Singapore trip 09

This was Shun`s third trip to Singapore. We have been making visits every half a year but I think he enjoyed himself most this time. At 19 months, he is getting more interactive and can even call for my dad, mum, sister and her husband.

His greetings at the door when someone comes home never fails to melt hearts. When he visits somewhere unfamiliar, he will become very shy and not utter a single sound. Mistaken for being well behaved sometimes.

At 19 months, he cannot stop running. Once he is set free, he wants to run and run. Bump! That`s when little accidents happen.

He knows what he is not allowed to do but continues to challenge our patience, waiting for punishment at times.

He did great on the flights except for some whining on the midnight flight to Singapore because he was getting sleepy. He was perfect on our flight back to Japan and was praised by the stewardess for being so good.

He was mistaken for a girl on 3 different occasions. It makes me wonder…does my son actually look like a girl?

Singapore
I am lucky to have a supportive family and good friends who are always there to make my vacation perfect.

A few memorable episodes...

Zoo - Wanted to show Shun the real elephants,zebras and giraffes that he loves in his picture books. He wasn't exactly excited when we were at the zoo, probably due to the heat.

After his nap, he wanted me to `read` the zoo map with him so I guess the zoo did leave an impression after all. We brought the map back to Japan and Shun showed his father where the giraffes and zebras were. He `reads` the map everyday till its torn into half. We need a new map.....

Thanks to my mum and aunts who went with us. Appreciative of the extra help I had.

Swim - I knew I had to bring him to the pool when he signed `swim` to me at my friend`s condo. I was surprised because he hated going to swimming class in Japan. We had to stop his lessons after 2 months because he couldn't stop crying suddenly one day after 5 enjoyable lessons. We tried a few times before deciding to let him quit school. Crying reason unknown...

Anyway he LOVED the pool at my friend`s condo. He even whined when I took him out of the pool because we were rushing off to our next visit.

Borders - I went to Borders to select some picture books for Shun. The children section was in a mess. People literally treat the bookstore as a library. Books are scattered on the floor, saw a lady copying numerous recipes from a pile of books, grandma reading out loud to her grand daughter sitting on the floor. Selfish acts of Singaporeans. I had some difficulty looking for a `clean` new book.

Education - Some friends asked me whether I send Shun to any classes, where I intend to educate him, what about his English skills, whether he can catch up with lessons next time etc etc...Oh gosh..Shun is only 19 months now. Do I have to think so far ahead when he is not even toilet trained???

Anyway, I think Shun is doing fine now. I don`t want to sound like I am boasting but Shun can recite A-Z and numbers 1-10 in Mandarin. I try to read to him everyday, not limiting his reading material to his kid's books. We also read maps, signboar/ds, license plates, brochures - anything in print.

Whether or not my son will do well in school next time, is not important. Right now, I just wish that he will be happy and healthy.