Dear Xander, Your relationship with your cousin Andre is at best a tumultuous one. There are days when the both of you will laugh and play like best friends, and then things can suddenly turn ugly, when Andre refuses to play with you or share his toys, or you decide to do the same. Andre is about a year older than you, and communicates in spoken English at a level we feel is well beyond his age. He lives mainly with Grandma, which is also where you and Andre get to interact on a weekly basis. One thing that Andre hasn’t quite got the hang of is playing well with…

Dear Xander, The recent spate of heavy lightning storms – in particular, the sound of thunder – had you spooked. Uncle Mark’s sister, Felicia, tried to explain to you that thunder occurs because “the clouds in the sky are having a traffic jam”, and the rain banging into each other makes a fair bit of noise. I added that the motor insurance agents also add to the noise as a result. We understand that at your age, your sense of hearing may be a lot more sensitive than us old fogies, and the low rumblings of nature clearing its bladder may be playing on your sense of securities. Nonetheless, it…

You realised what was happening, and went up to hug her. You started crying as well, and in between breaths, you said to your mother, "Mummy, don't cry." confused and not knowing what else to say, your mother replied, "But you're not writing your words."

Dear Xander, Based on feedback garnered from the readers of this blog (in other words, your mother), I shall keep my letters to you shorter and sharper. Your mother also has some opinion of your character development. Besides some of the other characteristics and behaviour you exhibit that take after me, she has noticed in recent months that both you and your father (me) seem to get into trouble with your mother at around the same time; she finds herself scolding you about something, and then scolding ME about 2 or 3 minutes later, for an unconnected yet related incident. For example: Your mother (to you): “XANDER TAY! Why did…

... part of the reason why you have this blog is so we can document some of these things for remembrance. It's quite amazing what a 3-year-old can say and do, and many times your mum and I are left wondering where you learnt all of it from.