Expect the Unexpected

We transited Gabe from bathtub to shower more than a year ago and till today, we're still having battles at bathtime. He HATES to get water in his eyes, and we all know that it's an almost impossible task with an uncooperative kid, which means water will get into his eyes, which means he'll throw a tantrum, which means water will get into his eyes, which means... you get the drift.

So how would you react when at the height of the aforementioned battle, your son says to you, "thank you mummy for bathing for you!"

Wrong Fruit

It was Fathers' day. We were in the car with Derod's immediate family, heading for a meal in the heart of town with my immediate family. As we came out of the Nicoll Highway and was about to make a right turn to Raffles City, we heard Gabe gave a loud shout of "Mango!"

There was a bewildered silence in the car and I craned to align my vision with his in the crowded car and that's when I saw it.


Our friend got the wrong fruit. I don't know who taught him the association with fruits though.

Funny Conversations

Gabe: Mummy, there's fish and water there.
Me: Where?
Gabe: Inside the restaurant.
Me: Oh! *surprised at the usage of the word "restaurant"* Which restaurant? (We were on the way home from dinner at a restaurant.)
Gabe: That restaurant loh!

Gabe: Mummy, boys has ji ji and ball ball. (I did not correct his grammatical error here)
Me: What about girls?
Gabe: Girls has gap gap.
Me: Where's your ji ji and ball ball?
Gabe: *looks down* inside the xiao ku zi.

We were in Gabe's room about to begin the night routine. Derod sank into the sofa bed and heaved a tired sigh.
Gabe: Papa, are you alright?!

LRT and Me

Before he even started to talk, Gabe has been excited by the LRT trains that zip past our home. He would sit at the window and watch the traffic and when he could talk, would announce the arrival of the trains.

He loves riding on the MRT and sat through long journeys, right from the time he was confined in a pram. Today he frequently requests to get to our destinations by train. So logically, we thought he'd share the same affection for the LRT, which is just a smaller unit of the large MRT. We were wrong.

His fear of the LRT started when he heard and watched it screeched to its stop. With time, this fear simply got so illogical that Derod decided to counter it with a ride on the LRT, to show how similar it is to the larger train. Alas, the moment our little one stepped on its platform, he started crying. He was so fearful that he hid behind Derod, refused to budge, insisted to be carried and for the whole train ride, buried his face in his hands. We dragged him out for a second ride a few days later and it was only then that he relaxed a little.

Gabe is now two to three months shy of turning 2.5 years old and he's finally overcome his great fear of the LRT. Who would have thought that the LRT would be part of his milestone chart!