Brrrr...

Beijing is getting super cold.

Passport photos

A year ago...

Yesterday...

I put a bit of wax on his hair to keep the hair up. He looks so adorable i want to give him a huge slobbery kiss and a big squeezy hug. This was taken at those ordinary instant photo shops, he was unbelievably cooperative even though he had just taken a heavy carbo-filled meal. I'm such a biased mommy but i'm still gonna say that my boy is gonna grow up to be an extremely handsome gentleman. Watch out girls!

How to eat a pear

I've been trying to teach Mountain Boy to recognise different fruits and vegetables the last couple of days. I showed him a pear this morning and immediately he sunk his teeth into it, with the skin intact! So i thought i better peel the skin in case he gets indigestion before letting him "handle" the whole pear. A little while later this happened.

He actually managed to eat the entire pear including parts of the stem, lucky thing he left the core behind, and he did this with minimal help from Mountain Man. My, i had no idea he was capable of this.

Happy 13th month

Our camera had decided that death was better off than torture from Mountain Boy's constant banging, so RIP my Canon G9, you have served us well over the last 2.5 years.

As a result of the untimely death of my camera and the loss of my SD card containing last month's pictures, I can't remember what i need to blog about. But one thing's for sure, this month has been the biggest leap of all months. He started talking a little, he has a memory and remembers many many objects and pictures, he can point out a number own body parts, and he physically he started going up and coming down curbs without help.

Mommy friends who came over for a playdate said that he has had a growth spurt since they last saw him at his birthday party. I think so too. He is suddenly more toddler-esque, less baby.

He has also grown a deeper attachment to Mountain man and I, making it harder for us to put him to bed because he'll cry when he sees us walk out the door. What he probably doesn't know is how much it hurts us when he cries, and how much i actually like watching him sleep but i don't because "it's for his own good".

TV has become quite a huge part of his routine now. He watches Gymboree twice a day now. He does all the actions to Wheels on the Bus with so much enthusiasm it makes me laugh everytime. He remembers little scenes and imitates them in our daily interaction.

This little sponge is also learning some of our habits without us realising, like hailing a taxi and raising our hands to call the waiter. I wish i have a picture of it to show you. He is such a helpful little boy!

Anyway here's us having fun with the Mac photo booth yesterday. He follows my lead now. So adorable.

The one with the grandparents

Mountain Boy's grandparents came to visit over the last 2 weeks. The reunion was extremely delightful for us. 2 weeks of eating, and shopping and walking...I feel like i've eaten a whole year's worth of food.

Also I think it's great that Mountain Boy got to bond with the grams because he has been missing out on the doting and showers of love and attention from grandparents growing up here in Beijing. When i asked him where Grandma and Grandpa were after they left, he went into their room and did the "no more" sign. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

I miss having them around. It's nice also to be able to offload to family members instead of the ayi, who happened to have just quit on me today, SIGH. I feel so tired.

Anyway, i can't remember where i put the SD card containing photos of the trip we took to the Schoolhouse cos i just had a catastrophic playdate and everything has been misplaced. So let me get my life back in order before any photos uploads.

Don't think of monkey with 3 hands

....

I know you're now thinking of a monkey with 3 hands right after i said don't do it.

Moral of the story, don't say "don't". Oops i did it again.

Parent Effectiveness Training has proven to be quite insightful the past few sessions. I've been trying the new methods on Mountain Boy who seems to be needing more discipline of late. I'm not sure it's working 100% yet but i think i have the advantage of being more preventive before he gets out of hand.

I just want to quickly jot down the lessons before it all disappears into forgetfulness.

1. Beware of over-praising. Too much praising can sometimes lead a child to believe that he/she must do something in order to get the praise, not because he/she should do it for his/her own good. Kids get so excited over gold stars that sometimes they don't care what they do to get it. The key to praising is being specific. example: "Wow, good job that you know where your belly button is", or "I like how you are putting your toys back in place, thank you!". Be sincere in the praises, ultimately we want children to grow up being self-aware of their strengths and shortcomings.
2. Be less judgmental. Using words like "naughty" or "rude" can sometimes put negativity into our kids. Most of the time they don't know they are being naughty or rude, but chances are if you say they are, they will be. Instead, be descriptive of their behaviour. Example: When you jump up and down the table it makes me worried.
3. Strip it down to their needs. When they are being noisy and active in the house, recognise that they don't mean to disturb you but they have the need to let go of the excess energy. Take them out to play... They key is to understand the needs and channel them to an acceptable behaviour.
4. Be congruent. If you are angry, sound angry. Kids will react to your tone of voice more than the actual words.
5. Never use threats or bribes. Ultimately, we want our kids to do things for their own good, not out of fear or gains.
6. Use positive phrases instead of No or Don't. Say what they can do, provide options so you are planting a new positive idea into their heads. Instead of "don't play with the truck on the balcony", say "Play with your truck in the house".
7. With a pre-verbal child, modifying the environment is important. Don't expect a child to respond to u yelling "don't break the vase" if you don't move the vase away. Try to reduce the occasions where a conflict may occur.

Well i hope these point i've shared will stick. I'm so excited and apprehensive about this whole parenting thing.

Don't miss this Happee Day

I've said before that motherhood has given me a preview of what unconditional love feels like. If you are a parent, you'll know that each time your child falls, you'd wish that it was you who got the bruise. Each time your child falls sick, you'dwish that you can suffer the symptoms on his behalf.

I don't wish cancer upon anyone but unfortunately it happens, even to children.

I know how many of us know of these terrible things that can happen to children but we've never known how to help. But i'm saying now that WE CAN, and it's EASY.

1. Attend a kickass carnival at Hort Park on 31st October 9am-noon, organised by Motherinc.org. It's gonna be a super fun day i guarantee it. Read more HERE.
2. If you're not in Singapore you can donate directly to the Children's Cancer Foundation. Just click HERE. (Of course option 1 is way more fun).
3. Or you can help to promote this event by blogging/tweeting/facebooking. Instructions found HERE. Tales of Mountain Man, Beach Girl and Mountain Boy is very honoured to be part of the blog network supporting this event.