Wen: Month No. 48

dearest Wen,

You're 48 months today. Woefully, I have not been very good at keeping up with your monthly newsletters this past half a year. But here are some of the funny or memorable things you've said or done since the last letter, that I want to write down before I forget it for good!

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Month No. 42

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Mummy & papa were away in Japan for ten days in August and during that time, you stayed with grandma and kong kong. After we came back, you prayed for "mummy to go away again so I can stay in Grammy's house!" because you were so attached to grandma. In fact, for the first few days, you kept whining about wanting to sleep in grandma's house.

Month No. 43

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You've also reached a stage where you are very sensitive about people talking about you, and when you know that you are the subject of a conversation, you will cover your ears and look crossly at us or walk away. You don't like to be laughed at, and you don't like to be teased.

Month No. 43

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You also like to moan and groan and go on like a spoilt recorder. For instance, if your leg is feeling painful, we'll hear a series of moans that go, "My leg very pain (pause for 5 seconds), My leg very pain (pause for another 5 seconds), My leg very pain, my leg very pain"! Yes, you really do go on and on.

Month No. 44

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When you see something you don't like, for instance, vegetables in your food, you'll be sure to let us know with a very expressive, "EWWWW!" On the other hand, when you see something you like, especially food, you'll exclaim, "oooh! Yummy!" You really have an aversion to vegetables, and we were originally planning a trip to Lao this year to visit the kids we help sponsor under the World Vision Program, and we'd been telling you about how they don't have much else to eat in Lao apart from vegetables, hoping to motivate you to eat more vegs, but instead, what happened was that you began praying to Jesus and telling him that "I don't want to go to Lao. I don't like Lao because I have to eat a lot of vegetables!"

 

 Month No. 45

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Towards the end of last year, we had to make a decision whether to keep you in BMCK, which you and I both loved, versus transferring you to HGK where jie jie Min will still be next year. When I asked you for your opinion, you insisted repeatedly that you wanted to go to jie jie's school. While you liked all your teachers - Ms Tan, Lye Lao Shi, Mrs Wong, you had no problems leaving all of them to be in the same school as your sisters, which I found to be rather interesting. It was always fun to get you from BMCK because whenever you saw me, your face would light up with a bright smile, and you would run out to me and loudly exclaim, "Hi Mummy! I love you!"

Month No. 45

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Even when I told you that jie jie's school only speaks Chinese, you were cool, and you proclaimed, "I can speak Chinese!" and proceeded to say, very proudly, "Nai Nai!" (Paternal grandmother in Chinese) as proof! This speaking Chinese thing is very interesting to me, because you speak really English accented Chinese, what little of it you do speak. But last year, you were really interested in learning to speak Chinese and wanted us to constantly converse with you in Chinese or to play only Chinese music. I was only too glad to encourage you. And now that you are finally in HGK, you are enjoying it very much and you love all the extra lessons that you have to go for (though you do like to moan beforehand about not wanting to attend them) and you are definitely singing lots of Chinese songs and coming home with lots of chinese rhymes.

Month No. 46

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We started you on music lessons with Auntie Felicia at the end of last year, and you absolutely adore your weekly 15 minute lessons with her! You can't wait to start taekwondo lessons as well, but the truth is that as the youngest, you don't get first priority on extra classes. It's kinda like you're the add on, and if the timings are convenient, for instance, piano, then you get to join.  Papa has also been trying to teach you to swim. At first, you were quite enthusiastic about it. And then each time after that, it's been as painful as trying to pull teeth to get you to take off your float and swim the very short distance towards us. Now, you just tell us, "I don't want to learn to swim ok? I don't want to take off my float!" alas.

Month No. 46

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For one period last year, you used to say mean things about your sisters all the time, but then you began to learn to praise them and say nice things. Last year, you mostly got along better with jie jie En, and you'd fight a lot with jie jie Min, though when the both of you weren't busy fighting, you actually had more fun together. On the rare occasions last year when the both of you would get along, sometimes the two of you would be the first to wake up and then you would come and snuggle in bed with me, talking together nonstop while I was trying to sleep.

Month No. 47

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But this year, now that jie jie En is in Primary One, and in a different school from you and Min, you are now best friends with Min. Yes, you still fight an awful lot, but the two of you are very close and very good playmates. It's definitely not a relationship where jie jie Min is the leader and you are the follower. There's a lot more power balance between the both of you. But we've never quite had this situation of you and Min being close and sometimes deliberately excluding En before. More so than ever now, I get asked if you and Min are twins. You are both almost the same height and weight and you speak so well and are so well built that some people think you are 5.

Month No. 47
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Some of the funny things you've said these past months include, "The bird was flewing away" when you were actually trying to say that the bird was flying away, as well as asking me in a puzzled way, "Why does the little girl want to lie down in peas?" as you were listening to your Christian CD that had a line which said, "I will lie down in peace". You are also a very diplomatic creature. When asked by ye ye if you liked ye ye or nai nai best, you looked at him and said, "I like grandma the best!" And the other day, you wanted to eat sweets, and papa asked you, "Do you think sweets are good for you?" You looked at him, gave him a pained look, and after a pause, informed him, "I don't want to answer that question!" too clever you are!

Month No. 47

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You are very affectionate, always excited when papa calls from overseas and Facetimes us on the iPhone. You're usually the one who'll tell him that you miss him and ask him where he is and want to check out his room and see his face and tell him things. Sometimes you'll tell him that he is your "good buddy" and at other times, you'll tell him that he is your "bad buddy". But it's usually more of the good buddy now that bad buddy, much to papa's pleasure.

Month No. 48

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You have been so excited about turning 4. You and your sisters are constantly counting the years between you, and you'll sometimes come to me solemnly and ask me, "When can I go to Primary school like jie jie En?" or things like "When I'm in Primary 1, jie jie Min will be in Primary 3, and jie jie En will be in Primary 4? and when I'm in Primary 2, jie jie Min will be Pri 4 and jie jie En will be Primary 5?" I think that perhaps you think there's some chance of catching up with your sisters at some point. You can't wait to join them at their taekwondo classes either, but mummy's too lazy to let you start yet! so for now, you're content trying to imitate your sisters.

Blessed 48th month to a special little girl who wants to be an "ice-cream maker" when you grow up,  the most loving and affectionate little creature around, the one who makes us all laugh with her funny nicknames for us and who wants her hair to be as long as Rapunzel's! May you always bring joy to all around you!

Love, Mummy & Papa!