Weekends are best spent at the beach so that’s what we did last Saturday. We woke up early, packed the kids into the car and headed down to Sentosa for a leisurely morning by the beach. I’m not really one for beaches, what with all that icky sand and sandflies and murky water filled with gooey slimy stuff.
But I’m a parent now so I do what I do best these days, which is to suck it up and get on with the program. Just because it makes the kids smile.
I’ve come to realize that the best time to take pictures of the kids is at the start of any activity, way before they have a chance to look like a street urchin. At least for my kids, that is. Which means that I’ve got a 15 minute window of optimum photo time tops.
Remember my theory about boys and girls? I’ll summarize it for you. Boys are disgusting and girls are not. Initially, it was just a theory and I didn’t have any conclusive scientific evidence to support my hypothesis. But I do now.
Peruse Specimen A.
The moment Tru saw the shimmering water from a mile off, he yanked off his shirt and started RUNNING for his life. Before I knew it, he was flinging sand everywhere, and by everywhere I mean in his hair, nostrils, ears, belly button and I don’t even want to know what else. I bet he ate handfuls of sand in the process.
And before that, I was still debating with the husband as to whether we should pack their swimwear. I was all like “It’s so gross, I bet Tru won’t want to go in” and the husband, well he’s a dude, so go figure.
With Truett, he doesn’t take things slow. He doesn’t dip his toes in the water and get his feet a little wet. He goes ALL IN. And at first I was yelling at him to stay out of the water but it was a lost cause. I should have known that I can’t expect Tru to see water and not jump in. It’s physically impossible for him to exercise any form of self control, like there’s some primitive override button the moment he sees bodies of water.
Moving on to Specimen B.
Did I already say she’s a princess? The whole time, she never stepped beyond the boundaries of her little beach mat. Some sand bits inevitably got in between her fingers and she started frowning intently, like “SERVANTS!! Get this grain of sand away from me! And why is it so blistering hot?? BRING ME MY FAN AND MY GRAPES! HELPPPPP THERE’S SAND ON MY DOLL, I’m just going to hold it gingerly like this with 2 fingers!!”
That’s my girl.
29 Comments
You should be happy that Tru is not Kristen and Kristen doesn’t behave like Tru. (I feel it is 100% ok when your girl behave like a princess.) :D
Yvette will be like Tru a few months ago but now, Yvette has suddenly become Kristen.
I like the way your girl frown.
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@sunflower, haha yes I like how different they are, and YES they are constantly changing. I doubt Kirsten will even become like Truett though, she’s just so…girly girl.
Heeeheee… so nice to see how different they are personality-wise ya? And nice shots!
Jus´s last post ..Weekend wanderings- Scrappy- a lil crappy- and lots of happy-
@Jus, Thanks and I’m guessing that my next boy will be a little more like Kirsten personality-wise and my next girl will be a cheeky one.
No i’m not pregnant, I’m just saying!
@Daphne, Heee I was just about to ask you if you were expecting but you beat me to it!
Jus´s last post ..You are my sunshine-
haha… love both but place my bet more on Specimen B. :)
@Jaq, ..to stay safe and injury free? haha.
Like the humorous way you look at them…
@Lee Li Liang, Kids are funny enough already and make perfect material for my rambling =)
“Specimen A” and “Specimen B” are both behaving normal according to thier peers’ behaviours, so you can conclude that you have two “normal” kids, so that’s a good thing? :-)
My boy is like Tru, so he is kinda normal, as a boy.
My girl is also like Tru, so making is “abnormal”, as a girl. She won’t stay in her picnic mat for more than 1 minute!
@Kam, Nah, one of my friend’s daughter (she appears in some of the earlier pics) is a super-cheeky, fun-loving girl. She’s perfectly normal though!
The beauty of having (many) kids is that each have their own sparkling personality. I need two more!
My boy behaves exactly like your “Specimen A” and my girl behaves like your “Specimen B” and I take that to be normal :)
@lynne, I think either way it’ll be normal, it just so happens they fit the stereotype perfectly, haha!
Barry has impulse control problems. I thought it was a big problem because Mandy never had them. In her 1st 2 years, I only needed to tell Mandy what not to do, like 2-3 times (sometimes once) and she would not do it again. Barry’s still doing the things I told him not to since more than a year ago. It’s like he cannot control his limbs or something. I spoke to hubby about it and he laughed. Just like yours, mine said Barry is a boy. So no problem.
Also, I was concerned that Mandy and I seemed to share a very deep bond. I know her inside out and she really understands me too. I keep telling hubby I cannot make out what kind of person Barry is. I don’t know what he’s thinking or feeling most of the times. We cannot share a very deep bond though I do love him deeply. Hubby’s reply was the same again. He said boys are like that, they don’t think much anyway!
kei´s last post ..Changi chalet and Barrys birthday
@kei, Its perfect normal. My hubby has a self-admitted impulse control problem too. At 22 years-old he was screaming “LIME!!!” repeated at Carrefour until the bypassers were all startled. True story.
Unlike Kirsten who can snuggle on my lap through an entire half of a football match (just did it last week), Truett refuses to hug me for more than 2 seconds. Anything more and he pushes me away.
Again, perfectly stereotypical, and normal.
My boy loves pink colour. He is always pink pink pink n he always prefer his sister’s pink toy. I always got to tell him pink is for girl. And I always get everything if not blue will be green. Some time i get red for him but never pink.
@YH, my husband saw this comment and went “HEY! I wore a pink shirt to work today!” haha.
Hi,
Reading your blog really can inspire me.
Thanks.
I got one nephew. she also looks like a princess. but she is belong to the “disgusting” group. haha^^
@Tan Jun You, Wow i checked out your blog and you are definitely the youngest commenter so far. How did you stumble upon here? Thanks for your kind comments too.
I’m like you, never have love for sandflies and murky water. So when I’m in the same situation, I have to constantly chant to myself “stay calm, it can be wash off.”
Both of them are photogenic as usual. ;)
Lazymummy´s last post ..Flu- I’m going to fight you-
@Lazymummy, hahah yes i have to FORCE myself to put things in perspective too. Which is why I “freaked out” when I saw your kids doing fingerpainting IN the house, leaving a trail of destruction. You are way cooler than me.
@Daphne, That’s mostly suggested by my SIL, she’s more into art. I mostly stand one side, take photos and say encouraging words like “good job, nice painting”.
Lazymummy´s last post ..Flu- I’m going to fight you-
Hahaha! I am no beach fan too. So usually it is Daddy that will do those disgusting stuff with Jay. Haha! I do agree with your theory 101%… Girls are waaaaay not disgusting!
San´s last post ..Out of my hands
@San, My husband is protesting “WE ARE NOT DISGUSTING. ANYWAY ITS GOOD TRAINING FOR NS!!”
San, I have to agree with your hubby on that.
Lazymummy´s last post ..Flu- I’m going to fight you-
@Daphne, Oh gosh I agree with the NS training part. But that is disgusting still :)
San´s last post ..Out of my hands
Hey Daphne … your photos are getting better and better. :)
Well done.
@Hendra, Thank you! Hope all’s well with Nina and family yah?
Goodness! Remember how you used to proclaim how you will not be able to tolerate namby-pamby-pinky-baby-girl? Ha ha ha.