Ryan at 2.5yo
Ryan (at 2y5mo) is every bit a little boy now.
He has really lengthened out in the past few months (90cm tall at 2y4mo) and no longer looks like a toddler anymore. When I look back at Sean's videos when he was the same age, I am surprised how much more mature and eloquent Ryan is compared to Sean!
It has been quite interesting watching Ryan's personality emerge in the past year.
He has a very intense Type-A personality. The exact opposite of Mr Easygoing Sean. He is a little bit bossy, loves structure and order and has strange quirks like refusing to get his extremeties wet or dirty (see his balled up hands above).
The Terrible Twos has really been a HUGE challenge with him - MANY things set him off - and I have a feeling we will be talking about his infamous tantrums for years to come ;)
He has never been much of a smiley baby but he has loosened up in recent months, and is a lot more outgoing and silly now. He also has this crazy loud raucous laughter, a bit like Sean's.
He hates being in the centre of attention and takes a long time to warm up. When people he is not familiar with talk to him, he will resist making eye contact and pretend they don't exist. People who meet him for the first (or second or third) time usually tell me is he is very serious and reserved. We actually went through an entire term of gym classes with him when he was about 1.5yo and he NEVER said a word the whole time even though he was well aware of what was going on around him!
He has always been very independent and is nowhere as clingy to me as Sean was at the same age. He sees himself as Sean's equal and has often proven himself to be just as fast/good as, if not better than, his elder brother.
The only time he needs Mama is at bedtime. He likes sleeping on my bed and cries when I leave the room to tend to Jo.
He can also be quite sensitive - he hates being scolded and will retreat to a quiet place pouting and fighting back tears.
In a nutshell, he reminds me very much of... ME! (Yikes)
He finally has enough patience to sit through stories and can even recite them back to us.
Currently he really enjoys flipping through books about Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers. He can count up to ten but can't read numbers or alphabets yet (because I haven't made any effort to teach him, haha).
He is fully toilet-trained in the day (finally).
He is not as agile and athletic as Sean was at the same age - maybe coz he is tubbier, haha - but he is very gung-ho and will do things that Sean won't. He is also pretty good at kicking a ball and has a decent stamina for running. Who knew?
His selling point is, he is very smart and eloquent (he uses big words like injection, 'we-member' and because) and he says the funniest things:
Tell you already! Rhinocerous is green!
Don't want to play with SOMEBODY! I will play with MYSELF!
To anyone who makes him angry:
R: You go stand in the corner!
Me to R: Hey, Aunty S is coming for dinner.
R: Oh, is The Kiki coming too? (Kiki is her dog)
Whenever we buy the boys new toys (which is very rare), I give them a long lecture about how we have to work very hard for the money and we should save or spend it on worthwhile items like food and books.
R: But Papa has a lot of money in his room! (referring to the coins container)
Me: No. We can't spend all the money on toys.
R: Oh but Papa has card!
On spotting his baby brother playing with his brand new toy:
R: JORDAN (full name)! ENOUGH!
On the road:
R: Sean, stop disturbing me! Papa, Sean is a naughty boy! Can you stop the car and put Sean in the road?
Ryan really hates bathing (and washing his hands) - it upsets the equilibrium in his life somehow. Fresh from the shower, my helper combs his hair and he screams.
R: I don't want to comb my hair! I want to be a BOY!
Sean and Ryan like to pretend that Sean is Ryan's baby. Sean likes pretending to be helpless and Ryan likes bossing people around so it's a perfect fit.
Me: Is this your baby? He's very cute!
R: Yes, this is my baby! His name is Sean.
M: Oh so are you his Mama or Papa?
R: No, I am Wyan.
After watching Sean at the Doctor for a Day session,
Me: So do you want to be a doctor when you grow up?
R: No, I want to be a fish.
Trying to wriggle out of bedtime:
R: Mama, I am not tired! I don't want to sleep! See, I din yawn! I want to go outside to play.
When we go out scooting or running,
R: Mama! Bao-bao! I am so tired. I have no strength! (cue mad panting)
His favourite refrain when he feels he has been slighted: Hmph! It's not fair!
Telling us his plans to go to Grandma's house:
R: Later when we wake up, we go Ah Po jia. Then you cannot find Wyan (full name). You can go Ah Po jia. Can! You use train, then bus, then change bus. The bus number 7-8-9-10. You must sit down in the bus. Later you fall down.
Introducing the family of crocodiles: Papa, Mama, Wyan, Baby Jordan in Mama's tummy, Gorgor
He has really lengthened out in the past few months (90cm tall at 2y4mo) and no longer looks like a toddler anymore. When I look back at Sean's videos when he was the same age, I am surprised how much more mature and eloquent Ryan is compared to Sean!
It has been quite interesting watching Ryan's personality emerge in the past year.
He has a very intense Type-A personality. The exact opposite of Mr Easygoing Sean. He is a little bit bossy, loves structure and order and has strange quirks like refusing to get his extremeties wet or dirty (see his balled up hands above).
The Terrible Twos has really been a HUGE challenge with him - MANY things set him off - and I have a feeling we will be talking about his infamous tantrums for years to come ;)
He has never been much of a smiley baby but he has loosened up in recent months, and is a lot more outgoing and silly now. He also has this crazy loud raucous laughter, a bit like Sean's.
He hates being in the centre of attention and takes a long time to warm up. When people he is not familiar with talk to him, he will resist making eye contact and pretend they don't exist. People who meet him for the first (or second or third) time usually tell me is he is very serious and reserved. We actually went through an entire term of gym classes with him when he was about 1.5yo and he NEVER said a word the whole time even though he was well aware of what was going on around him!
He has always been very independent and is nowhere as clingy to me as Sean was at the same age. He sees himself as Sean's equal and has often proven himself to be just as fast/good as, if not better than, his elder brother.
The only time he needs Mama is at bedtime. He likes sleeping on my bed and cries when I leave the room to tend to Jo.
He can also be quite sensitive - he hates being scolded and will retreat to a quiet place pouting and fighting back tears.
In a nutshell, he reminds me very much of... ME! (Yikes)
He finally has enough patience to sit through stories and can even recite them back to us.
Currently he really enjoys flipping through books about Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers. He can count up to ten but can't read numbers or alphabets yet (because I haven't made any effort to teach him, haha).
He is fully toilet-trained in the day (finally).
He is not as agile and athletic as Sean was at the same age - maybe coz he is tubbier, haha - but he is very gung-ho and will do things that Sean won't. He is also pretty good at kicking a ball and has a decent stamina for running. Who knew?
His selling point is, he is very smart and eloquent (he uses big words like injection, 'we-member' and because) and he says the funniest things:
Tell you already! Rhinocerous is green!
Click to viewDon't want to play with SOMEBODY! I will play with MYSELF!
To anyone who makes him angry:
R: You go stand in the corner!
Me to R: Hey, Aunty S is coming for dinner.
R: Oh, is The Kiki coming too? (Kiki is her dog)
Whenever we buy the boys new toys (which is very rare), I give them a long lecture about how we have to work very hard for the money and we should save or spend it on worthwhile items like food and books.
R: But Papa has a lot of money in his room! (referring to the coins container)
Me: No. We can't spend all the money on toys.
R: Oh but Papa has card!
On spotting his baby brother playing with his brand new toy:
R: JORDAN (full name)! ENOUGH!
On the road:
R: Sean, stop disturbing me! Papa, Sean is a naughty boy! Can you stop the car and put Sean in the road?
Ryan really hates bathing (and washing his hands) - it upsets the equilibrium in his life somehow. Fresh from the shower, my helper combs his hair and he screams.
R: I don't want to comb my hair! I want to be a BOY!
Sean and Ryan like to pretend that Sean is Ryan's baby. Sean likes pretending to be helpless and Ryan likes bossing people around so it's a perfect fit.
Me: Is this your baby? He's very cute!
R: Yes, this is my baby! His name is Sean.
M: Oh so are you his Mama or Papa?
R: No, I am Wyan.
After watching Sean at the Doctor for a Day session,
Me: So do you want to be a doctor when you grow up?
R: No, I want to be a fish.
Trying to wriggle out of bedtime:
R: Mama, I am not tired! I don't want to sleep! See, I din yawn! I want to go outside to play.
When we go out scooting or running,
R: Mama! Bao-bao! I am so tired. I have no strength! (cue mad panting)
His favourite refrain when he feels he has been slighted: Hmph! It's not fair!
Telling us his plans to go to Grandma's house:
R: Later when we wake up, we go Ah Po jia. Then you cannot find Wyan (full name). You can go Ah Po jia. Can! You use train, then bus, then change bus. The bus number 7-8-9-10. You must sit down in the bus. Later you fall down.
Introducing the family of crocodiles: Papa, Mama, Wyan, Baby Jordan in Mama's tummy, Gorgor