My little angel heading off to the swimming pool... where did my baby disappear to?
So it seems that I, once again, underestimated this incredible child.  I thought that uprooting her from all she had ever known, sticking all our stuff on a plane, unloading her in a strange house, in a strange country, sending her to a strange new school and surrounding her with unfamiliar faces and languages and lifestyles...well I thought that might just cause her some concern.
It seems I was wrong.  Not only have her legs grown, longer and browner, so too has her mind.  Rather than retreating into regression or rebellion, my angel has blossomed... she has lapped up the stimulation and matured into a ridiculously sensible, capable and even more charming child.
She has coped with cherished grandma leaving with hardly a murmur, she understands that she had to go home on the airplane to look after papa.  She has taken ownership of her room and leads people by the hand to see her new furnishings.  People are surprised when she knows the names of all her colours - little do they know the complexity she shows behind the scenes.
The examples are numerous but one I recall today...
I have wanted a nanny - being protective under-estimating mum I anticipated a challenge leaving her for the first time with a stranger - especially one who looked different and spoke differently.
So I explained that we were going to meet some ladies who would come and play with her while mummy did some work... I simply said she should tell me if she would like to play with them.   I'm not foolish enough to assume I could make a decision like this!
She met the first one... engaged with her immediately, tested out her painting skills and then took her hand and walked with her to buy an ice cream.  She approved.
Then it was time to meet the second one the next day.  She refused to get dressed.
"I don't want to put my pants on"
Why?  I asked...
"Because I am feeling nervous"  (how does a 2 year old know what nervous means??)
"Why are you nervous?  I asked... "Is it about the lady coming"
"Yes... because I think that I just want to play with O"  (the first lady)...
Ah ....
So clearly the choice was made... she dutifully spent an hour educating the second contender on the methods of bird feeding and play dough squeezing... but her heart wasn't in it.
I think it helped that contender 1 is named after a certain favoured cartoon piggy.
And no, she is not called Peppa, thankfully, or I think I would be facing the world's youngest self-emancipation and adoption motion.