I was just rummaging through my phone clearing space when I chanced upon a 2016 Resolutions list I casually made for the family on one of those long bus rides to work.
Quite an apt timing to rediscover this forgotten list, given that we are fast approaching the end of Q1.
Let’s see the list in its unabridged entirety and how we are faring on these Resolutions.
1. Summer to be 100% diaper-free.
The last time we tried in 2015, she woke up in the middle of the night half-drenched in pee. Having slept beside her, we were not spared either. This task requires extreme confidence and bravery to be attempted again.
[Q1 Review: Of all these Resolutions, this was the one I had the least faith in, due to a very wet bad experience earlier. Shockingly, we have achieved this, I think in some time in early March. Woohoo!]
The look of triumph (not the lingerie brand)
2. Not to watch any cartoon more than 3 times.
Didn’t really keep count in 2015 but I know for sure Beauty and the Beast must have been at least 10 times. I remember once when it was watched twice in a single day. There are times when she calls me Crazy Old Maurice already… you are magnanimously forgiven if you don’t know who that is.
[Q1 Review: This looks to be heading towards failure already. Pretty sure Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid have already gone on 2 runs… with three quarters of the year to go.]
3. Summer to be 100% self-fed.
Mealtimes always seem like watching a Manchester United match – full of promise at the start when Summer feeds herself, but falters after 10 minutes when she requests to be fed instead, where it turns painful until the end with her nibbles. I wonder what happened to that gusto she has whenever she is offered chocolates and sweets.
[Q1 Review: Still no change, it pretty much boils down to laziness for Summer. Seems like only her Grandma’s ferocity can make her finish her meal by herself, albeit in reluctance.]
This is what false hopes look like
4. Zavier to know his alphabets.
Just like all the other kiasu parents out there who wish the same for their 1 year old kids.
[Q1 Review: Seriously? Why did I even make such lofty and ambitious Resolutions?]
Looks like it's still Lego for now
5. Summer to learn how to write her alphabets.
Just like all the other kiasu parents out there who wish the same for their 4 year old kids.
[Q1 Review: Getting there, slowly but surely. A lot of credit has to go to her school though. Now to make her recognize that she needs to write her alphabets from left to right… once she proudly showed us her name written as Summer Hot instead of Summer Toh.]
6. Less princessy fits from Summer.
A few months ago my daughter actually went into a public meltdown when I made the unforgivable mistake of… wearing the wrong pair of shoes for her to school (she has about 10 pairs). Looked like a scene straight out of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
[Q1 Review: A lot of improvement here over the past few months! But it seems like now Zavier is the one starting to learn how to throw fits. Is this a family hereditary trait from Mama Toh?]
7. More family-oriented activities.
Our weekend family activities have mainly revolved around going for meals, shop for an hour wherever we are, and then home again. Whilst this can still be considered as quality family time, it has come to a point where Summer now recognizes each shopping centre we are at, which I cannot decide whether to be happy about (due to her impressive memory), or sad about (due to the fact that we only bring them shopping). Right now I am more inclined to feel the latter.
[Q1 Review: Pleasingly, especially to my wallet, shopping has been reduced greatly. Instead we have taken upon a new hobby, cooking, led by Summer who now claims to want to be a chef when she grows up.]
Well she does have Gordon Ramsay's temper
8. Summer to start doing household chores regularly.
Admittedly, I am already quite blessed with Summer already taking interest in some simple chores, such as Magi-cleaning the floor or helping to load clothes into the washing machine. Problem is, she does it only when she is in the best kind of mood, which of course occurs only occasionally. Very occasionally.
[Q1 Review: Same same no change, it’s still more of a fun thing to Summer than anything else. But hey, if she thinks housework is fun I am not going to convince her otherwise.]
9. Zavier to sleep through the night.
The bulk of work here probably lies with Mama Toh. I will strive to do my part by sleeping through the night myself so that I don’t make any noise to wake Zavier up.
[Q1 Review: Who am I kidding?]
10. A family hug every night.
Don’t laugh, no matter how cheesy this might sound. Amazingly, this daily routine (started since last week) was conceived by Summer and not her cheesy parents. Probably one of the most understated actions – it absolutely banishes any grudges/quarrels/negativity we might have built up over the day.
[Q1 Review: Well I’m ashamed to admit that this hasn’t happened, mostly because we kinda forgot about it and are always in a rush to off the lights and shush the kids to sleep. Definitely needs to be worked on again.]
Just like this!