Heartstrings Walk & Jürgen's Birthday

On Saturday 18/8, Dylan, me, my mom, second brother & our helper Melba + Jürgen with his colleagues from the office went for the Heartstrings charity walk. During the mass workout (which many people did not join, just hanging by the fringes where they can't hear a thing from the main stage) at the floating platform, initially Mel was carrying Dylan, but I decided to let him loose, just holding his hand /shoulder occasionally. As it turns out, he was quite interested to sway to the upbeat music (his favourite "dance" style) and was quite glad to let me guide him to follow the instructor's moves sometimes. He was also keenly watching other people around us, enjoying the moment, and did not attempt to run off at all.

Anyway, as the walk was really slow (since we're with the VWOs to walk just 1 km), we decided to veer to the 6km route and interestingly, Dylan actually managed to walk all the way till about half-way on the return journey where he really got tired & wanted to be carried. We took turns to carry him & he was comfortable with uncle & later even a volunteer (a JC girl) who was keen to carry him.

It poured at the end of our walk, close to 11am, so Dylan had no chance to enjoy the bouncy castle / bungy bounce, & we got stuck in a shelter with the NTU volunteers where we get to learn about their various meaningful projects (spending time with older kids from MINDS, publishing a cookbook with input from the elderly etc.). Thankfully, Dylan was quite relaxed & easy to manage (with snacks). Even though he was keen to touch the rain with his hands, which I gladly let him for a while, he did not object too much when I decided it was enough & moved him way in. As the organisers were worried of lightning risk, we all had to leave for better shelter & Dylan again was agreeable to hang out at a golf buggy with Mel while I came back with food from the stalls.

He had his 2 hr nap, not immediately after we got home by bus, and was full of energy when he woke at 4.30pm & participated in the activities Gen had framed for us.

After dinner, I brought him for an hour's walk & stair-climbing and found he was quite willing to participate. During his break at the playground, he got overexcited trying to run away from me & fell off some stairs (3 steps). Got me worried but he was OK. Tried the horizontal bar pull ups with Dylan but mostly I was doing the work - but he didn't try to run off too soon & did seem to figure what he's supposed to do.

JüRGEN'S BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY 19 AUGUST
Relaxing day for us! Dylan slept late & woke early (12midnite to 7am) & was very active. After church, he was quite cooperative as he waited with Mel while I collected Jürgen's birthday presents - all sinful & nice stuff.

He had a 3 hour nap where we got to really relax & for me to recover from the previous day's fatigue (I felt a bit sick due to extended period in wet shoes & trousers) & for Jürgen, the tiredness of the Bangkok trip + endless demands at the office, including visitors. As I try to let Mel off every Sunday to rejuvenate, the quality of rest we get on Sundays depends critically on the length & quality of Dylan's nap. Anyway, it's really great that even though Dylan woke several times (once after he poo-pooed in his pull-up diaper which was left on after we returned home & had to be washed), he was OK to let me hold him & lie down with him as he goes back to sleep. This is a great improvement as compared to a period when he would fuss & cry & refuse to let me comfort him when he sees that aunty Mel wasn't at home. I feel the RDI is really bonding us more. In various circumstances (eg in AAS or even outside), when someone else is teaching/caring for him, he would occasionally throw me a glance. It's very nice.

At night, we took a cab & went for dinner at Siloso beach, Sentosa. Settled at Sakae Sushi. While waiting for food, I relented & walked with Dylan barefoot on the beach towards the water. Although he did splash water with his feet & made me somewhat wet, he did not try too hard to charge into the water or insist on plonking himself down despite my objections which was typical in the past. Now he's actually able to resist the temptation and keep within mom's limit. He cooperated (though not immediately) when I told him we should go back to the restaurant and we will come back. During dinner, he made various escape attempts (but were thwarted by mom), finished his food then we went for a stroll right to the edge of the water where he got his feet wet again. We let him wash his feet at the nearby waterfountain & walked all the way to the end of siloso beach (Rasa Sentosa) & took a cab home. Nice evening!