Archive for March, 2010

My Day with Athan.

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Monday is my day with Athan.  Usually, we will drop Calvin at school in the morning and then we are off to the gym class.  After that, we can decide what to do together — grocery shopping, to the park, library — lots of options.  I love the time with with my little boy.  He usually has his best behaviour on. :)  However, today has been a little different as I had to stay home to finish off my presentation for the next 2 days.  And so, the husband brought the boy to the gym.

When they came home, Athan was still so full of energy.  He came running to me to show me the little certificate he got from the gym class.  He has finished a term of gym class! And then he looked eagerly at me with anticipation. I knew he was expecting me to bring him somewhere fun.  I felt really bad to disappoint him, but I had to gently tell him that I had to work today and that I needed him to play by himself for a while.  Surprisingly, he agreed.  He really did.  He entertained himself with my pens and paper after he got tired with his toys. He even took the pens apart and tried to put the pieces back together. What fun. I had to help him in the end, but it was fun watching him trying to solve a problem.

Then when Robin was having his  lunch and watching some lunchtime T.V, the boy sat himself on the couch waiting for the show to start! However, it was also nearly time for his nap.  He knew it, but he kept ignoring me. I had to physically remove him from the couch as he would not move.  He even tried to negotiate with me.  This was what he said: “我要陪爸爸 5 minutes 才睡, 可以嗎?” (I want to accompany papa for 5 minutes before going to bed, ok?). I was a little speechless as I did not expect such negotiation technique from my 3-year-old. Accompany his dad? As if the father needed company … 🙂 Well, I relented. After about 5 minutes, Mr A really did go down for his nap — for 2 hours.

This evening after dinner, while Calvin was practising his handwriting — writing numbers and his name, Mr A had this to say (while I was feeding him his dinner) to his brother: “good writing, Calvin!”, “good job, Calvin!”and “no! you write wrongly!” He even had the eraser in his hand ready to rub off what he thought was written wrongly. *sigh* He was imitating me. He did sound very much like me though. :)  Mr C was not impressed at all.  He had this annoyed look on his face that seemed to say “do you actually know what I have written wrongly, little brother?” I just sat there enjoying the moment and laughing to myself.

Such is a day with Mr A.  Always full of interesting conversations and surprises. Thank God.

Without A Voice.

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

I am without a voice today. I am also on sick leave today. That is why, I am writing yet another post here to give myself a distraction.  I’ve been working at home all day you see….. 🙂

I seldom fall sick, thanks be to God.  However, when I do get sick on the odd occasion, I do get quite sick. Like now. 🙁 I have been coughing for the past week and suddenly, the cough got worse last night and this morning.  And then, I lost my voice totally.  Nasty.

When the boys realised that I could not talk like normal, and had to whisper, this is what I get:

The little one looked at me with his cheeky little smile and said or rather whispered back to me “媽媽,為什麼你沒有聲音?” (mama, why don’t you have a voice?) I could only smiled at him.

The older boy was full of concern — this is they way he is — he is always very sensitive towards me.  Last night, when I was coughing madly and had a bad headache, and could not read to him, he said in his worried voice “mum, you have a headache and cough, I don’t want you to get sick. You need to see a doctor tomorrow, I think.” So adult-like, ya? I was touched by his concern and reassured him that I would be fine.  This morning when I was contemplating whether I should go into work, Mr C said “mum, if you are sick, you should stay at home, ok?” Following that he said:” mum, your friends will laugh at you when they see you talk this way! You should stay at home.” I was so very amused by my 5-year-old. Really amused.

The husband has been a great help today.  He took care of the boys so that I could rest. Bliss. When he came back from school, he told me out of the blue that we are very blessed to have the 2 (very precious)boys.  We have to bring them up well, by God’s grace and in God’s way. He is so right.

Freak Hail Storm And Other Things.

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Many friends and family have asked about our well being after they heard the news about the freak hail storm we had on Monday.We really appreciate all your care and concerns.  I want to share that we are very very thankful to God for keeping everyone at home safe. Our cars and home were spared from damage too.  We even had power throughout the whole storm ordeal.  We are truly blessed. We did not realise the extent of the damage the storm has caused until we heard the news on radio the next day.

Apparently, the roads on that Monday evening was very very chaotic. Police cars, ambulances and fire-engines took up many lanes on the roads and freeways (I am sure the boys would be very excited if they witnessed that! :)). I was told that the visibility on the road was very bad on the freeway with the heavy rain.  At one stage, hail stones of the size of golf balls were falling from the sky.  This has caused widespread damage to thousands of homes and cars. Many homes were left without power. I was home with the boys when the storm started.  I knew a storm was coming, but I did not know how bad it was. Robin was still at work then.  Within minutes, the boys and I heard very loud banging on our roof and windows.  The boys thought someone was firing at our home!! We saw lightning, heard thunder and then we saw hail stones hitting our lawn and one of the boys said “mum, is it snowing?” 🙂 I was worried about R, but he returned home safe and sound. Thank God.

Then we heard a knock in our door.  It was our neighbour’s daughter.  They needed help.  The entrance to their home was flooded. Water was beginning to get into their home. R immediately took the shovel and joined them in the rain, digging away. They were digging a trench in the hope that the water would flow through there, thereby easing the flood. Our front car porch and entrance was beginning to flood at one stage too.  I was called in to help.  R and I madly tried to “sweep” the water to the main road. After about half an hour, the water began to recede. The rain had eased by then. The boys were in the house watching us the whole time.  They were well-behaved although a little worried.

After thought: I am just so very thankful that I did not have to work on Monday. If I did, I would be caught in the traffic on the freeway and in horrible rain, on my way home with a little boy at the back of the car. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to be in that situation. Thank God.

Besides the storm, I have been extremely busy at work these few weeks. I have 3 presentations to prepare and deliver by next week. I have been working at home all weekend and every night when the boys are in bed.  Writing a post here is just my distraction!  I needed one. 🙂

As for the boys,  my first born son asked me yesterday if I knew what “o-p-i-v-a-rous”mean. That’s so not a word, I thought. He did not pronounce the word correctly, I was sure. After asking him to repeat a few times, I realized that he was  trying to say “oviparous”. I did not respond to him immediately as I was trying to be sure if the word meant “egg-laying animals”.  Upon sensing my silence (for just 2 seconds!), the boy was happy to announce to me that “so mum, you don’t know what oviparous mean? “It is a word for animals that lay eggs”, he said to me.  Geezz….was he happy to be “smarter” than me! Well, truth is, I am sure he will be learning many more things that I do not know.  I have to admit it when the time comes.

Mr A has been having a cough and cold for the past week.  He is not that sick anymore since he is now eating and playing like before.  He is also due for his 3-yr-old immunisation which he has been protesting to go.  I think the father should bring him to the clinic once the runny nose clears up.   I know Mr A will scream at the sight of the needle and will struggle, and so I am leaving the task to the father … 🙂

Calvin has been a good eater thus far.  I am really thankful for that.  Mr A is also a good eater, but he likes to play with his toys or talk when eating his dinner. As a result, he is always slow to finish his food. Whenever he sees Calvin finish his dinner and ready to play, A will also announce that he has finished when his bowl is still half full of food! It has been hard to sit him down to finish his dinner until I came up with this:

Calvin feeding Athan.

Yup, I asked Calvin to feed Athan! Calvin was happy to help.  In fact, he was instructing Athan to open his mouth etc while feeding him.  He sounded just like me!  Anyway, I thought this is a good way for Calvin, as a big brother to help his little brother. 🙂

Boys Talk.

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

The other day I had this very interesting conversation with Athan, all in English.

Athan: Mum, I am sick.

Me: Oh, really? Are you really sick? (didn’t really believe him)

Athan: Ya (nodding his head), I am sick.

Me:  Where? Is it your tummy?

Athan: I don’t know.

Me: Ok, then we have to go see the doctor.

Athan: NO! He will poke me here (pointing to his forearm). I don’t want to go!

Me: But you are sick, right?

Athan: No, I am not sick any more. I just pretend to be sick! (cheeky smile)

Me: …….. not sure how to react at that moment (so the boy has picked up the word “pretend”).

Calvin has a good friend at his day care who is allergic to tomatoes, tomato paste etc. This friend told Mr C that if he ate or touch tomato, his body will have lots of red rash. Upon finding out what “allergic” means, the boy came home and said this to me:

Calvin: Mum, I am allergic to yucky things.

Me: (puzzled) Why?

Calvin: Because if I touch or play with yucky things, I will be yucky all over!

Me: LOL!

Turning 3 Part II.

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Athan turned 3 on Monday. It was 3 years ago when he was born. If you asked me what I remembered of that day, it would be that my baby was very loud! The way he cried, the deafening screaming from a tiny little baby (only 3kg) was just both amazing and overwhelming for me, a second-time mum. Nevertheless, I was very very thankful for the safe and smooth delivery as well as the healthy baby. Three years on, the boy still has his trademark loud voice (I would like to think he has a set of very healthy lungs :)).

How did we celebrate Athan’s birthday?  Well, I have to admit I have been very slack.:( I thought of throwing a party for him, but at his age, he really does not know much about birthday parties. I think he will appreciate it better when he is a little older. I shall endeavour to organise a birthday bash for him next year, God willing. Instead, the husband and I decided to have a dinner at a restaurant with some church friends whose children play well with Athan. One of the families even invited us to  their home for cake after the dinner so that the kids could play.  We were so thankful and blessed.  I told R afterward that it is very important to have good church family. He agreed.

And so, after dinner we went to our friend’s home and the children went “wild”. Athan was very very excited.  He seemed to know the night was all about him. 🙂 He was given some presents and his favourite was the helicopter that made sound when he pressed a button. I have to say he was much more interested in his new toy than his cake!

Happy 3rd birthday Athan! Notice the helicopter in his hand?

Athan loves eating cake, so does Calvin. Both have inherited the sweet tooth from the father, I think.

Athan smiling for photo shoot between mouthfuls of cake. He is very happy. 🙂

Mr C also received a little gift from our very kind friends. How thoughtful is that? I was so touched by their gesture. Calvin received a little “Toy Story” electronic hand held game which he loved. Here’s the happy boys:

 Two very happy boys dressed in the same red shirt. 🙂

While the kids played, the adults chatted amongst themselves. Somehow, I ended up with the mums talking about our favourite topic — kids! The night went quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go. It was hard to get the kids to the door! They were having so much fun. It was so great to see the kids play well together.  We hope and pray that they will grow up together in the church and become friends when they grow up.

A quick update on Athan. He is picking up English really quickly at day care as well as his 3-yr-old kindy class.  His pronounciation is still not quite exact but we can understand him.  Mandarin is still his main language. He loves to talk and asks questions. The other day we had this conversation:

Athan: Mum, I am stress!

Me: (shocked) Why?

Athan: Because, because, because (trying to find a reason because he doesn’t know what “stress” is!:)) “gor gor” (big brother) don’t give me the car ……

Me: LOL!

He has picked up the “stress” word from me for sure.

I am happy to report that Mr A has stopped crying when left to his carers at his day care.  He has been crying all the time when left at day care since we returned from our trip couple of months ago.   Thank God.  I am also happy to report that his toilet training is going really well. He only wears nappy at nap time and bedtime at the moment.  I think I am more anxious than him when we are out of the house.  I almost want to put on a pair of nappy pants for him just in case …. but this will not help him learn and so I have decided to stop myself from doing that. So far he only has a couple of accidents, mainly because he left it too late. Well, this is all part of learning.

He is also doing well at his 3-yr-old kindy.  He tends to be clingy to me when I drop him off, but he quickly attaches himself to the teacher when I leave.  The teachers are great, I have to say. He is always happy when I pick him up after school.

When it comes to playing with his brother, Athan can be an angel.  The boys can play very nicely together, however, from time to time, Mr A can also be unreasonable, snatching toys and destroying his brother’s creation. This makes Calvin really upset and he will always come complaining to me. What do I do? Well, I have to discipline Mr A as well as try to teach them to reconcile with each other.  I think this is important.

Athan is playful. He loves to jump on his father and have a wrestle. He loves to sit on his father’s back for a ride. He loves playing aeroplanes with his brother…….

I love his cuddles in the morning and at night. I love how he comes to me for a cuddle when he is tired (even though he disagrees with himself :)). I love how he always come sit on my lap at story time before bed. I love being close to him. To me, he is still my baby! 🙂

We thank God for Athan, and as this little boy continues to grow, we pray that his knowledge of God will continue to grow too.

Note: All photos in this post are taken by our friend.

2 Boys. 2 Perspectives.

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

The other day, I asked the boys to tell me who they think the baby is in the photo above. Here’s what they said:

Calvin : 弟 弟!(little brother)

Athan: Baby 哥哥! (baby big brother)

I love their answers! 🙂 Btw, do you know whose baby photo that is?

Sunday Afternoon Craft.

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

After their nap, the boys were full of energy and ready to go outside for a play. Before that, I managed to excite them with a very interesting craft. Paper plate monsters.  Yes, we were going to make paper plate monsters.

The boys received the craft pack last Christmas from a friend.  It came with instructions on how to make different “types” of monsters.  Most of them requires a lot of cutting and gluing.  I decided not to follow the instructions, but let the boys create their own monster craft according to their imagination.  Calvin came up with “happy monster”. Athan wanted one too.

First, they chose a coloured paper plate and then I helped them cut out the eyes and horns using the template and paper supplied. Next was gluing. Calvin could handle the gluing without help, but the little one struggled. I witnessed how the older boy helped his little brother with the gluing without me having to tell him. It was nice.  After putting the eyes, nose and horns in place, I asked if they wanted me to help cut out a mouth for the monsters.  Calvin said “we can just draw a smile, mum”. That’s it. The result? We have 2 very happy looking paper plate monsters and 2 very happy boys. 🙂

Boys showing off their happy monsters.

Before they disappeared to the backyard to ride on their bikes, the boys proudly ran off to show their creations to the father who gave them a big hug and a “hi 5” each. 🙂

Turning 3.

Friday, March 5th, 2010

This little guy is turning 3 next week! More about that later ……

Very Hot Week.

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

We had a very very very hot week last week.  The mercury tipped over 40 deg C one day!  The heat was unbearable, especially when I had to drive in this heat after work to pick the boys up from day care.  They were cranky and unreasonable — so was I! 🙂 Of course we went to the beach to cool down. But one evening, we decided to have a picnic dinner at a park nearby.

I was too hot and lazy (excuses excuses ….) to cook and so the husband declared we were going to buy pizza and eat at the park. I welcomed the idea, so did the boys … except for Mr A who is not a big fan of pizza.

It was still very warm that evening and the park was filled with families chilling out, having picnic dinners. We found a nice spot facing the river to have our pizza dinner.

Boys eating pizza. Notice the new haircut?

Mr A did eat some pizza, especially the crust. 🙂 As for Mr C, he loves pizza. He just sat there and ate quietly while enjoying his surrounding. Yup, we gave the boys a haircut that day too. Cool eh? The husband had a haircut too — by me! I did not do a good job, but the husband was grateful.

After dinner, we went for a walk around the park. The boys went crazy chasing each other while the father tried his best to take a shot of the beautiful night skyline of the city.  Unfortunately, his efforts proved to be futile. :(  It was really hard to get a good shot. The pictures were either fuzzy or too dark…hmmm…perhaps we need another camera. 🙂

This week has been much cooler. Thank God. Thank God also for keeping us and our home safe during the hot days.