Dear Sweet Pea,
On 1 May, you talked in your sleep and said "I Love You, Daddy." There is a saying in Chinese, whatever you think about in the day, you will dream about it at night. There was no question Daddy was on your mind the entire day!
We went to the indoor playground on 3 May and you were trying very hard to scale a slope. There were tiny rocks for you to position your hands and feet in order to complete the climb. After several attempts, you were finally able to make it up to the top of the slope on your own with no assistance at all. I applauded you for the tenaciousness that was displayed throughout this feat. I was so proud of you that even at this young age, you never gave up on any task you set your mind on.
We missed Perth so much that we booked another trip to go back there for Easter! Hence, on 15 April, we found ourselves back at the airport again! You ate your first lollipop on the Scoot flight bound for Perth. You were easier to manage on flights now.
On Easter weekend, we went to Caversham Wildlife Park with Grandpa and Granny Glam. We were so relieved that you grew up being used to our family dog, Diffy. You were showing so much love to all the farm animals, patting the goats and feeding the kangaroos being especially tender and gentle to the joeys.
Mummy had another agenda for visiting the Caversham Wildlife Park! I was planning to hug a Koala! This wish had been on my bucket list for almost a decade now ever since I first knew your Daddy. Each time Daddy got excited about bringing me to see a Koala, be it at the Perth zoo or Mandurah, he would position it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to hug a koala. Each time, I was disappointed as it was either viewing Koalas at a distance or just a photo opportunity standing next to a sleepy Koala. Even though I had been to Caversham Wildlife Park before we had you, I did not get a chance to hug a Koala! Hence, I was not planning on letting go of this chance so hard to come by! Therefore, lunch could wait while I queued up for my turn.
I would like to thank you for your patience as it took longer than the advertised 15 minutes wait to hug the little baby Koala. By not crying or screaming as it was your lunch time, Mummy was able to check off my bucket list. You were even offered a chance to caress the baby Koala as we took a family photo next to it.
Lunch was served at Upper Reach winery. This was a special place for us because we celebrated significant milestones in this restaurant over the last decade. We visited this beautiful vineyard on the banks of the Swan River when I made my first trip to Perth in my early days of dating your father. Since then, we had returned here to celebrate our love after we got married and when we knew we were having you.
When we got back to Perth, Grandpa brought you and the dogs out for a run. You ran around the large field with the pony tail on the top of your head bouncing in all directions. You walked Mooshie back to the car gingerly as you figured your way out of the long red leash and a very active dog without getting tripped over. Your love for fish and chips was further deepened as you finished the entire fish and chips for dinner that night at Kailis Fish Market Cafe in Fremantle.
In fact, we noticed your appetite improving tremendously these last few days. You could eat half a portion more of what you used to be able to. You loved spaghetti bolognese as well as grilled fish and chips. You preferred to dip the chips in ketchup and lick the sauce off the chips.
On Easter Sunday, after a hearty breakfast at Mister Walker, we headed straight to the Perth Makers Market for its kids friendly activities and retail therapy. You were instantly drawn to the water colour painting activities and pleaded with me to get your face painted. When it was your turn, you chickened out as you thought it would have looked really scary on your face and opted to paint lovely purple flowers on your arm instead. You were slowly turning into a vain little toddler with your own ideals of what constituted to beauty.
We then hurried across to Toast on East Perth for the Easter eggs hunt. Colourful chocolate eggs were carefully concealed around the lawn and all the children were busy looking around all the crevices leaving no stone unturned. Within 15 minutes, you have already uncovered half a dozen eggs and placed them all in your bunny basket. Although you did not understand the concept of Easter, you were intrigued by the Easter Bunny Mascot and took many pictures with it.
On our last day, we visited the Elizabeth Quay Fun Fair. The autumn air was crisp and fresh making it a perfect day for a carnival. For our first ride, Mummy and Nanny squeezed into a round rotating teacup with you sandwiched between us. When the ride started, the tea cup spun round and round sending you into a peal of merry laughter. Next up, you let yourself loose at the silent disco with Mummy. With matching set of earphones, we swayed, jumped and danced to the rhythm of the music.
We then ventured onto the “Runaway Train” roller coaster together with Daddy. I could see the excitement on your face as the little train inched up the incline and sped down the hill. You loved the acceleration and the thrill even though you were clinging on tight to Daddy with his arms wrapped around you throughout the ride. I screamed my lungs out and most probably louder than all the kids put together hence it was rather embarrassing as we were on a roller coaster ride meant for children.
In these last 2 trips to Perth, you have always volunteered to help Nanny take care of her balcony plants. You loved using your own little set of toy broom and dustpan to clean up the house.
Toilet training took a back seat last month when we were in Perth as you were not used to the potty we prepared for you and felt a bit more comfortable reliving yourself in the nappies. As soon as we got back to Singapore, you went straight to your potty and reminded us to close the door behind you. You meant business.
You requested to bathe yourself more often recently. You loved to be directly under the shower head as you observed water flowing down your body. You started insisting on washing the shampoo off your hair by yourself and would push us away if we tried to help.
On 24 April, you commenced your very first swimming lesson. Daddy accompanied you in the pool and it started off with both of you pouring water over each other's head with a small bucket before learning how to support yourself on a pool noodle. With the help of the noodle as a float, Daddy encouraged you to move forward by kicking your legs. With Daddy moving you along, you were able to follow instructions to pick up the coloured balls dotted around the pool and placed them in a hula hoop by the edge.
Teacher Nicole dipped your head into the water and you did not put up any resistance. Well Done my child! You were a little apprehensive when you laid your head down on Daddy's shoulders to do a back float but were able to complete the activity. Finally, you were very brave to walk across the floating water mat alone and jump off it into the water under Daddy's cue. You told us you loved swimming after the half hour session!
It was a special day on 24 April. While both you and Daddy were waiting for Mummy to finish grocery shopping, Daddy tried his hands on a claw machine and won. A week later, Daddy tried his luck again and won another soft toy! History repeated itself the following week again! You were overjoyed at collecting soft toys every weekend and little did we know this would be the start of a claw machine addiction for the both of you!
You asked more “Why” this month. Why is that on the floor? Why is this happening? So far, they were very legit questions that I have no trouble answering. Let’s review this in a couple of months.
There were far more specific requests than last month. “I do not want Mama to (fill in the blanks).” “I want Mama to pat pat.” You were now using complete sentences to convey your thoughts and feelings as you tried your best to use the right tense (although you had no idea what they were). I loved how you would always try to mimic us in our sentence structures. On 29 April, you demonstrated clear ability to differentiate between the number 6 and 9.
You were able to reason with us now and some of your points have their merits and seemed rather logical too. We were often found laughing our heads off. The way your language ability has advanced made me felt like this was another growth spurt again!
You loved to pose for videos and pictures and would give a signature Asian V sign as you squinted your eyes. Your greatest achievement to date? You have learned to say, “I am cute!”
Lots of love,
Mummy
