Dear Little Pumpkin,Chinese New Year 2012 has just passed and it is now the year of the Dragon? What will this mean for you, my little Cow? I read here that you will have a busy work calendar and there will be plenty of emotional upsets for you at home, but I'm not worried about that at all. Maybe the "busy work calendar" refers to you starting preschool! Yes, you did just at the beginning of this month. You do seem to love it and is always so excited when we arrive there. Work? More like play and fun for you! :)
My dear, you are such a bundle of joy and sunshine that nothing seems to get you down! And emotional upsets, whatever they may be, will definitely not affect you. In any case, as with all superstitions, take it with a pinch of salt. The only belief you should hold true to your heart is that God loves you and blesses you. Remember this when you feel down in the future, ok?
This Chinese New Year was a muted affair as your great-grandmother passed away last year, and according to traditions, we are not supposed to have any celebrations. Hence, last Christmas and this Chinese New Year were rather quiet. We didn't do visiting and we couldn't even give you ang pao {red packets of money for good luck}, but we did have a lovely reunion dinner with your grandparents, aunt and uncle! Mummy even created a lively Dragon Yusheng {local raw fish salad tossed while saying Chinese wishes for good luck, prosperity & health to all} to celebrate the occasion! I made a Rabbit Yusheng last year and thought I should continue the tradition haha
Your grandparents bought you this lovely red dress in these pictures. Isn't it pretty? It is called a cheongsam {or qipao} and is a traditional Chinese clothing, like kimonos for Japanese or saris for Indians. The necklace came from a jewelry set your Aunty Kitty gave you for Christmas. You INSISTED on wearing it with your dress! My my, you are certainly turning into a little fashionista! ;pDarling pumpkin, compared to last year, you can say the Chinese greetings 恭喜恭喜{Gong Xi Gong Xi }and 恭喜发财 {Gong Xi Fa Cai} very well! I'm sorry that we have not been very persistent in teaching you Chinese, and you can say only random Chinese phrases like 我爱你 {I love you} or 我不要 {I don't want!}. However, I'm glad that you will be having simple Chinese lessons at your preschool to get you started and more in tune with your Chinese roots.
I actually brought you to a trial Japanese class in early Jan too but it was not suited for your age, so I'm going to to try and teach you some basic Japanese and culture at home :P I've been sourcing for ideas to make it fun and include activities like origami, obento-making, watching animes etc. Let's learn more Japanese words by August this year so that when Hisashi-san and family arrive, you can talk to the kids in some Japanese too! :)
Mummy and Daddy wishes you all the best in this new year, and we are so excited to see how it turns out for all of us! サッチャン、本年もよろしくね！
Love always, Mummy
*****
I Blog on Tues at Diary of a SAHM & Celebrating Family.
23 comments:
Aww, happy birthday to your little one! I'm sorry about your grandmother. =(
Sorry to hear about the loss. Still, glad you all have a nice and warm CNY. Hope preschool will be lotsa fun and how nice to start learning Japanese early! I tried to pick up a couple of times because I really love the language but with no one to practise with me, I completely forgot even my hiragana and katakana. Hope little pumpkin will love it lots! Have a nice week ahead!
Cheers,
Summer
She is so adorable in her little red dress. What a lovely gift.
Hi Ai,
This is such a wonderful post with beautiful pictures. All the very best to your adorable daughter!
Judy
A beautiful post for a beautiful little girl.
Sorry about your loss, but glad you were still able to celebrate CNY in your own way. We had a quiet year like that after my husband (who's Chinese) lost his father. It's nice to be around family during that time though. Since our kids are half chinese, they don't know many words, only a few select ones my hubby taught them (he's not that great at speaking it LOL). It's so nice that your little one will be starting to learn the language! Hope you have a great week :)
www.yeewittlethings.blogspot.com
Camille: it's not her bday yet heh.. but thanks for the concern :)
Summer: you have a good week too! how's your girl's ear now?
Marita: yeah it's cute! it's a big size so she can wear it for a few years heehee
Judy: thanks dear :)
Kristy: keeping the memories alive with these lil notes ;p
Brandi: sorry to hear about your family's loss too. lucky she's growing up in a culture where Chinese is a majority so I'm not that worried about her Chinese language skills.. she'll pick it up heh.
Nice pics and what a lovely cheongsam! The necklace does go well it it too.
Is she part-Japanese?
She looks very sweet esp in the last photo :)
What a beautiful letter to your beautiful little girl Ai! She will read that one day and know how much she is loved!!
this is so beautiful!
How gorgeous for her to read back on this one day :)
what a precious letter! What a precious little girl x
thank you for sharing your story. glad to hear preschool is going well for the little one!
[oomph.]
Honestly, I think pumpkin is the most loved little girl in the world. Your adoration for her is so beautifully evident every time you write about her.
Happy Chinese New Year to you Ai!
Beautiful letter to your gorgeous girl. She is so precious.
What a lovely letter. I take all the New Year horoscopes with a pinch or scoop of salt. I believe that we determine what happens to us, not the circumstances. Are you half Jap or just like Japanese that's why you're sending your girl for Jap lessons?
Oh what a beautiful letter to write to your daughter. I really hope she gets the opportunity to read it one day and know how much she is loved and adored. xo
Ai, your pumpkin is adorable. She will love that you wrote these letters to her.
Every time I read a letter from a parent to their child, it reminds me I need to do this more often. I have written about them but writing to them makes the observations, emotions and memories so much more tangible. Your letter was very beautiful. It's great she's getting exposure to trilingualism. I have to rely on hubby to impart some Cantonese because mine is barely basic. In some ways, Mandarin would be easier because it is more prolific, including in school. We'll see how we go.
What a beautiful letter - I am sure she will cherish things like this when she is older (as will you of course). She is absolutely adorable.
Bitter-sweet. But the photos are lovely, she is a beautiful girl.
Thanks for all the kind thoughts. I do love writing random notes to my girl to remember the moments :). She's not half-Japanese but Japan has always been close to our hearts because of our time spent there, as well as our "families" and close friends there.
I want to expose her to language and culture and thankfully we know enough Chinese and Japanese to guide her. Korean and Spanish language and culture is something I hope to explore more with her in the future too!
This was such a lovely post to read. What a sweet little girl you have!
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