Nature vs Nurture

Do we influence girls to like dolls, princesses and pink? Do boys have a natural affinity for trucks, tools and blue?

Well, I think it's innate. :D

These past two months, DN has developed this obsession for construction sites, excavators, cranes, piling machines and steam rollers. (On hindsight, a good thing, because it increased my construction vocabulary beyond "digger".) Everytime we pass something vaguely construction-related, he will start to point and wave, scream and shout.

DN : "Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!"
Me : "..." (clearly oblivious because these things don't feature in my radar... the stuff that shows up on my radar have handles, start with "b" and end with "ags")
DN : (louder) "AAAAAhhhhh...!"
PF : "Oi! He's telling you about the excavator!"
Me : (fake joy) "Wow! What's that! It's huge! It's an excavator! Amazing!"

If we don't acknowledge what he's seen, he carries on shouting. He loves to look at these machines and can just stand there and stare at them for minutes. I think this one will faint in joy if ever he gets to sit in an excavator.

PF (aka Bob the Builder) is SO pleased.

I spy with my little eye...











Diggers! Cranes!

Digger! Excavator!

Bedtime Routine

DN's bedtime routine has been the same since he was about 3 months old.

1. Either a bath or a wipe-down... it depends on his "stinkiness".
2. Then PF, DN and I hang out in DN's room and play with his puppets, soft toys & puzzles.
3. Next, storytime. If he's really tired, one book. If not, DN usually wants to read about five to ten books. Sometimes, it gets to a stage where we're saying, "Okay, only one more book DN. Last one. No more. All gone. Time for BED!" I'm glad he likes his books. :)
4. After the last book, it's a kiss for PF and me, and then I cuddle him to sleep.
5. Zzzzz...

For the past two nights, I wasn't around to put DN into bed. On Wednesday it was a school event at Jubilee Hall, and yesterday, I decided to go to the gym after work (my first time in two years, so I'm walking like C-P30 today). It felt nice to do it again tonight (putting DN into bed, not the gym!).

DN has a few favourite books. He likes...

• Goodnight Moon
• Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me and
• the set of three Thomas The Tank Engine books we picked up in Perth

One of the books I used to read to him when he was really little was Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. My mom gave me the book and I teared when I read it to DN for the first time when he was about 3-4 months old. When he became more mobile and thus restless, I stopped reading that to him because he'd want to flip the pages every 2 seconds so I couldn't read the story at all.

This is how it starts...

"A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."

The story goes on to describe how the little baby grew into a toddler, boy and teenager, and how, every night, the mother would sneak into his room when he's fast asleep, pick him up, cradle him and sing:

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."

The teenager became a grown up and moved out. Sometimes, his mother would drive to his house, sneak into his room and sing the song to him as he lay fast asleep. Until one day she called him up and asked him to come and see her.

"When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...
But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick."

"The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be."

The story ends with the son going home and standing on the steps for a long time, thinking. Then he walks into his baby daughter's room, picks her up from her cot, cradles her and sings:

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."

(If you're not crying or at least tearing by now, you've either just kicked your little toe against a cupboard, or you're a man. -_- )

This week, I tried reading "Love You Forever" to DN again, and he sat through the entire book. He stared hard at the illustrations as I read the story and when I reached the last page, he still hadn't moved. Not a peep, not a wriggle.

I think he understood.

DN's famous!

... er, sort of... (heh heh!)

Funny Bee and I brought DN for a Swirl Swap Swop at the Swirl Boutique (love their clothes!) yesterday. What is a "swirl swap swop"? The idea's simple. Springclean your wardrobe. Bag the stuff you don't wear anymore (or, in my case, CAN'T wear anymore). Bring it down to Swirl. Toss it on the floor. Sift through the pile for stuff that other people don't want. Eat a cupcake. Drink some orange squash. Stop toddler from destroying assorted vintage props lying around the shop. (eg: rare typewriter) And that's it!

I saw someone make off with two of my stuff - a Diesel dress that I can only squeeze one leg into now, and a long ethnic skirt with bells (don't ask) that I never had the guts to wear.

I also overhead another lady remark, "Aiyoh, why so small one?!" when my stuff was added to the pile. Part of me beamed, "YEAH! She said 'small'! I'm not fat!" Then the other non-deluded half said, "Oi. You brought stuff that you USED to be able to wear." -_-

No matter. As long as the toddler had fun, what's another bruised, deflated, squashed, flat-as-prata ego?

Before going, I was worried that DN would leave the store in a post-El Nino state. Dresses off their hangers, bags on the floor, torn art work... but none of that happened because the big pile of clothes in the middle of the shop was enough to keep him occupied for the hour that we were there. :D He rummaged through the pile, carried clothes from sofa to pile to sofa to pile to sofa again, held out pink tops at other swoppers, gestured at the takings of other swoppers, ate one chocolate cupcake and...

... "posed" for pictures. ;)

(taken by Zann, one of the Swirl girls)









He's been mentioned in one of their blog posts. Ah, such is fame.

HA!

Excuse me, there are monkeys on your socks

I burst out laughing when I saw these!

They were a gift from DN's grand-aunt in Shanghai. You can buy ANYTHING in China! ;)

DN hearts food

We brought him to my colleague's wedding lunch last month and he impressed table 19 with his eating prowess. He sat down for the entire 8-course lunch. I brought him for 1 walk, but only because he was having a meltdown. Cause of meltdown? No more suckling pig. *faint*

So DN had a taste of all the courses - suckling pig, soup, sea bass, braised vegetables, glutinous rice and even sea cucumber. Yes. You read right. DN loves braised sea cucumbers, those worm-like creatures that live on the sea bed and breathe through their anuses. (I think you can guess my stand on sea cucumbers.)

DN is a real trooper when it comes to food. He's game to try anything and has a true-blue Singaporean palate. He likes durians, satay and zi char!

For a little guy like DN who loves his food, one must always have snacks on standby at home. Right now, we have...

1. Grapes
2. Healthy Times Teddy Puffs
3. Want Want Baby Bites
4. Healthy Handfuls Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Fruit & Nut Granola Bars
6. Muesli

and his favourite...

... Xiao Wan Jian Bing, or Small Ball Cooked Biscuits. (heh heh)

He absolutely LOVES these. We now have to hide them from him because he demands to eat them once he spots the packet. If he doesn't get them, put on your radioactive suit and prepare for a meltdown.

I bought them on a whim at a petrol kiosk along Bukit Timah Road. The crackers looked the perfect size for little toddler fingers and it came in little packs, perfect for diaper bags. And at only $1.95? What a steal!

DN likes the crunchy bite to them and I like how they don't turn his fingers sticky and mucky like some other "creamy" baby biscuits. They also don't flake like rice crackers, so DN doesn't look like a walking bird food stick after a snack. Want to know what else is great about them? They are only lightly sweetened, great for toddler tummies. :)

Small Ball Cooked Biscuits

Never judge a cookie by its name.

Got milk?

The first time we realised that DN was allergic to cow's milk was in April last year. According to my MIL, it was BAAAD. The few gulps of formula milk (FM) he had made him break out in blister-like rashes. For hours.

Dr Keoy (DN's PD) said some babies would outgrow it by the time they turned one, but DN hasn't. He's had "accidents" with cheese, ice-cream and salad dressing (?), accidentally eating a bit and then turning red (usually the area around his mouth). Because it's just a little bit, like a lick of ice-cream, the redness goes away in 30-45 minutes.

Qn : What would happen if he ate an entire ice-cream sundae?
Ans : He wouldn't. I would!
*cue : pitiful laughter*

Okay, I digress.

Because of this allergy, DN cannot drink almost all FMs because they're mostly cow's milk based. So we tried soya-based FM and hypoallergenic FM, but he didn't like the taste. I don't blame him, crap probably tastes better. So we tried goat's milk. As luck would have it, he's also allergic to that. (Damn you, Murphy!) A drop that touched his skin turned it red immediately. Oh well. We might try rice milk or hemp milk next.

Because of his cow's milk allergy, I kept up with the whole rigmarole of breastfeeding and expressing in the office for about 19 months. Last month, I decided to stop breastfeeding so DN doesn't drink any milk at all now. He does gets cereal (with NAN HA mixed in) twice a day, but that's it for his FM intake.

Now what's the first thing a mother does when this happens? Panic right?!?!
"No milk!? He's going to be 80cm tall for the rest of his life!"

So I did some reading up and what I've found out is, it's okay for kids not to drink formula milk. I guess it's such a norm in our culture that it seems essential, but it's not. As long as they get their calcium from other sources (700-800mg a day for young toddlers), they're fine. Phew. :) So here're some calcium rich foods that have got to be staples in DN's diet.

1. Salmon
2. Tofu
3. Broccoli
4. Calcium fortified orange juice
5. Soya bean milk
6. Spinach

Dr Keoy suggested giving him tau huay jui, so we tried it out. He drinks it! Yay!

(But the paranoid me still dilutes it with some water first.)

(And yes, we still haven't thrown away our CNY love letters. Ack.)

Papa!

DN's definitely an early walker and a late talker. Sometimes I wish he would pick up more words so we can move onto actual conversations, but I'm not going to rush him, he'll speak when HE'S ready, not when we're ready. :)

In the morning, DN's voice is kinda raspy and soft so we love asking him to say "mama" over and over and over. DN has been saying "mama" since December, but never "papa". PF has never given up trying though and a typical conversation between him and DN goes like this...

PF : "DN, say papa!"
DN : "..."
PF : "DN, who am I?"
DN : "..."
PF : "DN, what's my name?"
DN : "MAMA!"

Two mornings ago, PF tried again as usual ("DN, say papa!"), and DN did! So, DN's verbal vocabulary has now expanded to include "papa". Oh, PF is SO pleased.

Words DN can say (in order of their appearance, and merit - haha!) :
mum-mum, mama, gu gu, kong kong, up, cut, papa

Poor Bubs :(

DN's a pretty tough cookie.

1. He has never cried at his vaccinations or blood tests.

2. Now that he's older, I've started scolding him for unacceptable behaviour (hitting people, throwing his toys in frustration, shouting when he doesn't get his way), but so far, he's NEVER CRIED. We can see his lower lip turning down and quivering, his eyes well up, but so far? No tears. This one's got some pride. PF and I have our work cut out for us, sigh.

3. When he falls down, 8 out of 10 times, he'll just cry a bit in shock, then pick himself up and carry on. He's not really a cry baby. The only time he'll cry is when it's really painful. Like this morning when he fell on the road as we were walking to the car. :( The poor bubs cut his lip, which bled and swelled to twice its size immediately.

But being the tough cookie that he is, he stopped crying a little while later and gestured at me to sit back because I was leaning forward and fawning over him in his car seat.

DN : "Sit back, Mama, you're embarrassing me."

Masak-Masak

This is DN's favourite activity now. He loves playing with his mini kitchen set and can play with it for up to 15 minutes on his own. So I pull it out when I need to get some work done at home or when I need to prepare his food.

When he plays, he throws in all sorts of food (sausages, buns, cauliflower, corn...) and starts stirring it about. Once in awhile, he'll have a taste. When it gets boring playing on his own, he'll ask me to sit next to him (by patting the floor) and I'll have to taste his soup too. He always giggles when I take a big sluuuuurp!

The set comes with a tiny pot and pan, each about half the size of a saucer. Of course that's not good enough for DN, so he drags our pots and pans out and cooks a hotchpotch stew. Sometimes, for that added kick, he adds some plates and spoons. LOL.

Picnic at Botanic Gardens

DN and I joined Ling's mommy's-group at Botanic Gardens for a little picnic. PF, DN and I had breakfast at the food court first. DN shunned my kaya toast but gobbled up PF's prata.

This smile cannot get any "fake-r". After PF left for work, we walked around the visitor's centre and saw this...

Only $1 per capsule! (cheap entertainment for DN)


















Looks like Po Chai Yin, haha.






For a dollar, the capsule sure was worth it. DN fed the fish pellet by pellet. Heh heh.








After meeting Sophie and the other kids, we walked (about 5 minutes) to a HUGE tree and laid out all our mats. All the kids started snacking on animal crackers and the adults had Starburst jelly worms courtesy of Ling. DN and Sophie were the oldest and also the first to start running around on the grass. We hung around for about 1.5 hours before surrendering to the sun and packing up for lunch at the food court.

The funniest thing of the morning was when DN kept hugging Sophie.

The first hug, Sophie was like, "???".
The second hug, she was like, "Hello??!".
By the third hug, Sophie was like, "Talk to the hand!"

DN : "Yes Mom, I like this one."

DN : "Mine! Mine! Mine!"














It was 1pm by the time we left the Botanic Gardens. DN fell asleep in the cab. He was SO tired. He didn't even wake up as I changed his diaper. KO!

It's tiring being a Casanova.

Going to the Zoo

It's the school holidays, so if there's nothing to do in the office, I'll take the day off and spend it with DN. (As teachers, we're not allowed to take leave during the school term.) At 5.30pm yesterday, I thought, "Let's go to the zoo tomorrow!". So I called HR and the corporate pass was available so I sped over to pick it up. :D

I had to drop PF off at work first, so it was 10am when we got to the zoo. Hmm... that meant we didn't have much time to stroll around because DN would get tired around 1230pm. No matter. The entry was free! ;)

DN saw the otters, white tigers, warthogs, pygmy hippos, kangaroos, emus, orang utans, manatees, penguins, sea lions, pelicans and some free-roaming peacocks. When he saw fishes, he signed "fish" and "bird" when he saw any birds. When he saw the tigers, he growled, haha. He was quite fascinated with the warthogs. They were the only animals he actually turned around, and walked back to look at again.

We also managed to catch the Splash Safari Show at 11am, which he LOVED! I totally didn't expect that because he's got an attention span of a gnat right? But he liked it! He jiggled his butt when the tribal music was on, clapped when everyone else clapped and most importantly, sat through about 90% of the whole show. When the host told us about taking photos with the sea lion after the show, I thought, "Why not? The entry was free!"

After the show, DN and I took a tram ride, then shared a fish and chips lunch. By the time we finished lunch, it was 1pm. We didn't have time to check out the kids' playground. So sad. But never mind, the entry was free!

When he saw the kangaroos, he made the sign for "eat". I think he remembered feeding them in Perth, heh.

He much preferred pushing his stroller than sitting in it.


The zoo is really cool. Even the sinks are camouflaged.
Actually, catching a sea lion in mid-jump on camera is not really that exciting, but everyone's got their camera out la.



This warthog had long blond hair on its back. (!!!) Betcha didn't know that warthogs walked up slopes on their knees!

DN, a baby pygmy hippo and a pygmy hippo butt.


DN making friends with a little boy.


I actually wanted to buy a rice plate for DN's lunch but it was $7.50 for rice, 1 meat and 1 veg! What a rip off. I got an $8.50 fish & chips plate instead. DN ate 80% of 1 whole fillet.




1.05pm : KO!
He was already in deep sleep before we drove out of the zoo's long "driveway" to Mandai Road.