Bananas in Pyjamas

Beth has been singing this funny ditty. I smile every time she starts singing.

Bananas in pyjamas
Are climbing down the stairs
Bananas in pyjamas
Are chasing teddybears

Wish I had some way to record her singing. She won't remember this a year from now!

Share-A-Bed Time

Isn't it wonderful how life sometimes goes according to someone else's plan?

When Beth was just a wee mite, we started letting her sleep in her own room, with just a baby monitor to alert us if she woke up at night. We were so convinced by the books that preached discipline and firmness in parenting, and so inspired by the real-life examples set by our friends and their babies, that we never thought to do anything else.

Sometime during the 2 years when we had live-in help, Beth started coming over to our room at night. By the time she was 3, she was fully entrenched in our king-sized bed, sleeping right in the middle between Mummy and Daddy and regularly kicking us awake as she rotated around the bed during the night.

The other day, I laid out Beth's king-sized play mattress in her room, and she got busy taking out old stuffed toys and arranging them around the perimeter. That night, she announced that she was going to sleep in her own room.

My heart leaped - but not for joy. I've become so used to having her little body squashed up against mine at night, to being able to reach out and touch her little hands and feet, to planting kisses on her soft, smooth cheeks "just because", that I wasn't quite ready for this unexpected declaration of independence.

As Beth excitedly got ready for bedtime that night, I found myself lingering in her room longer than I needed to after lights out, chatting with her, patting her, kneeling next to her as she cuddled her soft toys.

Back in my room, the bed suddenly felt huge and empty. It was ridiculous - Beth was nearly 4, long overdue for independent sleeping arrangements, and here I was being a clingy mummy.

Next morning, I sneaked over to Beth's room to wake her for school. She came to readily when she remembered where she was. For the first time in a long time, she was fully conscious and got into her uniform with little help. She was so pleased with herself for being all grown up.

That night, Beth dragged her kiddy mattress and array of soft toys into our room. She arranged the mattress at the foot of our bed, and cheekily announced, "I'm sleeping in my own bed!"

But she never got round to it. After spending a good deal of time doing colouring and reading, when it came time for her favourite nightcap, she still chose our bed - right in the middle.

Daddy was amused when he came into the room.

"What happened to sleeping on your own?" he inquired.

Beth grinned, and continued guzzling her milk, showing no sign of wanting to get up. And there she remained for the rest of the night, and the nights after, back in her favourite position: in between Mummy and Daddy.

My little girl is back where she belongs - what a joyous relief!

What "Sorry" means to a child

As I stepped out of the bathroom, Beth was sitting on the floor hard at work with her crayons and paper. On closer inspection, I discovered to my horror that one of those sheets of paper was THE fax I'd been planning to send to a bank to terminate an overdraft facility I'd been billed for (and which I don't use).

I was so angry I launched into a how-could-you-do-this tirade at the top of my voice, lowering it gradually for effect as I stared my preschooler in the eye. She started melting and sobbing, to which I hardened my heart and asked, "What are you supposed to DO? What must you SAY?"

"Sorry Mummy," she choked. And burst into tears again.

"I want Mummy....!" she wailed, which rather puzzled me; I thought I'd misheard - surely she should be wanting Daddy instead?

"I want Mummy....!" she went again, tears streaming down her face.

"Come here," said I, opening wide the maternal arms. She came, and continued sobbing into my T-shirt as we hugged.

"Mummy still loves you. It's okay. Stop crying now."

At that moment, I remarked to my husband, "It's interesting that at this age, children still want to reconcile with their parents even after doing wrong. A few more years and she might be rebellious and recalcitrant about it."

My husband agreed that yes, this was indeed a moment to be treasured.

I continued as an epiphany struck me.

"Isn't this rather like our relationship with God? When we are close to Him and we do something wrong, we feel bad about it and want to reconcile with Him. But when we are not walking with Him and we do something wrong, we try to hide from Him, as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden."

A moment with a child turned into an eye-opener about my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Wow.

Thank you God.

Beth falls in love

Beth has fallen hard.

Her latest crush is newly crowned Campus Superstar winner Huang Zhiyang of Hwa Chong JC.

We have been following the semis and the finals for the past few weeks. Last night was an anxious night for us. We were just back from Malacca and missed the first part of the 3-hour face-off between the last 2 pairs of finalists. Beth, however, was definite which pair she was rooting for - THE BOYS (Renfred Huang Yelun & Huang Zhiyang). I was rooting for sweet-faced, goody2 Theresa Tseng (tho' I abhorred her fashion sense).

By the time Zhiyang came onstage for his performance, Beth had made up her mind.

"I want to marry Zhiyang."

I reminded her that there is a 12-year age gap (she is almost 4, he is 16? 17?) and that she could consider marriage when she is 28 and he is 40. Her dad was highly amused. Her godma was less so. She asked, "What have you been teaching her at home??"

As though it's my fault. Kids these days are quite different from my time, and I definitely won't clamp down on Beth for having a bit of fun. My mum would have grounded me for expressing such sentiments as a teenager, and look where all that repression has got me.