Dearest Azmu, Happy 3rd Birthday, princess! Oh, how you’ve grown into a beautiful, smart and kind little one. Before you were about to turn two, I was told warned about the so- called ‘terrible twos’ I would have to face. However, that’s not how I would define your second year. You were more of a ‘terrific two’. Ofcourse, there have been a few odd days when you would be adamant at having your own way, let’s not kid around. But generally, you were a delightful little two year old with a magnetic personality, making everyone smile and feel happy around you.
This year your vocabulary has increased by leaps and bounds. You have been able to have full-fledged conversations with grownups, in both languages: English and Gujrati. Bonus: You are also acquainted with the words, such as ‘Instagram’, ‘Blogger’ and say ‘Hi, guys’ just the way your Aunty Zeyna does. You use words to express your emotions, you are able to quantify and you can also crack a good few jokes. Your visual memory has aided you to remember the letter sounds of more than half of the English language alphabets, MashAllah. You know about responsibilities and consequences. A little bit. You love to sit on the kitchen counter top while I am cooking, sometimes naming the different vegetables I am chopping, and other times munching away on carrot and cucumber sticks. There has also been the occasional role reversal, where it has been you feeding us plastic toy foods from your little IKEA kitchen. You are imaginative, you are creative and you are crafty.
One of the major achievements for you this year has been the fact that you are potty trained during day time. That was surely a big step for a big girl! You still co-sleep with us, and that’s definitely something we need to work on for the next year. However, I know that won’t be easy, even with all the bribing, such as the new ‘Paw Patrol’ duvet we have got for you. Yes, that brings me to your new obsession of this year- Paw Patrol characters. You have watched episodes of this cartoon, in English and in Arabic, and danced like crazy at their stage show, together with your cousin #MasterZ.
This year you have also welcomed a new cousin of yours, #LittleZ. And, oh how much you adore him. You were there at the hospital during the early hours of the morning when he was born, and ever since then have been one protective older sister around him. Whenever we would buy something for yourself and #MasterZ, you would always ask, ‘and what about (insert name here #littleZ)?’. You have shown how kind and gentle you are.
You are starting to turn into a movie fanatic, like us. You absolutely love the Avengers team and can identify all the characters and their superpowers. You have a Marvel Avengers book that you have been reading with Papa every night for the past 3 months, before going to bed. Speaking of books, you enjoy them a lot! I am sure if we leave you in the children’s book corner in one of the book stores, you wouldn’t mind. I truly can’t wait for you to explore further in the world of books and see where your imagination takes you.
This year you have been blessed to travel a lot! You travelled to India for the first time, where you got to spend time with your great grand parents from Papa’s side of the family. You enjoyed the beach there, the motorbike rides and the bhaji wali. You also spent a few nights in Mumbai at the Taj Palace Hotel, where you might have been the only little girl at the time. Your charm was such that you managed to bag four soft teddies from the house keeping team, and a chat with someone who possibly may have been an Indian Prince, just for looking this cute.
For summer, you travelled with us to your Nani-Nana’s home and also on a 9 day Europe trip with us all, including Aeed Mama. You absolutely loved the garden there and would happily spend hours digging holes and watering the various flowering plants. Nana even found an earthworm for you and you wanted to keep it as your very first pet. You enjoyed visits to the local park with Aeed mama and feeding the ducks at Watermead park with Nani. You enjoyed your Europe trip, and although you won’t remember much of it, you will have enough pictures of yourself at every tourist spot to look at. Be it, the high mountains of Austria, the canals of Venice, the mighty Eiffel Tower of Paris or your favourite the Leaning tower of Pisa.
Dearest Azmu. Your curiosity and your questions have given us the opportunity to stop and once again notice the simple, little blessings in life. Whether it is to admire the moon that you think follows us home, or the ladybird you gently hold in your hands. So don’t ever change that about you. Don’t ever stop asking questions. Don’t ever think your voice doesn’t matter. You can achieve whatever your heart desires. You are brave. You are our girl! Happy Birthday!
If you enjoyed reading this open letter to my daughter, you may also like to read the one I wrote to her last year:: Azmu, on your 2nd birthday