Three and terrific!

Dear JJ,

You’ve grown by leaps and bounds in the past few months. I utterly enjoy the conversations we have now because you can catch me when I’m telling a joke, or when I said something incorrectly or that doesn’t make sense. It makes me realise that you can call my bluff so I have to be on my toes.

You have graduated from tearful tantrums to using words to express your emotions. Now when you are angry, you will knit your brows together and exclaim, “I don’t want to talk anymore!”

Obviously we all know that’s a promise that you can’t keep, so hearing you say it just makes me want to giggle. But in all seriousness I try to show that I respect your wishes, and I will just purse my lips together and nod.

Even at such a tender age, you seem to know the way to a lady’s heart. Every night you shower me with muacks, and tell me “I love you”. (Aunty Hsing would know this too. Especially after that day you saw her and greeted her with a spontaneous “I miss you”. If I were her I would have melted too.)

Your favourite past-times are riding your strider or skate-scooter pretending you’re as fast as the wind. You also like to play a fireman busy saving the fire, bad guy snowman (courtesy of frozen), and more recently spiderman. Thankfully we haven’t had to peel you off any walls as yet.

You’ve recently started to use our grown up phases back at us. You’d tell me, “Mummy, I’m busy. Don’t disturb me!” or “Mummy, stop talking, eat your food. You cannot talk when you’re eating!” or “Go to sleep now. Stop talking.”

=_=

This year, for your birthday, we gave you unlimited joy rides at the mall. We put heaps of one dollar coins into a cloth purse and let you have free rein. Granted, you’re probably deprived since we normally n.e.v.e.r put any money into the machines (because we think the money could be so much better spent on other things.) But it was fun watching you “drive” those music-spewing cars/helicopters/wagons. (Also having two stowaways made it all the more fun and worthwhile.)

I also tried making fondant monster cupcakes for the first time, and thank our good God that they turned out well. You loved the cupcakes. (I know because you asked me for more, and when it came to bedtime prayer, you thanked God for the monster cupcakes.)

We also made these monster goody cups using tall paper cups. Inside each cup was a stick-on ice-cream tattoo, and some old-school biscuits. I hope your little friends enjoyed these!

I just can’t help but thank God for giving us the grace and helping us ride through this past rather wild year. At some points, we thought we were lost in the woods (and you were some crazy caveboy), but He kept teaching and exhorting us to love and to be patient, and to try new things.

Now, I know that the taste of having fought hard in battle and overcoming, is ever so sweet. Of course, the struggles will still be there, and we’ll constantly have to go on our knees to ask for wisdom and help. But it helps to remember that you, my dear boy, is God’s special gift to us.

You may be three. Or thirty-three. It doesn’t matter. You’ll always be my pot of sunshine joy.

Love, mummy.

PS. if you wanna DIY these goody cups:

• Tall paper cups from Daiso. (I made 6-7 one-inch cuts from the tip of the cup, evenly spaced out. Then folded the rims down, and slotted the last fold beneath the first one, to lock them in place)
• I drew the monsters on the cups using Sharpies. You can find these at the larger Popular stores or at Artfriend.