Happy 18th month birthday Reese!

Mummy and Daddy love you very very much.

18 months milestone

Reese is one and a half years old! Soooo fast. My baby is growing up well and happy.

Height and weight
He is about 85 to 86 cm.
He is about 13kgs plus.
He has regain his little tummy. (due to rich food)

Communication and Vocabulary
He can somewhat communicate with words.
He knows both Upper and Lower case alphabets.
He knows 0-10.
He can count numbers and also recite a-z. (misses here and there)
He has a very vast vocabulary. Lost count.
He is beginning to call mummy and daddy... yesss...
He is learning to sing.
He loves watching Barney and Sesame Street.

Physical
On average he sleeps about 12 hours a day and that includes 1 nap in the day.
He can climb up stairs on his own..at times up right and at times on all fours.
He can skip and somewhat jump. Still need to perfect that.
He can dance.
He still loves to run.
He still wakes up at least once in the middle of the night.
He still sleeps with us and loves to roll 360 degrees and still takes up more than half the mattresses combined (1 queen plus 1 super single)
He loves to play in the wading pool.

Food
He still takes at least 4 bottles of milk (6 ounces each) a day.
He likes pasta (shells, spaghettis, spirals) with either cream or tomato base sauces. Usually with veges and fish/bacon.
He doesn't like rice or porridge or Chinese food in general.
He likes to eat cheese.
He likes peanut butter and banana sandwich.
He loves creamy mushroom soup and fish chowder. Minestrone also not too bad.
He likes fruits like grapes, banana, orange, papaya, mango and apple.
He takes yogurt twice a week.
He takes breakfast cereal like honey stars with milk.
Don't really like sweet drinks like vitagen or fruit juices.
Don't like mash potatoes but will eat french fries or just potatoes.
Willing to try new food.


Features
He looks more and more like daddy!
He is tall for his age.
He looks mature.
He can easily pass for a 2+ years old.

Characters
Don't see anything yet. He was never a difficult child and he is always happy. Maybe a little bit more demanding in terms of his needs but that happens to all kids his age.

He is quite friendly even to strangers.

He is not the clingy type either.

He hates to be alone.

Oh.. he is not a very adventurous boy. Or is he still too young? :)

Toys

Ah... Hubby read my blog and over the weekend he said...

Hubby: What wheel do you want to make for your son?

Me: Oh...you read my blog ah? I promised not to buy toys for you son...so I will have to find ways to make them! :)

Hubby: mmm...hai ya... go buylah... forget about making... it won't turn out right...

Me: Eh.... no, I will make the drums...plus.. you can't buy the big wheels at toy shops...

Hubby: Your drums won't sound rightlah... He is attracted to good sounds...

Me: No... I will make them... Plus...I got a promise to keep... no buying of toys for 5 months!

Hubby: ?(*#(**%$^%$^$?

hahahaha......

Then.. on Saturday...we took Reese to One U and hubby suggested to we look for his drum set at Toys R US.... I said...nolah...then cannot resist...and I ask to go. :) Luckily...no drum set.... Phew...

Yesterday evening...went to Ikano....and hubby bought an exercise machine... (He needs to exercise for health reasons! ) and then...while checking out the machines..Reese and I were busy playing with Gym balls..... he had so much fun with it..and then... finally... subcum to temptation... we bought a Gym ball for Reese to play... we told ourselves... we are going to use it for exercise too..hahaha...

I am Ah-mee

Yes... that's what Reese calls me now (still not very often). At least he is calling me.

Ah-mee... hehe.. very sweet. Will have to teach him to say mummy... he calls his daddy dah dee... also very sweet. :)

:)

Guess what? after I blogged about wanting a kiss, hug and being called mummy.... hehehe...

When Reese woke up this morning, as usual I played with him on the bed and then I told him to give me a kiss on my knee. He smiled cheekily and gave me a kiss on my knee! Ha haha... ( You must be wondering why not ask for the face... cause I knew he won't do it)

Then an hour later in the car on the way to my parents' place... while waiting for a traffic light to turn green... I turned behind and smile at him...then he somewhat utter the word 'mehmee' pointing at me. I guess he was calling me. Well, I want to believe it is. :)

Another passing thought...

It's now 6.58am and I am wondering where I can get a big wheel and affix it to the wall so that Reese can 'drive'. He loves steering wheels.... I can't buy toys... so I want to make one... hehe... Any ideas mummies? Oh... and I have more or less decided to make a 3 piece drum set with a cymbal(using aluminium?) I think..hehe...

Yesterday I was even thinking of making a playhouse using wood! sooo ambitious...hahaha...

****Oh...got a confession to make... Yesterday evening, I actually bought Reese a Elmo helium balloon.. it's RM15. Ouch... I hope this is not considered a toy... haha.. who am I fooling...****

When hubby came back from work.. he just shook his head...hahaha..

Potty Training

Hey mummies out there..those of you who have successfully potty trained your kids... Can give me some tips on doing so? I read about it, I did some research on it but still... I am hoping for some practical and trial and tested sure win tips! :)

I am suppose to potty train Reese in a few days... Mmmm.. I need to get 2 potties too..any good idea on the kind to buy? I am wondering... do you teach him to sit and pee or stand and pee? I doubt he knows how to aim at the potty! So how? I am soooo clueless... Help mummies...

What I long for...

When does your baby starts giving you hugs and kisses and calling you?

Reese was never clingy baby only whenever I go out he will want to follow and lately he even let me go out without making much noise. He knows what a kiss is and I only got it from him twice a few months ago and that's it. I could still remember it was a kiss filled with saliva and his little tongue lingering on my face. :)

Now he knows how to do a proper kiss. When I ask for a kiss he will not give me but instead he will kiss the basket ball net or window or anything but my face! Hugs? forget it. The most he will just come to you and rub his little body against me or if we are on the bed... he will just literally sleep on me!

Reese is already 1 year 5 months and 28 days old. I think he only called me and hubby a few times and that was many months ago. I feel sooo sad and jealous whenever he calls someone but us! He can call his grandparents (KL), my sister, my aunties and even my maid! Oh.. his grandparents (Penang) was here for 6 days and Reese also will call them... :(

So you tell me... why isn't he calling us?
I wonder when he is going to give me a hug, a kiss and most of all...calls me mummy.... :)
Really can't wait...

Baby talk is serious talk

"mo more! mo more! mo more!" whined Reese and showing an almost crying face and hands open wide with fingers opening and closing.

"pain pain! pain pain!" whined Reese and showing an almost crying face.

"hide! hide" showing his cheeky grin and expect you to find the thing he hides.

Ah... you have to see the way he looks.... soooo funny and I just can't help it but laugh out loud!

I am so happy that he is using words to communicate his needs... It's so much fun... and his sweet little voice plus facial expression... I melt instantly.

I felt bad at times thou... I know, to him..everything he said was very serious...but to me..it's just something to laugh about.

No words to describe my baby.... I am so in love with him. Thank you Lord for this little or not so little bundle of joy.

A passing thought.....

Just went to Bangsar Lucky Garden to buy lunch and pass by a hardware shop. The shop owner was busy cutting up a huge plastic pipe...and then... it got me thinking... maybe I can use the pipes for my drum set project.... :)

Hai... I have been thinking about the project the past few days...and still I haven't gone to the stationary shop to get the stuff and work on the project.... such a lazy mummy....

Exercise anyone?

Of late Reese loves to walk up and down the stairs. We live in a condo so no stairs in the house for him to play and so does my parents except that they live in a low rise condo and thus stairs are easily accessible. I have allowed Reese to walk up and down the stairs a couple of times at my parents place... and just last week... he demanded to walk up the stairs when we arrived there. Now... every morning, instead of taking the elevator to my parents place on the 3rd floor, we will take the stairs instead. Three floors...no big deal, but no...Reese is not contented, he wants to walk all the way up to the top floor (5th floor) and once we reach the top floor? he will walk down with me and then wants to go up again!! So much energy for a little fellow!! Just 2 days ago... he can go up the stairs on his own!

I guess it's good for me. I desperately need to lose weight! :)

Communicating Love

How do you communicate love to your children?

Touch? Actions? Talking? Rewards? Listening?

Aren't we blessed that we have so many ways to communicate our love to our children?

When we love our children it is necessary to communicate that love openly and honestly. Our children will not simply know that they are loved by living in our homes and being in our presence. We must express it often and in a variety of ways.

Have you ever thought about writing to communicate love to your children?

Ever since I started blogging, I realised that this blog could be one of the best way for me to tell Reese how much mummy loves him. Now he is still young and it's easy to just give him hugs and kisses and telling him a zillion times how much I love him but what about when he is much older? When he gets more independent and probably it's alot harder to show my love to him. Especially when there are conflicts... oh boy... what about when they are all grown up? It's even more difficult when they go against your well meaning wishes.... you know what I mean?

Not every parent can effectively communicate their love to their children... even if they do... at times children are not ready to 'listen'. I must say... most of the time when my parents are ready to say something to me it is not the time when I am ready or willing to listen. When we write it allows our children to listen to us when they are ready.

This seems to be the case, more often, as the child gets older, reaching its peak in the teen years. Also, the child's ability to listen and focus on what we are saying seems to be exponentially decreased, as the issue becomes more critical. They can then read what we have written at a less emotionally charged time, thus increasing the chances of them actually hearing and using what we are trying to say or teach.

By the way... don't think that the only way to show love in writing is writing about love. One of the most loving things we as parents can do for our children is to write down exactly what we believe about important issues such as spirituality, family, friendship, honesty and etc.

I believe what we write to our children, will have a very big permanent influence on their lives.

Touched...

Ah.. I was so touched yesterday night... fellow mummy blogger Ann bought a gift for Reese...Guess what? It's a drum!!! I blog about my promise to hubby and how I am thinking about a drum set and wanting to make one...and then....Ann bought me one! Soooo sweetlah... Thank you so much Ann. 

I hope you are not mad that I refused to accept the gift. Reese happens to have the same drum! I would have taken it if it is different. hahaha... 

Soon boy boy will be able to play with it. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness... 

The meaning of being a mother

I knew all my life that I wanted to be a mother. My transition into motherhood was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I used to envy those mummies who are beautiful, stylish and still have a life of their own despite having children. I wished I was one of them. When I became a mother, I realized there are sacrifices to be made. It's quite impossible to wear beautiful jewelery, stylish clothing, high heels, go partying, out late and stuff without compromising your child. These are not bad mummies, just that... I can't seems to be like them. I used to pity those bleary-eyed new mommy friends of mine whose lives were so engrossed in their drooling, demanding infants that they lost all sense of themselves.

Now, I'm one of them. I'm an unkempt, sleep-deprived mom who permanently has nothing but baby on the brain. For almost eighteen months now, since a 2.92kgs whirlwind named Reese entered the world, my life has been absconded.

This mommy business is hard work. It's round-the-clock, thankless, exhausting and the pay sucks. What do I get in return? A sweet smelling cherubic being with a cheeky smile smiling at you. Now that makes all the sacrifices seem so insignificant!

Baby how-to books skip over the hard stuff. They boil motherhood down to clinical explanations of colic and constipation. None mentioned how much a little person changes your life for better and worse. None ever tells you how emotionally draining being a mother can be. How you can be so devoid of sleep to the point of delirium, and yet blissfully contented and satisfied with your new role. How just when you think you finally have five minutes to yourself, your baby wakes up and you move without hesitation, unselfishly to attend to his needs.

But the payoffs of motherhood well, I didn't expect such bounty either.

I have finally found someone who will allow me to hug and kiss and sing and teach and...etc for as long as I want! :) No complaints... just smiles...

The first few minutes when he wakes up makes all the whining, all the rocking, all the sleepless nights worth it. Every morning, I watch in awe as Reese rubs his eyes with the back of his chubby little hands.

Then he catches a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye and breaks into a cheeky grin. There's no better way to begin a day.

And not a day has passed since he was born that I haven't thought the same thing: If I never do another thing in my life, I've made a person.

And the neat thing about that is that I've made a person that is part me and part someone I love endlessly.

A thought....

Since I made the promise to hubby about not buying toys for Reese for the next 5 months.....I.....I... have been thinking that I need to get Reese a drum set.... hahaha... he likes to play drums...and the past week he has been holding his drum stick and mumbles drum drum drum....

mmm... since I have a promise to keep.... I am toying with the idea of making my own drum set!!! Earlier today while driving... I was already imagining how to make the drum set! What I need to get and stuff like that... haha...

whether it will materialise or not... well... will seelah... I got inspired by mummy Darren...she actually spend a cool number of hours to make Darren a play house out of boxes! So cool... :)

Reese says....

Pain pain (when in pain)

mo more (when something taken from him, when his DVD finishes it's run, when we finish
reading a book, when we finish flashing cards)

red car (when he sees a red car)

milk... (when he wants milk)

fall oun (when he falls)

car... (when he wants us to carry him to the balcony to look at cars)

climm (when he climbs)

He is trying to communicate with us not just with actions but also with speech... :) Sooo happy...I think soon he will talk in 3 word phases? ahhh...can't wait...

Our latest conversation goes like this....

Mummy: quack quack...
Reese: duck
Mummy: moooo moooo...
Reese: cow
Mummy: oink oink....
Reese: pig
Mummy: buzzzz buzzz...
Reese: beee....
Mummy: baaaa...baaaa...
Reese: shhhp.. (sheep)
Mummy: shhheeee....
Reese: shhai (snake)..
Mummy: ruff...ruff...woof...
Reese: dog..
Mummy: meow...meow..
Reese: cat....
Mummy: yeeeehaaaaa....yeeeehaaa...
Reese: hoooorce... (horse)
Mummy: too tooo...
Reese: train..
Mummy: ah ah ah ah ah (whining like baby Bop in Barney)...
Reese: Bop....Bop... (laugh)

A shopaholic for toys...

Hai... yesterday had a serious chat with hubby. He was not happy that I spend a lot on toys for Reese. He pointed out that a lot of them were unnecessary which I have to agree to a certain extend but he was also guilty of impulsive buying of toys at times too!

Ever since we got Reese, 80% of our shopping will go to his toys. I am not much of a shopper myself but when it comes to Reese, I will walk for hours to find toys, clothes or anything that I think Reese might need.

Almost each week I will buy a toy for Reese and telling myself... it's something cheap so no big deal. Then yesterday hubby reminded me when I add all the small purchases up...it's not cheap.. haha... it's true...I  knew but just denying it. 

I enjoyed it sooo much when Reese plays with his new toys... but rationally.. does he really need that many toys to play with? Does he want it? probably not.

The thing was, the people who wanted the toys were us. We had a fantasy of what pleasure these toys would give. We had dreams of providing them with something wonderful. And how often is that true about the toys we give our kids? How often is that we want to give them, more than the children themselves really want the toys?

And if we're honest about our motivations for giving our children toys, I think we'll find that this is what we're seeking - the child inside us who loved a particular toy or toys and felt powerfully about them. We give our kids toys because we want them to have that magical and imaginary space in their lives with a toy that feels real to them. So we give and give and hope that the next one will be the one. But the reality is that it is more likely that we will create magical experiences for our children  if they have fewer toys rather than more. If they have more incentive to imagine and thus don't have a toy to fill every imaginary gap. 

mmmm.... logical? :)

I promised hubby that I won't buy any toys for Reese the next 5 months. Will have to find alternative to that....hahaha

My latest pictures

At The Curve's mini playground

At Manhattan Fish Market

Sitting in my stroller for the first time in more than 6 months!

At the playground

Ah...my Penang Gong Gong teaching me..

My Penang Grandparents...See how blur I was..just woke up from sleep and they were about to leave for Penang.

Zoo outing with dad and mom. See... I was soooo sleepy.. but when we went to the car...I was wide awake.. :)

A day out...

Yesterday was a holiday and we took Reese to the Zoo! Yes.... very adventurous of us considering most of the time... we will only take him to the playground or the shopping mall. Yeah...we are lazy parents. Anyway... we spent an hour plus at the zoo and I would say Reese actually enjoys himself. He was a little sleepy thou thus blurry. The last time I went to Zoo Negara was probably 9 years ago. I remembered it was very run down with sickly animals. This time around.. mmm.. not bad.. it was clean, less smelly and got to see some animals really up close. It was super tiring because 90% of the time...Reese refuse to walk, partly because he was sleepy. So imagine we had to take turns to carry a 13+kgs boy all around not to mention his diaper bag with drink/food and a camera. Got the picture? 

After going around the zoo seeing nearly all the animals, we headed home... Reese slept in the car the entire journey. 

Then for dinner we took him to The Curve. He ate fish and chips. One surprise for us thou... we decided to bring his stroller. And.... he actually sat on it without a fuss!!! Yess...this is what we have been waiting for. He will sit in his stroller willingly. We were so happy... He stopped sitting in his stroller since he was able to walk (11 months old). 

He had a great time at the playground and later he even fell asleep in the stroller. Photos to come soon. Lazy to upload now... going off to work!

Changes

First up....

Food

I have added breakfast cereal (honey stars) with milk for Reese. He loves it, I know...a bit sugary but he only takes half a packet on alternate days. I have also added 'yee mee' soup with egg on him menu. He doesn't particularly like it but it's ok. Then I added creamy mushroom soup with blended carrots and potatoes. Ah... he loves it. He will take the soup with a piece of bread for lunch and lastly, I added cream sauce pasta with bacon. He likes it to. Phew... at least now there is my variety to his food menu but it still takes an hour or so to feed him. Maybe he is not really slimming down afterall... in fact..now I am worried that the rich food that he takes... may be a little fattening? I mean, creamy/cheezy/pasta..... mmm....

Physical

Wow... Reese can sure run... at times he sprints! Lately he will try to jump and half run half skip swaying from side to side... and he climbs more too. When we do go out to shopping malls... most of the time he will want us to carry him, a little lazy to walk. 

Mental

Ok..this is one area that I am most impressed, he learns very quickly and constantly surprises us. He's got a good memory, I guess most kids do or my memory seems to be just fading..haha..

He is a very alert boy and when he wants something, he is determine to get it no matter what. At times he will display his cheeky side. Wonder what kind of character Reese is going to develop as he grows older.

So he is really growing fast.... was just looking at his baby photos with hubby last night and can't imagine our boy is so big now... amazing...

Flash Cards

Children learn in many ways and using flash cards is one. Of course it may not work for some children but I felt that given time, it is actually a very effective learning tool. Why do I say so?

There are many types of flash cards out there and I must say more than half of them are crap! It's produced to make money! No thoughts are put into how it can stimulate a child. Anyway.. what you want to look for in a set of flash cards are clear pictures/numbers/alphabets with a plain white (preferably) or coloured background. Each card is to focus only on one picture/number/alphabet and nothing else. Why you may ask... It's common sense really... you want the kid to focus on that one thing and if the card has many things on it... the child will lose focus or get confused.

Children below the age of three learn using both right and left brain. When we flash a card..the child is learning using the right brain where it learns by absorbing the whole picture. And when you flash the cards, don't linger too long on one particular card, just flash and read and move on. Repetition is important. At times your child might be bored or not interested, just continue flashing, they will listen and look up once in a while to check what you are flashing. Do this everyday or a few times a day if your child likes it. Take not more than 5 minutes. Just flash a few cards a day good enough. You can make the flashing more interesting by singing, stick the cards on the wall (use blue tag), play treasure hunting....

Happy flashing mummies and daddies!!

To date, I must say it's a very effective tool for me and Reese. After a month of flashing number cards, Reese can say and recognize numbers 0-10 and everywhere he goes, when he sees numbers.. he will point and say the numbers be it on the parking lot wall or billboards...

Recently I have been flashing alphabet cards and after a cool 1 month i think... Reese can recognize all the alphabets and can say 23 out of 26 alphabets and the things each alphabet represents.

By the way, Reese is not even 1.5 years old yet!

I spend about 2 to 5 minutes each day to flash the cards. Sometimes I do it twice a day. So go give it a try and don't give up!

Teaching

Many parents will tell you it's quite impossible to teach their own child. Mmmm... It's not true... you are actually teaching your child all the time! Where do you think your child learns to ask for food? understand instructions and all? You taught him!

Alot of times... parents are simply clueless or just plain lazy to put in some effort to teach their children or they claim they are not creative, no patience, not the teaching type...etc...

I have seen kids coming to me who can't even speak properly at age 5/6 or can't even recognize alphabets.... I think being a parent you have to take an active role in teaching your child. Don't wait till the last minute before they enter formal schooling! Alot of parents will just dump their kids at tuition centres, enrichment centres, private tutoring classes hoping the child will catch up. Now that's not right really, there is no such thing as crash course for kids. They need time to digest what they learn and that's why when kids enter formal schooling they have a hard time catching up and thus parents are force to send them for even more extra classes and that really created the situation now where it's a norm to see kids going for 2 to 3 different tuition classes every week. Eventually, they get bored, tired and hate learning!

Children these days excel for the sake of exams and not the pure joy of discovery and learning something for life... where are the life skills? Schools and teachers are pressured to focus on academic results, sports not so important... where is the balance? Alot of parents will enroll they children for piano, ballet, martial art, art workshops...etc.. have they fully understood how each of these activities can really benefit their children?

I think parents these days are just too busy with their work and personal life and alot of times neglect their children's learning/bonding time. If you can afford the best milk, best clothes, best school....why can't you spend 10 minutes a day to teach your child?

I always tell parents...teaching doesn't mean sitting with the child at the desk and doing work! It's all about having fun. Children learn best when they enjoy it and they remember best when it's alot of fun!

Every day I will spend about 2 to 5 minutes max with Reese flashing cards. When I am not flashing cards, I will just read with him for 5 to 10 minutes. Now reading doesn't mean holding the book and forcing the child to sit with you. What I do is... I point at pictures sitting on the floor or bed or wherever my boy wants to be. At times... I will carry on reading even if he is not interested or when he walks away... I will try to make funny sounds to get his attention or I will stop reading and play with him for a while and then resume! :)

Whenever I get to be with him, I make it a point to teach him something...it only takes a minute for him to learn something new.

Repetition is important.

Be creative. Be rough!. Be loud and silly. Be a kid! :)

Next time will talk about flash card learning. It really works!

A wonderful week

This morning, as Reese's grandparents said their goodbyes to him...I can see that they will miss my baby dearly. The hugs and kisses were intense and if given a choice... it will continue for as long as possible! :)

Both Reese and his grandparents had a great week bonding. During the week, Reese got a little closer to his grandparents and at the same time... their love for him has gone a little deeper too!

I also enjoyed their company. It was just sheer joy watching them playing, feeding, reading, bathing Reese. So loving. I guess it's on everyone's wish list that we all stay a little closer so that we can see each other more often.

Well, the week has ended... and as usual, time flies! During the week, hubby and I got to watch a movie (at night!) and went out lunch on a Saturday alone! :)

It was a good week for all of us. Truly it was.

Thank you Mom and Dad for coming to visit us!

Reese and Grandparents

Reese is having a great time with his penang grandparents.... He has been laughing, running and playing around the house with them. I must say... both sets of grandparents are not your typical grandparents... they will dance, sing, squat, crawl on the floor with Reese if that pleases him... no joke...grandparents these days... very different from the previous generation.... :)

I was down with viral fever the last two days...and while resting at home, I constantly hear Reese laughing from morning till night. I am happy that he gets along well with them and is enjoying himself so so soooooo much. And Reese's paternal grandparents are definately enjoying their limited time with him. They love him so much. One lucky baby!

Maybe tomorrow night I will sneak out the house with hubby for a movie and then mamak!! Can't wait for some time out with hubby alone. :)

Happy Family

Family photo taken at Ying Ker Lau during CNY

Photo with my family

Little boss watching Barney and eating his lunch

Can you believe he is less than 1 and half years old?

At home he is nicknamed 'Raja Muda'

My Reese is thinner...

Mmmm... ever since Reese rejected his blend vegefish with cereal.... he has become thinner... he lost his trademark tummy... eerr.. still there.. but much smaller now... and overall.. he is thinner.... I must say...all these while... his weight is above the average mark... so.. It's ok.. he is consider chubby... but still... seeing him grown thinner aches my heart...

When it comes to lunches and dinners... he takes a long time to finish his meals.... record time 2 hours! how?

Because I am tired of battling with him when it comes to food... for lunch... he will take a cheese or peanut butter banana sandwich and for dinner...most of the time it would be pasta and once in a while either fried fish or roast chicken with potatoes/carrots. Luckily, he still love fruits and cheese.

I really hope he will not be so choosy when it comes to food... mmmm... wonders when he will eat whatever we eat! It would be so much easier.

I am going to try to make mushroom soup this thursday... not sure whether he will like my version.... he loves mushroom soup from outside... he also likes minestrone... will try it soon... :)

My boy not very Malaysianlah.... he prefers western food... hai... 

A New Beginning...

Dear Reese,

We would like you to know on 8th March 2008, Mummy and Daddy did our part to vote for a better future for all of us as Barisan Rakyat of Malaysia.

We hope with the new changes... there would be a better future for you and that mummy and daddy would retire one day knowing that we did the right thing! :)

Another Conversation...

Relaxing on the sofa this morning...

Mummy: Reese.... mooooo... mmmoooo...
Reese: Cow...cow
Mummy: Oink....oink
Reese: Pig...
Mummy: Woof...woof...
Reese: Dog...
Mummy: Quack...quack...
Reese: Duck....
Mummy: Meow....meow...
Reese: Cat...
Mummy: Yiiihaaahahaa..... Yiiihaahaha...
Reese: (look at me blur...)
Mummy: Yiihaaahaha.... horse.... Yiihaahahaha..... horse...
Mummy: Reese.... Yiiihahhahah.....Yiiihahaha..... (looking at Reese eagerly)
Reese: Horseeeee......
Mummy: Clever boy!!!! yahoo...

I am really enjoying every moment I spend with Reese reading and learning new things.... He knows all the numbers...only occasionally can't say a number or two...but most of the time... he can... I have also started doing alphabets with him. The past one week I did a-f....and he can recognize and say a few of them. Today I added g-n.... He really enjoys it...

So much fun being a mum.... love the experience.... wonder whether I will ever be a mum a second time..... :) maybe...maybe not.....

Brushing Reese's teeth successful!

Yesss... finally Reese allows me to brush his teeth without much fuss... I am able to use the finger brush to even lightly brush his tongue! :)

He likes the apple/banana flavour of the tooth paste... Just use a tiny dot.... that's all you need... After all the brushing... I still use a cloth to just clean his gums and mouth... but definately... I can see that...those little food stuck at the edges of his teeth are gone...

The finger brush is made of rubber and the brush area is soft... so..it won't hurt your child's gum.... It secures nicely on my index finger and won't come out. You definately have more control with the brushing than using a tooth brush.

Finally...one major problem solved. Definately worth buying.... It's available at Guardian at RM32.xx.

Finger brush and tooth paste

Went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago and ask him when I should bring Reese for his first dental check up. He told me when he is 3 years old. Now...that's abit long isn't it? I did my research and most will tell you when the child is around 1.5 or 2 years old. Anyway... he recommended a finger brush to clean the baby's teeth to keep away bacteria and smell....

So...last night..I finally found one at Guardian... and the best thing is... the tooth paste can be swallowed. Tried it on Reese this morning... It was good... he likes the taste....and I manage to clean his teeth properly too! :)

One problem solved.

Playgroud Fun Part II

Enjoying the splashing time

Slides are fun

Posing for fun

More posing

Getting ready for the thrill...

He really enjoys playing with the fountain..

More running

One of his blur blur picture

This is first time truly enjoying the slide

More blur...

A fun evening at the playground

We took Reese to the playground and let him run and climb and be dirty! At the end of playtime...he even got to play with the water fountain and got all wet. We even got stares from a parent who probably thinks that we are bad parents for allowing him to play with the water until he was soaking wet...hehe... but hey... what is play without getting all dirty and wet? We did give him a nice warm bath after that... :) More pictures to come tonight... These are some of them..

Running happily towards the playground

Err... this shot ... Reese looks weird...

More running...

and more...

and... daddy took this picture without part of his head!

Fooling around at home before going to the playground

Wacthing TV....

My Little Fussy Eater

I was looking forward to the weekends simply because I can take Reese out for some food! Ha... I know...outside food not healthy...but the 2 last weeks... getting Reese to eat proved to be so difficult! I tried cooking healthy and yummy food and yet 90% of it got rejected!

So on Saturday.. we took him to Fish & Co. It was past his lunch time (he woke up late from his nap)... the moment he saw the high chair...he started to cry..and when we try to put him in... he cried very loud...and it took us a while to get him in! Then we ordered a kid's meal for him. Fish and Chips and mushroom soup. I thought I will take half the soup and half the fish and all the chips....but... Reese surprised us by taking one full bowl of mushroom soup together with fish meat dipped in his soup! Crazy... He was soo hungry...and yet.. he never reject the food.... weird huh? As for dinner... he had peanut butter with bread.

Today... he had peanut butter and banana sandwich!! He likes it... phew... :)
Dinner... he had nearly 1 chicken wing and a few pieces of mushroom.. Initially rejected the breast meat... but found out he likes the smoother texture of the meat...hehe...

Hai... tomorrow is going to be back to pasta and peanut butter and banana sandwich.... got to work... no time to cook fanciful stuff.

17 months

Happy 17th month birthday Reese. Mummy and Daddy love you very very much. 

Milestones:

1. Became a fussy eater.

2. Probably a little more than 13 kgs now.

3. Very demanding at times. Will either pull or push you towards what he wants or he will               whine and fuss until he gets what he wants.

4. Still adorable but less handsome than before.

5. Cheeky boy.

6. He can almost jump. Able to skip and run super fast... at times when he runs, it looks like he       is floating!

7. Vocabulary is growing;learning opposites; speech is getting clearer and able to say 2 syllabus     words. Signs of singing too... He is able to sing 'row row row...(pause) boat'

8. Able to climb and walk up stairs and down the stairs (with help).

9. Loves to play chase.

10. Loves Barney and Sesame Street

11. Able to call gong gong, po po, ye ye, kakak, ye poh, mummy and daddy (*he refuses to call us      99% of the time)

12. He can scribble on paper.

13. He can recognize and say 1 to 10.

14. He loves to play with water. He loves the swimming pool.

15. He loves to run around the shopping mall. 

16. He loves to steer wheels... any kind of wheels....