TURNING 20

I wish I have the luxury of writing a detailed (borrowing Nad's term) 'progress report' about Nunu, as I find that overall she has bloomed in such a way that I cannot point out how much she has grown and and in what way she has changed.

But I shall try my best, fleeting as those moments maybe.

For several weeks now, Nunu has been downgraded to being a backseat passenger. I finally got her a decent car seat that didn't have to cost a bomb, after she's outgrown the old crappy seat and has found a way to release herself from the flimsy straps. So you can see in the picture here that she is securely (and happily) restrained. I can finally get my mind at peace, knowing that I've done my best protecting her from potential harm.

Speaking of car safety, is anyone aware that objects that are not secured in the car pose potential danger too? Read some articles in Reader's Digest about several issues, and it seems that although the US has tough laws of car safety for children, a lot of auto deaths involving children now are due to flying objects during a crash, and accidents when the car is being backed out. So a quick reminder to parents, keep your car clutter free, and always know where your children are before you back out the car.

Anyway, my initial fear that she'd kick up a fuss once she realised the status change was unfounded. The transition was a breeze, and she hardly disturbs me while driving nowadays. If she's in a chatty mood, she'd ask me to sing for her favourite songs, or demand to watch some videos on my mobile phone. Otherwise, she's be happy basking in quiet companionship & looking at passing vehicles.

Goodness, I miss those times, when she would pester me to read "Three Blind Mice" and other rhymes in her tattered book over & over again during our daily commute. How I wish ones of these days, she would pick up that book again & shouts, "Ma! Dong-bell!", and I'd launch into my opera act & warble the lines to my own tune, theatrics and all, solely for self-amusement at first, but I noticed that she enjoys & appreciates my creativity by smiling and giggling at the right places :)

In terms of speech, she has started to say 'the darnest things'. Milk, that used to be 'meek', is now 'milko', sometimes 'milk-koh'. In my attempt to put emphasis on good pronunciation, she backfires with over-exaggerated accent :)

She's also in the habit of speaking with a distinct slur of some sort, like she's dragging the last syllable of the word and join it with an 'eh' or 'ah' in a 'meleweh' style, prolly her way of communicating a request, and expecting a response or an answer. For example, "Mama andi (mandi), ah?" "Mama, nak kut (biskut), eh"

She's a pro at drinking from the cup now. I can trust her taking her milk from a cup without major spillage. Bottles might be tossed out by next month.

She's a habitual chair & table climber (and other worthy furniture) . No amount of disciplinary action taken against her could dissuade her from pursuing such dangerous stunts. Great thing about this is, I don't have to tell her to sit on her booster chair during mealtimes, she would gladly climb up the seat & attempt to buckle herself up. That, she still need me for :)

She's very into Afi & Abah, Bob the Builder and Thomas & Friends, but she only watches the telly when the songs are on. I had to listen to the theme songs and memorize the whole darn lyrics coz she would occasionally demand me to sing these songs on a whim. I've taken to recording these theme songs on my mobile and let her loose with it. It proved to be a fairly fabulous idea to entertain her this way during our drive up to KL last week. Very very well behaved, that girl, alhamdulillah. The downside is, she might think that the phone belongs to her one of these days :)

Her latest antic is singing 'Burung Kakak Tua'... in her own tune & style. Momma's girl indeed!