Yesterday was the long awaited school concert. The theme was journey through the ages. We had pseudo box seats in the upper gallery. The view of the entire stage was good but the seats were positioned such that we had to crane our necks to get a good view.
Nonetheless, we waited with anticipation and fear for Keane's item - Cavemen Dance. While we waited we had fears that he would throw a tantrum and be pulled out of the dance at the last minute. What if he cried halfway through the dance? What if he ran off the stage in the middle?
After the initial speeches, graduation of K2 students and introduction events, the concert finally began. After the snowball dance by some of Xavier's classmates, it was time for the Cavemen Dance. While the group was getting ready backstage, we could hear Keane shouting. Oh no....was it beginning already?
The curtains parted and there we saw our baby dressed like a caveman holding onto a club. He looked so adorable with his spiky hair. He looked around and then yelled "Hello!" and waved to the audience. The audience fell in love with all the little cavemen and cave women. The music started and they started their routine. Each time just before they had to changed what they were doing, Keane would shout "Stop" and then move on to the next step. It was amazing that he could remember all the steps on cue. He kept looking around and then saw us and shouted "Daddy! Mummy!" He wanted to walk towards us but I signalled for him to continue with his dance. To my amazement, he did. It was totally unexpected behaviour. He went through the entire dance and did everything correctly. He was right on cue. We were very proud. Of course, he still had to show his individualism at the end of the dance. Instead of running off to the side like the rest of his friends, he chose to explore. Tried to come towards us. After we told him to go back again, he decided to check out the microphone to the laughter of the audience. All in all, it was an excellent performance by Keane and he made us very proud.
After several other dances, we finally came to Xavier's Spice Kids dance. He looked very cool with his red Levi's t-shirt, woolly cap, 501 jeans and black suede shoes. Xavier did very well too, as expected. He never had any issues with performing over the past 3 years and he didn't this time either. In fact, he also did an excellent job. Remembered all the steps on cue and executed them well. He also had a good time, smiling as he was dancing. Xavier was cool personified.
During the finale, Keane threw a tantrum as he wanted to come down the stage to his dad. He was pulled away from the stage and pacified to wait for his turn. As he came back on stage with his classmates, he was crying. In fact, he was grumbling more than crying. He still doesn't express his needs verbally and chooses to grumble or cry whenever he is upset. When he was handed over to us, he was still grumbling a little. He calmed down when we started taking his photos.
After a quick snack at the tea buffet, and ordering concert rehearsal photos, we left to bring both of them for a treat. It was a reward for an excellent job by both of them. We went for japanese food - Xavier's favourtie and ordered Keane's must-have chocolate ice-cream. Both of them had a fantastic time.
I realized that Keane thrived on praises, like all kids. Even though he doesn't express himself often, it is evident that he absorbs everything that goes on around him. He never fails to surprise us with one or two unexpected observations, which are becoming less rare nowadays. This is something I am grateful for. He is making headway, albeit minute and slow progress. I told myself that I will spend more time with him and lavish him with praises more often. I hope this will help him make more progress towards his speech development.
I had a super long weekend - I took the afternoon off on Thursday as I was unwell, it was a public holiday on Friday. I didn't work at all from Thursday afternoon. I'm going to download my emails and go through the routine pc check by the company. Better to do it on Sunday than Monday in the office. The remaining month of 2009 will be a hectic one and I can't wait for it all to come to an end. 2010 promises to be exciting and one without resolutions. I've learnt that my resolutions never sustain themselves due to my lack of effort. I realize that I live for the moment and I am not good at planning ahead with my personal life. Workwise, of course I plan and make headway almost to plan. Don't ask me why the difference.......more analysis next week.
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