pRoUd Of yOu

ZaC is adjusting well in school. Teacher says he eats and sleeps well. This week, he only cried when Mummy left him in school in the morning. Every morning, Daddy & Mummy never fail to assure ZaC that he will be picked up from school in the late afternoon. ZaC is happiest when Mummy picks him up, waving good-bye to his teachers and friends. Mummy praises him and offers him a snack. While walking home, Mummy will ask ZaC about his day at school.

This morning, ZaC started singing Mandarin songs while getting ready for school! Mummy was pleasantly surprised! Looks like ZaC is having a great time learning and playing in school. This puts Daddy & Mummy's hearts at ease.

H.A.P.P.Y - 22 mOntHs

ZaC has always been a chatty boy (usually at home or in the presence of familiar people). Since he turned one, ZaC likes to blabber in his baby language and names objects he recognises to Daddy & Mummy in one or two words. Now, ZaC has reached another milestone, he can speak in simple sentences! He tells Mummy excitedly, "Uncle drive bus, the wheels are turning." "The car is moving." "I see red lantern." "Wow, so high!" "Mummy wear glasses." "Ball is dirty."

He also expresses what he wants,"I want to go outside/playground." "I want biscuits/milk/rice/noodles/etc."

Besides describing what he sees, he knows how to explain things. E.g when he was placed in the naughty corner by Daddy, Mummy asked him,"Why is ZaC in the naughty corner?". ZaC replied," Because ZaC is naughty. ZaC stand in naughty corner." When he is playing and cannot put bigger items inside a small box, he will explain,"This is too big."

Daddy & Mummy are surprised with ZaC's improvement in his language skills and totally enjoy communicating with him!

sUpErMaRkEt fUN!

The supermarket is a great learning place for ZaC. Since he was young, he will visit the supermarket at least once a day. He learnt about fruits, fish, vegetables, seafood, etc. If possible, Mummy will let him touch and smell them. He can identify apples, oranges, grapes, crab, squid, fish, carrot, brocolli, lemon, papaya, pineapple, flowercrab, banana, tomato, diapers, milk powder, toothrbush, toothpaste, rice, etc. He also knows the Lion logo and will search for the power, detegent, wet tissue, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste of the brand.

Usual 'route' for ZaC by section is fruits-->seafood-->milk-->diapers-->yakult-->toothbrush/toothpaste-->powder-->cleaning brushes-->cashier (looking for kinder bueno eggs!) If he got lost, Daddy & Mummy knows where to look for him.

Recently, he found a new activity to do - stacking bowl and cup noodles! ZaC has lots of fun in the supermarket!

nEw tRiCycLe

ZaC has a new tricycle (his first one)! It is his Christmas present from Daddy and Mummy. He don't know how to pedal yet and pushes himself forward with his legs. But he doesn't really like to ride on it. He prefers to be a mechanic, inspecting the tricycle's wheels! Curious ZaC will flip the tricycle upside down to see how they work. Yes, he has always been amused with wheels!

Ho..hO...Ho....MeRry ChRiStmAs!

tErRibLe tWo mOnStEr has ArRiVeD!

Yes, the moment Daddy & Mummy has been waiting for (or rather, dreading) has arrived! ZaC has slowly started to display symptoms of the 'Terrible Two Monster' these past 2 months. No mood swings in the picture yet (hopefully, never) but some occasional tantrums displayed (at home, fortunately). Two very obvious symptoms are his growing independence and sudden liking to say "I don't want" or "我不要" to everything. Sometimes he likes to say these just to see your reaction - it's all a game to him! And him being the cheeky boy, everything can be a game to him - even discipline time!

FiRst dAy oF ScHoOL

ZaC started school on 14 Dec, Monday. Mummy was with him for 1/2 day on the first and second days. On the third day, he was left in school until 4.30pm. He cried on and off whenever he thinks of Mummy (or wasn't distracted by the teachers). But he will still go to school every morning. Mummy noticed he was quite curious with the kids-size toilet bowls in the bathroom and was amused with the older boys showering. He also loves the books and different toys in school. But he hates shower time as the teacher uses the shower head and he is afraid of having water run over his head.

There are only 8 kids in his class, with only one jie jie. He's the 2nd youngest child. Teacher said he enjoys the food (he loves the cakes baked by ah ma - the chef!) but is quite clingy and wants them to carry him (for comfort). He will get his shoes from the cupboard to wear and tell them he wants to go home! As he only sleeps less than an hour in school (due to the foreign environment), he gets a little cranky during the evenings.

When asked if he likes school, he answered, "Yes." Hopefully, ZaC will settle down in school and start enjoying his learning journey! Good job, ZaC!

mUmMy'S bOy

ZaC is quite 'sticky' to Mummy (especially after he has developed his speech), always asking for Mummy to carry him. Whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night, he will demand for Mummy to hold him. Lately, the level of 'sticky-ness' has gone one level up. When Daddy sits or lays close to Mummy, ZaC will push Daddy away. *Gasp* ZaC has displayed the feeling of JEALOUSY! Daddy & Mummy were surprised at ZaC's reaction. So now, Daddy loves to tease ZaC just to see his reaction.

pRepAriNg fOr xMaS

It's ZaC's 2nd Christmas and he is no longer an ignorant baby! Last year, the Christmas tree was kept in the storeroom. This year, it re-appeared in our living room and guess who had to get his hands on the poor tree?! It's ZaC the destroyer! Before Daddy was able to set the tree up, ZaC has already broken one of the legs of the base. After that, he dropped the base and Daddy had to do some damage control by taping the mechanics for the fiber optic lights. Luckily, the tree managed to balance without the legs and was working like before! Next, comes the extremely difficult task of getting the curious toddler's hands away from touching the tree's deocrations! It took a lot of reminding and implementation of a 'naughty corner' to the 'tragic death' of our Christmas tree!

eXpeRieNtiAL LeArNinG

Mummy loves to bring ZaC outdoors so he can use his 5 senses to experience new things. This is experiential learning. You learn only when you get to touch, feel and do something. So, no enrichment classes for ZaC at the moment cos he will learn less inside the 4 walls - when he sees a picture of a snail, he only knows the word associated with the picture. If he sees a snail crawling and eating grass, he knows what the snail looks like, smells like, how it crawls (slowly) and what it eats. Bringing ZaC closer to nature is also something important cos it provides the best classroom and lessons! He will learn to appreciate nature and help to conserve it.

It's amazing that there are some great places to expose kids to nature and at no cost - just like the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden!

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