Eat, drink and be married!

 


Dear Cyrus,

You are a big brother now...and this transition has been so tough for you. Mama knows and since blobbie's days you knew from day one that someone would be coming along and you already made it known to us you knew, in your little ways.

I know you feel lost, bewildered and all feelings of negativity no matter how hard we try to reassure you that nothing changes - we love you the same if not more, nobody's going anywhere but routines had to change.

You acted up before Celeste came along, actually the weeks leading up to her arrival and we all hoped this would pass faster than we know. The day she was born, you cried buckets when Popo showed you her first video and then developed a fever later that day. The first night she came back you cried so hard for Popo and Gong Gong, I cried along with you. We hugged each other to sleep but that did not stop you waking and screaming your head off. If only you knew, you knew how much it hurt me to see you cry...

You were less of yourself in school and the teachers all knew. :( Even at your combined birthday celebration with your friends you were mostly quiet, totally unlike the you that the aunties and uncles know. We prayed so hard that there'll be acceptance in your heart, slowly and surely my cheeky little boy will be back in action.

As much as mama wants a sibling for you to play and grow up with, I hope these intentions never get misconstrued.  You will always be our first born, that special individual who will not be judged because you're more mischievous, more cheeky...Routines may change, the order of doing things may change...our tone towards you may change but please always remember, we still love you like we did the day we discovered we are finally pregnant, we still love you like we never had children before....we still want to witness your every milestone the same way Mama documented those first 365 days with a photo everyday.

Two weeks on, we are definitely in a better place than when we started...baby steps all the way! It warms my heart when you ask for meimei the minute you reach home and while you expect her to be up and playing with you now, she will soon!

Love you more than you can comprehend and ever know,
Mama.

We finally paid Tayo Station a visit after utilising our Pororo Park passes and the first thing that C did when he entered was to make his way to the TV screen and stood there for a good 5 minutes. Talk about being hugely deprived.





Hi there cutie, what are you orchestrating?




Picking his automobile! The great thing about going in early is when the attractions are not too crowded and there is no time limit either/





Vroom, vroom and off he goes.




Clearly the automobiles did not interest him long enough before he decided mounting these walls and pose for me. Face palm moment.




Besides the hinoki pool that he was not so keen on anymore (probably an overdose at Pororo Park!), he found joy in these toddler slides.



It was not before long before he took on the slides and obstacle course which burnt most of his energy, from the kid sized flying fox to more challenging slides.

C had heaps of fun but within 2 hours we were almost done and it would have been nice to have a Meet the mascot session.

As much as possible, I've been exposing C to the world of theatre regularly. Partly because I enjoy them myself and hopefully he starts to appreciate it too. So off to The Very Hungry Caterpillar play! I actually overlooked that it also included other tales and I had not gotten those two other tales to read to him prior - woe is me when he saw the moon and started crying. Argh, boys!




Us before the play began!

What makes this production different from the others attended is, the actors actually address the crows after the show to share tips and take questions. What's more? Our tickets included a back stage tour too!




The actors were so gracious in showing us all their stage tricks and letting the kids go near these prized props!



Not to mention take a gadzillion photos.

Well, one down and cannot wait for our next theatre adventure!

Popcorn it was this month, because I really ran out of ideas what to make him and I was wary this picky eater may just turn his nose up on my donuts if I attempted. So yes, someday homemade donuts but until then he was SO THRILLED to be given his own baby popcorn since we have been dangling Garrett's and denying him. Bad assed parents.



2 months shy of threenager and the horrors are real.

• PINK everything is up his alley. Pink boxers, food, fruit, drinks, bottles...everything he wants has to be pink and there's so much that "I'll buy it later" will get me. DAMN. 
• The art of negotiation has taken a new spin. "Later" is always met with "But I want it now." Someone save me. The before and after I am sure he understands but he chooses to take me head on. 
• Conversationally he has progressed with his chinese language and I hope that remains since we are down to the last 10 months of his chinese immersion programme in school. 
• He's gotten pickier this month for some awakening reason, "I only want goat's milk in a packet", "No vegetables!" (thank goodness weekends are still a breeze with feeding him anything, weekdays always gets him spoilt...) 
• So far no huge picky fights over outfits, he still lets me dress him. Only the shoes he wears to school has been causing us some morning pain - sandals over shoes always. LIKE WHY. 
• He's been off diapers in school for abit now, we are taking things slow for this...it will come and happen when he's ready so I'm all good. 
• "Ah Gong, you go and die." The first time I heard it, my heart broke. Here's my little boy using "death" as part of a statement and we had to explain why he should not say it and hopefully not scare him the reality of it. 
• Night terrors have taken centre stage this month and we're not sure if it has to do with the numerous milestones he is hitting (toilet training, weaning of milk etc...or...)  or really his mind is too active. 

It's the time of the year for pink, pink and more pink! This year, we made it a point to visit the Gardens at the start of the entire festival just so these blooms can be viewed in their full glory. We visited a tad too late last year and the blooms were not their prettiest.





It does look like sakura in Japan eh? Not that I've ever been there during the Sakura Matsuri season but Gardens always does a very fine job with this exhibition.




There were these smaller exhibits that showcased iconic attractions known for Sakura and here we have them in such miniature scales without even visiting the place! Cheap thrill.






Just how many varieties of sakuras are there?



The closest we got to getting us all in and the pretty pink blooms.



I love how the stalls are housed within the Flower Dome this year and not outdoor since the weather can be so unforgiving, I even picked up a sakura chiffon at the bazaar!

And that wraps up the overdue post on this year's Sakura Matsuri! Just one fine day we will make our way to Japan to see them in person.

Of the authors that had such an impact in my childhood, Roald Dahl ranks high...it could be his way of telling a story so riveting that all the titles I read were just so worthy of re-reads! Of his books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda are my top top top most favourites.



So then I had tickets to Matilda and thought why not expose C to it! Granted I was risking a few things here.

Delayed bedtime - in fact, a super duper very delayed one from 830pm in bed to at least 2 hours later. He must have thought I became the world's best mom for that one night.

It's more than 2 hours long - the theatre shows he's been to are mostly under an hour and it sure is a test of his patience and mine. Not to mention it being so close to bedtime!

Matilda is nothing to him - I did not managed to tell him the story nor even introduce the character, it's just as foreign as Elsa is to him.



Thank goodness for our box seats, we had space to ourselves and even if he started walking around, he was not disturbing anyone! ANDDD...I was still fearful about him asking his 500 questions within earshot of everyone.



While we did not last the full 155 minutes including the break, we lasted almost 120 and it's a major kudos to my toddler. He was so captivated, he actually did not want to leave. HAHA!

Every passing month gives me a tingly sense of pride that my little boy is no longer little, he is slowly growing up. Of course, there will be emo days where I wish time did pass slower!

Time flies too fast and the backlog is clearly piling up so high - I must get down to Marie Kondoing the entries. NOW, why did Blogger not update the app! Life would have been so much easier, and I digress.

 

Since CNY is coming up, I decided to bake pineapple tarts from scratch - for the first time in my life and...swore never to do it again, if it is not for family. HAHA. 




In true foodie style, he was game to try these handmade tarts. 



First taking a good look. 





And then polishing it off. YAY.

• The food game is still strong with this one and it definitely has to do with the genes when it comes to food - throw him meds and he takes them on like a champ, even asking for "more medicine!", his dreams are infiltrated by food and it is amusing how he sleep talks "big portion!" and of course the beauty of bringing him out for meals is he mostly sits through and hardly fusses as long as there is food. 
• Since starting chinese class or maybe it was just coincidental how it was also time to unleash the chinese vocab he has been storing for a year in school - he understands chinese and can respond appropriately though we do have some way to go to be as conversant as he is in English. 
• He has been amusing us with his cantonese phrases too - thanks to Ah Gong! 
• The monkey antics have obviously leveled up - we scored an Accident and Emergency visit one Friday night over a splinter he managed to brilliantly kick under his toe. ARGH, BOYS. 
• He has dumped the scooter for his tricycle -  can't wait to transit him to the walking bike and then a proper bicycle!
• His safety net has extended to both yiyi and yizhang, randomly wanting them when he is disciplined. Cues roll eyes. 
• The imaginative mind has clearly won this month when his teacher told him she was going to take a plane home for CNY and he replied almost matter of factly so was he and he was going to Hong Kong for the new year too. None of which is true though we do get some truth from this imp occasionally. 
• We survived two plays with him completely mersmerized for Tiger Came to Tea but freaked out for Room on The Broom. Baby victories! 

And with that, we welcome Year of the Pig with wide open arms! Hope your family is having some serious fun too! 

30 months, 2.5 years and it used to baffle me why anyone would count their children's ages in weeks or even months. Will it not be easier in years? But I do get it...every week in the first year is worth celebrating and then months. Not that life should not be celebrated there after, it's just odd to be counting a toddler's age in weeks beyond 52!

December whisked us by and I do have alot to update and as usual never enough time.

• We upgraded him to a tricycle this Christmas and he has been paddling all over...too cute! And he amazed me with his penchant for obstacles. He chanced upon some cones and decided to do zigzag cycling...and insisted he perfected it. Naw, WHERE and WHO did he get that streak from? 
• We did JB over Christmas and it was not without drama, 4am cruising past the causeway meant the champ was rudely awakened but he was unusually obedient, not even fussing! We had plenty of adventures then and clearly he was too excited to sleep and came down with fever on 27th December, immediately after our hols. TSK. 
• His grasp of languages amuse us alot, he's picked up random malay and cantonese phrases! We do have decent conversations these days and I am always taken aback by this toddler wisdom. "Ah gong, you don't drink mama's bottle. You take your own." Wutttt???
• "Popo, get the man to fix it." when he heard the aircon rattling away. 
• He officially completed 1 month of transition into N1 so here's the real deal this January. 

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