Dear Lina
You are 21 months old!
Your auntie Tamara gave you a set of adorable Hello Kitty ponytail holders earlier this year. You now LOVE to wear them. They’re your absolute favorites. And when I call them “Hello Kitty” you say “Hiya! (waving) Mow!”
You love to make the kitty sound (mow!) and do so whenever you see an actual cat, or any representation of one, however abstract. What cracks me up about this is that you don’t say the kitty sound (mow!) in a playful, fun manner, but instead in a perfectly matter-of-fact, somewhat obligated way. It’s almost like a kitty sound Tourette syndrome thing. Almost.
This past week or so, you’ve finally started showing some affection for a few stuffed animals. Your little panda, which we got for you at the Beijing zoo and used mainly to traumatize you last year, is now your friend. You also have a little brown bear (given to you by a neighbor last year) that you’re no longer ignoring. You’ve been sleeping with the bear for a year, but are only now acknowledging its presence. Publicly, anyway.
Mostly I want to tell you this month how much I enjoy spending time with you, my girl. How whip-smart and communicative you are. How even when we’re both tired and hungry and grumpy at the end of our school day, we work it out. Sometimes I make you a bottle for the ride home from school, and sometimes I just sing “let it snow” until you get into it in spite of your crankiness. When we get home we have a little snack time on the kitchen floor, which has most recently consisted of wheat thins and blocks of pressed tofu. And sometimes pineapple. And wine for Mama.
I love you madly, my little cherub. Thank you for being mine.
Love, Mama
December 6th, 2006 at 07:32
she could be saying, “Mao” being the brilliantly cute little commie that she is.
May 1st, 2007 at 15:37
[...] must add that it’s appropriate that Auntie Tamara gave Lina her first HK item: the holy ponytail holders (say that three times fast). Considering the hours that Tamara and I spent drinking in the church [...]