J Summary (24M0D) - Just Loves Books!!!

J turns 2 years old today

Just Loves Books!!!

J really loves books now. The first thing he does when he wakes up and hand sign for play, is to pick a book as a toy, and it is also the last thing he does, when it is bed time. This week, I brought him to the daycare. He didn't want to join the others in playing with jigsaw puzzles, but when the teacher took out a book and start reading to a baby, he released my hands and went over. Yesterday morning, he went into the classroom, and straight took a book trying to get the attention of the teacher (but she was busy with new babies). We do not need to spend energy to encourage J to pick up a book at all. In fact, he will come after us, and very often I have to be the one to say, stop, I have enough of books!!! I hope J's love for books will continue, but if it continues as it is now, we have nothing to worry.

Language Development

J is progressing with Danish, but he is very willing to learn Mandarin, always repeating the words, when I say it to him in books. I only have myself to blame if I do not succeed. I would rather wash the dishes and spend time on blog in the evening, than spending time with him at bath time and bed time. Florian has been doing such a good job at these tasks, but it also mean that the time spent with daddy has improved his Danish.

I need to pull up my socks and take more of the bath time and bed time sessions from Florian. Otherwise, it would really be my lack of discipline, and not because J's lack of interest or ability to learn Mandarin. It is hard to be a cross-cultural mom, and sometimes when the evening comes, I just want to relax, but I have to try harder. After all, he is growing up so fast. Why am I at my computer, while he is upstairs with daddy??? Alright, I have to try harder from this coming week.

Room Time

Today is the second time I implemented Room Time. Thank God for answering my prayers, it went very well. J did 4 x 5 minutes. But he insisted that I watched him outside the room. I am quite happy with the progress that at least he was willing to be in the room himself and play. When the timer went after 5 minutes, he hand signed and said "play", and so I set the timer again.

After playing with the colourful wooden blocks, he wanted to play with the alphabet wooden blocks by stacking them. This shows that he knew that the alphabets blocks are easier to stack than the colourful irregular shapes blocks. I reminded him to clean up the other set of blocks first, and he did - very nice and clean. After playing with the second sets of blocks, I requested him to clean up. And he did again. He has been a very good boy today.

I was not totally resolved to implement blanket time in the past, but this time around I have been very resolved this time round to implement Room Time, and I did as much as possible pray and tell God. I am glad that I found the discipline to implement it last week and to follow through this week. The results these 2 weeks have given me great encouragement, although I am aware that it will be ups and downs, and there will be good days and bad days. I am gearing up to the bad days, and praying hard that I will not give up persevering on implementing room time.

Sleep

JoshJua is sleeping very well at bedtime. I close the door, and he doesn't cry like last time. It is really nice. He is also sleeping through the night very well, apart from a couple of nights, when he woke up calling for us. I think if could be due to nightmares which is very common for toddlers his age now.

Eat

J is a very good eater. I have to say "stop, no more", otherwise, he keeps asking for more breakfast porridge... for breakfast, lunch and dinner! He also doesn't like cakes and muffins. I remembered we attended a birthday party last year, and he spit out a spoonful of cake to my delight. Today, it is his birthday, and I made muffins. He didn't like it. He asked for his essential toddler breakfast porridge instead. What a darling he is when it comes to healthy food! We can go on and eat our cakes and delights, while he just looks on, without asking for it.

People have been telling me how kids will rebel, and go the other way by over-eating sweet stuff, if I restrict J. But I firmly believe that if you train a child in good eating habbits right from young, he will come back to the healthy habits. The Bible says: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it". J is just showing the opposite way of what other people are predicting. But kids are different, and I am so thankful that J is the type of kid that is proving such theory wrong.

Self-feeding

J doesn't like to self-feed, preferring that I feed him and he can be so stubborn that he will refuse to eat. I am getting more and more concern that he is not getting enough fine motor skill practice. I have no chance of training him with the spoon. Thankfully he attends daycare and in the daycare, he is willing to self-feed. I have made it a plan to give him rice, so that he has to eat it with a spoon. The daycare teachers are very nice. They told me that they are willing to teach him how to use a spoon. Normally it is not their job in Denmark, and the kids eat using fingers i.e. eating fingers food. I am so blessed to find this daycare.