Where did the hours, minutes and seconds go?
It’s 2011.
Rachel is two, and she’s our lil sunshine. Okay, sometimes, there are flashes of indignance. But for the most part, we have a sweet, cooperative child, who’s probably not as difficult to handle as some boys of her age out there.
She’s gu-niang at times (mommy’s influence?), toting her little purse like any sweet sixteen-year-old would. She hates having her hair tied. She loves picking out her own dresses. And she often disagrees with my taste.
She’s no longer the shy, retiring tot she was just 6 months ago. Our little pixie actually doesn’t mind being the centre of attention in a sea of new people! How happy that makes me because I feared she would turn out like me (actually, she’s still a little hesitant but generally comfortable among new people she recognises to be our friends and that’s GOOD).
She sings when she’s happy, and that’s often. Her teacher tells me: “She’s the only one who sings all the songs in class.” And being the youngest among them, bravo! The kid has more than 10 songs in her repertoire, all lovingly learnt. They include a couple of Chinese ones. Now and then she’ll surprise us with a new song she’s learnt.
My take is that playgroup has done her a world of good. She talks about her friends when she’s supposed to be all curled up in bed, asleep. She loves school.
She takes instructions well. One thing that amuses us - her penchant for throwing away rubbish. Need someone to help you bin a sweet wrapper? Give it to Rachel and ask her to throw it away for you. Or if she sees what looks like rubbish lying on the table, she’ll volunteer her services.
“She’s very affectionate. She’s always hugging the teachers.” It warms me to hear her teacher say that.
I should know. Every morning, before her dad whisks her off to school, she’d come running to me (I’m doing my makeup in the bedroom) to give me a hug. If daddy is slow to leave the house, she repeats her little dart of love three times.
“I want hug mommy,” she says cheerfully, as she zooms down the hallway in her shoes (which annoys me slightly - the shoes I mean).
She’s crazy about her por por, gong gong and godma. And mama, yeye and ah-ma too.
She speaks funny and IS funny. Rachel tells us she wants to buy lunch. “I buy chicken rice… with chicken.” When my mom asks her “Do you understand?”, she nods and says: “I understand.” She can sing the entire Alphabet song, but when it comes to “l-m-n-o-p”, she sings “nem men men o pee”. She can sing “liang zhi lao hu” and dramatises it with panache.
We love the little person that she’s become. The baby days were vague and bothersome at times (I’m not particularly smitten by babies). But now there’s someone engaging us and sharing her own thoughts. It’s infinitely more fun.
I look forward to more of the twos.
Some way to go before the tumultuous teens!
