Toys, Oh Toys!

Every since Dan was born we were constantly on the move. Travelling from house to house, country to country to visit family or friends. It is impossible to bring a full load of toys with us especially when the bags packed full of clothes, diapers, wipes and more wipes.

We always have to improvise when we get to our destination and Dan always never fails to explore every cupboard for something to play with.

Grandma's pot is just too COOL!



The dust pan can be a push cart

I am the Master sweeper

 

Hair Cut Again

I left Dan with my parents one day and had a snooze, the moment I  woke up I had a big surprise.. Which do you prefer?

Grandma's Water Play Experience

Nothing beats water play.. Mum made our garage into a water playground.. :)

And the Dancing Continues

It's been a while since that Dan stopped dancing so much. Here is a clip of him dancing again.

The Nursery Horror

It has been close to three weeks since Dan started play school. For the first week, I had to leave him for two hour a day to help him grow accustom to the teachers and his surrounding - and he did not like it. Especially now between 12 - 18 months he isathis peak of separation anxiety. To add on to that he has not been away from me or Emil for more than an hour. For the first week, I had to leave him and stay outsied just in case he had a major meltdown. The good part was that he only hates the part when I leave him to his teachers, after that he was fine with some on and off fussiness but nothing major. It took him a week to get use to that. After that it was just the first five minutes that he starts calling for me and then he was fine for the day. And finally, last Thursday, when I dropped him off, he went open arms to his teacher. That was a big step for me and for Dan. It gave me more assurance that he was okay. For now, the only thing I am still puzzled is that everytime when I pick him up from school, he would start whining. I wonder whether it means - What took you so long? Or I missed you. Or... Hmmm... That will remain a mystery until he starts talking I guess.

I Ain't No Puss-in-Boots

We have enrolled Dan into nursery for me to attend German lessons to help Integrate better. One of the requests that the school made was to bring a pair of boots for rainy days - Gummiboots as they call it here. So one fine day, I brought Dan Gummiboots shopping. We entered the first shoe shop that we passed. I saw a pair which was quite decent and about his size and had him try it on. The shop assistant helped to measure his shoe size and helped to put it on. After we managed to get it on, Dan started to scream. I thought he was upset because of the fact he was strapped on his stroller so I unbuckled him and stood him up. He did not want to stand up either and was really wailing his lungs out. We tried showing him the video games they had at the shop, the slide and with no avail, Dan just could not stop. Embarrased, I took off the pair of boots and passed it back to the shop assistant. At that point, I just thought he was tired and did not want to try anything new. I took a note of the shoe size and the price and left. A few weeks later while we were travelling out of town, we saw a pair of boots which was on discount at a bicycle shop. I asked Emil to try it on Dan this time. The moment the boots were on him, he started wailing again. This time, I was puzzled because Dan had has his nap before entering the shop. Both me and Emil came to the conclusion that Dan just did not like the fact that the boots restricted his movement and he was not used to it. He is still with his soft sole shoes and we have not gotten him a pair of proper shoes yet. Emil took Dan by the hand gentlely and "dragged" him around the shop. Poor Dan, walking slowly behind whilst wailing his lungs out. I think it must have freaked all the people at the shop wondering what were we doing to the baby; all the shop assistants being young men and might not have had an encounter with a baby before. After checking for the perfect fit, we paid for it and left. I tried without avail to have Dan try on his boots. However, the moment he sees them he starts screaming as if we were trying to torture him. Emil had a plan; one day after the rain, he took Dan and the boots for a walk, made Dan put them on and started playing ball with him. The moment it was fun and games or he had his mind occupied on something interesting, he forgot that he had his boots on. The moment they stopped, Dan starts kicking them off. After a few rounds of breaking in, he started to be more comfortable having his boots on. We could not be happier. We will have to see when winter comes and he will need to have his boots on whenever we go out.

A Parent's Nightmare

You can place things on higher ground... However, don't forget I am getting smarter!

First Full Day at the Nursery

Kind of expected.

Dan and the Bear

Dan's encounter with a brown bear on video.

The Day the Sky Cried

It rained today for the woman who had brought up my husband passed away. She was a good wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

RIP - Aneta Constantin

25 March 1926 - 4 May 2012

The Master Plan

Thinking of the Plan

Pen and paper ready

Drafting out the Plan

Executing the Plan -- Work for mummy >.<

Painting the Carpet Black

*Glob-Glob-Glob* Emil's heart stopped after hearing that. He immediately rushed over to the shoe cabinet where Dan was playing.

He shouted for me to grab some towels and to come over. I was then taking a cat nap immediately bounced out of bed, grabbed some towels and rushed over.

Dan's hands and feet was covered with black shoe polish. He managed to open the bottle, break open the seal of the shoe polish and poured it all out.

Moral of the story, keep an eye of your kid, make sure the house is child proofed and have fast reflexes.

First Day at School

After the big move we thought that it would be good for Dan to go to school. We have both agreed that having some interaction with other kids would do him good.

Today we had a trial. So far so good. Dan was so busy exploring the school compounds and other kids that he forgot about me. Two hours went by swiftly. It started off a little harsh with him hiding between my legs but within a few minutes, he was good to go.

Let's see what happens tomorrow.

How to Track an Active Child

Emil had the idea of tying a helium balloon to Dan's t-shirt when he was out alone with Dan.

After a long day out

Ball-session

Emil brought Dan to meet his university-mates and their babies - Darius and Irina in the park this evening. And as usual, Dan had his little adventure and made dad run.

Dan has started to have this obsession with balls. Every time he sees a ball, he goes running for it. Does not matter if someone is playing football or volleyball or basketball and the ball is over his head.

Today little Irina brought along her ball to play. Dan saw the ball, picked it up and ran across the field. Darius, saw Dan running with the ball started running after Dan. Emil then started running after both of them to try to get the ball back to Irina. Imagining this just made me laugh and this was not the end.

At both ends of the field, two other children were playing with their balls. Dan spotted there was another ball, ran towards it and picked it up, now running with both balls in his hands away from his dad. Darius on the other hand, spotted another ball at the other end of the field, ditched the idea of running after Dan, ran towards the other ball instead. Now, with both kids running separate ends of the fields, Darius's dad had to run after him as well.

Emil finally caught up with Dan and tried to persuade him to return both balls. With no where to run, something else caught Dan's eye. The little girl had a wand with a ball at one end and a few balls dangling at another end. Well, Dan being Dan, dropped both balls and got hold of the wand. Emil was relieved that Dan was no longer running and have obediently returned both balls. However, his nightmare was not over -- Dan still had the wand. The little girl's parents called out and told her it was time to go home. Emil without any other solution had to release Dan's tight grasp of the wand by removing finger by finger and taking the wand away and returning it.

Darius on the other hand spotted some stones in the middle of the field and thought throwing stones were more fun than balls. Irina learning by example thought it was fun too and started throwing as well. Emil, carrying the crying Dan back to the middle of the field and placed him down. Seeing both Darius and Irina playing with stones, he thought it was quite fun as well and started playing with both of them.

Finally all parents were able to chat and catch up after a whole hour of chasing after their kids. Too bad I was not there to witness the whole thing. However, just listening to Emil describing it just threw me off my seat and it deserves me jotting this down. :)

Mummy, gave me Bangs!

Dan's fringe has grown so annoyingly long that I just had to cut them.

He has been rubbing his eyes so often because hair was poking. During his nap two days ago, I found a perfect moment. However, I guess it was a bad idea cutting it while he was in the pouch.

And the result: Extremely short bangs. Oops...

Sweeping and Wiping

By now - 13 months, Dan's learning something new everyday it is hard to keep track of what is new. Everyday is a new learning and even though he might not be showing what he has learnt, you know he is observing and absorbing. He has started this habit of sweeping everything off the floor and once the table is clean, he beems with pride. He might have to start learning to put things back in order though, for the sake of us, parents. And whenever, he gets a tissue, he starts wiping. I guess he must have learnt that from me. At this stage, it is quite facinating and scary at the same time at how adults are models for a child's behaviour. It is a huge responsibility I must say.

Tip of the Day: No Toys for Cranky Baby

Especially when it is made to withstand numerous bangs. And never when you are of arms length (with the baby in the sling)

This was what happened a month ago trying to calm a cranky baby in a bus - and I don't wanna give names :p

A Big Step

Dan has grown so fast. I now understand why people always look at babies and say that they grow up so fast. One year has past and now looking back, it was like yesterday that he was this little baby all wrapped up in a bundle, wailing without any reason.

Now at one year, he is toddling around, dancing, eating by himself, babbling and of course still wailing but for a reason. He is also able to fall asleep by himself. Gone were the days where I was prowling on sleep sites, breastfeeding or cloth diapering. Now, parenting, play, and diet are on top of the list. There is so much to learn yet so little time as he is learning so fast.

Much has happened for the past year in our lives as well. We got a baby, from working full time to being a full time stay home mum, travelled quite a lot, moved into a new apartment, and now moved to a new country. It has been constantly changing. Every month was something new for us. Though at that point of time it seemed to be nothing. Adding up seems to be quite a sum.

It has been a big step for us not only for Dan, adapting to a new born and with life as partners and parents at the same time. And I am really glad we have made it so far. One year has passed and I look forward to the next year with a new chapter with new learnings and challenges

Bed Testing

TEMPUR found a new model. Immediately when I put Dan down, he lied down to test the pillow and loved it. Usually he hates being in that position especially when he is awake and we have to change his diapers. Maybe Tempur should produce changing tables or mattresses for baby cots?

I Like to Ride My Bicycle, I Love to Ride My Bike

Dan was trying along the way to see past his dad's butt. However, he failed to do so. So the best way was to turn and look behind instead. By doing so, he got tired and finally fell asleep.

Juliet, oh! Juliet

Little Dan starting young.

Baby Steps: Dan's Little Girl Friend

We were at the indoor play ground today. Little Dan had lots of fun playing in the ball pool, with the slides, and crawling around the obstacle course. Even better, he found little friends of his size and age. Curious enough, that motivated him to take more steps as well. He saw this little girl who was 2 months older toddling around and tried to show off what he could do.

I initially wanted to just take a video of him playing at the playground with other kids. However, to my surprise, Dan decided to walk towards the little girl instead.

First Steps

Closing in to his first birthday, little Dan has been attempting to take his first steps. He can now toddle one or two at a go before sitting down. Great achievement after practising for more about half a year standing and cruising.

Climbing

Little Dan is quite a climber now. He is able to climb the whole fleet of stairs and also climb down with minimal help. He can also climb down from the bed by turning his back and landing on his feet first instead of his head.

It is amazing how much he has grown to be aware of his surroundings -- that he uses his feet to touch lower ground first before climbing down.

Musically Inclined?

Dan has been instinctively grooving when music is being played. I wonder whether this is in born in all babies.

Waving Ta-Ta

Have not been posting anything for the past one month due to travels and little Dan has learnt so much. I would not actually say learnt.

I feel that he has been just absorbing and waiting for a time to burst out his knowledge. I guess all babies are like that -- just absorbing everything around them and not showing it until they have the opportunity to do so. 

Little Dan started waving a few months back, now he is interacting and letting us know that he understands when people part, we wave -- that I believe is not only a trick to wave but understanding the context of social behaviour.