Four months to her third birthday.
I haven't really updated her progresses in the past few months, but I thought I'd do a little updating this round, considering that those who pray for her read my blog.
Physically, she is tall and muscular for her age - and fits well into the 3-4 years old range when it comes to clothes. We owe it to her sporting/climbing activities (she can climb in and out of her own cot), her love for milk and her avocado breakfasts! (She is not an adventurous eater though.) She tries out a lot of "moves" out on her own - jumping and twisting, side-skipping, hopping on one leg, etc. I plan to start her on dance classes sometime in the next few months.
Emotionally, she is interesting at this age.
Toddler tantrums and rebellion are still daily affairs (I am not expecting them to disappear any time soon) - and yet, from time to time, she can do or say the most unexpectedly thoughtful things that make my heart melt. The other day, we were out in the drizzle without an umbrella. I was carrying her and hurrying into the shade as quickly as I could. Sophie put her hands on her head to keep it from getting wet, looked at me, saw that my head was uncovered, and put one hand on my head. "Let me cover your head too, mummy!" We laughed because it was both sweet and cute. It takes a moment like this to snuff out another chaotic episode in the background. In my heart, I hope that she'll continue to grow in her compassion for others.
She's of course a very humorous person like I mentioned before, which shows up in many of the photos we take nowadays. The weird stances, monkey faces, and winks are never our idea. She then takes delight in our shocked, half-annoyed-half-amused reactions to them. Other than photos, she is into teasing us by purposely giving us the wrong answers to our questions so that we jump. Ask her where is her tummy, and she might point to her head with a giggle bubbling to her lips. Or she might say, "This is my ankle..." while pointing to her elbow with a cheeky, anticipating smile.
The questions she asks have multiplied from "What" and "Who" to "How" and "Why". Even if she knows the answer, she asks again and again and again. The other day, she asked her grandpa, "Yeh-yeh, what is die?" There was an awkward silence (poor grandpa... I was on my way out of the house so I didn't come to his rescue), so I don't think he answered her question. The truth be told, I think she already has an idea of what it means. (The night before that, she dreamt that I was dying and going away permanently.) Yup, it's a hard subject, this one.
Anyway, Sophie got hooked on Peppa Pig cartoons! We allow her to watch it because of the simple story-lines, good English (it's British animation), and how educational it can be. The characters aren't the best role models for good behaviour, and I am aware of that. But then again, it's just a cartoon and they are all junior animals - it's as real as it can get, so why sweat the small stuff? I try to explain to Sophie as gently as I can why certain behaviours are inexcusable - but I think that going to school and being with a wider social circle will reinforce the lessons, no worries. Personally, I like Peppa (the pig) because I find her personality rather similar to Sophie in the sense that she's not into following the crowd, she's creative, she's curious... and even while a little bossy and abrupt at times, she can be kind and sweet at heart. I adore Mummy Pig for always being so cool, wise, and calm regardless of what trouble her piglets (and Daddy Pig) make - I think she is the one all children should want to emulate. The cartoon won my heart for being real and down-to-earth - none of the preachy-preachy stuff that Sophie already gets from us, haha.
Socially-wise, she is still very shy with strangers and takes longer to warm-up to some than others. It really depends if you are a soft-spoken person or loud and bold; woman or man, easy-going or intense, motherly or not, etc. We have friends whom she's been seeing for months, who love her and all... but she is still very reserved around them. Oh well. In unfamiliar social surroundings, she sticks to me (especially) like a limpet on a rock and can be very nervous. (I think she got this from her mom.) Otherwise, she is pretty talkative.
Spiritually, the little girl is blossoming in God's time. We don't really have a fixed "plan". We maintain a nightly bedtime prayer routine, pray whenever we feel like, and talk about God whenever we need to. It's all casual, gentle and easy, as we are led. It must have been God's wisdom for her parents; Sophie now thanks God whenever we find empty parking lots in the carpark, she asks me to pray for her whenever she feels afraid (e.g. afraid of the scab falling off her arm), and looks forward to going to church. The other day, I was amazed when she suddenly said, "Mummy, X jie jie will not be sick anymore. Daddy prayed for her."
There you go, folks. Please pray that Sophie will adapt to her playschool/daycare routine as soon as she begins in February! :)
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