A Very Active Toddler

Little Edison is becoming increasingly active and adventurous nowadays. His natural curiosity opens up a wide array of play experiences for him; especially when he can move around easily without needing to seek help.

Everyday, he will go up and down the stairs using different strategies. It is amazing to see how well he can coordinate his hands and feet in his movements. This has been a good exercise for him.

We allow him to roam freely and venture around the house. I strongly believe that too many restrictions can hinder his physical development. Therefore, we don’t confine him in playpen or play yard. We make him aware of safety by constantly reminding him to watch out what he does and warn him whenever necessary.

Little Edison has always been a brave boy. Occasional tumble is unavoidable these days due to his activeness. But this does not upset him at all. We give him plenty of encouragement and this helps to boast his self confidence.

He loves to show off his new talents to me. Sometime back, he demonstrated to me that he is able to walk backwards. I smiled at him and praised him. He was so proud of his newly acquired skills.

I’m so delighted with his amazing development and growing independence.

Learning to Talk is FUN!

Edison has achieved his biggest milestone in walking when he was around 12 months old. Nowadays, he is simply unstoppable – walking, climbing, running and dancing (yes! my boy can dance!). All these activities keep him busy throughout the day.

The next milestone that we are anticipating is talking. So far, he can pronounce these words clearly – mama, papa, bird, star and flower. We are delighted whenever a new word creeps into his vocabulary. This is a positive sign towards his language development.

There are a few words that are 'super sensitive' to little Edison. Whenever he hears them, he will react immediately.

Word: flash cards
Action: He will walk to our room, open the cabinet and pull out the flash cards.

Word: shower
Action: He will walk to the bathroom, take his shower gel and shampoo, and place them onto the floor.

Word: music
Action: He will pull his high hair to our dining table and look out for my lappie. We always sing together with the musical flash card slideshows in my lappie.

Learning to talk has been fun for little Edison too. Here’s my conversation with him this morning:

Me: “Edison, call mama.”
Edison: “Mama!”

Me: “Edison, say Jagung.” (maize in Malay)
Edison: “Ah-Ung.”

Me: “Edison, say Jambu.”
Edison: “Bu-Bu.”

Look at this picture. He seems to be talking @#$% language too! Cute! He talks with gestures too.

He Calls 'Mama'

Until now, Edison doesn’t talk much. At 14+ months, I’m not sure if this is considered slow in speech development. He doesn’t call anyone, even if you ask him to.

But there is ONE exception.

Me: “Edison, call Mama”
Edison: “MAMA” (loud and clear)

Of course, this doesn’t work all the time. If he is occupied with toys, he will not respond. I would say 70% of the time, it works.

My heart really melts every time he calls me MAMA. I’m sure many first-time mothers out there will feel the same too. It’s really a very good feeling!

And another 30% of the time, he would babble about something that I don’t quite understand. I know he is trying very hard to talk and communicate with us, he just need a little more time.

In addition to ‘mama’, the words that he can pronounce clearly are ‘papa’, ‘star’ and ‘bird’.

Kiddy Rides Fun Again!

Yesterday, we spent our evening in Marina Square. The Christmas decorations were fantastic, we instantly felt the dazzling Christmas spirit. Most of the shops are having sales now. We were lucky enough to catch the Sesame Street show just in time!

We were searching for some toys for little Edison. He loves to play with plates, cups and spoon now, so I thought of getting a kitchen set for him. But on a second thought, I’m worried that this is maybe too ‘girlish’ for him.

Daddy found this police car in Kiddy Palace. We did a 'trial' on it. Little Edison loves it so much! But judging from its size, this police car is really not suitable for our home. Apart from the police car, we have short listed a few exciting toys for Edison. We are hoping that we can find them in the upcoming Mattel warehouse sale (it’s this coming weekend actually!)

Something caught little Edison’s attention again. This time, it’s the animal rides outside Kiddy Palace. His eyes beamed with joys as he saw the little girls riding on the animals. With $2 coins in my pocket, I popped them into the bear. Little Edison happily rode the bear with my helper.

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It was another fun filled kiddy rides session for little Edison.

Skinned His Knees

[He refused to look at me when I snapped this picture]

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Two days ago, Edison fell down outside Grandpa’s house and skinned both knees. He was probably running or walking too fast, without holding on to Grandpa’s hands.

He kneeled down on the road as he fell. As a result, he skinned his knees. He was shocked to see his knees with a little bit of blood. Grandpa & my helper immediately carried him back, cleaned the injured areas, disinfect and attached plasters on his knees. Surprisingly, he did not cry. Wasn’t it painful, my boy?

Well, this is the down side of an active toddler. Bumps, bruises and scrapes are all part of every day life. Every time Edison has a fall or knock his head, I will tell him that it’s part of growing up.

He walks, runs, climbs and crawls everyday. He is unstoppable.

The up side is that a busy toddler leads to a tired toddler, which leads to a decent nap, which leads to a happy mummy. Yay!

The Precious Moments

I found this cute picture of little Edison as I was browsing through my photo archives today. He was only about 2 months old then.

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How quickly time flies! I can’t believe I actually took this picture ONE year ago! He looked so funny in this picture.

KIDS. They can’t stay little forever. In fact, they grow so fast and they become more and more independent. When they started schooling, they will have their own friends. When they started working, they will have their own colleagues, girlfriends and boyfriends. When they are married, they will have their own family.

You see, there isn’t much time for us to ‘dominate’ their lives. I’m glad to spend every single growing-up ‘bitter-sweet’ moments with little Edison. As I always said, every moment is an experience and every moment is precious. It cannot be reproduced; that’s why it is so precious. I will treasure every moment that I spend with little Edison.

Learning Skills

[Experimenting with the remote control]

It’s really amazing to witness how much Edison has learnt during his first 14 months. So much that I simply couldn’t write it down, even if I tried. From a baby who knows absolutely nothing about the world into which he is launched, he becomes an active learner who thinks, interprets, relates and remembers. This transformation is truly astonishing.

He constantly seeks new learning experiences himself as a result of his own natural curiosity. I viewed him as an active learner. He likes to imitate what the adults do too. We just have to show him once, and he will master it in no time.

The other day, I showed him our family portrait. Much to my surprise, he can point to the correct person when I call out their names – Mummy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa and Godpa! Amazing, isn’t it?

By looking at his body gestures, I know that he can understand some of our daily conversations. Just to name a few…

“Edison, are you scared?”------------He will pat his chest with his hand.
“Knock your head, pain pain!”-------He will pat his head with his hand.
“Edison, how to tip toe?”------------He will stand on tip-toe.
“Edison, wash your hair.”-----------He will put both hands on his head and rub his hair.
“Edison, wear your shoes.”---------He will sit on the floor and stretch out his legs.

As he embarks on his learning journey, I will continue to guide him and create meaningful and high-impact learning experiences for him.

Prince Edison - 14 months

Hooray! Edison is 14 months old today. These are pictures of him taken at 2 months vs. 14 months. It’s absolutely amazing to see how much he has grown over the past one year.

Edison has always been a good boy. He rarely fusses at night. And even if he does, it’s just because he is tired. Usually he goes to bed at around 9pm, after practicing his flash cards with Mummy. His attention span has improved tremendously this month. I can flash up to 100 cards in one session now. I’m glad that my hard works have finally paid-off.

Edison walks a lot now. Although he still topples and falls at times, but he is able to stand up on his own and continue walking with courage. That’s my boy. I’m so proud of him.

Read: Prince Edison - 13 months

New Shoes

On my birthday (last weekend), I bought 2 pairs of shoes for my precious Edison. It's funny, cos somehow I didn't really buy anything for myself on my birthday. But I felt happier buying stuff for my boy. Maybe that's the nature of a mother. We just love to spend money on our kids!

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The first pair - white shoes with light blue laces from Hello Kitty Taiwan. They are so soft and light; with non-slip soles too. Very suitable for toddler who just started walking. In addition, white shoes can compliment any outfits. They are perfect for every outing and every outfit.

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The second pair - light brown colour squeaky shoes. Edison simply adores them; he can walk with a squeak at each step. The shoes have velcro strap that secure the shoes to feet. They also have the non-slip rubber soles. Suitable for the evening walk around the garden and neighbourhood.

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His little growing feet definitely deserve some pampering with all the nice shoes. :) These shoes are available at Kiddy Palace. Check them out if you are interested.

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My New Shoes

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Smelly Pillow

A new member has just joined Edison’s family of ‘Smelly Pillow’. Let me introduce his new Winnie the Pooh bolster to you. We bought it from Watsons last weekend. From these pictures, you can see how happy he is with his new bolster.

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Before this new addition, he already has two smelly pillows at home; they are actually bean sprout chest pillows which he has been hugging since his baby days. Until now, he can’t seem to let them go. No matter how frequent we change the pillow case, these pillows still have his ‘baby milk smell’ and that’s why they are called Smelly Pillow. We even have to bring one of them in the diaper bag when we go out. Otherwise, he will have difficulties getting into sleep. Strong addiction, huh? It’s similar to how I’m addicted to coffee. If I don’t have my morning coffee, I will have headache in the afternoon.

When I first saw this bolster in Watsons, I told myself “Hey, this bolster is cool!” I showed it to my boy. He immediately snatched it from my hands and hugged it tight. He even kissed and bite the pillow. “OMG! What are you doing, Edison?” He refused to return the pillow to me. I’m stuck!

The two cashier ladies were smiling when they saw Edison’s reaction. I admit he was kinda funny. He loves this bolster so much! I have no choice, but to walk over to the cashier and paid them $12.90 for the bolster.

Then, we left the shop happily with the Pooh bolster (still) in Edison’s hands. Now, this bolster become his #1 companion to sleep at night.

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A Bad Fall

It all happened last Saturday night. Initially, I didn’t want to blog about it because it was too heart-wrenching for me. But now, everything seems fine and I have a little courage to recall what really happened that night.

I went to bed with Edison at about 10:30pm. At around midnight, Edison had a nightmare and he cried badly (with his eyes remain closed). I carried him onto my bed, pat him and gave him some comfort. In just a short while, he slipped back into his sleep. So, I let him sleep beside me for the night. I put some pillows at the other end of the bed to serve as a guard. Soon, I fell asleep too.

Suddenly, I heard a loud thump! I woke up and I realized my bed was empty. At that moment, my heart stopped beating. AAAhhhhhh! My Edison!!!! He fell off from the bed!!! He started crying. My hands were trembling when I carried him up. I felt so horrible; it was all my fault and negligence!

He must have knocked his head against the floor. I carried him and comfort him. He stopped crying in about 2 minutes. Then, I put him on my bed again to do a thorough check for injuries. His scalp was slightly red and I felt a small bump on the left side of his head. I immediately wrapped an ice pack with a thin handkerchief and rolled it on the bump for ~15 mins, to reduce the swelling.

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Both of us went to back to sleep again. But that night, I woke up a few times to check on Edison. I was soooOOOoooo worried.

The next morning, Edison woke up at 6am for his first milk feed. He finished up 180ml of milk. I checked on him again. No injury on his body. Thank God for protecting my Edison. The bump on the left side of his head was still there, though the swelling has reduced quite a lot.

On the next 24 hours, I observed him very carefully. No abnormal behaviour, no loss of appetite, no vomiting, no fever and no crankiness. As a matter of fact, he seems to be unaffected by the fall. Edison is really a very brave boy.

Somehow, I still couldn’t forgive myself. I apologized to my son for causing him so much pain and fear. I didn't even know how he can roll over the pillows and landed on the floor. It was such an unfortunate incident. "Sorry to my dear Edison, Mummy will never let this incident happen again."

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Hide-and-Seek with the leopard

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This is Edison's latest toy friend - the Leopard. He loves playing hide-and-seek with it. I will hide the leopard somewhere in the living hall, not too visible to him. Then I will tell him, "Edison, where is the leopard?". He will search for it.
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He will squat down and check underneath the sofa and table. Then, he will flip the pillows on the sofa. He look clueless if he still can't find it. Then, I'll give him some clues. He goes searching again.

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Once he found the leopard, I will shout 'Tadaa! Leopard is here!". He will giggle and laugh. It is quite funny.
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I like happy kids. They laugh at the simplest thing in life. Edison is one of them. He is always happy and cheerful.

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Milestones in Language Development - 13 months

Today I want to blog about Edison's milestones in language development. At 13 months, he has started to comprehend the world he lives in: When we name a common object, such as shoes, he will show that he knows what we are taking about by looking at it, pointing to it or picking up the object.

Although he doesn't talk much yet, but his ears are widely opened and he is eager to absorb all kinds of information. I am fascinated by how he uses pointing and gesturing to communicate with me and our family. He is able to connect names with the right person – daddy, mummy, grandpa, grandma, godpa and kakak. Nowadays, he can say a few words very clearly, i.e. papa, mum mum, tata & star.

These are some simple sentences that he can understand:

“Edison, where are your shoes?”
His reaction: Walk to the door and pick up his shoes.

“Edison, how to wear your shoes?”
His reaction: Sit on the floor, stretch out his legs and pick up his shoe (although he doesn’t know how to put on yet).

“Edison, where are the stars?” “Edison, where is the moon?”
His reaction: Look up to the sky.

“Edison, do you want to go home?”
His reaction: Walk to the main door at grandma’s house, waiting to go back home.

“Edison, do you want your smelly pillow?”
His reaction: He will quickly walk to me and snatch his pillow from me.

“No more?”
He will show you something like this:

My smart little Edison, Mummy loves you so much!
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Like Mother, Like Son

[Big picture = ME, Five small pictures = EDISON]

Not long ago, my sister found this baby photo of me in one of our childhood photo albums. She immediately scanned it and e-mailed it to me. Oh gosh, my boy really looks like me! Obviously, he inherits my flat nose and mouth. Our hairs look quite alike too.

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Prince Edison - 13 months

This photo was taken during Edison’s first month celebration. He was too tired after the party and fell asleep soundly. Oh gosh, this picture is now one year old. How quickly time flies! Edison is now 13 months old, and is progressing well into his toddlerhood.

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This is a quick summary of his development this month:

Movement
- Able to climb up the stairs but finds coming down is harder
- Walks confidently through the house and outdoor, although still topple occasionally
- Can stop walking and bend down to pick up an object on the floor
- Master the challenge of climbing out of his high chair

Hand-Eye Coordination
- Likes to play with a toy phone and able put the receiver on and off it
- Can build a tower of 2 or 3 bricks

Language
- Recognizes his own name
- Understand many more words than he can say; i.e. shoes, water, milk, sleep, bird etc
- Likes to babble and express his emotions

Emotional
- Determined to get his own way
- Throw a tantrum when he is frustrated
- Show liking to pets, i.e. dogs and fish.

Edison is taking ~630ml of milk daily with 2 solid feeds. He sleeps 10 hours though the night and 2 naps (about one hour each nap) during the day. He is slightly above 9kg now.

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The coolest thing about Edison - he doesn't require any sleep training, and he goes to sleep on his own. All I have to do is to put him on his bed and dim the light. He will play with his pillows, smell them and sometimes bite the corners of the pillows. Then he will fall asleep, usually within 5 to 10 minutes. Isn't it amazing?

"To my dearest Edison, Mummy will treasure every moment with you. Mummy really loves you a lot! Mummy will always take good care of you."

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Here we go down the memory lane

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Potty Training

We started the basic potty training for Edison when he was about 8 months old. We trained him to urinate in the toilet. We will carry him to the toilet every hour and after he wake up from sleep to pass urine. Initially, we make some ‘sh-sh-sh’ sound to signal him to urinate. Soon, he started to get used to the routine. When its time to urinate, we will bring him to toilet and tell him “Edison, let’s go to pee-pee.” Now, he will urinate every time we bring him to the toilet and he rarely urinates on his pants. During the day time, he is generally diaper-less (except weekends when he is outdoor), which is more comfortable in this warm weather.

Then, I purchased a child size potty from Kiddy Palace and put it somewhere that Edison can see it pretty often. From there, we let him explore the potty and sit on it when he shows interest. We want this potty training to be fun and stress-free for him. It just need a little more time, patience and encouragement.

For the past one week, when we sensed that Edison wants to pass motion, we quickly let him sit on his potty. He poo-poo in the potty without any fuss. It’s just so easy for him. Amazing!

Now that he can pee and poo in the potty, our next step is to make him aware of the use of his little potty. By using the potty consistently, he will slowly understand the use of it. I believe someday he will reach for the potty himself whenever he wants to pee or poo. This will definitely takes a little longer time, but it’s okay. He has already made a very good progress now despite his young age. I’m so proud of him.

Potty training saves a considerable amount of money since diapers are quite expensive. But most importantly, he feels more comfortable without wearing the bulky diaper and he can move around freely at home. Well done, Edison!

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Kiddie Rides

Last Sunday, we bought Edison to VivoCity and he had a great time with kiddie rides again. There are a couple of machines just outside the VivoMart.

Edison chose the Barney ride. The moment I plonked in the $1 coin, the ride started moving and the Barney music played along. Edison's hands automatically took to the steering wheel of the ride and started turning it like a Formula One professional racer. He seems to be able to co-ordinate his turning skills very well.

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Even after the Barney ride stopped moving, he was still seated in the stationery ride happily. We moved him to the next ride - Sesame Street. "Wow, he drives like you, dear!" I told my hubby. His face beamed with joy as he continue with the ride.

Well, I guess next time, I will have to go to VivoCity with my pocket full of $1 coins.

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Edison's Vocal Accomplishment

When Edison started calling his Daddy four months ago, I was thrilled. ‘Dear, Edison is talking!” I squealed. Probably he didn’t know what it means yet, he was just experimenting it. But now, four months later, he begins to talk more often. We hear this everyday....

‘mum mum’ when he wants to eat something

‘pa pa’ when he sees his daddy
‘ta ta ta’ when he is excited or something.. (I couldn’t figure out what he means sometimes)
‘ah!” when he wants to show us something and his finger will point to that object

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Sometimes, he will talk and make funny expressions at the same time, i.e. blink his eyes, stick out his tongue etc.

I am wondering if there is anything that we, parents, can do to speed up our toddler’s verbal development. Children’s brains are like sponges, waiting to absorb whatever information or inputs that we give to them. Therefore, I strongly believe that the more we talk to them, the more likely they are to talk and respond to us.

Below are some useful tips that I found on the internet.
1. Talk to them with a clear & proper pronunciation
2. Always use a light and cheery tone
3. Ask them questions. “Would you like milk or water?” "Where are your shoes?" It helps them to gain understanding of language, words and their meanings.
4. Read a variety of materials to them. Picture books, story books or flash cards.

5. Sing songs.

I’m pretty sure that helping them to learn how to talk can be one of the most exciting experiences for us. Watching their little face beam with pride at their first vocal accomplishment is a joy for us too.

So, come on Edison, when can you call 'ma ma'?

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My new shoes...

I have a new achievement this week. I can finally walk outdoor with my shoes. Hooray! These are my first 2 pairs of shoes... Waiting for a storage space in the shoe rack of our house...

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Smart Little Edison

I have this impression that Edison is a pretty smart boy. He can do a lot of things that I don’t think me and my hubby can do when we were one year old. He seems to understand a lot from our conversation too. Should I conclude that the newer generation babies are all smarter?

Improved living standard and better food quality make them smarter and healthier. I recalled myself popping fish oil supplement with DHA for fetus brain development as early as 4th month of pregnancy. It cost me $1 per daily for the supplement. From 4th to 9th month, I’ve spent $180 on fish oil alone (6 months x 30 days x $1 = $180). Not to mention others like multi-vitamins, folic acids etc.

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These are the TEN amazing stuff that Edison has learnt so far:

1. When we ask him where the moon is, he will look up to the sky, trying to locate it. Sometimes, he can even point to the direction of the moon.

2. He can say the word ‘star’. Occasionally, he will point up to the sky and say ‘star’.

3. When we ask him how to turn on his Jumperoo, he knows where the ON button is and he can turn it on by himself.

4. When we ask him where the tiger is, he will walk over to his Jumperoo and pull out the tiger!

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5. Besides tiger, he knows a few other animals too, i.e. dog, cat, pig, mouse and bird! He can even imitate a dog barking!

6. He can understand the words ‘milk’ and ‘water’ and distinguish them by the colour of the milk bottle.

7. When we show him his tooth brush and comb, and we ask him which one to use for combing his hair, he will pick up the comb. When we ask him which one to use for brushing teeth, he will pick up the tooth brush! He seldom get it wrong.

8. When he hears his favourite song, Counting By Tens, he will clap his hands.

9. When he hears the words “Which one”, he knows that he has to make a selection. He will point to the item that he wants.

10. When he hears the words “Want to eat?”, he knows that there is food for him to eat and he will immediately make his way to you.

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Besides all these, he is a very active boy at home. I always wonder why he is so busy walking around the house and where he gets so much energy! Besides the 2 hours nap time in the afternoon, the rest of the times he will be all over the house.

~~ Caught in the act! ~~

He loves to stand on the foot of our IKEA lamp and shakes the lamp post. And he likes to bite every pillow in the house! He shows no mercy and leaves all the 4 corners of the pillow with his tooth marks!