Burst Of Luminance

Dear Little Bee, 

In this month that you turn 4, may I congratulate you that you are swiftly approaching K1 with confidence and gusto, despite being almost a year younger than many of your classmates. Your zeal and sunny personality creates a powerful affinity with your peers. Your charmingly brilliant smile - showing all your little white milk teeth - endears you to most adults. And your fearless nature without a sliver of shyness ensures that you make many fast friends wherever you go. 

It was not an easy task when I had you in my tummy. You started demonstrating distinct signs of your presence when I bled profusely during my 5th week of pregnancy with you...which never ceased to stop until the 7th month of my pregnancy. This ensures that I treated you with tender, loving care even when you were in my womb, just like how you flourish under our love and attention till now. 

You like to make a strong statement, even when you were in my womb, and till now, your clear, resonant voice in a little seemingly delicate body ensures an overwhelming acknowledgement of your presence. 

You have a streak of steely hardiness in you, which is hidden beneath the facade of your gentle, petite build. You hardly cry, despite stern reprimands or touching movies, and it takes a lot to see tears well in your eyes. Despite your diminutive build, with your peers towering over you, you possess an unwavering courage - you were brave and spirited to swing on a lofty flying fox when more than half your peers cowered in fear. You watched the fearsome T-Rex in Walking With Dinosaurs roared deafeningly with nary a flinch in your wide-open eyes, never raising your hands to cover your ears. 

You have a quirky sense of imagination and humour, never failing to make people guffaw around you with your open, naive nature. Like for example just last night, you made jiu jiu and Popo laugh so hard when you asked Popo how she laid eggs to jiu jiu. 

Most of all, you are highly sensitive to my emotions and moods, and you know exactly the right actions to do and the perfect things to say to banish away those moods. Your sweet lamentations of "I miss you, Mummy" when I was overseas for work always boost up my cheerfulness quotient. Your little reassuring adult-like pats on my arm or back with perpetual utterings of "It's ok, Mummy" when I expressed consternation or fear in front of you makes me confident of facing a future in an uncertain world with you. 

As you approach the big kid age of K1, you are now able to read fairly, largely preferring whole word recognition than phonics, because it is so reflective of you, to want to absorb one big piece of information rather than creating a systematic structure. Your large scrawly handwriting reflects your spontaneous personality. Never one who is meticulous, your sweeping attitude with beaming smiles makes it easy for teachers to close an eye if you cannot complete your work. This is something that Mummy is hoping to improve on as you grow older. 

You are a lot clearer in your diction these days, although your rapid-fire articulation sometimes does reflect your impatient personality. You ask plenty of questions and are not shy to speak out in public, to young or old, and it brings a certain charm to your babyish diction. 

You are so attracted to pretty, attractive trinkets, and bear the early traits of a future shopaholic which I am trying to curb. And you see the world in large strokes of colourful brushes, visualising everything in psychedelic multi-coloured hues, all widely fascinating to you. 

Papa and I are so reluctant to let go of our little baby, unwilling to see you gradually grow older, for we want you to remain forever as our baby. But, despite your babyish traits, we are beginning to see inklings of independence, of mature understanding and empathy in you...and we know you are all poised for the stage of a big kid. 

Happy 4th birthday, my burst of eternal sunshine. 

Your self-drawn portrait