Before and After

FB regularly pushes out memory pictures and this one was too cute.

Zaky was probably about 2 YO in this picture, he couldn't even do the✌️sign properly at that point and had a super cute version.

Daddy Lim said that he still has this cycling jersey. It was a little thin though. I had to plead with the not so little guy to re-enact the same pose in the same Jersey.

He has obviously grown so much. I barely could find similarities between the 2 pictures. Aiya, not cute anymore. Where did that little cute guy go to?

I think we should try to preserve the same Jersey and take another picture 8 years down the road. Hopefully, he can still fit into the Jersey by then? Hahaha.

Mummy Lim

Demanding for the Tooth Fairy

We all this Tooth Fairy thing like the way we know Mr Santa. The kids all had their fair share of Tooth Fairy's gift for their 1st tooth lost and never really again or they will have Poor Parents instead.

Zaky is 10 and about the right time for him to drop his molars and what's left. I seriously didn't remember myself dropping my molars. I also don't remember Lil Shauna doing so. I mean, molars are so huge! I can't imagine yanking them from the gum. So when Zaky started telling us that his molar was shaky, I was in disbelief.

Suddenly, his molars are all shaky. Within the last few weeks, he dropped like 3 teeth, out of which, 2 were molars. It wasn't as bad as I imagined, it was shaky, shaky and after a while, they came loose. They were smaller than I thought too. But I have no part in helping with the removal. The idea is still gross. Haha.

When he dropped the last tooth a few days back, he suddenly insisted that the Tooth Fairy must pay him a visit and gift him in exchange for his tooth. Huh? Tooth who? I have long forgotten about the Tooth Fairy.

Zaky didn't back down and kept insisting the whole evening that the Tooth Fairy must come. He had the tooth in a bag and hid it under his pillow before he went to bed.

Did the Tooth Fairy come? Of course lah, the Tooth Fairy must come in exchange for my peacefulness the next day leh.

The next morning and we have a very chirpy Zaky who bounced off and bed and got changed into his uniform promptly, just to come tell me that the Tooth Fairy came. Wah, this Tooth Fairy is very useful!

Zaky said that he has another shaky tooth. Again?!?!

Mummy Lim

To the Dentist

I dont like to bring the kids to the dentist. There are dentists in school and the kids should make use of that free service, right?

Every now and then, Zaky would complain about some toothache and I would 敷衍 him a bit and then encourage him to go to the school dentist. Sometimes he does, sometimes, the pain dissolved on its own.

He has super bad oral hygiene. The number of times that he brushes his teeth per day is dependent on how often we remember to yell/ nag at him to do so, which also explains why he needs to visit the dentist so much more frequently than jiejie needs to. Tooth decay, baby root canal, gum infection. You named it, he had it. Zzzzz.

On Wednesday evening, he complained and whined about pain in one of his premolars. Haiz, again?!? The tooth was shaky, hurting and irritating him. Fortunately it was nearing bedtime and I managed to convince him to sleep over it.

The kids spent the whole of y'day afternoon at my brother's place. The tooth didnt cause problem the entire day but for some magical reason, the pain and irritation intensified by 200 folds the moment I stepped into my brother's home. The pain intensity is confirmed directly proportional to my proximity.

Zaky whined so much that we decided to bring him to the nearest dentist after dinner. I am so glad that my current company's insurance plan includes dental coverage and that nearest dentist clinic is on the panel list.
 Hohoho.

We arrived at the clinic shortly before closing. The clinic assistant actually wanted to turn us away but took pity on the suffering boy.. actually the suffering mummy who was trying her best to endure the endless whining. While I was busy filling up the form, the numbing gel was applied and the boy was soon urshered to the dentist chair. Before I even had time to pop into the treatment room, the problem causing tooth had been yanked out. Hooray! 

Bcos it was fully covered by insurance, it didn't cost us a cent. I even booked him for a regular cleaning and scaling session. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Not Too Old for Barugu?

Daddy Lim and I were both busy with work. Popo agreed to help us pick the kids from phonics class yday evening. 

I saw 2 missed calls from LC when my discussions ended. I didnt bother calling back, thinking that the kids had called me bcos Popo was late in fetching them or something of the effect.

It was only when I met up with the kids that I realised why LC was trying to reach me - Zaky hurt himself during class. Zzzzzz. He had this big bump on his forehead. What? Isnt he too old for barugu on forehead? I thought only toddlers get those?

The story goes - the boy couldnt sit still and was rocking forward and backward in his chair. The chair gave way, he slipped and bang his forehead on the edge of the table. I can imagine the impact to be huge, along with his body weight. Ouch! I can also imagine what kind of panic and chaos that he got the center into. He said that he cried a little bcos it was so painful and he got iced and all. I actually found the choatic scene that I imagined in my head so funny. Lol. 

The bump was big. He said that it hurt alot and refused to let us touch it, let alone rub. Popo said that the swell had gone down significantly after the icing. So it must be a lot bigger earlier. He looks fine otherwise, eating 3 slices of pizza for dinner, quarreling with jiejie, playing chess, doing homework, practice sparring with me. 

I couldnt help but had to take a picture of his barugu for keepsakes. The barugu was bigger in real life. See, he is still all giggly about it. Faint. 

Of course I was reminded of the humongous barugu that he got when he was a toddler. I was told that he literally bang his head on the playground metal bar then. Wah lau, same side somemore. Win already.

This picture kept coming back. Maybe I should put them side by side and post them on fb so that fb will prompt me regularly as memories. Hahaha. 

He is Bruise Lim... 遍体鳞伤.. my heart must have grew so much stronger since he came into my world. Lol.

Mummy Lim

Baby Root Canal

As decided, Zaky will get a root canal and I have the "honor" to bring him for the appointment.

The only appointment that can fit into our busy schedule was yday at 11.30am. The plan was for Zaky to skip school and I would take half day pm leave. Lil Shauna has the option to skip student care (SC) but she decided to proceed. She mentioned that she is in some competition for some star award with another boy in SC and she is determined to win it.

Zaky was thrilled to learn that he doesn't have to go to school. Yday morning, he nevertheless woke up at the same time automatically but his intent was merely to move from his bed to ours and continue his slumber. Within minutes, I can hear his snores.

The half day leave plan failed. A colleague had to go on urgent pm leave and I ended up asking for time off instead. I activated code Popo for help though at the expense of some noises.

I got a cab at 11.15am to rush down to meet Popo and Zaky at Jcube. While in the cab, Popo called me to say that the clinic said that the apptm was made for tomorrow and not today. It is true that I was deciding between today and tomorrow when I called to make the apptm with a somewhat disinterested staff then. I cant tell for sure it if was my pea mind or the staff's mistake but it didnt matter. The end point can only be Zaky getting the dental attention that he needed it at that exact slot. I did wonder if I should plead or be a nasty customer to get my way.

Things eventually worked out but our apptm had to be shifted to 12noon. The staff were all super nice and I couldn't bear to be a nasty customer. Lol. Zaky obviously hadn't much idea what was in stored for him and was still happily playing cup flip while waiting for his apptm.

The dentist explained that it was the same badly declayed tooth that was infected and not the one next to it. The antibiotics did help to calm the infection but the gum swelling was still visible. After the same explanation (as Daddy Lim) on the risks associated with the root canal or extraction, we proceeded with the root canal. The dentist called it the "nerves treatment".

Bcos of Zaky's age, the dentist gave him a jab to make the treatment more tolerable. The boy didn't want an extraction but didn't know that the root canal requires jab as well. We did tell him before the procedure start. He asked if it would be painful and the answer is always the same - just like an ant bite, just that he would need to figure out how big the ant is. There was eventually some crying but he was largely manageable and tolerated the jab well.

There was a lot of drilling and cleaning. I would basically freeze up on the dentist chair but the boy is a pro already after so many trips. He asked the dentist on what she was going to do, knew exactly which button to press to fill his cup with water and raised his hand when he wanted the dentist to pause. There were times that there were discomfort despite the jab and mummy had to hold his hand in a half bend posture. My poor back!

The procedure was completed in about an hour. The dentist mentioned that it was a little complex case; he could still feel some sensitivity after the jab. As a result, she gave him a temporary filling and cover. He had to come back a second time to get it treated again before she gave him a permanent fliling and cover.

Finally, before we were let out, she did an incision on the swelling gum to extract the pus. Zzzzz.. Fortunately, there was no pain for the boy since the area was already numbed. Incision just sound scary.

The next apptm will be the following Saturday and it would be Daddy Lim's turn. I have already warned Daddy Lim that Zaky would require a jab again. Good luck ah. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

Second Official Complaint

Zaky's Chinese Teacher messaged me and lodged a 2nd official complaint... he was in a spitting war with a classmate and ended up hitting his classmate. The last episode when I sat him down, I told him that he must not get into a fight even if somebody starts the fight or provocates him. Apparently, his big ears aren't good for listening.

His reason? His classmate spat at him 1st, so he spat back and it continued and so he punched his friend. What kind of logic is that?!

Gadget is banned for the whole week. He did make some noise but knows that he is the wrong. For the rest of the evening, he asked for paper to make craft and played stacking blocks. His behavior was super good.

I told him that gadget will be banned for 2 weeks if I hear another complaint from his teacher. Faint, 2 complaints within 1 month.

Mummy Lim

New Aspiration

Zaky has a new aspiration about what he wants to be when he grows like... "I want to be like mummy when I grow up".... 感动.....

Until he continues... "so that I can give my children a lot of homework and don't buy toys for them".

Win oready. I swear I am nothing like he said. Children, do your homework!

Mummy Lim

Big Cavity

One day, Zaky complained that his tooth was painful during dinner. I thought that it was one of the gimmicks to avoid eating. A few days later (and almost before the holiday), he complained that he had food stuck between his teeth after brushing. Parents-to-remove-stuck-food operation started. I was armed with toothpick and Daddy Lim with the torchlight.

We removed a huge chunk of chicken and realised that the pain he complained about was no joke; he had a super big cavity that I could see with an untrained and naked eye. The hole was so big that I feared an extraction required. I was reminded of the traumatising extraction experience that I had as a kid at the fierce school dentist's hands. Oh no! And it was so near to our holiday. Double oh no!

I got an appointment for him to see the dentist right after our holiday. I supposed the worse that could happen would be a painful tooth affecting meals during the holidays. Luckily no such incident happened. There were a couple of complaints here and there but the tooth held up.

I wad more nervous than the boy while waiting for our turn. The kids are familiar with dentist visits and are definitely more at ease than I am. At the check, I heard the dentist calling out the different acronyms for her assistant to record. Distinctively, I heard "decay" a few times. Each time, my heart sank a little.

The verdict: 3 cavities including the super big one. A mini one was right beside the super big one and the remaining one was on the opposite side. Win already. We were last at the dentist about 1 year ago. It must be all the sweets and chocolates and his super bad brushing habits.

The dentist decided to work on the super big one and the mini one beside it for today. Zaky was on the dentist chair for a long time. At one point, the dentist dug out all the junk in the rotten tooth to show me. T.T
There was pain and it must be quite bad that Zaky cried. The dentist continued to work despite his cries. Poor boy. I heard the dentist telling him that it would have been a small procedure if he had gone to her earlier and not wait until part of the tooth wall is gone. I am quite sure she was saying it for me to hear. Bad mummy.

Finally, the worse was over. I was just as emotionally and mentally exhausted as the boy. His cries ceased when he was reminded to watch the "Minion" show that they screened for him. Yes, the dentist room for little kids comes with TV.

At the end, the dentist said that the cavity was so bad that the nerve was exposed. The cavity had been filled but it would be a waiting game to see if the filling works. If there is an infection or there is still pain, then we would need to come back for a root canel or an extraction. An extraction would need to be followed with a space maintenance procedure to make sure that there is space for the adults tooth to grow in the future. I never knew kids would need to do root canel too. Root canel sounds painful already. We wouldn't know until weeks or months later.

Sob. It is my fault. I should have supervise his night brushing and I would do so from now on. Hopefully it isn't too late. Meanwhile, I fixed an appointment for myself too. I also scare and I thought I felt pain in one of the teeth too.

The little boy was so tired after half a day in Port Dickson, 4 hours drive home and a painful procedure. He wasn't even lured by jiejie's proposal for a swim. He showered and flopped on the sofa for a much needed nap. Poor boy.

Mummy Lim

Aspiration

One day, Lil Isaac told me that he would like to be a MRT driver when he grows up. I wasn't too surprise bcos Lil Shauna has trained me well. In her kindergarten years, she had wanted to be a farmer even when there aren’t that many farms in Singapore. So, I was perfectly calm with Lil Isaac even with the frequent MRT breakdowns. I even encouraged him by saying that it is a noble occupation; to send people to work and back home to their love ones. I did highlight to him that it might be hard work and long hours though.

Subsequently, I realized from Popo that his aspiration came from his perception that it is easy work being a MRT driver. What the… In his words, the MRT driver only needs to step on and release the brakes to drive the MRT. He changed his mind very quickly though bcos the MRT driver earns very little money. I have no idea where he got that notion from.

The other day, we had a conversation about how much money I have.

LS: Mummy, do you have $10?
ML: Yes.
LS: Do you have $100?
ML: Yes.
LS: (with big, wide eyes and getting excited) Do you have $1,000? (which is probably a lot of money in his perspective)
ML: Errr… yes.
LS: Then I want to work in your company when I grow up bcos your company will pay me a lot of money.

Haha, so Lil Isaac has a new aspiration. I did remind him that he has to study hard, which will give him an edge in the future when he seeks an employment. Kids!

Mummy Lim

The Big People Church

It was a pay back weekend. We had 2 classes to make up - maths and TKD, having missed them to go to Port Dickson last week. The weekend ended up super packed with so many classes. The kids were tired and Lil Isaac fussed to skip church after the maths class.

Bcos we now have maths class on Sunday morning, we now have lesser chance of skipping church from laziness since we are already out of the house. Looks like maths on early Sundaty morning has its advantage. However, that doesn't stop the boy from kicking up a fuss when I had to leave him in Sunday School. Lil Shauna is forever independent. She loves attending Sunday school, where she gets to play games sometimes and collects stamps in exchange for nice gifts every few months. She is totally motivated.

Lil Isaac refused to go to Sunday school even when I offered to stay with him.. for a while. He said that he wanted to go with me to the "adult" church. I tried to persuade him by telling him how boring it is (for children) but he insisted. OK lor, but the ground rule is that he cannot run around and too noisy or we have to head back to the Sunday School.  Oh boy, he was excited.

It was fortunate that church wasn't too crowded and we had several seats for the boy to toss and turn. The first thing that he asked was whether there would be holy communion. He likes the wafer and grape juice for the wrong reason but he does understand the meaning behind those actions. He was generally well behaved and didn't move too much than that few empty seats. He declined my offer to send him back to Sunday school midway. The sequence of the service was very similar to Sunday School, just that the "bible story was so long", complained the boy and "there was no pictures". Lol.

At the end of service, he agreed that the adult church is very boring and his Sunday school is so much better. Lol.  He readily agreed to go back to his Sunday school the next week. Hehe. Looks like it is a good choice to let him attend the main service. He has verified for himself that mummy wasn't having more fun without him when he goes to Sunday school. I concentrated better bcos I had to set a good model for him and did not reach out to check my hp as frequently. Yeah!

Mummy Lim

Almost 5

Lil Isaac is turning 5 in October. He had been waiting for his bday for a long time bcos he is dying to receive bday presents. Haha.

Now that we are back from our holidays, it is time to start planning for his bday party. Jiejie had a party at the rink when she turned 7, so Lil Isaac wanted some form of celebration too. I hope this would be the last one. I must restraint myself when it is Lil Shauna's bday in May next year. Haha.

Yday, we sent him for his Chinese enrichment class in JP and I decided to get him his bday present in advance. We have a Xbox 360 kinnect at home, bought a few years back. He doesn't really enjoy kinnect games. I got him a controller and a game - Jurassic World. He was overjoyed.

Daddy Lim sent us home and Lil Shauna for her Chinese makeup class. We attempted the game but Mummy seriously isn't cut for such games. We didn't get far after an hour and gave up. I told him to wait for Daddy Lim.  The little boy tried but was way too tired having woke up before 7am in the morning. Well, there would be plenty of chances.

This afternoon, he told us that mummy had already bought him his bday present but reminded Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna that they haven't. Lol.

Almost 5! Come to think of it, they are growing up too fast! Be healthy and strong my little boy.

Mummy Lim

Dentist Visit

Lil Isaac complained of pains at times while eating. I thought I saw a black spot on one of the upper molars but wasn't sure. I also couldn't tell if he really had a toothache or faking one to avoid eating more. I used to pull that trick when I was little. Lol. Nevertheless, we arranged for a visit to the dentist. When was our last visit? It should have been at least a few months.

Lil Isaac is not at all afraid of the dentist, so unlike me. He marched into the clinic and was happily helping himself to a drink at the water dispenser machine. When his name was called, he ran into the room happily and climbed onto the dentist chair enthusiastically. He even chose a movie that he would like to watch while treatment!

We last visited the dentist about 6 months back. The dentist checked and announced that Lil Isaac has 2 cavities, excluding the one on upper his front teeth. Additionally, he has 2 more that would potentially turned into cavities on his molars if not well taken care of. Zzzzzz. 2 cavities in 6 months.

The dentist mended the 2 cavities. The one on his front teeth would be left as it is as they are usually the 1st few teeth to fall. In fact, one of them is already shaky, probably part natural and part aided by his constant bumping. The dentist also cleaned his teeth.

He handled the visit so well. He was more focus on the movie and was even laughing at times. At the end of the visit, he received his sticker for being so brave. Mummy ended up freaking $245 poorer. I couldn't be more glad that Lil Shauna can now visit the school dentist and help us save some money. Lol. Let's hope Lil Isaac could hold on to the next visit beyond 6 months. I must be more diligent to help him brush teeth.

Mummy Lim

How Much Longer?

It must be a youngest child thing.
Lil Shauna was walking very much when she was 4ish, largely bcos mummy had to carry didi. Lil Isaac is simply lazy and was super reliable on the stroller until it started giving way a while back. The stroller served us really well, since Lil Shauna was 2.

Lil Isaac understood that he is too old for a stroller and knew that we wouldn't replace the stroller. Still, it didn't stop him from asking us to carry him. Fortunately, he is much lighter than when jiejie was his age. Even then... my back!

Sometimes, he does look like a baby. How much longer could we carry him?

Mummy Lim

5 YO?

Lil Isaac is turning 5 this year. Maybe it is the youngest-child syndrome; he doesn't at all look 5. I remembered Lil Shauna looking and behaving like 5. She was so much more independent and mature and I don't remember worrying about her as much. I am also quite sure that she progressed much faster academically than Lil Isaac now too. Zzzzz.

Bcos Lil Isaac doesn't look like he is turning 5, I constantly forget that he is already in K1. As a result, we didn't do his homework (again) until Sunday morning. Popo nagged the whole weekend about his homework but she wasn't clear about what homework and I wasn't sure what she was nagging about and conveniently blocked her. Last year, when he was in nursery class, there was rarely homework. His writing is still atrocious and he takes painfully long to write. Many times, I ended up helping him with the coloring and purposely do a terrible job so that the teacher wouldn't find out. I wonder how many parents are like me. I hate coloring and cannot help wondering why kids have so much coloring to do. Yes, it is a terrible habit but they do their homework while flopping on the floor, just like when I was young despite having their own writing table. 

While we struggled through homework, Lil Shauna was enjoying herself bcos mummy remembered to help her with her homework and she has completed everything on Friday night. See the difference.

While working on his homework, I realised that we have plenty of catch up to do. I am already starting to do alphabets writing with him and have just completed "g" today but realised that we have so much more to do. After the alphabets will be numbers and then numbers in Chinese.  Then his Chinese name before I start him with simple sight words. I didn't have to do any of those with Lil Shauna. Haiz.

Back to Sunday, we almost had to skip church but luckily made it just in time. I brought the kids to church on my own bcos Popo had so much more cleaning to do. Well, it wasn't that tough. I was happily chatting with Lil Shauna on the train and Lil Isaac got to watch Youtube for a segment of the train ride. It is probably a blessing in disguise bcos I finally managed to leave Lil Isaac alone in Sunday school! I have been training him to be independent if you have read my earlier posts. He has been in the same Sunday school for years but is still ever so clingy. Things have improved since he turned 4 yo but either Popo or I still have to accompany him in the room. He was anxious at first but was ok when I told him after worship that I am leaving the room to join the big people and listen to God’s words. He even Hi-5 me after confirming that I will fetch him after snacks and art & craft.  

When I went back after service, Popo was already in the room with Lil Isaac. She said that he didn't see her when she 1st arrived and for quite a while. He was happily going about and doing whatever with the other kids. Hehehe. Hopefully, this marks the start of independence in Sunday school and not a rare case of good mood. Anyway, next year, he will need to join jie jie at the big kids’ class and mummy or Popo cant tag anymore.

Mummy Lim

Baby Steps to Independence

Popo didn't go to church with us yday, which provided the perfect training ground for the little boy. As per the last 2 weeks, he is aware that he is to sit in front with the little kids, away from mummy. 

When we arrived at Sunday school, he was happy that the other kids were still playing toys and he joined the rest while I sit one side to watch. I was guilty of looking at fb and when I looked up from my phone, I found the little boy missing! Then I saw him walk sadly back to the room from the door and he looked as if he was going to cry. He saw me and lit up, smiling and all. Awww… my heart melted. Apparently, he thought that I had left and went out to look for me. Nobody realized that he left the room (oops for security) and he came back after he realized that he couldn't find me. Nobody knows how far he ventured out. 

When Sunday school started, he went to join the rest of the kids and was participative in the worship and all. Even the Sunday school teacher commended him on that. I was so proud of him, watching him from afar. I bet I could leave him in the room already but didn't as I didn't tell him in advance that I would. Maybe I can try that one or 2 Sundays more. 

I tried as best to not be involved. He came to me once or twice asking for this and that. He even did most of the craft work on his own. I was so very proud of him. One more baby step towards independence.  

We went for his gym class in the afternoon and he was whining that he was scared before the class, which got me worried. I don't see the need to push an unwilling kid to a non-essential enrichment class. However, the moment the door to the gym class opened, he shot in without even turning back to look at me. Faint. So much for his fuss! He totally enjoyed his class, jumping and climbing, running and doing silly things. Haha.

Oh ya, one more thing to add. There was a school orientation one day last week where the kids went to their new class for next year and jiejie was excused from school given that she’s already in K2. I heard that Lil Isaac went to school on his own, taking the school bus and there was no tears and no fuss. It looks like we wouldn't have too much problem with him starting school on his own next year. Yeah! I hope the school holiday doesn't do too much harm.

Mummy Lim

Stop that Tantrum

I recently read an article on FB on how to stop children’s tantrum and tried it on my kids.

The methodology shared was about acknowledging the child’s feeling, for example empathizing with the kid’s frustration when he threw a tantrum as a result of his inability to fix a toy. Well, I get a lot of that with Lil Isaac. Unfortunately, I cant remember what was the rationale behind the theory.

Anyway, I tried it with Lil Isaac on Sunday and it seems to work. On one occasion, he was fussing, yelling and struggling in his stroller while we were in West Gate bcos Popo brought jiejie’s jacket but not his. I got down to his eye level and acknowledged that he must was upset (and cold, when it was a freaking warm day) bcos Popo has forgotten his jacket. He calmed down and nodded his little head while looking at me with puppy eyes. I told him that we will look around and will get him a jacket if we could find one and if he was still cold. He nodded some more and stopped his tantrum. I gave him his little ducky and told him that ducky will give him some warmth. He hugged the ducky fiercely and was contented. Meanwhile, mummy returned to push him in his stroller and was smirking secretly. Yeah, mummy 1 – Zaky 0. And of course he forgotten about the jacket and didn't need one. 

However, I also come to realize that this method required a great deal of patience and endurance. After a few MORE tantrums, I went back to snapping at the boy and threatening him to stop. Oops. I will try harder the next time.

I also realized that the method didn't seem to work with older kids or maybe just not with Lil Shauna. Lil Shauna also threw a tantrum in the evening. She wanted to buy and eat chocolate but mummy wouldn't let her bcos of her overworked little tummy. She whined so much about it that Daddy Lim lost his cool and we ended up with a crying girl and a tip-toe family. The girl cried and cried, as if she has met with the biggest catastrophe in her 6 years of living on planet earth. I tried the same method on her but the more I acknowledge her feelings, the harder she cried – yes, over chocolates! She was sobbing for at least 30 mins. Arrggghhhh. The distraction method works better with her and soon she was feeling so much better and could talk to Daddy Lim and Lil Isaac once more. Haha. 

Mummy Lim

In the Right Direction

Lil Isaac seems to be moving towards the right direction. Towards the end of last week, he has stopped crying when he boards the school bus and when he reaches school. When I called to check with his teacher (Ms Chia) last week, I was told that he was improving. He cries less, stops faster and doesn't throw mega tantrums when he was asked to do work. Yeah! He grumbles still but at least he didn't cry.

This week, it seems like things are even better. On Sunday, he told me that he wouldn't cry when he goes for his Phonics class but made me promise that I would be waiting for him in the center. When we reached the center, he was happy to walk into his classroom with his mini tiger in his arm. No tears! Both his teacher and the center staff were surprise! Actually I was very surprise too. Hehe.

School was great too. There was (almost) no tears. Lil Isaac (popo actually) did call this morning and whined that he had to go to school but took it nicely when I told him that we will fetch him at Centris tonight and nothing that a promise of ice cream couldn't solve. I called up Ms Chia again this afternoon and was affirmed that things are well. Ms Chia related that Lil Isaac asked if there was enrichment class yday and didn't cry when Ms Chia said “yes”. I was told that he would usually burst into tears at that answer.

So, what did we do right? We aren’t sure really. To begin with, we are absolutely unsure what caused his reluctance to go to school. We took away the iPad in the evening. We have no iPad and no YouTube the moment we reach home. We would sometimes read, sometimes do his simple phonics homework and sometimes revised his alphabets. We are stuck with the 1st 2 lower case letters that we introduced to him since weeks back but I believe that persistency will pay off.. or I will give up before he gives in. Lol. Most of the time, we would just PLAY! I am not sure if iPad is the culprit but too much is never good and he already gets to hug his cousin’s iPad a lot in the afternoon. It is just strange that he is the only one with the issue and not the girls.

What I think we really did right was the tons of encouragement that we gave him. We praised him a lot when he cries lesser and kept giving him encouragement to do better the next day. I even set alarm at 10am every weekday, so that I can call home and to remind him not to cry. He appears very proud of himself when he finally stopped crying. Great job, tiger.

Lil Shauna is doing well too. She has received very nice compliments from her Phonics teacher, who told us that she is doing great in comprehension and creative writing for her age. You can imagine how proud and wide was my grin when the teacher told me that. Unfortunately, we have to work on her spelling. Oopsy. Her spelling is really quite bad. It gets unbearable to read what she writes sometimes. She is also enjoying her Chinese and Maths enrichment and looks forward to them. I hope that enthusiasm stays.

Mummy Lim 

The Big Baby

It is almost 3 weeks since school started and it seems like the little tiger is taking a long time to adapt to school. He is always reluctant to go to school and would make a big fuss every morning, coupled with crying. We had thought that it was normal after the long school holidays though Lil Shauna gave us none of that when she progressed to Nursery class. I didn't even have to go to school with her on the initial days that she started Nursery.

Days turned to weeks and Lil Isaac is still fussing every school day. It has gotten so bad that his Chinese Teacher had to complain about him and told us that even the pre-nursery kids had stopped crying but our big boy hasn't. According to Popo, in recent days, he wasn't the most willing to go to school but has stopped crying when it is time to board the school bus. We were elated and thought that maybe things are starting to work out. Then, Popo was told by the same Chinese teacher that Lil Isaac still cries when he reaches school. And sometimes, he can be very persistent. Aiyo. 

Lil Shauna is my informant and I would ask her everyday if didi cried. She said that the tiger cried during the Chinese enrichment class yday. Lil Isaac was fussing to go home bcos he was tired but of course was full of energy once class is over and he hits the playground at Centris. In fact, that is what exactly his teacher commented about him too. In contrast, Lil Shauna is such an angel and good learner.

Popo said that the boy didn't cry when he boarded the bus this morning. Well, looking at it positively, he is getting better as compared to crying all the way from before boarding the bus to reaching school in the past. He is definitely stickier as compare to Lil Shauna but I think he will slowly grow out of it. He is still crying at his phonics class but the current teacher is fantastic with young kids. Last Sunday, he came out of the class and told me proudly that he only cry a little bit. I wonder if it has anything to do with birth order. In this particular aspect, I do hope that the little big quickly grow up and and out of it.

Mummy Lim

I Got No "Socks"

In the middle of last night, Lil Isaac woke me up yelling that he has no socks and he wanted to wear socks. In my barely awake state, I mumbled "hmmmm", thinking that he probably had a dream and hoping that my acknowledgement will appease him. Apparently, it did not.

He went on whining and pestering for his "socks". It was bad and I attempted to pat him back to dreamland. That was when I realised that he was butt naked! So, he was looking for his "shorts" and not "socks"! 

He must have peed in his diaper in the night and took it off. He looks like one who doesn't like sleeping in buff. Lol. I got up, got him a new diaper and he went back to sleep happily. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Learning His ABCs

Mummy is feeling really proud of Lil Isaac. A few months back, I was really worried that he is behind his peers. He doesn'trecognize his A, B and C or his numbers then. I didn't have this issue with Lil Shauna. I remembered how she could sing the entire ABC song when she was 19 months and how she suddenly read numbers off the carpark lots one day. When she was 3 and went for the phonics assessment, she could recognize most of the alphabets, both upper and lower case, less the tricky ones. She could even sound some of them. I could safely say that she’s more advance than her peers in her English. We just went for JEI maths assessment on Saturday and the trainer says that she’s quite good for her age.

On the other hand, Lil Isaac is approaching 3 and displayed none of jiejie’s talent. The child development PD said that Lil Isaac is very much on track, if not advance (especially on his motor, understanding and reasoning skills), much to my disbelief. She said that children below 3 aren’t expected to know their A, B, C. I didn't challenge her, she isn’t a Singaporean (I think). In Singapore, it is a different story. Mummy J wrote in her blog some time back that ER knows all 26 of them both upper and lower case a long time ago. I bet ER is the norm, Lil Isaac is not. Haha.

A few months back, I decided that I will start teaching Lil Isaac his alphabets. From his workbooks, I saw that his school is already teaching him but I am not sure why he isn’t learning.The progress was really slow. I was lazy and forgot to revise/ teach him new letters at times. Jiejie’s phonics revision also took up most of my time. I realized that he couldn't really remember the letters and tried associating the letters with something to help him better remember, like how the A looks like a triangle, the B is like 2 circles, M with Mac Donalds and Q is O with a little tail. I am not sure if this is the right way to help him learn but it works.

These few weeks, he actually made good progress. Lil Isaac now recognizes A, B, C, I, M, O, Q, S, T and X now. We just introduced L to him 3 days back and taught him U yday. I know he is still a long way off and there is lower case too but now that he is starting to get the hang of things, maybe we can be a little more adventurous and speed things up a little bit. Oh, I hate the dreadful B, D, P, R, b, d, p, q. Even jiejie gets confused with them sometimes.

Mummy Lim