Tricyclin'
As we approach Saavan's second birthday (crazy), the boy's development is off the charts. He's a talking machine, and with a healthy vocabulary and memory he sings along with songs and reads along with books. He'll finish off song lyrics and sentences, which is pretty awesome. He's also a dancing machine. Don't believe me? Check out the video below, and prepare to have your mind blown at the 22-second mark:
Saavan has a charming personality and is super-friendly, and as a result, has made many new friends in his 23 months of existence. One of Saavan's best buddies is our garbageman, who stops by our place with his awesome garbage truck (Saavan's a HUGE garbage truck fan) every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (what can I say? we have awesome trash collection services). Each morning, Saavan sits in our big kitchen bay window and waits for his buddy, and when the garbageman arrives, Saavan gets all excited. Our garbageman, clearly the friendliest garbageman alive, alives gives Saavan a big two-handed waive in return, and honks the horn to his truck as he pulls away from our place. It's a great routine. And Saavan says "bye garbageman, see you later" (not necessarily that clearly, but he says it). I assume your heart is melting at the adorableness of this whole situation. If not, you're made of stone.
Saavan and Elmo, waiting for their buddy.
As great as this all is, it did lead to a bit of awkwardness a few weeks ago. Our garbageman is black. This particular fact would not otherwise be worth mentioning, but it's specifically relevant to this story. Neha and Saavan were returning from a weekend in Ann Arbor (in which we attended Nishi Mausi's college graduation and Saavan got to see President Obama speak!) and were at the airport. Upon entering the jetway, there was a nice man at the door of the plane collecting carry-on bags to store underneath the plane. This man also happened to be black. Upon seeing him, Saavan exclaimed "garbageman!" Whoops.
Fortunately, the man did not appear to hear what Saavan had said, and Neha was able to downplay it by asking Saavan if he heard a garbage truck outside. Neha also insists that it's not as bad as it sounds, because the man was wearing an orange vest, and that our garbageman wears an orange vest as well. Moreover, since then, Saavan has seen plenty of other black people, none of whom he's referred to as "garbagemen." In light of these facts, and also the fact that Saavan is not yet two years old, I'd say he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Still, it makes for quite the story.
The chances that when he's older he'll hate me for writing about this are exceedingly high. Don't get me wrong buddy! You're the best!
Here's another video of Saavan gettin' his groove on at Sandeep Uncle's engagement party, and a some pictures from the last month:
Saavan's First Trip To Michigan Stadium. Also In Attendance That Day: President Obama
Saavan and his Uncle Mike, engaged in a serious staring contest.
Saavan and his favorite NYC buddy, Anisha.
