Lil Penguin | 12th Month & Happy Birthday
Wishing you happy birthday Lil penguin, you have done your best growing up for the past 12 months and we couldn’t be more proud of you!
It’s been a long and eventful one year since you came into our lives lil penguin, from a small fragile newborn baby that was first put into my arms to a healthy toddler standing on her very own feet learning how to walk. How much you grew over the months just baffles me, the changes were drastic and I found myself asking where did that little baby that kept me up every hour went to? Not sure if I still have it in me to write heartfelt entries because my life before this was always driven by sadness, it was my only fuel and after letting go of that I somehow felt the words fading as well. So I do apologize if it doesn’t sound like what most mothers would write to their children on their birthday lol.
It’s been a long and eventful one year since you came into our lives lil penguin, from a small fragile newborn baby that was first put into my arms to a healthy toddler standing on her very own feet learning how to walk. How much you grew over the months just baffles me, the changes were drastic and I found myself asking where did that little baby that kept me up every hour went to? Not sure if I still have it in me to write heartfelt entries because my life before this was always driven by sadness, it was my only fuel and after letting go of that I somehow felt the words fading as well. So I do apologize if it doesn’t sound like what most mothers would write to their children on their birthday lol.
The few weeks old helpless penguin
I’m going to be honest with you because you are definitely going to want to read these entries one day; I did not enjoy the first few months together because I was always tired, my oppai were constantly pain and leaking, I smelt like rancid milk and puke with a dash of un-showered days stench but that didn’t really bother you (and it shouldn’t) because you are part of the contribution. I was your walking milk factory, your sleeping pillow, poop cleaner and whole long list of other things if I were to keep track of it up till today haha. But i'm glad that things got better over the months and especially now, i do enjoy your company especially on non crying marathon days lol.
I did all of it not because to put it in a list of things “you owe me” and throw it on your shoulders. Being a human is difficult enough, there are so many things to learn, life is so complicated and every single day we would face challenges that can’t be found within the pages of books, so why add on to it?
You are here because papa and mama wanted you, we counted down all the months and days till you were ready to greet the world and now that you are here, it’s our responsibility to raise you with love (and Asian mom strictness). I can’t speak on behalf of your papa but all I know he is definitely the hidden dragon in this household while mama is the crouching tiger (you’ll get this reference one day lol). Your papa says that I can be really mean, but all I see myself is doing the things he isn’t doing like teaching you how to stay alive. If you don’t know how to eat, sleep, read, talk, use your brain then how la you are going to survive out there next time? Mean.. depends, practical; certainly.
All we wish for you now is to grow up healthy, be a kind and wise person who doesn’t give up regardless how difficult life may be. There is a whole world out there for you to see and explore, don’t let anyone or anything dictate your life; it is yours alone to decide.
Also you have no idea how anxious I’ve been for the past 1 year, constantly checking up on you when you are in bed and pinching your nose just to get a reaction. Never a day goes by without restlessness especially when morning comes; but I’m glad that a part of this phase has passed safely. Your older sister Mariko would be proud of you too penguin. Thank you for staying strong.
This whole year with you has been an amazing roller coaster ride, it has its fair share of ups and downs (we learned a lot from it) but I wouldn’t have it any other way even if I was given a chance to redo everything again. Always stay the way you are lil penguin, annoying yet lovable little girl of mine. Also please stop trying to break my backbone by riding me like a horsey lol.
Also you have no idea how anxious I’ve been for the past 1 year, constantly checking up on you when you are in bed and pinching your nose just to get a reaction. Never a day goes by without restlessness especially when morning comes; but I’m glad that a part of this phase has passed safely. Your older sister Mariko would be proud of you too penguin. Thank you for staying strong.
This whole year with you has been an amazing roller coaster ride, it has its fair share of ups and downs (we learned a lot from it) but I wouldn’t have it any other way even if I was given a chance to redo everything again. Always stay the way you are lil penguin, annoying yet lovable little girl of mine. Also please stop trying to break my backbone by riding me like a horsey lol.
So, now that I’m done with your birthday letter which turned out to be longer than the usual birthday card greeting lol, now let’s head over to your monthly progress. You not only received a lot of gifts for your birthday but managed to unlock so many skills at once that i have to tell you to slow down for your dear old mama!
No joke almost every day I wake up with my face expression like this (O_O!!)
How on earth did you just involved within 4 weeks?
Here is a list of your monthly updates up till today:
Tearing your own present wrapping, hope you like the gifts we got you
Celebrating your birthday at Disneyland
Motoring Skills Level Up
You usually ignore all the motoring skill toys I’ve gotten for you since 6 months old, out of the blue you started playing with them and after a few tries, you even managed to get them in a correct order. That was seriously unexpected because I thought you would just continue to chew and throw them around like you always do but no! You managed to figure it out all on your own and mama is so proud!!
Another thing that surprised me was when you started grabbing any available bag in sight and putting random toys in it, then later carrying it around like it’s your handbag XD It’s so cute! It’s not a one-time thing too, you do it almost on a daily basis whenever you spot a bag within your reach. Thanks for constantly “rearranging” the contents in my handbag lil penguin, that reminds me to constantly check my bag before heading out or else I’ll be carrying a bag full of toys instead of my keys and wallet lol.
Development
You finally understood the concept of “cause & effect” and learned in your own unique way too like pulling and letting go of your papa’s pants elastic waistband. Normal kids would just drop their stuff and watch from above but you found joy in pulling and releasing that waistband lol. That laughter we have captured in the video is priceless, it’s nothing but pure happiness. Makes my heart melt with “awwwww”. Yep, I’m definitely going to miss this stage a lot and it’s slowly starting to kick in already.
Learning how to brush your teeth
Not sure where you picked this up from but it’s cute whenever you clap your hands after doing something like putting things back in order after taking it out. You unintentionally learned about “achievements” along the way, so you do it now every time you feel that you have accomplished something. That’s a good thing because these are called little motivators, a positive start is part of the learning and growing process. Since that I know you enjoy clapping now, I’m going to use it to make you clean up the mess you did -_-, for every area cleaned up, I’ll clap together with you lol.
Your latest hand sign you learned after “all done” is now, gochisousamadeshita (thank you for the meal), that one was easier to teach you compared to “all done”. Caught you babbling “all done’ a few times, but don’t worry your pronunciation will get better with some practice 💖
We can see that you are an assertive kid, far from shy (only pretend to be huh), a very curious child with generous cheeky smiles and we look forward to see more of your character unfold before us lil penguin.
Excited when you first saw your birthday decorations, such a priceless photo💖
Most moms would be excited to prepare for their child’s 1st birthday party but with my party planner team being so far away, I had to make do with simple last minute plans lol. I decorated the house for lil penguin, with balloons and even a homemade sugarless baby cake top with whip cream which I sorely regret making because my arms hurt from all the beating. And guess what?
She raged lol
Instead of excitedly digging into the cake, lil penguin gave a scowl and cried because she got her dress dirtied with the whip cream lol. Okay she’s so like me..hates getting into mess and touching squishy stuff but at least I have exceptions like having to wipe her stinky poop.
with bowl and a spoon is fine
Well at least we got a photo of her with the cake before she cried, definitely going to show her this picture when she’s older. And if she asks me why doesn’t she get a cake for her birthday, I’m just going to whip this picture out and say “because your 1 year old self decided that you hated cakes”.
Told you that lil penguin is quite a particular girl haha, she hasn’t called out mama or papa yet, instead she keeps repeating “inai inai inai” (we usually play “inai inai BAH”/ where is the baby a.k.a hide & seek and she loves it) of all things lol. Babbles a lot like A LOT even in her sleep, still unable to walk without support yet but she can stand on her own for a few seconds. Not sure what we are going to do if she wakes up one day and starts walking (she hates wearing socks & shoes by the way). Guess we’ll figure that out when we get there eventually, so that’s all for her 1 year old update!
Love you with all mama's heart,
Happy Birthday to Little Penguin and I'm so proud of u, mommy Arisa.
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