DUMPLING

That's my new nickname for her. Inspired by the nursery rhyme 'Diddle Diddle Dumpling' . I notice that she has put on a little bit of weight and not look so scrawny and 'kerempeng' like she used to. She's getting a little heavy for me to carry with just one arm, but I've come to terms with that. She can cling to me all she wants now. I've stopped complaining the day Tok chuckled at me when I lamented to her about Nunu's 'merap' ways and said, "Sebijik macam mak dia masa kecik!" (exactly like her mom when she was small!)

So, this month she turns 28 months, what else is new with the little rugrat? It's difficult to keep track of a two year old, isn't it? Not only is she growing at rapid speed (except the hair, maybe) which is overwhelming enough, the urge to mentally note (much less, blog about) every single new thing about them has waned. Either that or I have grown too old and slow at this. I don't know how some mothers do it. Ugh, I think I need a major mental replumbing and rewiring.

Of course, she's at her cutest at this age. If we're not having one of those 'showdowns', she's actually a very eager to please girl. Unlike most kids at her age who resist affection sometimes, she absolutely loves giving me hugs and kisses, with tender "Mmm, sayang sangat2 momma". You bet I melt like a popsicle. I hope this would last for at least a couple more years. I don't think I can function without her daily smooches.

I don't know if I should be worried, but despite our efforts to speak mainly in English at home, she talks mostly in Malay now, with English words peppered in between her sentences at times. It occurred to me that her manner of speech is a lot like her Abg Damiral, the nanny's younger son. If she's being scolded for something she's done wrong, she'd immediately defend herself and say, "Bukan, dia nak (insert self-defending phrase)", not I, saya, or kakak, or Nuha. For some answers, when she's supposed to say 'yes' or 'ya' or 'ahah' or 'yup' or at least, 'ha', she says 'naaa' instead. Weird, but that's how Damiral talks, and that's not a typical northern slang.

Apart from the speech and vocab growth, I don't think she learnt any new vital skills just yet. She can talk alright, but she won't tell me she has poop in her diaper until she's all done. She's still in the habit of purposely AND absent-mindedly putting things in her mouth and chewing things that she's not supposed to, like her cardboard jigsaw puzzles. So obviously, she's not really interested in puzzles, except for making a mess of them of course. Same goes for arts and crayons. She has no patience for them. So do I.

What she's really good at, I notice, is at 'reading'. It's wonderful to see how she loves 'looking' (not actually reading right?) at her books and 'discussing' them with me that make me think, "Oh, how clever she is to be thinking and saying that." If she doesn't know something, she would ask me non-stop until she's satisfied, and not long after that, she would be making her own opinion about it.

And let's not forget the TV watching. I'd giggle every time she says she wants to watch 'Anakemi Fantasha' because her favourite part is reciting the sponsors' list, "mayfirst... hotlink... maybelline, nu yok.... dot.com." It's hilarious! Here's something that she picked up from a Malay drama, I think.



Translation: Jangan buat giler!