Dear Sophie,
It’s 12:03 AM and that means you’ve been one year old for almost five minutes. In fact, by the time I hit the publish button you’ll probably have finished school, graduated, gotten married and have had kids of your own.
Watching you grow is a high speed sport without benefit of pause and playback.
It’s time we had a chat.
No, not about boys or plumbing — you’ll have that chat with your mother while I stand menacingly in the background with a large stick. In about 30 years. Now that I come to think of it, you should probably arrange that chat with mum while I’m in the garden quitting smoking.
No, it’s about your attitude, your personality, your behaviour…
Where did it all come from? I’m gobsmacked, stunned and flabbergasted that you’re already such a little charmer & clever rascal — no idea where it all came from but not, I think, from us… you seem to have come up with it all yourself. I had no idea that was possible… there are funny genes.
You’re like a… like a real person. Only smaller.
And you’re funny. I mean, FUNNY.
F.U.N.N.Y.
Today, your mum and I watched videos of when you were small, er, smallER — and I hadn’t fully realised how much you’d changed in just the past few months. I always feel a fool when I’m taking the video or photos and so grateful 6 months later when I’m looking at them.
Anyway, you’ve changed a lot while staying basically, happily, cutely & beautifully Sophie the whole time. A brilliant trick (one day you’ll tell me how you did that trick… in words of more than one syllable).
And you’ve got teeth. Teeth are excellent, aren’t they?
And you can stand up, wave your hands and dance a little.
And, when you’re watching the beginning of In the Night Garden, you take your index finger (it’s like a real index finger, only smaller) and you walk it round and round the palm of my hand or mum’s hand or, if no-one’s in reach, the palm of your own hand and you sway from side to side in time to the music. Well, that’s just brilliant, isn’t it? There should be prizes for stuff like that… a trophy that says something along the lines of Best Unselfconsciously Cute Act by a Little Person 2009 and then we’d scratch out the 2009 and write EVER in big letters over it.
So, happy birthday, little beautiful Sophie (you’re asleep, of course and I’m not allowed to even make doors creak while you’re sleeping on pain of death from mum).
I’ll see you later on for fun, games, cake and whatnot. I’m sure mum and I will have tons of fun and giggle endlessly as we always seem to do around you.
You’re the best.
Love,
Dad
———————
Babba, it’s been wonderful year for me…
Peri kecil mama, yang cantik…
Terima kasih untuk satu tahun yang indah, mama tidak pernah bayangkan kalau mama bisa sebahagia ini.
Sophie mama yang lucu dan cheeky…
Tumbuh dan terus tumbuh menjadi buah hati mama yang bahagia
Senyum dan terus tersenyum karena senyum Sophie membuat semua berwarna…
Sophie mama yang pintar…
Mama tidak sabar menanti tahun tahun selanjutnya…
Ngobrol bareng, tukar pikiran bareng, maen bareng, shopping bareng, ke salon bareng…duch bakalan seru yach kita berdua…
Sophie mama
Selamat ulang tahun sayang…
Maaf soal gigi yang tumbuh, sakit yach…but they are great, sekarang Sophie bisa maem daging..heheheh.
Happy Birthday my darling
You are my little precious..I love you.
Love’
Mama