I've slacked off tracking Sofia's development, terrible because my memory is so bad I .zip everything 2 years old, then lose the password- ha.
She's the embodiment of Terrible 2, maybe even worse than Arissa, in terms of temperament (Hafidz's gene on that one, who else). A typical tantrum would involve a big audio-visual show of anger- a lot of yelling and hair pulling, followed by a contortionist act of twisting and turning then finally lying down flat on the floor. Big Sis has been bearing the brunt of her angst- taking the blows, hair pulling, screaming episodes in stride. She hardly ever fights back, as we taught her not to, but I'm not sure she should be as docile in real world when faced with a school bully.
For sometime now, she has begun speaking 3-worded sentences, things like "Mummy, nak shu-shu" for milk and can converse sparingly. I remember the night we left Arissa at Mum's for her first solo road-trip with my parents to KL, the car ride home was exceptionally quiet without Big Sis' incessant chatter. Sofia turned to look at Arissa's empty car seat and asked worriedly:
"Where Kakak?"
"Kakak with Nenek and Atok"
"Nenek House?"
"Yes"
My heart was bursting with pride at the level of understanding she has begun to exhibit, at the same time it protested that the Last Born (for now?!) is growing up too soon!! For a few days afterwards, she was glum and sad-faced :(. "Rindu kakak dia lah ni, cuma tak tau macam mana nak cakap", commented my MIL.
By virtue of having an older playmate from the start and very limited space to accommodate age-appropriate toys for 2 kids, she was always into Big Girls toys. The other day Hafidz reported she and Arissa were play-pretending to be shoppers in a mall. I even have pictures Arissa took on my camera as they rummaged through our wardrobes for clothing pieces and accessories to use as props in this play. I'm just relieved these 2 are actually playing together instead of fighting off each other for my attention.
I've enrolled her into a trial 2 week session in a Playgroup next year, who knows how she will react to it but cousins and relatives are betting that she will be quite a handful seeing how hard-headed/independant she can be. I think some avenue for creative freedom is critical for development, plus I'm not renewing the Helper's contract when it ends in February as helpful and lovely as she has been so far, and despite some quarter's suggestion that we should re-employ. I just want my privacy back, thank you very much!
Perhaps Sofia takes after me in the hard-headed and independent department after all...
In spite of my failing memory, I recall clearly the feeling I got kissing Sofia for the 1st time in the delivery room- one of expectancy. The fact that I had 'expected' her to be a replica of our First Born was flushed down the toilet long ago, but I'm still grappling with a new personality in the house. Whatever her mood might be though, she remains as hug-able and kissable as the baby we took home in 2009.
Melaka, 2011