Life's getting real busy...

Gosh! I know that I have not been updating my blog for some time…but did not realized that two months had passed since my last entry. As usual, I been kept busy by the boy for the last two months that time passes very quickly!

The boy and his nonsenses...

Lil E is turning 15 months in two days. Here is a quick update on his growth and development. He is much taller…last measured at a height of 81 cm (I’m sure he is much taller now…I see his long pants becoming 3/4s) and weighing about 10.5 kg. His movements are definitely faster. One minute he is on the sofa and the next he is at the other corner of the room pulling stuff from the shelves. His hands and fingers have also turned very nimble…able to pick up teeny tiny fragments from everywhere, draw zippers, open bottle caps, etc. AND, definitely much LOUDER! He is into this screaming cum crying act recently (Boy! I hope it is a passing phase!).

His potty-training for poo poo has also succeeded. He has to do his big business on the toilet seat and not elsewhere (which is kinda troublesome when we are out traveling….yah I know I shouldn’t be complaining :P). Lil E loves music and dancing…whenever he hears his favorite tunes, he would twirl, shake his head, bum and hands. Hmm…what else? Well, this little boy has grown so much that I think the list can go on and on…so I am going to stop here for now.

August passed like a breeze…so many summer activities…swimming, picnic, gatherings, Singapore’s National Day celebration and more swimming. The month of September was even busier with more activities.

September is the start of the new academic year for the French students here. I enrolled the boy into crèche (the equivalent of the child-care centre in Singapore).

The first two sessions was an hour long and I was with him throughout as part of the adaptation phase. Lil E was skeptical about the new surroundings as I anticipated. Then came the third session, I stayed with him for 15 minutes, then I explained to him that I had to leave and will be back for him in half an hour. He was ok for five minutes and then I guessed he realized that I was gone and started crying at the top of his lungs for the remaining 25 minutes. By the fourth session, this boy was clinging on to me with all his strength when we arrived at the doorstep of the crèche. 45 minutes this time I was told…and 45 minutes he cried and screamed. When I picked him at the end, the care-givers were hinting that I do not bring E there anymore. I acted blur and ignore their hints. I think its too soon and unfair to stop Lil E from attending creche…after all, some kids need more time to adapt and perhaps my child is one of those kids.

The fifth session was worse! The care-giver took E from me as soon as I arrive and told me to come back in an hour. Errhmm…so this is what they term as adaptation?? As usual, the boy cried and cried and cried for the entire hour. And when I picked him up, I was invited to the directrice’s office. She told me not to bring E to crèche for now as it is very traumatic for E and the other French children to hear him cry. Perhaps he is too young she said. I defended my boy…knowing him, he takes a long time to warm up and get used to new people and surrounding. It took him at least 2 weeks to be comfortable with my neighbors and their kids. And how can you expect him to accept crèche readily within just 5 sessions (spread over two weeks and at different timing) and furthermore the time of separation between him and me was not structured increment as its should have been. From 30 minutes without me, they skipped right into 45 minutes and an hour without me. The directrice suggested that I bring E to the weekly LAEP sessions organised by the Maison de Enfance instead. Perhaps E can come back in December she said. And this was how my son got “kicked” out of crèche at the age of 1.

I was not thrilled that my boy cannot attend crèche for now. Thankfully, I did not have much time to dwell on it…we were much occupied with our two weekend trips, first to Amsterdam and then to London.

Amsterdam wasn’t quite what I expected. The city centre itself was congested with people, vehicles and BICYCLES!!! The narrow roads by the canals were also not that “baby-friendly”. We joined the day tour to Volendam & Marken (the fishermen village) and the windmills. Those places were picturesque. We would love to spend a longer time there but were forced to follow the hasty pace of tour guide.

London on the other hand was totally rejuvenating. We indulged ourselves in good food, great weather, terrific shopping, beautiful sites and spoke lotsa ENGLISH!

London September 2009