Friday, October 31, 2008

Conversation with Reese

Daddy: Reese, what is mummy's name?
Reese: (rolling on the bed) Floren...
Daddy and Mummy: Clever boy..... (smiling and clapping)
Mummy: Reese, what is daddy's name?
Reese: Adriannnn..... (smiling and rolling)
Daddy and Mummy: Clever boy... (very happy)

Mummy: (pretending to sleep)
Reese: Mummy.... pluck star.... pluck little star.... (there are stars on the wall)
Mummy: (still pretending to sleep)
Reese: (climb over mummy and gave her a big kiss!) Kissssss.....
Mummy: Ok...mummy awake...what do you want?
Reese: carry pluck little star.....mummy carry pluck star.... carry! carry!
Mummy: ok....carry Reese to pluck the stars...

Mummy: Reese let's go... go catch butterflies...
Reese: go see butterflies... big butterflies sleepin...
(walking towards the garden)
Reese: Hello green peas....
Mummy: Oh...say bye bye....
Reese: Bye green peas... (step on the pinang beans on the ground)

Reese: Mummy....roll ball.....
Mummy: Oh ok... (continue typing on the keyboard)
Reese: Mummy play ball!!! (getting angry)
Mummy: Oh ok.... ok.... play ball.... (hehe)


It's getting more fun talking to Reese. :)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Drinks

Kult...yaaaaa...kult......
wahhhhgen..... wahhhhgen...
chocket milk.....
carrot juice...

My boy has developed a taste for flavoured drinks. Yes.... he is asking for them now. I used to find it weird that my boy didn't like sweet drinks... but now... he loves them.....

Yesterday evening at my mom's place....Reese ran into the kitchen and opened the fridge and took a bottle of Yakult on his own! We were amazed but also realized that it could be trouble!!

He is getting smarter by the day....been surprising us with many things lately.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

laaaa la laa la la.....

Sing sweet Nightingale....sing sweet Nightingale....haaaa ha ha ha haaaa ha haaaaaa......
Oh sing sweet Nightingale....sing sweet Nightingale...... (Cinderella)

Reese is singing..... :) not totally in tune.... but he is trying... about 50%....not bad huh?

Can't wait for him to actually sing properly.....

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Kisses...no longer envy...

Mmmmmm.... my baby gives me kisses all the time even upon request!
Reese will kiss me whenever he sees me 'sleeping'.
He will kiss me when I ask for it. Be it on the cheeks or even my mouth...lovely...
He even kisses me to bribe me to do something for him!! Smart boy.

I used to envy mummies whose kids will give kisses to them... ah... now... my prince is doing it too... yahoo...... :)

Monday, October 27, 2008

Butterfly Park


Reese has been chasing and touching butterflies with me for the past 2 weeks at my mom's place. Since it's a long weekend, we decided to take him to the Butterfly Park in Lake Gardens. We spent about an hour plus there. Paid RM16 for tickets, RM1 for fish food and RM1 for camera. We were not sure what to expect.... but we knew Reese would be super happy to see so many butterflies!!!

Once inside, Reese got excited watching big butterflies sucking nectar at very close range... he got a little scared..cause they were huge...hahaha.... It was quite cooling inside, mainly because of the trees and plants and big netting too. Besides butterflies, they have a fish pond that runs like a mini stream and a turtle/tortoise pond. We let Reese feed the turtles/tortoises and then the fish..... they were big... it was fun for Reese because it's his first time feeding animals. We spent alot of time watching the butterflies and feeding the animals and taking photos and videos.

I think it's a suitable place to bring young children... it's not a very big place and thus...we don't have to carry or chase after Reese alot. Reese was in awe with the butterflies... just happily standing at one place watching the flying butterflies. It was quite relaxing unlike the zoo...where we had to walk and carry Reese alot. Reese actually enjoyed this more than the zoo.

So we had a good time and I do recommend parents to bring their little ones here. Not stroller friendly, do not bring a stroller... narrow walkways. :)



Self portrait of the family... this time.. didn't get a good shot of the family...only silly shots... hehe





Reese and mummy



Reese and daddy



Alot of fish and some were really big...


Leading Reese to the fish pond...


Reese feeding the turtles and tortoises


Hungry animals...


So tired....



Feeding fishes at close range....



Chasing butterflies with daddy...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Better....

Yesterday staying at home with Reese was kinda tough. With his condition, he didn't want to eat much and was demanding and whiny. For breakfast he only had 2 crackers dipped in Milo and for lunch, he refused his porridge and cereal and only took 2 digestive biscuits and some chocolate milk. He took 2 bottle of milk before he napped.

Thank God, for dinner, he ate his mushroom soup with pasta. Have to constantly play with him, he will not let me have some 'me' time. It's tiring when you are not doing much, just sitting around playing with your kid and just watching him... you know what I mean?

I took a semi nap while the maid played with Reese and very patiently fed him the digestive biscuits. I got to surf the net for a while too. He only wanted to watch Cinderella and I allowed him since he was not well. We got through the day and he was much better and only chocked once vomited some mucus and tiny bit of milk. He was able to sleep and hubby took care of him during the night while I tried to sleep without interruption.

Poor hubby and thank you dear.




He was in his whiny mood. First asking to open the door while watching Cinderella and then started licking his mucus and then asked for a balloon. Towards the end of the video, you can see his sick and sad face. My poor boy.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A sick child

Reese is down with a cold again. This time, I have no idea how he got it. Could it be from one of the kids in my classes? Anyway, this time the cold is quite bad. His nose is so runny that the mucus will tickle down his throat and irritates it so much that he will cough.

Whenever he tries to sleep, after 20 minutes or so he will be awaken by a choke and follow by coughing and then he will vomit. Not to mention it will take him quite a while to go to sleep because of the blocked nose.

It all started on Saturday morning. So I gave him the decongestant nose drops and also Clarityne (cold). Come Sunday it became worse. We all didn't sleep well. Yesterday it got worse so I took him to his old Pediatrician in Pantai Hospital, Bangsar. Boy, it was expensive! Haven't seen this pediatrician since a year ago after we discovered another pediatrician near our home and it's alot better and cheaper. Anyway, no choice...given the circumstances yesterday.

After a chat and a check, pedi said Reese has no viral infection, just a very runny nose and that is causing all the cough. So asked me to continue with Clarityne, a cough mixture and a different nose drops. That's it and it cost me RM153.90. His consultation alone is RM90! It used to be RM70.... It has gone up!! Anyway.... it's a relieve that it's nothing serious.

So last night Reese slept at 7.30pm but woke up and vomitted. What a big mess. After cleaning up and changing the bedsheets... he played a while and slept and sometime around 11+ pm... he got up and vomitted a little bit, we managed to control the mess and then he went back to sleep.

I didn't sleep much... Reese was tossing around on the bed and I have to constantly monitor him and also the room temperature. Any slight choke or cough woke me up. Hope today is going to be better for Reese. Taking the day off today.

One thing about parenting, I hate taking care of a sick child. Not only is it physically draining and mentally stressful, my heart also aches alot watching my child suffers.

P.S: I asked the pedi how effective are vitamin/multi vitamin pills? He said there is no research that actually proved that these products are effective in boosting the immune system. In fact if taken too much it may be harmful. (which confirmed what I read sometime back).

Then I ask is there anything that can help boost the immune system? He said you can take Cod's liver oil because of the DHA compound in it and according to him, more and more research has shown that Probiotics actually help boost the immune system. So he recommended Probiotics instead of vitamins..... and what brand? He just said go for reputable ones and it's costly too. About 28 days supply it will be about RM100. For toddlers and older children it comes in capsule form. Just put it into a drink and let the child drink.

So mummies, forget about vitamins and go for cod's liver oil or probiotics if you have a weak child else just make sure your kid takes a proper balance diet!

Friday, October 17, 2008

What does Reese talk about?

At 24 months and 17 days, Reese's speech has improved tremendously with him constantly babbling about things. For the record, these are some of the things that he talks about.

Where?
Where's it?
Where's daddy?
Where's the little star?
Where's the butterfly?
Where's the balloon?
Where's the naughty cat?
Where's my control? (looking for the remote control to get us to switch on the TV)

What?
What's this?

There!
There it is!
There... that's a daddy...
There... castle...
There... book...

Mother! mother!
Whenever Reese wants to barge through a door, he will call out 'mother mother mother mother' as he runs towards the door... just like in one of the scenes in Cinderella where one of the stepsisters discovered a mouse in her breakfast teacup and she screamed for her mother running out of her room and then into her mother's room.

He likes to tell us what is going to happen in the cartoons that he watches. He will tell you at least 2 scenes in advance like:

Oh! oooo...cat coming....
Cat drink milk milk...
Gust!! Gust take corn....
Cinderella pom pom (bath)
Chicken eat corn...
little mouse coming...
Pumpkin... horse carriage... (pumpkin turning into a horse carriage)
Gust take key...
Queen mother... (wants us to forward any scenes involving the queen mother.. he a little scared)
Seven dwarfs coming...
Hi ho... hi ho....hi ho....
blow candle...
Snow White sleeping...

Sometimes he will ask for things in full sentences:

Mummy read book.
Mummy watch Cimberella (Cinderella)
Daddy come.
Go playground.
Mummy make train.
Mummy fix (something).
Mummy wake up.
Kong kong sleeping.
Daddy buy potato (KFC mash potato)
Eat chicken/mee mee
Drink water/juice/carrot juice/soup
Change clothes.... wet wet...
Wash hand/face (time to play water while mummy brushes his teeth)
pluck yellow flower/ stars
sit mummy car

Vocabulary
He knows alot of words. It's growing every day. Yesterday we taught him the word 'shin mui' (sour plum) hahah... he loves to eat preserve fruits that are a little sour.

A few weeks back he surprised us by saying BAJU wet wet. I guess he learnt that Malay word from his kakak. :)

Longest word that he can pronouce well:

Caterpillar

Way to go Reese..... there are just so many things that you talk about that mummy is finding hard to keep track.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Clowning around



This is specially for Ama and Gong gong in Penang. See how I have grown? Can't wait to see you both next month! Enjoy my silly antics and have a good laugh.
Reese had a new hair cut....

Usually Reese will have his hair cut at a salon that my mom goes to. The last time he went there, he cried and kicked so much that my mom told me from now on, you have to take him for his hair cut. We couldn't control him.

Last week I tried to cut his hair again and it took me a good 45 minutes and the hair cut was not very good. So last Sunday, we took him to The Curve where they have this RM12 shop that has a special area with a cute motorized car for kids to sit and cut their hair. Looks good, took Reese there... he played with the car for a while and then I think he sensed something..... to cut the long story short, hubby and I had to struggle to have him in my arms and allow the stylist to cut his hair. We have always wondered what Reese will look like if we give him a crew cut! After some wrestling with Reese from the motorized car to the floor and alot of hair sticking to all three of us and alot of screaming and crying and a good 5 minutes... this is how Reese looks like now:




We didn't like it. Hahaha... We still think he looks better with his old hair style. He looks more plum and 'soh jai' look. At least we tried a new style. :)


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

So sweet....

Yesterday night, hubby and I played with Reese before his bedtime.... we were encouraging him to dance and do some hand movements. Then... I decided to ask daddy to play dead/sleep. I told Reese to kiss daddy and wake him up. Reese went and did exactly that! but his kiss was with no skin contact and just make the 'kiss' sound and call his daddy to wake up.... hahaha....

Then I decided to play dead/sleep too. And Reese came over to kiss me and asked me to wake up. As we repeat this little game a few times, he became an expert in kissing us! He really kissed us... from face to neck to hand.... it's so wonderful. When he planted his wet kiss on my cheek once and I didn't wake up, he will plant another one and another until he will stick his mouth to my face and kept making the kissing sound...hahaha.... I love it.

These days, Reese is getting more sticky to me. Even when I am at my mom's place... he wants me to watch cartoon with him, play with him and feed him. This morning at around 2am, he woke up asking for milk. He came to me and very sweetly calls mummy.... and wanted to kiss me to wake me up..haha...daddy prevented him from disturbing me cause I was super tired last night. Anyway... I got up and as daddy gave him the milk... he wanted me to sleep next to him... and just hold him and pat him.... when I moved away...he asked for me again.... :)

Love it. Yesterday night was record night. The most kisses I got from Reese and I lost count of them... beautiful..... now he will associate kissing us with waking us up...hahaha....


Monday, October 13, 2008

Discipline and guilt

Major drama yesterday evening, while I was cooking daddy looked after Reese. After a good ten minutes or so, Reese started his tantrum, so much so he started to ask for something that he really didn't want. He just got up from his nap not too long ago. He asked for water, when given to him, he didn't want it but when daddy took it away he screamed for it and then cry. So daddy gave him water and he refused it and it went on for a while. I came out of the kitchen and tried to give him water but he refused and then ask for it when I took it away.... so daddy got sooooo mad that he shouted at him to stop and I did the same at the same time but a bit softer. Still didn't work....

Told him he is going to eat his noodles.... and when he saw it, he was screaming for it.... put him in his high chair...still crying and screaming until daddy couldn't take it anymore and 'piak' his hand...really hard (first time so hard) until he immediately kept quiet. IMMEDIATE!! Wow...
I was not happy because I don't believe in beating. So when I saw his hand was puffy and red.... I just control myself and told hubby, next time if you wanted to beat, please do so on the butt. I am a little angry too but I controlled myself, if daddy wants to use this method to discipline, I can't say no if it's reasonable and as parents we have to support each other. Hai...what to do... not everyone can be so patient.

Anyway... after that...Reese didn't cry at all and just watch his Mickey and ate his noodles like nothing happened at all. Crazy I tell you.

Over dinner, hubby and I were very quiet and after a long time I asked him whether he is still mad at his son. Then we started talking.... then hubby felt guilty....hahahaha... after dinner we played with Reese.... Reese was very happy and daddy felt even more guilty...checking his hand to see whether the redness has gone.... Daddy was super guilty...can see it on his face...hugging his son and all.... hehehehe.....
I am glad that I didn't argue with my husband, maybe it's ok for that occasional smack. I don't know, all I know is that whatever discipline style we are going to use on Reese, we both must agree and support each other. Otherwise, it's not going to work and the little smarty pants will know how to manipulate the situation next time.
I still don't believe in beating or spanking or whatever you wanna call that.... :) But I was really impressed by it, instant reaction from Reese, immediately stop shouting and crying. Just like that. It's definitely a very tempting option. In fact super tempting...because we get instant results... BUT no, it's not how I want to bring up my child.

Saturday, October 11, 2008







Homeschooling WHY NOT?

Lately been chatting with some friends about my decision to homeschool Reese. As expected, most of them will politely ask me why and all the negative comments starts to flow....

Now... why does everyone seems to have such negative thoughts about homeschooling? Isn't it our right to educate our children the way we want? Why must we put our children's education in the hands of others? What is so wrong with the children's parents teaching them? Are parents not academically qualified to do so?(possible) Are parents going to teach their children wrong things and destroy their future? (possible) BUT what about those who are able and truly wants the best for their children? I mean, our education system sucks.

Alot of homeschooling parents in Malaysia will homeschool their children under the radar. They don't even bother going to the M.O.E to register their children as homeschoolers because of all the red tape and bla..bla..bla..... It's such a shame.

Another negative perception of homeschooling is the social impact on the children. We are not living in the 19th century..... homeschooling children's social circle now is amazingly wide!! With great technology and community resources, parents of homeschooling children are connected and they are actively organizing activities, field trips, workshops and etc for the children. Activities range from camping trips to taking robotic workshops.... isn't it cool? I mean at SCHOOL... how many such trips or activities are organized in a year? Maybe once or twice....

If you think about it, children at conventional schools are conditioned by a system that rates their self-worth against exam marks and encourages conformity... their social circle is confined to their classmates whom they see throughout the year and then some new faces the next and so on. They learn the same stuff, read the same books, pick up the same bad habits and behaviours too. As for a homeschooler, they get to meet different people of all ages all time through the many activities they get themselves involved in. Homeschoolers get to learn in a more creative manner where they have more control over how they want to learn(guidance from parents).

To conclude, homeschooling is not for everyone but for those of us who have chosen to do so, we think it is the better way. Oh! from various research it is shown that homeschoolers are by and large academically above the national average, unafraid to be different and absorb well into society. So with this, I hope I manage to clear up some negative perceptions of homeschooling.


Friday, October 10, 2008

Maid

Ah.... my maid is going back next month and last week we found a new one that looks ok. Didn't know there are a few agencies that actually have online services. It's such a convenience. I selected my maid online. They have all the biodata of the available maids online. Isn't that cool?

My current maid is our first maid. She is Indonesian, age 36, Muslim, separated and has two sons. Initially we found her lack of manners and not very honest when it comes to work. After some counseling and some very honest chats with her every now and then, she was ok.

She is reliable in the sense that when I instruct her to get things done, it will be done. Of course there are times when she is 'too smart'. :) One thing I like about her is she is a very hygienic person. She takes bath twice a day and when at my mom's place, she will change her clothes twice... generally very clean.

Oh, and she adores my son. Takes good care of him and very patient with him. In general I am satisfied with her. I can rely on her to get things done. Having said that, of course we have to close an eye when it comes to certain things but it's ok... I can take it.

Too bad, hubby doesn't like her at all. He has his reasons, maybe I am more patient and have high level of tolerance. Hehehe....

So at the moment, we are worried.... not sure whether the new maid is going to be ok or not. :(
Our new maid is a Christian, age 25, worked in Malaysia for 6 years and she is single. Her pay is going to be higher than the usual Indonesian maid because of her experience. Her asking pay is RM650 a month. Agency fees alone is RM4415 and we have to pay 7 months in advance for the maid's salary. So it's a whopping RM8965.

We hope by paying more we will get a good maid. Really have to pray hard on this. I always believe if you treat your maid well, in return, she will be happy and thus performs better. Afterall, they are human beings....

Oh, I hope Reese will get along with the new maid and that she will love Reese. We will have no maid for a month, so thank God for my parents in law. They will come and take care of Reese until the new maid arrives. My dad alone is not able to take care of Reese due to his weak heart and lack of mobility of his hands and my mom is mostly out busy with her business and I have to work! Ah.... hope everything will be ok.....



Thursday, October 09, 2008

Food update

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

So happy... why? because Reese finally takes porridge! After the HK trip, I tried to make mince pork with carrots porridge last week Saturday and he actually took half a bowl. I was so encouraged. My boy has adult taste bud. He likes his porridge with spring onion, a little pepper and a little sesame oil. Oh...also a little ginger. Those baby porridge he didn't like. Weird huh?

Anyway, yesterday I tried again. This time, I use slices of fish. Wallah..... He eagerly open his mouth and kept asking for porridge and finish a big bowl of it! Phew..... so happy.... :)

I always wonder how you can make just enough porridge for a little one without having to waste....usually... you will end up with more than enough for a little one to finish in one day. So this is what I did and it works really well. Try it.

First - cook porridge in normal plain water. Just put enough for 1 person and make sure it's not watery.
Second - Once porridge ready, add in chicken stock to the thick porridge and let it simmer.
Third - Add in meat and vegetables and let it simmer and keep stirring. If your child likes watery porridge, than keep stirring and add chicken stock until desire texture.
Lastly - After a good 40 minutes, I have a yummy bowl of porridge just enough for Reese to consume for 1 meal. :) No wastage.

I always prepare a big pot of stock, usually once a week and store them in containers and freeze it. I uses them to make Reese's meals. Very convenient.

Oh, Reese also likes home made fried chicken. So for one of the menu, he will take one big drumstick minus the skin and a bowl of soup. :)

Latest Menu

Fried Chicken with a bowl of soup.
Fish porridge

The Usual Menu

Creamy mushroom/fish/vege soup with abc pasta(All time favourite)
Maccoroni and Cheese (Kraft-Premium Original Mac & Cheese) (Current favourite)
Cream sauce pasta (don't like it much these days)
Mee Suah soup
Peanut butter and banana sandwich
Breakfast cereal with milk
Digestive biscuits with milk
Yogurt
Banana(favourite), mango, papaya and grapes (used to take alot but lately...don't really like)

New Snacks

Any juice that is sweet (he never like sweet drinks except barley...how he is more willing to try new things)
Chocolate - Thanks to Kevin Cheah's yummy milk chocolate, Reese actually likes it. But we hardly give him, not good...hehe
Prunes - He likes it alot at one time.
Chocolate milk - He likes it but doesn't take alot.

I still don't give him junk food and sweets.

Outside Food

KFC - chicken and mash potato (can finish 1 to 2 drumsticks without skin and a regular mash or at times just one large mash potato)
Fish and Co - mushroom soup/fish chowder and fish (Usually Reese takes a kid's meal that comes with fish and chips, he will finish the fish and extra from my fish and also a bowl of soup. He doesn't take the fries)
MacD - Fries
Chillis - Macoroni and Cheese and chicken fingers
Italianis - Cream sauce pasta
Hawkers - Any clear soup noodles. As long as he has his mee and kueh teow. I know the yellow noodles are not good, so I am slowly adding kuew teow(flat rice noodles) and hope that he will take more of that.

So now, when we eat out, especially hawker, we have more choices, just have to make sure there is noodle soup! It's definately less expensive than going to out usual restaurant or fast food. :)

I think it's getting easier.... when it comes to food and also with the help of PSP we can have a more relax meal too.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Training of new skills


Some of the things we did to help improve his fine motor skills:

Last weekend we bought some new toys to help Reese improve his fine motor skills.

A colourful abacus and a tool box

The abacus allows Reese to count, move the beads around
Tool box has a hammer, spanner and a screwdriver, lots of holes for him to nail, screw...


Reese has started using a spoon to feed himself too. :) We allow him to make a little mess, so far he can feed himself with mash potato and ice-cream.

Mash potato anyone?

Yummy ice-cream...


Allowed him to play with barley beans, scooping, pouring and picking up the beans. He enjoyed it very much but of course, we have to closely supervise him. Let him play with bowls, cups and watering can during shower time.

Barley beans (only beans I have at that time)

Reese also loves to pour the barley beans on the floor...


Potty training a week ago.... did it for only one day...haha... so stressful.

In his new training pants. He has 3 pairs


Habits and compliments his way...

Whenever Reese likes something he would say 'nice' or 'favourite'.


When he likes a certain food: nice porridge, nice soup, nice mee mee


When he likes something: favourite daddy, favourite pilo (pillow)


Yesterday night before bedtime, he said handsome boy.... referring to himself obviously... hehe...


At times, he says 'good boy'.


Habits


Whenever he drinks his milk at home, he will only lay down on his 'favourite pillow'.

If pillow is not in its usual position, he will always make sure that it is before he takes his milk.


At my parent's place, he again must have his favourite pillow (my dad's pillow).

He must have his doze of cartoon before his nap.


Must have alot of pillows surrounding him when he sleeps.

Loves to laze around the bed after he wakes up....


Loves to sleep on his tummy and slip his little hands under a pillow.


At times, he likes to be pat to sleep.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Milestones at 24 months

Physically 

More agile, will climb on chairs, sofa (higher end) and even tables. He can also climb ladder. When at the little playground, we don't have to be so watchful knowing that he is steady and won't fall easily. He is very strong. He can give me bruise! 

Going up steps effortlessly. Coming down steps, getting better, he can walk down steps on his own without help. 

Lately likes to skip. It's half run and half skip. Can throw ball up, sideways, down very well. 

Able to pick up things as small as a barley very quickly. Using the spoon more often. Able to somewhat feed himself with a spoon. It has to be sticky stuff like mash potatoes or mayonnaise...  can hold his cup and drink without spilling. 

Emotionally

Mmmm... somewhat stubborn. Always a happy  boy. Now cries more as compared to last time (terrible two). He is a cheeky boy. I would consider him a good nature fellow. Not sensitive (maybe too young?)

Mentally

Memory is fantastic. Maybe I am just poor in that area.. hehe..
Learn things super fast.
Understand us quite well.
Concentration span quite good.
Love to watch TV. Especially Little Einstein, Mickey Mouse Club House, Cinderella, Snow White, Nemo.... we are constantly exposing him with good cartoons....

Verbally

Able to sting words together. He is speaking in sentences too. About 45% of the time and the rest are in phases. Some interesting things that he says:

diamond shoes broken.... broken already... (Cinderella cartoon)
Snow white died (Snow White and Seven Dwarfs)
butterfly inside the box
There it is. 
Where is it?
build tower, play puzzle build car.

His vocabulary is ever expanding. I just couldn't keep track. :)

He show slightly less interest in books because mummy too lazy.... and she has not been teaching him anything actually. One thing thou, when we try to read a story, he will snatch the book away and look for pictures that he is interested in. He is more interested in toys, especially toys that allow him to use his fine motor skills. Like putting something through a hole, spooning, scooping things into bowls or cups.

Food

Still choosy with food but lately, he is more willing to try new taste and actually like sweet drinks like juice. He likes milk chocolate! He likes HK congee, the really watery type. Normal porridge, don't like. He likes soup. He still doesn't really like his food with meat except eating KFC. I realized, he doesn't like to bite so prefer soft food. It's still a headache to get him to have a balance diet. His main food is still very limited but at least he is taking enough protein, carbo and others. His food portion is almost equivalent to an small eater adult. For example, eating noodles, he can take 3/4 of a bowl. Finish to the last drop! KFC, he can at times take 2 drumsticks minus the skin and 1 regular whipped potato or 1 large whipped potato with some chicken. Hokkien mee, he can take two small plates (those green/orange small plates)

Hates medicine. Doesn't take Scott Emulsion anymore. Fruits also choosy. His favourite is banana. He takes pitted prunes too. 

Reese is growing well, he should be around 15kgs now and about 90cm tall. He is big for his age. :) Everyone thinks he is 3 years old.



Toilet Training 

Finally, started toilet training Reese yesterday afternoon. It didn't work. In a span of 2 hours, he wet all three new training pants!!! and also managed to wet a small part of his blanket.

We bought three training pants from Baby loft last weekend. Looks good but kinda pricey. It's RM90+ for 3. We had to because Reese loves to jump on mattresses. We cannot imagine the mess if we don't use training pants which can at least whole 1 pee and less likely to cause a pool of urine on the child's first pee. Yesterday our first attempt. Kept telling him that he will wet his pants if he urinate into his pants. Tell us if he wants to urinate. Of course didn't work. :)

 After a good 15 minutes we took him to the toilet and ask him to urinate... he already wet his pants, so wore his 2nd pants and then...gosh... he wanted to play with water and didn't want to come out.... so Reese had a struggle with daddy and when he is out... he said shh shh... daddy got conned. Hahah.... Reese wanted to play with water....no shh shh.... then after a struggle, he throw his major tantrum and cried for a very long time...maybe 10 to 15 minutes. then settle down. phew...

Gave him milk to calm him.... This time... again I kept asking him.. actually very tiring and stressful..... :) After a few rounds... took him to the other toilet..I tried to hold his penis and help him pee into the potty....didn't work... he slapped my hand away... then again wanted to play water...I quickly took him out of the toilet...he protested but it was ok....

Again, kept asking him and finally the 3rd attempt, he followed me to the toilet... while I was trying to take off his pants... he started to urinate...and poor me, his urine spilled into my hands and also his pants... so there goes the second pants.

Again reminded him... he needs to tell.....but really.... it just doesn't work.... So the third and last pants... played on the floor sitting on the blanket... in less than 30 minutes... (been asking every 10 minutes or so) he got up with me and to my horror... he already wet his pants..and it also wet part of the blanket....gggggrrrr.... 

That's the end of the potty training session for the day. No more pants. Actually I am glad to put on his diaper.... hahha.... 

About the training pants:

1.It's difficult to wear especially when the kid's thighs are a little wet or damp. Friction makes it harder to wear.

2.It's super difficult to dry! It took 3 days to dry when we first wash it. 

3.It's not really effective on Reese. The wetness didn't bother him. 

Questions for Mummies:

1. Does your child (boy) stand to pee or sit on the potty to pee?
2. Do you hold his little penis?
3. How do you train your child?
4. Anyone uses training pants like I do?