Dear Sweet Pea,
People have warned me about this stage of toddlerhood. They said you would be asking so many whys that I would be scratching my head for answers to these questions posed on a daily basis. They were right! To add to the challenge, I was trying to answer your questions in full Mandarin so as to continue my bilingual approach to education for you.
On the way to school each morning, I have answered questions like why the pavement was wet, why they were no cats nor dogs compared to the day before. The exercise park being empty was a major concern of yours and I had to answer why there was no cockroaches to be found near the grass and why we have not seen snails for a really long time. These questions were just the tip of the iceberg.
Each day, we continued to be amazed by how your little mind worked and how fast it could draw connections from the daily conversations we shared with you. Just the other day, we were in Daddy's car and Mummy has a habit of sitting cross-legged on the passenger seat. Daddy would often nag at me to put both of my legs straight in case the air bag was ever activated. As Daddy was urging me to put my legs straight, you interrupted us when Daddy was talking about the air bag and said "then Mummy's legs no more". I was harrowed by that statement and quickly corrected my posture.
Last month, we were in a bit of a craze with claw machines. It was bittersweet this month as you fell really sick and it was partly due to faux fur from the plush toys we have been winning. We went to the doctor and since you displayed flu symptoms, you had to do the "nose game" which was the unavoidable swabbing of the nose. Under the promise of stickers, you obligingly raised your head for the head nurse to put the swab up your nose. You did all calmly without a single struggle. I was immensely proud of you!
You have also learned to ransack the fridge and since you liked "cold cold milk", you would move things out of your way to reach the milk. On 12 June, we witnessed you removing 2 trays of eggs from the fridge and when you were caught in the act, you told us you needed to drink the milk all in a matter-of-fact way.
It was getting slightly harder to rock you back to sleep when you wake up in the middle night. We could only get some peace if we brought you into our room to sleep. Hence, Mummy has been having stiff necks and severe exhaustion as you would often kick me in my sleep and pushed me near to the edge of the bed. Although I hope this phase would not last, it also made me discovered how you were really a chip off the old block! Since I could not sleep well, I was awake before both you and Daddy and would often laugh out loud on how similar both of your sleeping postures were. You really enjoyed sleeping in our bed and being able to snuggle up with us!
Maybe its inborn maybe it was learned, you have mastered the iconic Asian way of posing for photographs. A peace sign placed right next to your cheeks as you flashed me your biggest smile each time the camera was pointed in your direction.
During swimming lessons, you felt confident enough to hang on to the pool noodle independently. You really enjoyed learning swimming with Daddy by your side! There were also improvements in your back float as you learned to relax your body more. We still have a long way to go to get you to glide down the slides on your tummy, but you have put in a lot of hard work so far! Well done my little trooper!
We celebrated Father's Day at Wooloomooloo Steakhouse as Daddy loved a good cut of Australian beef. We brought along a few puzzles to keep you occupied and was glad that you enjoyed the kid's fish and chips and behaved really well throughout dinner. We had the 5 course set dinner and looked forward to the day where we could discover new restaurants and enjoy full course meals with you! Some people eat to live but your parents live to eat!
By the end of June 2022, you were doing big puzzles depicting farmland and airport. We received these puzzles from Auntie Cheryl who has very kindly gifted us with a lot of hand-me-down toys!
With love,
Mummy
