RSS

Happy 3rd Birthday

A slightly late post but hey better late than never :)

My "first baby" (as she describes herself these days) has turned three. I dont know where the 3 years went. It felt like the blink of an eye. 'You will say the same thing when she turns 20,' experienced people tell me.

As far as my girl is concerned, this has to be the most tumultous year in her short life. The calm and peace of the first two years was shattered with some major changes in her life. A month and a half after her second birthday, she became a big sister- a role that she has now learnt to enjoy.
                                         ("Who is that?" she asked when she first saw him)


Initially she was baffled by this new being who had entered her household. I remember reading this somewhere:

Imagine that you and your husband are leading a happy, married life. One fine day, your husband tells you 'Honey, I am getting a new wife'. And this new young and beautiful woman joins your life. Suddenly everyone's attention is on her. Wherever you go, people are commenting about how cute and young the new wife looks. How would you feel? Thats exactly how your child feels when it gets a sibling.

Deep, eh? It took Mehreen 3 months to get used to the idea of having another baby in the house. In those 3 months, her insecurity was hard to stand by and watch. But she quickly overcame it and fit into the role of big sister with ease. She started enjoying it- not without occassional episodes of jealousy, insecurity or plain hatred. But hey, thats how even we adults are. So can we expect more from kids?


Another major change was that she started nursery. On Day 1 when I took her into school, she skipped into the classroom without so much as even a 'bye'. It felt like someone had taken away an organ from my body. I waited around for a bit, in case she cried. But not her. So I went back home and the minute I stepped in, I get a call saying she is bawling her eyes out.

And thus began a month of another rigmarole. She would be escorted into the classroom screaming. And she would be screaming when I went to pick her up. the teachers assured me that she stopped crying the minute I left but it didnt convince me. Soon the tears turned into a fake cry that lasted 10 seconds when she saw me. That then turned into sheer joy and laughter. I was glad that I put her into nursery when I did. A lot of people told me what an atrocity it was to put such a young kid into school. But I feel Mehreen has blossomed as a person since she started. She now confidently approaches kids she doesnt know and invites them to play with her. She knows its wrong to snatch and that she should share her toys (whether she practices it is a different issue altogether). She loves singing rhymes. She can now say a sentence or two in English. She has become fully potty trained. So all in all, she has become her own person now- something I dont always enjoy as I miss my baby girl. But hey, you win some and you lose some.

Another change in her life was how fashion conscious she has become. She now loves to match her clips, sunglasses and handbags with her outfit (Thank God she doesnt insist on it, or else I would be in deep trouble). She loves to paint her nails. And she even got a little pedicure done :)


I know more changes are around the corner. She has now moved to a nursery where all the teachers and most students are Westerners. Im sure that one of these days she will come home and probably ask for some saa-mun (salmon). But the process of watching them grow up is so amusing and enjoyable that I'd like to forget to dwell on how quickly its happening. And I hope we are able to bring her up into a polite, honest, God-fearing and respectul human being.

NOTE: We are not much into celebrating birthdays but this year we took her around to Ceramic Café in Jumeirah Town Center where she spent a good couple of hours painting a box with her favorite cartoon character Hello Kitty.
 

 


A big thank you to the wonderful staff and manager (a friend of Arfaz's) for dishing up an amazing plate of Biryani even though it wasn't on their menu. It was one of the tastiest Biryani I have ever had. And also for the complimentary cake that everyone licked clean.

1 comments:

Mehnaz said...

I am sure when Mehreen grows up this blog post is something she will treasure. If only you could capture these moments forever and visit them from time to time!! !