Journey of a Kumquat: Week 158 and Week 71.5

We are back to normal. Sherry and Larry left but not before a fun and memorable meal of Indian food and roti prata done a hundred ways (I have determined that roti prata is the fattier cousin of pancakes here). I am working less and spending more time with Sophia in the mornings and that is GREAT. I just finished the Singapore Yacht Show (a small scale trade show) for Matt's company - trying to sell paint to rich yacht goers. Hopefully someone will bite...

Saw some beautiful babies this week - lovely Maisha and Poyraz. Great to catch up with their moms too!

Before Charlotte's birthday for about a month I read to her "The Happy Birthday Book" by Dr. Seuss (that lovely Olivia D. gave to her for her 2nd birthday). This book is not a trivial read - a good ten minutes I would guess with fast reading. I promised her that I would read it to her every night before her birthday. It was great great fun. Charlotte loves to ask questions (about why the cat is scared, about why the birthday bird wears a hat, about why the animals don't go into the tunnels of the Birthday Pal-alace) and we rowed and conducted. It became sort of a ritual. I was a bit sad when her birthday came around (though I suppose nothing is stopping me from continuing reading this).

Charlotte also asked why the mom is not in the "Where The Wild Things Are" book. I had no answer for this.

We have begun the era of tantrums with Sophia. Our mostly mild mannered daughter now cries at the drop of a hat (though it seems to be with a reason, like leaving the park or having to be buckled into a car seat of a stroller). Yesterday I took Sophia out and she was inconsolable as I was trying to put her in the car seat. She was crying, I was hot (out of embarrassment), my dumb skirt was too tight (don't get any ideas, just a basic denim mini) and I could not maneuver well, the door could only open half way because of the skinny parking spaces... and Sophia was writing around and nearly fell out of her chair. It was a comedy of errors but nobody was laughing.

Sophia is almost talking. You can ask her questions and she says yea or no (as I mentioned before) and wants to see Elmo and her A-tay (big sister in Tagalog) when she gets up. Susie's cat Tiger sleeps in our front yard; Sophia points at him and says "mow."

Charlotte tells time with her fancy new Hello Kitty watch. She pulls up her face and definitively tells you the time - "6:42." "5:23." I know that she cannot read (a digital face) and the time is nowhere from being correct - but her confidence in telling the wrong time is alluring.

We also have unearthed Charlotte's brother Sophia - he is a bear that came home with Sophia from the hospital. She now sleeps with him and Barney.

Sophia enjoys tortilla chips on Charlotte's birthday: