Family trip to the zoo

2 weeks ago, we had a family outing with grandma & ah yi to the zoo. We went on a weekday and took leave as it was difficult for Daddy to get a weekend corporate pass. Except for an hour of heavy rain when we were at the elephant show, the weather was cloudy and cool for the whole day, which was absolutely perfect for strolling outdoors. We also took a boat ride on the river, which was quite a pleasant journey.

Here are some nice animal photos taken by Daddy and the funny faces of our mischievous boy.

  

Super hero Josh

Daddy just came back from US after attending a conference and he brought back a face mask souvenir from a baseball game that he attended. Here's our son pretending to be a super hero with the mask that's too big for him! 

Flash Card Game

Since Josh could read all of his flash cards, we had some fun playing a game yesterday. I asked him to place each flash card at the corresponding thing or to do the action eg, run, walk, jump as listed on the flash card. Here are some photos of what he did...



Clash of the Titans

Every weekday mornings from 7-9am, its warzone at home, what I would call the "Clash of the Titans", in a battle of will and lungs power between my dear son and my mum. Grandma has to handle the screaming boy who refuses to brush his teeth or eat his breakfast or bathe without putting up a struggle. Only on rare days when Josh wakes up in a super good mood then he will be cooperative. For most other days, it's screams of "MUMMY, MUMMY" versus "DON'T BE NOTTY" from the house.

Honestly, Josh's terrible behaviour is getting out of hand. From demanding things, whining, refusing to eat his meals without snacks or a toy, throwing his temper or crying over the smallest things....it's getting a bit hard to control. The more you tell him not to do something, the more he will do it. He is also behind on his life skills, which is a result of his laziness plus being too pampered. At 2.5 years, he can't feed himself well without making a big mess, most of the time just playing with his food. He refuses to say when he wants to pee or poo, and always says no if we ask him if he needs to relieve himself, so diapers are still a must. Only a few months more to train him to be more independent before his baby brother arrives!

Going to 30 months....

Josh will be turning 30 months in about a week's time, so here's a little update of his current development...

Physical development
Height - 94cm, which puts him in the 75-90% for his age
Weight - no increase for the last few months, still about 13kg....he's a fussy eater, so got to try to make him eat more!

Language
Reading - he knows most of his English flashcards, so by estimate he can read about 100 words
Singing - this strange little boy no longer sings his songs with the right lyrics, but will replace the lyrics with his own or sings in some weird language but with the same tunes. Like this morning, in the tune of "This Old Man", he sang "Number 1, go to school..." how i missed the past times when he sang the songs properly.
Talking - although he can speak quite a lot of words, he's not very good at holding a proper conversation or expressing his thoughts and feelings verbally like some other kids his age.

Fine Motor Skills
Writing -  he can write from A-Z, 1-10, though not very nicely, but at least we can still make out the letters and numbers

Gross Motor Skills
Glad to say it's improving...he loves to kick a ball and can do it quite well....but we still need to work on it

Social Skills

One day at Little Wings, my mum overheard one little ger saying this to her mummy:

Little ger: I don't like Joshton

Her mummy: Why don't you like him?

Little ger: I said goodbye to him and he ignored me

Her mummy: Oh he's younger than you, so he doesn't know how to

Hmm...little kids can get pretty petty I guess :P But I am glad to say that recently he starts playing and interacting with some of his classmates!! So happy to hear that :)

Terrible Twos going to Horrible Threes Antics
- Yak yak non-stop very loudly from the moment he wakes up...only peaceful moments are when he is asleep
- Broken recorder, everything has to repeat at least 10 times (eg, See, a dragonfly, It's a dragonfly, Oh it's a dragonfly, Where's the dragonfly, See there is the dragonfly...and repeat from start again)
- SUPER DUPER whiny, getting on our nerves at times
- Fickle minded, one moment will say he wants this, next moment he doesn't want it n starts to throw tantrums if you don't give it to him even thou he says he doesn't want it
....but then with a cheeky face like his, it's hard to stay mad at him for long!

Bouncing bunny boy joining our family

Josh is going to be a big brother soon to a baby brother :) yes, i'm expecting a bunny baby and the EDD is end Sept. Being a 2nd time parent, I am much more relaxed this time, and since it's a boy, there isn't much things for us to get as we still have lots of Josh's old clothes n toys. Josh knows that there is a baby growing in mummy's tummy, and I keep telling him he will be a big brother and must sayang the baby. He's so pampered and used to 100% attention from everyone in the family, so hope he will take it well when the baby arrives.

Thou this time round the morning sickness is much better than the first time, I suffer from bad insomnia and migraine almost everyday. Hence most days I am feeling tired and listless, and it's quite hard to keep up with Josh's endless energy and chattiness. Also feeling guilty that I could no longer carry him, but he seems quite understanding most of the time and will turn to his daddy instead to carry him or just give me a big big hug. Now I must prepare myself mentally and physically to handle two boys (the one inside also seems to be an active one, we can see him bouncing around during the scan).....and it sounds like challenging days ahead!

Looking for a new place to call home....

We have moved! Last few weeks were hectic ones... busy packing, moving and final cleaning up before we handed over the apartment to the new owners. Honestly, I felt rather sad to leave the place which has been my cosy home for the past 7-8 years...it was the first place I owned, with many beautiful memories. I will miss the fantastic "million $" view, the fresh air high up there, the convenience right beside the mall, mrt and interchange, the playground downstairs which Josh loved to go, the club nearby with a great swimming pool for kids, and so much more. The past months we have been actively looking for a new dream home, but other than one that we just missed out buying, all the other viewings were just not the ideal home we are searching for. And so our long search continues on....

The advantage of camping at my mum's place is that we get to see Josh everyday and I get a report of the things that he did for the day. Here are some things that we did.....

Bringing him to school for the first time...

Josh proudly showing the word "Apple" that he has written

Josh's drawing of "Under the sea" - bubbles & seaweed

In the last 2 weeks staying together, we witnessed many funny moments with Josh too....

Incident 1: Shows that he has been watching too much tv ads

At the coffee shop having lunch last Sun, I ordered a glass of barley..

Josh: (Pointing to glass) I want Tiger Beer

Everyone: ............

Mummy: Eh what did you say?

Josh: I WANT TIGER BEER

At a closer look, the glass containing the barley had a tiger beer logo!

Incident 2: Confirm chop he is a left brain child

Mummy: Look at the blue sky, what do you see?

Josh: Clouds

Mummy: Yes, lots of clouds in the sky. If you look carefully you might spot some animals and different shapes in the clouds (trying to inspire his creativity n imagination)

Josh: THERE IS NOTHING IN THE CLOUDS

Mummy: ....................

Incident 3: Trying to keep him off the floor when ah gong was mopping

Mummy: Imagine you are on a boat (he was on the sofa and struggling to come down) and the floor is the sea, full of water. So you can't step off the boat as there are a lot of sharks in the sea

Josh: Joshton step on the shark

Mummy: .....................

 I can definitely count on my dear boy to surprise me with something everyday :D