One morning when we woke up, we cuddled under the blanket. The loft was nice and cool with the gray clouds and light drizzle outside. She had a good sleep and was in a good mood. She covered her mouth with her fingers and gave a good SMIZE, one that would make Tyra Banks proud and outdo all the girls on this season of America's Next Top Model (ANTM). With a smize, Miss C-Jaz did the cutest thing. Since she just woke up, I knew what she would want...Ka (milk), and I hadn't heard her ask for it yet. But, as we were waking and saying 'Goodmorning', she whispered through her fingers like a 'cough-hint' (coughing a word out to make an obvious hint). She whispered through her fingers..."Ka". Smize. Then, she repeated herself a few times with another smize and a laugh. "Ka...puhleeeese."
Miss C-Jaz has always been good at articulating her words although there are still some words that at times even I have difficulty understanding when I first hear it.
One time Miss C-Jaz was saying, "Mommy, I'm just pendenning." I was confused and had to hear her use the word a few more times to understand she was saying pretending.
Miss C-Jaz has had this cute Disney Princess camera for awhile now, and it has a few different phrases when you press the button to 'penden' to take a picture. One time she was commenting about a bow I put in her hair, and she said, "Mommy, I'm peety apensis!" That one stumped me a bit too, and then I realized she was saying, "Mommy, I'm pretty as a princess!"
It's not just her versions of words that are cute, but Miss C-Jaz's stories are so entertaining that sometimes I don't know where she gets it. When I change her diaper, I tell her not to fart at Mommy since I'm in the direct line of fire, especially when there's no diaper on her yet. As soon as I remind her, she says,
"When Dad-dee change Nana...I fart on Dad-dee. Is 'kay-zee'. So funny."
Miss C-Jaz does say phrases that I know she gets from me or others. Sometimes, she may ask me for something like Ka or she might be telling me something, and if I don't respond right away, then I'll hear her say, "Do you unda-stand?"
One of her common phrases now involves trying to negotiate with me. She might be asking for one more vitamin gummie, more soap to wash her dishes with, or one more bottle of Ka. She'll ask her question followed by, "and das it."
It gets even funnier when she says Tagalog phrases. One time she was carrying something then dropped it, and immediately she said, "Ay nako po, falling down...always," which is an expression like, "Oh my gosh."
It's amazing what she remembers now and tries to reiterate. Her ABCs are becoming more complete. She tries to sing Itzy Bitzy Spider with the hand movements. She can now sing with ease, as Mita taught her, "Georgie Porgie pudding and pie, kiss da girls and made dem khy". From watching her home-made baby video she's been trying to sing a clip from Blackstreet: "Baby Baby Bay-beh...I wanna know you, place no one above you...I wanna love you...Baby Baby Bay-beh I wanna be your Lay-deh-eh-eh." She still sings Bahay Kubo. She can now sing bits of Alicia Keys' 'No One' that we used to rock her to sleep with, and now, impressively, she sings the extended notes of Alicia's 'Doesn't Mean Anything', and she sings with tone.
There aren't enough words to describe just how Miss C-Jaz can light up a room, especially after she gets over the stranger-shyness phase. No words or pictures can ever accurately describe just how funny and amusing she can be. Videos can only catch her essence.
"She's the smartest little girl.
She's the cutest little girl.
She's the brightest little girl I know."
~ from Nana's song
