Sorry about the password protect on the last post.  I would have made it publicly available except that someone’s naked torso was captured in the video and I don’t think that person would approve of me blogging about that video even though the subject in the video was Gavin.  Anyway, friends who want access to the video can always contact me.

Here’s the picture of Gavin’s almost completed work.  He likes to line up the chairs and he’s quite particular about making sure the chairs are in line.

Having had friends with children slightly older than Gavin, I have had the opportunity to observe other kids developing ahead of Gavin and I have realised that aside from the obvious list of milestones (like, sitting, standing, crawling, walking, talking, etc.) there appears to be another list of milestones that children go through.  Or at least I think they’re milestones since I only have a study of two to go by.

For instance, I noticed that both Gavin and his godsister went through a phase where they both enjoyed giving imaginary objects to friends and relatives.

I’ve also noticed that both Gavin and his friend Jack went through a phase where they would start feeding their toys Mummy’s milk.  Considering how special Mummy’s milk is, I think it’s the first step towards learning how to share.

Gavin and Jack have also developed the same habit of lining up their toys (cars in Jack’s case, trains in Gavin’s case) neatly and don’t like it when anyone tries to move their vehicles out of order.  They both appear to have a need to orderliness and I’m not sure if it is a characteristic inherent in both toddlers or if it is just a phase most toddlers go through.

Another developmental stage that Gavin shares with Jack is one where Daddy isn’t allow to put his hand on Mummy’s shoulder whenever Mummy is carrying baby.  Whenever Daddy tries to put his hand on Mummy’s shoulder, baby will start slapping Daddy’s hand as if to say, “Mummy’s all mine!”

Has anyone else noticed their infants and toddlers doing the same?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Whenever we meet up with friends and relatives, a common question that crops up is whether Gavin has started talking yet.  I keep getting asked what his first word is, but to be honest, I really don’t know.  I mean, he says stuff like “Mama”, “Dada” and “Ah Ma” but it’s hard to identify whether he makes any associations when uttering such sounds.  It could just be coincidental babbling, since “mamama” and “dadada” sounds are pretty common in infant babbling.

Recently, I got a definitive sound from Gavin.  It happened when I went to see the orthopedic about my sore ankle.  While waiting for my appointment, Gavin was rather taken by the large aquarium in the waiting room.  He kept pointing to it, making the sign for fish and wanting me to take him closer to it.  Then I realised that he was also making a sound when he signed fish.  It sounded like “ish”.  Gavin was trying to copy what my SIL and I were saying!

Actually, the hubby noticed that Gavin started saying the word for fish in Hokkien about a week before.  Since the word for fish in Hokkien is “hu”, I didn’t really think much of it because it was very possibly an incidental sound.  Now I am beginning to think that Gavin really meant to say fish in Hokkien since “ish” was very clearly a learned sound and not just incidental babbling.

Gavin is also showing signs of being a multi-lingual child because he also understands when my FIL speaks to him in Hokkien and when the maid speaks to him in Malay.  He learned “kok tau xia xia lat” (Hokkien for “bump head gently” - my FIL and Gavin’s special way of greeting each other) quite early on.  The other day, I noticed that he responded to the request to “buang sampa” (Malay for “throw rubbish”).

Other words that Gavin has distinctly uttered that I have noticed:

• juice (pronounced “joose”) accompanied by the sign for “juice” which he learned from Baby Signing Time
• nen nen (Chinese for “milk”) accompanied by the sign for “milk”
• chick (pronounced “chi chi”) accompanied by the sign for “bird” whenever he sees the baby chicks my MIL brought home from the factory

Occasionally, when we say things, he also copies the sounds of the words.  It’s almost like having a little echo, although the pronounciation isn’t quite right.

Gavin is also starting to make more signs, some created by himself:

• “juice”
• “bird”
• “wash hands”
• a chopping action accompanied by the sound “shh shh” which means he wants to go to the kitchen to watch Ah Mah stir fry dinner
• he “dances” by moving from side to side which means he wants to listen to music

Looks like the Baby Signing Time DVDs are paying off because the words he uses with distinct meaning and a definite understanding are all ones he learned to sign first.

When I first told my aunt who was visiting town that Gavin was signing, she mistakenly pointed out that teaching Gavin sign language would delay his speech development.  Actually, that isn’t true.  Studies have found the converse is true - that children who learned to sign, on average, learn to speak earlier.  So learning sign language does not delay the development of speech, instead it helps the child’s progression towards speech.

Popularity: 9% [?]

In an effort to create a more calming environment before bedtime, I have begun playing music again and dancing with Gavin in my arms until he starts to feel sleepy.  Evidently, he enjoys the routine because Gavin has started signing in relation to our “music time”.  Whenever a song ends, he will sign “finished” and then he signs “more” and then he starts to “dance” (his idea of dancing is to sway from side to side).

As Gavin grows from a baby into a little person, he becomes increasingly adorable and just when I think he couldn’t possibly get any cuter, he does.  Okay, okay, Mum’s bias is coming out now, but tell me you could resist a child that kisses you “good morning” even if it is 4am?  Aside from that, he laughs with abandon, he dances to music he likes, he tries to copy the things we do, he walks around the house like a little “tau ke” (translation: boss) making sure everyone is hard at work…  I love all his little traits that make him uniquely Gavin.

And I’m not the only one who thinks he’s gorgeous. Gavin also has his own fan club…  Here are a couple of the waitresses at Ichiban Boshi, Pavillion fawning over him:

Every time we visit a restaurant that we normally frequent, the waiters and waitresses all remember Gavin.  And just to make sure they don’t forget him, Gavin blows flying kisses at them as his signature farewell.  Sometimes we joke that he should be a politician.

When I was in Uni, my anatomy lecturer explained that cuteness was related to the proportions of the cranium to face ratio of the skull.  Born with big craniums and undeveloped faces, babies are naturally cute as protective mechanism to make sure their parents fall so madly in love with their babies that they can’t help but take care of them.  Unfortunately, as they grow bigger and less cute, they also develop annoying habits, throw very uncute tantrums and they will test the limits of your patience like no other.  Those are the times when you will need to remember them the way they were when they were adorable just so you can get through the day.

So here are 10 Adorable Things I Want to Remember About Gavin for those trying times ahead:

1. The way he comes up to me and kisses me when he wants to get my attention.

2. The way he always looks for me after I’ve been away for a while because he misses me.

3. The way he puts his arm across my tummy when he sleeps.

4. The way he runs to the TV and starts swaying to the music.

5. The curious way he cocks his head when he’s trying to see what someone is doing.

6. The excitement that lights up his face when he sees a dog or some fish.

7. How happy he is when I tell him I’m going to give him milk.

8. The way he looks for the chocolate container and points to it because he wants some.

9. The way he laughs when he plays with Daddy.

10. The way he looks at me like I am the most amazing person in his whole world.

Popularity: 9% [?]

A couple of days ago, I was ironing the clothes and Gavin came looking for me.  With his usual manner, he charged into the room only to slip on the slightly wet floor surface due to the spritzer I was using to dampen the clothes (I didn’t realise the water spray could travel so far…).  He landed on his back and hit his head on the floor and howled ’til the cows came home. 

Today, he went peeking into the laundry room again and I observed a most interesting sight.  He walked into the room, stopped right before the spot where he slipped, knelt onto the floor and touched the floor surface before getting up and walking on.  If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was checking to see if the floor was wet!

Yes, I was beaming with pride to see that my little man had learned a lesson on cause and effect.

When Gavin was younger, I always wanted to protect him from bumps and falls.  Now I realise that certain bumps and falls are actually good for him because they teach him to be careful.  He certainly learns a lot more quickly than he would if I had told him to be careful. 

You’ve heard the phrase, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?  Well, in this case, “what doesn’t kill you makes you wiser”. 

Popularity: 7% [?]

Just when I was writing that Gavin wasn’t making much progress with his Signing Time DVDs, I discover that he’s actually been copying the signs, except that I couldn’t recognise them.  I’ve been playing his Signing Time DVDs whenever Barney and Friends is on TV, or whenever one of the programs he doesn’t like watching comes on.

Recently, I joined him after I’d done the laundry and I noticed he was signing car, train, bike, wash hands, hat, and ball when they came up on the TV - or at least he was trying to.  Some of the signs were a pretty good effort, while others were modified versions.  For instance, when he signs ball, it look a little like he’s signing “more”.  Although he doesn’t sign to tell me what he wants, the fact that he’s copying quite a number of the signs shows that he’s making great progress.  My MIL also noticed that he’s been signing Mum (albeit a modified version of it).

Gavin’s also started babbling a lot more lately, occasionally making sounds that almost sound like real words.  Whether it is just coincidental or that he’s made a good attempt to copy what we say, it’s hard to tell at this stage.  Like, earlier today, he said something that sounded rather like, “Ah Kong” after Ah Kong asked him to say the words.

On the level of understanding, I’ve realised that he’s picked up a lot of words already.  He knows shoes, ball, fish, dog, bird, nose, Ah Mah, Daddy, Ah Kong, Mummy, fan, light and book.  These are the ones I’ve tested and he’s successfully pointed at the right object when I ask him where they are.  I’m not even sure what other words he knows.

He also understands certain sentences, for instance, when we ask him to throw some rubbish, he’ll take the item to the bin and dump it.  He’s becoming quite the handy helper at home, in fact.  Sometimes, he’s almost too helpful, because he tries to throw away things that we still need.

There were occasions when I told him he couldn’t go outside because he didn’t have his shoes on and he went to get his shoes so I could help him put them on.  It’s amazing how he’s managed to pick up these words because I was never even consciously aware of teaching him anything. 

I suppose so long as babies are receiving adequate attention and a stimulating environment, they will inevitably learn new things without you actively trying to teach them.  I guess it puts all these early childhood programs into perspective and suggests that such programs aren’t really quite as necessary as they would like us new parents to think they are…

I’ve decided to adopt the approach of just having fun with Gavin because I believe that so long as children are having fun, they will learn a lot more things more quickly than if you tried to force them to learn.  I’m also trying to avoid getting caught up in the “Kiasu Mummy Syndrome” that has a tendency to overwhelm new Mums.  The last thing I want to do is turn Gavin into a yardstick by which to measure his accomplishments against other babies.  So long as his developmental progress is within the normal range, I’m not fussed if he’s behind his friends.  Well, at least, I’m gonna try…

Popularity: 11% [?]

It is really amazing how quickly kids pick up new skills…  Sometimes I think we could really learn a trick or two about learning new skills from a child.

My parents recently stopped over on their way to their Japan tour.  When they first arrived, Gavin has just started cruising.  They were gone for the whole of ten days and by the time they got back, Gavin was walking like a pro (well, almost).  I can’t believe how quickly it all happened.

It was the same when he first started to learn how to crawl.  At first, all he could do was rock backwards and forwards.  Just when it seemed like he would never master the ability to crawl, he surprises us all by picking up the skill in a couple of days - or rather, that’s what it seems like to us.

Sometimes I feel really bad that my parents aren’t around to see all the new things Gavin has learned.  In their absence, so much has happened and he’s changing so quickly, you only have to blink and you’ll miss something.  The one thing I’m really grateful for are the international phone cards so at least I can call them and tell them all about his latest milestones. 

Not to mention, now that Gavin’s discovered how wonderful the telephone is, he seems to have plenty to babble to whoever’s on the other line.

Popularity: 9% [?]

When my brother was a kid, he had this terrible habit of banging his head on the floor, the wall, or any hard surface he could get near, whenever he couldn’t have what he wanted.  His head-banging was of a nature so violent that it struck fear in the hearts of my parents that he would cause some serious injury to himself.  Naturally, they always gave in to what he wanted just to pacify him and stop him from continuing his self-destructive obsession.

About a month back, I noticed with growing alarm that Gavin, too, has this tendency to destroy himself in a fit of rage.  Although he hasn’t quite gotten to the level that my brother had - I notice that he hesitates a little just before he bangs his head against the floor and that there is some measure of control to the force he applies - there is a real possibility that this could continue to develop into something worse.

After looking it up, I discovered that head-banging is a normal occurrence in about 20% of children under the age of 4.  Although it may be a sign of autism, a diagnosis of autism can be ruled out as long as your child demonstrates certain milestone achievements by 14 months (up to 18 months, beyond which, there is a possibility of autism), these being:

1. Pointing
2. Following your gaze
3. Pretend play

Head-banging can be considered as normal as thumb sucking, so long as it does not progress beyond 4 years of age. 

The desire for head-banging is linked with our kinesthetic drive - a need for movement.  Since being in utero, a baby has been bounced and jiggled, even after birth, babies find movement (such being rocked in a parent’s arms) soothing.  As such, you may even see your baby banging his head against the side of his cot as a means of releasing tension just before sleep. 

Indeed, Gavin started to do this quite early on - he’ll sit against the headboard of our bed and start rocking his body back and forth so that his head thumps against the headboard.  We’ve never minded it too much since our headboard is cushioned, but when he started to do it during a temper tantrum - he’ll get onto all fours and deliberate hit his forehead against the ground - we got a little alarmed.

Dr Greene recommends ignoring the behaviour when associated with a temper tantrum so that the child does not persist in continuing this behaviour to gain attention.  In fact, the best thing to do is pretend not to notice and definitely do not give in to what they want or the behaviour may persist (looks like my parents should have just ignored my brother’s head-banging episodes). 

Because pain mechanisms prevent them from hitting their heads too hard, and the force with which they use is insufficient to cause any neurological damage, you do not need to worry about any danger of head injury.  Besides, the part of the head that is most often struck is the side and front.  And since a toddler’s head is built to take considerable trauma (as part of nature’s way of protecting them as they learn to walk and climb), parents of little headbangers can rest a little easier.

Curiously, the silver lining in this dark cloud is that health head-banging children were found to be “measurably advanced compared to their peers. If anything, then, head banging in healthy children can be a sign of increased intelligence.”  Or perhaps we just try to convince ourselves that there is some reason why our child had to be the difficult one and why we have to endure these little eccentricities?

My cousins have often marvelled at my brother’s intelligence in spite of the “damage” they felt he must have done to his brain from all the head-banging during his childhood.  In the end they concluded that he might have been a genius if he hadn’t destroyed his brain cells during his head-banging episodes.  If my brother, my study of one, was an intelligent head-banger, maybe it isn’t just wishful thinking that Gavin might be smart, too.

Popularity: 24% [?]

When Gavin started crawling, our friends with walking toddlers told us to enjoy the fact that he wasn’t walking.  When Gavin took his first steps at the shopping mall and I no longer had to carry him, I didn’t even mind that I had to slow my walking pace so that Gavin could keep up.  Back aching from carrying him all the time, it was a much welcomed relief to be able to put him on the ground for stretches of time where he would walk by himself holding my hand.

Last night I realised why most parents wish their walking toddlers were still immobile.  It’s not so much the fact that they are walking that’s the problem.  It’s the fact that mobile toddlers have their own ideas about where they want to go.  It’s also the fact that they happen to be deaf to parents telling them to go places they don’t want to go.

Again, I wonder how much Gavin understands because he has an uncanny knack for doing what you’ve just been talking about.  When hubby and I arrived at Jusco in The Alpha Angle, we set Gavin onto the ground and he instantly reached for each of our hands and walked with us.  The hubby immediately said, “Looks like he has no confidence to walk on his own in public (because at home he would refuse to take anyone’s helping hand to walk) which is good for us.  Let’s hope it stays this way for as long as possible.”

About 5 meters later, Gavin dropped our hands and refused to let us hold his.  He then began to wander around the shopping mall according to his fancy and ignoring all our requests to follow us.  The only way we could get him to go where we wanted him to was to pick him up and carry him against his will.  Thankfully, he didn’t protest too hard.

Our quick shopping trip out ended up taking us twice as long as it would normally have to accomplish half the things we wanted to do.

Here’s some footage from tonight’s little excursion to KLCC…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfROtJykukU

And here’s Gavin helping Ah Mah with the shopping…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng1fI9ULYnU

Looks like shopping will never be the same again.

Popularity: 15% [?]

I hope this doesn’t slow down the loading of my blog too much but I really love this new wordpress plugin for embedding Youtube videos.  If I’m getting a little high on it and going overboard with the videos, I apologise.  Don’t worry, I’ll get over it soon.  I guess, I’m just a little like Gavin with a new toy…  Well, here’s another short video clip of Gavin…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiabEc9kceQ

Gavin loves praise.  Whenever he accomplishes something he thinks is worthy of applause, he’ll turn back and look at you and wait for you to clap.  For instance, ever since he realised that we clapped more and cheered louder whenever he walked unaided, he would immediately turn to look back at us the moment he had completed a stretch of walking on his own.  Another little trick he’s learned is how to pray.  Whenever he prays to my IL’s ancestors, he’ll quickly turn to look at us for his applause.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Gavin started walking on his own about a week back but it wasn’t until a yesterday that I managed to capture any video footage.  I figured his aunts and uncle who aren’t in town might like to capture this milestone achievement, so Koh, HL and HH, this one’s for you… (this is the first time I’m testing out this wordpress plugin to embed youtube videos so hopefully it works - if not, I’ll include the url and you can watch it on Youtube).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMINb4HfrxU 

Popularity: 10% [?]