"Big School" starts

Today was the first day of the new school year, and my first day at a new nursery school. I was made to put on a brilliant white uniform, and Papa and Grandma took me to meet my new teachers Ms Stella, Ms Hong, and my classmates. It was a bit overwhelming because the class size is much bigger than before, and some classmates turned up with a whole army of anxious relatives. Papa joined me in class, but Grandma replaced him when he had to leave for work. I didn't like my uniform very much at the start, but I had dress rehearsals two days beforehand.

Thanks to Gugu's superb organisation, things have gone so smoothly the last two months: the helpers were delegated with making sure I left for "little school" at the designated hour. Papa rode with me every day. We called out all the different things I saw en route. Now I've got used to going into class alone, it won't be too much of a shock when school starts in earnest next week.

Papa has been making sure I still get to bed at the same time; Gugu Big still likes to make sure I don't oversleep in the afternoons. I'm a big boy, so stopped using my bottle for my milk; I am now made to pick up things which I have thrown; I still prefer to use my fingers when eating, so it has not yet stopped mealtimes being like feeding time at the zoo ;-)

I am now 32 pounds in weight, 94cm tall. I now enjoy constructing ever more complex sentences. I surprised the grownups one day when I said "Someday, Booboo go work with Gugu Big and Papa"

Summer holidays

Luckily its been dry the last two Sundays in a row - Papa and Gugu took me to the country club to see horses. Last week, I was fascinated to see one taking a shower. I nearly touched one, but got scared when I got up close :-( This week, we watched people riding them and jumping over gates. It has been so hot to be outside that droplets rain off my face :-0

Although most children have started summer holidays, I now go to school 4 days a week instead of 3; Wednesday is my new day off. I love school : One very wet day in June, I was very upset when I arrived at school to find that classes have been cancelled due to the rainstorm warning. Since Mrs Griffin left, my class has been taken over by Miss Rachel, who I know from last year. I go to class alone for two of the four days. My classes start two hours earlier than before, so I now commute in the morning rush hour. Gugu took me in on the first two days to make sure I started off smoothly.

Winking has become my latest party trick; Every day, I speak some new words. The adults sometimes still wonder where I learned the words. Grandma says my pronunciation is improving by leaps and bounds; Papa was impressed with my first five-syllable word - "organisation".

Although I don't sit in my high-chair for meals any more, Gugu realised it was a stretch for me to sit on the big chair, and much food ended on the floor. To make it easier, the Gugus went and bought me a booster seat. The adults are resigned to the fact that I still get mucky paws and food still ends up on the floor.

Goodbye Mrs. Griffin

It's still rainy season. I go to the outdoors playground at the Jockey Club if its dry, and playroom if it's rainy. I like the ball pit in the playroom, where I am surrounded by spheres and can collapse face up and face down without fear of hurting myself. I can say "ball pit", but it sounds a bit like "puppet" right now. Papa is so pleased with further progress this week: he says I can now speak in grammatically correct phrases. I started collecting things recently, and I ask grown-ups to help me capture horses, pylons and "crankies" with this new-found linguistic skill.

Mrs Griffin teaches us songs in school. I often like to hum 'She'll be coming round the mountain, and can now sing 'Twinkle Twinkle'. Mrs Griffin is leaving for home [Ireland] in a few days, so Big and I baked cookies for her leaving party tomorrow; Papa got some photos of me, and we made a card for her. Neither Mrs Griffin nor the folks at home like me throwing things. In order to get me out of unwanted habits, Gugu started putting me in the "Naughty Chair". I have had to go to it several times this week :-( She got the idea of from 'Supernanny'.

I am allowed to sit in a big chair most mealtimes and feed myself. I make a mess: Papa says it's normal; Grandma cringes. Since I read 'Maisy Goes Camping', my sleeping bag has become a prop these days. I no longer wear it at night. If I get put to bed in one, it's usually off before I fall asleep.

Papa is speaking more to me in Mandarin. Also my ability to express myself in both English and Cantonese is also improving, and my verbal comprehension is progressing well in all 3 languages. I have no difficulty in pronouncing new words taught to me every day. I already know all my fruits, for example, mango, papaya, pomelo, strawberries, avocado, pomme, and joining these with words like 'more', 'another', 'get', 'only', 'help', 'milk', 'cheese', I can give precise instructions at tea and meal times. Grandma introduced me to clear beef and vegetable broth - it was an instant hit!

Yesterday was Grandma's birthday. I gave her a card and a present, and wished her "Happy Birthday" out loud. I wished her "Happy Birthday" again and again throughout the day. Grandma was chuffed to bits.

Swimming outdoors

Papa took me swimming today. There was a little girl at the Jockey Club with her grandparents, and she was keen to play with me, but I was too shy. Papa thought it was warm enough to swim in the outdoor pool. Although eager to get there, I took my time to get into the water. When I did, I clung onto to Papa, so he swam around with a koala bear around his neck. I was just beginning to enjoy myself when Papa decided it was time to get out: Gugu had organised a playdate with twins Mason and Austin.