Bambi's First Birthday

It was Bambi’s first birthday and we were all excited. This little girl was born almost my palm-size and now she is on her feet already. Supriya and I marvelled at how faithful God has been to her and to our family. He has kept us through the year.

We got up in the morning and prayed together. We had to then rush. It was Sunday and we had to attend the second service of our church. We also had to get Bambi ready and pack our luggage for the two-day stay at Pragathi Resort. We had initially planned for a party for Bam’s birthday. But then going by our previous experience, we thought that Bam wouldn’t enjoy the party as much as she would enjoy her family togetherness in a new environment. The resort which is just an hour drive away was a good choice. Also, since we had been there earlier, we knew what to expect there. We were not up for surprises for Bam’s first. The other reason to choose to celebrate her birthday in solitude was that once she is two, she would want to have her friends around on her birthdays, and wouldn’t possibly like quite celebrations. Hence, this was possibly our only chance!

So, we began packing. All our cloths and other stuff could fit in half-a-suitcase, but we had to almost carry a truck-load of Bam’s stuff. Her cloths, shoes, diapers, towels of all sizes, wipes, creams & lotions, toys, books – ABC and 123, Gymborie ball, mats, mosquito net, flasks, utensils, water-bottles, milk-bottles, tissue-rolls, birthday caps, and so much more. Thankfully, we were going in our own vehicle! We did not wish to miss any of her stuff. So, we had to squeeze in to accommodate all of the little angel’s luggage.

After the service, we got back into our car and drove. We had expected it to be a long drive to Pragathi and hence, were prepared. But it was longer than expected since we missed the route. Firstly, it was my confidence in the new route through the outer ring road that caused all the confusion. We landed up at Gandipet and then missed the off-shoot to the resort and went some ten kilometres ahead before realizing that. Then we had to take an alternate route and we missed the junction for the resort turn again and reached a railway crossing, which made us realize that we had overshot again. We then took a u-turn and drove at lower speed to finally land up in the resort an hour later than expected. All through this adventure, Bam kept us entertained with her baby-talks. Cramped for the long drive, she was still her happy self. So, it was good in the end.

Bam loved the sight of fishes at the entrance while we straightened our backs. It was refreshing touch of the cool wind that took away the tiredness of the longer-than-expected drive. We quickly dumped our stuffs into the rooms and rushed for lunch. We were starving and the kitchen was likely to be closed. Hence, we took little time to settle and ordered for a lot of food. Bambi had her rice with chicken soup and made us exercise along with her swift walk across the restaurant. It is amazing to see things from her perspective. Lot of things on the reception desk would have remained inconspicuous to us but she was excited to see telephone set, a bell and its gong, and earthen ducks decorated on the wall. I can’t guess what she thinks of these things when we explain but she is quite quick to repeat our acts. She picked up the gong and rang the bell after I had shown her just once as to how the gong was to be held. Quick learner she indeed is.

We took a small nap and got up early in the evening. We all gathered together and put on the birthday caps. Bambi would not let anything stay stuck to her head, she kept pulling it down. For a snap, I held the cap on her head and Supriya had to click at lightening speed. Then we sang birthday songs to her, followed by worship songs thanking God for His faithfulness. Bambi clapped and laughed and swung and swayed. She likes the worship songs and identifies the rhythm. Perhaps because we sung these worships songs a thousand times even when she was still in her mother’s womb. Later, she played with her toys and balls. I showed her how to kick the ball, which she learnt and applied in no time.

Next day morning, after a long breakfast when Bam took walks before every morsel, we headed to the swimming pool. The weather was cool and it had rained last evening. We bought our swimming kits and plunged into the pool with Bambi along. She panicked but I held her with just her tiny legs in water. It was only a few moments that she discovered fun. She then started splashing water all over, first by her legs and then by her hands as well. It was tough to hold her as she was attracted to water like a magnet. We had good fun. Mammu then warned us of the cool water of the pool and Bambi was reluctantly let go. Then we too moved from the shallower part to relatively deeper part of the pool. Bambi saw us and came speedily. Didi held her back but she kept walking by the rim of the pool. I was tempted to get her back into the pool. No sooner than I had directed my arms towards her, she plunged into them and into water. It was so much fun to hold this little baby, just a year old, excited at the touch of water, splashing it on Supriya and me. I wished we could spend a lot of time in there. It was noon when we came back to our rooms with our little mermaid and then headed for lunch.

The afternoon was lazy since the sun was shining hot on our heads. Supriya and I tried boating for a while but couldn’t enjoy that much, not the least due to the boat rudder had gone out of order and it took a lot of effort to manoeuvre. Bambi slept off soon and we decided to hold back on our enthusiasm for a while. In the evening, we went to the children’s park and let ourselves loose. We noticed that whether it was merry-go-round or swing or seesaw, Bam would initially resist but soon would begin to enjoy these. She had good time and we had too. It was so exciting to do all those things with the freedom from watching eyes that we became children ourselves. Bam must have wondered how her Papa and Mama were competing with her on these made-for-kids stuffs. Bam has given us this gift of being able to revert to our childhood.

The next day morning again, our breakfast lasted for two full hours. Bam didn’t allow even one morsel in her mouth without change of the set. She would have one morsel on the chair, the other by the side of it, the third while leaning over the handle bars, the fourth while playing with water in a marble pot of floating roses, and so on. She also spotted the geese and wanted me to take her closer to them. She literally chased them away as the geese could not stand the idea of touch of her tiny hands when she intended to. She had soon learnt how the geese quack.

We had a lot of fun. God blessed us with these precious days that we could spend with Bam. She has turned one and God has preserved her in His presence and blessed her and us abundantly. Praying for His mercies and grace to abide by us, we returned home with thanksgiving.

(The pictures are from her birth and first birthday.)