Dear Sweet Pea,
"I got an idea!" is the most frequently heard phrase around the house for the last half year. You love to propose ideas whenever we have to make a decision, for example, how many toys you should bring over to our room to sleep. Once, it was raining and we needed to go to the supermarket. When we were pondering out loud if we should drive to the one we frequent or to walk nearby to the one with less fresh produce, you interrupted with "Oh I got an idea"! You suggested we could all walk to the supermarket as you would put on your raincoat and gum boots to stay dry.
Talking about the erratic stormy weather lately, you have been slowly building up your safety awareness much to our delight. On your 3rd birthday celebration, you dished out unsolicited advice to your parents on how slippery the stairs would be in the aftermath of the thunderstorm and we should watch where we were going.
The week after your 3rd birthday, you slept through the night for a few nights straight. It was the very first time we experienced pure ecstasy and joy after 3 long years of broken sleep! In fact, we did wake up on several occasions in the middle of the night wondering if we had missed your cries! Fast forward, 6 months later, we no longer have to endure sleep disturbance, we can now all wake up refreshed and recharged!
However, we have another problem to tackle - you are fast becoming a night owl! You have been constantly pushing back your bedtime from the usual 8 to 9 plus and now its after 11! While we relished reclaiming back our usual 8 hours of rest, we are feeling helpless to this situation. The usual night time routine of taking a bath, reading you books and patting you to bed do not work its magic anymore! Although lights are out, you will continue to toss, turn and engage in conversations with us for the next 1.5 hours before you give in to exhaustion. In fact, we will sometimes fall asleep before you do!
On 19 February, we did a complete bedroom overhaul for you. We sold your stokke cot on the very same day. We upgraded your cot to a single bed frame, put in place a tall wardrobe, storage bins for toys and an open shelf for all your books. You were grinning from ear to ear as you jumped up and down, putting the springs of the bed to test for the very first time. It is now fun to pack away your toys, put them in dedicated bins, and choose your own book for bedtime story. However, that did not prevent you from invading our bed every night. All three of us would snuggle close to one another but both Mummy and Daddy would get woken up by your kicks and punches and start the morning with sore necks and backs. However, did you know that we absolutely love sleeping with you on the same bed despite having to endure the frequent sudden "awakenings"as the months roll by?
You are like an infectious bubble of energy, frequently bursting in and out of our room! We would scoop you up, throw you on the bed, and wrap you up like a burrito with the blanket and tickle you! We treasure each giggle and laughter of yours! Like everyone says, it is all worth it whenever I think about how fast you are growing up and how the days go slow and the years go fast.
When it comes to play time, you are definitely the best "copy cat" just like most toddlers! Since Mummy work for a skincare and cosmetics company, you would watch me apply my daily skincare routine and and makeup with immense interest everyday. Hence, I started noticing that you have been scooping creams and pressing lotions out of my jars and bottles in secret whenever I was not watching and was overjoyed when Auntie Cheryl gave you a mock makeup kit to play with. Since then, you have been proudly showing me how to apply blusher, eyeshadows and lipstick.
It was hilarious to hear you exclaimed, "What a good day", when we fetched you back home from school after Deepavali Celebration. You even went to our helper and showed her the letter "R" and asked if she knew what that letter was. Although you still could not tell time yet, we got you a free unicorn watch from Carousell as you are currently obsessed with unicorns at the moment. Despite months after Christmas, you never failed to be tickled by the story of "The Twelves unicorns of Christmas".
On 23th October, we had to stop abruptly at a traffic light which had turn amber and you commented that Daddy was driving too fast! You were probably right! On the same day, you reminded us if the car were to break down on the road, you would help us to build it again using Lego bricks. You still love lego to bits! On another note, your current favourite song is "Until I found You" by Stephen Sanchez hence we have been playing this song on repeat in the car and before bed time. You are also able to memorise the song lyrics and sing it wherever we go. We started playing "I spy with my two eyes" on long car rides, by the time you actually "spied with your two eyes", we have long driven past the object! It did not stop us from having lots of fun and I started envisioning going on long overseas road trips with you.
The "Who is your favourite parent" contest has a confirmed winner! Daddy needed to go out to celebrate Uncle Mark's birthday and your instructions clearly state that Daddy was allowed to go while Mummy had to stay behind to play with you.
By late November 2022, we started planning for our trip to London. Uncles James and Aunt Agnes were expecting their first child and you kept reminding us that you would like to go and "touch" (in your own words) the little baby.
Rusty the tractor made his appearance! Every single tractor in sight is now known as Rusty. There is a construction site right next to your current school and there have been a few tractors hard at work. This has been your motivation to go to school during tantrum mornings. The name Rusty came from "Reading Eggs" which has been keeping you entertained for hours! You can thank Nanny for keeping the subscription going!
We have been witnessing your amazing improvement in your swimming skills. You are now able to actively look for the pool wall and swim back to us without help as we stand waiting in the middle of the pool. You are still ingesting water every now and then but you no longer make a big fuss out of it. You love bathtub time with Mummy and ever since you started learning swimming, you have been alot happier in the tub and even try to blow bubbles under the water and do a back float in the tub.
Independence
We welcomed your independence in a flash of an eye.
First, there was the sudden shot up in height, the next thing we knew, we were having full blown conversations.
You started negotiating for more tv time and tried to give excuses whenever you were caught in a naughty act. Knowing that you did not have to go to school during the weekends, you would ask each night during bed time if it is the weekend yet. You started articulating your thoughts well. Whenever we are in Ding Tai Feng, you would never fail to remind us that the last dumpling left in the basket is yours. You are constantly reminding Mummy to eat more vegetables so I can grow taller because you found me rather short.
You started proper potty training in school and at home. You learned how to brush your teeth without help and remember to wash your hands after going to the bathroom. You like your door closed whenever you are in the washroom, valuing your privacy like an adult.
On 30 January, 2023, we saw light at the end of the tunnel. You finally managed to finish the broccoli and fish on your plate without any assistance. You were rewarded with a packet of banana milk and we shared a cornetto mini ice cream. We have come so far from a constant food rejection to this.
We might be late to the game but the discovery of indoor playgrounds in Singapoe changed our lives. This is esepcially so for a kid who is an Energizer bunny. We badly needed more places to expense all that energy of yours. Thus, we weaponized it! If you are obedient, you get to go to the indoor playground. If you go to school today, you might have a chance to spend a weekend afternoon at the indoor playground. Ah, the joy of having you wrapped around our little fingers. Not the other way round!
On 18 March, we meted out a harsh but necessary punishment. After a brief hiatus, we were finally able to bring Diffy to the Dog Run at the beach. When we got there, we warned you not to approach bigger dogs and not to stray away from us. Despite repeated reminders, you chose not to heed our advice and almost got attacked by a dog. Daddy scooped you up, crying and wailing ensued as we brought you straight to the car to go back home. Poor Diffy, she has been looking forward to go to the Dog Run and we had only been there for less than 5 minutes! Nevertheless, we stood by our decision despite you crying your heart out during the whole ride home. We explained the consequences of your action when we got home and we have always been clear that we were angry with a specific "behaviour" and it did not change our love for you. From then on, we learned that being firm and clear about the consequences of your actions worked like a charm each time in getting you to behave reasonably.
As you gained independence and started joining the dots together, we got to address more serious questions from you. For example, why do both of your parents have to work and leave you at the school. I tried to explain the importance of earning money so we have a house to live in, put food on the table and buy you toys. You looked at me in all seriousness and said we could all live in the playground and sleep on park benches. You even told me there was no need for new toys and all you wanted was to stay with me during the day and not have to go to school. My heart ached and the next time when this topic came up again, I told you I actually enjoyed working which was the truth as it made me feel useful and fulfilled. You nodded your head as though it all made sense.
The next time this topic came up again, you told me you would love to work too but there was no way you could do it as you have no laptop to work on. I almost spit out my drink. Hence, you took out your large Pot-It toy, furiously pressed down the bubbles and told me you were working on your laptop. You understood the concept of rest days where we did not have to work on the weekends and started telling us that on your "Day off", you wanted to be doing this and that.
As I penned off on this post, we have pulled you out of your current school. We are going to start May in a brand new school with a big outdoor play area and playground. Since it is a faith-based school, we hope that you would be instill with all the right values and grow up with a good character.
With lots of love,
Daddy and Mummy
