Juicy Grapes so yummy !

Today was Rayyan's School Fancy Dress show. In retrospect, I rue how soon I give up on Rayyan by presuming he will not measure up. I try so much harder with Ruhi. I am constantly surprised by him these days, which is a new feeling and I so like it ! 

For his fancy dress I dug my brains for the simplest costume that I thought he could carry off and created a 2 line limerick about 'juicy grapes'. He enthusiastically mugged and practiced his lines to call. Maybe I should have given him a longer poem since the other kids spoke so much more and it helped !

He is shit scared of balloons from the day one went bust bang on his face. Yet he bravely made peace with them on his D day. I tried to do a dress rehearsal for several days before Fancy dress but he did not let the balloons anywhere close to him. I was half certain he would refuse to put the balloons on his shirt. But he quietly stood at the back of my jeep outside his school, to let me tape them to his shirt.  He also patiently let the double sided tape sit on his head holding a tiny leaf patch. 

He looked very bright and cheerful till I left him at the steps from where he had to walk alone to the centre of the small stage. He walked up slowly and timidly looking very scared. The balloon on his right shoe fell off and I thought he was about to run back. I quickly moved up from the audience to sit at his feet holding his tiny cold hand. He was absolutely silent for a few seconds as the teacher urged him to speak on the mike. His eyes were locked into mine in a bewildered gaze and it seemed he had lost his voice.

I whispered hard to him "say good morning friends...". He paused some more and swallowed spit. I thought he was going to give up. But then he looked straight at the audience and said his lines loud and clear right down to the sprightly 'thank you'.

He did not win a prize and for once I did not mind it. Its taken baby steps to get here and this in itself is my biggest prize ! 

Miss Bones !

It was Ruhi's Fancy Dress competition today ! I got the Skeleton idea from the internet upon spotting a boy dressed up for halloween ! I did some quick research and wrote a rather funny rhyme about bones. I didn't know there are a good 206 of them in our body ! I dressed her up in black tights, black gloves and a black skinny jumper. The white chart paper  bones, ribs etc were stuck by double sided tape and staple pins on the bony little thing and pronto ! She looked the perfect 'Mr Bones".

She had memorized the rhyme really well and I was quite amused when yesterday I found her recording her audition on my phone on the sly, and playing it back to herself to hear how she sounded ! Last year she went as an Alarm Clock with two steel 'Katoris' stuck on her head and stood first !! A year before that I painted her as Nemo Fish and she stood third !! I was quite relaxed till she walked up on stage - walking again like a scared little deer - and my heart went thumping mad. She said her lines perfectly, albiet softly and she won the second prize.

I still cant figure how my shy, unsure little poppet gets the prize every year !!

@alarm clock at 5 years

  

@Nemo Fish at 4 years