All about me (Sweet Potato)

Here is a form which I had to complete to register Sweet Potato for his play school (you can see Peanut's form here) :

All about me because I'm Special

The name I prefer to be called is: Wei wei or didi

The special name I call my mummy is: mama

The special name I call my daddy is: papa

My best friend's name is: Chenyi (kor kor)

The things I do well are: climbing, jumping, dancing, somersaults

The things I enjoy are: watching DVDs, mimicking my elder brother, doodling

My favourite food are: as long as it is food

But I dislike: nothing, ... maybe chilli

My favourite toy / game is: cars, trains, peek-a-boo, water play, sand play, bubbles

Songs I enjoy are: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABC, Old McDonald's

I have a pet, its name is Moogi (dog)

My worries and fears are: none

Other interesting things about me: I know who is Elmo, Cookie monster, Thomas the Train, Spot the dog. I enjoy books which have interesting textures and flaps for me to lift. I am quite adventurous when it comes to trying new food.

My family would like me know more about (language, maths etc): shapes, colours and numbers

Sweet Potato At PlaySchool

SP started playschool for 3 half-days in a week on 3 Feb with 3 anxious "mothers" (the 2 grannies + Wati) and 1 not-so-anxious mother (the genuine biological one). His paternal granny lost sleep the night before; his maternal granny (who would usually call in the evening) called at noon to check on him and turned up at school unexpectedly on Friday (notwithstanding that I was on leave and with him during his first 3 mornings). And I much suspect that Wati would have done the same, but for my presence. What a privileged kid!

The Not-so-strange Way of showing his love

This is the first flower given to me from Peanut (which he picked up at the playground whilst I was doing my usual weekly marketing):

"Mama, you hold this flower. I give this to you. Later, when you drive, I'll hold for you. Ok?"

This boy sure knows the way to a woman's heart. I fall for it, without fail, everytime. He does it to me when I least expect it - that is when I am at my most vulnerable; it's just so sweet.

Oh, that's another one. Every night, I'd say this to Peanut when I kiss him goodnight, "I love you." And he'd say the same in response. Sometimes, I'd playfully repeat it with slight variation, like "I love you so much" and he'd go one up, "I love you so so much."

But one night, there was a new word he introduced out-of-the-blue; it goes, "I love you forever." I nearly fell off the bed ... yes, I'm a sucker and totally unabashed about it! It doesn't matter that the last context where he used "forever", it lasted for less than 5 minutes. It was a toy (can't remember what it was) he was holding away from didi and he circled in the living room chanting-like, "I am going to hold this forever, so didi cannot get it."

Strange Way of showing his love

15 February 2009

It is Wati's day off today. It is the one day in a month that I have the boys all to myself. The morning was beautiful and we walked to the playground hand-in-hand - Peanut holding Sweet Potato's hand and I holding on to P's hand. Now that SP has a more steady gait (not to mention a good stamina for walking) and is fairly good with instructions, I am a lot more confident bringing them out by myself. Last month, we even made a trip to Bishan Park - just me and the 2 boys.

After the playground, I bathed the boys in the tub. As ususal, they were both reluctant to get out. I turned to Peanut:

"Why should Didi get out first everytime. How about you get out first for a change?"
"No, it's because I love didi everytime."

Peanut has been using "How about" for some time now. Like "How about we eat first, then we go home?", "How about you sleep with Didi and I play with Auntie Wati?". No prize for guessing where he picks that up from.

I Not Stupid - and I'm not talking about the Jack Neo movie

7 Feb 2009

We were at my aunt's place doing our round of CNY visits (cum the usual mj session). Peanut was hungry and asked for food. So my aunt brought him to the kitchen to see what food he would like. Apparently he asked for bread with cheese spread. I wasn't there to hear the conversation, but here is the version narrated to me:


Yipo (grandaunt to Peanut) opened her fridge (knowing that she had no cheese) and handed him the butter, hoping to pass it off as cheese.

P: Yipo, no, this is not cheese. It's butter.
Yipo: Oh. Right, it's butter; yipo said wrongly.

(Editor's comment: I thought that was quite a clever trick to cover up for a lie. Of course, in the first place, no parenting book/guide worth its salt will approve a lie to begin with. But in reality, as real parents, we do find ourselves in situations where a white lie (or maybe a half-truth) is sometimes necessary. And if caught red-handed unsuspectingly by an all-knowing kid, maybe useful to remember this trick.)

Ah, but P wasn't about to let her get away so easily.
P: You stupid, I not stupid

Marina Barrage

15 Jan 2009

New Lunar Year, New Beginnings

On the 1st day of CNY, SP sat up in bed in the morning, flipped his picture book and said, "Pig, bird" for the 1st time.

On the 2nd day of CNY, we were in the car on our way to my mum's house and SP spurted, "Baby" - his first 2 syllable word. That evening, he called "Popo" and "Yima" for the 1st time.

On the 3rd day of CNY, SP could say "Elmo", "more", "pease". He pointed at the Count and went 'hahaha'.

On the 4th day of CNY, SP could almost repeat every word after me, well almost ...
Happy CNY to everyone!