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kids inc

Monsters are under my bed

June 23, 2009
Boo

Boo

Watching a kid grow up, you don’t really notice the small changes that take place, like how they start to understand you when you say certain words, or the glint in his eye that has developed into full-blown mischief. I have to fight the tendency to baby him and give him the space to explore and grow, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

Soon, he’ll be a big boy and that will be the end of my snuggles and smothering kisses. Sometimes, I wish he’d be a baby forever. Or I could just keep having more to replace the ones that are all grown up.

Recently, I’ve noticed that Tru’s been having all sorts of irrational fears. I think he’s beginning to understand that some stuff are pretty scary and not so fun. It all started with this yellow duck puppet that he used to love. Then one day, he decided it didn’t look so friendly and he was terrified of it. And of course there’s the B-A-W Penguin. Which I saw him trying to stab with a spoon.

Just last week he was having fun at the nursery playgroup when he stopped dead in his tracks and crawled back to my arms faster than you can say “scary purple lamb attack”. Apparently he saw a life-sized lamb plushie/riding thing that was all green and purple and it really scared him. Granted, the lamb looked pretty bizarre, but I’m sure just a month back, he would have smacked it on the head and moved on.

Then the most surprising one happened during bath time at my mom’s house. I kinda lost his bath tub (it’s a long story) so I decided to improvise and made him sit in his Bumbo chair while I showered him with the shower spray. He used to love being sprayed with water during his bath, but he suddenly decided that he didn’t like it anymore. Now every time he sees the Bumbo in the washroom, he screams bloody murder like it’s some ancient torture chamber.

So it’s quite a dilemma. I have this urge to make him confront his fears to show him that it’s really irrational. Ducks and penguins and lambs aren’t scary. Ok, the shower incident, I’ll give it to him (remind me to get a new tub ASAP). But the rest of the stuff ain’t gonna hurt him and I want him to grow up without any of these irrational fears.

Although I know if I push him too hard now, it might just backfire and he’ll end up with a whole new set of issues. So I’m trying to talk some sense into him, and somehow help him to overcome his fears. This is probably just the start though, and the list is only going to get longer. Soon there’ll be monsters under the bed or ghosts in the closet or a whole host of scary-looking animals.

Maybe I’ll buy him a lightsaber. Who knows, it might help.

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kids inc

Boys and Twucks

June 10, 2009

I just brought Tru to Toys R’ Us the other day to pick out a new toy just for fun (I can’t help it, I’m gonna spoil my kids rotten). The look of delight on his face every time he goes to a toy store is too much of a high for me. It’s like how I felt when I first stepped into Disneyland (the Anaheim one) during Christmastime. The feeling of awe doesn’t go away and till this day, stepping into Disneyland is still a special experience.

Notice the grimace on the husband's face

Notice the grimace on the husband's face

Which explains why I dragged the husband by the hair running around like maniacs in Disneyland for 3 days during our honeymoon. When the kids start to walk, I’m going to make it an annual pilgrimage to spend a week in the happiest place in the world. And I’ll be like the coolest mom ever.

So back to the toy store. We were making our rounds trying to find a toy he liked. It’s called the toy test.

1. I’ll hold up a whole bunch of toys and see which one he grabs.

2. He’ll hold it closer to inspect it for a while. 

3. If he likes it, he’ll clap his hands.

4. If not, it gets flung away.

 I’ve tried various methods to influence his decision, like shake it while making funny sounds, or shoving it closer so he’ll want to grab it, but I’m telling you, this boy is too smart for his own good. At 12 months, he seems to know exactly what he wants.

The difference is, as rational, informed adults, we choose stuff based on the functions, design, price, branding and reliability. Kids, on the other hand, have no basis for their selection of stuff and they can be drawn to seemingly lame and useless toys just because it’s in their favorite color, or because it belts out irritating rhymes. Bizarre, I know.

As a parent, I’m resisting the urge to tell him the tacky, pink, giant rubber ball that costs $12.99 is stupid, and that he should pick an Optimus Prime robot that can transform into a cool trailer truck.

Anyway, after discarding like a whole trolley-full of toys, Tru finally settles on a Playskool dump truck with a giant meat ball that wobbles. I was still trying to hard-sell the Transformers toy but he was intent on getting his twuck and he grabbed on to it for dear life. Optimus Prime got smashed to the floor in the process but I have a feeling he’ll do just fine.

*Autobots, transform and roll out*

Dumb twuck

Dumb twuck

Now that Tru is in his cars and trucks phase, I’m amassing enough vehicles at home to start an automobile shop. I’m just waiting for the day he starts pestering us for an Audi TT. That’ll be fun.

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kids inc

Revenge of the penguin

June 4, 2009

Tru got a ton of new toys for his birthday and like all kids, he had a blast ripping them all open. I think he was more interested in opening the presents than actually playing with them. We decided to ration his toys so that he’d be able to have a “new toy” every week rather than have a whole bunch of stuff he’ll spend all of 3 minutes on and then chuck away.

The first toy to make it to the play-list was this Bat and Wobble Penguin that wobbles around and bounces back after its hit. I thought it was really cute since it’s about the same size as him and they could be like best friends.

Bat and Wobble Penguin

But apparently Tru HATES it. He smacked it once and it bounced right back and hit him in the face. After that, he decided that penguins are malevolent and should be avoided at all costs. It’s the second time I’ve seen him afraid of something (the first one was a duck puppet – I told you birds are evil) and it actually is hilarious. I feel totally evil for having so much fun at his expense, but I spent the better part of the afternoon terrorizing him with the nefarious penguin.

I managed to capture some of it down on vid. Have fun. Oh yah, turn up the sound will you?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfUaXhke3Jg

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kids inc

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

June 1, 2009

Planning a birthday party while being 35 weeks pregnant is EXHAUSTING.  The preparation and stress almost sent me into premature labour on Saturday while we were locked out of the house in the middle of the night after our lock decided to self-destruct. Murphy clearly hates me and the feeling is totally mutual.

We intended for it to be a smallish affair, but it is after all the little prince’s first birthday and my boy is quite the socialite. Villa Marina turned out to be a brilliant place for the party, with its cosy interior and stunning pool (which was the only thing Tru was really interested in).

Villa Marina

The food was painstakingly prepared by various valiant ones (all in the running for Tru’s favorite people in the world). Lunch was courtesy of Uncle Dean, chef de cuisine and food extraordinaire, together with a whole bunch of Santa’s elves all working tirelessly the entire morning. We even shot a video to make sure he’ll watch it and tear when he grows up.

Grandma also volunteered to make a huge carrot cake topped with extra cream cheese and plenty of TLC. Obviously the little dude has got them all wound around his little finger.

Cake

I suspect Tru was overwhelmed by the crowd and commotion, which explains his permanent pout the whole afternoon. But he seemed happy enough when he got to splash around in the pool.

tru-21

I also couldn’t resist one of those BFF shots. Too cute.

BFF

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kids inc

Slumber Parties – bring your own mommies

May 27, 2009
Photo from inmagine.com

Photo from inmagine.com

My friend’s kid (Tru’s new best friend) had a sleepover at my place over the weekend. I’ve got no idea what eight-year-old girls are into these days (I was a real geek back then), so we got the Nintendo Wii and a bunch of board games to keep her occupied. I can’t imagine why she’d want to hang out with a couple of old fogeys, but I guess it means we’re still relatively happening.

I think Tru’s got his first crush though. (I told you he’s advanced for his age) He’s besotted with her and the whole time she was here, he would giggle hysterically at everything she did. Mommy has been displaced now that he’s found a new friend to play with.

I’ve brought him on many play dates with kids his age, but he isn’t as enamored by them. He’ll grab their toys and tolerate their presence, but with big kids, he seems to know that they’re much cooler and a lot more fun.

I hope it doesn’t become a trend when he grows up. I mean, older women are great, but I’d recommend someone closer to his age. (See, mothers worry about all kinds of unnecessary trifles. It’s like a disease. I’m taking medication for it.)

We had intended to stay up to play all night, but since I’m way past the age of pulling an all-nighter, we called decided to call it a night at 12.30. It’s the responsible parenty kinda thing to do anyway. It was all good until bedtime, when our little sleepover friend decided the sudden drop in adrenaline from the day’s excitement was too much to handle. Which resulted in a bad case of mommy-sickness. It was a good thing she stayed 5 mins away, so we could rush her back home at the drop of a hat.

The thing about mommy-sickness is that there’s only one cure – your Mommy. I think it’s the smell or the feeling of being held and snuggled which makes everything better. Totally psychological, like how kissing a boo-boo works wonders. Someone else’s mommy doesn’t work cos it’s just not the same. As it turns out, a reassuring chat with mommy over the phone seemed to do the trick, and two bedtime stories later, she was out like a light.

It was all really sweet actually. I was also hoping Tru would miss me like that when he grows up and has his first slumber party. But somehow boys seem to have an immunity against mommy-sickness, or they’re just too macho to admit it. Good thing I’ve got a girly girl on the way.

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kids inc

Strike 3, you’re out!

May 26, 2009

Tru had a bad case of the runs all of yesterday. Two packs of poop a day is standard fare for him (a huge one after his morning milk feed and a mid-sized one during, yes DURING his lunch) considering how much food and non-food items go into his system.

But yesterday, he gave mama 4 packs of funky poop to spice up my otherwise boring Monday.

I put him down for his afternoon nap after getting him all fed and bathed (2 packs of poop – check) and as usual, he was performing his daily battle cry in his cot for a good 20 minutes. I didn’t think much of it, having drowned out his shrieks as ambient sound, but this time, the shrieks got increasingly loud until until it started sounding like a siren.

When I went in to check on him, I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or bawl. The little guy got his thighs stuck between the poles of his wooden cot and his legs were sticking out, flailing wildly. (note: he’s been eating TOO MUCH FOOD!) And thanks to his incessant wriggling, his diaper had gotten loose so the crap was smeared all over his mattress and there he was, looking all helpless sitting in a pile of poop.

It probably sounds hilarious now, but right there, I felt like I had utterly failed as a mother. I would have taken a photo, but it would break your heart, and I might get hauled off to prison for child abuse.

So I cleaned him up and hugged him real tight and apologized like a million times. I felt so bad that his poor thighs were all red and sore, but he started giggling and held my face, which made me feel even worse cos he was such a sweetie-pie for consoling me after I left him stranded.

Strike 1 for mommy.

Then in the evening, I was at the library tutoring my student so Superdad had to take over the night duties. 10 minutes in, I got a call saying that Tru was SCREAMING uncontrollably, and he refused to drink his milk (IMPOSSIBLE) and could not be pacified at all. Apparently Superdad lost some of his powers and also his sanity, and my two boys were in a frenzy of panic together.

Great, a mother’s worst nightmare.

I wrapped up my tutoring session and flew back as fast as I could, beating 3 red lights on the way back (I’m a totally safe and law-abiding driver, serious).

Anyway, back home, Tru was alternating between kneeling down and squatting on the bed wailing so Superdad had a stroke of genius. It’s probably his ass that hurt. When he opened up his diaper, the poor boy’s bum was all red and swollen like a baboon’s bottom. Actually it was covered with brownish-green poop, so he couldn’t really tell at first, but my little trooper who has a bum of steel was screaming for dear life, so it was pretty obvious he was in real pain.

A quick wash, a generous dollop of diaper cream and a lot of hugging later, he finally fell asleep.

Strike 2 for mommy.

All in all, not the best of days.

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