Little Mister Talk-a-Lot

It’s no surprise to those who know me that my son has turned out to be opinionated and verbose.

Mikhail talks in sentences now, albeit in ‘child sentences’ peppered with a bit of pelat’ness here and there. He loves telling everyone about his experiences and the things he observes in his day.

We love listening to his stories and his tales of what he had just experienced. It gives us an insight of the day through the eyes of 2-year-old Mikhail. Things that we adults don’t notice, he notices and gives emphasis to. And it’s always an eye-opener for me.

Like the day we went to the playground.
During bedtime, we recapped our day and I listened to Mikhail telling me about the many swings and see-saw and how the slide had no stairs.
Then he nonchalantly says “Pastu Uncle hit ball and ball fall down and Uncle take ball and then Uncle bukak hat and Uncle go home”.

There was an old man in the playground with us, putting a golf-ball around. I barely paid any attention to him but apparently, Mikhail did. From Mikhail’s sentence, I gather that the old man hit the golf ball into the drain and he retrieved the ball, took off his golfer-hat and got in his car to go home.

How Mikhail observed all that while running around in the playground, I’ll never know.

Only those who look with the eyes of children can lose themselves in the object of their wonder. Eberhard Arnold

Mikhail’s little tales are also peppered with the occasional ‘tokok-tambah’ i.e. exaggerations. It’s very amusing to watch him animatedly tell you a story while making things up as he goes. Shows his creative imagination at work. Hehehe!

Example: One butterfly flew in the house.
Mikhail: Daddy, tadi ada butterfly go inside house!
Daddy: Butterfly? Wow!
Mikhail: Ada baaaaanyakkkk butterfly!
(Tokok-tambah No.1)
Daddy: Banyak butterfly? Wowww
Mikhail: Ada lionnnn, ada deer...
(Tokok-tambah lebih-lebih’an)

Hence, a butterfly flying into the house has turned into the house being over-run by zoo animals.

Mikhail is also very opinionated. He has a specific preference for certain things in certain ways.

For example, there is only one pair of shoes and one pair of sandals that he wants to wear. Please note that he has a LOT of shoes and sandals, courtesy of over-indulgent parents and grandparents and assorted family. But only ONE pair of shoes and sandals is ‘acceptable’ for his Royal Highness. Both pairs are practically tattered and scruffy but he still insists on wearing them. Mommy is still trying to force him to wear the Reeboks she bought him in Dubai but he will reject them with a variety of reasons:-

(1) Too big
(2) Ketatttt (Too small… How it can be too big AND too small at the same time, I don’t know)
(3) Shoe busukkk (Given the fact that Mikhail can occasionally develop stinky-feet, this is a plausible excuse… IF he had ever worn it in the first place, that is)
(4) Don’t want shoe… Shoe not nice.
Gee… thanks for dissing Mommy’s taste in kids shoes, sayang. Sigh.

I am now on a mission to find shoes and sandals that are similar to his favorites. It does not help that the shoe was bought by my cousin in UK and the sandals were bought by my parents in India…

Mikhail also has an opinion on what he wears. If he doesn’t like the shirt I choose for him, he’ll declare it either ‘too big’ or ‘ketat’. But if he likes it, he’ll nod his head and go “baju jussssstttt nice” ala Goldilocks.

But he doesn’t stop there. If he sees me dressed in something he finds offensive, he will loudly proclaim “Mommy go change baju. Mommy’s baju too big”.
My purple shirt is now relegated to the back of my closet because my son has shown constant disapproval of it…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I derive great pleasure from listening to my son talk (and exaggerate… and complain). I’m constantly amazed at the development of his vocabulary, opinions and mannerisms as I’m sure all parents are with their children.
It’s one of the many benefits we get from parenthood, isn’t it?

The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him. Pau (Pablo) Casals

MIKHAIL IN PICTURES
Excuse the quality, these were uploaded from my mobile phone.



"Burger too big, chips juusstttt niceee"
No prizes for guessing the food he doesn't want to eat.


"Mikhail nak go to school, Mommy! Mikhail nak naik bus with friends"
Maybe next year, sweetie. Daddy's not ready. Hehehe!


He insisted that this was the way the spider-mask was meant to be worn.


"Mikhail's hair same with pokok!"