Sammy's 2nd birthday

Dear Sammy

You have turned 2 already! :) Mummy missed writing to you over the past 2 months.

We're so proud of the person you've become. You have adjusted to the role of older brother really well. You call Gabriel "baby" and whenever Gabriel cries, you will automatically tell Mummy "Oh baby!"

You're so tender and affectionate with him. You frequently caress his head / hair and one can see that you're so proud of your baby brother especially when the other kids play with him at playgroup.

You would copy what Mummy does with baby. When baby cries, Mummy would lift him up and pat him gently on his back. Seeing that you're unable to carry baby, you would proceed to pat him on his chest in order to calm him down.

When Mummy tells you to turn on the musical mobile so that baby continues to be occupied by the moving animals, you would quickly do so. You would also readily get the Boppy pillow whenever Mummy asks you to. What a very eager Mummy helper you are! 

Speech-wise, you've started talking more over the past few weeks. Best word so far? You started calling me "Mama!" You can imagine how that made my day cos finally I'm no longer "Papa" but "Mama" to you. :)

Words that you're able to say now - Mama, car, shoes, nana (for banana), baby, Opa, Oma, Papa, up, Tschüss (bye in German), runter (under in German), haben ("to have" in German).

You continue to understand almost everything we say in both German and English. Your PD mentioned during your 2-year check-up that you're very advanced in your motor skills even though you're slower in your speech development because you're growing up as a bilingual. 

You're so gung ho (daring in Singlish). The good thing about that is that you're willing to try out everything without much persuasion needed. BUT this has also resulted in quite a number of falls and bruises. You had a very bad fall down a slide a few months ago which resulted in you having a phobia of slides.

But lately, you seem to have overcome your phobia and have started going down slides with gusto. You would even go down the water slide face first! Swimming continues to be your favourite pastime.

We celebrated your 2nd birthday to the "CARS" theme on a very sunny Thursday. You enjoyed unwrapping your presents and have been playing with the very thoughtful gifts that you received. This time though, we only allowed you to open 1-2 presents each day so that you could continue having little surprises over the week instead of opening all your presents at the same time.

Mummy ordered the birthday decorations online and printed out your photos over the past year. Friends contributed to the buffet table, so Mummy only had to bake your birthday cake and some finger food. It was a very easy and relaxed event and Mummy is so happy that we managed to have a proper birthday celebration for you, considering that Gabriel was only 2 months old at that time.

It's been such an amazing 2 years with you dear boy. You'll always be our baby, even when we have a smaller baby at home. May the Lord continue to guide you as you enter into toddlerhood. May He give you a gentle and kind spirit and may you learn to love the Lord as you grow up in His ways. We love you with all our hearts and we continue to thank the Lord for blessing us with such a beautiful kiddo.

Love
Mummy

The snacks / cakes table decorated with a CARS table cloth

The birthday boy chilling on the balcony

The party scene with kids and parents galore

Happy birthday to you my sweet not-so-baby boy!

You were so shy when we sang your birthday song!

Your CARS birthday cake

 

Your birthday present from us. You have yet to learn how to ride the bike properly

A rare shot of Mummy sitting down

Your baby brother joining in the celebrations

Riding on your bobby car - your 1st birthday present

Giving Josh a little take-home present

Candy giveaways

I wonder what's inside!

Tearing apart the wrapping

More German books

Lego!