AN at 3 Years Old

"Adrielle is not going back to Singapore. Adrielle likes to be here in my house."

She's been watching us pack for the past month and accepting that some toys once packed and sealed, will not be taken out and played with till we reach. So, she's been selecting some that she particularly likes to be sealed up last and some that I've decided to bring with us in the luggage so that she does not have to wait 6-7 weeks before she sees them again.

And she's been telling people we meet that we are "going back to Singapore" and how things have to be sent back in boxes.

I think it was when Mr Liow was packing in the last few of her favourite toys when she finally had the last straw and commented: "Adrielle is not going back to Singapore" and that she likes her house here.

She DOES love it here in actual fact. There's so much freedom, so many things to see, and life for her here had been so carefree. She might not have understood it when I told her that she will have to go to school in Singapore but she repeated what I said to my MIL, saying: "When I go back to Singapore, I will have to go to school you know?"

And whenever we leave the house to get necessities these last few days, she will go: "Let's get (whatever she has in mind) for my little brother. He will need this in Singapore." My big girl has already asked to buy many toys for her little brother and surprisingly, she really mean them for him! She will try the toys out for a short while and insist we pack them in the boxes for him so that we do not forget to bring it back with us.

She complains about Baileys and Maen disturbing her (whenever they try to lick her) but when Baileys and Maen get rejected by others (be it guests or us), she jumps to their defence and says: "They just want to lick you, because they love you!"

I left a sleeping AN in the room while I went downstairs to pack BM's stuff a while ago, believing she will remain asleep till at least 3am or later (she doesn't sleep through the night but hardly wakes up at 1.30am too) and I could get some things done. It must be her cough and she DID wake up, sobbing badly and pleading on the steps: "Mummy, don't leave me upstairs! I don't like mummy to leave me alone upstairs." hehe.

She sounded so pitiful she made me feel terribly sorry I left her alone in a completely dark room with lots of stuff sprawled across the floor to be packed in the luggage. She could have tripped and fell while trying to find her way out of the room to look for me. My poor baby.

This girl has started to call her papa "Daddy" since months ago. We are still unsure why she decided to call him "dad" and sometimes "daddy" instead of "papa". Sounds endearing to me but Mr Liow prefers to be addressed "papa" but he did not bother to make her change how she's calling him. Our cheeky 3 yrs old has upgraded her own status and started calling us "dear dear" sometimes now. It's adorable when she calls us that (she calls her daddy "dear dear" more often than she calls me that but she does. Cute. Hehe.)

AN has lots of tricks and ideas up her sleeves, exactly like her daddy. I think she has his character (his resourcefulness and wits).

My MIL is enjoying AN to the max now that she's here. Mostly other than times when AN is extremely needy of me (when it's near nap or bedtime, during meals and when she needs to pee or poop), AN will stay beside granny so I can do some packing here and there. I'm sure my mum is drooling. She's dying to see AN again.

AN is an angel, our dear dear angel. There are times we wonder how she could be THAT unbelievably stubborn. At other times, she's pure joy to chat with and watch. Punishments for wrong behaviour is ncessary and I noticed correction seems to be taking place, finally. She is now willing to take steps towards me instead of stubbornly insist I go right next to her to bring her either up or down the stairs, even when I am busy or somewhere else. She realizes it's wrong to shout AFTER she's raised her voice or be rude and will come near to hug me.

To round it up, AN at 3 years old is a more exaggerated version of herself at two. If she was stubborn at 2, she is now doubly stubborn. She was sweet, attentive and compassionate at 2 and at 3 years old now, she is generous with hugs and concern for anyone who falls or is feeling unwell.

I hope she doesn't change too much when we go back. Not as if being in Singapore will change her character. I think I'm just tired. Hehe. Bed time again!