Taisei Buffet

No diapers!

...for a few hours, anyway.

Potty contemplation: For the first time, Taisei went without diapers. This is somewhat of a milestone and the fruition of one of my most feared days - potty training... which equals poop and pee everywhere! Taisei wore what they call training pants imported from Japan - underwear that have lining for easier cleaning and slightly less leakage. On his first day this past Tuesday, on a whim he decided he wanted to wear them. So that was it, no more diapers for several hours. In a matter of hours, he burned through all 4 pairs. But it was obvious that it helped him become aware of the mess he was making. He also pointed it out each time... albeit a little too late. Then, when we did make it to the toilet on time, he wouldn't go. Oh well. It's a start. :)

I've noticed that from this early of an age, people start to form opinions and categorize even the little people. And the funny thing is that Taisei has different reputations with different people.
At Chinese nursery: Taisei is a little aggressive and more likely to fight with the one other boy than are all the other girls. But he is almost always nice to the girls. He's a big cry-baby if his mom and dad aren't around. He's in his own world most of the time, but he's good when there's singing and dancing. Personally, I don't think the nursery crowd has a good idea of who Taisei really is because he's simply not himself in there.
At Japanese playgroup: Taisei is considered athletic and always thinking. He doesn't speak much, but is always observing. One time he quietly grabbed a chair when the pinata seemed too far out of reach for everyone swinging their bats. He tends to do his own thing but always loves going outside (which he's unfortunately just learned to do on his own at home). He's most happy when he's playing with older kids and especially his buddies, Rachel and Shun. This is definitely more of the Taisei I know. It seems that he's more comfortable in his Japanese playgroup environment than Chinese nursery for some reason or another.



The latest:
About two or three months ago, we noticed that he started to play by himself. Hallelujah! It was nice not to have to be by his side all the time. It was also quite fascinating to see his imagination at work. Often when he's quiet though, he's up to no good. He's taken apart a lot of things, from a clock to several of his toys - it seems like anything that has moving parts. He also likes to draw on everything. Ugh. At least he hasn't gone for the walls yet.

Within the last month or so, he seems to have started using sound effects in his play. He grunts, roars and zooms with his dinosaurs, cars and planes. It's cute. He also started coloring very violently. He used to just draw a line here or there and then call it good. Now, it's hard and heavy coloring that cannot be missed.

posted by Jerin at 1:04 PM