Art Attack

Another fun activity that kept Reese busy for a good half hour! Reese likes to do painting. He started with a brush then his fingers and eventually the entire palm. :)

Full concentration

Paint my hand mummy!

Full hand prints

The master piece

Reese taught me!

All these while, what Reese watches on TV is controlled. He only watches cartoons that we think is appropriate for him. We never subscribe cartoon channels on Astro. About 2 months ago, we decided to add documentary channels. Reese took an interest in Animal planet channel and about 2 weeks ago, while he was watching a program on a group of small animals that I have seen before but didn't know what they were called (my general knowledge sucks). So I casually asked hubby and before he could answer, my son said "Meerkats, Meerkats". I looked at Reese and thought he was talking nonsense and I asked hubby and he didn't know either. So we continued watching the program and true enough those little creatures were called Meerkats! Hahaha... my son is smarter than us!

Ever since then, almost everyday for an hour, he will watch the program on Meerkats. He will tell you what they did like digging tunnels, fighting and running very fast. He was so engrossed in them.

Reese also learned another type of animal, Gibbons. He knew they are from the monkey family. TV if used appropriately is actually good for children in my opinion. We will continue to control the contents of what Reese watches.

An afternoon of fun

We had a bit of spontaneous fun this afternoon. The weather was perfect. Since I had no classes in the afternoon, I decided to take Reese for some bubble fun and plant watering. So off with went with his current favourite toy, his toy trolley! We brought along a watering can and a bottle of bubble solution.

Reese was all excited. First we played with bubbles, Reese chased, burst, kicked and simply ran through the bubbles! He loved it very much. Next we watered some plants in the garden. Reese got to fill up the watering can with tap water and then he slowly walked toward the plants and flowers to water them. He did this for about 6 to 7 times. At the same time enjoying chasing some birds and butterflies.

It was a solid 45 minutes to an hour of simple fun. Very satisfying.

Photos taken with my mobile phone:

Toy trolley, bubble solution and watering can

On his way for some fun... see how strong he is, carrying his trolley up the steps

Chasing after the bubbles (bubbles were gone by the time I took the picture)

Filling up the watering can with tap water

Walking toward the plants and taking care not to spill the water

Reese loves to water plants and flowers these days

Picked up some 'Pinang' fruit on the ground and Reese calls them green peas...

Food that fills the tummy and nourishes the body and mind!

I am happy to say that Reese is eating more variety of food these days. He is still picky with food but definitely knows how to go for the best! :)

It's alot easier for me to plan his weekly meals as he is more open to try new food. I try to give him home cooked food as much as I can and outside food is limited to weekends only. His food is still cooked exclusively every day or for some food like his favourite mushroom soup will be done weekly and store in the freezer.

My son is now 17kgs and he is almost two and half years old. He has a very solid body and a nice round tummy. :)

Food he takes on a week day:

Breakfast

1. Cereal (Honey stars/Honey coated corn flakes/ Honey oats corn flakes) with banana and milk.

2. Cream crackers (4 to 5 pieces) dipped in Milo followed by fruits

3. Two pieces of toast with butter and Milo/fresh milk followed by fruits

4. A cheese stick and digestive biscuits (2 pieces) with fresh milk followed by fruits

5. Yogurt (Imported children yogurt only) and fruits

Main Meals for Lunch and Dinner

1. Peanut butter and banana sandwich and fresh milk

2. Mee suah/mee hun soup(ikan bilis/chicken stock) with an egg, chicken pieces, shredded carrot and cabbage

3. Fried Dorry fish finger (lightly marinated with salt) and then dipped into egg and flour mixture and fruit

4. Chicken and potato in oyster sauce dish with rice

5. Cream sauce pasta with tomatoes and ham/bacon

6. Turkey ham sandwich and fruit

7. Creamy mushroom soup (with blended broccoli, carrot, potato and fish) with a piece of toast

8. Roast chicken and potatoes with herbs and lemon

9. Fish porridge (Once is a while only because he doesn't really like it now)

10. Fried chicken drumstick and thigh and fruits.

11. Some Chinese soup that he takes with his main meal includes lotus soup, old melon soup, 'sai yong choi' soup, white carrot soup and abc soup.

12. Macaroni and Cheese (with broccoli and ham)

Snack Time

1. Fruits

2. Yakult/Vitagen/Chocolate milk/Fruit juice

3. Cheese sticks

4. Once in a while some biscuits

Fruits that Reese takes - Papayas, bananas, fragrant pears, oranges, mangoes, grapes, water melons, apples and tangerines.

Meals for the weekend (usually eat out at least for 1 meal a day)

1. Fish ball noodles

2. Pork noodles

3. Fish and Chips (Fish and Co or Manhattan Fish Market) / Chicken fingers (Fridays or Chilis)

4. Mushroom soup or any other cream base soup

5. Bah Kut Teh :)

6. Creamy Pasta

7. Mash potatoes from KFC

8. Fried Chicken from KFC

9. French fries from McD

10. If we go for steamboat, Reese will take noodles with fish fillet and soup

Reese doesn't take any dessert like ice-cream or cakes. He doesn't really like them and we do not give him any junk food like Twisties or chips. So far everyday he will take at least 2 to 3 different types of fruits with his meals which are filled with protein, carbo, fiber and lots of minerals and vitamins.

Reese loves his food with taste and herbs. Dislike bland stuff.

As a mother and wife, I will cook anything for my boy and hubby. It's always a joy to watch them eat healthily and happily.

I am sorry....

This morning while helping Reese to put on his shoes, he looked at me and said this:

"Mummy, I wanna, wanna mummy, say sorry mummy"

He said it in a very serious and soft voice.

Ah..... I was surprised and immediately melted. Come to think of it, today I was more patient with him and he also behaved very well. My son is such a sweet boy. :)

I also realised that when it comes to Reese, we cannot force him into doing anything, at least not immediately. If we talk to him nicely and give him some time, he will most of the time obey. Ah... just need to be more patient. I should have been patient that morning and not shout at him and punish him by putting him in the room. My son needs the softer approach. I am kinda guilty now. Hehehe....

A Singing Star Emerging

My boy started singing alot since a few days ago but it's always out of tune. :)
I mentioned that he knew alot of nursery rhymes and also lyrics to many songs but never sings them? Well, he started singing them lately. I caught him on video singing Head and Shoulders for the first time while Kakak showered him yesterday afternoon. He never sang it before. It's hilarious. He sang a few songs in the video. I had to call him Quency and Leo to get him to sing! Must watch!

A Broken Fragile Heart

"I want mummy to go away"
"Mummy go far far away"
"I want the mummy go far away"

These were my son's words this morning. He was angry with me because I put him in the room as punishment for being naughty. It hurts to hear these from my son. I never prepare myself for such hurting words so when he said them this morning, I was nearly going to break down and cry. He is not even two and half years old yet! I guess I over reacted. It is normal for kids to say hurtful things or the truth of the moment? Yes?

I know it's all part of growing up. I know he was angry with me and what he said he meant it at least during those tense moments. I was so hurt that I left him in the bedroom and went out and pretended to cry. I did that for a good 5 minutes and he didn't seem to care! In fact he was rolling on the bed talking to himself and singing too! ggggrrrr.... my son still has no emotion! Oh well, that will come eventually. So what did I do after that? I just sat in the living room and waited for him to come out. When he did, I pretended to be sad and not look up at him. He can't be bothered. Arrggg.... after a good half hour, he asked for milk! So I made his milk and told him that we have to go Poh poh's house and he can have his milk in the car. I had to give in else we will be at home the whole day. *sigh*

In the car, I was all quiet and refused to entertain him and I think he knew I was angry. I stopped by a fruiterer and bought some fruits for him and offered him a grape but I told him he has to 'Sayang' mummy first. and he took my hands in his and kissed them. He gave me a big smile and I just melted and gave him the grape.

I forsee that in the future, I will give in to alot to this little rascal more than anyone else. When was the first time your child hurts you emotionally?

More books

I think it was 2 weeks ago we bought Reese a Little Einsteins picture storybook. Ever since then, he will 'read' the book over and over again. Every day first thing in the morning after he woke up and before he goes to bed. He is crazy over Little Einsteins!

So yesterday I went to Borders and got him another 3 Little Einsteins picture storybooks. I wanted more but that is all they have. My boy was soooo happy when he saw the three new books. We read the books together and did some of the things asked by the Little Einsteins and I tell you, Reese totally enjoyed the reading session with me. I did too. He kept wanting me to repeat the stories and now I can understand why it's so tiring to read again and again and at some point you just have to reject the child's request! :)

This was taken at 6am this morning!

(What was he saying in the video? Answer: Calling the names of the Little Einsteins and Rocket and he said Blast Off!)

Reese 'reading' his book and also sang twinkle twinkle little star for the Little Einsteins! First time captured on video. :)

Warehouse Sale - Books

I missed out on many warehouse sale for books the past two years. I used to go and hunt for some good books at a bargain. Yesterday I had the opportunity to do go to the MPH warehouse sale and it happened to be close by at Bangsar Village II. So during lunch break, I went to check it out. It was quite disappointing. After an hour or so I only managed to find some books for Reese. Condition of the books were ok. Very dusty though. I went home with a pair of black palms!

I got Reese two big books of stickers with beautiful pictures of vehicles, animals, shapes and others. Then got him some pre-readers, a beautifully illustrated storybook about a mole, American rhymes and jingles, story book about a farmer and what he does and a sticker storybook.

If you are looking for some readers, they have a wide selection at only RM5 per book. It's cheap. Books for toddlers very limited. As for children, mmm... not much choice either except the readers and some Disney theme books. You really have to dig deep into piles and piles of books. Not that fun. The sale is until 17th of March I think.

Eats like an adult

Last Monday we went to Itallianies (Mid Valley,Gardens) to have brunch with my family. Reese's small grand aunt "belanja". Reese ate like an adult! He had masala mushroom soup and classic carbonara. He nearly finished the entire plate of pasta! Some photos taken with my mobile phone camera.

Playing while waiting for the rest of the family to come

See how naughty he looks?

Enjoying his Little Eisteins on PSP

Daddy entertaining him

Toilet Training... almost there...

*SMILES*

We are almost there. Reese is no longer afraid of sitting on the toilet bowl to poo. Big achievement since last week. He is now comfortable doing it there and poo at ease. Phew!

He still pees on the floor aimlessly. Hehehe.... now I still need to figure that out. Thinking of introducing the stool and teach him how to pee into the toilet bowl. Once that is successful and he doesn't dirty his legs then we can try going out without diapers and give the public toilets a shot. Not sure how we are going to tackle that but it's going to be challenging! I can imagine timing his pee and poo time so that when we are at the shopping mall, we will have ample time to dash him to the toilet! :) Anyway... when we make reach that stage, will blog about it then.

Right now, I am happy with Reese's progress. We no longer have to keep reminding him to poo or pee and accidents hardly occurs. So happy now.

My Cheeky Boy

We didn't take many pictures of Reese the past month. Below was taken this evening at The Curve. See how cheeky he was!

Toys and Space Management

Ah, over the past 2 years, Reese has accumulated alot of toys that I am finding trouble storing them properly. We used to put all his toys in boxes. You know, just dump everything into the big boxes. It starts to take up more and more floor space! And another big problem. Reese is not the type that will pour everything out in the box and play. He just takes whatever that is on the top of the box. So alot of his toys are just buried in the boxes and hardly touched. After much consideration, we went to IKEA today and bought this nice little shelf-drawers thingy. We separated the smaller toys into different boxes and Reese can now easily slide them out and pick up whatever he wants. It actually save us some floor space. Damage? About RM230 plus for 4 bins and the shelf. We also bought another shelf (much cheaper) to be used at my mother's place. He has almost the same amount of toys at my mom's place. This boy is really lucky!

So much neater now, I forgot to take a picture before this makeover!

My little Ticketing Machine

Whenever we go to the playgroup, Reese and another boy will pick up the small board books and insert it through a little slit which was suppose to be a pretend ATM machine. He loves doing it. He also enjoys taking tickets whenever I pay for a parking ticket.

Then I had an idea of making a ticketing machine for him to play with but I was too lazy and tired. About 1 week ago, while browsing some toys I saw a wooden mail box! I nearly bought it but the price is a little ridiculous. It was RM110 or something. It's just a small wooden mail box.

So I made up my mind, that I am going to make one for Reese. So on Friday night, I started making the mail box which later became a ticketing machine instead. It has two slits. One big and one small. Then later I added a small coin holding compartment. It took me a few hours to get it done while chatting online with some friends. Thank God for multitasking!
Let the pictures do the talking. What do you think of it?

The table was a mess, I was also doing some phonic flash cards

My very own hand made ticketing machine. I wanted to add more things but lazy

The key pad was raised so it felt more real and can you see the coin container just below the smaller slit.

Reese played with it for over an hour and he likes going inside the box and look through the slit

It could be better but I am happy because my boy loves it!

It's time consuming but I managed to save over a RM100 and most of all, it's the satisfaction and the joy of seeing Reese enjoying his new toy.

Which type of parents are you?

I was reading some articles on parenting and found this interesting. Have you ever thought about which type of parents you belong to? According to Intentional Parents' website, parents are divided into 3 types:

Survival Parents

Some parents operate with a survival mentality; they give their child “whatever” just to make it through the child-rearing years.

The Motive: “If I can just make it through the child-rearing years, I can get my life back.”
The Goal: “Getting the kids out of the house.”
The Method: “Doing whatever is easiest for me.”
The Gifts: Bribes, Threats, TV as a babysitter

Default Parents:

Some parents operate with a default mentality; they give their child what is popular without considering whether it will be the most helpful.

The Motive:“I don’t want my child to miss out on what all the other kids have.”
The Goal:“Making my child happy.”
The Method:“Giving my child whatever is popular.”
The Gifts: Hectic activities schedule, Indecent fashions, Inappropriate media

Intentional Parents:

Our desire as parents should be to operate deliberately and purposefully, giving our children what is useful after carefully thinking through what would be most beneficial to them. That kind of parent is an intentional parent.

The Motive:“I want to give my child what will be best and most helpful for him.”
The Goal:
“Preparing my child for life as a productive adult.”
“Developing my child’s God-given mind and abilities.”
“Protecting my child’s heart.”
The Method:“Purposely spending time with the child and building a relationship so he will learn by watching and interacting with me.”
The Gifts:The Bible, Enjoyable pastimes, Academics, Character, Home skills

After reading the above, I am glad to say that Adrian and I are 95% Intentional Parents type. The other 5% falls heavily on the Default parents type. Hehehe... once in a while a little bit 'kiasu' afraid that Reese might be losing out on something. But after reading about being an intentional parent it has definately reduce the 'kiasu' mentality of mine.

Time out....

I want time out. I want my personal time and space. I have no time to indulge in things I like to do. I want to do nothing and just relax. I want to go shopping and meet up with my girlfriends without looking at the time. I want to watch a TV series continuously without thinking about waking up the next morning for work. I want to sleep through the night and wake up after 10am (My internal clock is a little crazy. Automatically wakes up at 5.15am or sometimes 4.30am!). I want a nice holiday with hubby. Just the two of us. My daily routine is always a rush and when I do have a pocket of free time, I am too tired to do anything or there is nothing interesting to do. Can I have a carefree day or two? Nah... I can only dream about it. :)

I need more time (Everyone is asking for that isn't it?)

With Reese around, I just have no time for the above and neither does hubby. Everyday is a full day, work and caring for Reese. Sometimes I felt like a robot. Always managing someone else and making sure things are done properly. At the end of the day I am dead tired. Most of the days I sleep less than 6 hours and at times I drop dead at 9pm before Reese sleeps. I have no time to spend with hubby because I am always tired. It's tough when you have to work full time and take care of a toddler. Thank God I can afford a maid. At least she takes care of the housework and helps me with Reese when I am busy. Going on a holiday without Reese? It's possible BUT.... I cannot allow myself to do that. Just cannot.

Ahhhh..... tough tough tough. If only I can be a little selfish and think about myself but I can't. It's just me.

Ipod craze

Last year I bought an Ipod touch for hubby's birthday. Hubby is Mac's number one fan! He loves it so much that wherever he goes, the Ipod goes with him.

So naturally with the touch screen, it's quite easy to operate the Ipod. Reese took an interest in it when daddy showed him a program that allows him to shake the dice. Ever since, Reese has become a little expert in using the Ipod touch. He now knows how to launch his favourite programs and he can spend a long time just playing with it. Daddy even purchase a full version of Fireworks just for him! Reese likes to play with the bells, feed/bath his pet (always over fed), play the drums, shake the dice, play matching game, create fireworks, draw, pluck flower petals, play with a fish tank and so many more. He even know how to turn on his favourite cartoon and watch it.

Kids these days are exposed to so many types of gadgets. My only concern is that with the exposure of such entertaining gadgets, Reese will no longer be easily contented with simple fun like reading, playing simple board games or just playing out in the fields. You know what I mean? Kids these days are always in front of the TV or computer playing games. I want my son to enjoy simple pleasures and yet we cannot not expose him to new techonologies right? Thank God so far he enjoys all kinds of activities that are planned for him but when he is much older it may be different. Really have to teach him to enjoy simple pleasures now before he becomes a TV or computer addict! :)

But I must praise Apple Computer for doing a great job with the Ipod touch. It's a wonderful product and there are many freewares that you can download to have fun with. It can also be very educational too. There are many learning programs for toddlers.

29 months milestones

So what's new? Let's see.....

Potty Training: Ah, this month I can proudly said that Reese is 80% potty trained in the day. He will ask to go toilet to pee and poo but doing them standing and it's messy. Because of this, he is still in diapers when we go out.

Speech: Speaks in longer sentences and can communicate in sentences well with us. Very talkative.

Fears: Still very cautious when it comes to new things. He is not afraid to go through those slides in a tunnel. He is more adventurous. His phobia of people clapping and loud music seems to be fading away but he still cries when we take him to church. I guess it's the place? Anyway.. we took him upstairs and he happily played with other children. :)

Food: mmmm... I guess there is a slight improvement in taking rice. He is willing to take rice with chicken once in a while. Loves noodles, willing to take some fish balls, and at the moment crazy over an old favourite of his which he abandoned a few months back. Cream sauce pasta. He dislike steam chicken now. Still love mushroom soup or any form of creamy soup. He takes alot of fruits. He can have 2 to 3 different fruits in a day. Current favourite are grapes with skin on, watermelons, oranges, fragrant pears and bananas. He dislike papaya. Overall, he takes more variety of food.

Milk intake still high but now the night feeds are less frequent. At times he doesn't take his morning feed.

Sleep: Gosh! This we don't like, he seems to be sleeping later then before. At times 10pm otherwise it's about 9.30pm or just before 10pm. He takes longer naps. About 2 hours in the late afternoon. Lately he gets up really early. Sometimes at 5.40am or around 6+am. We are getting less sleep! Once he is up, he refuses to go back to sleep.

Physical: A good runner. I used to play hike and seek with him and still have time to wait for him to come near before I ran off. Now... no chance. I just have to keep running! He is so fast. He can balance on one leg very well, he can hop, jump, skip, do a summersault and all kinds of things that you can imagine. One thing thou, he still don't know how to shake his butt the right way. :)

Academic:

Alphabets: Reese knows a-z both upper and lower case. He also knew the sounds of the alphabets as well as what things relate to the which alphabet sounds. For example he will tell you " A, 'eh' for Apple, astronaut, ant, L 'lerr' for Lemon, Lantern.... He actually understand the concept of relating sound to a thing. Many times he surprised us by relating words he knew to a certain alphabet sound which we never taught him. Cool eh?

I kinda started to teach him 'at' and 'ag'. I want him to understand how to blend the sounds together. I only do these while driving. :) We will sing the abc song, talk about the sounds of the alphabets and what it relates to. It's fun especially when it's heavy traffic!

Numbers: He can recognize and tell you the numbers 1-29. He can actually count now. Lately he likes to count. Pointing at each item and count. Going to introduce dots and the concept of more and less to him soon. Kinda lazy at the moment. :)

Singing: My boy is singing but totally out of tune. Hahaha... He is trying. Every now and then he will sing and at times he will even make up his own songs with gibberish lyrics.

Memory: It's fantastic. Tell him once and he will remember. He can recite all the nursery rhymes very well. He remembers the lyrics of songs very well too. Just like yesterday, while playing with the vegetables, told him once of the names and he now remembers them. All of them. Cucumber, brinjal, avocado....etc.. amazing hor? He is also very very good with names. Again tell him once, he will remember. He doesn't watch Thomas and Friends cartoon but he has books and also the toy trains. Again, he remembers all their names and even some of the children's name at his playgroup. He can also 'read' the stories line for line just after a few sessions. Is this normal?

Reading: He now allows me to read stories to him and loves stories with actions that he can do.

Social: Ah... no more worries, he plays with other children and participates in singing and games. Still not the extremely friendly type. He usually ignores you if you are a stranger to him but once warm up, he will be pulling you here and there and wants you to play with him.

Growth: Big boy. Didn't check the weight and height. But I guess it's higher! :)

Little Einsteins

Reese is crazy over Little Einsteins. He is not only Quincy but Leo, Annie and also June! At home he will say things like "Leo drink water, Annie eat mum mum (Food), June play toys, Leo go pom pom (bath)"

He at my parents place he only wants to watch Little Ensteins and nothing else.

Funny thing is he learned alot of things. Yesterday in the car, he started saying Presto! faster faster..... then he likes to imitate the Einsteins like saying "Come back" in a very urgent manner and he has since used it to call us whenever we are needed!

Yesterday went to Borders and he saw some books on Little Einsteins. His reaction? He kinda shouted in excitement and laugh and smile and kept holding on to the books and said hello to Leo, Rocket, Annie..... He looked and played with the books for almost 20 minutes...

I ended up buying that book for him. Haha.

Fun toys

Yesterday we bought Reese a new toy. It's the ELC's cut and play vegetables. It's really cool. There are 12 vegetables in a crate. Each vegetable splits into pieces and reattaches with velcro. The child gets to use a knife to cut the vegetables into halves. It feels kinda realistic when you cut the vegetables because of the velcro fastener.

Reese played with it for an hour before bedtime; Happily cutting the vegetables again and again and he also learn the names of the vegetables. It's great for fine motor skills too. Learning to cut that is. :)

By the way, ELC is on sale now. We got 30% off this play set. :)

Potty Training

Yahoo.... few days back, managed to force him to poo in the toilet bowl! :) I just pin him down with my thighs and hug him really tight. Hehehe... cruel? Nope, my boy is always afraid to try new things but once he tried something and he likes it, he is ok. So after some struggling and protest he actually poo in the toilet bowl and suddenly he was silent and I praised him and told him it's not going to be dirty because the poo went into the toilet! After that I allowed him to flush and he seems happy.

Yesterday I had another opportunity and again I have to force him but he was less reluctant. He didn't poo though just pee. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel I guess... :)

Looking forward to his next poo session. Haha...

I am Quincy

2 days ago after watching Little Einsteins, Reese started saying Quincy do this and that... and I just sort of entertained him by saying yes and no. Every time he said something that Quincy did, he would give me a cheeky smile while trying to do the actions. Then the blur me only realized that he was actually pretending to be Quincy from Little Einsteins! I was delighted. Remember I told you he is not very creative in his playing? I guess he is somewhat exploring that creativity part now. :)

So for the last two days, I have been calling him Quincy and he was so happy. Yesterday when I asked him to do something and he refused, I just had to say Quincy... can you do this and that... guess what? Reese did exactly what I asked. Hehehehe.... it's a good trick but it won't last long.

Occasionally he also pretend to be Leo and he also wanted to be June and I had to explain to him that he is a boy so cannot be June. Obviously he didn't understand but nevermind for now.

Beautiful Jemimah

Yesterday was a very sad day indeed. While I was driving home with Reese and the maid, I received an sms about a dear friend's baby being sent to the hospital. I was told that the baby did not have a heart beat and had difficulty breathing. Immediately I started praying and in less than 5 minutes I received another sms saying that the baby had passed away. I couldn't helped but cry. The baby was almost two months. I still have the full moon present for the baby with me. I regretted that I didn't get to meet this beautiful baby girl whom the mother described as an angel with beautiful eyes.

Being a parent and a mother, I can only wept silently and pray that both parents of the baby will be strong to get over this period of grief. The pain the parents are experiencing is just beyond words. They also have a toddler son. Please pray for them. 

All I can say is to treasure each moment you have with your love ones. Life is so fragile. 

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Toilet Training Problems

My boy can tell us when he wants to wee or poo... BUT... the past week he has been crying whenever he needs to poo... He is so afraid of his own poo! Hahahaha....

Ok... it'a actually no laughing matter. How do I convince him to sit on the potty? I have also tried the toilet itself, the moment I try to carry him to sit.. he will struggle and cry. Standing to poo also he kept trying to use his hand to 'get rid' of the poo! or when he poo... he will try to avoid it as much as possible... so how? What can do I???

HELP!

New Pets

Before Reese was born, we have some lovely hamsters (at one time close to 20!) and we spent alot of money on cages and tunnels for our fury pets. We also had two turtles. It kept us occupied and we love it. Then I got pregnant and we were told these little pets might not be good for me and baby. So as the pregnancy progresses, we gave the hamsters away to friends and we let the turtles go at the lake in Lake Gardens.

We bought an aquarium when Reese was about 1 plus thinking that he would like watching the fishes and hubby and I can enjoy the fishes too. But due to taking care of Reese and for reason unknown to us , all the fishes died. So we decided to stop raring fish!

Sometime last year, we tried again, restock some fishes and decorated the aquarium. Ever since then, Reese has been enjoying the fishes, watching them swim, watching them eat and everyday without fail, he will ask his daddy to feed fish 'mum mum' (food).

Then he took an interest in turtles. Last week we bought him two green turtles and now every morning and evening, he will feed them and watch them. It's fun for him and hopefully he will learn a thing or two about pets. ;)

First learn through craft project

After I bought the stationary my creative juices started to trickle in, slowly at first and then it started to come in waves.... hehehe..

I sat down and thought I needed to do some craft with Reese but what? Then I thought of making faces. Cutting the eyes, noses, mouths and etc for Reese to paste and make faces. What does he learn from it? I ask myself. He already knew the parts of a face. Oh well, it's craft. It's all about pasting, cutting and having fun. I am not satisfied with my own answer. :) As I stared at the stationary, it suddenly became clearer what craft is all about to ME. It's to teach Reese to be creative in art (plenty of time to nurture that) and to learn! be it science, geography, math and etc. Learning through craft! I am sure it's not new for many parent/teachers/educationist but for me I never thought of learning through craft. To me, craft is always about making pretty things to boost confidence, creativity and etc.

So after realizing the potential of it, I immediately thought of teaching Reese emotions through the faces that we are going to make. We are going to make a little book on emotions fit for a 2+ year old. :)

After spending a good 90 minutes or so, I designed 4 faces with four different emotions. They are a happy face (yellow background), sad face (blue background), angry face (red background) and scare face (green background). After mixing and matching the faces,hair, eyes, noses and mouths the faces looked like this:

I wanted really cute faces but it didn't turn out that way. I guess it's ok considering I am all rusty in my drawing... hehe.. I should do better on my future projects. What you see in the photo is only 80% completed. Reese needs to paste the parts together and then I will label each card and add eyebrows to the faces. Hehehe... they need some cosmetic. Will show you the end result when Reese and I finish the project. Will probably do it this weekend with him. I already know what my next project is going to be. I am so excited. Will tell you more soon.

Finger painting

I got Reese some finger paints. It's non toxic and it's washable. It's packed in squeeze bottles so you can control the mess. The paint is thick and therefore less messy. I like it.

Crayola fingerpaints

Reese enjoyed the finger painting session. At first uneasy with the paint all over his palms, fingers and eventually his arms, table, clothes... you get the picture? He spent about 15 minutes doing it. Not bad for a start.

Artist in the making

Reese's first finger painting master piece

Walking into a stationary shop...

My stationary for craft with Reese

It's eye opening, it brought back great memories of my school days... I kinda missed it. :)
After leaving secondary school, my creative juices just stopped flowing because there was no need for it. Well, at least when it came to art and design. Can you believe it if I told you that I was once the head of the art section of the editorial board in my secondary school? That I was once really good at design and drawing? Ok.... sorry, many of you have never met me nor know alot about me. Hehehe...

Anyway... when I stepped into the stationary shop, I was all excited and didn't know where to start. I was there because I needed to start doing craft with Reese. I have been talking about doing it and yet didn't have the time to go shop for stationary. So this morning, I was determine to do so and I did.

There were so many things to look at and many things were new to me and I just went blank for a second. When I came to my senses, I headed straight to the paper section. Without colour/construction paper you can't do craft. So happily I started to choose different types of paper. I went for the plain coloured construction paper. Didn't want to get those cheap colour paper where the colours will run the moment it's wet and I also bought laser rainbow wrappers. I didn't really know how many pieces of paper/wrapper I bought! some were big and some were small. I even bought a very big piece of form like material intending to make my own stamps for Reese to do stamping! It was so satisfying.

Then I headed to the pen section and got myself two black markers and colour markers. Next I saw some wonderful paint (washable) for Reese to do finger painting. Picked up a glue stick, a bottle of strong glue, a pair of scissors, some strings, an art block and rings. I know I needed more stuff but for now it's sufficient.

My damage was RM120 plus. Paper is expensive!

How to help your child to enjoy reading? - My way

Some children are born to love books and some the opposite. So what can you do to help your child to have an interest in books?

For toddlers who never show interest in books, don't give up. This is what you can do.

First, choose a theme for your story time. You are not only going to read to your child but do a series of activities related to the story first before reading to him. That way, the child will show more interest or able to relate to something that he did before. It's like a bait. :)

An example:


Theme: A story/rhyme about peas.


Rhyme: Peas Porridge


Props: frozen/fresh Pea pods, peas, stationary for craft.

Activities before reading the rhyme:

Craft - make a pea pod using colour paper/ dough. Let the child roll the peas, glue, whatever that interest him. Just be imaginative and make a pea pod.

Sing - If there is a song, go ahead and sing it with your child.

Food tasting - take out the peas and talk about them, let the child taste them, pop the peas out of the pods and just have fun and maybe recite the rhyme or sing it. Telling the child about the rhyme.

Reading aloud - Take out the book and gently tell the child mummy is going to read him a story/rhyme about peas. If the child show no interest, just continue reading with lots of expression and hand gestures and constantly reminding the child about the peas he ate, the craft he did...etc.. but if he is still not interested, it's ok. You continue to read until you finish as long as the child is around and can hear you read. Let the child play with his toys while you read. Don't expect instant results. Repetition is the key. If you think your child is not paying attention to your story... you are wrong. He may be busy playing with his toys but believe me, he is also listening to you. So every other day you read the same story/rhyme to him and after a number of sessions, try to test him by stopping at an interesting part of the story/rhyme and seek help from him! ask him what happen to this and that or ask him to point to this and that. He will most probably give you an answer or help you point.

**Tips: Choose a book with minimal sentences. Add in your own personalized sentences if you want. Sometimes, you don't have to read exactly what is written in the book. Remember, the whole idea is to make your read aloud session interesting for the child.

Just be determine and eventually your child will grow to enjoy reading with you. Tell me if it works. Mummy Darren this post is especially for you.

Play group update

Yesterday was Reese's 5th session at the play group. How is he adjusting you may asked? He is adjusting well. He enjoys going to the play group. 

Activities we did so far:

Free play - Reese loves it. :)

Building fine motor skills - Reese's favourite is using a tong to pick up corks. Yesterday he successfully pick up all the corks and put them into another bowl like a pro. He uses both hands to operate the tong. He loves it. He also likes pouring water from one jug to the other.

Craft time - Somewhat interested. Oh well, he just wants to play with the glue!

Sing song time - The first few times he rarely pay attention to the sing song sessions but rather prefer to walk around and play in the house. The last two sessions I saw an improvement. He still refused to sit with me and the rest but prefer to be in the centre and jump/run/walk while we sang. Songs that were familiar to him he will pay more attention and he would also do actions as and when required. :)

Story time - Not interested. I guess they don't read stories like mummy does. Hehehe....

Behaviour - Overall he behaved well except earlier sessions he will whine for certain things or even shout if demands were not met. But the last two sessions, he was ok.

Snack time - Well, most of the snacks that were served so far, he ate very little of them. He is a picky eater.

Geograhpy for Little People

I read an article about how you can teach a preschooler geography! Is it possible? What do you teach? It's quite interesting. Before I came across this article I was already teaching Reese about weather using the weather song and where is left and right.

Read the article and try some of the suggested activities. They are simple yet educational and I especially like the map thingy. Enjoy with your kids! :)

Geography for Little People
by Lisa Russel

Wonderful ways to teach you preschooler or kindergardner some basic geography!

Geography for Preschoolers

Use directional words like left and right in connection with real situations. "Your cup is on the left." "Let's turn right at the stop sign." "We'll walk two blocks, then turn left at the bus stop"

Playing circle games like "hokey pokey" help to teach right and left. Tie a ribbon or make a dot on the shoe of the right (or left) side, and reference both sides. Reward the child for remembering which side was which.

Begin introducing concepts of north, south, east and west by noticing how sunny the patio is in the afternoon, or how every day after lunch, we must close the blinds in the kitchen. Every morning when we wake up, the sun is shining into the bathroom window, and every night when we eat dinner, the sun has moved into the dining room window.

Children this age may become quite adept at using maps. Let them help make a "fire escape map" of the house, or "treasure maps." My oldest once made a "Where is Emilee" map and waited 15 minutes while her father looked for her after work, it was so cute!

Use sidewalk chalk to make a map of your neighborhood on your patio or driveway. A child can pretend to visit friends, get the mail, or whatever else they do when they walk around the real neighborhood.

Keep pointing out symbols you use in daily life, like traffic lights and store directories.

If you visit a tall building, make a point of looking down onto the city- mention how easy it would be to make a map from here, and how small everything looks below. When you go back down, point out those things that looked so tiny- now they're HUGE.

Planning a trip? Look at the map with your child and point out rivers you may be crossing, or mountain ranges you might drive along. Be sure to point out these things AGAIN when you're on the road.

If you visit National parks or hiking areas, be sure to let the child have their own "trail map" many park rangers give these away for free. If your child is really "following" the map, have them draw interesting things they see along the way.

Puzzle maps are fun for children this age. On a personal note, we had two maps of the United States in puzzle form when my daughter was small, one of which we felt terrible even GIVING away. The outlines of the pieces didn't match the borders of the state- making it seem like Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire were all one state. Delaware was actually a part of Pennsylvania and Alaska and Hawaii were Siamese twins. (And they shared an island in the middle of Mexico.) If you must open the box in the store, it is worth it, because good puzzle maps are hard to find.

Encourage children to use their senses to explore their world. "The road is made of hard concrete, so cars can drive on it." "The grass is soft and wet- worms and bugs like to live that way"

What animals do you find in your neighborhood? Pigeons and squirrels, or lizards and coyotes? What do they eat?

Where do they make their homes?

Look at a large outdoor thermometer and talk about how the temperature affects our day. You might want to make a daily chart, eventually showing that each sunny day has a warm temperature, cloudy days are a bit cooler, and so on.

Watch the weather channel on TV or clip the weather maps from the newspaper. Monitor cloud qualities and formations, Will it rain? What do the clouds look like? Are they soft and feathery or thick and puffy, are they white or grey or black?

Keep an eye on local construction sites, how is the earth moved, what do they build first, who can guess what it's going to be? What materials are they using?

If you live in a n urban area, visit a farm, and vice versa. People use space differently and kids this age are often fascinated by that!

copyright 2000 Lisa Russell

Sleepless nights

It's now 3.09am.

I can't sleep again. Why? because Reese woke up asking for milk. From day one Reese never sleeps through the night. He will usually wake up at least once for milk. The last few days were tough on us because he did not sleep well and kept waking up asking for milk. The previous night he woke up at least 3 times asking for milk!

So how do you train a child to sleep through the night? and the past month, before bedtime he will drink milk twice before falling asleep and another 2 to 3 times in between sleep. He has been drinking so much milk! In every 24 hours he will have between 4 to 7 feeds of milk. Too much right? I had to secretly reduce the scoops in his milk. I don't want him to be over weight. *sigh*

At this age do they still have growth spurts? Is it normal to drink so much? I suspect it's more of a habit to help him go to sleep, somewhat like a pacifier... do you think so?

Maid with extreme bad breath

It's been 2 months plus since my new maid came to work for me. Less than 2 weeks after she came, I had to take her to the dentist. The dentist removed 1 tooth. Then I realised that she has extreme bad breath. I got her a tongue brush to clean her tongue but her bad breath still persist. Everyday I had to endure the bad breath while driving. It's horrible. It got me thinking, it must be her teeth. Got her Listerine to gargle and still doesn't really work.

Finally today my mom took her to the dentist and to her horror, the condition of her teeth was really bad. The dentist had to pull another tooth and there are 10 teeth that needed filling. The holes are stuffed with food and that is the cause of her bad breath. The dentist cleaned her teeth which was filled with brownish/blackish food/plague. Goodness my maid is only in her mid twenties! Her dental bill is going to be a bomb. The previous maid of mine had to remove 4 teeth and most of her upper and lower molars are gone. Does your maid have the same problem or it's just my luck? It's so important to take good care of our teeth.

Potty Training update

Ok...... finally I managed to hold Reese's penis and help him to aim! :)

It's weird. Hahaha... I am not used to it and neither is Reese ...but he actually allowed me and that's good. So how did I do it? While he was peeing... I gently told him mummy is going to help Reese wee wee without dirtying his legs... he has been trying to avoid getting his pee on his legs.

First time, I managed to hold but he already finish peeing... hahaha... second time... managed to hold and he pee his last few drops... next time... going to try to hold before he actually pees...

Gosh... this is so weird... so so weird.... the daddy should be doing this! How am I suppose to know which way to hold it and aim it correctly? so weird...so weird...

Once I am successful, I want to try to get him to stand on a stool and help him to pee into the toilet bowl!

This whole wee wee and poo poo business, mmmm it's really not easy... a mother really has to do everything!!

When you are no longer able to take care of yourself...

A month or so back I saw Money is Not Enough II by Jack Neo. At first I thought it was just another silly movie but as the movie progressed I realized it addresses a very important issue for both parents and their children. How do you care for yourself/parents when you/they no longer able to do so. It struck me that it was so so similar to what happened to my maternal grandmother when she was still alive.

The story revolved around 3 brothers and their mother. Their mother initially stayed with the eldest son but as time passed, she became ill and has dimencia. It became difficult to care for her. Later the brothers agreed to take turns take care of her and she started to move around the three children's houses like a nomad. In the movie it showed how hard the poor mother had to fight back tears and emotions and still have her children interest at heart even though they were not sensitive to her needs and occasionally having to bear with the daughthers-in-law. As children, it's also difficult to deal with a parent having dimencia and at the same time having to earn a living and care for the family. It went on to show the selfishness in us human when it comes to money, own interest and time. I believe what goes around comes around.

It was a really touching story that I have somewhat experienced through my grandmother. I knew I will take care of my parents or parents-in-law if ever they need it. It's tough but I think for me, it's the right thing to do. Of course a time will come when taking care of them at home is no longer an option and we will need to seek professional help but as long as I am able to I will do it. I wish my parents are staying with me but it's not possible due to space and also it's a decision that both husband and wife must agree. When you are married, it's more difficult because all decisions must be agreed by both husband and wife.

I remembered the day we had to sent my grandmother to the nursing home and how hard it was to leave her there. The first day was really tough, when it was time for us to go home, she stared at us with a very very sad face as we left the facility. I will never forget that.

Sometimes I felt we as children can be so selfish. Imagine what our parents did to bring us up and all the sacrifices they made and yet in their old age we do not give them similar treament. We prefer to pursue our dreams and leave them alone. I also understand that we need our space and enjoy life. After all life is short. So how? It's so tough right?

Now that I am a mother, I sometimes wonder how Reese is going to be like when he grows up, will he care for us the best he can or not. Hehehehe....

Personally, I wouldn't want to burden my son. He should go and enjoy his life, start a family and be happy as long as he visits me regularly and we are close. When I can no longer take care of myself and need nursing care, I want to go to a nursing home because I know it's very tough on the children having to balance between work, family and caring for their parents. Not to mention having to deal with their spouses if they are not supportive.

You know, recently I met a new friend who actually sold her car, house and some other things so that she could seek professional help to treat her mother. In a short time, she took her mother to over 25 countries to seek treatment for cancer. She told me she spent more than half a million. She used to drive a BMW and now she drives a kancil and doesn't have a permanant place to stay. She has got 3 other siblings and yet she is the only one that went all out to help her mother. Her mother died some 10 months later. Do you think she is a little extreme? I mean spending all her life savings to help her parent? Won't we do the same for our children if they are sick? The answer is yes but will we do the same when it's our parents? Answer is probably not. Why? These are such tough questions to answer right?

***So Reese, if for whatever circumstances you can't take care of me, please send me to a nursing home because I don't want to see you burdened. Just come and visit me often and I know that you love mummy very much. :) If you find me getting mad at you for sending me to the nursing home, please remind me of this blog because son, as mummy grows old, I can't think straight and I want you to be happy and when you are happy I am happy. Oh! If you can afford, please send me to a nice facility ok? :)***

How do you teach a 2+ year old to pee?

Mummies and Daddies,

I have another question, do you help your toddler to hold his birdie to pee?? I don't know what to do... Some of you mentioned about teaching the child to shoot into the potty... so I guess you have to hold it right? I have a feeling Reese will reject my hand if I try.... :) any tips?

Didn't know potty training can be such a challenge.....

Potty Training: I need advice!

Dear mummies and daddies,

Now that Reese knows how to tell us when he needs to go to the washroom.... I have another big problem.

How to get him to pee and poo in the potty?

He refuses to let me put the potty in front of his birdie to 'catch' his pee nor the back to 'catch' his poo... so what now? Every time I bring out the little potty... he will make a big fuss and immediately wants to go out of the washroom.

Every time we go to the washroom it will be a mess. He will pee or poo straight on the floor and we will have to wash him.

I must say he did a great job in telling us, we only trained him for 6 days. :)

What should I do?

Good books to start with toddlers

Honestly, I don't like most of the illustration in Dr. Seuss books. So when I saw this book, I wasn't that impressed. Since it came with my Sonlight Core, I have to give it a try. I tried to 'read' the book with Reese many months ago but he was not interested then until recently...actually 2 days ago... hehe...

I started to read aloud with very expressive hand and facial expression and mimicking different sounds and voices of the dogs! Trust me, at the end of the story... I was all exhausted! But it is worth it. Reese had a really good time laughing and listening to me and pointing and even helping me to read!

After reading the book with Reese a few times, I must say this is actually a great book for young toddlers who are learning to speak in sentences. The text is perfect for early speakers. I realized how well it teaches or reinforces concepts of under/over, up/down, opposites, colors and a some humor. It has definitely grown on me.

Another book that I am using is Dr. Seuss' ABC. Reese doesn't show much interest in this book except for the pages that show the letter F. It's actually quite funny. Reese will laugh out really loud whenever I say this from the book "Four Fluffy Feathers on a Fiffer-feffer-feff." This book teaches alphabets and their sound. Again, I don't like the illustration but I must say it's quite a good book to introduce the sound of the alphabets to toddlers. The letters each take a turn in the spotlight and then are wedded with some well chosen words to demonstrate the sound of the letter. Like for Letter M "Many mumbling mice are making midnight music in the moonlight ... mighty nice."


Reese has always love books. One of his all time favourite is Spot the Dog series. We have about 7 or 8 books on this series. One of the fun things to do is opening and closing little flaps in the books. Reese learned a lot of new words from this series.

Looking back at all the books we have purchased for Reese even before his birth, it is already quite a collection, we have close to 100 books or maybe more... no time to count. One of these days... I am going to take a picture of them.. :) for memory sick. In the coming months I will be reviewing more books that I will be reading with Reese and perhaps you can also share them with your children.