Dear Phoebe,
Gosh, how time has passed! It's been remiss of me for not having written sooner. You've grown a fair amount since I last put down my thoughts. It is no secret you have been surprising family, friends of ours and even your teachers with your vocabulary and general development. One remarked you seem brighter than your contemporaries, a statement to which I quietly beamed with pride. Perhaps a good way to collect and have a record of prominent happenings would be to jot down the first ten things that come to mind. In this vein, here is my list:
- You love to mimic words and do so well. You make an effort to follow when I recite the alphabet or count up to ten (you like 2 and 8). You are good at spotting and naming creatures. Your current repertoire contains the following, some of which are pronounced in your unique baby way - cat, dog or doggie, monkey, kangaroo, penguin, elephant, lion, tiger, giraffe (this is said "rah!" with emphasis), hippo, bird, owl, rabbit, pig, whale, bear, bug, ant, duck, chicken, lizard, frog, dragon-fly, bat, horse, sheep, butterfly, bee, cow (this used to be dow) and mosquito. I'm sure I've forgotten to include others. Lately, your favourite statement is "mosquito bite me, Mama" as you point to a mark on your leg. You also like the word fire engine. Your first sentence was, "I bang head".
- You know the names of all your classmates and some of the teachers. I think you missed them over the holiday as you would occasionally run through their names - Ivy, Emmie, Maja, Dawn, Indie-Kai, Cullen, Jaxyn (whom you call Jacken) and Miss Monica (who is Moditah)
- Recently, you've started rehearsing family names (spelt according to your pronunciation) - Ye Ye, Nai Nai, Shiao Gu, Da Gu, Shiao Shu, Kor Kor, Di Di, Aunty Banga.
- You are very helpful at daycare and you voluntarily and enthusiastically assist me with unloading the dishwasher whenever you see me working on that task. You even attempt to do a bit of spot cleaning, which comprises of grabbing a dry sponge from one of the kitchen drawers and busily brushing it across a random patch on the floor often because you've just watched me wipe up a mess.
- You still kick Papa and I a good amount in your sleep.
- You are a great traveller and an entertaining companion. We were on a road trip through farmland from Robe to Melbourne on Boxing Day and you suddenly piped up completely unprompted, "bush fire!". No one had mentioned the word but you looked out towards the dry, golden fields and declared the phrase repeatedly. Victoria has endured bush fires since your accurate pronouncement of such disaster.
- When you start to fuss and get cranky in the car, I can usually calm you down by narrating books of yours that I have memorised and singing songs at request like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; Wheels on the Bus; Row, Row, Row Your Boat; Incy Wincy Spider; Humpty Dumpty and ABC.
- You love fruits - Nana, peach, stowbewwy, boo-bewwy, apple...
- You can spot a Minion and Dora (we picked up a bunch of educational Dora books for free one day) from a mile away and will yell, "Minion! Doorwa!"
- You love to wear my bra as a necklace and you think it's funny to poke at my bum when I'm getting dressed in the bathroom and shout, "bum!"
You'll forever be my most favourite Phoebe.
Oh, I must mention that you've invented your own form of push-up and will randomly perform this exercise with accompanying sound effect, "ho-hee, ho-hee!" If ever I wish for you to demonstrate this display, I simply need to instruct you with that phrase. It's hilarious and adorable. I mustn't forget to record it on video.
Love, Mama
