Failed Social Experiment

A couple of weeks back, I thought I'd take small fry to the cinema.

We were going to watch Babies since she'd thoroughly enjoyed the antics of the cross-continental babies in the trailer. In order to prepare her for the experience, I explained to her that the cinema would be dark and that it may be quite loud but that it was OK, that i she didn't like it, we could leave.

"Mmm...it's going to be loud and dark, Mummy."

So we headed off on a weekend for the 11 am show. As we were on the way, small fry kept repeating, "I'm going to the cinema with you, Mummy! We're going to watch the babies!"

When we got to the ticket counter I told the lady what show we wanted tickets for. She looked at me then at small fry in her stroller and asked if she was going in too. I said yes. She said she couldn't let us in as the show was rated NC16.

Oops. Someone forgot to check the restrictions.

Fearing the worst (small fry had so looked forward to this as I'd told her a few times that she was going to the cinema with me prior to heading there). Her facial expressions promptly screwed themselves up and she bawled on the spot.

"I want to watch!" Bawl. Yikes.

The aunty at the counter tried being helpful, saying that there was another show - Alpha and Omega - that she could watch. I wheeled her to the poster so she could look at the cute dogs wolves but she would have none of it.

In the end, I placated her with a lunch of onigiri and noodles and that we'd go right away. And that if the DVD ever came out, I'd make sure to buy it and we could watch it at home together.

Till this day she remembers the route we took to get to the cinema (it's a little offshoot from her regular route to playgroup) and she points out that, "That's where we go to the cinema. I wanted to watch the Babies but the old woman at the counter said I couldn't watch, then I cried and cried and cried."

Square Peg

On the last day of term a couple of weeks back, small fry's class had an end-of-term party.

When I went to pick her up from playgroup, I found most of the kids decked out in face paint; the boys were mostly animals. There are only three girls in her group; two of them had a rose each painted on one cheek.

And the small fry?

At first, I thought she'd had a major sunburn: her face was all pink! On closer inspection, I thought it looked like a jellyfish, but she doesn't have a jellyfish among her toys. Instead she has a couple of beloved octopi. So I said, "Oh hey! You're a pink octopus!"

"No, Mummy. I'm a jellyfish na!"

Yup, the small fry is a jellyfish among the roses.

What's All The Fuss About?

On a recent visit to the bookstore, small fry convinced Gong-gong to get her a magazine. On the way to the cashier, small fry took her own sweet time to get to the counter, stopping every once in a while to check out the rest of the merchandise on display.

She ambled on so slowly that a line was starting to form behind her and afraid that she'd hold it up any longer, Gong-gong promptly told her, "Hurry up, Sophia! There are other people behind you."

She retorted, "Don't make a fuss, Gong-gong!" and casually strolled up to him at the cashier counter.

Needless to say, the people behind her had a good laugh. Including the guy manning the cashier.

Died People Congregate In Water

Small fry is into her Lego blocks in a big way these days. She likes constructing 'fountains' and giving them away to me.

Tonight, after her storytelling session with Dad, they proceeded to build more stuff with the Lego blocks. When it came my turn to take over with book reading, small fry declined in favour of her blocks.

She promptly made me a few 'fountains' and made the following proclamation:

"Mummy, this is for you! It's a fountain. Say 'thank you'."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome! See, this is a fountain with died people inside!"

"Dyed people? What do you mean, baby?"

"Died people. Like the died people in the water? With their eyes closed? In Daddy's movie?"

Scratching head and racking brains. Bewildered as to what she means by dyed people. Dike people? Diet people? Could she possibly mean dead people? Why's she talking about dead people?! And where did she learn that word - died?

"Remember? In Daddy's movie, mummy?"

Click. Lightbulb goes on. Yikes.

"Oooooh! Where the man fell into the water?"

"Yes! And he couldn't get out? And the died people were all in the water!"

Said died dead people that small fry means is in direct reference to The Lord Of The Rings where Frodo falls into the bog and Gollum snatches him back up. The bog holds all the dead souls who were sorta calling out to Frodo.

Small fry was with us in the living room when Daddy turned on the DVD and surprisingly she didn't flinch. And apparently remembers the died dead people from the bog in the movie. That was two days ago.

The kid is a sponge. What a morbid sponge.