She lovingly watches out for Celeste, and takes it upon herself to be Celeste’s spokesperson. She helps us interpret Celeste’s whining and fussing, and tells us when Celeste wants to eat/ sleep/ wants us to help her pick up the toy that she dropped for the nth time.
Here are a few loving moments...
Last Sunday, on the drive back from church, C kept dropping her rattle in the car, and I grew tired of picking it up. C fussed, and G told me “Meimei wants the rattle. Need to pick up for her.” I complained that I’ve picked it up sooooo many times already, and that C keeps dropping them, but G coolly and firmly told me “Still need to pick up.”
-_-
Made it sound like I am the unhelpful mummy, and she the magnanimous big sister.
Another time, Glory informed us that Celeste wanted more lychee. We thought Glory was just saying that to score another lychee for herself. Munch and I exchanged looks, and decided to play along to see if our suspicions were right. But when we passed her the piece of lychee, she really tried to feed Celeste! Put us to shame. Some would even say dog eyes see people low.
On yet another occasion when Celeste was trying to cruise, Glory stood close behind her, holding out her hands, as if ready to catch Celeste should she fall. <3 So cute right? She honestly believes that her smally 11kg body is capable of holding up 8kg of Celeste!
And just last week, we took them out for a walk on their double stroller. Glory used to want the front seat – for the better view, perhaps. Now she takes the back seat so that she can watch Celeste.
Now, because the seat is quite wide, and Celeste is not all that steady yet, she has a tendency to flop all over, and might bump her head on the hard plasticy bits of the stroller.
“Mei Mei, lie down,” she instructed, “ Don’t fall down.”
Celeste being Celeste, did not heed Che Che’s advice to lie back. True enough, at the next bump, Celeste toppled over, hit her head against the plastic and started crying.
“What happened?” I asked.
“MeiMei knock her head.” Glory reported. She promptly put her little hands over the hard plastic bits so as to cushion Celeste from further knocks, and informed us, “I cover for mei mei.” And just in case we didn’t notice, she added, “So kind.”
*roll eyes*
yes, my little Glory is given to self-praise at times. Let her try on new dresses or brush her hair, and she says "So pretty." Sometimes, she even tells you out of the blue that "Glory's eyes so BIG!". She scampers along the shopping mall and informs you that she's running very fast.
Whatever.
Anyway, I hereby declare Project Sisterly Love a success!
But as much as love can be blind, love can also be manifested in the unceasing quest to “improve” a person.
I've noticed a need for a new project already – Project Friendly Face.
We took her to the playground the other day, and a little girl was telling her daddy she didn’t want to go home. “No I don’t want,” she said.
Glory immediately took her to task.
“NO I DON’T WANT!” Glory shouted back.
(????)
The other girl and her daddy stared at Glory, stunned. Munch and I were shocked too.
“NO! (insert incoherent but fierce mumble)….. DON’T BE FIERCE TO ME!” Glory continued her tirade.
Embarrassed, I quickly apologized to the girl and her daddy, and explained to Glory that the girl was not being fierce to her. Heck, she wasn’t even talking to her, she was talking to her daddy!
Agh.
Thank goodness the man was quite understanding and still tried to smile and wave at Glory. My little monster did not smile and wave back of course, but at least she stopped growling and snapping at the poor strangers.
Then I recalled that (with very few exceptions,) her instinct when meeting new kids for the first time was to put on a very hostile face, and bossily “scold” the kid, whether warranted or not! Like, the kid could merely be running past her, and he’d get a chiding. Or just look like he was going to walk towards me, and she’d rush forward, arms stretched out, ready to push him to an acceptable distance.
Ha, my personal security guard, that one.
But it really got me worried.
You know, I’ve read articles about how kids who were successful and popular at the playgrounds grew up to be successful people later on in life. It’s some EQ/ inate-leadership-quality/ charisma thingy. And I want my girls to have that!
What if she kept up with this guard-dog nonsense all through her school years? What if she had no friends? What if she was the kind of girl that when she turns up at the playground, all the boys and girls (and their parents) flee for their lives?
So last night, Project Friendly Face started.
Introducing the key players of Project Friendly Face.
Front row from left to right:
Hello Kitty, the star of the story.
Noah (of Noah's Ark fame.)
Doraemon aka Xiao Ding Dang,
Little Pony,
Noah's Che Che
( I think she was supposed to be Noah's wife, but I blurted out "Noah's Che Che" during the play, so she's Noah's Che Che ever since)
And behind them, Gingerbread Man.
The two extra Hello Kittys are not in the story.
Act 1:
Hello Kitty sees children playing together. She wants to play too. She approaches the group and shouts “NO! I DON’T WANT” , and even pushes Noah. Noah is sad and cries to his friends.
She does this to Gingerbread Man and Little Pony too.
The other kids are upset and moves away, saying they don’t want to play with Hello Kitty.
Hello Kitty is sad and goes to Glory for help.
"I want to play with the children, but i shouted and they don't want to play with me. Waa waaa waaaaaa..."Glory genuinely looks concerned.
“Go nearer,” she suggests.
(SEE! She honestly doesn't think the fierce shouting led to the lack of friends! How? )
“Go nearer and smile and say hello?” Hello Kitty prompts.
Glory nods.
Hello Kitty goes nearer, smiles and says “Hellllloooo!!!”
All the children says hello back and they all play Ring Around the Rosy together.
Yay! They all had fun!
Act 2:
Hell Kitty sees children playing. She remembers that she should smile and say hello.
She approaches the group, smiles and says hello.
They invite her to play hide and seek with them.
~The End ~
Glory obviously enjoyed watching the show. She kept asking for more. You could tell from her expression she identifies with and feels for Hello Kitty's predicament.
And it was fun for Munch and me too, coz face it, the storyline was silly, and we were trying our darndest not to burst out laughing, especially at the crying scenes.
We've even got a sequel in the pipeline! Can't wait to show it to her tomorrow night!!
Haha... parenting is so much fun. =)
The best thing is, it seems like Project Friendly Face is working already! On the way home today, Glory made me backtrack to our neighbour's door so she could wave and say hi to the Grandma and Grandpa!
=) =) So friendly right!
Fingers crossed and praying hard!
;)
