When School Begins ...

It had been a roller coaster week as Matt started his school.

Day 1 : Matt was a brave boy; went to school, no cries, no fuss. I was with him in the school but most times, left him to play on his own while I just sat at a corner, sliently observing him. We went home after his lunch and bath.

Day 2 : Decided to leave Matt in school on his own. Said bye to him and left. He proved himself to be a brave boy again, no cries, no fuss. He had fun running here and there and playing. Am truly proud of him and surprised by his independence! Even the teachers and parents commented that he was adapting well. Brought him to grandma's place after lunch and bath. He ended up crying as he wanted to go home instead (just like the day before).

Day 3 : Brought Matt to school. Told him mummy is going off and left, happy that he made no fuss of me leaving. As usual, he ran around, playing and entertaining himself. I was outside the school, peeping in now and then to make sure that he is ok. Halfway through the morning, he started crying. Uh-oh, what happened?! He kept running to the gate and asking the teacher to open it. Guess he wanted to go home. He cried and stopped, cried and stopped. Saw him eating his pacifier after his lunch. Hmm, how did he get his hand on the pacifier? Grandma picked him up after his bath. He saw grandma but refused to leave with her, even asking the teacher to put his bag back into the pigeon hole. He must be expecting mummy to pick him up! Some coaxing later, he left the school with grandma.

Day 4 : The night before, we asked him if he wanted to go to school. After much probing, he said "OK", only to follow with a "No". True enough, today when I brought him to school, he refused to take off his shoes, refused to go into the school. After much coaxing, finally got him into the school. Told him mummy need to go and that grandma will pick him after his bath. I left and he started crying but I had no choice. He just had to adapt. I went home, with a heavy heart. An hour or so later, I went back to the school. He had stopped crying and was playing. Good. Stayed for a while longer, checking him out now and then. He cried once in a while but was easily pacified by the teachers. After lunch, he again had his pacifier. According to the teacher, he ransacked his bag to find the pacifier. Oh well. Grandma came to pick him. At least he did not cry today and went home with grandma.

Day 5 : It seems that reality has finally sink in and Matt realised that school is an every day affair and he is not liking it. He refused to get out of the car, refused to even go into the school. When we finally got him into the school (by force), he was crying badly, only to calm down when I sat down with him for breakfast. Told him mummy have to leave for work. Hearing the word "work", he started crying again, taking my bag and asking me to put it back down on the chair. Told him mummy have to leave. Got the teacher to attend to him and I left. He was crying badly. An hour or so later, I went back to the school, hoping that he had settled down, just like the day before. He had stopped crying but he was also sucking his pacifier. The next thing I know, he had started crying again and he just can't seem to be pacified. Called my mum to pick him up earlier today. The teacher commented that he did not seem to be himself today and was crying almost the whole morning, worse than yesterday. Reality has indeed set in.

Day 6 : There's half day today so decide to bring Matt down to the school, just to take a look. The minute he saw the school, he started crying, insisting that I carried him and that he wanted to go to grandma's house. I had to turn back and he refused to come down to walk until I have walked a distance from the school. Why is he so fearful of school now, I wondered.

It had been most heart wrenching seeing him cry. Am torn. Should I let him try for another week? Or should I just withdraw? A decision need to be made, and it need to be made fast!

Weaning Off the Pacifier .. NOT ..

Matt has been sucking his pacifier whenever he sleeps and it has been on my mind to wean him off it, especially since he is starting school soon. Decided to try weaning him off over this weekend.

Friday night - We got ready for bed and Matt was in a happy mood and was babbling and babbling. He did not seem to be looking for his pacifier, so we just leave it at that. When he finally got tired and got ready to sleep, I was also tired out. I think I ended up falling asleep before he did. Maybe he also got too tired to look for his pacifier, so he eventually fell asleep without his pacifier for the night. Yeah, pass the first night!

Sat afternoon - I thought he would be able to go without his pacifier again since he should be tired out from his morning outings and should be able to fall asleep quickly. He went to bed, laid down for a while, and started gesturing that he wants his pacifier. Tried to devert his attention and refused to pass him his pacifier. This little one refused to give up. He got down the bed, walked to the kitchen and started crying. He knew that the pacifier is in the kitchen. I refused to move from the bed. He also refused to give up. Seeing that we are not moving, he came into the room, dragged Daddy out of bed, pulled him to the kitchen and got him to take the pacifier for him. Daddy gave in. He came back to the room, happy, and fell asleep quickly. Oh well, failed for the afternoon test.

Sat night - He had his shower and was tired out from his night outing. Drank his milk and started looking for his pacifier again. Started crying but I was determined not to give in. Tucked him in bed, tapped him, gave him his favorite pillow, sang to him and hey, it worked. He fell asleep without his pacifier. Passed for the second night.

Sun morning - Usual routine of getting him to bed for his morning nap so that he is alert for his afternoon Shichida class. Again, he was looking for his pacifier. Tried to do what I did last night but he refused to cooperate. Continued to look for his pacifier. Given that I really needed him to sleep, I gave in. He finally fell asleep after much coaxing. Hmm, seems like we are always failing for nap times.

Sun night - Back from his night shoppings, had his shower, drank his milk and again, he gestured that he wanted his pacifier. I ignored him and just continue tapping him, coaxing him to just go to sleep. Guess he is tired out from all the walking earlier on, he fell asleep shortly after. Daddy was commenting that he seemed to be able to do without his pacifier at night. As if to prove us wrong, Matt woke up from his sleep and started crying. No amount of coaxing helps until we presented him with the pacifier. Damn! Failed again.

Oh well, seems like we need more time for the weaning off. Slowly, but surely, we will get him off it. Just hope it will not take too long!

Busy Saturday Morning

It was a busy Saturday morning. Woke up, had our breakfast and we were off to Philips showroom for some shopping. Matt was more than happy to be going out so early. Reached the showroom and Matt was happily exploring the place, walking up and down the showroom, checking out the items and moving the item/price tags all over the place. I left him to explore while I started my shopping, picking things up here and there. By the end of the shopping, I have three bags of Philips items, and a lot of Avent products, so many that Eugene was commenting that we can start an Avent spree. Haha.

Next stop was to My First Skool, Matt's school, for registration. We reached promptly and boy, there's a lot of kids and parents. At least this time round, Matt was willing to go into the school and he went around checking out the toys. Left him with Daddy while I sat to listen to the principal's speech. Did the necessary admin stuff. After getting bored with playing, Matt was already waiting for me outside the school, even finding me my slippers among the sea of shoes! Daddy commented that Matt had fun playing with the toys and cars with the boys. That's good, I thought. Hope he is able to adapt to school quickly and well!

Sayang Baby .... No?

I asked Matt to sayang the baby and lifted my top to show him my tummy. He seemed most unwilling to do as he was told. When I finally got him to come over to me, instead of sayang-ing the baby, he just pulled my top down and walked away. Faintz!

We were laying on the bed and getting ready for bed. I was talking to baby and telling him that kor-kor is drinking milk beside me. I don't know if Matt actually understood that I was talking to baby. But he seemingly make some noise and asked me to "shut up". And when I asked him if he wants a di-di, he just shake his head. Double faintz!

Think we have a lot more to do to integrate the arrival of baby into Matt's life. Hmm, maybe he knows he's going to lose that undivided attention soon.

Sailing Away .. for the 2nd time

It's cruise time again. Matt went on his 2nd cruise trip over the weekend. We gave him his own luggage to lug around this time round and he was more than happy to do so. He had a really good time - eating, playing and basically just roaming the vessel. I think the adults were more tired chasing after him!

*Waiting for gu-gu to pick us up from home*

*Finally on the cruise. Taking a rest before heading off for dinner.*

*Playing in the see-through elevator*

*Trying to get a snapshot with the Christmas decoration*

*Swimming**Playing with the duckies**Enjoying his fries**Arcade games**A snapshot with Mummy*

A Circus Comes to Town

We brought Matt for his first musical. Being a hugh fan of Thomas and friend helps as he sat through the 1.5 hours show without any fuss and showing excitement whenever the trains come on stage.

*Checking out the poster*

*A snapshot with Daddy*

*Waiting for the show to start*

* Thomas and Friends*

*Watching intently*

*Clapping to the music*

*Playing with his new toy*

Flashcards

I was lazing on the sofa, watching TV. Matt was playing with his flashcards and spreading them all over the floor. He took a couple of flashcards, came to me and started telling me what are on the flashcards - bag, cake, milk, clock ... While the list is not long, I was pleasantly surprised. :)