Diary of a Proud Parent - My First Born's Terrific Twos

In 10 days time, my first born will be 2 years and 4 months old. Her learning journey has been so eye opening everyday since she turned 2 years old, and has been filled with surprises for us. 

I am constantly amazed by her enthusiasm in conversation - just yesterday she shared her insights about her Sesame Street book, how "Ernie is having a bath with his rubber duckies", and could correctly name all the items in Big Bird's Big Book of B. 

Just last week she had a breakthrough in gross motor skills by mastering pedaling of the tricycle at school. She's also brave enough to conquer the slides, shaky bridges, and swings at the playground, although she is still always wary and looking for ways to climb safely up and down the obstacles. She also loves physical activity now, always asking for permission to kick and scoot her micro to the playroom, or take her 'little people' push along car for a ride to the shops. 

She's also come a long way from being afraid of the pool to enjoying her pool sessions with her Daddy and Uncle - although she still can't swim per se, at least she enjoys being pulled around the pool in her big red car and is even adventurous enough on some days to go on the big water slide under Daddy's supervision. 

Over the weekend when we looked at some paintings she brought home from school, she could describe the process of which she had created that masterpiece, and also inform Daddy of all the colors she had included in the art piece. 

Her love for music and movement is also manifested in her spontaneous 'shake my butt' moments, mimicry of the actions  demonstrated in pictures of other children in her book, and how she  creatively makes her plush toys dance and shake along to music in the taxi or anywhere she hears it. 

She's also started experimenting with symphony - giving me the xylophone and instructing me to play whilst she beat along with her drum, then passing me the drum to beat along with her striking the keys of her mini piano as she tried to play and sing her favorite tunes of 'ABC song', 'Rain Rain Go Away' and 'Do Re Mi song'. She still can't carry a tune properly but at least you can still recognize the lyrics of the songs she's performing amidst the cacophony. 

The most entertaining thing about my two year old daughter is how much she likes to communicate with us. Every night's bedtime routine now includes conversation time whereby she is given the chance to share with us all that has happened to her that day. We prompt her with questions which she eagerly answers with updates about her day at school, or her day out with mummy and daddy. We find out what she remembers and are pleasantly surprised to hear about what motivates her the most everyday, and laugh and tease her about the silly things that might have happened. 

The increasing frequency of her cotside chit-chats with her little baby sister is also most comforting. She introduces the baby to her favorite toys and even allows her sister to embrace these favorites as she sleeps. She even pretend-feeds her baby sister tea after setting up a make believe tea session in her room. Her increasing care and concern for her little baby sister touches my heart, and I rejoice in those precious moments where she gently tries to help me comb her sisters hair, and smiles at me when her sister sneezes or hiccups or grabs her finger. 

My 2 year old toddler has become a little girl and a big sister, and I'm grateful everyday that I can be part of her terrific twos.