Apprentice

Evelyn: Daddy, what's an "apprentice"?
Daddy: It's someone who learns to make things from a master. So a copper's apprentice learns how to make barrels from a copper. A cobblers apprentice learns how to make shoes from a copper.
Evelyn gave it some thought. Then, she said: A princess doesn't make things.
Daddy asks: What does a princess do then?
Evelyn: A princess cleans, dances, and has helpers (ala Cinderella's mice or Snow White's woodland animals).

Yes, that's right, a princess doesn't just sit around dressed all pretty. She cleans and dances, too, and maintain friendships with little animals. I'll take that.

Old

"How old are you, Mommy?" Evelyn asked one day.
"Old," I said, knowing that at the tender age of 3, being 4 means she's quite mature, 5 is all grown up, and at 6, one certainly could drink/drive/get married/rule a country.
So, she pondered a bit on my response, and then, "TWENTY?" She said, in an exaggerated tone, as if that is an astonishingly "old" number and I just could not possibly be older then that.
"Yes," I laughed, "20."

I still remember coming home from school one day after we learned the names associated to the stages of life, and told my mother, who was then in her thirties, that she is approaching mid-life. Upon hearing this, her eyes went wide (not quite wild, but almost), she gasped and stuttered indignantly about how foolish my remark was, and how the label of being "middle age" is not going within 20 feet of her, never mind applied to her.

It's funny how the perspective of time changes as more time passed in our lives. I remember an hour being forever when I was little. Yet now, an hour is nothing. A bat of an eye. A turn of a page. Seasons come and seasons pass. A year goes by faster than I can acclimate to the new number shown on the calendar. My mother, who is now really in her middle age, told me that at her stage of life, 10 years is but a unit. If the passage of time was a little creak winding through sun speckled woods when we began our lives, its force gathers and speed increases as we travel through life until it's a roaring river rumbling by.

I don't know how many times people would stop to smile at the little ones, and warn me "they grow up too quickly." "I know," I always reply, for I really do feel it, even though they are still young. My newborn is about to turn one next month, and the older child did not hesitate to wave goodbye when dropped off at school. If I could, I would be bottling up everything I felt right now into jars to be smelled, tasted, and felt later. Unfortunately, memories don't work that way. I can only take pictures and video tape them whenever I can, trying to capture and archive forever what life is like now. And melt into their embraces every time I hold them, cherishing the feeling of their warm, soft bodies against mine.

House rules

One.
As the father of the children grew up here and is an avid sports fan:
"Evelyn, what do you say about Red Sox and Yankees?"
"Yeah Red Sox! (with thumbs up) Boo Yankees! (with thumbs down)"
"And what happens if you say Boo Red Sox?"
"No dessert!!"

Two.
We want our girls to be well mannered. Therefore, after each meal, the one that can already speak needs to ask for permission before she can leave the table. Sometimes, getting her to do so is harder than pulling out a tooth. For example, after lunch today she started sliding off her chair without saying anything. Her Nanny (Grandmother) stopped her mid-slid and asked her what she should say. Evelyn begin to play dumb. This and that she'd chat, just not what we wanted to hear. Hints were given. No bite. Finally, I told her she needs to ask the magic question or else she can't leave.
"Today's magic word is Abracadabra!" she declared. "And the longer version is Evelyn-Lauren-Mommy-Janey. Oh, and Janey ate a green dinosaur." On and on she spun a tale of how Janey ate a green dinosaur. The story ended with "And that's today's magic word."
It was clear that she knows what was expected of her. It was also clear that she was not going to deliver and would go to great lengths to avoid doing so. It gotten so bad that her Nanny had to cover her mouth and turn away for her desire to laugh was about to take over. Finally, her Nanny made today an exception and set her free. Or else, I could see us, at 3 in the afternoon, still sitting there with me asking her about the magic question, and with her spinning her tale.

"I love my body"

I forgot what we were talking about, but Evelyn all of a sudden told me "I love my body. I love myself."
Two short sentences that she uttered matter of fact-ly. Life seen from a toddler's point of view. Two short sentences that carry so much meaning in a world in which people battle with body image. I wish I could bottle her self love and confidence up to dole it out if she ever felt down about herself. I wish I could help her feel that way about herself through out her life.

How much?

The setting: Migo is Evelyn's auntie's dog. She's also Evelyn's "favorite, favorite dog in the whole world." In fact, the day after we came back from visiting Evelyn's aunties and Migo, Evelyn told me that she "misses Migo so much." This conversation took place during our visit.

Auntie Alicia: Evelyn, how much do you love Migo?
Evelyn: So much!
Auntie Alicia: How much?
Evelyn: Two hours much!

I suppose when one has only been in this world for 3 years and some months, an hour could seem so, very, very long. And to love another being as much as two hours long, now that, is an astronomical amount.

Marrying

"I want to marry." Evelyn declared quietly after another story with a happily-ever-after ending.
"Who do you want to marry?" I asked.
She pointed at me a bit shyly but determinedly, "mommy," making me laugh.
I've heard of stories of little boys or girls saying that they want to marry their mommy or daddy, but hearing it from my own daughter still touches and trickles me tremendously.
"You'll grow up one day, fall in love with a boy, and marry him," I told her after I caught my breath.
"First mommy, then boy," was her solution.
For the rest of the afternoon, whenever I asked her to come hold my hand, be it going down stairs or walking into the parking lot, she'd run over crying "I wanna marry you!" before she takes my hand.
And I love you, too, little girl.

Table manner

We've been teaching the little girl that she must ask for permission before she leaves the dinner table.
At the end of dinner tonight, I could well tell that the thought of pooping was forming in her head. "Let's go poopy," said her dad as he walked around the table to help her off her booster, and I hurriedly took her crumb filled bib.
"Come on, down the front, down the front," her father urged her. She crabbed tight to the booster's side and won't let go. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," she said.
"Come on, let's go to the bathroom," her father encouraged.
"I want to talk," she said firmly.
Then, she turned over to me, looked at me calmly and asked "may I get off, please?"
"Yes, you may," a surprised me replied with a heart filled with pride and joy.

Sandwich

Bedtime. The little girl and her father lay side by side on her narrow twin bed for a bedtime story. I sat on the nearby rocker, and settled down for a few minutes of rest with this very enjoyable view.
"Mommy, come here," the little girl demanded. I very reasonably pointed out that there was no more room on the bed. She thought about it for a second.
"Make a sandwich!" she exclaimed, and wiggled herself to stack on top of her father. Sure enough, now there's space beside her just enough for me to squeeze in and layer on top of her to form the sandwich.
I laughed. There was just no escaping, was there?

The Becoming of Darth Vadar: as told by a two year old

Describing how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vadar, the two and a half year old told me: "Anakin has red eyes, big boo-boos, put mask on."

I Read

Do know that the little girl is currently 2 and a half years old.
The only alphabet she recognizes is "E".

When we're with the little girl's aunties, mommy is no longer the most important person in the world. No matter what she does, the "A-Yi's" have to be near. When she was getting ready for bed, it was A-Yi she wants as the person to brush her teeth. I had to tease her and open the can of worms that should have been left undisturbed.
"You want A-Yi?" I asked.
"Yes." She said.
"So mommy can leave you here and you'll be fine?" I asked.
"Yes." She said.
"How about if mommy go home and you live here with A-Yi's by your self?" I just had to ask."
"Okay." She said, actually not too surprisingly.
I could only laugh, and kick myself for even having to go there.

Then, during bedtime story, the little one of course only wants A-Yi to read it.
A-Yi said she wants to hear it, too, as this is a new story to her. So, I opened the book and began reading.
"No, no. Don't speak, don't read!" the little girl protested, and covered my mouth with her hand.
"You don't want me to read?" I asked.
"Yes. I read." She replied.
"Okay, you read." I held the book and stayed quiet, letting her take the rein.
We all stayed still and waited for her to pick up where I left off.
She stared at the page for a minute, as if mulling things over, then, she turned over to me and said, if a bit sheepishly, "I can't read."
"You can't read?"
"I can't read." She admitted quietly. "I can't read. You read."
Well, at least she knows her limits.

"Finger is better"

"Finger is better!" says a serious Evelyn when her dad asked her to stop picking her nose and go get a tissue instead.