Sharing

Son does not like to share his belongings to anyone. The boy next door who normally hit him or scratch his face has no chance of touching Son's toys. Son will be screaming his heart out while trying to get back his toy. Last week, Wife's nephew came for a visit. Though Son let him played his bicycle, it wasn't for long. Ten minutes later, he'll want to ride it. When the older boy stacked the Lego blocks, he would want to take them back in a short while. Despite my constant sayings of  "Share. Share", it was of no use. However, Son doesn't mind to share his things to adults. The moment my in-laws came into our living room, Son would be handing his precious toys to them. As if it was as a gesture of friendship.

24 months and 11 days old, Getting ready for a wedding dinner

Teat

Seeing Son chewing his teat with his molar teeth boils my blood. Every 3 months or so, we need to change his teats. One of our friends told us that her toddler used to chew the teats too. Despite being threatened, he chewed his teats happily. As soon as I noticed him chewing away, I would took his bottle away and there went the loud screams.

The new teats

Sometimes, he will look for me out of his eyes' corner and smile cheekily whenever i stare at him angrily. And he will move away from me and chew his teat even more eagerly. 

The ruined teat

At any time, he has three spare bottles. As soon as the first teat is ruined, the rest will follow in a short time. That's nerve wrecking.

A badly chewed teat

Son behaved well in a wedding ceremony

It has always been a nightmare taking out Son for a short walk in the mall or a meal in a restaurant. He doesn't seem to be able to sit on the baby chair for more than 15 minutes. But, I must say he had put on his best manners throughout a church wedding.

Notice his shorter hair?

 As we entered the church, he played with the flower girls. I had to constantly remind him to shake hands only. Nothing more than that. No hugs. No clothes pulling. No hitting.

 As the ceremony progressed on, he stood quietly on the bench. He would look at all the people around him. Of course, he would sit and play with the hymn books. Any attempt of stopping him would end up with screams and shrieks. At least I needed not to chase him around the church.

He wore his bag filled with his water bottle and extra clothes during the whole ceremony

 An hour passed by without much fanfare and I let a sigh of relief. No huffs and puffs.

24 months and 11 days old, St. Thomas Cathedral, Kuching

Haircut

Throughout these two years, I remembered Son only had four haircuts. Though there were occasional minor haircuts by his Mummy, at the sides and the front part, it's impossible to get him to sit still and had the whole process done. He couldn't have the feel of the scissors touching his skin and simply didn't want anyone to cut his hair. Except his Gong Gong and probably his aunt.

17 months old, Haircut in Sibu

22 months old, Haircut in Miri

 It's been months since the last haircut by his grandpa. He's coming to Kuching today and I had asked Son.

Daddy  :  How's your hair?

Son      :  Long

Daddy  : Who is going to cut your hair?

Son      :  Gong Gong

We'll see later. 

24 months old

Sleeping positions

Son just slept around 1 p.m. after two hours of Barney's songs. He had 13 ounces of milk since 6.30 a.m., five spoonfuls of rice with chicken soup, a packet of SkyFlakes biscuits, his daily dose of Vitamin C and a teaspoon of medicine for his running nose. 

I had expected some tantrums to be thrown but Son had been very obedient for the past few days. I just couldn't take my eyes off him while he slept. Son had grown a lot. He's already 95 cm. Taller than any child of his age. The neighbour who lives opposite our place always laments why her grandson (a month older) is thinner and smaller than Son. Personally, I reckon that making comparisons between toddlers is not healthy but it's story for another day.

Son can sleep in many positions such as Soldier position (on his back with both arms at his sides)

13 months old, Miri

Son can sleep in Log position (on his side with arm down the side)

17 months old, Sibu

But sleeping while standing?

20 months old, Kuching

 Door-guard position

23 months old, Kuching

Dare-you-to-touch position

24 months and 7 days old, Kuching

 

Day 6

Son woke up at 5.45 a.m. today. Normally, the first word that came out from his mouth would be "Go"; urging me to go to the living room to watch his favourite Barney and Big Bird shows. If it doesn't work, he'll say "Nen Nen (Milk)" which he knows that it's the last resort to get us to get up from the bed.

It's weird that he didn't ask for his usual pill. Some grapes, an egg and two sessions of feeds, he slept on the floor at 10 a.m. It made me worried. He's having coughs and running nose. At least, he's not having fever. He'll wake up at 12 p.m. later, just in time for his porridge, his lunch.

Having egg while watching Barney

A walk in the mall with Son

Walking around a shopping mall means window shopping for many people. Leisure walks. For me, it means keeping an eye on Son. He got lost once in Parkson. He  loves to run around and grabs any smaller child, tight. I'll be running towards the poor child and tries to let go of his tight grabs. Today, we went to the Spring shopping mall. I'd been telling him "Shake hands only. Shake hands only." He complied. He got close to a few children and showed them his right hand, in a gesture to shake hand. Most of the children were shy. They ran away. Only two boys who shook hands with him, one of them even hi-5 ed him.

There was a girl, probably five years old, pinched and hit Son when he took her balloon in a kid's shop. Son stood there, holding to the balloon, without hitting back. That's bullying. She called her younger brother to help. He didn't touch my Son but said politely " Let it go." Is sharing a vocabulary word in her dictionary?

Taking Son out is still not easy. He likes to run around. He doesn't care if he runs onto the road. He doesn't care if he bumps into people. He wants it his way. Holding him tight is not an option. He'll try to slither away. There's still a lot of improvements to be made in this department.

Wearing Mummy's shoes

A day without whines!

The day started off well. Though Son tried to hinder his Mummy to go for work by holding the door knob, he obediently let me held him up, in my arms. The 7-8 a.m. Hi 5 show went smoothly without any glitches. He had some potato and carrot salad. He drank his 5 oz milk before going off to the bathroom for his morning bath. No screaming. No yelling. He let me bathed him while he played his animal toys.

He asked for his daily dose of Vitamin C pill and a yogurt drink. Had some grapes as the hour went by. Though the experts said that TV should be limited for 2 hours a day,  Son watched at least 5 hours before he went for his nap. He rode his tricycle several times and said out N, O, P Q, R, S, Y, Z, YEAH! randomly. He was coughing for the past two days. It's hard to get him to drink water or even Ribena. Nonetheless, he probably had six gulps of Ribena drink this morning.

Lunch consisted of a bowl of porridge with carrot, long beans and minced mear which he took 4 spoonfuls. Milk is a must before he went to sleep for the afternoon.

If every day goes like this without much whines, I believe world population will not be just 7 billions next year!

An evening walk at the park near Sarawak Museum

Day 2

Terrible Two rears its ugly side. The symptoms are all over my Son. He doesn't me to bath him again since the day before. Screaming and giving out shrieks really got on my nerves. It's only when I threatened him of having a good whip that he gave in.

Afternoon nap normally starts at 1 p.m. But Son only slept at 5 p.m. Imagine the time in between. He's sleepy. He's cranky. He wanted to turn the house upside down. He wanted to take down the ornaments on the Christmas tree. He wanted to go out of the house.....

Anyone has good ideas on how to entertain a 2-year boy? Besides Lego blocks, stacking blocks, animal toys, musical instruments, ABC book, stuffed Barney, Dog and Giraffe, Barney shows, Big Bird Alphabet show, Vitamin C, Orange flavour Scott's Emulsion, biscuits, asking the child to ride the tricycle...

How to get angry with this beautiful smile?

A happy birthday

Son is two years old today. He blew the candles on his ice-cream cake at around the same time he was born two years ago.

Ready to blow candles

Wife cooked great dishes for at least 20 hours. 

Pizza stole the limelight

Although Son was screaming not to be bathed during the evening, not wanting to drink water and throwing tantrums, it's his Big day. Happy 2nd Birthday, Son.

A whole drumstick just for Son for his birthday lunch

Vocabulary

Son can repeat alphabets when I say them aloud. But he can mange to say N, O, P, Q, R, S, Y, Z by himself. (He confused between S and X and he can't really say the SSSssss sound as well as W). He likes to skip numbers for example when I say five, he doesn't want to say five but rather six, as well as number nine. He'll skip straight to number ten. Talk about doing his own ways!

Following are the words that he can pronounce on the day before his second birthday.

English words (87 words)

Apple, Boat, Pumpkin, Penguin, Beach, Mole, Go, Come, Nice, Hat, Helmet, Spoon, Kick, Hi, Bye, Rain, Wet, Bird, Owl, Leopard, Snake, Bear, Elephant, Sheep, Horse, Cat, Dog, Rabbit, Bee, Ant, Fish, Turtle, Duck, Pig, Shoe, Take, Throw, Put, Bag, One, Two, Three, Five, Six, Eight, Ten, Open, Aeroplane, Car, Key, Ice cream, Key, Yoyo, Pain, Flower, Ball, Egg, Jump, Hot, Cold, Dirty, Uncle, Auntie, Blanket, Close, Meat, Vege, Baby, Truck, Open, Drink, Daddy, Mummy, Eye, Nose, Ear, Mouth, Armpit, Hair, Hand, Leg, Water, Good, Drink, Moon, Star, Sun

Baby words (26 words)

Cho (Sit), Yum (Delicious), Gai gai (Outing), Ang Gyu (Thank you), Pom pom (Bath), Go go (Elder brother), Je je (Elder Sister), Oo Oii (Sleep), Ahvie (Heavy), Mach (Stomach), Pu pu (Motorbike), Nen nen (Milk), Shh (Pee), Ugh (Poo), Aarr (Lion), Ar Ger (Tiger), Kok kok (Hammer), Uhg Arg (Gorilla), Gog Gor (Chicken), Mamina (Ribena), Gong gong (Maternal Grandfather), Kung kung (Paternal Grandfather), Ah Ma (Maternal Grandmother), Mama (Paternal Grandmother), Rattan (Cane), Bobo (Carry)

Mandarin word (which is used at least 30 times a day)

Bu Yao  (Don't Want)

21 months old, leaning on the height chart

Being stubborn or simply wants to be independent

This morning I realized that Son had grown up a little bit more. I was trying to help him to stand on the edge of the toilet bowl for him to pee. He didn't want to cooperate. I was angry and gave him a good scolding. I went into the kitchen to wash some bottles. Suddenly, I heard a peeing sound in the toilet. Son was peeing by himself at the edge of the bathroom. I was a peeping Tom. I didn't want to startle him. When he was done, he actually took a stool and put it near the sink. He washed his hands, not before playing with the water in the sink.

If I was ignorant, I would had scream again when I saw his shirt was wet. 

Is he being stubborn after all? 

 

21 months old, I want to do things my way!

Whine

Whine is defined as "To utter a plaintive, high-pitched, protracted sound, as in pain, fear, supplication, or complaint." (Free Online Dictionary)

Just like the sound made by an old car engine when we try to start it. More so, the sound made by Son at every napping time. To say that it's annoying or provocative is an understatement!

arr, arr, Arr, ARR, AARRR, AAAARRRRRRGGHH!

Probably satisfied with his whines

Good Appetite

Today is a very good working day. Minimal cries. Very few Bu Yao! shrieks. Some whines. Doesn't feel like taking care of a Terrible Two toddler. Phew!

I think the reason is probably food. I gave him two bowls of beet root soup with chicken meat. Of course the usual one tablet of Vitamin C (100 mg) and Ribena drink (kurang manis).  Few teaspoons of Scott's emulsion cod liver oil orange flavor. Some kids' titbits. Kiddy biscuit. And seven spoonfuls of white rice and chunks of oven-baked fish. He scooped everything on the plate into his mouth. I forgot to mention that he ate a whole piece of pizza bacon (RM2.20) for breakfast, the kind of pizza one can find in Malaysian schools' canteens. It's actually round in shape, soft bread topped with pieces of bacon, mayonnaise and cheese . That's surprising because he's normally not a bread person. More of a porridge eating person.

He ate them all before retiring to his 12.30pm nap with a bottle of 5oz milk

17 Months, Durian, Kuching

Yummy!

Bird

Son woke up at 5.50a.m. this morning. DADDY! DADDY! BIRD! I told him to go to sleep again. He's insistent with pleas. BIRD! He's referring to his favourite character, Big Bird of the Sesame Street. 

 

He changed strategy after his whines went unattended. Nen Nen! (Milk! Milk) He wanted his feed. Or so I thought. I made his milk, opened the CD that he wanted to watch but alas, he didn't want his milk. I was frustrated. I switched off the television and threatened him to finish his milk. He sensed my anger and obediently picked up his milk bottle and finished the content. By then, I was on the couch, nursing my lack of sleep.

Bu Yao! Bu Yao! Bu Yao!

Son gives out screams almost every morning for the past four days, at approximately 7 a.m. Bu yao! Bu yao! BU YAO! He holds the door knob tight. He doesn't want his Mummy to go out to work. He'll whine and yell. But eventually, he gives in when I try to hug him.

19 months old, holding the door knob

Terrible Dad

Son had been persistent with his screams and cries to get his favourite food for the moment. Vitamin C (100mg). Without Sugar. The problem was that children are only allowed one tablet each. He had eaten two of it today. It was said that having too much of Vitamin C caused kidney stones. He was quite cheeky. When I gave him a tablet, he'll asked for another one, in pretext that the other one was meant for Daddy. The moments he had two tablets in his hands, he put all of them into his mouth and happily chewing away!

It was around 2 something in the afternoon. The wind was blowing strong outside the house. Dark clouds were everywhere. I went out of the house to get the dried clothes in. And Boom! The door was shut tight with Son inside the house. Alone.. That's the greatest nightmare for I didn't have the house key with me. 

Then, the dreaded moment came. He woke up from his afternoon nap. He was sitting on the sleeping sofa with his starry eyes when he saw me standing outside. He made his usual cries. And the cries grew louder as I would normally pick him up in my arms. He walked towards the windows with drops of tears running down his cheeks. He must be surprised for not being attended to. He was touching his genital part, indicating that he was to go to pee. And out came from his mouth.. Nen nen (Milk). He wanted his feed. I asked him to get me the remote control which he promptly did. But as much as I tried to open the window panes with it but to no avail.

He was crying and crying. I asked him to turn the knob three times but he couldn't open the door. He was frustrated and cried even louder. He peed on the floor. He couldn't hold it any longer. He walked towards the room. I kept calling him, worried that he might do something dangerous. He came to the living room with a pair of shorts. He passed them to me while asking to be hugged. He took off his shorts.The incessant cry was getting unbearable. He sat on his tricycle, looking astonished with eyes asking me why was I not hugging him. He cycled around the living room, not without casting looks at me every now and then. What was Daddy doing outside?

Wife came back not long after. The day was saved. 

Stay at home parents. Remember to put a spare key in the pocket all the time.

Early November 2011, Star Garden, Kuching.

Terrible Two

Son is almost two years old. The words Terrible Two come to my mind.


Wikipedia's definition : A child development stage which normally occurs around the age of two (but can start earlier) and consists of toddlers often saying no and throwing temper tantrums.


A quick check on the Net on Terrible Two reveals 224 000 searches while amazon.com gives 8653 choices. That says a lot about Terrible Two.


I'm a stay-at-home Dad and I need to know the 366 reasons on why I become a very different person in a year's time.

At Palm Beach, Sematan October 2011