Younger child bonding

It was younger child day out. A day catered to bond specially with just the younger kid, as suggested by Mummies XH and Ang. I thought it wasn't too bad of an idea since Jazz has been enjoying most great moments with us, even up to Tokyo. A challenge about having more than one child is spending good amount of time with each child, but how much is fair and square? It really depends on the age needs of each child. One thing I should agree is that we should try to spend quality time with each child separately. Although, it's ideal to have fun as a family, I thought trying a day out with just Jare might be purposeful. Just me and son, no daddy too.

I took leave on Monday to bring Jare to the zoo with the mummies and little J and Z. I must admit, I felt guilty towards Jazz when I dropped her in school. She seemed to find something unusual that morning, she asked me to send Jare to school first, before her. I had to conceal my secret, so I told her, "Didi will go to school after you." Reluctantly, she walked to her classroom, and took long time to be coaxed into class. Before I left, I peeped through the window, and she was wiping tears off her eyes. Darn! My heart broke, so tempted to bring her along to zoo. But no, it's Jare's day. 

I then drove off to zoo with Jare. Our first stop at zoo, was the water play area, which he didn't seem to enjoy. He loves the pool, but a total stranger when it comes to the water playground. I gave him time to warm up, but he was still partially dry. I showered him after 15 minutes.

 

His best moment with the water fountain

Kiddy ride for the boys

 

After water play, we had lunch together before the mummies went off. I stayed on to bond a little more with him. He napped while I strolled around the zoo, and while I was resting to watch the otters, he woke up. I brought him around to explore animals and took snacks with the jaguar. He was a curious boy. He had fun clinging onto me, dancing and clapping around. And we stayed with the jaguar till it was time to feed the giraffes. I love feeding the giraffes, they really are the tame animals of the wild. Love his expressions when he fed the giraffes.

 

Happy Boy!

He put his whole hand in!

 

I enjoyed this day out with my younger, when no daddy or elder is around to distract. But if you ask, if I would do it again, I would decline doing this purposefully again. I prefer family fun and togetherness. I have two kids!

Sometimes, I can be too focus on Jazz when it comes to play and work, because she understands my instructions better and is able to do more. With Jare, I deal more on a need basis, especially when he starts to cry. I could have overlooked in giving him more conversations and adding new words to his rather empty dictionary. I want to strike a balance with the kids, as much as I can.

That evening, Jazz knew we were out without her when Jare gave her a token from Zoo. She told me, "Mummy, next time, can you bring didi and me to zoo together, after school?" She must have thought didi went school that morning, and I brought him to zoo after his school. Then she went on, "you must always always always remember, ok?" Yes, I will, darling.