Aside from Thomas the Tank Engine, playing with Lego is another favourite passtime of Gavin’s.  At 19 months, he’s mastered the art of building towers with Duplo and he can also piece together regular Lego pieces (although he can’t quite pull them apart, yet).

In a day and age where most toys require batteries, and can flash lights and make sounds at the push of a button, it is important to keep a balance with toys that foster a child’s creativity.  Lego is one such toy that encourages this and for this reason, I’ve been encouraging Gavin to play with his Duplo blocks on a regular basis.

At this age, Duplo is also great for helping him improve his manual dexterity and sort by colours.  As he grows older, Lego becomes a terrific puzzle game that is great for brain development.  I don’t think I can emphasise enough about what a great toy I think Lego is.  It’s definitely a “must have” in any child’s toy box.

Nowadays there are so many other brands with a similar concept to Lego that cost a fraction of the price, however, none of them are in the same league as Lego.  If you just want to get some Lego bricks for free play, then any brand will do, but if you want the more creative masterpieces, then nothing beats Lego. 

If the price is hurting your wallet, you should consider crossing the border to Singapore for your Lego purchases.  Hubby and I have also discovered that Lego is much cheaper in Singapore than in Malaysia.  And if you want bargain basement prices, there is a shop in Great World City called Toys Hunt that exclusively sells Lego at discounted prices.  They are located on Level 3, shop lot number #03-26. 

While we’re on the topic of where to get cheap toys, it might be worth noting that Thomas and Friends isn’t really cheaper in Singapore.  In some instances, it is more expensive in Singapore compared to Malaysia.  However, the toy sales in Singapore are usually a lot better than in Malaysia.  You can usually see some terrific discounts (like 50% or 70% off), unlike in Malaysia where 20% is considered a big deal.  So unless there’s a big sale going on, it’s not really worth heading down to Singapore to buy Thomas and Friends - you might as well save yourself a trip and buy it in Malaysia.

Below: Gavin playing with the sample Duplo and Lego blocks in the toy department of Isetan, Lot 10.

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I used to think that Gavin was mad about Thomas the Tank Engine, but it appears his interest in trains extends beyond Thomas and his friends.  Every time he passes a train of any sort, he stops to examine it.  Thomas and Friends may simply have been the catalyst that sparked his interest in trains.

Here is Gavin pining for an electrical train set he saw at a hobby shop.  The set is clearly well beyond Gavin’s years, but it certainly didn’t stop him from trying to ask Ah Kong to buy it for him.  Ah Kong promised to get him a train set when he’s older, but for this trip, he compromised and bought Gavin James from the Take Along Thomas and Friends collectibles.

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I used to think that Gavin’s interest in Thomas the Tank Engine was just a passing phase.  I figured that he would soon get over Thomas and move on to other things.

Not so…

If anything, his interest in Thomas has only escalated (sorry HL - looks like it’s going to be a Thomas cake for his second birthday after all…)

For instance, I was carrying him around the shopping mall when suddenly he started wriggling to get out of my arms.  Surprised, I put him down, only to watch him run away from me.  I followed him only to discover that he had spotted this in the distance:

Another time, when I was carrying him, he started signing train.  I started scanning around wondering where he had seen Thomas.  Spotting a picture of Elmo, I thought he had made a mistake.  “Oh, there’s Elmo,” I said.  But he signed train again more insistently.  Later I discovered the balloon with a picture of Thomas on it.  Yes, my son has sharp eyes.

Yesterday, my SIL2 and I took Gavin for lunch after our swim and Gavin kept signing train.  He wanted his small Thomas and Friends figurines that had been given to him from his friend Jack and the wooden Thomas train that his godmother had given him.  Since I wasn’t expecting to go shopping, I didn’t bring my bag.  Needless to say, Gavin was terribly upset - which didn’t help because he was also very tired after the swim.

Last night, we went to Jusco at the Alpha Angle.  Hubby set him down on the ground only to have him tearing off towards the Thomas section where he sat and eyed the Thomas toys with a longing that nearly broke Daddy’s heart. 

Hubby and I were talking when hubby realised Gavin was saying something.  He had been looking at the individual trains and he was naming them.  He held the Henry train and said something that distinctly sounded like “Henry.”  Later he pointed to James and said “James.”  I didn’t even realise he had learned the names to Thomas’ friends.

Unfortunately, he still can’t say “Thomas” but he says “train” and signs “train” to indicate he wants to play with Thomas.

Quite frankly, I never thought Thomas was all that educational, but I suppose if it inspires Gavin to learn and if it entertains him and keeps him in his seat, then I suppose he really is “a very useful engine”.

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This one’s dedicated to my SIL in Australia who’s missing out on all of Gavin’s cute toddler moments…

This video was recorded at Bangsar Village the day we took him to get his pneumococcal jab from the doctor.  And that reminds me, we’re about due for his MMR booster shot - oh dear.  Suddenly the title of this blog post becomes very relevant.

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When Gavin was born, they didn’t have any Liverpool gear for kids available - at least, not in Malaysia.  Now that he’s a toddler, Adidas has finally started selling Liverpool jerseys for kids.  I’m sure when Gavin is big enough to wear this, they’ll have the infant sizes - I hope.

In the meantime, I think Aunty Aileen will be very proud of this one…

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Gavin’s girlfriend is coming back for a holiday in September and he’s already been shopping around for a welcome back present - although he looks a little kiam siap (read: stingy) in this video since he keeps putting the shoes back after checking out the prices. 

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One of the toughest things about being a Mum is having to deal with your toddler when you’re sick.  One of the sweetest things your toddler can do when your sick is be extremely cooperative.

This is an account of another one of those days when Gavin was simply wonderful…

Yesterday, at the peak of my food poisoning episode, Gavin decided to take a dump in his diaper.  Thinking he couldn’t have picked a worse time to soil his bottom, I reluctantly took him upstairs to clean him up and give him a bath. 

Ordinarily, getting Gavin out of the bath is like trying to extract a molar with three curved roots without anaesthetic.  Yesterday, I pleaded with Gavin and said, “Mummy’s sick (I signed “sick”), can you please help me by coming out of the bath by yourself?”

At first he looked like he was going to ignore me.  When I asked again the second time, he got up and followed me out.  Gavin can be so sweet at times…

I do wonder if Gavin was trying to be helpful so he could be like Thomas and the other engines because there’s nothing Thomas and his friends like more than to be “really useful engines”.  Perhaps there is some value out of watching Thomas and Friends after all.

The other thing I realised yesterday was that Gavin has started stringing two words together.  He normally calls me “Ah Mee” - probably because grandma is “Ah Mah” so Mummy must be “Ah Mee”.

I digress.  I took a nap in the afternoon while Gavin played downstairs with Ah Mah and SIL2.  When hubby brought him up after work, Gavin shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ah Mee!”  It’s hard not to melt at the sound of delight in the tone of his voice.

In my haste to get to sleep, I couldn’t be bothered getting dressed after my bath so I slept in my underwear.  When Gavin climbed onto the bed, he said, “Ah Mee, clothes,” and pointed to the cupboard.  Actually it sounded more like “coat” but I understood his meaning because he also signed “clothes”.  Then I asked him, “You want Mummy to wear clothes and go downstairs to play with you?”  And Gavin nodded.

Ah… it’s hard not to feel proud of what a little person my son is turning into…

Below:  Gavin’s first bubble bath in Tanjong Jara.

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Gavin received a lovely present in the mail from his future MIL (thank you dear).  When the parcel arrived, he was so excited he kept hovering around it and pointing out features. 

Gavin has seen plenty of these Thomas and Friends box sets in the toy shop but we have yet to buy him one for the home.  As hard as I try not to spoil him by going overboard with the toys, it is terribly hard to resist the delight and eagerness he portrays whenever he looks at a Thomas toy.

In this video, he’s checking out his new Thomas Train.  There are no batteries in the toy so he’s trying to figure out why it won’t work.

Thomas the Tank Steam and Sounds Engine runs on two settings - manual mode and remote control mode.  In the video below, Gavin is playing with it in manual mode: 

I initially didn’t want Gavin to play with the remote control at first because he has a habit of switching from remote control to manual without warning and if I don’t flick the switch in time, he’ll grind the gears.  Unfortunately, my son’s eyes were too sharp.  He had already spied the remote control.  So here he is playing with the remote control:

Thomas the Tank Steam and Sounds was thoroughly entertaining (for both toddler and adult - the hubby swears I had more run playing with it than Gavin).  Although intended for ages 3+, Gavin still enjoyed playing with it, although it took a bit of patience to tell him not to push the train by hand when it is on remote control mode and to press only one button at a time when using the remote control.  Otherwise, I reckon Gavin handled the train pretty well.

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When you’re a parent, one of the things you quickly learn is how to be creative.  For instance, when Gavin decided he much preferred to stay in the bath long after he was done bathing rather than to get dressed, I decided to make his changing station more interesting by sticking up pictures from his VCDs onto the walls:

It worked a treat because he stopped fussing the moment he saw the pictures.  In fact, it worked so well that he seems to want to bypass the bathing part and get right to the changing part.  Last night, he went into the shower, dumped a few scoops of water over the lower half of his body (because it’s too heavy for him to lift any higher), came back out and pointed to his changing station.  He garbled a few words in toddler language that must have meant, “Okay, I’m done, let’s get dressed.”

He was so cooperative to get out of the shower that it seemed almost cruel to drag him back in for a proper bath.  This is what happens when your creativity works too well.  Sigh…

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