Catch-Up Posts

19 January

Elliott picked up my speech patterns and uses 'actually' while talking quite a lot now.

20 January

I came across a National Geographic book for kids about space (part of a series that has animals, dinosaurs etc) and bought it because I thought the bright illustrations would catch E's eye and spark his interest.

Book cover

E saw the book cover and said 'Just like Dr Who!'. He was  watching quite a bit of Dr Who with the husband at the time. We decided not to show him the episodes with the Weeping Angels until he's older, they are pretty scary (to me!).

21 January

I was supposed to meet my mother at Centrepoint after lunch but she was held up in the office and was late. So while waiting, I took E for a walk around the mall to keep him entertained. He totally did not want to take a nap so we had to be constantly walking to keep him content in the stroller. 

Then E wanted to walk so he got off the strollder. After a bit more walking, I noticed he was talking to his stroller. Listening in, I realised he was putting a pretend 'baby' in the stroller and giving it a snack. Then after a few steps, he took his pretend 'baby' out and put it in a pretend Manduca (baby carrier).

20 February

E can almost eat a full kid's meal! 

Last weekend after his Sunday drama class we went to his favourite udon place, Tamoya, and E finished kid's size udon AND a vanilla cone from Mcdonalds for the first time ever.

Chewed Up Candle

So this happened. E ate a red swirly birthday candle because he thought it looked like a candy from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

It happened back in December 2013 (yes, I know I'm really late on posting about this. Still in catchup mode!). I was lying down for a quick snooze in the bedroom and E was playing on his own with the husband busy working on the computer.

E came into the bedroom looking for me and quietly told me about trying to eat the candle with chewed-up red and white wax all over the front of his shirt. At first I thought I was still asleep and dreaming but when I realised this was really happening and I was awake, I did not know whether to laugh or cry.

I decided to be positive and laugh it off with him while teaching him what edible and non-edible means.

We were going through a tough weekend (kiddo challenging us on everything we said and the husband being busy with work and me down with a headache) but I'm glad I made a conscious effort to treat the matter lightly (it was not a life or death situation) instead of freaking out.

Still finding bits and pieces of wax in the study room to this day (19 January 2014).

Quick update, there is absolutely no more wax to be found as I write this catchup post!

Death and Toddler E

We have a neighbour auntie whom E calls 'po po'. He sees her a lot because our backyards share a wall with grilles and she spends a lot of time hanging out laundry and pottering around back there.

She had a bad fall at home and passed away while we were in Vietnam visiting my brother in October 2013, the husband texted me the news. I was worried about how toddler E would handle the news as he knew her quite well and remembers her.

We came back to Singapore and the next time we were in the backyard (the kitchen stove is outdoors by the backyard and toddler E insists on making his own scrambled eggs for breakfast so it was inevitable that he would notice 'po po' was not around). He asked me where 'po po' was and I just told him she's not here any more. 

He seemed satisfied with that answer. I guess I have a couple more years to come up with a more detailed explanation on death and loss of life.

Dancing with Tua Teo-Kong

I'm really grateful that toddler E has a chance to get to know my uncle who helped raise me.

My aunt passed away before I started dating the husband and she never got a chance to meet toddler E. I'd like to think that she knows all about him from where ever she is now and is looking down and chuckling at toddler E's antics.

21 October

Wave your hands in the air

Boogie on down

Run away!

Pretty good dancing for a 79 year old man and an almost 3 year old toddler!

Magic Trick for Lucky

Toddler E was teaching Lucky (auntie W's dog) a magic trick the other day.

20 September

Hold the wand like this

Wave it like this

Magic!

Lucky did not seem very impressed though!

Baking with Thoughtful Parenting

Whenever there's a chance, I take toddler E to playgroups organised by fellow moms which are informal and lots of fun. It's also more budget friendly for us as each session can range between $7 - $25 and there's no pressure to buy a package.

I found Thoughtful Parenting and we've attended several different sessions involving arts & crafts, learning to read and baking.

Toddler E really liked the baking. Everything is set up on the floor (covered by protective plastic sheets) which is great for kids and less worry about toddler E falling off a stool if trying to cook at the regular kitchen counter.

20 September

Slicing bananas

Mixing in the peanut butter

Adding wet ingredients to the flour

Om nom nom!

We made peanut butter & oatmeal drop cookies that had mashed bananas mixed in. Yum!

Mid-Autumn Festival 2013

The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as 'Lantern Festival' in my (not very Chinese) family. According to my very Hokkien husband, 'Lantern Festival' is not the right name for it. Oops.

Toddler E was quite excited to play with lanterns. We went old school with paper lanterns lit with a small candle and a wooden chopstick for the carrying handle.

19 September

In the driveway

I think the camera flash was on

Hello Adam!

The third play in the PLAYtime! series is Hello Adam!

Hello Adam! is a show about movement, toddler E's favourite thing to do! Kids were allowed on-stage before the show started and toddler E was making the most of it by doing his Kamen Rider moves on stage.

4 November

Looking around

After much coaxing, a somewhat decent photo

Playing with the props

Pose!

I did not take many pictures while the show was on because toddler E was really getting into the rhythm of things by dancing & jumping around along with the actors so I was busy making sure he did not jump into the kids around him.

Check out the photo gallery from the PLAYtime! website instead!

Little Biker (On a Bicycle)

My father-in-law bought a bicycle for toddler E. It's still too big for him, but he enjoys riding it around the driveway and in the living room.

I spent some time searching for a toddler helmet (at a reasonable price!) that is also well-made and finally found one at Toys "R" Us for about $25.

With a helmet, I could finally take toddler E out of the driveway to ride his bicycle along the park connector near our place.

12 December

One good picture before he ran off into the playground

The Garden House Preschool

In my search for a preschool / kindergarten for toddler E to attend in late 2014 or early 2015, I took him to an afternoon preview of a programme called 'Sproutlings' designed for children 15 - 36 months at The Garden House Preschool.

Here's their description of the activities included:

"Get a taste of what we provide in our core programme with the comfort of having Mummy or Daddy around. Different experiences will be set up each week for the children to explore their senses and to try out their hands at gardening! A healthy, organic snack will be served while the children connect with one another in a group setting.

This is a chance for parents to get an insight to setting up invitations to play."

So we attended the preview on 26 September and had a lovely time!

Inside classroom

Getting into everything

Sandpit was a big hit

Water play area

Cooking area with dry pasta in pots

The focus was on outdoor play which I loved because a majority of the preschools in Singapore keep the children in an air-conditioned environment the entire time they are in school.

There were several outdoor play areas set up, a mix of sand, water, finger paints & dry props (like the cooking pot section with pasta in the pots). Toddler E tried every one except for the paint section towards the back of the building because he was stuck at the water play table and wouldn't budge for the longest time, not even for a snack!

The preschool is designed for up to 5 years old and toddler E will be 4 years old by the time I plan to enrol him in school. Plus we would be living in Yishun by then and The Garden House Preschool is somewhere in between Toh Tuck & Bukit Batok which would make it pretty far to travel for us.

Papa's Boy

Toddler E has always been attached to me but I'd attribute that to me being his source of food in the early months. Now he has times when he clings to me like a barnacle and then there are time where he is happy to play on his own.

As he grows older, the husband also gets to spend more time with him and share his love of toys and cartoons with toddler E. Gone are the days where toddler E (as an infant) would bawl his eyes out if anyone but mama picks him up and comforts him.

The storm has passed, toddler E is growing up! And I don't miss those early infant days at all, no siree!

19 October 2013

Christmas 2013

So toddler E is old enough this year to pay attention and figure out what Christmas is all about.

He's been entertained by the various shows each shopping mall puts on during the festive season and came up close with a solo performer at The Grandstand which he really enjoyed.

I guess right now he is happy about getting presents i.e. new and interesting toys and eating lots of yummy food. Next year we will be in our own home (this is our last year living with the in-laws) and I've got some ideas for Christmas traditions for our family.

23 November

Mesmerised

Still watching

Joining in!

Happiness!

The photos are of the solo performer at The Grandstand. He was really good, very skilled at playing music while riding his uni-cycle.

I also took toddler E to a Nikolaus party organized by Musical Monkeys, a musical playgroup that we attend on occasion. He got to decorate a mini Christmas tree which made him happy.

6 December

Decorating the tree

Jingle bells

Santa!

We caught Jack and the Beansprout, toddler E's first Christmas pantomime! Thanks to toddler E's auntie W, we had really good seats close to the action on stage. Toddler E really liked it, some parts were scary to him but he stayed and watched till the happy ending so all was well.

1 December

Christmas tree at the Drama Centre in National Library (Bras Basah)

First photo with Santa!

Jack and the Beansprout

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Quiet Time (Toddler E Remix)

So 'quiet time' has been going well and toddler E has found his own way of expending his energy without bringing the house down with kung-fu fighting and screaming.

My mom recently bought the LeapFrog LeapReader pen and some of the compatible LeapFrog books for him to read with the pen. His current favourite is Disney Princess: Adventures Under the Sea. 

So he starts out sitting and reading his books with the pen.

16 September 2013

Let's use the LeapReader pen

Ok, forget the pen, let's just look at picures

I'm pooped, time to lie down and relax

And ends up lying down and looking at pictures at the end.

Gymboree Trial Session

A friend told me about Gymboree offering a free trial class so I signed up on their website and finally booked a trial for toddler E. There's supposed to be several children in one class but we were the only ones who turned up for the free trial. The staff at Gymboree told me it was because their Monday sessions were newly added to the schedule and not many parents have signed up yet.

Toddler E absolutely LOVED the place, all the props were just the right size for him to climb on and push around. He had a really good time in the session which gave his imagination a good workout baking an imaginary cake using props provided like little balls as 'chocolate chips' and a parachute as the 'mixing bowl'. The facilitator was a lovely lady who did a good job keeping his energy and enthusiasm high while playing and then winding down with a song at the end.

9 September 2013

Crossing the bridge

Up the ramp!

King of the hill

Toddler E had great fun but we did not sign up for the package in the end. I would have preferred if they offered sessions where we could pay as we attended but I understand that they would need a minimum number of participants in order to keep the sessions running so selling packages makes more business sense.

The Magic of Quiet Time

So I've posted before about toddler E giving up his regular afternoon naps. 

I was worried, really worried. How would I get some 'me' time during the day? The time that toddler E uses to take his afternoon nap is a block of precious child-free time for me to get things done (or just sit and stare at the wall which happens more often than not) and it keeps me going until bedtime. 

5 September 2013

Thank goodness for talking books!

I read somewhere that some parents change nap time into 'quiet time'. So the child does not necessarily have to sleep (this was causing all the drama between toddler E and I) but gets to play quietly with their toys or books and mama gets a break too.

So I decided to try it out and my 3 'either / or' rules for toddler E's quiet time are:

EITHER

1. Toddler E plays with his toys, but he has to play on his own 

OR

2. I will read story books to toddler E in bed where he usually takes his nap

OR

3. Toddler E will take a nap if he doesn't want to do either of the above

It's been working quite well, toddler E usually starts by saying he will play by himself, sometimes reading a book (looking at pictures or listening to an audio book) and he stays awake for the entire hour of quiet time but I can lie down for 10 minutes to recharge. And sometimes he'll ask me to read him a few story books then chose to nurse and take his nap.

This arrangement works because toddler E feels like he has a say in naptime and I still get some rest in between.

Hello Ling!

We went to Hello Ling! on 12 August which is part of the PLAYtime! series at Esplanade. The first instalment was Hello Paige! which toddler E enjoyed very much. 

Hello Ling! focused on light with shadow play and contrast between light and dark. The music was catchy and the actors worked hard in keeping their young audience interested in the show. 

Toddler E is not so enthusiastic about having his photo taken these days, so when I ask him to smile he gives me this face:

Stop with the photos, mom -_-

He was actually happy to be there, honest!

Bright lights!

And shadows!

After the show we had lunch at Toast Box and toddler E had his first ever Milo dinosaur! He loved it, obviously. I ordered fish soup to try and get him to eat a healthy lunch but refused most of it and just enjoyed his drink.

Potty Training 101

So toddler E is showing more signs of being ready to use the toilet. He's seen us using it and we've always kept the toilet door open and explained what we were doing whenever he asked. While he's been happy to pee in the grown-up toilet (albeit with a child seat insert so he doesn't fall into the toilet bowl) he's not quite ready to give up pooping in his diapers yet.

A couple of days ago, toddler E wanted to use regular underwear for his afternoon nap. I told him he might wet the bed while sleeping and he said, 'I will hold my pee-pee (that's our word for urine) when I sleep. Then I wake up and will be dry!' Since he was so enthusiastic I just went with it and slipped a waterproof sheet under him after he fell asleep.

And lo and behold, toddler E was dry! I was amazed, he held his bladder for a 2.5 hour nap. Immediately after he woke up, I asked if he wanted to use the potty and he said no. Took about 20 minutes before he said he needed to pee-pee but the hubby was using the toilet so toddler E had to go in his BABYBJORN Smart Potty. He's always refused it before but after he went in it this one time, he's become comfortable and has been going in it all the time now. This is great news for me because I don't have to worry about helping him up onto the adult toilet and keeping track of the child seat insert, sometimes I leave it on the toilet seat and the hubby gets a surprise the next time he goes to the bathroom.

I think we have been really laid back on potty training, not pushing him to use the toilet if he didn't want to and answering any questions he had as honestly as we could in terms a 2 year old could understand. I read somewhere that the bladder doesn't mature until 5 or 6 years of age and control before then can be difficult for a child.

Thank goodness using cloth diapers has kept the cost down as we did not have to buy as many disposables, thus there was no extra cost involved in letting toddler E take a longer time to get used to being diaper free.

My Lovely Toddler

Future rockstar :)

There's a lot of prejudice in this world. Race, gender, sexual orientation and probably more that I am not aware of. What I AM aware of is my son's right to be himself and we endeavour to create a safe space for him to express himself in whatever way he chooses.

Toddler E almost always chooses a pink coloured instrument during a musical playgroup that I take him to, he will speak up and ask the teacher for the 'Pink one!'. No hesitation at all. At a different playgroup, the teacher had to mediate between toddler E and a girl who wanted the same pink instrument. She asked toddler E to give it to the girl and offered him a green instrument. I could tell he was disappointed, he had gotten the instrument first why should he have to give it up to a girl? I told him he did a nice thing letting the girl have it and that he could have the pink instrument the next time.

At a family gathering, he was happily playing Disney princess figurines with his cousin, also a toddler who's name begins with an 'E' but one year older than him, and they had a great time. He likes watching both Mike The Knight and Sofia The First. He's also very attached to his Masked Rider belt (think Power Rangers but only 2 guys instead of 5 or was it 6 rangers?). Every toy has it's own merit and we do not limit him to 'boy' toys or avoid giving him 'girl' toys.

Just keep on being yourself toddler E, your happy shiny self that brightens up everyone's day.

Princess Todzilla

Slinky 'belt'

No More Nap?!!

So the day that I have been dreading seems to have arrived. I have been living in terror of this day ever since baby E came into this world and now it is finally here.

Toddler E has given up his regular afternoon nap. 

It started a couple weeks ago when he refused to take a nap in the afternoon, but it made him extra cranky and tired in the evening so I held out hope that it was just a temporary thing, just a passing phase.

Then a week ago, he kept refusing his nap and kept his spirits up until bedtime. So this week I am resigned to fate and the fact that toddler E is growing up. He still seems to take a nap every other day or so, but most of the time he is content to play through 'nap time', now known as 'quiet time' or 'give mama's sanity a break time'.

I will stop watching the clock. Him giving up this nap was incredibly stressful for me because my expectation was that he would nap until he turned 6 years old. I thought he was being extra stubborn about taking his nap and there was quite a bit of tears (from both of us) about the nap and his seeming refusal to just close his eyes and sleep.

Taken by toddler E

Toddler E is also getting pretty handy with the camera on my iPhone. Here is a picture taken by him which features his cute little feet (I AM his mother after all, his feet will always be cute to me).

Never Forget the Manduca Carrier!

Took toddler E swimming a couple weeks ago. It was supposed to be at the public swimming complex right beside where we live, but it was closed for it's weekly cleaning. So we went to another one further away. Thinking it would be a quick swimming session just next door, I did not bring the Manduca carrier.

Oh boy was I wrong. 

So this is how I ended up carrying toddler E on our trip home when he was too tired to walk.

Photos taken 29 July

Not a happy camper

My poor arms!