Multiparenting Cayen & Cayson

Cayson is all about mimicking actions now.  Every day he is now wielding a cloth and wiping the floor and the tables . After wiping, he will go to the dustbin in the kitchen , open the cloth and "shake" out the dust , just like Ah Po.  Every day, whenever he feels like going out, he will bring Ah Gong to the shoes corner and beckon Ah Gong to help him wear  his shoes . This happens multiple times a day .. so he's known throughout the block by neighbours and security as he's always hanging outside. Recently , he will try to take a bag (of random things) before heading  out , just like us. In the picture, he had randomly grabbed a bag containing a floor mat.   His most notable Achievement now is to be able to shake his head to indicate that he doesn't want to . I don't know why they program kids to know how to say no before yes. But thankfully he mastered the signal for yes soon after. As he can't really nod, he kind of rocks his whole body to and fro to ind...

Today, he told me he wanted to marry his special friend again. So I asked him what is the meaning of marry ? And here's the whole exchange:  C: after you marry, you have a baby.  Me: so give me an example of who's married ? C: you and ah pa!  Me: ok .. then tell me who's my baby? C: Cayson . You pop Cayson,  Me: that's right. Then who pop you?  C: Ah Po  Me: huh??? You are not Ah Po's baby. What gave you that idea? C: I thought one mummy can only have one baby.  Me: No, both of you are my babies. You are big baby and Cayson is small baby.  C: no, I am not a baby anymore.  Me: ok, let's try this. So who's Ah Po's babies?  C: hmm .. Me: who calls her mama? C: you! Me: correct. Who else? C: erm ... don't know Me: let me give you a clue .. who comes every week?  C: cleaning auntie !!  Me: no !! Guess again. Who looks like me? Who calls Ah Po mama ? And then he went on to guess 5-7 things including Ah Pa,  Ah Gong, Nai Nai (奶奶）...

It started with Da getting a high fever on Thursday night. So we canned the usual Friday night plans and had dinner home. I also took Cayen to Jerome's 100 days party on my own. Cayen had a good time as Marilyn and Marcus had prepared some nostalgic old school snacks for the kids and his highlight was the bubbles that entertained him for a long time.  As Da was sick at home, I decided to bring him on a bus adventure where we randomly boarded the first double decker bus that came. It was so random that I didn't even know the bus number after I was comfortably seated. I had to ask my fellow passengers who might think I'm quite strange . I soon figured out that we are heading towards Boon Lay interchange , with the bird park and science centre in between. As I didn't have my membership card with me, I managed to convince Cayen to alight at the science centre instead,  We then spent the next 2-3 hours at KidsSTOP which was funny and educational. As we didn't have to rus...

2017 marks Nanyang's 100 years' anniversary and hence, a few of us decided to go back to visit the new campus that we didn't have chance to study in , and also to watch the movie premiere. It was surprisingly professional , from the cinematography to the children's acting and good spoken Mandarin. I hope it will be screened publicly for many more people to see.  In the movie, there's quite a few interviews with past students, teachers and principals and most of them echoed the same sentiments that character and grit building were important aspects of education there, including the need to contribute to society & be a useful person. They have already emphasised all these since the start of time , way before all these concepts of Grit & Growth Mindset become hot topics in recent parenting/educational culture. And it was quite touching to see how girls didn't always have the chance for education in early Singapore and I think we should be grateful for the o...

Yesterday I asked Cayen ... can you tell me some tips on what to do if you feel very angry and want to calm down? Can you help me draw it out ? And this is what he drew .. if you can spot the messages amongst the abstract representation , this is what they are: - count numbers  - talk to someone  - sit at the table alone for a while - think about things - read books - draw  I thought it's quite interesting how he still remembered all these cool-down tips that I have shared with him these over a few books during the peak of his fights in school last year.  Conclusion: don't underestimate the power of reading and kids' memory. Teaching coping strategies can help our kids better  navigate through the terrible twos and threes for all types of issues from fighting/hitting, impulsiveness, telling the truth , separation anxiety etc. 

This month's milestones has to be his incredible walking skills. After spending a day in the kiddy room in Kidzania, where he was free to roam and fall, he became a confident walker overnight .  From dragging the grandparents to walk with him around the house in circles, he started to independently do his rounds recently. This was a major upgrade from 4-5 wobbly steps just last month. His words remained limited at Ah Ma, Mama, Papa, Bird, Ba!(bus), Big Bird, Bag but he's been speaking a lot more gibberish recently so I guess more breakthrough will be coming soon. But perhaps we shouldn't expect so much. After all he's only 13 months. Looking back at Cayen's old posts, he's probably at the same pace.  He also knows how to ask bring Ah Po to the island area and ask / gesture for her to make milk for him when he wants to drink.  He has a sense of humour as he will purposely do something when I ask him not to and look at me for my reaction , and grin when I play alo...