Mummy is naughty...so am I

You know that feeling, when sometimes you think you have a good idea and without consulting anyone else just rush ahead and do it. Then when the inevitable good idea turns out to be not quite the good idea in your head - you know you are in trouble!! And normally by then it is just.too.late.

Damage done. Your son has got two bald SQUARE patches on his head and he has to go nursery the next morning.

Why, oh why, did I even try to deviate from my usual scissors and use the new electric shaver?

What was I thinking? Obviously, not thinking enough or else this wouldn't have happened.

Yes, folks....for some insane reason, I decided to try out the new electric shaver on Josiah whilst he was happily watching TV. Then for another insane reason, decided used the smallest attachment thinking that since he was small, he should not use the big attachment. WRONG!!

I had tears in my eyes when I ran my hands through his hair to see this :

I rang my friend for advise but decided not to go with the "little monk" look and have opted to wait for it to grow and hopefully forget about this whole incident.

Sometimes, even mummies are naughty.

Here is my little naughty boy, caught in the act of counting my kitchen drawers !!.....

33 months old...I am losing count

I file all of Josiah's photos by month and seeing that he is nearing three....I have to admit that I am having trouble keeping count of exactly how many MONTHS old he is. When people asks me his age, I would reply - nearly three or 2.5 years old. So every time I want to upload some pictures from the camera to my laptop, I have to do "the count".

33 months old.

That is how old my son is. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Let's do the mandatory list of his achievements so far:

- Can count from 1 till 20

- Can recognise all his alphabets

- Can recongnise numbers 1-9

- Can walk up without assistance and walk down holding on to the banister

- Can jump lifting both legs

- Can feed himself better

- Can eat pasta, pizza, pork chop, mushroom

- Can use the potty for a wee (but not able to tell me when he wants to go)

- Can talk in sentences using up to 4 syllabic word like caterpillar, helicopter

- Can recite Little Miss Muffet, Humpty Dumpty, This Little Piggy effortlessly

But I would have to say his greatest achievement this month is to be able to say, "See you later, Mummy" and then watch me go off without crying. Yes, folk....he is on the road to a little separation from me and I am sooooo happy for the both of us.

This new nursery has been super supportive in making this process as natural and painless as possible for both the child and parent. I have been going to the nursery every morning and I stay with him every time. We leave as soon as he is crying and not happy (so not to associate the nursery as a bad place) . We always leave when he is happily playing (so he associates happy memories of the nursery). On the fourth morning, I went over and said bye to him and left for 30 minutes. On the fifth morning, I said goodbye and left him for one hour. Although, he is still teary when I leave him in the morning, his recovery gets better and better. He is now able to stay on his own for the entire 3 hours or so. And he even had his first meal of pasta which he ate all on his own. I know I am rambling but I am just so happy for him and so proud of him. I await the day when he is able to say goodbye in the morning without crying.....now that would be fantastic. Shaun and I have already planned to celebrate that day by going out for breakfast together.... I predict that Josiah will take up to 2 months to be able to achieve that so stay tuned.

When I grow up, I want to be a...

Doctor, lawyer, teacher, scientist or maybe an accountant like my Daddy...

Nope, I think I would like to be a photographer.

Here I am with my first "still model"

He is a good friend to agree to pose for me.

Thank you, Elmo. I love you

xxx

Josiah

Are you ready, Elmo?

Elmo, say cheese...

Okay, this shot looks good....

The finished photos...

A closer shot....perfect :)

When will I see you again?

I have consciously been avoiding having to blog these past few weeks. Why? Because I am feeling a bit down and I am just so L.O.S.T.

Lost, feeling lost, losing my mind.... you get the picture. To clarify and maybe help you understand, let's see... My in-laws went home after 6 weeks, then my parents left after being with us for 4 weeks. Josiah is not making a lot of progress in potty training and I have had to spend every morning in nursery trying to get him to like it. I just struggling with all the changes and having to put on a "it's okay" face for Josiah whilst feeling absolutely crap inside. I have difficulty falling asleep and yet hate to have to wake up to face the reality in the morning. Crazy, crazy time for me.

The pain mainly in having to send Josiah to nursery and seeing him screaming and crying every.single.day. It breaks my heart and is just as painful for me to turn my back and walk away calmly. I know it will get better but really wished that it would "get better" sooner. It makes it harder for both of us too knowing that this nursery is not the right one for us. The nursery itself is wonderful with a huge sandpit and playground, lots of different types of toys...etc But the staff there, my goodness, they all look so uptight and unfriendly. No one really talks to the kids there, no smiles, no laughter.....even their singing session is depressing. The teacher puts on a tape and holds up a book to show the kids. She does not sing, the kids are not encouraged to sing....my goodness, what is the point of a singing session. His assigned key-worker is cold and unfriendly. She is always in a rush to go for her "break time" and leaves the nursery before I can even ask her about Josiah. Enough said. I have made the decision to change nursery today and I hope the next nursery would be better for the both of us.

In the mean time, I am going to enjoy our time together again, going to playgroups together. I know that Josiah would love nursery when he meets with the right key person with the right attitude. He is so easy going and loves to be around other kids so this step of independence is quite due. Plus, I am hoping that he would gain from being with other kids around meal time and learn to feed himself. He is the only nearly three year old I know who still does not self feed and it is beginning to bug me. I love to feed him (which ensures that he actually eats) but I know that it is time for him to learn this new skills which I have failed to impart to him. I am not a good mum when it comes to thing like this and here I am trying to delegate it to the good people at his nursery :p

Typical. When the going gets tough, the tough gets a "helper". Hehehehe....

Happier times - group photo in Bruge, Belgium

Potty Training : A New Potty

Folks, I have never been one to advocate buying expensive stuff especially for kids. But this whole potty business has gotten me potty in the head as well, so I placed an order for a nicer potty that is more like a child seat with a removable portion at the bottom. When the potty arrived - Josiah was all excited about it and had a wee in it the first time he used it!!! He was so excited about taking out the bottom part and pouring it in the big potty. As a reward, he gets to flush and wash his hands (something that I never let him do otherwise!). Well, that was a couple of days ago and today, he finally told me he needed to use the potty. I was so shocked that I literally dropped everything to rush him to the potty. We had TWO request to use the potty today and a few wee-ing on demand. I am on a potty-high and decided that I should also try to bake some cupcakes for the first time. Those who know me will read this with jaws open as I NEVER bake, I have been quite adamant about buying desserts whenever I feel like it. Of course, it does help that my mum-in-law left all the ingredients and baking utensils behind with hopes that I'd pick it up one day. So here it is, my first cupcake using the famous Hummingbird cupcake recipe. Let's hope it turns out okay.

And for Josiah - Mummy is so proud of you! It is a big step for you and I am glad that we did it together. I hope you would remember this and one day come back to Mummy for help / advice knowing that I will endevour to do everything I can so you can succeed in anything you put your mind to.

Cupcake anyone?

Potty time! Day 2 & 3

Feeling disheartened and wanting to go out, I have decided to try the potty training in the morning till whenever I feel like going out which is usually after 1pm. In Day 2, I decided to let him run around without pants at all with hopes of catching him in action and pointing out to him that it is called a "wee wee" and that he CAN control it if he wants to. Despite having Grandpa around to help me watch him and try to catch him before he wee on the floor, we failed miserably. Not one drop in the potty and lots of Dettol floor wipe action instead! We went out for lunch to reward all the adults for trying :)



Day 3 started out well, I had a nice talk to him telling him about how he will get a lollipop if he manages to wee in the potty. I managed to get Josiah to sit for really long time on his potty but guess what? He just did not have to wee at all. From 9am till 1pm he was dry and just as I put him on his highchair for lunch, the dam broke and it was like Niagaria Falls at the dining table. Out came the Dettol again. It is nearly 4pm now and he has just sat on the potty for 30 minutes and not one drop. Frustrated at this, I put on his nappy and got down to the laptop. It is super tiring looking at his little "koo koo" for so many hours hoping to catch a little sign that he is about to wee. I have never looked at it for so long before. Ever. The problem is that he does not drink a lot of water and he has never been a fan of water, getting his water from milk and soups only. I have to make sure he has more water to drink tomorrow.

Toddlerhood: The Next Frontier

"I can't see Daddy anywhere" said Josiah this morning as we are heading out to church.

Wow, his first proper sentence.

Instead of answering him, I looked at him wondering how I once was in awe when he said his first word. Nowadays, his vocabulary is growing and his quirky remarks really makes my day.

I know one day, I will look back on this and moan about how he cannot stop talking but for now - I want to savour this warm fuzzy feeling I get whenever I hear him talk.

His other achievements include:

• Able to sing Twinkle, twinkle, ABC song, Incy Wincy Spider, Little Einstein song
• Able to count from 1 to 12
• Able to identify most colours
• Able to identify most alphabets
• Able to read a few words like dog, cat, duck, frog, horse, pig, chicken, Josiah, Mommy, Daddy, Thomas, Percy, star, car, Harold, James.
• Able to do some simple puzzles
• Able to paint and draw and colour quite well

Ahhh....but of course, I must also remember the things he is still struggling with, which includes:

• Not able to walk down steps on his own, he can walk up with help
• Not able to jump or climb too well
• Not able to feed himself with a spoon properly
• Not able to remove his socks or shoes on his own
• Not able to eat pasta, pizza, most veggies and fruits
• Not potty trained

I am looking forward to his independence which I think will improve when he starts nursery in September. He will be going for 3 mornings and although it will be a welcome break for me, I am honestly dreading that day. I want my freedom yet don't want to be away from him. Get it? Nope....well, I don't get it too. Such a strange mix of feelings which I believe only another full time SAHM will understand.

Does he miss his baby stuff too?

Josiah in Prague