Tip 256: Letter to 2 years old Haruka

Dear my darling Haruka,

I have fond memories of you being 1 year old till you celebrate your 2 year old birthday in Tokyo. During this period, you had the most international experience that many other children your age did not have. You traveled and stayed at England, France, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Okinawa. You may be young then, but I am sure all these experiences added to your enhanced perception of life and ability to adapt in various cultures. Daddy had so much fun being up close and personal with you, by baby wearing you everywhere.  Often times, daddy would complain why you would not want to walk by yourself instead, as it was heavy carrying you long distances, but I had so much fun communicating with you that I realized it is a cherished moment that daddy would not trade anything for. Time spent with you when you were young were very precious.

I remembered some of our conversations and moments when daddy's head was next to yours. We would play hum a tune and guess the song. Even in the midst of blazing hot sun or pattering rain on the umbrella, we were so immersed in daddy's tune and you amazingly guessed every tune with the name of the song. Every time, daddy spotted an interesting flower or animal, I would point it to you and you would then come down from daddy's embrace to look for the little squirrel. With such fun we had, we did not need strollers even when daddy would sometimes bring it just in case. Daddy had free workout on my arms and pelvis muscles when carrying you and you had a free commentary on life. Daddy had a passport to nice events from the kindness of others who would be in awe of a cute charming Asian toddler and we had so much fun together.

I remembered the time when you were dancing on the red carpet of the premier of the movie "Australia" at Oxford Street and the Jazz band was in full applause for your showmanship. Daddy was all proud that my daughter was in the favour of the crowd. Everywhere your small stature took you, crowds were praising how a cute little girl you were. I am sure that added an ounce of confidence in how you further brought yourself up to interact with others. You would not be fearful to step forward to dance or to observe others more closely. This gave both of us, lots of interesting moments abroad to see life in different lenses and not just as tourists. I am thankful that despite all the travels, you were healthy to adapt easily, which would give daddy one less  headache to manage. Thank you for being tough deep inside you.

Daddy fed you with a steady supply of Barney DVDs and mummy consistently read you Japanese books every night. You maintained a superb command of languages and would instantly remember a French greeting you hear it just once. During our reading sessions, you progressively remembered both English and Japanese vocabulary for all objects and verbs. You enjoyed playing with European kids in the Sunday school in Canary Wharf. It helps that we can be mobile as you were potty trained at 16 months old with just a few mishaps after that. So daddy and mummy just took you where ever we like to go. In more of our walks together spending time to communicate, we went beyond the basic conversations in 2 languages, to encouraging you to develop an enquiring mind.
Even before the age of 2 years old, we experimented with the Why questions. Daddy was so delighted that we covered a lot of stories and intelligent conversations together. This stimulates daddy to continue such efforts to spur your intelligence and reflect on communication with toddlers. Blogging about our experiences inspires daddy to also try this for Sayaka and Wataru. Parenting is a pleasure when we connect with our children. Thank you Haruka for giving daddy such a privilege and joy. I pray that you will continue to cherish all these experiences you share with daddy. This blog documents most of my experiences with you, as daddy had more time earlier to blog and take lots of pictures with you. Please be nice to your siblings and love them as much as daddy loved you. The blog documents the many discoveries I wish to share with all my children so that they grow beautiful inside and out, like you. Love, Papa.

(Photos show Haruka's travel to Paris, Palace of Versailles, London, Kagurazaka and her 2 year old birthday celebrated at the Garden Lounge of Hotel New Otani, Tokyo).