Random Pictures of Ryan

Picture taken when we were at IMM Jurong...a place we frequent most since we moved to the West. This is the first time we allows him to self feed when we were out.

My Little Pretty Boy...heehee...

His hair is getting pretty long and this crazy mummy got this funny urge to tie them up. Don't you agree that he looks very pretty and cute?!

His 20 months check up

Everything is fine and I raise my concern over his speech.

The Paediatrician has the same concern too but she said the physical "function" is working fine as Ryan has no problem twisting his tongue (he was playing with it).

Her verdicts: "Ryan can hear and understand instructions, so it just could be that the "wiring" connection from his brain that is still not develop yet. I'm giving him till 30months. If he still doesn't talk by then, we will have to send him to a speech therapy."

So after the usual development check, its INJECTION TIME! He was given little Percy to hold onto and I was told to hold on to his hands tightly in case he push the needle away. But my tough nut didn't fiddle at all! He took a look at the needle when the doctor poked into his thigh and went back playing with Percy! No cries, no struggle!

Motor skill

He was able to slot the correct ring according to sizes months back. But now he adds some cheekiness to plain sorting. He follows the little monkey in the iPhone monkey preschool lunch box which shakes its head when it's wrong. So he will deliberately put the wrong ring in first and shakes his head, before putting the right ones in.

My little helper

He loves picking up twigs from our garden. Now, he even wants to help us sweep the yard!

Off to school....Day 5 and rest...

Day 5

He didn't sleep well for the past few nights, waking up every now and then crying loudly. Guess he dreamt about being left alone in school.

When we got to the school gate, he hugged me tightly and refused to get in. I have to assured him that mommy will be there. He holds on to me and never let go.

See, hands griping my pants tightly even for outdoor play!

Only after 15 minutes of warming up then he let go of my clothes and went into the small hut to play. When it was time to get back indoor, the teacher went over to him and tried to bribe him out of the hut. Once out, he realised that I'm not within his sight (I was standing at a distant) and got upset and started wailing again. The teacher carried him and tried to distract him with all the passing cars but of no use. Back indoor, (I was outside observing) he was crying and rocking his body forward and backward till his whole face turns red. Then the teacher distract him with "water play" which is washing of hands, which finally helped. His crying became softer and then on and off. Seeing that the teacher was able to cope with him, I went off.

I was told that he didn't cry during the English story time and listened attentively to the story. Same goes for the Music and movement. Though he did not move but he nodded his head once in a while to go with the rhythm. But guess he was too tired and he fell asleep midway through the music time. So the teacher let him sleep and he woke up just after lunch time . He refuses lunch and cries again when it was Chinese story telling time. So the English teacher tried to distract him and brought him to do some colouring, which helps to calm him down.

When he saw me walking through the school gate, he started crying again. This time more like complaining why I left him. Carried him over and he stop right away.

Day 6 & 7

After the weekend break, the whole process starts again. To add on to the headache, the usual English teacher which Ryan was more comfortable with was on leave and Nicholas was on MC at home. So he practically cried till he tired out himself and fell asleep. Day 7 was totally non-stop crying. When I picked him up, he was seen sitting near the door crying while the teacher try to pacify him.

Day 8

The English teacher was back and though the initial separation was teary for him, he soon calm down and able to join in the activities, only crying on and off.

He was happy playing with the teacher and friends when I pick him up today. Hope he settle down soon..my poor little guy's voice is now so husky from all the crying! So heart pain!

Day 9

Stayed with him till Ms Prema (his English teacher) arrived and quietly took over from me. He was good the day, no tears and willing to participate in all activities.

Me, holding his hands walking on the stump..

Scooting around is one of his favorite too other than water-play.

This is his English teacher. He got along really well with her.

See him offering the teacher snack....

They got a visit from all the santas (N2 kids)

He finally willing to take his lunch and even asked the teacher for fruits when she saw her holding it! The only time he cried was when he saw me when I arrived to pick him up.

Day 10

Its their water play day. So beside the initial separation cries, he was happy throughout!

Off to school....Day 4

We are now entering day 4 of Ryan's school life. We started off the day very well with him happily taking his school bag and going off to school.

I stayed with him for a while before leaving. While I was there, they complete the Rudolph craft. He had shown willingness to approach the English teacher too.

When I got back 2 hours later, the teacher said he started crying not long after I left but was better than yesterday. Today, his crying was on-off and was willing to approach the teacher and ask to be carried.

Another little improvement today we seen was that he is ok with the diaper/clothes changing now. He only allows the English teacher to change for him though.

More paint work..

And story telling before we head home.

Off to School...Day 3

Today, we got to school earlier than usual so Nicholas hang aroung Ryan's class and played with him. Little boy felt more at ease too today with his brother around and even went to take out the toys and play with his brother, just like what they did at home.

When its lesson time for Nicholas, he left and and I stayed behind with Ryan. Its outdoor play time and today, they get to do watering. He held on tight to me but upon seeing what the rest was doing, he couldn't resist the temptation to play with water and let go of me (finally). So seeing him well distracted, I did the disappearing act, this time for real. I left to do marketing and back after about an hour later. Before I left, I told the teacher that should he cries non-stop, bring him up to Nicholas, hopefully, that will give him some comfort.

When I came back, he was no where to be found. The teacher told me that the teacher helper had brought him up to Nicholas's class. I can hear kids fussing around when I got up to Nicholas's class and when I opened the door, there he was, clinging on to his water-bottle and Nicholas sobbing! Nicholas's friends were gathering around them, not knowing what to do and I can see that Nicholas was very upset too. The teacher said it was "transfer anxiety". So getting Nicholas to comfort Ryan when I'm not around indeed was not a very good idea. I gave Nicholas a big hug and brought Ryan down.

Down in his classroom, I tried to remove his water bottle but Ryan started crying, refusing to let it go. I guessed that has become his source of comfort.

Once he regains his "composure", he was willing to join in the activity again. Today, they have painting with hand print. Another craft for their Christmas art. Ryan was good and didn't fuss around like Nicholas used to but gave a yucky face though. He allows the teacher to paint his palms with the red paint and did his print.

After the story time, they have lunch. He didn't allow anyone to feed him, insisting that he can do it by himself. This is sure one big step he make. Since the start of school, he had also self feed at home too.

After lunch, the teacher only managed to persuade him to allow them to change his nappy but not the clothes. Half the battle won. They played a colour sorting game which requires them to take the red/yellow counters and walk/run to the other end and placed it in the correct colour hula hoop. He did well for this too!

He enjoys it so much and even gave his teacher a high 5!

Off to school....Day 2

We started out great on his Day 2 in school (with me still hanging around there). They had their usual "circle time" before going outdoor, one activity that Ryan enjoys.

Came back indoor after 15 minutes of outdoor play and he was ok following the indoor activity as well.

completing the Christmas stocking craft

Then they sing & dances. Although he didn't dance with the rest, but I can see that he is observing and occassionally moving a little. Then, was story telling followed by puzzle play. He surprised the teachers with his puzzle "skill". The rest needs assistance while he did it all by himself.

Seeing that he settled so well, I decided to hop upstairs to look for Nicholas while Ryan was having his tea-break. He was doing fine for a while but when he realised that I was gone, he started crying. The assistant teacher tried to console him and tried to distract him with toys but he remains inconsolable.

So she brought him out to play but still didn't help. I came down and took over. Once he spot me, he pointed at me and said "THERE" to the teacher. Once I carried him, the crying stop. What left was only sobbing. Before bringing him indoor, let him play a while outside.

See, his teary eyes...

Back indoor, after the "terrifying" experience, he refuses to let me go out of his sight. He joined in the games after much assurance that I'll be there. After their lunch, more painting for Christmas art by the Chinese teacher.

He still refuses to be changed by the teacher to his fresh clothes. Since it almost time to go, the teacher didn't force him to either. When its time to go, he waves happily to all the teachers and friends goodbye.

At night, he had nightmares and woke up crying and stood up looking for me. When he spotted me, he dashed over to hug me so tightly before dosing off to dreamland again. Poor boy. My short disappearance today must have really traumatised him.

Off To School He Goes...Day 1

I had mixed feeling of sending Ryan to school. I'm happy that I know he will learn more things and also, I will have some time to clear my stuff without worries of him being neglected. But the other hand, him being the youngest and the last of our cuties, going to school means he is growing up already and soon, will be like the siblings and no longer a sweetie cutie baby. A stage that I dragged...how I wished they can be baby forever...no stress from school and all the headache associated with adolescent. Wish all I want but I know this wish will never be fulfilled.

DAY 1

We decided to start him in the month of December instead of January so that the teachers have more 1 to 1 time to settle him in as December is non-curriculum month. They only focus on arts and crafts and some story telling.

Anyway, today is Ryan's First day of school. He was excited to be able to finally have a bag for him to carry (he loves carrying Nicholas' bag when we sent Nicholas to school).

Being new to the centre, everything there interest him. His first activities for the day was outdoor play and he enjoys it. There were so many different types of "vehicles" for him to choose from.

He enjoys every moment of the outdoor play.

Back indoor, he goes with the flow but make sure that I was within his sight. His favourite activities were painting, craft and WASHING hands! For the music and movement portion, he prefers to observe but did some actions once in a while.

See, he didn't even mind the paint going on his hands.

Its difficult to get him sit down and listen to the Chinese story, mainly because he didn't understand and also, he wants to explore around.

For lunch, he fed himself with a little help from the teacher.

After lunch, its changing time. Ryan refuses to be changed by the teacher and so I took over. They read a book and did more painting.