This was you, 18 months ago.
And this is you, today, 18 months young.
I should have taken a “nicer” photo but there isn’t time to pause and pose for photos when we are rushing to get to the gym and back, and when you are constantly on the move looking for new things to do.
This photo says almost everything about you.
Cheeky, because you think it’s fun to sit on the potty like Jiejie. Sometimes you’d even take the imitation further by lifting your shirt up to reveal part of your belly.
Clever, because when I ask you what you’re doing, you’d say “Pee”, very precisely. Followed by your signature cheeky laugh.
In fact you are able to say so many words now I can’t quite keep track.
This was the list about a month ago:
- Ball
- Bard (bird)
- Mao (cat)
- Hard
- Hot
- Six
- Sit
- Thanks
The list now, at least what I can recall:
- Baby
- Bear
- Bao bao (To be carried)
- Bye bye
- Cold
- Corn
- Daddy
- High
- Hayo (Hello)
- Ice seem (Ice cream)
- Nice
- No! – Usually with your hands crossed in front of you, and with you turning away
- Pa Pig (Peppa Pig)
- Peas (Please)
- “Pa Pig Peas” – When you hand me the remote control to get me to turn on Peppa Pig on Netflix
- Pess (Press)
- See you
- Touch
- Yay!
- Yaya
- Yummy
- 谢谢 (Thank you)
- Mummy – Music to my ears.
You have been saying “Mama” and “Baba” but I haven’t been sure if you are referring to me.
But recently, you’ve been calling me “Mummy”, loud and clear and sweet and demanding and sticky.
And I’m loving it.
You’d knock on Jiejie’s door every morning, asking for Mummy or Jiejie.
Sometimes you’d zoom into the room once the door is open, chuckling.
Sometimes you’d stand at the door hugging your bunny, just smiling and waiting to be carried.
Sometimes you’d rush forward to give my legs a big hug.
This morning you came into the room looking for Jiejie who was still sleepy. And you kept patting her legs trying to wake her up.
And then both of you rummaged through the container of hair clips and rubber bands and started putting on hair clips while checking yourselves out in the mirror.
You found a random blue piece of plastic from the container, and it immediately became your camera and phone.
And then you went to gym and tried to sell promotion packages. 😆
I love watching you go about your gym routines.
I often wonder where your energy and capacity for adventure fun comes from. Your big smiles, laughter and the way you run like you are trying to dance and jump and hop at the same time makes me smile.
I also often wonder how someone as mischievous as you can be so sticky to your Mummy.
Or so feminine, in the way you love putting on shoes, dresses and hair accessories.
You have a pretty good attention span now, and you’re able to sit through a story book that you pick for me to read to you.
That said, we still think you’re a handful and we are prepared for your “terrible twos”.
You have a stubborn streak and dislike to be corrected, even though you know you’ve done something wrong. You’d often run to Yaya to protest / get help, leaving her quite helpless because she usually cannot decide if she should laugh or cry.
You crack us up all the time, whether you are cheeky or naughty.
In your school admission form, I was asked to provide more information about your likes and dislikes, and was given two lines to answer.
Oh boy, I could write on and on.
I think you’d enjoy school a lot.
You’re such a “people” person and I wonder (again) how someone on a very high spectrum of introversion (85%, I think) like me can have a little girl who goes around smiling and saying hello to people.
I hope you’d enjoy school a lot.
Your sleeping is still quite crappy and I kinda hope school can train you to fall asleep on your own. 😅
As an adult, I can’t quite sleep through the night myself so it’s quite demanding to ask the same of you, isn’t it?
The days are long but the years are short.
I love watching your every funny and silly antic, I love watching you bicker in gibberish with your sister and then hug her lovingly the next minute, and I love hearing you call me “Mummy”.
I love watching you grow, from a little baby to a little person, who has your own likes and dislikes, quirks and personality.
Thank you for the abundance of happiness and joy you bring to me and to our family.
I hope you will always be happy and healthy.
Love you to the moon and back,
Mummy.
weeirdism 