Gymboree

It has been almost a year since Elyssa started her Gymboree classes (not every weekend, but on and off). I remember during her first trial class in May last year, she stuck to me like a koala bear. These days, I'm glad the Gymboree classes are something she looks forward to and enjoys :)

I've just signed her up for a 1 year package. Besides the "play" classes she has been going to, this package includes music and art classes too. Ha hah.... I'm not sure how much music and art someone her age can do, so let's see how that goes.

Anyway, here are some pics taken during her "play" class this morning :

Picture Time

Bubble Time

Going through Tunnel

Keeping Balls

Going through another Tunnel

Following teacher's action

Hello, Elyssa!

Smiling Photos

These days, it's difficult to get happy photos of Elyssa cos the moment she see's my camera, she runs towards me and says "Elyssa see, Elyssa see". So I was pretty pleased with these set of photos taken during dinner at Tony Romas last weekend -

"This bread is yummy"

"Hello, camera!"

"Plain water tastes good here too"

"Ok, since mummy likes me to smile for the camera, I smile a little bit here......."

My favourite photo! -

"And here's a BIGGGGG smile to make mummy happy!"

1 Year, 11 Months Old

- belated post. One week late! -

About Elyssa:

1. Weight : approx 10.8 kg

2. She still surprises me daily with new words - like today, she said "So Windy" and "Thunder! Too Loud". This morning, as she climbed up the car, she said "Elyssa... so clever!! " Ha hahhhh...... must tell her that self praise is no praise.

3. She still mixes up her colours. When I asked her the colour of the black t-shirt I was wearing, she happily said "Pink Colour". She gets her blue, green and red mixed up too. For this, I think hubby is to be blamed - for teaching her the 6 colours of her ball all at the same time! Must teach her one or two colours at a time mah......

4. She is a creature of habit and thrives on routine. She has her fixed daily routine at my parent's place which works well for her. Will write about that soon. On weekends, we sometimes end up with a cranky girl cos her sleep/play/eat routine gets mixed up.

5. She has a mind of her own and once she decides on something, it's really hard to change her mind. Stubborn as a mule! And very fierce when she doesn't get her way.

6. She is as greedy as ever. It's very easy to convince her to do or say something if the reward for her is food! Hubby takes advantage of this by making her say/do three things nightly before handing over her milk bottle : 1) "Thank You Daddy" 2) "Love Daddy" 3) A kiss on the lips. :)

7. It still takes an average time of 45 minutes (on bad days - 1 hour+) to make her sleep each night. Sometimes I pat her until my whole arm gets sore. And only mummy can accompany her to sleep so I can't "delegate" to hubby. :)

8. Her current favourite songs : "Burung Kakak Tua" (she loves the "Letrum, Letrum, Letrum Oo La Laa" part) and the "Bangun Pagi, Gosok Gigi" song.
Both taught by Justin koko who learnt from his kindy. She can sing almost the whole of both songs but only when she feels like it. This girl doesn't entertain song requests!

Jealous !!

Saw the green-eyed monster in Elyssa last week. During a family event last weekend, I carried my niece (who's 2 months younger than Elyssa) on my lap. Immediately, Elyssa came running to me and cried. I carried her on my lap as well, while telling her that mummy carry "mei mei" little while.

Didn't work cos she cried even louder and.............shocked us all by pushing away her little cousin. Naughty! Naughty! She told me: "Mah Mi carry Elyssa only. Carry mei mei no want" then proceeded to wail loudly.

After that incident, hubby and I did some "testing". I don't know whether the jealousy thing just started or we became more aware of it, but she failed the tests :(
Eg : When hubby came to hug me on my side of the bed - she said "No want. Dah Di oi oi there"(while pointing to the other side of the bed). When hubby kissed me lightly on the lips, she came to kiss me on the lips as well. (super kiasu!)

*Sigh*, she thinks that mummy belongs to her !!! Even daddy can't "steal" away mummy from her.....

So for the past few days, I have been trying to brainwash her. I tell her : Mummy carry mei-mei, but mummy still love Elyssa very much. Mummy hug Daddy, but mummy still love Elyssa very much. Then I ask : So, can Mummy carry mei-mei? Initially, the response was always "Mah Mi carry Elyssa" but lately, she sometimes says "Yes", tho a bit reluctantly.

Let's just hope my approach works !!!

Supposed to Sit !

Elyssa, Elyssa........ you're supposed to SIT in the trolley/stroller, not PUSH them...




Looks so uncomfortable for her eh?? With the shopping trolley (pic 1), she had to really stretch out her hands all the way. With the stroller (pic 2), she can't even see anything in front!

But each time, she will say "Elyssa Push". And every time we try to guide the shopping trolley/stroller, she will push our hands away so that she can push it on her own.

*Sigh*, sometimes this "independent" phase just goes too far!

Tomorrow...

How to explain the concept of "tomorrow" to someone who is not yet 2 years old?

The whole of today, Elyssa has been asking to go for her Gymboree class. I kept telling her that she has to wait until tomorrow. She accepted my answers but then will ask again after another hour or so.

So this evening, I tried a simple explanation. Something along the lines of : "Your class is tomorrow. Tonight, after you drink your milk and then you sleep, and then when you wake up in the morning, it will be tomorrow and then you can go for your Gymboree"

The outcome??? What she immediately did was to climb on her bed, loudly declaring "Eh-lee-sa sleep now", then closed her eyes for 2 seconds, then happily announced "Wake up already. Go Gymboree", with a big grin on her face.

oKAYYYYY......... I definitely need to improve my explanation skills !!!