My dear little boy,
I never thought I would have a blond child. And here you are. People have looked at you and commented on how light your hair is and how unusual it is coming from a child with a Chinese mother. I guess this is a hint that there might be some Dutch blood somewhere in my ancestry back when they colonized Taiwan, huh?
You are a mommy's boy at this point. Sometimes, in my arms, you would lean back and look at me for no apparent reason, as if just so you can peer into my eyes. Flirt. At almost 17 months old, you don't have as many words as your sisters did at the same age. The term you used most, though, is Mama. Ma~ma, you would call in a singsong hi-low tone, sometimes to get my attention, sometimes just for fun. You'd call me from on top of our little indoor slide, as if asking my permission to slide down. You'd call me from a couple steps up our stairs when I accidentally left the stair gate open, as if tell me trouble is afoot if I don't come stop you. You'd call me again and again from the back seat of the car, as if... I don't know, why DO you do it? It is very cute. You don't like it if someone else is in my arms. Jealously would drive you to push the person, or pull their hair while you loudly protests. You don't even like someone taking my place. I sent Lauren into our bed the other day as I shower. You woke up, was not happy seeing her in my spot, and tried to push her off. Child, territorial much?
You love to climb. Evelyn has caught you sitting on top of our high dinner table. Without help, you climbed onto a dinning chair, and then made your way up to the table. You have no problems with stairs, and, if I read you correctly, you placed your sisters' bunk bed ladder and the kitchen stool next on your to-be-conquered list.
You love to play in water. Whenever we start a bath, you'd be the first to report for de-robing, impatiently trying to swing your leg over the lip of the tub. Once in the tub, you fill toys, splash water, kick, stomp, and have a grand time. Water on your face does not bother you a bit. You'd sit there with water drops hanging on your eyelashes, nose, and cheek, look up, and give me this big, happy smile.
I am not sure how interested you are in learning to speak. I have not been able to make you repeat sounds that I make. You have very specific ideas on what words you would like to master, such as hi and bye, please and no, and "go", as in dog in Chinese. Even so, you are able to express yourself quite well through the use of gestures and signs. Formal signs, like more, and your own inventions, such as patting your chest with both open hands to tell me you want, or patting at your bottom to tell me you need a diaper change. And if you need help, you would come grab my hand, lead me over to the specific spot, and pull my hand towards whatever it is you need help with. Though without many words, you do love to sing. Not yet a chatter box, you hum and sing all day long, especially on car rides. More impressively, you've gone from being loud to testing out tunes.
"Baba" from Ba-Ba Black Sheep, and "E-I-E-I-O" from Old McDonald are frequent snippets you repeat. When I sing, you'd stare at my lips, as if studying how I am making the sounds. Last night in bed, all you want is the first line of Ba-Ba Black Sheep. "Ma~ma, baba," you'd order, and I will sing you the lines. "Ma~ma, baba," you'd ask again. Sometimes, you'd switch it up by signing for more. But if I sing another song, you would kick your legs to tell me I got it wrong. So back to Ba-Ba Black Sheep it went.
Other than songs, you also love books and stories. With very distinct preference, too. At bed time, you'd fetch books over for us to read. Sometimes, you'd look for specific pages, or flip through sections you don't like. Favorites include From Head to Toe, Hop on Pop, Dr. Seuss's ABC, and King Bidgood's Bathtub. On the mornings when I have to leave for school early, your daddy can often get you settled in with your sister for a book or two while he takes his shower. I love the sight of you and Evelyn snuggled together in the big green chair, or rather, you falling into her because of the curvature, light streaming in from behind, a book opened in front, and your eyes trained on the pages. Lauren running around in the back ground gathering things from the dresser or playing with a doll.
You love playing with Lauren. You often follow wherever she goes. When your shorter stature prevents you from catching up, you'd stop and call her back. Often times, you'd play chase, her running for you to catch. Being four, she is much bigger and much faster than you, easily overtaking you, which means the chasee is lapping the chaser, yet that never breaks the game. You would continue to run, doing rounds around the house, sprinkling the air with laughter. Sometimes at bed time, you would want to snuggle into bed with her. When you are able to lay still for a minute, you'd turn towards her, close enough to touch noses, and laugh. Except you can't lay still. You'd kick and pull and toss and turn until she calls out to me to "take him away! Take him away!"
You are quite good at learning things from your sisters. You'd happily go "me!" with them when asked who wants certain things. And yesterday, we played a humming game in the car. Evelyn would tell us "ready, set, go!" and everyone would start humming. Whoever needs to take a breath first loses. After a couple of times, you were right there humming with us. By the time we got home, you were going "Go! M~~~". And of course, we need to give them credit for helping you learn how to defend for yourself. If someone is coming for something that you are not willing to give up, you'd instinctively hold it close to your body, turn slightly away from the person, and shake your head no. If the person does not back off, a scream will emit from your tiny body, shrill and ear shattering.
You love animals. Often fascinated by these moving bodies be they big (tigers) or small (caterpillars), close (doggy leaping by my feat) or far (guppies in the fish tank). You love the iPad. A true digital native, you know how to unlock it, what to do, and already have preferred apps. I can go on and on about every little thing about you. Faults on me. I have neglected these journals and left so much unrecorded, and now, I must stop this ever growing entry.
In your bed, after I turn off the light, we'd sometimes look for the moon when it is extra bright. Side by side, we'd peer through the windows to find the silver disc. If I lean away to look at you, you'd pull me back to make sure I'm seeing the moon as you are. The moon may be beautiful, but it is not more beautiful or magical than this sense of your cheek against mine, and our breath misting up the window in one foggy patch. I love you.
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