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mylittlecyberspot
Ben turned 2 early this week. I can hardly believe time has flown by. In a blink of an eye, he has gone from being a squidge to a lovely, easy-going, walking, talking boyish boy!
I haven't really given an update on Ben in a while, so this is as good a time as any:
At 2, Ben can:
1. Talk! He can pretty much parrot any word/phrase you say. He can also express simple wishes & preferences & point out his favourite objects (train, roadsweeper, loooong bus, truck, daddy's car, school bag, water bottle, bear bear, sports car, milk, etc). Maybe I'll start counting the number of words he can say soon, just like I did with Daniel.
2. Dance! He is definitely more musical than Daniel, maybe because I sang in an a capella group when I was pregnant with him. Ben totally loves to jiggle, sway, jump and flap when any music comes on. It's really very cute!
3. Feed himself with a spoon. Drink from a straw (since 8 months old).
4. Pee into a potty. This boy has a strong bladder. He doesn't have to pee for 4-5 hours! Then, we'll sit him in potty, and he'll pee! (We're working on pooping!)
5. Be left alone with teachers/caregivers for a few hours--yup, you guessed it. We started him on childcare 2 weeks ago!
I'd say he's doing ok for someone his age.
This morning, we had a birthday party for Ben. The kid never had a man yue or a fancy 1st birthday. I think we were too busy & stressed. Daniel's always been the one with the mega parties, so this year we thought we should do something for Ben.
We chose SOL Playground Cafe @ Turf City, the only restaurant I know of in Singapore which has a very sizable playground outdoors that's covered, so that it's nice and shady. I found the service very good & the prices reasonable--$13.90++ per person for a buffet of 7 foods & 1 drink. That's about the price of regular catering, but this place came with a PLAYGROUND & we were also allowed to use the air-conditioned indoor area, which also had a play area! BEST FOR KIDS! And I hope everybody had a good time? ^__^
One of the highlights of the party was SPIDERMAN, or rather..... a very sporting friend of ours who deigned to dress up to entertain the kids. We rented the costume from Masquerade @ Bali Lane.
Another highlight, for me at least, was PINATA. I've been wanting to have a pinata party ever since it became the norm at EV in Stanford to have one--Dan must have hit 1,000 pinatas by the time we graduated (ok, I exaggerate, but only a little). I'm glad to report that pinatas are quite widely available in Singapore--at Holland V, and at former Concourse party shops, one of which was across from Bali Lane, on the ground floor of Golden Landmark Shopping Centre. I thought it was really funny when Spiderman decapitated the pinata with one quick swat. HAHAHA.
Anyway, Ben & Dan seemed to have a good time. They promptly collapsed when we got home, after drinking their milk. And as I type this, they are playing happily with Daddy and seem to have completely forgotten about the loads of presents Ben received. (Good! I'm stashing the presents away and saving them up for rainy days & long car rides!)
When I was growing up, my parents never made a big deal of birthdays. But now that we have our own kids, we make it a point to celebrate important occasions, e.g., birthdays, Christmas, CNY. The celebration itself need not be elaborate or expensive. It could just be a family dinner or some simple presents. But there is something important & worthwhile about the simple remembering of important dates. It keeps you from chugging along, in a routine almost aimless way. It helps you to remember and reflect and thank God. For things that you may otherwise have taken for granted.
And on this occasion, we thank God for Benjamin. For his being part of our family. For his life so far. And for what he will become.
Praise God!
More pics here.
p.s. if anybody is buying a pinata, and you need a pinata hitting stick, I have one you can borrow. No need to buy.
