Quirkily Amazing (and utterly charming) Things About You

- You know your left from your right. And are fairly consistent about it. 

- Recently, you heard me do a "grrrr" voice when something wasn't going so well. Then you heard me say, "Ridiculous!" Now, when you hear me do the "grrrr" voice, you cock your head to one side to look at me with your imploring bright brown eyes and say in your sweet tone, "That's ridiculous, Mommy?" 

- You are getting better at helping with chores. Every night when we prepare for bed, your "jobs" include turning on your lamp, your nightlight and your fan, getting out a diaper and putting your pjs on your bed so they are ready to go after bath. While you do this, Mom or Dad closes your curtains, turns on the a/c and gets your clothes out for the next day. Lately, you have running into your room, hopping onto your bed, saying a quick "hi" to Trumpet and Baby, and then exclaiming, "I do my jobs!" It is awfully cute. Your other "jobs" are putting your dishes in the sink after meals, picking up your toys and putting things in the proper place, taking off your own shoes and socks and retrieving items if you need them. You are becoming such a little helper! 

- Before baths, you like to take off your own diaper. It is so funny to watch how you do this. First, you feel for the tabs. If you can't find them, you push on your tummy to make it go flat so you can see them better. If there is still no luck, you lay down on the floor, stretched out, trying to grab at them. You have developed a lot of patience in the search and always succeed in the end. 

- When we sang this song to you for the first time: 

Five little ducks went swimming one day 

Across the lake and far away 

Momma duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack" 

But only four little ducks came swimming back... 

You bawled. You were so sad that the momma duck was upset about her missing ducklings. But, when we got to the part: 

One little duck went swimming one day 

Across the lake and far away 

Momma duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack" 

And all five little ducks came swimming back! 

You clapped and smiled the biggest smile. You said, "Momma duck's happy now? All the ducks came back! Yay, now they are a family!" 

- Whenever we go to a park, you take a few moments to observe and then you jump in to whatever happens to be going on. You especially love playing with the local kids at San Miguel Village's park. You bring your basketball to shoot hoops with the boys. The girls are particularly sweet with you, helping you with everything even though you can climb, slide, bounce and run all by yourself. You love listening to them all talk in Tagalog and you love to join in their games. We love how courageous and outgoing you are. Being an only child, this is what we hoped for - that you wouldn't be shy to introduce yourself and get involved. 

- You have the best manners of any toddler I know. You say please and thank you more than anyone I've ever heard, including adults. And you are getting so great at greeting people that we pass on our walks. You will say "Good evening!" and "Hello!" and "Hi!" Usually, people smile and return the greeting, but if they don't, you are not phased. You continue babbling on, walking with purpose and spirit. Lately, you have been blowing kisses to strangers, for which your Daddy and I are working with you to stop. Just the other day, you blew a kiss to a stranger, realized what you did, turned around to look at me with a sheepish grin on your face, and proclaimed, "Not to strangers, Mom. Aiston blow kisses to Mommy. No strangers." And then you blew me one. Thatta boy. :) 

- Your motor skills for your age are astounding - both large and small. You can sprint, dive, duck, catch, kick, throw, somersault, dance, bounce, twirl, leap, gallop, jump, splash, push, pull, smack, hop, tackle, roll and skip. You are fast on your feet and you are tough when you tumble. You can cut with scissors, paste, sprinkle, paint, draw and find just about anything, even if it's as tiny as a crumb. You have keen eyesight and a curious mind. You always want to figure out how things work. You observe, experiment, test, retry, ask questions (already!) and make statements. You tinker. You are such a little scientist and make us both very proud. 

Just some fun observations from Mommy! Love you!