Archive for August, 2008

Brotherly Love.

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

Some time over the weekend, I found the boys sitting and playing nicely on Calvin’s bed and guess what? Calvin gave Athan a big cuddle and then a kiss! Calvin seldom does that to his brother and I was so pleasantly surprised when he did that. Athan loved it. Fortunately, my camera was close by and I managed to take a few shots of them. Here are two of the photos:

So sweet, ya? I pray and hope that these 2 will grow up to love each other.

This Morning.

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

I brought the boys to a park this morning as the weather was too good to be indoors. Calvin brought a toy car along while Athan had a little container and a plastic spoon to play with the sand. I have to say that Athan loves playing with sand and he likes to pour sand all over himself!! I always have to give him a bath after playing at the sand pit. Anyway, the boys were playing quite nicely at the play area by themselves for a while when a few other kids came to join them a few minutes later.

Two kids, a girl and a boy (around Athan’s age) became interested in Athan’s toys and the boy snatched the container and spoon from Athan’s hand. Athan just let him. He did want to take his toy back, but the other boy gave it to the older girl and they refused to return the container. Poor Athan, he just sat there and watched the pair played with his toys without a sound. I was nearby and did not want to interfere for I want to see how my boy would react in such situation. Then out of no where, Calvin appeared next to his brother. He went ahead and told the girl to share the toy with his brother. When the girl refused, Calvin just snatched it from her hand and returned it to Athan! And, after all that, Athan just gave it to the boy again. Kids…..

You know what? If we were at home and it was Calvin who had snatched the toy from Athan, the little one would have screamed his head off. I have always wondered if Calvin would stand up for his little brother when they are out of the home environment. Interestingly, he did. I was surprised. I did tell Calvin afterwards that he did great for watching out for his brother, but I also told him the snatching part was not nice and he should not be rough to other children. He seemed to understand. I think the boys do behave differently outside the home environment. When they are home, they are free to scream and snatch toys from each other whereas when they are out, they are more conscious of themselves and tend to be less aggressive. I hope these 2 will grow up to love each other and take care of each other. Got to pray for them.

Weekend Boys.

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

The boys played quite well at home this weekend, I have to say.

The older boy was busy building his “fighter” plane with his Lego blocks and making all sorts of sound effects while …..

The younger boy amused himself with the remaining odd pieces of blocks. He seemed happy to play alongside his brother. For a moment, I have such peace at my home that I was almost not used to it!

Cranky Boys.

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

They are not too happy today. 🙁 First, Mr Athan is sick again! This little guys is sick so often even though he does not go to day care. I guess his brother brings home a lot of viruses from day care and kindy! Anyway, this time, he has a cold, cough and fever. He is not too cranky but not happy either. His nose is blocked and he has a chesty cough. The fever developed 2 days ago and thank God, it is a low grade one. Since he is not well, I decided to keep him at home and so Mr Calvin has to stay home all day too! He was quite bored at some stage, I have to say. Plus, because his brother is having all my attention, he is trying to get some from me too! I am sure you can imagine how challenging it can be for me to handle 2 cranky boys. Thankfully though, Calvin is not sick. He kept telling me he wants to go to school and so I know he is bored.

Athan seems to be getting better this evening. Well, at least his fever is gone and he’s playing better after dinner. I hope he will sleep well tonight and will recover soon.

For The Guys.

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

So I was listening to the radio on my way home today. Being romantic does not come naturally for most guys, said the host. It is something that is learnt through time. All those so called romantic scenes we see in the movies where the men sweep the women off their feet etc etc are all — just movies! Anyhow, the very encouraging and positive host gave 5 tips for the guys who wants to learn to be romantic for their wives. Here are his top 5 tips:

1) Say “I love you” to your wife 3 times a day to show her that you are sincere.

2) Tell your wife she is beautiful even if she is not wearing any makeup.

3) Hold your wife’s hand when both of you are out.

4) Give your wife regular massage.

5) Go out once a week on a date or plan to have a romantic evening with your wife without the kids.

What do you think?

The host added that being romantic is about making the wife feel special and to give assurance that her husband loves her. How true.

Communication.

Monday, August 18th, 2008

I was listening to the radio on my way home from work today — again. Today’s topic was about communication in marriage. Communication is very important in all marriages, said the host. It is not something that happens overnight, rather it is something that is learnt through time. Husbands and wives ought to communicate EVERYDAY. Not only do we talk, but we also must learn to listen and not interrupt. We have to learn to listen patiently to our spouse until we fully understand his/her feelings. Communicating with one another also means that there are times when we need to compromise our stance or at times we might even need to give in totally in order to solve a problem. We ought to do so lovingly. It is difficult, but it is important that the communication is kept open between the couple at all times.

Many marriages fail because of the lack of or failure in communicating with one another. The host’s advice is to keep talking and listening to each other on a daily basis. I agree with that. It is very easy to slip into our own mode or to do our own things at the end of a tiring day. If this happens on the long run, we not only lose touch or connection with our spouse, we also cannot find happiness and fulfillment in our marriage. So, no matter how tired it is at the end of the day, we still have to have time for our spouse to talk about our day or anything under the sun!

Of Athan.

Friday, August 15th, 2008

This little man is growing up a little every day. He is now walking more steadily on his own and he wants to be down on the ground all the time. He has found his new independence! This independence is also accompanied by lots of tantrums and head-shaking — his way of saying “no” to me. He has a mind of his own and he knows and can express himself very clearly of what he wants and does not want. When he is in a tantrum fit, he screams his lungs out and at times, we find him rolling on the floor too! Spectacular scene, I have to say. At this point in time, I just ignore him. His tantrum usually lasts for about a minute and then he will be on his feet again, looking for me. Sigh.

He is usually a happy little boy, smiling most of the time. He plays by himself, alongside his “ge ge” (big brother) quite well. Of course, there are times when they fight for the same toy and I have to interfere. I suppose the only way to help them learn is to let them play with each other more! He is learning a lot from his “ge ge”. The way he plays with the toy cars and aeroplane is exactly the same as Calvin. He doesn’t play with the toys that are suitable for his age, instead he plays with whatever his brother is playing. He still has a soft spot for stuff toys. He likes to cuddle them and kiss them. So cute. He has several teddy bears in his cot to keep him company when he goes to bed.

He is eating really well these days, thank God. He likes rice and noodles in particular. He eats most of the food which I feed him, including vegetables and fruits. These days, I find him drinking a lot more water by himself too. That’s a good improvement as we have been trying to get him to drink more water for quite a while. I think Calvin has also been a good influence for Athan as he drinks a lot of water and Athan likes to copy him.

He is talking a lot these days too. He can verbalise the last syllabus of the word that we say to him. He is chatty in the car — he can babble non-stop all the way from his grandma’s house to our home. It is a good 15 minutes drive. If Calvin is in the car as well, these two will get into a very noisy and interesting conversation.

He is sleeping well too, thank God. He is now down to one nap in the afternoon after lunch. The nap usually lasts for 1.5 – 2hrs. Bedtime is about 7.30pm and on a good day, we won’t hear him till the next day around 7.30am. This boy can entertain himself for a while in his cot after he wakes up. We often hear him playing with his teddy bears when he wakes up from his sleep. It’s quite cute, I have to say.

He loves his baths. He loves playing with the water and the little container that I use to pour water over him. He refuses to come out of the water even when the bath is over. Whenever I say to him it is time to get up, he shakes his head profusely in protest. I always have trouble getting him out of the tub. He screams his lungs out — all the way till I have finish dressing him. Dressing him is such a challenge. I hope he will get out of this phase soon.

I find myself reading a lot less with Athan as compared to Calvin. Time is always a factor, but I have to try.

By the way, Athan has recovered from the HFM disease. He is good as new now. Calvin is also recovering very well from his swollen lip. His teeth are fine. 🙂

Calvin And His Elmo.

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

My sister gave Calvin a stuff toy Elmo when he was about 18 months old. The boy loved Elmo then (he still does now), and for a while he took Elmo with him everywhere he went and then it stopped. Then, it started again.

For the past months, or rather the whole of this year, Calvin has grown attached to his Elmo again. He was never a fan of stuff toys when he was younger, unlike Athan. But this little Elmo somehow has a special place in his heart. It is not like he has to take Elmo with him everywhere, or that he would cry or feel insecure if he doesn’t have it. It is more like Elmo has become his companion. He takes Elmo with him when he goes to bed and these days, he must have Elmo with him before he is willing to sleep. He made sure I pack Elmo in his bag when we go on trips too — the trip down south and trip to Singapore. Interesting.

In other news:

This morning, when I was rushing to get Calvin’s breakfast ready, he came up to me and asked ” ma ma are you stress?” I looked at him and did not know how to answer him. Honestly, I was. I was rushing for time as we were running later. I said to him “you better hurry up, we don’t want to be late!” He took his milo drink from me and walked away saying “oh…I am so stress!”. He has learnt the “stress” word from me. Sigh. It is true when they say children feed on our emotions. Calvin certainly does get affected by my emotions. He is very sensitive to me and he is like my little radar! He doesn’t like it when I am angry (whether at him or not) or upset. He would come close and ask me what’s wrong! 🙂

This late afternoon when I picked him up from day care, I saw his “fat” lip immediately and I knew something was wrong. He became teary the moment he saw me. His carer came and told me what happened. Calvin was running with his favourite green truck and somehow fell and hit his upper lip! Ouch. There was blood and swelling on his upper lip. They did not think it was too serious.

My boy was so upset when we got home. He refused to let me take a look at his mouth. He refused to do anything I asked him. I was worried, but after a while, he calmed himself down and he managed to eat his dinner and drink water. I was relieved. He seemed happier after his meal. I even brought him to see a GP just in case. Well, he had laceration around his front two teeth, a cut in his inner upper lip and a swollen lip. Nothing to worry about. However, I was told to monitor his teeth for the next few days to see if they become loose or if they dis-colour. I hope not. I hope Calvin will be OK soon.

Photo Post.

Friday, August 8th, 2008

This was taken at the picnic spot I mentioned before. People just stood on the rocks and fish! Not sure if it is a safe thing to do, but these people did not seem to mind the wet and windy weather at all.

This is Calvin being cheeky when I asked him to pose for me. We made a deal — that if he let me take a picture of him, I’d let him take a picture with the camera. Not sure why I made such a deal with my son, but then…we were on holiday and so I guess I was allowed to be a little less strict! 🙂

And so, this is Calvin’s very first picture. He said he wanted to take a picture of trees, and before I could say anything, he held the camera upwards and clicked. This is the result. I showed it to the father and the verdict was “not bad”!

Update.

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Athan is finally feeling better. The fever is gone and the blisters are drying up. He should be fine very soon. Calvin is OK so far, thank God.

Athan is now full of tantrums. I think he is going through a phase. Perhaps it is the “Terrible Twos” syndrome setting in. I am not sure. Whatever it is, he now screams his head off if he did not get his way. What happen to my sweet baby? I guess he is growing up fast and also he is learning so much, especially from Calvin. I have noticed that he loves copying his brother, whether in playing or in his behaviour. I hope I can maintain my composure and manage the tantrums calmly. It is hard work, but I have to try. This is part of the joy of parenting! 🙂