Somersault Step 1

Not trying to be rude but Mama was trying to capture this pose cos I am doing this quite a bit nowadays. hopefully she can get a better shot next time. by the way, this is NOT me bowing down to the TV though I watch it quite a bit. It's probably one of those moments when I try to entertain myself or perhaps trying to get my parents' attention. I have tried doing this pose in my own bedroom too... ;P

20 months?

Nothing special. Just that Mama took out some of my old clothes to wash before storing them away. But guess what, this piece that I am wearing is actually for 0-3 month olds.... ok, it looks a little tight but I can actually still wear it. Most toddlers would have outgrown all their newborn clothing by now. haha... ;p

Laughing

hi all, this is the first time Mama observes that I am laughing at a video clip that amuses me. it's like i can now appreciate a comedy! guess what is tickling me....

More 20 months old development

Nowadays, I not only say the syllabus "ba" but I can drag the sound to produce "bai" and it goes, "baiiiiiiiii". Just the other day, I really amused Da Yi Po and Aunty Cvannelle when we visited her place and I called out the name of Aunty Cvannelle's dog -Zai Zai by saying "zaiiiiiiiii". Da Yi Po said I had done it with very clear diction.

Also, I can recognise Papa's pictures and address him. There were many occasions when Mama took out Papa's NTUC linkcard from her wallet when we were going to pay for the grocery. I will say "Papa" when I see Papa's photograph on the card.

Talking about pictures, I am more conscious of the camera. Many a times, I know my picture or video is being taken. Just last Monday, Mama brought me for a meet up at Ikea with Aunty Siew Lan and Aunty Elizabeth who also brought their children along. Before we left, Aunty Siew Lan took a picture of the children. There were Sarah jie jie, Seth gor gor and Joy jie jie. All of them stood around the high chair I was in. I knew my picture was taken and I actually smiled for the camera when Seth gor gor and the other 2 jie jies posed for it. :)

In addition, I am able to lick the morsels of food on my lips back into my mouth. That's probably important for my speech/social development too.

When I see Papa in a shirt with pocket on his chest, I will try to reach into it and find Papa's car key many a times. Papa will also let me play with some coins.

Talking about car keys, Mama and Papa no longer puts me in a car seat nowadays when we go out. Mama just did not want to battle with me over strapping me down. She rather have me sit next to her while she read to me or let me stand and watch the scenery when Papa drives. Papa also wants to train me to sit still when travelling in a car and so when he drives short distances like from our place to Nai nai's place, he will let me sit next to him and use the adult seat belt on me. I am a little small and so sometimes the part of the belt that is supposed to restrain the shoulders sometimes cover my face. Also, I am able to keep still if I am a little tired.

Mama thinks I love it best when Papa allowed me to take the driver's seat and play with his steering wheel a couple of days ago. Could it be that I am a driver in the making?

I am also able to climb up the plastic rocking horse in church all by myself. Here I am. :)

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

Yesterday, we went to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden at Botanic Garden. This is me and Papa at the entrance but Mama is perhaps the happiest of us all as she had wanted to bring me here for a long time.




There is a water play area here. Since Papa and Mama did not plan to bring me here when they left the house for breakfast, they did not bring my swimsuit with me. But no worries because Mama brought some extra clothing and so here I am, decked in a singlet that may be a bit small but nonetheless, fit for the occasion. In case you are wondering, I was wearing normal diapers underneath the singlet. :)

Not to worry, I am ok now. Papa captured another clip of me shortly after this and I was ok. Here it is...

There is also a tree house with a playground.


Papa did not allow me to use the slides as the slides are covered and he is concerned that something may happen to me when I am in it and he can't see me. We will just have to wait until I am older.

There is also a short suspension bridge here. Here is another piece of evidence of my 'bravery'.

We had a good time here and I was so tired that I fell asleep in the car when we were on our way home.

Grossy Gross

hi all,

Here's what happens when Mama said I am grossy gross... according to Papa, Shu shu was the one who taught me this really cute facial expression.. ;)

Nai Nai's Birthday

Nai Nai's birthday falls on 18th October. So this post is really belated but better late than never. :)

On 18th of October, Papa, Mama, Yeye, Nai Nai, Shu Shu and me had dinner at Mayim restaurant and adjourned to Nai Nai's house for cake cutting. :)

Mama also took some videos of the cake cutting process using Papa's handphone. But they were all recorded when the handphone was in mute mode. No prize for guessing who turned off the voice recording function of the handphone. It's me. I did it when I was fiddling with Papa's handphone. ;p

When Mama took the videos, she wanted to turn on the function but she chose to seize the moment and hence the mute clips.. sigh. hopefully, we can do a better one next year.. ;p

Thanks too for the cake from Uncle Denton and Aunty Cheyanne. It was delicious.. :D

In the MRT

I had traveled more on the MRT for the past few days and just see how I behaved in the train. No wonder Mama and I are both tired after going out. ;p

The Damsel in Distress

Mama really regrets she did not take a video of this one and you will have to imagine everything yourself. But she did not cook this incident up.

This morning, I was walking towards the bus stop at my place when I heard a baby cry. I turned back and saw a little toddler, smaller than me, stood at the other end of the corridor. She was whiny and refused to walk to the bus stop and her mother was trying to coax her into doing it.

I actually turned back and walked up to her. She saw me come up to her and stopped whining. Mama said some words to encourage her and then I turned to walk towards the bus stop again. This little girl was then happy to follow me. What a pity there was no visual documentation of this incident. sigh. ;p

Swimming?!?!

2 days ago, Mama brought me swimming at Choa Chu Kang Swimming Complex. This is a nice swimming complex, slightly more interesting than most of the swimming pools found in the housing estates. It actually has a wave pool where a machine simulates the rippling effects of the waves at the beach hourly. There are also 2 small pools with water play features. Another pool has a waterslide that is at least 2 metres high but might have been closed down. There is also a jacuzzi pool and the normal swimming pool for adults who are swimming for exercise. Not to forget, a wading pool for people who just want to relax and float along a stream. There used to be big floats for rent for such cruising but the renting of floats have ceased operation. The only thing is that the facilities are a bit old and one can see rust at some parts of the water play features.

Here I am, playing at the wave pool. It just happened that the waves were coming in as we reached the pool at around 6pm.

Actually, I did not really swim but walked between the pools. This is my second time here. Mama did not manage to take more pictures as she had to keep a lookout for me. As it is, I actually slipped when I was walking in the pool and my head went into the water but Mama quickly fished me out. This happened because Mama was distracted by another young family whose child was quite near to me. Tsk tsk. Thank God that nothing serious happened to me and Mama even took a video of me combing my hair later in the evening. :)

That day, she brought me here on her own and Papa arrived much later. These were taken before Papa arrived. For your viewing pleasure. :)

This is the Way I Comb My Hair

A couple of days ago, Papa told Mama that Nai Nai was very impressed when I combed my hair at her place last Saturday. Here is how I comb my hair...

20 months old.

Dear all, I am already 20 months old. I am now getting really active. But Aunty Cheyanne and Da Yi Po and many others all said it's better that I am active and healthy and it means I am developing well. See, I am strong. :)

This month, I am able to reach the lift buttons found just outside my flat. Oh, buttons, I just love to press them, especially lift buttons. Mind you, I am not a prankster that presses every button that is found on the panel. Mama has taught me which button to press to bring us from ground floor to 11th storey where we stay and which button to press when we are leaving our apartment.

If you want to know if I prefer taking escalator or a lift, I will show you that I prefer a lift more. Mama found out when she brought me to Yew Tee MRT station where I could choose between the lift and the escalator. I always choose the former, running towards the button panel. :)

Also, I am very much Mama's little helper. Nowadays, when she takes me out, I will be the one to tap the Ez-link stored value fare card when we take a bus or the MRT. When she brings me to 7-11 convenient stores, I am the one who will place the loaf of bread on the counter and pay for it with the note Mama gives me. I would also pay for the grocery at NTUC by passing Papa's link card and Mama's atm card to the cashier aunty.

Mama asked me if I am iron-deficient because whenever I am on a supermarket trolley, I always like to put the trolley key into my mouth despite Papa's discipline and Mama's frequent warning. And I had been hit on the arms every time I do it nowadays. Papa did best when he just had to hit me once and I did not exhibit that behaviour during the entire grocery shopping trip.

I am also saying more words. I can now say Nai Nai and Mama though I still say it pretty generically. But I say Papa with a little more context. There had been a few mornings when the first thing I said when I saw Papa was "Pa".

Also, I enjoy raising my voice. Not to scold anyone or show displeasure but simply fun to be able to talk with increasing volume. I am also very amused when Mama says the word "dirty" or when the words "grossy-gross" are said to me.

This morning, I just surprised Mama by climbing up the chair in front of the computer all by myself. This caused me to be placed in my play pen for a while as Mama was going to preparefor my bath.

Nowadays, I am also trying to test my boundaries.

When Mama gave me a piece of instruction, say, come to Mama, I will deliberately walk further from her. Mama will repeat the instructions 2 more times before her patience runs out. She will then say,"Daniel, come here or I will start counting to 3." If I still refuse to obey her, she starts to count and when she counts to 2, I will walking towards her. I have learnt the hard and painful way that if she has to count to 3, I will be spanked a few strokes with her plastic ruler.

The reason Mama does not use a cane is because she fear she will miss the target and injure me since a cane is quite thin. Hence, she prefers to use a plastic ruler which has a greater surface area. Still, this does not work on me. Sometimes, when I am spanked, I will utter something as if I am complaining. Sometimes, I will shed some crocodile tears. Mama and Papa can tell if I am really hurt by the spanking or I am just pretending to cry.

On a more positive note, Mama can see that I have grown to be wider.


The width of my shoulders have increased and Mama thinks she is fattening me by giving me chicken wings to eat every few days. She is not deliberately giving me chicken wings but since I enjoy it, Mama thinks it's ok to let me eat it more often. Papa is afraid I may choke on the bones and so Mama tried to cut the flesh of the wing to smaller piece but really, she thinks it is more hearty to have me bite the flesh off the bones.

Mama is not sure if I have outgrown the fear of a moving kiddy machine or there was someone next to me that day but she has caught this footage on her handphone.

Ok, that is about all for the month. will update again if there are more developments. see ya..

Showing Affection

Mama read that babies have comfort objects like a small towel or soft toy. Not me though. I don't need these things. Perhaps my pacifier is my comfort object but even then, I don't exactly need it except when I need to nap and under some conditions, I don't even need a pacifier to help me fall asleep. Hence Mama thinks I am really cute when I show my affection to my soft toys.

Memory

Dear all, when I first got my shape sorter toy from Mama, I tried to put it on my head. This really impressed Mama not because it was an ingenius way to play but because this was exactly what we boys did in church school during play time. Matthew gor-gor, Isaac gor-gor, Ayden gor-gor and myself would put the shape sorter on our heads and wear it like a crown during play time. Of course, there were episodes when demand exceeds supply and we had to take turns with this.

But what impressed Mama most was that she had not brought me to church school play group for a few months and I had no chance to play with a shape sorter. Yet the moment I lay my hands on my own personal sorter, I immediately recalled putting this on my head. I do remember more things now! :)

Class again

Mama said I can't quite follow the class. I show her wrong in this video. I did stop using the shaker when teacher said stop.. ;)

First Class

Today, Mama brought me to a music and movement class at Kindermusik at Tanglin Mall. It is a trial class. Mama wanted to give me some new stimulation other than just watching Hi-5 at home and I am getting bored with the playground downstairs.

Maybe cos I slept pretty late last night, I was a little tired even before I reached Tanglin Mall but I was pretty cooperative. Mama tried to have fun with me in the class but I may be a bit too young. From the video clip above, I was seated when it was actually a walk-about song.

Still, I was able to follow through the class most of the time. For instance, I was able to get the bells from the basket. Just that I did not quite comprehend what it meant to "get 2 bells for yourself and 2 for your Mummy". ;p

I was also very cooperative when it came to returning the musical instruments. Afterall, one of my favorite activity at home is to keep my toys by throwing them back to my playpen.

Mama remembered I returned the egg-shaped shakers to the basket and then held the edge of the basket with the teacher.

Halfway through the class, I actually wanted to leave but Mama managed to keep me in.

What I did not know was that, if I had been more insistent and made more noise, throw a tanturm, Mama would have left the class and brought me home for my nap. But that is also what Mama loves about me, my good-natured behaviour.

There was also a story time where the teacher took out a book and we children sat on a mat. I wasn't particularly engaged but remained quiet enough. Maybe I was really tired and Mama allowed me to rest my body against hers and so that kept me nicely behaved.

By the end of the class, I was really tired out and lied on the ground, refusing to get up. But I didn't throw any tantrum like a tired child would do. Want to know what I did instead? Watch the video below...

Seeing that I could still hold out for a while after we left the centre, Mama brought me to Mac Donald's for lunch but I hardly ate much. At Mac Donalds' Mama realised she had left my shoes at the centre and we went back promptly to get them before going home in a taxi.

I was so tired that I fell asleep on my way home in the taxi and slept at least 3 hours. I was still sleeping when Mama wrote this blog.. now she is going to take a short nap too....

Going to the Zoo Again Episode #2

We arrived at around10.30 am in the morning. The weather was very good as it was kind of cloudy but it did not rain until some time around 6.30pm in the evening. It was already a little crowded then and Papa decided to wheel me around in the pram.

We came to this place which was like a miniature farm and Papa let me down for a walk.

There was also this enclosure where mandarin ducks and other small animals were allowed to roam freely. Mama was initially afraid to go in, being the citydweller she is but egged on by Papa, she decided to go in with us. There were no photos to show but I actually saw the mouse deer (what Mama thinks that is) and the mandarin ducks walk by me. What a close encounter.

Then, we came to the children's amusement park where animals like horses and goats are kept. There was a carousel and Papa decided to let me try riding on one. He went to buy the ticket while Mama kneeled down next to me and we watched the carousel go round and round. They then decided Papa will go on the carousel with me as Mama felt giddy just watching it go round and round. Well, you can probably tell from the pictures that I did not enjoy this very much. Maybe because Mama took our pictures when the machine has stopped and I would very much like to get down. ;p

Of course now that I am older, I can appreciate the animals better. We spend quite a bit of time at the enclosure where the goats are kept. I was interested in the goats but Papa and Mama were keeping a close watch that I do not touch their faces lest I get bitten by one.

Guess where I spent the most of my time?
Yup, the water playground! We spent an hour there. Now, it was Mama's turn to get wet with me. Initially, I was a little ginger about this, creating some ripples at the side of the pool with my hands. The water was cold but that did not stop me from having fun.

Egged on by Mama, we went closer to where the action was and we alternated between the middle of the pool where there were water slides and at the fringe areas where the "milder" sprays are.



Towards the end, I was brave enough to go a few steps up a slippery wet staircase and came down on a water slide all by myself while Mama watched me from the side of the slide, all ready to catch me in case I land myself in some trouble. But I only got to use the slide twice and we went to other water features. The next one was a fountain which was made by a circle of vents on the ground which sprayed water towards the centre of the circle. Initially, I only dared put my hand to intercept the water and then, I found out I can stop the water from leaving the vent by putting my foot on the vent. Mama was really heartened to see me gaining water confidence as I progressed from the side of the pool to the slide and from using my hand on the water from the vent to stepping on it. I really am growing! :)

After an hour or so, Mama decided it's kind of enough for me and she took me to Papa. They changed me and Papa made me a bottle of milk. I soon fell asleep after the bottle of milk. It's about 12.45pm, my nap time...zzz...zzz....

Going to the Zoo Again Episode #1

Nowadays, I am always very excited when I see the birds and dogs when I walk around my neighbourhood. So Papa and Mama decided to bring me to the zoo again. On the 31st October, Mama did not have to work that Saturday morning and so we went to the zoo together. Just see how much I have grown from last year December to this October...

A New Experience

Last week, Mama brought me to NTUC to do some grocery shopping and at the end of the trip, before she returned the trolley, she decided to try letting me sit in the trolley compartment which is supposed to hold the grocery. Not to worry, she will not let me sit here while she does her grocery shopping. I am too young to be sitted here while she shop... ;p

Changi Airport

A few weeks ago, Shu Shu thought of bringing me to botanic gardens for a family outing on a Sunday early evening followed by a dinner at Tanglin Mall. Mama was thinking maybe we can go to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden. Well, God has other plans.

On Sunday morning itself, Papa managed to persuade Shu Shu to go Changi Airport Terminal 3 instead as it is air conditioned and it also offers me a lot of space to run around. So we went to Terminal 3 again.

I fell asleep on the way to the airport and only woke up after everyone had their dinner and were going to the viewing gallery.

One of my current favourite activities in a mall is to go up and down the escalator. This is especially so if there are 2 escalators next to each other going in the opposite direction. So you see Papa holding me as we went up and came down the escalator together. And I already know I must stand properly on the escalator and not try to go up or down its steps. :)

If Mama remembered correctly, she actually made about 6 trips with me when we were at Great World City a few weeks ago. 3 trips up and 3 trips down the escalator.

Another interesting thing that happened at the airport was that there was a girl who just came up to me and hugged me. Mama didn't have a chance to capture that picture but here is another boy who came up to show some affection. I am actually attracting friends! How about that? :)

19 months old

Actually, I am now almost 20 months old. For the past few weeks, I had grown to become more self-assertive and insists upon my ways often. I have also started to practise selective hearing and many a times, Mama's words seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Papa said I am ill-disciplined. Perhaps now is the time to take me in hand... ;p

I am now able to spend more time concentrating on things I am interested in. But the only thing that can hold my attention for long is probably the brand new series of Hi-5. In the past, I was only interested in their opening and closing songs but now, I am able to sit through the segments as well.

Just a couple of days ago, Mama was feeling very tired in the morning and after letting me have my milk, she switched on the Hi-5 video cassette, curled up on the sofa and napped for another hour. And I actually watched the show on my own and stayed out of trouble for that hour.

In addition, I have started to imitate one of the movements. There was this song about Party at the Zoo and one part of the song, the guys were beating their chests like gorillas. I actually imitated this action.

Another activity that I actually enjoy is reading. Now, I can enjoy the books Mama borrowed for me from the community library and I like lifting the flaps found on the pages of the book. Papa also bought me many palm-sized board books that I can hold in my palm. My current favourite is called Opposites. It is a small palm-sized board book Papa bought from a second-hand book store. I will often take the book from my shelf and hand it to Mama who is on my bed. This is my way of telling her I want her to read to me. It has many pictures of different animals eg a fat hippo and a thin monkey.

For the past couple of weeks, I have a pretty established schedule. I wake up at ard 6.50am in the morning to a bottle of milk. Mama would then let me watch Hi-5 on the video until she has washed up and is ready to take me out. Sometimes, we would do some reading before Mama take me out at around 9am. We would then go for a walk at the void deck and the playground nearby for about an hour or Yew Tee central for about an hour and a half.

We would be home at around 11.30am for a bathe and lunch. At 12.30pm, I will be watching Hi-5 from TV and then settle for sleep at around 1.45pm. I usually nap til around 5pm when I will wake up to see Mama cook dinner and watch more Hi-5 so that she can cook without worrying much about me.

Then Papa will be home to spend some time with me before dinner. I usually sleep at around 9.50pm though Mama will love to have me sleep earlier.

Mama is not too sure is it due to some change in my feeding schedule but I seem to have become what Mama called "a moody eater" this month. Gone are the days when I eat a hearty bowl of porridge for lunch and when I would happily eat anything that is offered to me.

Now, I seem to have "food mood". For example, Mama gave me red bean paste bun (tau sar pau) for breakfast on Tuesday and I would enjoy it. But 3 days later, I would refuse to eat roast pork bun (char siew pau) for breakfast. Maybe I am settling into a 3 hourly feeding schedule.

This month, Mama is trying to wean herself off the pram as this means she can have more freedom to move around. When she wheels me around in a pram, she can only walk to Yew Tee Central which takes about 15 minutes and she would try to walk in the shade offered by the shadow of the MRT tracks. When we are on our way home, it is nearer to noon time and even hotter. But the advantages of using a pram are that she can buy more grocery home and localise me when she needs me to stay around her and not wander away from my own. As it is, Mama knows there are at least one toddler who already refused to be wheeled around and so she considers me good that I am still willing to travel in a pram.

On the other hand, if she takes me out without a pram, she can take bus 302 which is a much faster way to get to Central. But that means she can only buy a few items as she needs to carry me when we board the bus. Also, she has to chase after me as I am now more daring and think nothing of wandering away from her.

Of course, we can also take the MRT and I really like to walk on the metal links that join one carriage of the train as that is where the rocking of the train is most keenly felt. This is fine if the train is not crowded but not if Mama travels at around 930am with me. ;P

This month, I went more places and further from home with Mama. We went Botanic Garden with Aunty Elizabeth, visited Aunty Hwee Kiah, Mama's University mate who stays at Redhill and even my maternal grandma.

I also own more toys as Mama and Papa has bought them for me. But Papa and Mama found out that it's usually the simple toys like a straw and an empty plastic cup that provides me the most fun as I explore the world around me.

Socially, I am quite the opposite of what Papa thought of. Papa was afraid I will be bullied because I am smaller in size compared to many peers my age. But I have proven him otherwise. I am not afraid to snatch toys and fight with Matthew gor-gor, Uncle David Sy's son, who is about 5 months older than me. Papa observed that when I play with the church school children, I do not know how to share the toys nor do I take turns.

Mama took this picture of me and Matthew Gor-Gor when we went Aunty Hwee Kiah's place. I was actually quite a bully as I sank my nails into his thighs. Not to be outdone, Matthew gor-gor pushed me too but he did not use much strength and so I did not fall down.

Such incidents have made Papa even more firm to send me to a playgroup in January. In fact, Mama has already registered me and God-willing, I will be attending a 1.5 hr playgroup starting

4th Jan 2010. I am going to school! :)

Ok, that is about all. thanks for reading this far. :)