Skill and Character Development Update

Over the past weeks, I’ve observed that Declan had acquired some new skills and behaviors.

1) Kick Kick

When someone hold him in a sitting position with his back facing the person and his bum resting on the person’s arm and you say :” Kick kick” , you’ll see this little boy happily swing his legs with all his might.

2) Jump Jump or Dance Dance

Let him stand on a surface (with our support of course) and say “dance dance” or “jump jump”, he’ll move his body and attempt to jump. Of course he can’t really jump; his action will resemble squatting and then stand upright more than jumping.

3) Lantern, flower and “pip blok pip blok”

Bring him under the doorway leading to our bedroom where 2 tiny red lanterns are hanging and ask him :”baby lantern, where is lantern?” and he’ll raise his head to look at the lanterns with a smile. I’m really not sure what is so amusing about this, but he’s always smiling when we ask him to identify the lanterns.

Bring him near the alter and ask him :” baby, flower, where is flower?” and he’ll look at the flowers at the alter. Though sometimes he’ll miscue and look somewhere else.

Just tell him “pip blok pip blok” (resembling the sound of fire crackers) and he’ll look at the fake fire crackers (aftermath of CNY) hanging from the ceiling.

4) Learning the meaning of ownership

When he’s younger, you can take anything from him and he’ll be ok. Now, if you take whatever he is playing (especially if it’s a new toy which he first lay his hands on) away, he’ll cry and wants you to give it back to him.

We first observe this behavior during CNY, when he was given his first ang baos. He started chewing on the ang baos, so I took it away from him and he kept crying and crying until someone else gave him another one...and BINGO no more cry…..

5) “Diminishing” Stranger Anxiety

Previously, he’ll wail whenever a stranger or a seldom met relative tried to carry or talk to him.

Nowadays, things have improved. This vain pot even allows a complete stranger to carry him while we were traveling in the train. He can even play peek a boo with a fellow train commuter. What a flirt!!!

My mum is no longer a “stranger” to him. He no longer fears her and she can now carry him around with ease and peace.

6) Weird drinking habit
This boy refuses to drink water from the bottle. He prefers his water to be fed through spoon….

7) Tell tale signs of crawling

This boy started off like a little missile. He’ll “borrow footage” from whatever his feet land on and push with all his might and launch himself forward suddenly. He’s able to leap quite a distance in such a way. This lasted for awhile and now, he’s able to do leopard crawl. Dangle an object a distance from him and you’ll see him half crawl half drag himself on his tummy to reach the object.

I guess in a few weeks time, he’ll be able to lift his tummy up and crawl properly.


But this lazy boy ahhh still can’t sit very stably. He prefers to slump against his chair and to lie on his tummy then to sit upright.