Little Tiger: 2 Years 9 Months

He's turning 3 in 3 months :)

This will be mostly an anecdotal record for him.

As a busy 2 year old, his daily personalities include:

1. The Bully

"Mama. Today I beat mei-mei three times"

"The head, hand and poke eyes"

That was a lie. I confirmed with Grandma.

Either that or Grandma's the liar.

2. The Boss

"Kakak, come here. This one you throw. This one you keep. Later I want use"

3. The Interior Decorator

"Mama. I help you clean."

Move toys around 

Mom roll eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I help. Wait let me think first"

4. The Potty User

"Today Tiger so clever. I use potty to ta pian"

Really?

"Yes. I ta pian little bit only"

Shows me about a centimeter between his thumb and forefinger.

That is in fact the truth.

Still has issues pooping into the potty.

5. The Pacifier Addict

"Nai-nai, I wan cuit-cuit"

"Cannot. Ask your mama"

I will usually deploy some massive distraction.

One day, his craving was so bad,

 he pop mei-mei's tiny MAM one into his mouth.

6. The Courteous

He has been saying "thank you" without prompting.

Thank God!

7. The Crazy

"Mama, I tell you, I LURVE mei mei"

Next second, "Eh NOOOOO ah, don't come here. Go away"

Five minutes later, "Mei mei so cute"

then

"I no like you"

Repeat 20x

8. The Gatal 

He is a superb poser now.

Fake smile and all 

 9. The Accountant

His latest 'it' thing

The calculator

10. The Musician?

We went for YAMAHA trial class last week and he nailed it, like spot on, okay?

Did everything he was supposed to and I was practically salivating to pay for registration when the lady at the counter said,

"Oh, he is the one who is not yet three right?"

Oh Shit. Should I lie? 

"Err yeah. He will be three in June" I added hopefully.

The lady replied solemnly, "Wait for July class lar. 

His hands won't be strong enough"

Seriously, I very nearly wanted to strangle the woman because:

1. Tiger is bigger than most of the other three year olds.

2. He has the fattest baby hands

3. I called the center at 5.30 pm to ask about trials and she said "Come at 7 o'clock lar" Therefore, I did not eat or wash my greasy hair.

4. Most importantly, he LOVED the class.

Patience is a virtue...I know...I was probably too hungry and greasy.

Outdoor play: Water guns and ping pong balls

Finally, the rainy season has passed by and we can now resume outdoor play again.

Hooray!

I love taking Tiger outside, even if it was for 5 minutes.

Otherwise, he becomes agitated and a little psychotic from being 

cooped up in the house all day.

Since I work during the weekdays and never see sunrise on weekends,

we usually do stuff in the evenings.

He loves going to the lake nearby to feed the tortoise and fish.

I think we created some of our best memories from simple walks.

Like the time he first got acquainted with the large husky named Bounty.

  

or

when he jumped up and down in glee with 

the biggest ear-to-ear grin in anticipation of feeding the tortoises

with some old bread.

Real simple things....

Last weekend, he wanted to play with his large water gun.

Since he was still coughing, swimming was out.

So, I took out some golf tees and ping pong balls for target practice.

It took a lot of coaxing for him to actually touch the tee and grass.

It was dirrrrty *roll eyes*

Pressing the tees in to the ground.

 

 Placing the ball gingerly

  

He kept laughing and giggling.

Best part for him was probably scooping water.

I tried to sneak in a science-y lesson of sink or float

with the balls and a stone.

He thought I meant sink to wash up and threw everything inside.

He he....kids.

 

Since we are in a tropical country and Dengue fever is as common as fast food,

we always apply this before leaving the house.

Mozzie Clear Lotion from Buds.

Every evening, Tiger would hold the tube in his hands 

and 'promote'

"We put this and go park, okay?"

Little Tiger: 2 years 7 months

Hmmm, what can I say about Tiger?

In terms of big brother duties, he kinda sucked.

Sad but true

He refuses to share his books or toys with Lil Dragon

(after one teeny incident)

There is a clear distinction between 'his' and 'hers' toys

(whatever's 'hers' IS his as well)

He tells Dragon to go away or "Mama cannot carry mei-mei"

He would tell anyone listening that "No, I no love mei-mei"

Jealousy....

<<<<>>>>

Restoring peace in the house is now a tactical mission.

I have employed cunning words and fake decoys:

For example instead of telling him to share his toys,

I will tell him that mei-mei is sharing with him.

Believe or not,

a simple change in approach can work wonders!

<<<<>>>>

With Lil Dragon's presence, coaxing him to use the potty or give up his pacifier

is a suicide mission.

The potty is stressing him out.

One day, out of curiosity, I asked him,

"What is wrong with using the potty?"

He replied, "I no like."

"Why?"

 " Mama, I scared" he said sadly

And that was it.

 I gave him a hug and told him

"Look, no more potty, alright?

I love you so much.

When you are ready, we will try the potty again"

It may sound strange but I think there was a change in his mood

immediately.

I think he is a little freaked out by the fact that his excrement may dirty the floor;

being the OCD that he is.

<<<<>>>>

Discipline and limits

Yes, it has started...

He has had one public meltdown in 2.5 years.

That was when I refused to buy him the cartoon version of the

alphabet train puzzle from Mothercare.

Mind you, I do expect my 2 year old to have boundless energy

and running all over the place.

That is his job as a kid and

it is my duty to keep an eye on him.

They will fall and therefore, they will learn.

We all have our limits. The rules are:

1. Stay where I can see you (when we are out)

2. Escalators are dangerous

3. Stop and look before crossing roads

4. Do not hit your sister

Learning

He is in his word sensitive phase.

So, we are encouraging reading and word formation



He loves these flower alphabets from ELC

We are also going through Disney's Word, Word, Words from Grolier.

The newer version of Brillkids is a hit as well.

Learning Chinese with me is a no-no

:(

He likes Little Reader Chinese

but

I may have to send him for Chinese classes at Bao Bei earlier than planned.

Tentatively, we are starting in March.

Right Brain Practise

Photographic memory: 5 items

Grid memory:

1. I am starting to use trick card. Only 3 out of 4 items are actually flashed.

2. I place certain items upside down or to the side.

Linking memory: major improvement

Mandala: consistently corrrect with 3 colours.

Math

He is counting up till a hundred but still require some corrections.

He love this Montessori number chips I used (will share later)

Keeps him super focused as it is hands on.

Language

I can listen to him all day long.

Here's his account on his walk at the park

"Nai-nai. Tiger go park with mama and papa.

I sit motorbike (his Ybike) and see tortoise.

Tiger give bread.

Throw inside pond.

And then I push, push, push (his bike) then fall down.

Now my leg paining."

Points to scrapped knee, fake sob...

"The floor so naughty, nai nai go beat the floor"

<<<<>>>>

The patience and love required to handle a 2 year old.

Mothers are almost saints, I tell you...

Full time mothers probably are....

Salute you guys!