(a little note: about the part on the rattlesnake, coincidentally, an episode of The Pink Panther was shown after we’d read this a few times together, where the panther accidentally stole a basket containing a baby instead of food during a picnic scene and in an effort to pacify the said baby, now crying, he’d removed the end of the rattlesnake’s tail to give to the baby as a rattle, and i guess this left such an impression with the kids that they associate it with this particular rattlesnake every time.)

(also, another note: they will inevitably ask the same question in every story with illustrations – “where’s the daddy/mummy/baby?” not sure why but there’s always a concern for the whereabouts of a missing family member in the story.)

in any case, she seems to have a knack at lipglossing sans mirror, just like me. won’t be long before she too can do it WHILE driving.

it’s, err, genetic.

*no alien figurines were harmed during the filming of this video.

her brother’s speech and drama assignment for Literary Week. he’d chosen the pig character in The Big Pancake for some reason. (this from the boy who went on ’stage’ during said speech and drama presentation and declared “my dream pet is a dog”.) the makeshift pig’s snout had unfortunately disintegrated by now. mummy’s obviously not too great at art & craft.

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M: “oh, i went to watch a movie.”
A: “movie? girl movie?”
M: “yah.”
A: “no shooting? no fighting?”
M: “nope. it’s about girls, going shopping, wearing nice dresses.. love, boyfriend-girlfriend…”
A: “eee!”
M: “what eee! nanti you dah besar…”

(and so the conversation meandered to a topic we’ve visited a few times before.)

A: “mummy, why boy and girl must marry?”
M: “when you grow up, you’ll know lah.”

(now we know why our parents always tell us this – they didn’t know how to explain ha ha.)

A: “i want to marry you lah.”
M: “mana boleh. you have to choose someone your age. nanti you dah besar, you find someone you like, then you marry her.”
A: “then i choose batrisyah lah.”

(this, the mysterious batrisyah from his classroom. her name seems to crop up like a regular cast in a tv series.)

M: “you sure she likes you?”
A: “yes, she likes me.”
M: “how do you knowww?”
A: “i know lah.”
M: “but HOW do you knowww?”
A: “i KNOWWW.”
M: “yah, but HOWWWW?”
A: “I JUST KNOW LAHHHH.”

ahh, such is the conviction of a 4-year-old. (and to think Mr Big took 10 years to figure it out and finally marry Carrie.)

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well, we’re right on track, then.

from primping girl to domestic goddess!

dressing up:

making up:

pinkberry-ing:

mothering:

um, diapering?:

cooking:

cleaning:

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another thing we like to do is go “who wants to [fill in activity]?” eg. “who wants to eat ice-cream?” (“ME!”) or “who wants to go swimming?” (“ME!”) etc. the daddy thinks sometimes they don’t even hear what he’s suggesting, they simply go “ME!” coz they don’t want to lose out. so he tried an experiment by garbling his words. “who wants to grgmmbfyabbayabbabla?” “ME!!”

for the purpose of this photo exercise, i’d asked “who wants to eat popcorn later?”. guess the answer.

i don’t know how they can be so chipper in the morning. they came back late from a party last night (bad parenting, as usual), yet here they are, all ready to take on the world the next morning… while we adults are cursing away the monday blues.

and i better remember my popcorn promise later in the evening.

now, who’s going to have a great week ahead?

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last night our conversations went something like this:

M: auni, which colour do you like? (playing with stacking rings)
A: i yike geen. (“i like green”)
M: eh? (amused but bewildered – i’d only mentioned ‘green’ in passing the day before when we played with another set of stacking rings at home, but didn’t think she internalised it or anything, gee i gotta be more careful what i say around her or whaaat…)

M: sayang mummy tak?
A: yes. i yike ami… i yike daddy… i yike babang… i yike ama… i yike bibik… i yike, err… babang…
M: O-o

M: is it nice? sedap?
A: (sipping on an iced drink) nice! dap!
M: (affecting a grimace to show feigned disgust) no lah! NOT NICE! yuks!
A: NICE!!
M: nooo, not niiiiiceeee.
A: NIIIICE! I YIKE!!

she is turning into – *gasp* – her brother.

but i do think the second child tends to develop speech at a generally faster rate, thanks to the elder sibling as model.

as for the other behaviours, i’m still, errm, crossing my fingers.

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it reads something like this. (yes i’m typing it out. don’t call me crazy. i’m a mommy.)

day 1: went in the class independently… sat down for a while and walked to the dramatic corner… played with manipulatives… ate the chicken only.

day 2: went in the class. didn’t cry… sang some familiar songs… enjoyed the walk around the neighbourhood… played puzzles… ate rice but did not finish.

day 3: did not cry… had storytelling… played at blocks corner… had dory fish + rice + vege… able to relate to the story at storytime (Adam’s Daycare).

day 4: cried (!!)… settled down… played at fine motor corner… had chicken mushroom + rice… sat down well at storytime.

day 5: cried… had chinese lesson… went to the library corner… had 2nd helping at lunch… able to sing along with the book, ‘Wheels on the Bus’.

day 6: cried… settled and joined in the music & movement… explored with the discovery corner… chose a book for the class.

day 7: cried for a while… did painting on easel board… had fun exploring with water… had baked chicken + rice.

day 8: cried for a while but settled down… dramatization for the book ‘Wheels on the Bus’… played at the playground… able to answer questions when asked.

day 9: had music & movement… played at discovery corner… activity at the void deck… played at the chinese corner… had 2nd helping at lunch… sat well at storytime.

day 10: sang songs… played with dough… enjoyed herself at the swing… played at dramatic corner… had steamed egg… chose a book for the class.

we must have made her miss four days out of that two weeks, coz that’s all i have. (wait, actually, 5 + 5 weekdays do technically count as two weeks of school, right?)

and don’t worry, coz she’s been there a month now and has since been reported as going straight into her class with nary a tear. i wasn’t too worried about the crying thing anyway coz, well, she IS barely two years old, what can one expect? they’re dramatic like that! they have good days and they have bad days. heck, i’m 32 and even i want to burst into tears when i reach work everyday. (ok lah, exaggerating…)

also, for the most parts, she’s pretty easy-going by nature, and like most children, adaptable to changes.

when i leave for work in the mornings, she puckers up her lips and gives me a cheerful “bye bye!”, and that, well, makes me NOT cry when i reach work everyday.

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