My Name is Caris, Chloe is my mei mei

Blogging Hiatus

2012-01-18T10:12:00.002+08:00

Dear readers, I've been overwhelmed with many things these few weeks, so I'm declaring a blogging hiatus at least till after the Chinese New Year break.

So to all readers, have a great Chinese New Year and God bless.

Love-Hate Relationship

2012-01-03T11:28:00.007+08:00

I have a love-hate relationship with my baby sister. With her around, I have another "dolly" which I can "toink toink, toink toink" her chubby face. I've been upgraded to a big jie jie and I can proudly say so and so is not a big girl coz they don't have mei mei or di di. I am also always cleverer coz mei mei doesn't drink her milk as fast as me, and she can't put on her own clothes like I can.

However, this mei mei likes to grab my toys since she started crawling everywhere. I no longer can put my toys on the floor else it will end up in her mouth. She will also wreck all my hard work like building towers and my writing book (ends up being her eating book).

Mommy & Daddy says "Whatever toy you want mei mei to play put on the floor, else put on the table. Small small toy cannot put on the floor later mei mei eat and choke choke, how?"

Nowadays, I no longer own the living room coz I can't put my things on the floor. We also have to lock the safety gate so I can't go to the kitchen without M&D opening the gate for me. Mei mei also likes to grab my hair and pull my shirt; of course I intentionally go near so that I can complain to M&D "Mei mei do me!!!"

How frustrating..... Better not think, just let it be...

Mom's Journal: God's Blessings for 2011

2011-12-20T10:07:00.006+08:00

2011 has sailed by. As we welcome 2012 (no more ambitious resolutions like what we did during school years), I praise God for all that He has done in 2011:
1) Mei mei Wong came to the world safely & healthily, fast delivery, all these happened while jie jie was in school.
2) Hubby and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Every day is a learning process for us.
3) We finally completed our MBA, which we started while I was pregnant with Caris. Looking forward to Convocation this coming February, both of us in robes together with Caris & Chloe.
4) Managed to take care of Chloe during my 2nd month of maternity. Almost drove me crazy, but we did it.
5) Hubby & I survived (and still surviving) the daily marathon of handling both the kids, household chores, work etc etc. We barely have time for anything else, unless we sacrifice our sleep time after both of them have gone to sleep.
6) Our house in Balik Pulau has been completed with OC obtained.
7) God has blessed us financially, able to cope with extra financial commitments even though salary doesn't increase proportionately.
8) My parents are fit and healthy. Mike has also graduated with his Masters and officially an O&G specialist now.
9) Caris has learned much over a year in school. Thank God for kindies, as we don't have much time to teach her at home.
10) I had a good performance review at work despite being away during my 2 months maternity & the discomfort during pregnancy.

Many many things to be thankful for...
I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. ~Psalm 146:2~

Crawling Chloe

2011-12-13T10:09:00.005+08:00

Next to me I have the mini Christmas tree that I help mommy set up, my McDonalds breakfast box that my imaginary puppy lives in, and my favourite mei mei.

Ladies and gentleman, pls put your hands together to congratulate my mei mei, the crawling baby at 6mths & 5days old. Also thank me for sacrificing my Happy Meal Sponge Bob Square Pants as mei mei's yummy yummy munch munch.

The "Formula" for Inflation

2011-12-12T15:19:00.005+08:00

Price of the kids' milk powder a.k.a formula observes one way street; UP. Over 2 yrs, prices went up to almost 20%.

With that, we decided to STORE up, since prices for formula will never come down. Fixed Depost rates are only ~3% anyway.

We paid a visit to Joo Hing, a mini market at Terengganu Road who makes much cash from selling infant fomula, at a relatively cheaper price I would say. No credit card accepted.

note: The Anmum box contains mei mei's expensive Frisolac 1.

If only we get income tax deduction from infant formula & diapers... The Budget never seems to look after people from the middle-income category.

Four Years

2011-12-08T17:03:00.002+08:00

Yesterday's conversation:

Mommy: Caris, tomorrow daddy and mommy get married 4 years already
Caris: Why daddy and mommy get married 4 years already?
Mommy thinks how to respond to her
Daddy: Like Caris birthday lo. Caris celebrate birthday 4 years old next year, mommy daddy get married also celebrate 4 years old.
Caris: I also want to get married 4 years old.

And Caris also likes to say "I want to get married to mei mei".
Happy 4 years wedding anniversary hubby!

Mom's Journal: Over the Weekend

2011-12-05T11:05:00.007+08:00

Jie Jie was talking about seeing horse horse on Friday and Saturday morning, anticipating the Penang Turf Club Horse Show 2011. When she arrived and saw the clown, she screamed "I want to go home". Nothing could console her; not even Hello Kitty Sand Art.

Mei Mei is a week away from being 6 mths. She has been staring at our food and grabbing food from my plate since a couple of weeks ago. We decided to start her on cereals. She loved it & she learned how to blow bubbles with it as well.

Jie jie says "eh, why my name on this baby chair. Later you put mei mei name and take out my name ok". She now sits on a stacked up plastic chair for "big sisters".

I was looking around for Heinz cereals but seemed that they're not hitting shelves in Malaysia just yet. So mei's 1st solid was Earth's Best Organic Rice Cereal, 227g cost RM19. Too expensive, have to re-evaluate long term plan.

Mei has been very determined nowadays to crawl...

And when she doesn't get what she wants, she cries.

Mei mei don't be sad, try again next time...

Up on Stage

2011-12-01T15:59:00.006+08:00

Last weekend was my 1st school concert and after months of practice, the day arrived! Mommy & Daddy were eagerly anticipating how I would perform on stage, and indeed I did not let them down. They are very proud of me!

Por por flew over to witness my concert. Thanks also to gong gong who fetch por por to and fro from the airport. Since mommy has no skills in the line of make-up, por por had to "paint" my face, just like how she "painted" mommy when she was in kindy. This was also the first time I put on eye shadow & lipstick just like the Princess CD. I refused to close my mouth after that. As expected, the make-up was gone during the concert some 2 half hours later.

Mei mei was also excited going to kai kai.

Here's all the frogs dancing to Crazy Frog. Lotsa parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, maids, uncles, aunties (you get the idea) were there; all with video cameras focusing on their lil ones. Try blocking the view and you will be scolded.

It was difficult to spot me on stage with so many kids together. Mommy had to look at the shoes to identify me, and guess what, I was one of the kids who were shaking the bum-bum the most.

All I wanted from the concert was a lollipop, and I was presented with one after that :)

What a happy day.

Dear Daddy Wong

2011-11-21T13:37:00.002+08:00

Dear Hubby
Happy 10th year pak tor anniversary. This is a non-rhythmic poem for you...

We've known each other for one-third of our lives,
From lovey-dovey now we become super practical parents,
From late suppers now priority goes to sleep when there's chance,
From eating slowly and chit chat now it becomes gobble your food before Chloe wakes up,
From spending lotsa time talking to each other it becomes talking to the kids,
From spending money on movies now it becomes spending on good food for the kids,
From calling you Dear now it becomes calling you Dee,
Many things have changed; including you getting thinner :)
It's been a good 10 years knowing you dear daddy Wong.

9 years ago; with limited budget during uni days....

And 5 years ago we got the date wrong! Gosh!

Mom's Journal: My Chloe

2011-11-11T17:08:00.003+08:00

Chloe used to sleep face down. Now that she's bigger and more mobile, she sleeps in all sorts of position, and her favourite position nowadays - sideways on top of her hand.

To survive in the competitive world (ensuring people pay equal if not more attention to her compared to jie jie) she uses her secret weapon - smiles, giggles and "akakakaka" laughter.

Nowadays baby are smart.

Fourteen Ringgit

2011-10-31T13:47:00.004+08:00

Here is what you can buy with RM14:
One box of 450g Meiji Hello Panda biscuit

and from there you get:
- an excited toddler who keeps pretending to eat Hello Panda coz mommy says "one day can eat 3 only"
- a 3yo who sings "I love Hello Panda" the whole night
- obedience; "if you eat kiwi fruit 3 mouthful, you can get a Hello Panda"
- disciplince; "if you be a good girl, mommy daddy buy Hello Panda for you"
- a chatterbox who kept "pillow talk-ing" with mommy daddy at night coz she's too excited to open the new box of Hello Panda the next morning
- a lil girl who keeps watching Hello Panda advertisement on youtube and sings "Mei-i-ji"
- lesson on protecting what you want. Daddy says "I give you 3 Hello Panda for you to bring to school. 2 you eat, 1 give your friend ok?. Carris says "No I want all"

Hail to Hello Panda!

Cameron Highlands - As It Evolves

2011-10-28T15:03:00.010+08:00

Cameron Highlands is the closest getaway from here. So it's no surprise that I have been here several times eventhough I am just 3 years old. Since I've became a chatter box almost a year ago, I have been asking mommy & daddy to bring me to Cameron so that I can eat strawberry and wear sweater.

So sweater I wore and strawberry I ate, and it was yummy!

Since we were not really interested in the commercialized bee farm, butterfly farm, rose farm, all sorts of farm, we lazed around in the hotel room while mei mei enjoyed rolling & drooling everywhere (mommy was fine with it since she does not have to wash the bedsheet!). Since it was holiday, I get to eat all the junk food; lollipop, fried stuffs, chocolates etc with por por pampering me.

As mommy looked back at the old photographs, I have been to Cameron Highlands six times; once in mommy's tummy, and the most recent trip with my baby sister. Cameron Highlands has evolved, so did my family.

Mom's Journal: Laughing Baby

2011-10-17T10:54:00.009+08:00

I've been very busy at work and hardly have time to blog. The kids are growing up real fast and mei is already 4.5 months old. She loves to laugh, sometimes she laughs and cries at the same time and gets us all confused.

She loves to be carried. Within a minute of being placed on her cot, she will start crying for attention. Mei is also enjoying her new found ability of flipping all around.

As for jie jie, it's really sweet when she says "I love my mommy, daddy and my baby sister very much". She is protective over mei mei but she can gets jealous at times, esp when daddy carries her baby sister.

Life is hectic but it is rewarding.

I am 3

2011-10-03T12:05:00.004+08:00

After blowing the candles for this cake, my daddy & mommy have to start paying my entrace fee for various attractions such as Aquaria KLCC, Taiping Zoo coz "Children are visitors aged from 3-12 years old".

This is a belated post coz Mommy, mei mei and I fell sick since my birthday; food poisoning followed by chesty cough, fever, runny nose etc etc. I brought the Pooh cake to celebrate with my friends in school, unfortunately I vomitted it all after that (I told mommy my vomit was black black one). Anyhow, the chocolate brownie cake is delicious; costs RM75 for a 1.5kg cake, from Jenni Cake House.

The weekend before, M&D treated with a birthday gift to Adventure Zone in Golden Sands (thanks to Shern's mommy for blogging about it). I had great fun jumping up and down, and repeating going down the slides again and again (but 2 hours is really more than enough, I got tired of it by then).

I had my 2nd cake at por por's house, celebrating with Ryan & Izac coz they were here for Uncle Mike's convocation. He is now an O&G specialist (Uncle Mike, advertising fee pls pay to my Mommy).

We had a nice dinner treat from gong gong and I blew the candles on my 2nd cake. Yummy Yummy.

I enjoyed playing with Ryan very much, building Lego houses with him, and destroying his. Crash Boom Bang (muahahaha).

With so many kids at home, it can be real chaotic, just like Angry Birds.

Aden didn't manage to join us during the celebration dinner, so I insisted he celebrated with me & my toy cake. I'm glad he drop by to see me though it was just for an hour or 2.

And dear mei mei, I know you are very happy celebrating my birthday too!

Big Sis

2011-09-21T11:43:00.004+08:00

On my 3rd birthday, mommy fell sick with food poisoning. Daddy decided Gua sha for mommy, massaging mommy's back real hard till mommy cried.
Caris: Daddy, don't do like that, mommy pain pain.

Daddy continues....
Caris: (started crying) Daddy, no! Mommy pain. You naughty. NO NO!
Daddy: Daddy put medicine for mommy, mommy sick sick. You ask mommy pain or not.
Caris: You naughty, I go por por house ask gong gong to beat you.

Daddy was done and went to wash his hands.
Caris: Mommy sayang ar. Daddy naughty, I go por por house ask gong gong to beat him. Now I go beat him.

Caris runs out of the room towards daddy and hit him.

I Like

2011-09-08T13:27:00.006+08:00

I like holidays like the one last week (merdeka + Hari Raya). I get to go kai kai and don't need to go to school.

I like to go kai kai coz I like my daddy carrying me around even though I can walk, run and "fly" very well.

I like to go to Popular Book Fest in KLCC every year coz I get to use "hotel" toilet (isn't KLCC a hotel?) and daddy will buy for me a lot of books. (M&D also like that coz they get to deduct their income tax).

I like my mei mei coz she smiles a lot even though the baby changing room in KLCC did not have changing tables. All they had was the hard tile surface next to the sink; and they call it baby changing room?

I like Ikano Power Centre coz I get to play a lot of stuffs in Ikea and IPC. Unfortunately the toddler bed that M&D wanted to get for me was out of stock; and the main reason we went to Ikea was to get the bed....

I like to carry my mei mei but mommy says I can only carry her by myself when I am 4 yrs old.

I like this panda bear coz gong gong bought it for me all the way from China. I still like it after a week, which is considered good coz my interest for something usually last for a few hours.

Lastly, I like my daddy's Exora coz I have a special bed at the back. I get to sleep flat the whole journey back to my Penang house.

My mei mei is 3 months old today and I'm going to be 3 yrs old in 2 weeks time. Maybe I will like you very much if you give me nice nice presents for my birthday? :)

Questions

2011-08-23T15:09:00.003+08:00

My hobby is asking Why questions to my daddy & mommy and here are some of them...

Why girl can play boy's toys, why boy cannot play girl's toys?
Why por por can call you Mark Wong, why Caris cannot call Mark Wong must call daddy?
Why mommy no more tummy?
Why mei mei must come out from mommy's tummy?
Why tiger friend lion?
Why girl put towel until here (points to the shoulder), why boy put towel here (points at the waist)?
Why boy stand up wee wee, why girl must sit down?
Why Barney kor kor friend with the jie jie?
Why mei mei can put hand in mouth (while I cannot)?

and the recent question goes this way (mommy & daddy scratch their heads)
Why Dylan (my friend in school) pet pet can shake shake one?

Mom's Journal: Daily Marathon

2011-08-16T10:59:00.010+08:00

Started work almost a week ago, I must confess that being in an air-conditioned office is less stressful than taking care of mei at home (being very cautious on turning on the air-con for financial reasons). Everyday is a marathon for hubby and I....

Wake up, feed mei, prepare breakfast, get cleaned up, clean the house (if there's time), wake and clean the kids up, send the kids to different nurseries, go to work, go through the jam to fetch the kids, bring in the clothes hanging outside, sterilize bottles, cook for Caris, bathe them, prepare our dinner, wash the clothes and hang them, fold the clothes, boil water, pack the kid's bag, feed the kids, doze them off ...... (have you dozed off already?). If one of us or the kids get sick, the marathon becomes a triathlon....

Mei has a bad habit of taking an hour to finish her milk, and every night she needs to cry her heart out for almost half to one hour before dozing off past midnight. She will only doze off after 2nd or 3rd attempt of putting her down. The 1st attempt will normally see her dozing off for 10 minutes and the siren will ring again. She refuses to sleep in the afternoon and constantly wants to be carried or be rocked in her rocker. Hubby and I have to divide and conquer, taking turns to have afternoon naps if it is even possible.

With only 2 pairs of hands, I find my ring sling and the baby pouch (which I recently bought for RM55) to be real handy. It frees up my hands and I'm able to handle 2 kids at the same time as well as the bags etc. Mei would also sleep soundly being carried this way esp in the ring sling.

With God's grace and strength, we are surviving through this daily marathon and before long, I guess we'll be wondering how did our kids grow that fast...

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. ~Isaiah 40:31~

Snapshots

2011-08-09T14:59:00.007+08:00

Mommy, I thought you said I was going to take a bath?

A smile can cure the stress caused by my cries..

Sleeping in the afternoon is not my cup of tea

Caris is now a big jie jie, and Pooh's mommy

Chloe's favourite "bed". Mommy's shoulder ain't broad enough for this comfort.

Peaceful moments, which happens once in a blue moon.

Ouch!

2011-08-04T16:41:00.003+08:00

Mei just got her pneumoccocal (prevanar) jab and rotavirus vaccine today. The 1st one costs RM199 and the latter RM139. Based on mathematical calculation without factoring in inflation, it would cost a total of RM1213 to complete all the dosages. Prices of eveerything is increrasing, which is why we're bringing mei to the government clinic for the other vaccines which are made available through our income taxes. It is quite a hassle and there are some unfriendly nurses I have met at the clinic, but you just have to increase your tolerance level and patience to save a few bucks.

Mei is now 4.7kg, compared to her birth weight of 3.02kg. Healthy growth, not overweight. She has begun to smile and laugh more which made it more rewarding spending 24/7 with her. She will normally made a fuss before dozing off at night, wanting daddy's broad shoulders and being brought sightseeing around the house for an hour or two before zzz-ing in the midnight. Then it will be peaceful sleep till 10am with 3 milk feeds in between.

I am too lazy to open my laptop to get her photos up here, since inserting photos to the blog with the iPad is quite a challenge. Caris is getting really attached to daddy which makes me jealous at times, but I guess she knows that mommy needs to take care of mei mei. She amazes us with her wide range of vocabulary and we make it a point to remember that there is no word too difficult for her, even words like supplement and magnifying glass. Being a toddler, she can be really annoying but we have learnt to count our blessings that annoying = not sick. She fell sick last weekend and it felt weird coz the house was so quiet.

My big and small girls are growing up fast!

Home Improvement Gadgets

2011-07-26T10:51:00.003+08:00

Having a newborn at home who would only take short occasional naps during the day (the rest of the time, she's looking for mommy's milk bank, crying or wants to be carried) and a toddler who's constantly on the go can be chaotic. I seem to have no time even though I'm still on maternity leave!

To help me manage household chores and the kids, I've invested in 2 gadgets. The electricity bill may increase (it's already RM180 during my 1st month of maternity!) but they do enable me to multitask.

1) iRobot Roomba 560 - I have been considering this gadget for some time but it costs a bomb in Malaysia. Thank God that hubby's colleague Zach so kindly brought this back from the States, so it costs us less than 1k from Amazon. Hubby utilized his electrical engineering knowledge and did the modifications so that it can be used with Malaysia's power rating. It does a magnificent job vacumming the dust and hair, so I barely have to sweep the floor now; just mop it once or twice a week. It is not 100% smart though, it may get stuck with the floor mat and end up in the toilet (since the floor mat tricked the cliff sensor) so day by day we are learning tricks how to operate this guy nicely. I have been using it for 2 weeks and it keeps my house pretty clean. I wish it would vacumm dust on the cabinets though.

2) Kenwood Food Steamer - got this from Harvey Normal sales at around RM180. It enables me to steam rice and food without having to monitor variables like gas stove, no more water in the pot or burnt pot. I just put the rice in, turn on the 20 minutes timer, add-on trays at the right timing for e.g. vege when there's 5 more minutes left (or simply add another 5 minutes after it "tings"). So I just turn this guy on, proceed to feed the baby and my lunch is ready by the time she's done. Of course, if you love food with wok hei and lotsa oil, steaming may not be your cup on tea!

Overall, I'm satisfied with these 2 gadgets. Hubby is still trying to convince me to use the dryer instead of hanging the clothes coz with the new kid on the block, there are really A LOT of clothes to be hanged. I'm still concerned with the electricity bill, so let's see how it goes when I'm back to work - balancing act of work, kids, chores and dearest hubby!

I like mei mei

2011-07-21T16:12:00.002+08:00

This morning while I was lazing in mommy's bed (which is also my bed for now), I looked at mei mei beside me and smiled and played with her. In return, she smiled widely at me. I was so happy coz this is the first time mei smiled at me. I told mommy, "I like mei mei". The moment was priceless for mommy.
After that, mei mei looked the other side and I asked mommy, "why mei mei doesn't want to at me?". Mei I'm waiting for you to grow up and be a big jie jie like me so that we can play together.

Chloe is 1 month old

2011-07-14T16:04:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, on the 9th of July when the whole Malaysia was talking about the BERSIH rally, my mei celebrated her full moon. Mommy was worried that the KL relatives couldn't get to the dinner with all the road blocks and chaos, thank God they were all on time and celebrated the ocassion with us.

During my full moon almost 3 years ago, there were 3 tables. Now there are 4. Mommy's extended relatives are expanding.

My Ah Gong and Ah Mah also flew from Sarawak to celebrate with us. What a crowd!

Of course, the happiest person is me, Caris Wong as I get to play with Aden kor kor, get pampered by all the grandpas and grandmas and get to eat, sleep and play.

We also celebrated Aden's 4th birthday. Double celebration! As usual, I grab the limelight with all the VIPs!

Happy 1 month old mei. As jie jie always say nowadays, "I love mommy vi-ii much, I love daddy vi-ii much, I love mei mei vi-ii much, I love por por vi-ii much". Mommy says jie jie is much more tolerant nowadays and no longer show that much of jelousy.

Yesterday when I was poo-pooing on the potty while daddy while working on his laptop, daddy didn't look at me, so I said, "Daddy, why you look at your laptop, why you don't look at me, see I beautiful ah!". It melted daddy's heart and gave mommy a good laugh.

Chloe's Baby Dedication

2011-07-04T10:08:00.003+08:00

Just like my baby dedication 2 years ago, on 2nd July 2011 it was my mei's turn to go in front of the church congregation to be dedicated to the Lord. Of course, I went up with her and my mommy daddy. Mei just turned 3 weeks old and she was the youngest baby to be dedicated this round. Por por was in church with us coz mei would only be comforted by por por when she cries, not even my mommy (so kesian my mommy).

Daddy & mommy said this prayer for mei:
"Lord, we Mark & Julia Wong bring our child Chloe Wong Wan Ying before you. We sincerely dedicate this precious child to you. You have given this child to us. Now we give this child back to you. Lord, write such assignments on your scroll for Chloe Wong so that Chloe Wong may grow to know you and to love you. Give us your wisdom to guide Chloe Wong in all your ways. May Chloe Wong glorify your name in all the days of her life. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen."

We also had to take our first family photo to be projected in church. Mommy is still in her confinement period so she's not really dressed to the ocassion (err, the photoshoot). Mei, jie jie Caris sayang!

Postnatal Massage

2011-06-29T17:44:00.002+08:00

It's a trend nowadays for mothers who have just delivered to get a good postnatal massage or what we call Malay urut. I didn't had the massage during #1 coz I'm a person who hates uncertainties. I don't like the idea of having to wait for the urut lady who will most probably not be punctual and a baby who will cry out loud for milk from you anytime. I've heard about the urut helping mothers to slim down fast but am not sure if it's really true. As a result, it took me more than 6months to get rid of the flabby tummy, not entirely though.

This time round, I've decided to treat myself better and make sure I look like a hot mama (haha!) asap. I got this retired midwife to urut 5 sessions for me, each session at RM50. It starts off with massage (like those you get in spas) using serai oil on the whole body. This will be followed by the "tungku", a hot stone wrapped in cloth being massaged around your waistline and tummy. The whole session lasts around an hour. I purchased a "barut" from her too for RM50 but has not been using it frequently coz it's kinda hard to breathe with it. You can google more for how "tungku" and "barut" look like. Some mothers will request for 10 sessions of massage; but that is too time consuming for me.

Overall, my tummy is indeed flatter now but i'm not sure if it's due to the massage or breastfeeding. After each massage, there will be more lochia discharge. Anyway, it's a good pampering session while my mom attends to Chloe if she cries. Just make sure you feed your baby before your massage session, else you may not enjoy it with a baby crying loudly for milk milk.

Pass Downs

2011-06-27T11:16:00.002+08:00

The collection of cloth diapers belonging to Caris can finally be pass down to her successor: her mei mei. The smallest setting fits perfectly on mei and we can save some energy attending to her everytime she wets her lampin.

As for Caris, she has been rather stubborn nowadays, most of the time ignoring what we tell her to do (or what not to do), or refusing to pick up stuffs that she dropped. We're not sure if it's due to the additional member in the family, or it is just the age of disobedience. When we try to explain things to her, she will answer back with her own reasonings and if we don't agree with her, she will start wailing like this...

She has generally included mei in the family; "Saturday is Mommy, Daddy, Caris, Por por, mei mei day" but mommy can't go shopping with her yet coz "Mommy's doctor says mommy cannot go out yet".

Caris is very attached to Daddy, with mommy's having to feed mei mei practically every hour or two. Caris and Daddy are now best of friends and sometimes she gets jealous if Daddy carries mei.

Meanwhile, mei's umbilical cord has dropped off on day 7. She's having quite a bad case of rash on her face though, so kesian...

Welcome to the Family, Baby Chloe

2011-06-14T13:47:00.004+08:00

Baby Chloe Wong Wan Ying says Hi to all on th 9th June 2011. She was supposed to be due on 14th June, but Dr Eric said the amniotic fluid was getting lesser and told us that she'll be induced if she's not out by 9th June. She was indeed very patient, very comfortable in my tummy.

That morning, we dropped Caris at school and went to complete the huge mission. I went into the labour room at 10.30am, not knowing that I was actually having minor contractions and was 2 cm dilated.

Around 11.30am, Dr Eric came over to break the water bag and the drip was placed on me. The contraction was mild initially and it grew stronger and stronger, dilating at 4cm. Suddenly I felt there was a head pushing down, but the midwife was not around! No longer being able to call Mark to get the nurse over, I immediately pressed the call bell. The next thing I knew, the pain was almost unbearable, somebody phoned Dr Eric to come immediately as I was fully dilated, I hear Dr Eric's voice, within a minute or 2, I felt a big lump coming out, and then the baby cried!!!!!

Boy, I didn't remember it was this painful else I would have gave serious consideration before planning for #2.

Here's baby Chloe, born 9th June 2011, 1.31pm, 3.02kg. Bravo to daddy who witnessed the whole labour process calmly, and then proceed to fetch Caris from school and took care of her till my parents came over.

Thanks to Dad for fetching mom over to cook great food and care for Caris and Chloe for a while.

The first challenge over, next is to teach Caris the right way to sayang mei mei and taking care of her feelings to minimize jealousy. Long way ahead to take care of these 2 kids by ourselves, I pray that we can survive it well!

On the left is Caris, and right is Chloe. Any similarities?

I praise God for supernatural delivery once again, though episiotomy was still done but it was a fast delivery with no complications. I praise God for safe pregnancy, as well as...
- baby's all well even though I went for bowling, steam bath and Tambun Lost World without knowing I was pregnant
- managed to protect my tummy from an active toddler, with the help of hubby of course!
- survived diverting Caris attention when she requested to be carried during my last trimester.

All glory to God!

Mom's Journal: Parenting 101

2011-05-27T15:46:00.005+08:00

When we picked up Caris from school yesterday, I saw a toy inside her bag that doesn't belong to her. Daddy immediately passed it to the teacher coz 2 days ago, there was a hair clip that didn't belong to her in her bag as well (which she insisted was hers). This was our conversation in the car later on:

Mommy: Caris, the toy is not yours, next time you must return it to teacher.
Caris: But it is mine, mine! (starts crying)
Mommy: No it is not yours. I have never seen it before. If you want it, you can ask daddy to buy one for you. You shouldn't take your friend's toy.
Caris: Miss Yeap says it is mine. Mine! It is mine! (cried louder and was very emotional)

Mommy then kept quiet, brain started processing the case. I realized that Caris really thought the toy was hers because they teacher said it was hers and put it in her bag. Teacher says it's hers, so it's hers. She hasn't come to the stage to decline something that wasn't hers and tell teacher. Teacher says, she listens.

Mom: Sorry Caris, next time Mommy will tell teacher to ask you if something is yours before putting in your bag. Will you forgive me?
Caris: Okay (while hugging Daddy in the car)

The episode ended with Milo ice cream for her as a "I-am-sorry-gift" (which she insisted to share with Mommy & Daddy). It was a new learning for me as well.

My Daddy and I

2011-05-23T14:39:00.007+08:00

Since mommy's tummy had mei mei, my Daddy (yes, that's how I refer him to others) and I had been much closer.

My daddy and I love to have pillow fight and we throw the bolster at one another, with mommy giving us "that" look.

My daddy loves to tease me. I pronounce Queensbay Mall as Ji-Jes mall. My daddy will purposely say Ji-Jes mall and I will say "NO!!!!! Not Ji-Jes mall ah.. its Ji-Jes mall! (to me this is Queensbay Mall). He sometimes teases me just to annoy me.

My daddy will purposely sing my Letterland (my school uses this program to teach us phonics) wrongly so that I will "scold" him.

My daddy will play bowling and air hockey with me on my iPad.

My daddy bathes me everyday after school and we sometimes have so much fun till mommy must be wondering how the whole bathroom got wet.

My daddy will wake up 5am (sometimes 2am, sometimes 3am) in the morning asking me to wee wee in the potty coz "I big girl already I do-yan diapers". He is worried I wee wee on the bed.

I ask my Daddy to tell me Toy Story every night. But this "Toy Story" is about a girl name Jane whose life strangely resembles me a lot (go Ji-Jes mall, drinks my Friso elephant nen-nen).

There are many more father-daughter things that we enjoy till mommy gets jealous; but when my daddy asks me "Caris you sayang mommy or daddy more", I will answer "I sayang mommy and daddy". Smart leh?

However, my daddy will still spank me when I'm naughty but after that he will sayang me back. Happy advanced Father's Day, my Daddy!

Mom's Journal: Counting Down

2011-05-16T13:37:00.003+08:00

Haven't been updating this blog for some time; too many things to think of and trying to get as much sleep as possible before life becomes upside down again for the 2nd time.

We had a maternity + family photoshoot in Botanical Gardens + home last week, but photo's not out yet so there's nothing much to write about....

We have managed to get Caris to get more attached to daddy so that mommy can take care of mei mei when she's out, divide and conquer... So there's nothing much to write about...

Since we bring around a potty everywhere we go (shopping, carecell, doctor's visit), so we bought another yellow one to be left permanently in the car in case mei mei decides to come out soon. Bringing the potty at that time will be the last thing in my mind... so there's also nothing much to write about...

How come there's nothing much to write about, but so much things to think about till I can't fall asleep after waking up for night time pee... haizz....

Friend Don't Friend

2011-04-26T16:46:00.003+08:00

I don't want to friend mommy, I friend daddy.
Why you don't want to friend mommy?
Because mommy naughty.
What did mommy do to be naughty?
(Says something that we do not understand)
What is (something that we do not understand)?
Because mommy naughty-lor.

Erin don't want to friend me in school.
Why Erin don't want to friend you?
Because Erin naughty.
Then you friend other people, friend Isaac or Jayden-lor.
I don't want to friend Isaac or Jayden, they all naughty.

Caris' quote of the day: There's always a simple answer from a simple girl - because he/ she/ they naughty.

Mom's Journal: #2

2011-04-19T10:29:00.004+08:00

When Caris was in my tummy, hubby and I spent a lot of time "with" her. We would talk to her, observe her movements, look at her ultrasound photos a gazillion times and share the household chores so that I don't strain myself. I would consistently let her listen to Bible songs almost the same hour every day, wear loose outfits so that she can grow "freely" and consistently go for weekend walks to ensure quick delivery. I'm a person who loves planning so there will no be surprises - what baby will wear when discharged, where I will store EBM in the fridge and freezer, where my maternity bag will be placed etc etc.

With #2, we do not have the luxury to pamper her with all these. We can only think of #2 when Caris is sleeping or when we're at work, we have to divide and conquer - daddy takes care of Caris while I get the house cleaned up, sometimes I still have to carry little girl despite the advice to preggie mommies not to carry heavy stuffs. I no longer plan the delivery + post delivery process coz I know the house will still turn upside down when #2 comes home. I'm too lazy to plan where both of the girls should sleep coz Caris will most probably be unpredictable and I have not even gone through Caris pass-down newborn clothes (thank God my mom organized this for me).

Sometimes, I feel kesian for #2; but then, hubby and I are #3 in the family, so perhaps we went through the same process :)

My Mei Mei

2011-04-08T09:51:00.004+08:00

I saw the photo this baby named Caris when she was 2 months old on our calendar, and I asked mommy,

"Why this baby got no hair?"

"Ya loh, this baby shame shame no hair. Caris got so much hair. Mei mei also got no hair, Caris so clever so much of hair".

So I was waiting and waiting for Mommy's doctor's appoinment. Yesterday, I sat on daddy's lap and asked Dr Eric, "My mei mei got no hair ar?"

Then Dr Eric told me with some photo evidence, "Yes, mei mei has got a bit of hair!"

Mei mei week 30

Mom's Journal: Annoyed

2011-04-06T13:57:00.008+08:00

Babycenter. Your pregnancy: Week 30.

Remember those mood swings you had earlier in pregnancy? The combination of uncomfortable symptoms and hormonal changes can result in a return of those emotional ups and downs.

Should I blame it on mei mei or her jie jie when this little girl annoys me so much nowadays by:

1) After bathing and drying her up, she decides to touch the bath foam dispenser.

2) Boiled soup with fish and rice for her dinner but she kept her mouth tightly shut, making all of us late for appoinments. Warning and spanking didn't work. Daddy ended up eating the food.

3) Leaves 1oz of her milk almost consistently every feed.

4) Running around and having "no back bone" (I think parents to toddlers will understand this term) when we're trying to brush her teeth, gurgle or to put on her clothes.

5) Opening drawers of my dressing table, grabbing what she aims for and leaving everything else topsy-turvy.

6) Purposely ordered non spicy, toddler friendly food when we eat outside and ended up she refusing to eat anything.

7) Repeating her "I want to poo poo" routine twice after lights off, despite having poo-ed an hour ago. Cries if we ignore her. Ends up the potty being empty.

8) Having both parents hold her down to put on her night diapers; else insisting to put on her own diaper - no it is not pull up pants.

9) After 3 warnings and daddy decides to get the wooden spoon for spanking, cries loudly (mouth sulking) with tears saying "I don yan" - crocodile tears?

10) Insisting on wearing her shirt and pants frontside-back.

And yet we always find joy talking about her when she's not around... Sigh.

Mom's Journal: Tummy Tales

2011-04-01T10:56:00.004+08:00

Finally, mei mei's kicks are prominent enough for a 2.5 yr old kid to see and feel her. Caris looked very surprise. When mei mei stopped kicking and wriggling, I told Caris that mei mei is asleep. Suddenly when my tummy moved ferociously, Caris said in delight, "See, mei mei wake up already!". Then she lied down beside me on the bed, lifted up her shirt and told us, "See Caris tummy also move, got mei mei inside" and she shook her belly ala tummy trimming exercise.

These 2 sisters are equally active while in my tummy. I can't imagine when the younger one is out. It spells H-A-V-O-C.

Mom's Journal: Soup Queen

2011-03-28T15:55:00.009+08:00

Caris must have inherited the Cantonese part of loving soup from me. She can have 2 full bowls and still ask for more. This is also the main motivation why I try to boil some healthy soup every weekend (with Kampung Chicken or pork); quick simple soup during weekdays due to time constraint (ABC soup, Anchovies with seaweed, Spinach soup and am running out of ideas). I enjoy seeing her finishing her bowl and every gulp ends with a big "AHHHHHH". When we tell her no more soup, she will say "Thank you mommy boil soup. I like soup". What more can I ask for?

Here's the soup queen at "Kang Beef House" located at Jalan Perak. They serve one of the best beef noodles/ soup in Penang and they passed my MSG test (not too thirsty after the meal). This lil girl kept asking for more and more soup!

Colouring

2011-03-18T10:21:00.004+08:00

Since going to school, I love colouring. In the early days when I just joined this school, the teachers were worried that I had short attention span and I couldn't sit still after 5 mins.

Mommy and daddy were amazed that I sat still for a good whole 30 mins doing my colouring cum writing alphabets yesterday. So engrossed in colouring that I pushed my chair away and continued colouring...

So engrossed in colouring that I only spoked few words when por por called instead of the normal chit-chat-chit-chat. So engrossed that I broke half the crayons coz I used too much pressure while colouring.

And the colour that first broke was of course my favourite colour - PURPLE! I love purple so much that mommy bought me a new school shirt just for the purple colour - it got me out of the bed pretty fast this morning coz I was gonna wear my new purple shirt (instead of the normal "I want to sleep fum-more").

The wonders of colours...

Outing to Pasir Panjang beach, Balik Pulau

2011-03-07T17:00:00.005+08:00

It has been some time since our Care Cell had an outing. We decided to go on a short trip to Balik Pulau for some fresh air, play some sand, eat some pasembor and laksa and drink some fresh nutmeg.

In case you are wondering what's with the red patch under my nose, my house is currently being "attacked" by small red ants and they seemed to like me a lot. What looked like a small pimple became the red patch as I scratch it.

Anyway back to the fun stuff, there were not many people at the beach as it is not as famous as those in Batu Feringghi. The sand is rather coarse which made it unsuitable for sand castles and rather prickly to walk bare-footed.

Anyway, I had my best friend with me, Grace che che so the sand doesn't really matter. I end up stepping on the sand castle anyway.

Exactly a year ago when I took this photo, Grace daddy commented that in a year's time, I would look like Grace and will have more hair. How true...

We had fun throwing the ball, kicking (and tasting) the sand, eating junk food, bullying the adults and freaking out when the waves came near.

Luckily I had daddy to manja me

Coz mommy's tummy was getting bigger and she spent most of the time sitting on the chair, being the camerawoman and sometimes she had no choice but to obey my instructions of playing the sand with me. I am the princess mah.

I wish there were more outings like this. I would go to sleep the night before happily and wake up on time without fuss.

Mom's Journal: Almost 2 1/2 yrs old?

2011-03-01T10:39:00.002+08:00

Unrealizingly, Caris is a month away from 2.5 yrs old and mei mei is -6 mths old. Time flies when you have a curious hyperactive toddler around while you try to spend some time taking care of yourself and the baby.

Caris is really growing up well. She is such a chatterbox when familliar people are around her that the only time I get to talk to hubby is on the journey from office to her kindy. Sometimes, what she says/ does amazes me.

We were at Kapitan's ordering Nasi Briyani and she said:
"Daddy, Milo! Daddy, Milo! Daddy, Milo!"
She knew exactly when she sould order her food! Milo is one of her favourite drinks now and as much as possible, we try to make it Milo-O.

I dropped some dim sum while trying to pass to her plate and she said:
"Oh my God"
It is not a norm for us to say this phrase at home. She must have picked it up somewhere else.

I was in the vegetable stall in the market and she said:
"Mommy buy vegetable for Mommy and Daddy ya. Don't buy for Caris. I don't like vegetable"

When por por was around, we would send her to kindy half day and bring her home during lunch. She said:
"Daddy go to work ya, later you come back Caris sayang you"

When I was young, mom used to sew pyjamas for my brothers and I. Caris got her first por por's pyjamas recently and she loved it.

It just seemed like Caris knew she was going to have a competition soon. She would insist on sleeping on mommy's tummy and throw tantrum when I don't allow her. I have learned to change the way I talk to her, from "Cannot lie on mommy's tummy, later mei mei pain pain how?" to "Mommy's tummy is very full now, later you lie on mommy's tummy, mommy vomit yuck yuck how?". This worked for the time being...

One of her favourite toy now is the 1-10, A-Z train puzzle given by Jason & Ling Lee during Christmas gift exchange. She can complete the train puzzle accurately with some assistance from us and she would proudly show them off. Thanks Jason & Ling Lee.

We made a short trip back to hubby's hometown in Bintulu recently. Caris has sat in an aeroplane almost a dozen times when she was younger. This time round, she knew what was happening around her. Nowadays, she will say "AEROPLANE!!! Caris fly on aeroplane!"everytime she hears the sound of aeroplane or sees the photo of one.

With my tummy getting bigger and heavier, it is getting more challenging seeing to the needs and wants of this lil' girl and tending to the household chores. Hubby and I really hope mei mei will not be constantly bullied by her jie jie when she comes out! We trust in God that He shall supply all our needs and guide us through the transition phase.

Mom's Journal: Chinese New Year 2011

2011-02-15T14:40:00.006+08:00

As we grow up, the significance of Chinese New Year evolves. From the joy of counting angpows, buying new clothes, to the torture of travelling an hour and a half back to kampung for reunion and 1st day, even more significant now seeing my brothers and their own families gather under one roof. All of us are from different parts in Malaysia and it's great to see the kids play together once a year. From a family of 5, we have evolved into a family of 12 (and next year, 13 with mei mei coming along).

This is my 2nd CNY with a baby in my tummy. It was much better than the 1st coz morning sickness period is over and I get to celebrate with mom & dad (means I get to outsource some babysitting work to them).

Of course, seeing Caris enjoying herself was great. She was initially afraid of the lion dance presentation but got over the fear later on.

She gets to sleep and eat well (with me outsourcing the cooking job to mom).

Happy moments of her playing with her cousins, celebrating Ryan and Izac's advance birthdays and us trying to stop the kids from killing each other and turning the house upside down.

Having some fun outdoors and witnessing how Caris gets jealous when we hold her cousin's hand and push him in the shopping cart instead of holding her hands. This made us start worrying how her reaction will be when mei mei comes out this June.

All the kids were outdoing each other for the attention of their grandparents. Hubby and I were busier than what we expected, being referees to the kids, telling them "Ok, now you play first and 5 minutes later let him play, you must share share bla bla bla". Home is indeed the best place to be!

Happy Chinese New Year 2011

2011-02-01T14:24:00.001+08:00

Gong Xi Gong Xi. May God bless you with a wonderful new year ahead.

Post it notes courtesy of me to remind you that I want purple colour angpow. Thanks in advance ya.

2011-01-24T13:44:00.003+08:00

I've been growing up pretty fast, just entered my 28th months old of life and my mei mei (yes, Dr Eric says she's a girl) is halfway through being in mommy's tummy.

My hair has gotten longer (finally), just like how I've grown taller...

I learnt how to imitate the old uncle in front of me, stretching out his arms in Youth Park (and M&D initially thought what I was doing).

I attended Children's Church for the first time. I love the praise and worship session, but I get sleepy during the story telling part coz I'm still too young to understand stories without graphical illustrations. Mommy says I may be still too young but it is better then playing with toys in the mothers' room. At least I get to sing, jump and play games. I also received a welcome gift and my very first snail-mail today, a letter from Ps Chai Bee welcoming me!

For the first time, I dozed off in my car seat, with my sunglasses on. Mommy, daddy and por por were talking to me and suddenly there was silence.....

I talk and talk and talk a lot at home, but I tend to be very shy outside so people think I'm really quiet. Very often, mommy doesn't get to talk to daddy coz I keep talking and sometimes, they don't understand what I say after I repeat several times, so they will just reply, "Oh yes hor, clever girl".

My Daughter and I

2011-01-13T14:20:00.006+08:00

Conquering Cameron Highlands in our Exora!

2011-01-11T14:38:00.009+08:00

My daddy's Proton Exora has proven itself (at least, in terms of quality); going up Cameron Highlands comfortably, bringing us safely across the narrow and winding roads to Boh Tea Plantation and bringing all of us home safely. This is my 3rd trip here and since I'm really mobile now, I can do whatever I wish:

Having scones that cost RM12 (for 2 scones with jam) and feeding the rest to the birds....

That was at Bharat Plantation, between Ringlet and Tanah Rata. M&D had to bring the potty around since they wanted to save money on diapers and be more environmental friendly..

Since this is the 3rd time up the hills, we didn't had much destinations in mind; just hang around enjoying the cool weather with very frequent pollution by smokers, eating my favourite Cheerios being pampered by Por Por.

Saturday nights in Cameron is all about the night market. After our steamboat dinner, we kai kai at the night market. I got to eat corn in a cup like daddy, which I conveniently took from Mommy by saying "This-a-mine".

The next morning after having breakfast at the hotel, we went the Big Red Strawberry Farm. We visit this farm every time coz it's a pretty well-managed farm with everything inside, and its FOC. Of course, the main motivation was the "music shake-shake", there are lots of them here and it's RM0.50 per ride. For once, mommy allowed me to have 3 rides.

I was able to touch and feel the strawberries eventhough I hated the taste.

Taking photo like this was never easy...

We decided to make our trip worthwhile by driving up the norotious Sungai Palas Boh Tea Centre. The roads were narrow and winding, and being in a MPV is not much help. Fortunately it was not a peak season so there were less cars. I also had a free transport up the tea centre...

Going out from the tea centre was a breeze as there were 2 huge buses in front of us to bully the oncoming traffic. We checked out of the hotel, had lunch, bought some greens, bought Ipoh salted chicken and headed home. I slept the whole way home so don't ask me how the journey home was. We won't be going to Cameron again that soon, at least not till di di/ mei mei is older since we are kinda sick of Cameron Highlands now, being there too often.

Queen Control

2011-01-06T11:22:00.002+08:00

Mommy: Daddy, today so and so happen, bla bla bla
Caris: Mommy no talk with Daddy
Mommy continues talking to Daddy
Caris: MOMMY, no talk with Daddy!
Mommy: Then mommy talk to who?
Caris: Mommy talk with Caris
Mommy: Ok then Caris, can you pls tell daddy that today so and so happen, bla bla bla bla. Ask daddy if bla bla bla

And ppl say couple should spend more time talking to each other....

Thermos: 16oz Stainless Steel King Food Jar with Spoon

2011-01-05T17:23:00.004+08:00

I've not blogged about one product that I love and frequently use. Thermos Stainless Steel King Food Jar with Spoon. Before I bought this product, I used another Thermos: FOOGO Food Jar which does equally well, just that I needed to bring a separate spoon around. I have to place the spoon in a separate container coz I don't want to use a new plastic bag everytime (not environmental friendly mah), though it is more convenient.

With this food jar, the spoon is placed on top of the lid (under the cover) and it is foldable thus making it compact. The only problem I have is figuring out how to assemble the spoon after dismantling it for washing. If you store food that is steaming hot in the jar in the morning, by noon it will still be steaming hot, but by evening it may just be lukewarm. With discount, it costs RM79.90.

The appearance of this food jar is not as attractive as FOOGO, but it serves us well.

Mom's Journal: We're Proud of You

2010-12-24T15:15:00.005+08:00

Dear Caris girl,
Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you. Within a week and a half, you have adapted well to your new school and you have given up your pacifier. Even we adults can't adapt to new surroundings that fast. Your principal says you are very independent and there's always a smile on your face that makes you so lovable; however your teachers are working hard on your short atttention span coz you only focus on something for a minute and off you go elsewhere. Mommy think that's pretty normal for toddlers though....

Since mommy started carrying your mei mei/ di di, you have grown much closer and "stickier" to daddy coz mommy wasn't able to carry you for 2 months. Sometimes, mommy gets jealous but I guess that's how God prepares all of us for our new family member next year.

Sometimes, you can be real annoying when you whine and cry, but we always find joy talking about you.. like our funny conversations...

Mom: "Caris, what did you learn in school today?"
Caris: "Yi yi bak bak"
Mom: "Hah, what is Yi yi bak bak?". "What song did you learn in school today?"
Caris: "Ha pe to you" (Happy birthday to you).
Mom: "How come everyday also learn yi yi bak bak and sing ha pe to you one?"

Mommy & daddy sayang Caris very much!

Mom's Journal: Battle of Wills

2010-12-17T15:16:00.005+08:00

It has been a battle of wills for mommy-daddy-little girl... and within little girl herself. The first day Caris went to her new school, the teacher told us at the end of the day that we do not need to bring her pacifier as she could sleep without it. We were really surprised as we thought it was an addiction that went on for 2 years and almost impossible to cease.

That night, we managed to put her to sleep without IT but after 4 hours, she cried inconsolably asking for her chui chui. We gave in. Same thing for night 2. The 3rd night, we were more determined and we managed to soothe several rounds of cries without giving her the pacifier. Yesterday was the 4th night and she slept successfully without the pacifier with several interruptions and waking up in the morning crying for it.

Daddy's heart broke everytime she cried but he persevered as well, cradling her to sleep and consoling her in the middle of the night. We let her sleep with us so that she could find some comfort in us coz "mommy throw chui chui already, chui chui smelly because insect bite". (It's actually hidden in the shelves, we're not that brave yet).

Daddy has promised Caris this

in exchange of this....

This morning when she way crying for IT, she said, "I dowan piano, I wan chui chui" but later when she got more cheerful, she said "No chui chui, mommy throw adi, daddy buy piano".
We pray that the end result will be "the piano" and we can persevere on with the interrupted nights, but anyhow we're really proud of you Caris, it is not easy giving up a 2 years old addiction.

What's Boring and What's Not

2010-12-13T13:46:00.005+08:00

WHAT'S BORING:
Being asked to cheer for the dragon boat teams at Penang Dragon Boat Festival last weekend.

Being asked to sing Row Row Row Your Boat as part of cheering the dark dark uncles and aunties (I guess they train under the sun too much)

WHAT'S NOT:

Dancing on the stage when the music is turned on loudly.

Dancing with Daddy when the Penang Free School brass band was playing during the opening ceremony.

Riding the money-eating machine when Daddy and Por Por bring me go kai kai (coz mommy says they are poisonous!)

Wearing adult's slippers and walk around.

Messing up with the CD folder, arranging the CDs my way; one ended up on the sofa and broke when the adult sat on it.

Boring: Being asked to take photo with the Christmas tree in church

Not: Trying to blow the deco light off like a candle and wondering why it doesn't goes off.

See, we kids and you all adults think differently so don't complain if we don't look into the camera next time.

Month of Celebration

2010-12-09T16:45:00.004+08:00

Every December, it's a month of celebration for us. Birthdays of por por, uncle Mike, uncle Luke, mommy, uncle Alvin and also M&D's wedding anniversary (this year, it's the 3rd). Not forgetting Christmas, celebrating the birth of Christ and finally the wrap up for the year.

Mommy is having a temporary writer's block (perhaps due to the evening sicknesses) so here's 2 photos to leave you with... Do you think I look like mommy?

or the Guardian yoga auntie I was trying to emulate?

Life Conference Key Takeaways

2010-11-29T10:06:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, we attended a 2 days (7 hours) of Life Conference organised by PCC. It was a good opportunity for us to learn "senior parents" on parenting, disciplining the child and even parenting teens. Here are the key takeaways which are most relevant to me, better pen them down before my memory fails me...

1) Dinner together as a family is important. Off the tv and other distractions, share about God's goodness in your life. When kids grow older - young adults, put in effort to be home for dinner.

2) There are seasons in life. If the previous ministry you were serving in when you had no kids is too demanding for current situation, serve in carecell or less demanding ministries. E.g. from main service musician, you can serve as musician in children's church where your kid can be with you. As your children grow older, things can change. Find your giftings. If needed, you can serve in diff teams from your husband so that you can take turns to care for the kid.

3) Try to serve together as a family, e.g. in children's church.

4) When your hubby spends time serving in a ministry and you have to take care of the kid at home (suffering?), you are actually serving the Lord as well.

5) Lay down strict rules on non-negotiable stuffs, e.g. attending Church and Carecell.

6) If you do not have immediate family around you to help out, your carecell or church members can act as your immediate family. Groom your child to be adaptable to people you "approve" so that she/ he can be passed around "like a ball" while you serve in carecell/ church.

7) Spanking is biblical and it is important. Practical tips - use a dedicated wooden spoon which will causes pain but does not cause scarring. Ps Lydia shared about drawing a smiley face on one side of the spoon and sad face on the other side; put the wooden spoon somewhere visible. Spanking at the back is best. After the disciplining session, talk to your kid, comfort them and get your kid to return the wooden spoon with the smiley side facing you.

8) It is normal for parents to feel upset after disciplining session, but it is needed to shape & groom the child.

9) Discuss with your partners ways to ease the household expectations, for e.g. if you have no problem falling asleep after waking up in the middle of the night, you be the one who does the night feed. Your partner can feed the last feed before everyone goes to sleep (if she/ he has problem falling asleep after waking up, like me!).

10) It is both parents' role to discipline the child.

Caris was quite cooperative during the sessions. It were the hours for her afternoon nap, she did pretty fine sleeping in the new Chicco Liteway stroller we bought for her, after some struggling sessions though. Praise the Lord.

Mom's Journal: Thanks Hubby

2010-11-23T16:42:00.004+08:00

Dear hubby,

Thanks for doing most of the work caring for our princess while I was struggling with "evening" sickness and fatigue.

Thanks for carrying her around when I'm not allowed to, making sure she doesn't kick me or sit on my tummy.

Thanks for waking up at night to entertain her cries and complaints.

Thanks for bathing her, brushing her teeth, changing her and putting her to sleep.

Thanks for doing all the dishes and eating what I cook even though I have no appetite to taste them.

Thanks for trying to be very patient with her tantrums, fake cries and "fake requests".

Thanks for feeding this very naughty & stubborn girl at home and outside.

On 21st Nov 2010, we celebrated our 9th year pak tor anniversary.

Soon, we'll celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary.

Next year, both of us will have to handle 2 monsters at home all by ourselves.

Thanks for being a wonderful hubby and daddy. I'm sure Caris agrees with me.

Photo taken 14th April 2002 in Similajau National Park, Bintulu.

Youth Park for Kids

2010-11-18T13:35:00.003+08:00

It was a holiday yesterday and M&D decided to bring me to Youth Park. Hannah's mommy seems to be always bringing her to this place, so it should be pretty good for kids.

And indeed, it was good! It was almost afternoon but the place was well-shaded, very well maintained and there were many many toddlers and kids there (then why is it called Youth Park??). It's so fun running around that it didn't matter falling down again.

My mommy & daddy doesn't allow me to climb this though. So boring.

Do I need to explain further how happy I was?

"Shake shake" everywhere, and our apartment only has one lousy "shake shake".

So many slides, spoilt for choice.

Free "shake shake" dinasour but I was more interested in Mommy's soy bean drink, drank half of the cup.

Wee, Youth Park is so much fun. Next time, come play with me.

The Fall

2010-11-12T10:40:00.004+08:00

Two weeks ago, we attended Uncle Kevin G. and Aunt Mei Jen's wedding. Mommy dressed me up daintily so that I look like a sweet lil' girl for the wedding. Kids just can't sit down quietly. It's more fun to run up and down, up and down, pull up your skirt while mommy says "shame shame".

Daddy brought me outside since I can't sit still and can't stop making noise. I ran to see what's beyond the church fence and suddenly I fell down. This is the first fall I had on both my knees with blood oozing out. Daddy washed my knees and brought me to mommy who was sitting inside. I refused to see my knees and kept pulling my dress down, asking M&D to "sayang". Thank God mommy had 2 plasters with her and they gave me some comfort. Aunt Nancy says I will grow taller an inch after the fall...

At home, mommy put some medicine for me and put on long pants for me the whole day so that I don't see the injury and start whining.

Anyway 2 weeks has passed and I'm all fine. Por Por is here to pamper me this week. This early morning, daddy was getting ready to go to an overnight teambuilding at some rainforest far far away. Daddy says he's going hiking and I insisted on following. I don't have hiking boots so I put on my selipar jepun which works well enough in the ditch.

I sat down with Daddy and say bye to mommy and por por. But daddy says he's going alone this time and if the place is nice, next time he'll bring me. Sob sob sob.....

Dictator

2010-11-03T10:29:00.003+08:00

Daddy: (singing) Nobody nobody but you...
Caris: Daddy no sing song ar!
Daddy: (singing) Nobo....
Caris: Daddy shh shh no sing song.

Caris: (whining) Aek Aek Aek Aek
Daddy: No aek aek aek OK. Aek Aek Aek Aek.
Caris: Daddy no aek aek aek.
Mommy: Aek Aek Aek Aek.
Caris: Mommy no aek aek aek, no aek aek aek. Shhhh. (beats mommy)

Caris: Daddy ai yang fork.
Daddy: No, you eat rice with spoon not fork.
Caris: AI YANG FORK. AI YANG FORK.
Daddy: Ok ok, fork fork. Daddy go take.

Caris puts her pillow in between our pillows. Daddy is awake while mommy is still lazing around.
Caris: Mommy MOVE!
Mommy: You so small girl you want so big space ar?
Caris: Move, move, aek aek, move move move.
Mommy: You move daddy's pillow la, he's not sleeping also!
Caris: Mommy move move move (pushes mommy)
Mommy: OK OK mommy move lor.

When Caris is naugty, daddy will take the wooden spoon and say, "Go pick that up. Daddy pak pak you ar". When Caris gets her balloon stick:
Caris: Caris pa you ar. Sit sit. Caris pa you ar. No no, Caris pa you ar.

Mom's Journal: Time-out

2010-10-25T14:46:00.003+08:00

Caris was very naughty last Saturday. Refused to eat the porridge that I cooked and even flipped half of the bowl on herself and on the floor. There was cod fish inside so it made the chair and floor very oily. It was very annoying as a slice of cod fish cost around RM 10, cooking time was around an hour and you put all your heart and mind to cook for her. We made her sit on her high chair alone while we watched TV. She cried and shouted but we ignored her. Time-out session. She kicked the high chair but we still ignored her. After 10 minutes, her daddy gave her a bath coz she was drenched with sweat, tears and cod fish oil while I soap, clean her chair and mopped the floor.

I kept the leftover for her dinner but she prefered Queensbay food court wan tan mee to home-cooked porridge. I had to hide some fish beneath the noodles to make sure she doesn't waste the cod fish.

It was demotivating and in times like this, there's an urge to stop cooking for her and let her enjoy outside food. A thought remains a thought and the next day, cooked Bovril pasta instead and she finished all. Good enough to motivate me continue cooking for this naughty girl.

Caris loves to "sarong" herself nowadays after bath. She will ask daddy to "sarong", and walked to the mirror and admire herself and walked to me and ask "Nice?". Gandhi wannabe...

Promoted Again

2010-10-25T10:53:00.002+08:00

I've been promoted to jie jie again. My cousin Jeremiah Wong Zher Min was born on 20.10.2010. Welcome Baby Je (that's the best I can pronounce for now), and congrats to Uncle Luke and Aunt Siew Siang!

Lost World of Tambun Water Park

2010-10-12T14:48:00.003+08:00

For the entire last week, M&D have been bribing me to finish my milk, wake up in the morning, run errands etc etc with "Big Swimming Pool" on Saturday. I kept thinking that the next day will be Saturday but it never came. Finally, it was Saturday and Big Swimming Pool day!!!

To celebrate Daddy's "final below 30" birthday, our Care Cell organized a trip to Lost World of Tambun Water Park in Ipoh. The adults had to pay RM38 for entrance (RM34 if booked online) and kids above 90cm RM32. Thank God that I'm slightly below 90cm coz RM32 was way to expensive for toddlers!

We started off with the "dry park" so that we can jump into the water park after being sweaty and smelly. The locker rental was RM10 non-refundable; size was big enough for 2 bags. We didn't rent the tube since it can only be used at certain areas. The Petting Zoo was pretty cool especially when all the birds walk together with you and surround you. However, I got bored fast coz it's very hot and in my head is the picture of "Big Swimming Pool".

I was afraid to feed the rabbit so Daddy and Grace che che fed them instead. The animal food was RM1 and they have specific food for specific animals. So decide which animals you like best and buy their food.

After my porridge lunch and milk, finally it was swimming pool time! Normally, it'll be my naptime but I was fully awake at this time.

Of course, nobody carries the camera around and play at the water park. So I don't have any photos to share with you. I enjoyed the kid's section very much, going up and down the slide a gazillion time, watched the tigers "mum mum" their meal during feeding session. Around 4, I was too tired and fell asleep on mommy's shoulders while she enjoyed her foot spa at the hot spring. It was mentioned that the hot spring was of natural sources and good for skin. Since I refused to be taken care by anyone else, mommy didn't had the chance to play those "dangerous" water rides. Luckily, there was uncle Jason, Alex and Andy to accompany daddy getting his adrenalin rush.

After a 30 minutes nap, I woke up and the first word that came out from my mouth was Swimming Pool! So M&D brought me to the kid's section second round and I screamed and squealed in delight. I even learned how to balance myself walking in water and swim; and in the process drank lotsa pool water.

We left the water park around 6pm and had dinner in Ipoh. It was a wonderful Care Cell outing and of course, swimming pool will never be the same again.

Mom's Journal: Caris girl is 2!

2010-09-21T11:00:00.006+08:00

Time flies. My lil girl is 2 now. If she travels by air, we need to pay an adult fare for her. This chatterbox seems to have only one mission possible = annoy daddy mommy as much as possible. When mommy points her finger and say no no, she does the same back to mommy. When daddy asks her to stop whining "no aeh aeh aeh ok", she repeats the same thing to daddy. At one point of time, I got so annoyed that made me think "How did I get into this mess?". The anger faded away when she gave me a loud good night kiss.

This year, Caris had a total of 3 cakes. One advance celebration with my family (Ryan & Izac, come and join us next time ya?).

One Barney cake for her kindergarten celebration with her little friends. Maybe it was too early in the morning and she was surprised with our sudden appearance in the kindy, she didn't get too excited seeing her Barney cake.

The birthday photo that I sent to the Star came out 2 days before her birthday. Kecik-kecik sudah keluar papers.

One more mini cake with us after work. This time, she got very excited with the Barney figurine made by Ida, flown in from Melbourne with the help of her in laws. She loved the Barney so much that she kept wanting to grab hold of it.

Another year has gone by and the lil helpless baby is now a fearless toddler. To our Caris girl, Mommy & Daddy love you very much.

Bookfest Malaysia 2010

2010-09-17T16:00:00.002+08:00

During the first day of Raya, my daddy brought me to the Bookfest Malaysia at KLCC on our way back to mommy's hometown.

There were so many people and so many books and the parking was RM9 (this was way too expensive for Penang folks).

And my daddy came back with so many books that I could touch the ceiling when I step on them.

Oh my God!

Mom's Journal: Some of her favourite things

2010-09-08T14:53:00.004+08:00

Almost 2 years old, my lil' girl has developed some cute and some annoying skills. Doing further research on the Net, looks like those annoying skills are normal phases of growing up.

She loves hiding things and fortunately, there are usually few "selected" places. If we can't find our stuffs like handbag or towel, we are usually lucky enough to locate them at those "selected places". We're anticipating a day when we will be in a rush and can't locate our keys. The "safe" areas in our house are getting smaller and smaller since she has grown taller and her hands have grown longer. Our dining table seemed to be getting smaller as we have to push everything to the centre. During the recent Lumut trip, Caris put daddy's watch into one of the drawers and kept quiet. Fortunately, daddy was doing a check-out inspection else it's goodbye to the watch.

Since she had more hair, we decided to tie her hair for school. She came home without the hair band, and the teachers said she took it out and threw it somewhere, cannot be located. Expanding this "skill", she loves throwing things out of the house to the balcony; hairband, paper, blocks, cup etc. Fortunately, those stuffs stay within the balcony and not twelve storey downstairs. Babycentre advices parents to slowly teach their kids what can be thrown and what not, and where they can throw it. That's the theory, let's see if the practical works.

She learned how to gargle after brusing her teeth. Unfortunately, she's also expanding this skill to spit in the living hall and enjoys watching us being annoyed. She loves to pinch people and the pinches hurt coz' she uses her energy on very little portion of your skin (if you can imagine what I mean).

When a stranger enters the apartment's lift, she will look down to the floor and be very quiet. Just when the lift opens and the stranger walks out, she will say "Bye Bye Auntie" or "Bye Bye Uncle" which brings a wide smile even to those who are cool like cucumber. Failed first impression but created a long lasting "last impression". When she's in a better mood, she will greet the people walking pass her "che che, auntie, kor kor, uncle, kakak"; this melted the hearts of the waitresses in Swiss Garden, unfortunately no extra discount for that.

Since going to school, she could count "Ung, Two, Tree, Pour, Pive, Sik, Ayon, Eight, Nine, TEN" and we're really proud of her for that. She can also form sentences, like saying "Daddy Ai-yang yayoon" (Daddy I want balloon) or "I like Teacher Aget" (I like Teacher Margaret). Sometimes we couldn't really understand what she's saying, like this morning's "Ai-yang Nissin"; Nissin noodle???? We will ask her to bring us to the object; turned out that she wanted Raisin and if I were her, I must be thinking "Why my mommy daddy so blur one".

She's been a chatter box since going to school and this turned out to be one of the best decision we have made for her. This little girl acts like a boy, climbing and kicking stuffs around and carrying heavy stuff, but melt our hearts just being a daddy's girl.

The Beach

2010-09-06T14:01:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, M&D and Por Por brought me to the Swiss-Garden Golf Resort & Spa Damai Laut. Mommy booked the Ramadan package which cost RM377.20 for a night's stay, free breakfast and dinner for 2 adults and 2 kids and free RM100 F&B credit. Exiting from Changkat Jering from Penang, the journey took us around 2.5 hours.

It was a nice short trip as I was tall enough to stand in the baby pool and play by the beach. I had my own cot bed; unfortunately the published two twin-bedded room turned out to be two single bed so it was pretty cramped for the 3 adults.

I spent a wonderful time with Daddy as he was really busy at work the past 2 weeks.

I helped Daddy to collect water for his sand castle. The first container I used was very small, and it had holes at the bottom! So slow!

I upgraded my tool to the watering can, but it was still really slow...

Finally, I found the right "tool" and work was much faster.

Finally, our sand castle was ready!!! Nice or not?

M&D pampered themselves with a couple spa (Samsara Touch) at a promotional price of RM252.50 while por por enjoyed her facial. Everyone enjoyed the meals as the buffet dinner and breakfast were really yummy, lots of variety and nice food.

Here's the view from our hotel room, where M&D paid an extra RM30 for the sea view instead of garden view. It turned out to be a good choice coz the sea was really beautiful.

I had some scratches from the trip but I guess learning the word Beach makes it worthwhile :)

Family "Portrait"

2010-08-26T16:54:00.004+08:00

Our first family caricature...

Continuation..Last night, I went home and ask Caris who are those in the caricature.. Her answer: Jesus (at mommy's caricature), Aden (at daddy's caricature) and -no answer-.

Why??? Coz her bedtime story book has the photo of Jesus and 2 kids, which mommy says they are Aden and Caris...

This morning, she could recognise us in the caricature though. hahaha.

The Goodness of Growing Up

2010-08-23T13:36:00.009+08:00

Last weekend was busy busy weekend for me. M&D brought me to the Seberang Jaya Penang Bird Park. The night before, they bought kiddo's sunblock and sunglasses for me, purposely for this outing. The entrance fee for Malaysian adult was RM15 (normal RM20), camera RM1 and children below 2 FOC. We were not really trilled with the bird park as it doesn't have the feel good factor, and the bird show was not as good as the one in Ecopark Bukit Merah. We arrived at 11am, stayed for the bird show at 11.30am and left at 12.30pm. Perhaps the main attraction worth mentioning were the eagles flying on top of our heads during the bird show, which I wasn't really interested in since I was having my porridge and Mommy was too busy feeding me and thinking what to do in case the eagle attacks the fish in my porridge.

I had a good nap at home and was awaken when por por called my name. I was so happy seeing her and became a "model citizen" for that weekend. She made a sudden trip to Penang together with my grand aunt 5. We went for some seafood and jalan-jalan in Autocity bazaar. I had my first taste of Starbucks Chocolate ice blended & Green tea ice blended, insisted on having more even though mommy kept confiscating the cup away. The result, I tossed and turn on my mattress at night and only fell asleep after an hour.

The next day, we tried out the new bak kut teh restaurant in town. Mommy allowed me to have some soup with the rice there... yummy yummy, much tastier than the ABC soup/ apple soup/ all other soup without salt that my mommy cooks for me. The shop is called Yi Xiang Bak Kut Teh and it is situated along Macalister Road. As the shop is quite new, the service is not really up to standard yet and they had limited baby chairs, but food wise, it's really a class above. However, the food is served in individual small bowls with flames heating it below, thus there's no the "claypot" feeling of bak kut teh.
The following photo is non-Halal...

In the evening, I became the cheerleader for Mommy & Daddy's bowling outing with their Carecell friends. I looked surprise, trying hard to figure out what the adults were doing, giving 5s to all the uncles and aunty who managed to knock down most of the bowling pins. Penang Bowl isn't too condusive for kids though, uncles puffing away even though there are big no smoking signs around. At night, we had a nice dinner and I ate more rice with tofu (too much carbo causing constipation?). It has been more than 3 years since M&D last bowled, it feels good to be able to join them this time round!

Snapshots: Almost 2 years old

2010-08-17T15:51:00.004+08:00

The not-so-sincere smile when I'm asked to say Cheese!

Playing in the park after school, toning my muscles to be strong like Daddy.

Wearing my daddy's Liverpool cap.

After almost a year, my Daddy finally bought Barney for me.

Oh no!

Putting my favourite toys to sleep and keeping them cosy.

Trying out new clothes and admiring myself in the mirror.

Endo Thermal Magic Cooker

2010-08-16T13:50:00.004+08:00

Caris has very little hair (just like me when I was young, according to my mom). So she got very excited when we tied her hair last week for school. She's getting more and more talkative since going to school. Sometimes, she has to repeat 3-4 times until we understand what she wants.

Back to the main topic. Recently my mom exchanged her Bonuslink points (and topping up RM60) with this Endo Thermal Magic Cooker.

I have experimented it to boil 3 types of soup, porridge and steam meat. All worked out real fine; however it may lack a bit of "fire" (Cantonese calls it wok hei) compared to cooking them directly stovetop. It's very convenient for me because I just need to cook the food on top of the stove for 10 mins, transfer them to the Endo, leave the food unattended (go market, clean the house, go shopping etc etc) and it will be waiting for me warm and cooked after 3-4 hours. There is a simple guidebook accompanying the product with some recipes. Different food have different "stovetop" and "Endo" time. Some just needs an hour "Endo" time.

Caris loves drinking soup, so this product saves my electricity/ gas and I don't need to constantly check on the soup. It will not get burnt and dried up. Good product for busy mommies who prefers cooking for their tots instead of eating out.

Mom's Journal: Go School

2010-08-05T15:18:00.003+08:00

Caris has started to go to school. We started off with morning session (without lunch) for a week, followed by half day (with lunch) for a week, and finally full day. Our initial plan was to maintain half day at school and 2nd half at the babysitter's until we noticed that 2 times separation was not good for her. She would be very happy to see us during lunch and a moment later, she'll cry as we have to leave her at the babysitter's. She even starts crying when we turn into the road leading to the babysitter's house!

The transition phase was not too bad and she is more talkative now; even talking non-stop during bedtime until I have to ignore her "conversation" so that she can zzz. As parents, we were delighted to see her first craftwork yesterday and will store this "slipper" properly for memories :)

Bah-Bai Cat, Bah-Bai Bird...

2010-07-30T15:31:00.007+08:00

My mommy was reading another mommy's blog on her 2yo saying bye bye to all her toys before leaving the house, sometime causing the mommy to be late for work.

Then my mommy thought about the video we took just a couple of days ago. From saying bye bye to all the kids at the babysitters, to saying bye bye to all my dolls, now I say bye bye to the pictures on the wall. If I do not remember or know what the item is called... just say bye bye will do...

Playing pretend and putting all my bears and baby to sleep is also fun. I make sure they drink their milk and lie down quietly, gently (maybe not that gentle) patting them to sleep; until mommy reminds me that she is waiting for me to finish my milk and go to sleep.... Spoilsport!

Eating Place: Tek Sen Restaurant

2010-07-27T13:50:00.003+08:00

After the pet festival in Times Square Penang last weekend, we decided to have an early dinner in one of the restaurant that we have recently discovered together with our friend, Andy.

It's called Tek Sen Restaurant which serves typical Chinese chu char. It is located somewhere near Chulia Street, just turn in the left lane shortly after the famous hawker stalls by the roadside. It is an open air restaurant, equipped with lotsa fan and one gigantic aircond. As it is located in one of those pre-war buildings, the place is actually quite airy. There is no separate smoking area, but so far smokers have been sitting far from us. There are tables and chairs outside so considerate smokers will know what to do. This restaurant is really clean and the dishes served are of high quality - good fish, good vege, even the drinks are good. There are baby chairs and it is considered clean for a chu char restaurant.

There is a mix of tourists and locals in this shop. It was packed at 6pm on a Saturday! There are ample parking spaces if you don't mind walking a bit. Price, well it is slightly more expensive as the food portion is pretty small, but as I said, they serve quality food!

Baby-Friendly score: 3 out of 5
Location: 18 & 20, Carnavon Street, Penang.

Oral Hygiene and Tummy Comfort

2010-07-20T17:52:00.003+08:00

Since Caris had her 2 front teeth at 5 months old up till now a almost complete set of teeth at 22 months old, I have progressed from using a clean hanky to finger toothbrush to kids toothbrush (Tesco Value cheap cheap kids toothbrush) without toothpaste. I didn't consider using toothpate as I'm not confident in children's toothpaste for kids below 3. When Caris visited the dentist last month, she recommended Biotene First Teeth to me. Since Caris has lotsa teeth now, I thought that I should really look into her oral hygiene and got her this tiny tube of toothpaste at RM20 plus. She initially hated the taste but after few "tricks", she will willingly open her mouth and say EEEEE and AAAAA when she's in a good mood. I think this toothpaste works well for toddlers and it has a nice banana taste. The packaging says that it is suitable for ages 3 months and above.

At times, Caris does not have regular bowel movements. She can go on without any poo for 4 days, even if we stuff her with yogurt, Yakult, fruits, water etc. Dr Sim prescribed a Lactulose solution for her called Lactul. It works well, every time after taking 3.5ml, we will see her holding onto her bed railings or her walker, tip-toeing and pushing real hard until her face turns white. Then the smell comes.... Last night, she passed out 4 days poo and even some while sleeping at night. Too effective? haha. For kids, poo is gold :) I think all parents will agree with me on this.

So here you go, 2 products which I use on Caris at 22 months old.

Mom's Journal: The REAL stuffs

2010-07-19T15:53:00.003+08:00

Caris has always been fascinated by the cow cow, a-arf (horse horse), abit (rabbit), chicke (chicken), beh beh (bear), dog dog and her favourite, duck-duck which can be seen in her books or Barney's farm. Since she has recovered from her HFM, daddy decided to bring the family to a road trip using the wonderful Exora. It's really a good family car if you don't mind the Proton brand.

We have been contemplating between Tambun Lost World Petting Zoo, where entrance is RM30 for the whole park, but we decided on a nearer and cheaper alternative, Bukit Merah Laketown Ecopark where entrace was RM12/adult. It didn't seem worthwhile paying RM30 for Tambun Lost World since we were only interested in the Petting Zoo. Since Caris was below 90cm, entrance was free.

Ecopark was the right choice as we arrived there around 11am and left at 2, just the right time for Caris' afternoon nap. The Ecopark has a canopy so it's not too hot which made the trip more pleasant. There was also an animal show at 12.30pm.

Though we brought her stroller along, she preferred to be carried or on her own 2 feet. This lil' girl experienced feeding the rabbit for the first time in her life, and even going very near them. Some of the rabbits were a bit lazy, ignoring Caris shouts of "come, come".

The highlight of the park was the introduction of duck-duck, she got so excited that she squealed with delight, jumping and shouting at the ducks.

When we were at the exit/ entrace, lil' girl started running and running, towards the fountain where she placed her leg on the fountain outlets, with Daddy joining her in that (much to my dismay....) My 2 favourite kids enjoying themselves, so be it...

We left at 2 and arrived in Penang at 3. Short and sweet trip, praise God.

Sick, Phobia, Forget and Celebrate!

2010-07-14T17:25:00.004+08:00

As I mentioned to you in my previous post, I was down with Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease for the 3rd time. M&D are not too sure where I got it from, the babysitter's place or the Dr's clinic (a lot of sick kids go there and we play the same toys).

Mommy had to stay at home for the whole week to take care of me since I was not allowed to go to babysitter's place. For that one week, I refused to eat solid, drink water, eat anything; only milk, nothing else but milk. Don't even try to brush my teeth, give any probiotics or put oral gel on my ulcers, it really hurts! I practically clinged to mommy's leg all the time and refused all the nice food she cooked for me. It ended up being her lunch/ dinner. Drooling all around and crying all day long (and night). My daddy drew Barney for me but it only cheered me up a little, see I'm opening up my mouth coz it really hurt. M&D said my mouth was really, really smelly!

On Thursday, mommy took me to the doc and said I was much better. Did some heart ultrasound to make sure my heart is not affected, and that cost RM180. Mommy said it looked like the ultrasound she took when I was in her tummy. M&D were worried why I refused to drink water, and doc said it might be psychological.

We went back to gong gong and por por's house on Fri, and to M&D's amazement, I ate the biscuit offered by por por! I accepted water from cup, and when I saw mommy drinking milo box drink, I even asked for some! Forgotten about my pain? I still refused solid, but I enjoyed reading free books in Popular though...

At night, we celebrated Aden kor kor's 3rd birthday and to everyone's relieve, I ate my porridge! That's after almost a week of fasting.... Happy Birthday to Aden kor kor by the way.

The next few days, I was absolutely at my best behaviour. M&D said I was a model citizen, eat, drink, sleep, share, listen to parents ocassionally.

After spending such a long time with my loved ones, I cried loudly when I had to go to babysitter's place on Tues. So poor thing..... and I was stripped off my model citizen title.... M&D thank God though I'm drinking and finish my 6oz * 4 times daily milk, coz I have been giving them a hard time for the past few months, throwing bottles and making a fuss.

Our New Family Toy

2010-07-06T12:56:00.004+08:00

We have a new toy at home, our new Proton Exora 1.6 H-line (auto). Due to the health deterioration of daddy's old Proton Wira, he wanted to get a good and affordable family car of us. Finally, being a family-guy, he decided to get a family MPV.

I must be the happiest person with the new car coz I get to watch Barney in the car. However, mommy limits my car TV time coz I'm really addicted to Barney nowadays.

All of us love this car coz it's spacious and has lotsa safety features. Yes, it's a Proton and many people have negative perceptions towards our national brand, including us. But it's the most affordable MPV in our option list.

The only mistake was for us to buy from a horrible sales office. We booked the car with Roadstar Penang and were promised delivery within 2-3 weeks. The car did not come till more than a month later, with many empty promises in between, changes in our day to day plans due to those empty promises, and at one point, the salesman was not contactable! Mommy got so fed-up that she called the director up and demanded for explanation. The sales office really started working when they had to pay up Proton a month within the booking date. On the day when the car was supposed to come, daddy called up the salesman at 1pm at we were told that the car has arrived and they were performing inspection. An hour later, salesman called and say it was not our car! We ended up driving our Kancil to Alor Star. Mommy actually called up another sales office and we were told there was a car available and we can get them within a week! Sigh.... Many more bad experience but let's leave them aside...

The car is really big, so mommy is still trying to perfect her parking and going up the narrow multi-storey parking skills; which resulted in her parking in office far far away from everyone else.... next to a similar Proton Exora :)

I'm down with hand-foot-mouth disease again this week, have been really fussy and clinging to mommy like a glue all the time. Poor mommy has to stay at home to keep me quarantined....

Mom's Journal: Good Parents

2010-06-30T15:39:00.005+08:00

It is not easy to be parents nowadays, moreover good parents.
A little 11yo beautiful girl from church just passed away after a bad fall being adventurous.
There are a lot of mad people out there preying on little girls, molest, rape and the list goes on.

We want our kids to grow up healthy, happy and being all-rounders.
We went camping, mid-night jungle tracking, cycling to the mini market to buy sugar last time. Do we deprive them of this fun now?
But if we don't limit them, things may happen, and people will go back pointing fingers to parent's negligence.

"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

My First Wedding Dinner

2010-06-29T14:59:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, we made a short weekend trip to Alor Star for M&D's university friend's wedding. It was also mommy's gift to daddy for Father's day, a night stay in the best hotel in Alor Star (Star City Hotel, RM160/night only la) where the wedding was held. It's great that you can just take a lift down to the ballroom for the dinner and take a lift up to zzzz.
The hotel gave me a complimentary cot bed, though I think it was meant for smaller babies, it worked great.

I tried putting on the bedroom slippers but it was oversized. Therefore I made sure mommy wears it all the time and I'll bring them for her if she forgets to wear them (mommy pls say thank you).

I sat with baby Clement during the dinner, M&D took so many photos of me till they forgot to take the bride & groom's photo.

I told you the cot bed worked great right. With the thick curtains and nice air-cond, I slept until 10.15am the next day, just in time for M&D to rush for the free buffet breakfast before it ends at 10.30am.

I really mean rush coz I wore my pyjamas to the Paddy Cafe downstairs. Daddy enjoyed the experience of having the buffet breakfast with me, and I enjoyed eating adult's food!

We did not have much time to visit Alor Star, so we decided to visit one of the must-go places, Nasi Lemak Ong. We had to queue up on a Sunday afternoon (it was a working day for Kedah) and since we were quite full, 3 of us shared a plate of rice.

And once again, I get to eat adult's food - Yum Yum Nasi Lemak. It leaves mommy annoyed why I refuses to eat rice at home (without any flavouring, just fish, rice and vege) but ate every bit of nasi lemak and fried rice that was offered to me when we're outside.

And mommy says.... sorry Caris, still no salt for you. And pls drink your milk, your have been driving us crazy for the past 2 weeks refusing to drink milk and throwing your bottle away when you finally take some sips. Daddy wanted to use the cane on you, but doing more research online tells us to make milk time enjoyable for you. So we'll just leave you to "cool down" everytime you throw temper tantrum refusing to drink milk....

Eating Places: Khunthai Village

2010-06-21T15:21:00.005+08:00

We love Thai food. When my mom came over, we decided to drive across the bridge (even though traffic on the bridge was slow), and we finally arrived at Khunthai Village around an hour later.

The place is huge with lots of free parking spaces. As this is a non air-conditioned eatery, people happily lit up their cigarette while shouting Goal! at Germany's 3rd and 4th goal. The baby chair was made from rattan and there's no seat belt on it. If your baby is a mosquito magnet like Caris, make sure you apply mozzie repellant. Over here, your kids can screm and dirty the place as much as they want, no problem! We chose to dine at the main area, even though the Thai style huts looked really nice and authentic.

As it is a Thai restaurant, there's limited selection of kid's food. Little girl was very happy eating plain rice though. The washroom is very clean but there're lots of mosquitoes! Overall, hubby and I did not have the "feel good factor" after dining here. We think that the food is not as great as it acclaimed to be. The tom yam was delicious though! This is the bill for 3 adults and 1 kiddo

Baby-Friendly score: 2 out of 5

Location: 104, Permatang Tengah, 13000 Butterworth, Penang. 04-332 7523.
Coordinates: 5°26’41″N 100°23’14″E

Eating Place: Mama's Nyonya Restaurant

2010-06-14T23:53:00.005+08:00

I'm gonna start a new category on the topic of Eating Place but I will focus on how baby friendly they are (less on food quality and pricing which you can get from other blogs). The photos may be a far cry from the professional food blogs coz most of them will be taken from my camera phone (I don't carry a SLR or even my point-and-shoot around).

As every parent know, eating out is very different when the baby comes. No more going to crowded, tepi longkang besar (next to big drain) but delicious hawker centres. Less going out to non air-conditioned places cause it means people will start puffing away. Lots of factors to consider, clean table? clean chair? suitable food for kids? etc etc.

Last weekend, we went to Mama's Nyonya Restaurant. It is an air conditioned restaurant with around 6 large tables and 1 small table inside. Therefore, it is advisable to make bookings ahead. This is our first time trying out authentic Nyonya food. The food quality is good, reasonably priced. It is non-halal. Rice was free flow at RM1.50 per pax.

The baby chair is clean and it has a seat belt. The waitress pro-actively brought a plastic kiddy plate for me, but with normal steel cutleries. You can mess up the floor but it wouldn't be too nice since the interior is clean and nice. You can scream and shout and not receive disapproving look from the owner. If you are in a bad mood and plan to throw all the food on the floor, this is not a good place to go. Most importantly, the smoking area is outside so all of us were spared from smelly secondary smoke.

Baby-Friendly score: 4 out of 5

Location: 31-D, Abu Siti Lane, Georgetown, Penang. 04-2291318

My First Visit to the Dentist

2010-06-14T23:27:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, when I tried to rekindle my baby-hood memory of crawling, I slipped on my own saliva and banged my tooth against the floor!

The result - a chipped upper left front tooth (upper central incisor)! It was not too bad but caused a sharp edged tooth which significantly affected my beautiful moments with my pacifier while falling asleep. The sharp edge must have pressed against my lips and it caused me to cry, holding my pacifier with one hand and being forced to doze off without my favourite P. Somehow, I grabbed hold of the pacifier in the middle of the night, popped it into my mouth and sleep goes on (and M&D thought this was God's special way to wean me off the P). It caused M&D heartache too knowing my nice nice tooth (if you have seen me before, my upper front teeth is kinda obvious when I smile) had a chip on it.

Being a self-helped "dentist" they googled on toddler's chipped teeth and found that many parents had similar problems. They decided to bring me to the dentist, where Queensbay Dental Surgery had services for Children Dentistry. I enjoyed playing in the lobby of the nice, clean and spacious clinic. The doctor (didn't get her name though) was very nice and made me feel happy and comfortable. The room was beautifully decorated with children theme.

Dr said that my chipped tooth should be fine and it does not affect my root canal. She could perform some patching work but didn't recommend that as it would be tough using the nasty equipments on a lil' girl like me. The sharp edge will slowly go away as I grow older, and after all, I will get my new set of teeth when I'm a big girl. Mommy asked her lotsa questions on oral hygiene for toddlers and she shared some tips based on her personal experience with her own toddler.

All of us left the clinic happily, cause it was free of charged! I was even happier cause I did not have to face any nasty tools, I just needed to say "cheese" to the dentist.

Mom's Journal: Seat Belt just like Mommy's and Daddy's

2010-06-09T16:00:00.006+08:00

My cheeky lil' Caris is getting more and more active as she grows up.
Photo taken here when her por por was talking to her on the phone and she just kept quiet...

She's doing more and more stunts in the car, and it is not that practical for us to transfer our one and only car seat (cheap cheap Fairworld car seat) when we alternate our cars to go to work. If you are wondering, yes, sometimes we have to "release" her from the car seat when she screams and cries too much, so sometimes she gets to dance and climb and fly in the car.

We decided to get her one more car seat, due to budgeting concerns, we got her one which is actually not so suitable for her age... yet. She hates this car seat even more and we have to coax her that she's now using a seat belt just like mommy's and daddy's. She bought in to the coaxing, but only for a minute though. We also told her that she now has 2 cup holders, one for her milk bottle and one for her Barney bottle, which M&D don't have. She's still not tall enough for the car seat, thus the pillow support to place her higher. We have only used this car seat for a week (which she only sat twice in it), so there's not much comment on it yet. Caris' cousin, Aden is using it happily though. Some details of this car seat:

Model: Graco: Junior Maxi Saturn Car Seat
Price: RM299, discounted price from the normal RM349.00. Bought at Peekaboo i-avenue during their mid-year sales.
Other details (extracted from other websites):
- Height adjustable head support that grows with your child.
- Height adjustable arm rests to give better back support.
- 2 retractable cup holders.
- Raised seat and belt guides ensure maximum performance.
- The back can be removed to leave a group 3 booster seat.
- Weight 3.6kg
- Suitable for children from 15 to 36kg

"Cousin's Time" is Party Time

2010-05-31T16:26:00.009+08:00

Last weekend was a long weekend, I finally get to see 3 months old baby Izac for the first time. The entire family of mommy's side was back, including Uncle Mike from across South China Sea.
And when we cousins get together, it's Party Time!!!! WeeeeeeEEE!!!!

M&D say I look like Baby Jerry on my shirt.

Baby Izac, if I give you my dog dog (belongs to mommy last time), will you play with us?

Ryan kor kor, since your adik Izac don't want to play with us, pls gimme a ride on your bicycle.

Gong gong organized an extended family gathering dinner and we tasted "Poon Choi" for the first time. However, we cousins were more interested in "hardwares". Pls queue up if you want to join us, kids only.

At times, there were healthy competitions of "see who gets attention from por por the most"

The winner gets to go on stage to play with chairs while the adults continue looking at us disapprovingly.

We really enjoy family gatherings such as this. Ryan and Izac, pls come back more often!

Family Photo

2010-05-24T17:18:00.004+08:00

Say Cheese!

Caris is 20 months old, 4 more months and she needs to pay adult fare to fly....

The Crazy Stuff Kids do

2010-05-18T11:43:00.002+08:00

My mommy knows that kids do crazy stuff.
What she doesn't know, we kids do really crazy stuff when we have friends around us.
One person starts rolling on the church carpeted floor, and the other will follow.
And we roll and we roll and we run and we crawl together.
And our mommies do crazy stuff like allowing us to continue rolling since we enjoyed ourselves so much.
And my daddy supported this by giving me a big bath when we got home.

It's very hot nowadays, I go shirtless at home. So nice. Look at the construction project I'm doing... I build and I destroy. hahaha.

My new favourite "couch" to relax and read my book....

Mom's Journal: Eventful, eventful Mother's Day

2010-05-10T10:52:00.006+08:00

Happy mother's day to myself, my mum and mum in law (Caris says "Yepi Nani's Day") too!

After a tiring but rewarding experience being a mommy, this is my 2nd Mother's Day.. Sometimes, it seems like motherhood is such a long journey, but sometimes, it seems that time really flies, she's almost 2!

The day before mother's day, hubby brought us out for a walk in the park followed by a nice dinner with my favourite beverage, White Coffee! Caris was very naughty that night, so I wasn't too please.

The next day, we went to church where PCC gave all mommies a nice non-woven bag. We went for lunch and when we got home around 1, Caris was fast asleep on my shoulders, sweating (don't you think the weather is crazy nowadays?) and guess what, both the apartment lifts broke down! We had to climb up 12 storeys of staircase with lil's girl fast asleep.

Finally I took a refreshing bath, hubby and I and sat down in the air cond room to read newspapers with Caris zzzzz-ing.. Hubby suddenly asked me if I was shaking my leg coz it seemed like the apartment was moving.. and lo and behold, we saw the door moving and fan shaking. It was exactly 2.04pm and my first reaction was:

Oh dear, this apartment was not designed to withstand tremors, and lil' girl was fast asleep, what should I do? I looked out the window and nobody was evacuating and life goes on as usual.

2nd thought, I just walked up 12 storeys, don't tell me I have to run down 12 storeys and later walk up again in case the lifts were still out of service.

The decision: Remain inside the air con room. hahahaha....

In the evening, we played downstairs by the pool with Daddy as the photographer. In case you're wondering, Caris insisted in carrying the red bag with her water bottle inside, all the way. I cooked some nice dinner (nice ka, both of you?) and there 2nd mother's day went by. To me, mother's day is just like any other day, what's important is the family being together.

Happy mother's day to all mommies out there: Irene, Jenny, Ling Lee, Melissa, Angeline, Ida, Audrey, Shu-Yin, Joy, Abigail, Christine, Chiang Mei and of course, Michele! (and to the other mommy blog readers whom I may have missed out, sorry yah)

Mom's Journal: My Ring Sling

2010-05-06T17:48:00.008+08:00

My ring sling was sent to the laundry, dried and kept into the storage drawer yesterday. Weighing more than 11kg now, my shoulders can no longer support the weight of my big baby Caris. Nowadays, she either walks, sit in the trolley or jogger stroller, or just being carried with our hands (not more than 20 mins though).

It has been a great experience babywearing Caris. Feeling Caris near my heart, smelling her, giving her the mommy's and sling's warmth and getting curious stares when I go shopping. Thanks to my mum who bought this sling after observing my cousin Joey using it, I was initially skeptical how this thing can be used and can it actually support the baby. I thought it would go to waste until I began getting a hold of it when Caris was 3 months old, and used it up to 18 months old. The sling has travelled up the plane numerous times, travelled to Sabah and Sarawak and went shopping and attended church services (and weddings).

So now, it goes to the storage for retirement.

My Favourite Things

2010-04-29T23:38:00.004+08:00

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favorite things....

And Caris Wong favourite things (at least for now) are.....

Imitating Daddy using his Nivea roll-on deodorant...

Trying to put on her own diapers and pants.

Drink from mommy's water bottle

And playing pretend with baby while listening to Barney's

Oh, sweet little girl
Oh, sweet little boy
Rest your head on a cloud
Made of feathers.
Oh, sweet little lamb
Oh, sweet little child.
Snuggle up in your blanket of love.

Priceless Moments at No Cost

2010-04-25T00:17:00.007+08:00

I have a new toy. My Daddy bought a set of "Mega Bloks" for me. My mommy said it was too expensive but daddy said "it is time we acknowledge that these toys are expensive..."

I was more interested in playing the empty box though...

The hall is getting smaller as my pool of toys is getting bigger...

If you're wondering what's with the blog title, well, M&D wanted to bring me to the Penang Bird Park until they found out that the entrance fee was RM20/ adult. The next choice was Penang Aquarium, but some blogs mentioned that the fishes there looked too sad to make you happy. So they decided to bring me to something that's FOC and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

They brought me to Chew Thean Yeang Aquarium in town and here I got to see fish fish, bird bird, dog dog, cat cat and bit bit (rabbit) free of charge! Unfortunately, photo-taking is not allowed, so I don't have beautiful photos to show you.

I love this 2 months old poodle the most. I was so happy , jumping around, that mommy couldn't resist but to curi-curi take a photo of me.

After getting all excited about the "zoo", we went to Penang Times Square for the very first time. At least we can tell people that we've been there since I am a true blue Penangite (my M&D are not!). There's really nothing much though. We had lunch at White House Coffee and I got to push the trolley at Sunshine City but my mommy wasn't too amused with me helping her. Do you know why ah? I helped her push the trolley up, down, right, left, you know?

What's next in Penang?

Life is so good...

2010-04-21T17:59:00.004+08:00

Life as a kid is so wonderful...

When the adults were bz preparing for exams and thesis...
When por por came to play with me for 5 days...
When Mommy was so happy when I finally calls her Na Nee after calling Deh Dee for the past 6 months

We, kids just..

Eat

Play

Sleep

Eat

And Eat

Go Shopping without needing to walk

And eat again

Life is so good, isn't it? I don't wanna grow up.....

Mom's Journal: After a long day

2010-04-07T11:25:00.004+08:00

I'm not a poet and I'm too lazy to structure them into nice poetry.. so here goes...

Sometimes when I call for Caris
She continues doing her stuff and ignores me
And I call her again and again
And the result is the same
Sometimes it feels like I'm talking to the wall....

Sometimes we stop her from doing something
And repeatedly say no and divert her to something else
She continues to ignore us and do her stuff
And sometimes even respond with a "NAW" (no)
Again it feels like talking to the wall....

Sometimes when everyone's having dinner
She will cry and stop and cry again
So we let her have some rice in her bowl
And she will pour water from her bottle into her bowl
And put the bowl upside down on her head....

Sometimes when she's watching her Barney
And I thought I have some time to do some chores
She will lie down on her mattress like a queen
And suddenly she will cry and stop and repeat
And leaves me puzzled and stressed out whether I should just ignore....

However, after a long evening when she dozes off at night
And we enter the room to join her zzzz
We see a little princess sleeping soundly
And we will sniff as she smells so nice
And all the stress and heartache melt away....

The Hygiene Factor

2010-04-03T23:29:00.002+08:00

Blessed Easter! This is a celebration of our Lord Jesus' resurrection. He died and rose again!

This morning, we saw a couple with their toddler, and their own high chair at a coffee shop. Mommy & daddy have joked about bringing my own high chair around, but today their eyes were wide opened. People actually do that?

So, how hygienic should we be? Gong gong and por por work in hospitals, so mommy was trained on cleanliness since young. Before I was a year old, mommy does not allow me to play with common toys like this....

M&D will wipe the corners of the tables and high chairs in restaurants/ coffee shops before allowing me to sit on them. I need to wipe my hands or wash them before leaving the coffee shops. Now that I'm bigger, I can play with all the common toys, provided I wash my hands after that. I can touch and feel things like leaves, flowers but not cats and dogs. M&D still wipe the high chairs outside, but not that thorough anymore, haha. But NO, they're not going to buy a high chair for me and bring it around :)

Did I tell you I love to hug my Daddy every time Barney sings I love you? Well, mommy says it is daddy who is emotional, and not me. Here's why...

Once again, blessed Easter! Remember to go church tomorrow and bless someone!

Somewhere Up There

2010-03-30T13:15:00.006+08:00

Thanks to uncle Jimmy for the beautiful photos....

Last weekend, mommy & daddy & Caris went to Cameron Highlands with the uncles and aunties (though some still prefers to be called che che) from our Cell Group. Mommy had to wake up early in the morning to cook my lunch and dinner.

We arrived in Ipoh, ate the delicious "Funny Mountain" tau fu fah and headed to Chemor for the claypot ikan haruan (snakehead). It was delicious, though it would have been better if it was nearer to Ipoh, the weather was not that hot, and I was able to had a taste of it.

We arrived at Parkland's Apartment around 5pm. Mommy goes to Cameron almost twice a year, and the weather gets hotter each time. Global warming?

I had a great time playing with all the uncles and aunties. I also learned how to call Uncle Andy as EnDee...

We went to the night market and I had a good zzzzz that night while Daddy was playing UNO (Intercept!) and Mommy had a good chat with the ladies. The next day, we had breakfast and headed to the Big Red Strawberry Farm (mommy blogged about it here). Things have changed, there are lotsa visitors to this place, lotsa ppl smoking and I am no longer interested in the "money eating machine" i.e. musical ride. I came out of the musical car halfway and did not bother to look back.

I had some scones too, but was too sleepy to enjoy them.

It was time to leave Cameron. It was a short trip but I really enjoyed myself. Tata!

Before and After

2010-03-26T17:44:00.001+08:00

Mommy, Daddy, Caris: Month 2 vs Month 18

Caris with Aden kor kor: Month 2 vs Month 18

Caris with hair: Before and after first hair cut at Month 18

Treasure Hunt

2010-03-19T10:32:00.005+08:00

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who had runny nose. She felt so uncomfortable and kept crying that her mommy & daddy allowed her to sleep on their bed. At 2am in the morning, the little girl started crying since she discovered that her pacifier wasn't in her mouth.

M&D tried searching for the pacifier in the dark but couldn't find it. They switched on the light, flip the pillows, bolster, comforter and almost turned the bed upside down but still couldn't find it.

The little girl was crying inconsobly while M&D were treasure hunting. In the end, mommy went to get the spare pacifier while daddy broke the little girl's cup in the quest of locating the spare pacifier.

Finally, there was peace. Mommy carried little girl to her own cot.
.
.
.
.
.
and found the pacifier inside the little girl's shirt.

Jogging at Mengkuang Dam

2010-03-14T23:35:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I went jogging with my Daddy at Mengkuang Dam. The GPS led us to use the BKE highway, so we had to pay a total of RM3.20 for the toll. It was around 30 minutes from Penang even though GPS said 15 mins. Mr GPS, are you using Malaysian time hah? Hmmmmm.

The air was fresh and it was really refreshing.

I looked at the birds...

I looked at the uncle passing by, smiled and waved bye bye.

I looked at everything, except into the camera.

Then it was time for dinner!

We went to Ah Keat Seafood. Mommy and Daddy had the delicious crab while I had the lousy tofu and asparagus. Together with the kung po mantis prawn, the bill summed up to less than RM50.

All of us had a great time. And there the weekend went by....

Daddy's Lil' Girl

2010-03-08T11:15:00.006+08:00

Mommy says I'm Daddy's lil' girl. I love to play with Daddy and maybe I'm as naughty as Daddy when he was my age, coz por por says Mommy wasn't so naughty last time.

When Barney sings "I love you" song, I like to sit on daddy's lap and sayang daddy.

Until now, I only call Daddy (daddy = daddy, and mommy is also called daddy). Mommy says she's jealous coz I don't call her even though I always run to her when I want ppl to sayang me or when I pain pain. Yesterday when they taught me how to say Maaaa Meeee, I said Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh-DEEEE.

Mommy sometimes say I'm a samseng (gangster) girl. I like to cling unto my high chair or cupboard and swing like a boy boy (I wonder if boys do that at this age).

I like to ride the big bike but I make sure I wear a helmet. The only girly thing I play is Pooh Pooh and masak masak.

M&D says I'm a very active girl. Daddy likes it this way, but mommy hopes that next time, my brother or sister will be more passive so that she gets less headache.

Promoted

2010-03-02T11:30:00.001+08:00

Caris girl has been promoted to become a cousin sister. Welcome Ryan's adik to the world. Congrats to Mike and Irene. Now Ryan is 3, Aden is 2.5 years old and Caris is 1.5 years old.

When I held Ryan in my hands for the first time when he was one month old, I wasn't even married.

How time flies.

Cheese! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2010-02-18T18:07:00.007+08:00

Xin Nian Kuai Le, Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Gong Xi, Kong Hei Fatt Choy.
My mommy and daddy calls this the "Cheese" face...

Cheese! "Reunion" dinner a day before new year's eve with Gong Gong and Por Por.

Cheese! Posing for Daddy to test out his camera, first day of CNY in Miri, Sarawak.

Cheese! Don't force me to take photo!

Told you all already, don't force me to sit still and take photo.... Btw this is my daddy's side family, with Ah Ma and Gong Gong.

Cheese! Back to Por Por and Gong Gong's house. Where is my food??

Gong Xi Gong Xi, Ang Pow mari. Now mommy & daddy are thinking how to "undo" my Cheese face so that I look prettier in photos. Cheese!

Mom's Journal: Tantrums and Whining

2010-02-07T00:32:00.008+08:00

How many friends do we have that are purple and green?
Besides, there might be a bear out there... (music background: trrrmm trmm trmm trmm)
Me and my best teddy bear..

If you find yourself and your husband to have these songs/ words ringing in your head or singing this to each other while driving, you definitely have a kid who watches the same Barney episode over and over again, day in and day out and refuses to let you watch the news.

Oh wait, before you start the theory that it is not good for kids to watch the TV etc, well, there are dishes that needs to be done, laundry to be hanged, bath to be taken, meals to be cooked etc. Well, just make sure that there is an allocated no-TV time to allow some quality family time.

Anyhow, this blog post was meant to bring you some updates on how our little girl has grown. She has started to whine, throw tantrums, lie on the hard floor when she is angry and refuses to stand OR to be carried without any notice. Our little Caris....

gets angry if she doesn't get what she wants, like mommy's bolster, which is double her size.... nevermind about the size, as long as daddy and mommy can't have it.... she is happy.

Our little girl whom we brought downstairs to play with the beach ball....

and instead, insisting on going down the slope to the road, and if you refuse to follow her way, she would arch her body and hang unto you with one hand (I remember my own dad saying to me decades ago, "no backbone ah", which is exactly the case of Caris now).

The trick of distracting her to stop her from whining....

She wanted to walk by herself without mommy holding her hands by the pool. Obviously, it was a big no no, she got angry and arch her body again, so mommy just let her sit on the ground.

Despite all these, we still adore her and take this as a phase of toddlerhood where we ourselves need to learn how to manage it. Sometimes we give in, sometimes we ignore, sometimes we reprimand her, sometimes it gets on our nerves but nevertheless, little girl is still our little darling.

Knock Knock, Deh-dee!

2010-01-25T17:43:00.004+08:00

I love my Daddy very much. Every time he closes the bedroom door leaving me in the hall, I will politely knock on the door and call Deh-dee, Ah-Dee or D-D. Mommy has to constantly remind me to allow Daddy spend his time in the bathroom/ toilet in peace.

I also enjoy music very much. Do you want to join me shaking my head? I'm sure we can form a good rocker band.

The Nebulizer and I

2010-01-20T10:54:00.002+08:00

Just when I was recovering from HFM, I was down with fever, cough (which didn't get better since a month ago) and worsen runny nose. Luckily, Por Por had a trip over here and Mommy & Daddy could have some rest.

While they were savouring their delicious salted egg crab at Ah Keat Seafood, they didn't even allow me to have a bite even though I was not so sick yet. All I got was a few lousy piece of beancurd :(

For the past few days, Mommy said I don't need to carry my "bag bag" coz por por will be taking care of me.

As my cough has prolonged for way too long and my mucus and eye discharge started to turn green, Dr Sim said it was time to start antibiotic. When we were in his clinic, mommy heard a baby crying very loud and apparently it was the "torture room" where little kids had to be put on nebulizers. At the end of our checkup, Dr said I need to go through 3 sessions of nebulizer with ventolin to help clear up my phlegm. Initially M&D were reluctant, but they later found out that it's quite common for kids.

And so, my 1st and 2nd nebulizer experience saw me crying all the way for approximately 10 minutes. Mommy had to catch hold of my hands, Daddy entertained me and por por held the nebulizer which I managed to grab and disconnect it a few times.

Session 3, I surrendered, what Chinese called "ren(4) ming(4)".

Dr said I needed 2 more session, so Session 4 I even smiled and told the other small baby who were crying to "relax-lah" while inhaling the fumes. Last session is due today.

It has been a long time since I had a good night sleep as it was often interrupted with cough. Yesterday, it improved a little bit. I was given nose drops and eye drop as the stuffy nose if causing my eyes to be teary and swollen. Please pray with my M&D that God bless me with good health.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed

-Isaiah 53:5-

Mom's Journal: HFMD #2

2010-01-14T16:44:00.005+08:00

Caris' having Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) for the second time it's really no fun.Babysitter called us on Monday telling us a boy in day care has just been confirmed with HFM over the weekend and Caris started having ulcers in her mouth.

Oh no, again?????

So it's gonna be a week of food and water strike, tears and crankiness.

She enjoyed her McD's sundae though and still loves her pacifier very much, to the extend that she will cry uncontrollably if it gets "lost" during her night sleep.

Thus mommy & daddy had been waking up more than 5 times every night to search for her pacifier, sometimes it's hidden under our pillow, sometimes down the bed, sometimes under the blanket. She's co-sleeping with us this week so that it's easier for us to console her, though she cries and kicks us away if she wants to sleep on our pillow and our head is still on it.

She gets to eat all the "forbidden food" like ice-cream, cold water, cold milk, cold yoghurt which she selectively try some after lengthy persuasions.

Interesting? No more 3rd time please. Else I need to get a de-stress therapy.