Dear Sweet Pea,
The first 2 weeks of arriving back from Darwin was difficult. You were throwing sudden outburst of tantrums and we were coping with irregular bedtime. You were not able to get back to a regular sleeping routine and we have to keep going to the playground in the evening to wear you out. The usual 8 pm bed time was pushed back daily and we have to keep you company and "pat pat" you until half past 9. We were convinced you did not require as much sleep as other kids and have twice as much energy than an average toddler.
For meal times, we started establishing more routine. We began introducing supper before bed, in a bid to put a stop to you waking up in the night asking for milk. You were fond of the idea of having "supper", eating bread and drinking milk while I read you bed time stories. However, it did not prevent you from waking up at night either. Your parents were really suffering from a severe lack of sleep at this point.
You still did not quite like the idea of eating on your own. We anticipated this to be a long path of encouraging you to be independent during meal times. You preferred egg white to egg yolk and would insist in removing them from hard boiled eggs. We had to resort to cooking omelette as what you don't know won't hurt you. Mummy introduced you to one of my favourite drink and you shared similar taste to me in loving Sun Blast Organic Fruit Juice!
Around 12 February, we got you a step stool and taught you how to reach the sink with the help of the stool to brush your teeth with our assistance. We did not allow you to go up the stairs and the cheeky you would keep testing the limits. You would sit on the stairs and stomp your feet to pretend you were going up the stairs to get a reaction from us! When we rushed over to the steps, you would laugh your head off!
On 26 February, we collected Daddy's Blue car and you loved the colour too. We intended to keep the car for a long time and hoped it would serve us well. We took you out on your very first car ride and much to our surprise, you burst into a song, Majulah Singapura. The day care would have taught you the National Anthem but to be able to remember all the lyrics, we thought was pretty impressive!
On the same day, you peed in the potty for the first time. When you told me you needed to pee, I asked you to hold it in while I set up the potty. Subsequently, you asked to pee in the potty again because it was a novelty to do so. We tried to explain it to you that this is called a toilet bowl and it was a place where you would do all your private businesses. You felt a little more grown up than last month.
On 3 March, we flew via Darwin to Perth. You were quite a darling on the flight as you understood the need to sit down and strap on the seat belt. With the experience of 2 trips with you under my belt, I bought a Trunkit Luggage Suitcase so you could sit on it and be pulled along at the airport terminals. It really kept you entertained at each airport despite Mummy ended up with sore arms. You were responsible in selecting the items to put into the luggage, i.e. books like "We're going on a bear hunt", "Bedtime Billy Bear", some washable markers and drawing pads along with the little pony toy Uncles James gave you and your trustly little doggie.
It was a long-awaited reunion trip of almost 2 years. The last time you saw Nanny, you were a teensy weensy baby who just celebrated hitting 3-month-old! You could not take your eyes off her as you sipped your mango smoothie in Dome Cafe. You must have felt as surreal as we were feeling. We proceeded to pick up Daddy's birthday present for himself at Barbagallo Watch. As an avid watch collector, he could not wait for you to grow up and share his passion.
When we reached home, we realised that Nanny had set up a nursery for you. You have your own little cosy cot, a reading corner filled with interesting books and a few boxes of toys at your disposal! Shortly, we headed to K-Mart to get you an automatic bubble maker machine so we could be spared of the constant dip and blow manual bubble solution. We also gifted you a step scooter so we could scoot to McDougall Park together in style. Most of the playgrounds in Perth were a lot bigger than the ones in Singapore. You loved the space, the slides and the swings! Each time, you would say to me "I want high high" when I was pushing you on the swing.
Next up was the mandatory trip to the beach! We headed over to Watermans Beach located at the Northern Coastal Suburb of Perth. It did not take much convincing for you to feel comfortable to walk on the soft sand and dip your feet into the Indian Ocean for the very first time. While you were a little apprehensive, you held on to Daddy's hands and walked towards the ocean bravely. Nanny then carried you further out to observe the waves and play with water. Dressed in a stripes swimsuit and donning a white sun cap, you were ready to take on the ocean!
Back at home, Daddy bought us fish and chips for lunch and you were able to finished a whole grilled fish all by yourself! Like Daddy, you adored fish! Mummy hated fish as I had fish bones stuck in my throat twice before and had to go to the clinic to extract them! We had missed Aussie Fish and Chips so much that we continued to indulge in it whenever we had a chance during this trip. Mummy loved that there are no bones in Fish and Chips! Happiness sometimes could be this simple my child. Eating something you enjoy and doing something you love.
You must be wondering about the title of this blog! Your second home is Perth, Western Australia. The acronym to Western Australia is WA and it has a nick name of being a Wait-a-While state as it has a reputation of doing things a bit slower here! Further more, we did waited more than a while to be able to make this trip!
With excitement,
Mummy and Daddy
P/s Each time you got sick, you would have to do an ART test and in order to make it a little more "fun" and less intimating to you, we decided to call it the "nose game". Sometimes you were game enough to play it , sometimes we were not so lucky.
