I was scrolling through my flickr archives and found these. They weren't taken very long ago-- just a year and a half but you've grown so much.
I came to visit you today and you were getting your nails painted and you were putting on lip gloss. You're really good at hula-hooping. And you have this doll that you pretended to feed when we ate lunch.
You're a little more stubborn now, a little more maarte. I'm excited to see you grow and to see who you become, but I saw these photos and wanted to say this:
I miss your chubby cheeks. I miss the way your hair would bounce after you'd just woken up. I miss you calling me "Ate Es" and I miss being your BFF. I miss pushing you around the kitchen island in that plastic car, how you never realized to turn the steering wheel, how the car only played three songs and I knew them by heart. I miss how you used to say "Elmo" and when we asked you what color something was, you always said "red." I miss your sign language, and the way your tiny hands and chubby arms moved when you signed. I miss how you used to kiss anything and everything: Elmo, your teddy bear, my camera, me. I miss the little videos we made, how you sang songs and counted in tagalog. How we'd run around the island with Uncle David chasing you, and you would laugh/squeal.
I know that the best part of being in your life is watching you grow and seeing how to turn into the person you're meant to be. But for right now, I miss my little Raine-drop. Little Raine-drop who only wanted to bake so she could lick the spoon and smear chocolate/frosting/whipped cream all over her chubby cheeks.
love,
Ate Es
