A long way for K

From the time of crying when separated from us, to not wanting to go for dance class because you didn't want to be left alone, and then crying because of the attention at every birthday.

From this:

to this:

Am so proud of you, little girl.

K got her ears pierced

For a while now, I have been talking to K about this. She was quite adamant about not doing it so I let the matter rest.

Just last weekend, K's friends from school, the triplets, got theirs pierced. It was at B'dazzle and apparently, there have been raving reviews from mummies about their ear piercing process for little girls. Even the triplets' mummy was very happy with it. As with all little girls, she began to show some interest in wanting hers done too.

Last night after dinner at my parents' place, she said that she wanted to pierce her ears! I was very surprised. Of course I said ok.

When I got home and passed the packed dinner to P, we discussed the matter and decided to go get it done asap. And since the store only closed at 10pm, we went. Strike when the iron is hot, eh? B cried about being left behind. He wanted to come along so three of us left home again, leaving P to enjoy his dinner quietly.

Drove all the way to Raffles City. Parked the car, checked with K again that she wanted to do this.

Went into the shopping centre, found the shop, B and I squatted outside the shop for a last confirmation from K, prayed (with B holding one ear and me the other! haha) for everything to go smoothly and in we went.

She was shown all the possible earrings that she could choose from.

The shop assistant showed her what the studs would look like on her tiny ears. It was only the day before when I realized that she has really tiny ear lobes. And I thought mine were small. Hers are even smaller! If you put on a pair of normal sized studs for her, you might actually cover her entire ear lobe! She was beginning to look nervous.

Put on THE chair. Too high to jump off and escape from.

Marking out the position which took a while due to the tiny space available.

Spraying some anesthesia.

And before I knew it, it was done! And our little brave trooper, though complained it was painful, braved it and didn't cry. Not a tear was shed.

Finally, a smile.

Look out world of princesses, here she comes!

National Day 2012

The kids were to celebrate National Day in school. They were told to dress in red and white. Took some photos before they left for school. It was hard to get the two of them to pose nicely. B kept hiding behind his flag. And when I took a nice one of him smiling at the camera, K was tired from waiting for the brother and wasn't smiling. This was the best I could get.

Here B decided he wanted a horn.




The whole school was ushered to the nearby badminton court for the station games.



The K1s.

The toddlers.

  

The older ones got to play games. 

Passing the rubber band with straws. That was what we used to do like some 25 years ago!

There was K receiving her rubber band. Am thankful they were the first class to do this. Wonder if the other classes had to reuse the straws? Eeks.

K being very careful not to drop it.

Pushing the ball with a paddle around the cones.

Kicking the chaptek. 

Transferring water with a plastic plate.

The young ones got to play with bubbles.

Sat in a circle and played simplified bowling.

Some prevented the game from continuing by holding the bottles.

B was looking around for K.

And yet again, not engaging in the activities for his class but was looking for K.

The little ones rejoined the older kids for a time of singing "Happy birthday" to the nation.

K was also looking for B.

B looking for K again.

Made to sit by his teacher.

They finally spot one another and waved to each other. How cute.

The family dressed in national colors to watch the parade with the grandparents.

The kids in red and white.

A big step for B - school!

B's first day of school. He was very excited that he could carry a similar schoolbag as K. He has watched her go to school and return from school for so long. It's finally his turn. Of course he's excited. 

All smiles.

A pose for the camera.

At this point, I think he felt a little apprehensive and asked to hold my hand.

I never realized this until these photos. He was pressing his tummy during the walk to school. I wonder if it's a sign that he's a little anxious.

Still smiling but still pressing on the tummy.

Health check before being allowed to enter.

Very excited when he got in. He saw lots of toys and lots of kids. 

He put his bag and water bottle into his cubby hole.

Oats for breakfast.

Trays of toys.

More toys. He said he was calling papa.

Some more toys. 

And even more toys. 

His first lesson. What are the "squeezable" items and what are not. And in that pitiful amount of (blue) water, they were also asked what could sink and float. These are 1 to 2 year olds! Would they understand that?

He was amused at his blue hands.

Outdoors time. He held hands with Sophie.

"Fly like a bird!" screamed the teacher. B just strolled at his own pace.

I showed him a dead lizard. He turned around to where the rest of his classmates were and said, "Children, come!" With no one responding, he went to the nearest girl, pulled her over and showed it to her.

This was B after outdoor when he was in a state of "Hungry, mummy!", "tired", "want drink now!" and "Carry!"

Lunch finally! Doesn't look very appetizing but he finished the whole plate of porridge.

And two pieces of apple.

Then it's more play time while the rest of his friends showered.

And then it was the end of the first day at school. Well done, B!

Day 2 - walking to school with K

His first Chinese lesson. It was to feed the dogs and cats.

Outdoor session was held indoors for a while due to the drizzle.

His partner was Myo. He is the little brother of K's best friend.

More toys!

Day 3 - He knew exactly what to do with his bag and bottle.

A lesson that made use of household items to paint.

More play time.

Story time. He sat down after some persuasion from me to listen to the teacher but quickly lost interest.

Instead, he pushed this stack around going, "Choo choo!"

Lunch time again!

His first shower in school and no tears! Yay!

Day 4 - First unaccompanied day.

Brought him for his swimming lesson first and then dropped him off at school at about 10.20am. He cried and cried, not wanting to go in. :( I was depressed myself and had to go do some retail therapy to cheer myself up and stop myself from missing him. Then I received a call at 11.27am from the Chinese teacher. 

She said that he had cried non-stop since I dropped him off. She thinks he may have been tired out from swimming. He didn't want to eat much and she gave him a biscuit to pacify him. He held onto it, not wanting to eat it. And he had fallen asleep holding the biscuit. She wanted me to pick him up earlier.

When I went to fetch him, I gently woke him up so that he would still be able to take his afternoon nap. He was still trembling slightly from his earlier sobs. He was happy to be home again. I gave him the Ikea hotdog and he ate almost all of it!

See? My little boy was happy once more! He would periodically hug my arm and say, "Love you, mummy." Melt.

On this day, he would suddenly say, "Funny, mummy!" and cover his mouth while he laughed. Haha. So cute. Dunno where he learnt that from.

Day 5 - Second unaccompanied day

He cried upon separation. Wendy said that when he saw her, he cried very hard. Then said, "Aunty, find mummy!" She said ok and then sprinted off, unable to bear watching him cry anymore.

He cried intermittently throughout the day whenever he remembered but was sometimes distracted by the many toys. Here are his outdoor moments. The other boy who started the same day as him was still crying uncontrollably. I'm just thankful B was intermittent. It's so heartbreaking to see them cry.

I was so worried at this point in time that he had seen me and would start bawling but thankfully he didn't.

Teacher was holding B's hand while walking back to the classroom. He was looking at everything!

"Want find mummy!" he said, not wanting to go back into the classroom and he cried again.

His treat after school - hash brown! "Yummy egg!" he said, rubbing his tummy.

At the end of two weeks, he was much better. Only cried when I dropped him off and for a while. He would still carry his bag and walk through the door by himself, even while crying. As soon as he got in, he would stop crying. Such a relief.

Week 3 Day 1
No crying. Just a mega pout and two tiny tears.

Today (Week 3 day 2), I dropped him off and he didn't cry! Yay. He was going to drag his bag into his classroom with his shoes on. So I quickly reminded him to remove his shoes and keep them. He actually listened and did everything without once showing any reluctance to go to school. Then he dragged his bag off to his cubby hole. Of course, I had to walk to the other door where I could still see him. Then he spotted me once again and started knocking on the door to come out to me. Yikes. And yes, he started crying.

Note to self, don't let him see self again after dropping him off unless it's time to pick him up.