In celebration of milestones...

Back down in Andhra Pradesh, we celebrate each and every milestone of the kid preparing something or the other..

Celebrating the firsts...

Oolu kodite kudumulu/undraallu (cooing)
Navvithe - nuvvula unda (first social smile)
Borlaa padite bobbatlu/boorelu (turtling/flipping on tummy)
Paakite paakam undalu (crawling)
Gadapalu daatite gavvalu/gaarelu (crossing doorsteps)
Aduguleste ariselu... (taking first steps)
Chilaka palukulu - panchadara chilakalu (sugar tho chilakala shape lo chestharu choodandi avvi)

Oolu kottinappudu - Cooing - By the around the third month, the tiny tot usually opens its palms and tries to grasp at objects.  This small gesture is marked by motivating the child to play at grasping.
The mother places the child in her lap, with a plate of undrallu pindi and encourages the child to grasp the mixture and fashion balls, making muddakudumulu or undrallu (cooked rice ravva made into balls, also made during Ganesh Chavithi. Undrallu are distributed to the family and neighbours.

As the baby turns over and lands on the stomach called borla padadam in Telugu, bobbatlu or polelu are made.

The day the child starts crawling, pakadam, is marked by preparing pakam chalividi a sweet made of rice flour with sugar/jaggery syrup.

And while crawling if the toddler were to cross the threshold, gadapa daatadam, garelu, or vada are made.

Finally, the first walking steps (adugulu) are welcomed by distributing ariselu.

Each milestone is a celebration with sweets which signify happiness in our tradition varying with the place they are from.

Inputs from Jyothi.