Skype isn't the real thing

I think my little Sanaa is realising that seeing people on the laptop (on Skype) isn't the same as having them in front of her for real. Earlier - and by that I mean even a couple of months ago - she used to be quite content with saying happily "Shala athai" (or "Neha maasi" or "nanaji" (or whoever) - and then she'd run off to do whatever she was in the mood for, evidently believing that we were watching her even when she was out of camera range. 

Yesterday, for the first time, she said something like "Shala athai dekhenge" (let's go see Shala athai), even though her dad assured her that she WAS seeing me. It was pretty obvious what she meant, though, and she came very close to crying, saying she wanted to see me (I'm glad she didn't, because I came perilously close to doing the same). 

Luckily, she's still fairly easy to distract, and my collection of hedgehog figurines came to the rescue this time, along with a robin redbreast. She's got this habit, whenever I show her something (say, a "kutti little hedgehog"), of immediately repeating "Another kutti little hedgehog" - I've not figured out whether she means she wants to see it again, or if she thinks I've got an endless supply of kutti little hedgehogs or robins or kitty-cats to bring out for her entertainment. 

What's obvious even on Skype is the unmistakable light of naughtiness in her eyes along with the realisation that I can't do anything about whatever naughty thing she's doing while I'm watching her on Skype. She loves sucking on her fingers, and every time I caught her doing that when I was around, I would pull her hand away, saying "Ewww, that's dirty". It became a game for her (anything can become a game, with her saying "Again, again" each time) - as fast as I pulled one little hand away, she'd put the fingers of her other hand in her mouth. 

And now she's taken to doing that all by herself while I''m watching her, putting one forefinger in her mouth, taking it away, putting the other forefinger in and taking it away and so on, giggling all the while. Like amma says, her pollathanam (mischievousness) is increasing exponentially every day. And damned if she doesn't look incredibly cute (I know - word in serious danger of chronic overuse, but what can I do) with it!