-here expression. It is cute, really cute and hilarious. Wonder how long that will last.
I may have uncovered a big weapon in our fight against his occasional hunger strikes. He likes anything flavoured with spicy gravies. All the child experts out there are probably up in arms but hey, if it gets him to eat, I am going to use it. The other day I made him a mild vegetable pilaf which he was not keen on until I added a little chicken chettinad gravy to it which made him open his mouth widest and finish the bowl in under 15 minutes. So, there you go. Again, wonder how long this will last. I have strong reason to will this particular phase to last as long as possible.
It turns out he is an outdoor person. I am sure he gets that from Praveen. During the party, he refused to come back inside to cut the cake. He is happy to play around in the garden on his own. Anna also commented about the same thing the other day, that he enjoys his play outside and watching the other kids playing. This is only going to mean sand-filled shoes and clothes, not to mention the house!