"Balik kayo agad a!" - Nana

Today, the most amazing thing happened. My little princessita, my little mine-mine-mine-child (she actually says that now, dear God), my little first child/apo/apo-sa-tuhod on both sides, actually shared her toy with a newfound friend in church.

Lucia and the little girl, Sam, were running around the parking lot, squealing with glee, taking turns with the toy, holding hands, speaking some language I don't understand. (Sam would break out into Bisaya and English, Lucia in Taglish [Where did she get that kaya?], and yet they both understood each other perfectly.)

When they had to part ways, she didn't throw a fit, she let out a hearty, "Good bye! See you!" and then we went home. Little things like that make me realize that my little baby is slowly -- but surely (huhuhu!) -- growing up.

She's grown leaps and bounds here, developing at a pace I can only marvel at. For one thing, she's huge now. Like, I seriously cannot carry her for long spells anymore. But she's also so...aware of everything. I wonder if she knows we're leaving. She keeps kissing her toys and little objects she's made hers (little figurines, cups, anything). Sometimes she even tucks them in (with a blanket, a throw pillow, or a paper towel) and says good night to them. She keeps going to her usual haunts around the house, playing pretend. She has actual stories in her mind now, and watching her act them out is pure joy.

Last night, I had to put her on a timeout for the very first time. It was difficult because she's just so darned cute all the time (even when she's annoying). It was heartbreaking. But it was also difficult because...I wanted to laugh because she was being so melodramatic about it. [Again, where did she get that? :P] This being her first time, the timeout lasted a little less than a minute. I wanted her to know what a timeout was and for her to know why she had to be on it. She nodded her head afterwards, kissed me to apologize, and graced me with an uneventful night.

Hopefully, when we get to Manila, her routines will stay in place. But if she's going to be anything like me, she'll be looking for the fresh air, the huge garden, the sound of the waves, Nana and Daddy's voices...it'll be really difficult to leave this place.

But it'll only be for a month (in fact, a little less than a month), and we'll be back. All my anxieties have been leading up to this point, and now, instead of wanting to avoid it, I just wanna get it all over and done with. I'm looking at our bags and we're all but finished packing. Hay. I pray that this trip will be fruitful and will be a continuation of the blessings we have received thus far.

Okay, it's not all that bad. I will get to be with friends again. When we left, we didn't know that we were going to settle here, so I kinda took the whole saying-goodbye thing for granted. Now that we know we'll be living here for a while, I'm determined to meet up with as many friends as possible, to say my goodbyes. And, of course, to give the most painful and lasting goodbye that I have to give.

Goodbye for now, Dalipuga. Next time, I'll be writing from Manila (if I get to write at all while there). Hopefully, I'll still be sane there. Let's all cross our fingers shall we?

See you again soon, Paradise!