Dear Aidan,
Phew. I never thought I'd survive the last month. But here I am again. Logging in a post. Still in one piece and breathing.
Your mama is not being dramatic either.
The last month has been all about taming tantrums. I'm not sure you'll ever remember getting smacked on the bottom by the feather duster. But yes, I introduced the
rotan last month, a month that'll go down in my history as a mother as the toughest month with you yet. Tough not only because you were physically defiant almost everyday, but also because inflicting pain on a child is not something parents enjoy.
 |
| Fear-mongering is sometimes acceptable |
I'm sure some modern parenting experts will chastise me for resorting to physical punishment. I mean, I've READ enough books to decide that every child is different, and every parent knows his or her child the best to apply what's necessary. So I'll stand my ground because with strong-willed kids like you who test harder, firmness, warnings, and counting down to the Time-Out Corner do not always work.
 |
| Seeking knowledge about you is another way Mama loves you |
Instead, I've found that first hitting the table to jolt you out of your funk appropriately alerts you to how serious Mama is about what's coming if you don't cooperate. I've also found that you have on occasions, risked pain to find out what exactly that is. And so now you know the answer. In fact, you remember it so well that these days, just a glance at the feathery stick on the wall helps prevent situations from going out of control for the both of us.
 |
The boy who wanted to go to the zoo
to play with his toy car |
 |
| "Ok, I've seen the white tiger. Next!" |
This is not to say that you've completely stopped acting up (although to your credit, you haven't yet performed the helicopter-blade-spin on the floor of a mall just yet). Your mood this month is still volatile. For instance, the mention of visiting the zoo would light you up. But when we got there, you'd get all disagreeable and grumpy. Our first trip didn't go too well, actually. Upon arriving, you decided to lurk a couple of feet behind us before plonking yourself on the wooden slats on the ground to play with your toy car. Papa and Mama decided to leave you alone as there's really no point forcing you to like something when (1) you maybe don't (2) you're not in the right frame of mind to be positive about anything.
 |
| "Eh, where are the coin-operated rides, Papa?" |
 |
| "Oh, look, a leopard! Ok, let's go home" |
The sight of the white Siberian tiger excited you for all of 1 minute. The birds were annoying. The monkeys and meerkats were boring. The leopard woke up from his nap and looked up at you and you were flattered for a moment. You skipped zebras to whizz past the giraffes. And finally clamoured to go home even though Mama wanted to see the rhinos. Yup, I think Mama and Papa were more interested in the Zoo than you.
 |
| "Now, this is more fun than staring at a bunch of sleepy animals!" |
You're not into TV but some programmes are tolerable, it seems. Like
Pororo the little penguin,
Mickey Mouse Fun Club, and
Fireman Sam. Not that you paid full attention to whole episodes.
 |
| "Don't understand a word they're saying, it's so deep!" |
You're beginning to appreciate music so Papa's i-Pod and our DVD-cum-CD player are beginning to bear more of your paw-prints.
 |
| "Let's see how I can destroy this thing..." |
Last weekend, we took a short trip to Batam Island with Aunty Su Yin and Uncle Neil, who by the way, live in Block #19 at Kovan Melody. In case you forget, Aunty Su Yin's Mama's cousin from Kung-Kung's side of the family and Uncle Neil is her husband.
 |
| "Guys, the armchair looks odd here, so let me fix it for you..." |
The ferry ride was fun for you and when we got to the resort, you decided you liked the room except for the layout. How do I know this? Well, the first thing you did was start moving the rattan armchairs about. You must have been very comfortable in your surroundings as most of the time, you didn't want to put on your clothes. The most you'd do was ear your shirt around your head. I suppose we could say you were creative.
 |
| "Now isn't it nice to be this close to Nature?" |
 |
| "I think the telly's not switched on but it's just a theory" |
Mama knows you don't like vegetables, meat or egg all that much but this month, you've been a bit more vocal about your feelings toward them. I suppose being chatty helps. Here's your first funny conversation with Mama over your dislikes. Basically, Mama was about to spoon some rice mixed with bits of vegies, chicken and fried egg into your mouth during dinner when this dialogue took place:
You: Aidan don't want vegies.
Mama: You have to eat some.
You: Aidan don't want that one...
Mama: Chicken? But there's so little here.
You: Aidan don't want egg also.
Mama: < death stare >
You: Aidan don't want Corner...
This month, Papa brought home
The Earth Book by Todd Par
. I'm not sure you're into the illustrations as they're stick figures style with quirky hair and bodies. It's a very colourful book though you aren't catching on to it at the moment. Poor Papa. He really likes buying you books but it appears your tastes are quite specific - animals are always good; and little children that remind you of yourself. Transportation vehicles work as well (which explains the Thomas the Tank Engine books) and some dramatic event - thunderstorm, lost child, late or naughty train, etc.
 |
| "It's not, you know, exciting enough..." |
One day, we'll have to buy a bookshelf just for your books. But we're not complaining. We just hope your interest in books will last beyond the day you come home from school asking for a tablet.
