iSLaNd bOy

ZaC's memory is like an elephant. He remembers words when he hears them once. He remembers places which displays things which he likes. The shops we have to visit every time we are at Compass Point are a skincare shop which has his favourite 'Fortune Cat' displayed on the shelf, a Kiddy Palace poster ad featuring many babies (he always smiles and turns away shyly whenever we pass by), the sports shop which has many balls and shoes, Exim Arts shop which has windchimes, water fountains and door sensors with animals' sounds, the durian pancake stall, optician shop which display many cats and dogs figurines, Action City which has many solar-sensored figurines with their heads moving from left to right, Best Denki which has many fans on display blowing cold air and the barber shop which has the rotating coloured strips. Luckily, he does not know how to ask for toys yet.

Just the other day, he kept asking 姑姑to get 'the kite' from the 2nd level of the book shelf. 姑姑looked through all the books but couldn't find one which is about kites. ZaC kept pointing and repeated his request. In the end, the 'kite' was actually one of the flashcards from a Sesame Street pack which Mummy bought a long time ago. Mummy only showed it to ZaC once when he turned 12 mths. At that time, he wasn't even introduced to kites at all. Wonder how he manage to remember it!

He will also try to pronounce the words he hears but he's better at words with one syllabus. Mummy needs to split the pronounciation up if the words contains more than one syllabus. His mandarin still sounds a little 'too angmoh' but at least he's exposed to the launguage.

fUn sHapEs

tOwEr oF cUbEs

ZaC has been practising his fine motor skills using stacking cups, cubes, blocks and other toys. Mummy bought some wooden cubes some time ago. However, Mummy was relunctant to allow ZaC to play with them without her supervision as ZaC still has the habit of placing things into his mouth. The last time, ZaC could stack 3 wooden cubes. This time, Mummy gave ZaC 5 cubes and he was able to stack them up easily! The wooden cubes are smaller than the cups and ZaC did a wonderful job! Mummy noticed ZaC has a special way of stacking them up - he will always have the coloured alphabets facing upwards (the cubes have 2 coloured alphabet sides and the remaining 4 sides have carved pictures in the colour of the wood).

fiShiNg GaMe

Mummy created a fishing game for ZaC using his existing toys and magnets. ZaC had a great time 'catching' the fishes and the activity kept him busy for a while. At first ZaC was amused at how the fishes 'stucked' to the line. Soon curious ZaC found the answer by fiddling with the magnet.

sNaiL diScOvEry!

gRoWth @ 18 mOnthS

ZaC went for the last jab of his 5-in-1 vaccination on Tuesday. At the same time, the doctor did an examination on him. Everything is fine! Only problem is ZaC's constipation which is the result of him not drinking enough water. Daddy & Mummy has tried all means and ways to increase his intake. Every request for drinking water is met with only a small sip. However, the doctor says ZaC does not need to pass motion everyday, as long as it is regular and his stool is not hard, it is still fine. Daddy & Mummy can only hope for the day when ZaC will start to love drinking water - just like Daddy!

18 jOyFuL mOntHs

It's been an incredible 18 months! From a helpless baby, ZaC has grown up to be a cheeky and bubbly toddler. He enjoys playing with his toys, admiring himself in front of the mirror, treating the furniture as a gym (climbing up & down) and reading (or rather, flipping) books! He is still as curious about everything around him and want to touch and put them inside his mouth.

He loves nature and animals. His favourite animal is definately the Cat (he knows both the English and Mandarin names). And he loves the Japanese Cat of Wealth, never failing to spot one in shops. However, ZaC can't have one as they are only available in the ceramic form and not the soft toy version.

Mummy just registered him as a national library member and borrowed some books for him. ZaC has 'graduated' from reading board books and will be exposed to more interesting books (with simple storylines). However, he is still more captivated with the pictures than the story.

ZaC knows over 100 words and is slowly introduced to the Chinese language. ZaC has also started learning more words with 2 syllabus and can pronounce them by listening and imitating. He still babbles in his baby language (姨姨 thinks he sounds Korean) and 'read' books to Mummy.

Lately, ZaC is trying to learn to jump. His attempts include swinging his hands high, pushing his buttocks up, bending his knees and trying to lift himself off the ground. He has yet to succeed though.