Eat, drink and be married!

Happy 29 months baby boy!

With every month that passes, you never fail to frustrate-annoy us a weebit more but we also marvel at how much of your babyhood you've left behind. Has it really been 29 long months? All your caregivers cannot help but look back and just give a huge sigh of relief how far we've come.

This month...

• You graduated out of playgroup (another post! Momma's always lagging in her posts) and it was an emotional affair for me...11 months of school and we've seen you check off so many milestones. You adore school so much, taking you home is a pain sometimes. 
• This month you learnt how to dunk your head under water during swim class - YAY! 
• We're stopping soccer classes for a while this month...just so everyone can have a good weekend without rushing for classes. 
• You've started categorising your friends and clearly your best friends are boys. You got so upset when one of them refused to share his biscuit with you, you had a nightmare. Seeing you trio break into giggles and run all over school grounds always makes me wish you'd never get to experience the bad side to all friendships. 
• We're seeing more logic in your sentences..."Cycy scared of grandfather clock because..." and there's always a legit reason. 
• You outgrew your fear of tunnels at last, declaring yourself a brave boy. HAHA. 
• While you love food with all your heart, your preferences remain fiercely - the same food as us. Thankfully cooking same food as you has saved us several episodes of unnecessary meltdowns! 
• You've begun a keen interest in lego, trains and guns (must be that nerf gun your friend gifted you.)

And curry chicken for dinner! Just because I felt like cooking it for him since he tried it in school for Deepavali celebrations.



Look who's excited!



Om nom!




ANDDDD... to top it off we had our first advent calendar! 24 days of lego fun! :)

28 months and with just 2 months left to Play Group, I am left a little emotional about the little man being promoted to N1 at school and even swim class. No more the littlest. Next year brings more changes and more classes...I just hope he loves what we have planned out!

• "I don't know", "Let me think about it..." are phrases new to us this month and you say so with such seriousness, we all crack up at your sudden maturity. Are you growing up way too fast young man? 
• The dramatic meltdowns reached a peak and you've taken to making the biggest scene you ever can just to get out of situations until we got into some trouble and well - parenting is a journey! 
• We got you your christmas present really early because you ran so excitedly to the window and pointed at what you wanted - how could Dadda even reject you? So there, we bought the toy within days it was placed there and you spent the next few days asking for "Christmas". 
• The "why" game has started - strong. Why momma? But why? And why? Wish us luck. 
• The concept of two has gotten to you - two by two, two biscuits, two anything and everything when you sometimes only need 1. 

His Halloween meal of deviled eggs, a potato head man and a pork rib to represent bone! Someone looks mighty pleased though, especially with those olives.











And of course, how could we let the first of any month go by without a celebration. As much as I wish I baked this gorgeous swiss roll - we went with our family's favourite.


Happy 28 months sweetheart!

 TWENTY SEVEN MONTHS. The numbers just get larger eh...we're seeing your character emerge slowly and surely though it really is not too far off from how you were like in the womb, much less the earlier months of babyhood.



This month, we celebrate you...

• Being in love with school. Our second parent teacher meeting saw a glowing report (well which preschooler would have a not so glowing report? haha!)...the teachers are pleased with your progress in school. You speak mandarin when the need arises though not effectively bilingual we are happy in this department you are moving somewhere!
• Art and music remain your favourites and mama is sorry we have not been doing much of the home made fun as much as we would!
• Our first overseas holiday without gong gong or popo! That is a milestone for us as a family and we stuck together like glue. Disneyland finally has some meaning to you and the day you returned to school you told almost everyone about Hongkong, Disneyland and meeting Mickey mouse.
• We made history with your first nap in the stroller at Disneyland. What took us so long though?
• You made some progress swimming! Now you can take on the noodle and the swim board. Whee! Baby steps eh.
• Soccer is truly your favourite, you look forward so much to it that the only trouble I have is getting you to wear knee length socks and everything else is a breeze. Except you have started snatching balls and cones with your friend - tsk tsk.
• Being a stickler to how things have always been done. Routines make you secure and not following them somehow tests your patience and ours too. You must step on a stool to brush your teeth every morning, shower, go for breakfast and school. Snacks are only allowed after soccer and swimming and you repeat after me "snack after swimming" as if to mentally remind yourself the order of things. How cute at times when you are not getting all cranky because I pushed your naptime by 2 hours. HAHA.
• Shouting at the top of your lungs is unfortunately still your way of being heard and mama smacked your lips once. :(
• "So lucky", you have been saying randomly and yes baby boy, you are so lucky and so blessed.
• "I don't know." to almost everything and...I am always caught offguard how I should respond!   

xx

We attended our first Esplanade play - The Bird who are afraid of heights at the studio and it was a free seating event. My bad for arriving just minutes of the show since I was not expecting the show to even start on time (talk about practices locally).




The play was about a bird who was afraid of heights and he had a dear friend in a mouse. They made merry and had a whale of time plucking fruit - which included an interactive session with the children all helping to place them back into their respective crates.





There were plushie mangoes, rambutans, chikus and even dragonfruit. Kudos to the team for their creativity!



The other birds all teased him for not being able to fly.




And one day, the crows also joined in and decided to play a prank. By "abducting" the rat!

Of course in a fairy tale manner, all's well ends well, the bird started flying and they lived happily ever after.



While we did not score front row seats this time, we both enjoyed the play save for the distractions from other kids.

I loved the tale, the meaning behind it and hope one day he too will understand friendship knows no boundaries and as long as we all try, all dreams can come true.

Just two months into this terrible twos, there are days that are extra challenging and days that aren't. I guess as parents, we forget the unhappy and focus on the happy. In fact, August has been such a happening month...where do we start!

• We officially started him on a multi sports programme, so no more flash cards and academic related classes for now...we're going full on with mastering some ball sense! Doesn't he look too cute in these pint sized jerseys?
• He can scoooooot! At last! Well in my definition of scooting, more than just walking the poor scooter. Thanks to all the korkors and jiejies at the parks.
• Brushing teeth has become part of his daily routine - YAY. Includes standing on two stools leaning over the sink and spitting water into the sink. 
• We've taken the liberty not to shy away from the naming of genitals and he is aware how different Momma and he are. It does amaze me how he knows only to use P infront of us and tells us specifically the P gets caught when I dress him so haphazardly or if he needs to relief himself (so rare) and we make it to the toilet. 
• Just once we made it to him relieving himself in the toilet in the wee hours of the night. Is this a sign of toilet training to come? 
• I've been trying to teach him how to shower himself, this has been a hit and miss at times. On good days, he can unbutton the jammies, remove his pants and diaper quite well. On others, he claims it's "too hard". Wearing his clothes have been less successful, only the pants if and only if I do it with him. Otherwise the shirt completely does not even make it past his head. 
• He sat through a chinese play and a stage performance though the mascots scared him at some point. Baby steps to artistic appreciation!
• The conversations have gotten so serious at times, I swear he is a chip of his old block. "Momma come here....momma come hereeee!"/ "I want Popo bath, don't want Momma."/"For Cycy" (the frequency has peaked when he wants to own something very much and he knows it definitely does not belong to him). 
• Of late he has been replacing words he knows with "gaga" and it annoys me. So much. Why baby boy why! 
• On the school front, we completed a family day (half a walkathon!) and a project showcase. The Hubba flexed some muscle with the other volunteer dads hammering of the maze and Cyrus had a field day going in and out of it with the other kids. 

July was such a month for us - the terrific twos and on the health front I suffered a fair bit before Cyrus had a bout of high fever and rashes for a full week (!!!). And I haven't gotten down to documenting how we celebrated his second and now we are in his 25th month. Time, flies...too fast.

• Tantrums have gotten so real this month, the refusal to wear shoes, get into the car, into the car seat, out of the car, into the shower, have dinner, head for another shower, go to bed for the night. Many a time I feel like I'm done for the day before the nonsense begins.
• We have been conversing a fair bit in Chinese though heavily English accented! Cracks me up all the time.
• Chopsticks are his favourite cutlery these days and it gives him great pleasure using it to kiap our arms and food. (What a rascal!)
• Parroting is still very strong here - he LOVES repeating after us.
• Counting 1-more than 20 is his forte, likewise reciting his alphabats A-Z but recognizing is still a challenge. Apparently he sang twinkle twinkle little star in both English and Chinese with such gusto in class he scored an applause and was super smirky about it.
• Food is still in his major motivators - but OUR food is lyfe. He has been fussing over our food and wanted to try everything in sight. Momma me has two choices - either everyone eats the same as his, or I recreate same same but different versions. How now, brown cow! Since he has started with his birthday cake, we have had a number of other celebrations and they have all been castella or sponge cakes just so he can have a slice.
• He self talks a fair bit "Cycy this...ok!" =_="

One of the more memorable conversations this month...

"Mama pay money."
"Pay with whose money?"
"Your money"


Thank, SON.

Somewhere down the road I decided to make/bake/create a dessert for him to celebrate his monthly birthday and I did!




13 months - Yogurt drops while we had a banana chocolate swiss roll from Flor.




 14 months - Bread while we had a swiss roll




15 months - He fussed while we tucked into strawberry shortcake!




16 months - Baked bananas on bread



17 months- I reverted to getting a cake he couldn't eat and boy did he cry. Rainbow cake from Paris Baguette.



18 months - Banana icecream



19 months - Blueberry cherry milk pop!




20 months - Steamed milk pudding topped with strawberry heart




21 months - No bake peach cheesecake




22 months - Blueberry-Grape Jelly with compote






23 months - Apple rose tartlet




24 months - Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich (I was fearful of nut allergies but it's been a-okay so far, hooray!)

With that, 24 months flew us by and we have been parents for two years. TWO.



Looking back at his newborn photos and videos, those send a tear or two rolling down my cheek.


How far have we really come when just today, we have serious adult conversations and he answers me almost without prejudice and the most conviction to the simplest questions I pose. He amuses me in so many ways, touches my heart in ways that are beyond and also tests my patience like a teenager would.



Was it really just yesterday this little bugger stumbled out of me and the first thing I said was - yay, I am done being pregnant? Was it yesterday I cried buckets because I could not keep up with his appetite for milk and I felt so horrible having to open a tin of formula? Was it just yesterday I baked him a smash cake cos I was too giam siap to get him a baby friendly cake?


This same little fella can unbutton his pjs, point out all the motorcycles and squeal so excitedly everytime one comes into view...tell me in the most unamusing yet hilarious manner where his little p is (yes I do not believe in replacing sensitive bits with baby language - no no please). The way he says good bye to his pee cracks me up all the time. Just yesterday he went "Hallelujah, praise the lord!". All our hearts went into a puddle of goo. Yes baby boy, love God too with all your heart and mind and soul. For he gave us you and every blessing we've had so far. I can go on forever talking about him and well the mushies are in the card I wrote...year 2 in this time capsule for cards and one day you'll get to read all of them. :)


His second birthday went by with him telling us his birthdate and chomping down his first homemade peanut butter and banana toast...and of course, a slice of his birthday cake.


"For I know the plans I have for your declares the Lord, plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11


I'll end off with our favourite verse, one that you can fill in the blanks so confidently. Grow well, grow healthy! To many more birthdays, happy blessed two!

How could we the fans of gardens miss out on their Children's Festival? I did not intend to visit it so many times but we made a total of 3 trips to finish the attractions we wanted to visit. Talk about hardcore and the toddler is increasingly unwilling when it comes to posing for photos.


Children's Festival had Enid Blyton as the focus, bringing across her classics in different arenas and there were a combination of complimentary and paid attractions.



Shimmery Wonders was one of the free attractions where we got to enter a room similar to Trick Eye Museum.





Asshole parenting in progress.


The other room had kaleidescopes and lights.





Which then prompted me to get tickets for the other attractions as well. Being a friend of the Gardens scored us $2 off the $12 price tag.



There was an open area with inflatables strewn and a couple of see-saws...





:) These bright smiles always make these outings so worth while.







He squealed excitedly and ran towards 'melon' and started jumping happily.





Us on a lollipop.



Even the toadstools were inviting.




Candy Party was hollering at us since it was just right smack next to the inflatables.





Turns out we had to find the blue foam to redeem for a shot at the gacha gacha machine!







Momma seems to be more excited actually.





Into the enchanting world of mirrors and dressing up as a wizard!





 



   

 Mascot sighting was also a highlight and this scaredy cat was only interested in chasing them and not posing with them.

   

 The roving balloonist however, was his favourite! Here's him and his banana balloon.

   
Toy Fort somehow had the most number of people queueing all the time. We returned twice just to complete this! And it was just a shooting game with balls. Talk about over anticipation.


 

The sweaty boys.

All in this was cheap fun and worth three weekends worth - so there! I'm a fan.

Aviva Fundae 2018 was our first encounter and thanks to all the good reviews from fellow mummy friends, I thought we'd go have some good fun. It was scorching at 3pm and boo for not taking note of that.


There were two different entrances, one for goodie bag collection and another unofficial one near The Meadow's carpark.







Branding everywhere.





So our tickets entitled us to 1 free beer or juice unchilled which was just...urgh. Better than nothing in the scorching sun.





There were loads of game stations but the catch is, which ones suited an under 2 year old.





So the boys did a lot of running under the sun, loading up the Vit D!





And when we found a game we thought the boys would be interested in - at least the men were for the free beer if they got their boys into these donuts and were willing to be dragged around.







Turns out Cyrus had other plans and wanted to drag his father in it. =_=" Ended up nobody got anywhere and we still scored beer anyway!





We chanced upon this crowd puller - BUBBLES. And no simple ones, they were huge and kinda magical.





Daddies to the rescue for catching those large and floaty bubbles!





One of them in action....and it's sucha pity they popped so early.


Would I be back next year? Probably not....until he is ready to take on water play and all the rides on his own perhaps and when he can sit down for a proper movie under the stars. With the exception of icecreams, everything else was chargeable.


Aviva Fundae 2018, done and dusted!