Dreams

What does your child dream about when they sleep? Reese still can't tell me what he dream about but I can pretty much guess from all the things he talk about in his sleep. :)

It's funny to watch him talk in his sleep. At times it's about something funny and at times it's probably a nightmare. I realized he dream alot about the cartoons he watches during the day. In his dream he will utter words like 'beast turn into handsome prince' , 'fireworks no more'...

Then at times he will dream about his daily activities like calling his grandparents' name, asking them not to do this or that and just last weekend, he started roaring like a tiger in his sleep... my guess is he is dreaming about the playgroup session we had where he was roaring away. Haha... it's really fun watching him dream. I wonder when he will be able to tell me about his dreams...

Is it normal for a child his age to dream almost every night? I dream almost every night. :)

'Tung Tung Chang'

Dancing to the beat of 'tung tung chang' 

Chinese New Year is fast approaching.... are you prepared to welcome the Chinese New Year? I remembered when I was young, CNY was one of my favourite time simply because you get to see your cousins, wear new clothes, lot's of good food and receiving 'ang pows' (Red packets with money). As an adult, it's not that fun anymore. The festive mood is just not there. Before the arrival of Reese, CNY is just another holiday for us to rest. Hehehe....

Now that we have Reese, we have to make sure he enjoys CNY so that he won't forget his roots. We are too westernized and tends to ignore anything Chinese. As Reese grows... I hope I can share with him what little knowledge I have about Chinese customs and history.

We already bought alot of new year clothes for Reese and getting ready some ang pow packets and money to celebrate CNY in Penang with my in-laws. Another long break for all of us and more nasi kandar and banana leaf rice for us! Hooray....

Ah... today is playgroup day for Reese....got to go get ready.

Second Playgroup

He really enjoyed himself during the sing song session.

Playing with the spider I made.

Playing with bowls...

Playing with home made dough.

Today at the second playgroup, Reese and I really love it. It's actually better than the first because this one has a good coordinator who leads the children to sing and do actions as well as story telling. It's a small place with indoor play only but it has sufficient educational toys and children are free to do arts and craft, play with puzzles and they even have 2 pet tortoises. for the kids to enjoy! Only thing is the first playgroup has much more toys for both outdoor and indoor play. It's ok... I have decided to take Reese to both! Hehehehe..... So next month onwards it's going to be 3 days of playgroup fun.

Reese felt so at home that when I left him with the coordinator to top up my parking meter... he didn't even notice that I was gone... after about 10 minutes I went back to the playgroup and as I was going up the stairs... I heard singing and clapping... immediately I thought oh noooo... Reese is going to cry.... boy! was I surprised with what I saw... Reese was right in the middle of a circle of toddlers and mummies, he was happily roaring away as they sang songs about animals making different sounds... He absolutely loved it! He was so happy laughing away as others laughed at him. I am so proud of him. :) Check out the video as I managed to capture a part of it.

I am so glad that I took him to the playgroup. It's such a joy to see your own child grow up and learn before your eyes. Gosh... I love being a mummy.

First Playgroup

Yesterday Reese attended his 1st playgroup meeting! Upon entering the premise and before I had a chance to introduce myself to the person in charge, my dear son just walk over to the play area and demanded to be let in so that he can play toys. He kept saying "Mummy carry...play toys...I want play toys..."

This playgroup is nice and the play facilities there are great. It has a big sand pit, lots of outdoor and indoor toys. Reese loves it and so do I. :)

It is free play all the way and then snack time followed by a sing song session and then ends. It's from 9.30am to 11.30am.

Snack time was like a mini buffet! There are cheese sticks, crackers, biscuits, raisins, 'keropok', bread sticks, banana cakes, fruits and drinks. The little kids just love snack time. All except Reese will sit down and eat their snacks happily. My little one.... loves the toys so much that mummy had to feed him while he plays.

When it's time to go, Reese refused to go home. Kept saying he wants to go on the slide, play toys.... So after some reasoning with him, he allowed me to carry him to the car! While driving home, he kept saying "I wanna play 'nana' (other) children" " I wanna play sand" " I wanna play toys".

I also realized that Reese is the biggest in terms of size among kids his age. I expected him to be smaller as compared to Caucasians after all he is Asian but apparently I am wrong. Ha!
All the parents commented he is TALL, BIG, WOW! REALLY GOOD SIZE..... hehehe... my son is like a little giant.

I had a good time chatting with other parents too. Can't wait to go next week. Oh...today we are going to try out another playgroup. Can't wait!

Playing sand

Snack time

Random Things for the Record

What he said

It's funny how kids think and make sense of things. Whenever Reese doesn't want something, instead of saying "I don't want (something)" he will say "I want don't want (something)" At first it doesn't make much sense but on deeper thought it does! It's directly telling you he want not to want something.... hahaha... are you confused by my sentence?

Reese's first rhyme!

Yesterday before bedtime, he suddenly started to say this and later decided that he likes it. He kept repeating it.

Mak-mee
make mee mee
Mak-mee
make mee mee

Translation: Mummy makes mee mee (noodles)

He usually calls me mummy but once in a while just to make fun of me he calls me mak-mee.

Drawing


Remember I told you that Reese took an interest in drawing? Well... he will scribble a little and demand us to draw things for him. Below are some stuff we drew over a few sessions with Reese. Each session will last about 5 to 15 minutes. Reese will ask us to draw fireworks, fountain, vulture, butterfly, chandelier, hot air balloon, waterfall, balloon, castle, tall buildings.....

Phobia

Last Saturday we went for a wedding dinner (first time for Reese) and end up being the shortest we ever been and one that we didn't get to eat at all! So what happened?

Reese darling was having a great time running around the ballroom looking at his favourite lanterns for an hour (we thought great...looks like it's going to be ok...) and when the dinner was about to begin.... everyone started clapping when the bride and groom entered....Reese started to cry like there is no tomorrow!! We tried to pacify him and it didn't work. He kept asking to go to my car and wants to go home.... It's so embarrassing.... so what to do? we went home and went to Mcdonalds to 'ta pau' dinner!

How to overcome his phobia?

27 Months Milestones

This month.... one of the significant differences is his speech. He speaks in sentences now. Talks alot and knows how to communicate his wants efficiently through speech. He practically talks non stop. Every minute there will be something that he can think of to talk about! :)

We are enjoying it and in fact it's so much fun talking to him and being amazed by him with what he can say....

Some interesting things that he did and say over the past month:

1. (Poh poh was telling him not to do this and that....) "Poh poh go in the room! Poh poh stay inside, cannot go out!"

2. (Playing with Poh poh on the bed) "Poh poh sit down.... (Poh poh was not paying attention) "Poh poh listen!! sit down"

3. "Reese want to drink milk and oik oik" (sleep)

4. "Mummy draw big red fireworks! I want draw fireworks!"

5. " I want go beach play, make sandcastle!"

6. "What's coming next? Waterfall" (saying it perfectly clear and fast)

7. "Who fall to the water? Steve falls to the water, Helen falls to the water...." (referring to the book Spots and friends)

8. "Who holding the blue pencil? Cheh cheh holding the blue pencil.."

9. " Don't want to go Poh poh's place..."

10. " I want daddy build tall towers"

11. "What's daddy doing?"

12. "What happen to the daddy?" (Reese loves to ask what happen to many things....)

He has shown an interest in drawing. We have been sitting with him and draw things on paper. He will scribble and demand us to draw things and he will talk about them... The only thing he can draw is RAIN...hehehe...

He can also count and understand how to do it. Occasionally missing the number 2. :) Yesterday he surprised me by counting up to 29! Then out of curiosity I continue counting and introduced 30, 31 and waited for his response and he went on 32...33....35.... I think he understand how to name the numbers! Smart boy.... When he is in the mood he will count anything in sight. Usually up to 12.

Reese's memory is fantastic! He is getting very good with people's name, cartoon characters' name!! He knows the names of all the people that are close to him. He knows the cartoon characters and book characters' names very well. Even other children and aunties and uncles he met over the weeks! All we need to do is to tell him once or twice...and he remembers them... not bad huh?

Reese is also improving his mandarin! Didn't really make an effort to teach him mandarin because I am a banana myself...hahah... but never the less he pick up some new words and even can help me sing one mandarin song.... :) he now knows about 20+ words in mandarin. He also pick up some malay words like 'baju' and 'kacau' and Cantonese. Will try to teach him more indirectly.

Reese is growing big! It's increasingly difficult to carry him! Daddy put him on the scale and he is now 16.5kgs! Crazy I tell you. Every where we go people will say he is 3+ or 4 years old!

Few days back, daddy bought him a pair of jeans and the size? 4 yrs!! It's long but the waist line was just nice. He has got a big tummy!

He has a good appetite when it comes to food he LIKES. He takes adult portion when it comes to noodles. Still doesn't take rice and now dislike porridge too. Even abc pasta in his soup he will kinda reject it. Taken a liking to toast and toast in his mushroom soup. Now he will even tell you what he wants for dinner!

He is super active and loves running around the house. Still not very good at imaginative play.

Oh...and he seems more sociable and able to sort of play with other kids. Not afraid of strangers at all but will usually ignore them and go do whatever he wants...hehehe.. He has no sense of fear of losing his parents in public places. :(

Still not potty trained... hehe... parents are lazy...will do so next month. Still not sure that he is ready.

Phobia: Still afraid of large crowd of people clapping.

New Year Eve

Ah....so what did we do to mark the end of the year? We had a satisfying dinner follow by some playtime around a shopping mall which was having a carnival like party! Then it was home and get the little one to bed and later woke up for the spectacular fireworks. Overall it was quite a good end for all of us as compared to last year when all we can do is to stay home with a little baby.... well..maybe not so little in terms of size... hehehe...

We went to Dave's at One U and had alot of pork! We had the pork belly shavings, another pork dish (can't remember the name), ox tail soup and mushroom soup (just for Reese). Dinner was good and will definitely go back again.

Then we went to get a couple of helium balloons given free at the carnival. Reese had a blast playing with them and also looking at some very tall performers (on stilts) walking around greeting people.... Mummy being the kiasu type only manage to get him 2 helium balloons and attempted a few more times to get more but failed... hehehe....

While mummy went to get more balloons, daddy entertained the little one. After that... we all had some fun with the balloons untill it was time to go home.... little Reese refused to move...he just wanted to continue playing but we managed to drag him home....phew...

For the first time, Reese got to watch the fireworks display for a few minutes; we missed the one at HK Disneyland... daddy decided to wake him up... we watched it for a few minutes.... then he requested to go back to the room... then looked through our window for more and back to sleep... next day...he kept saying "go light kakak's room pink fireworks!" ......

At Dave Restaurant

Penang Holiday

We had a great time in Penang. For us adults, we had all the yummy food we have been yearning all these months! We had Hamidiyah Nasi Kandar, Banana leaf rice, Lorong Selamat's Char Koey Teow, Anson Road Laksa, Koey Teow Teng, Roti Babi, Nyoya Food at Mama's, Lin Chee Kang and Ais Kacang at New World's Park. We had so much food that we each gain 1 to 2 kgs! We even manage to catch a movie. It was good. Go watch Ip Man. Oh...did I also mentioned that we saw a rainbow on the way back from the movie?

It was also a special holiday because my parents and sister from KL came to Penang on Christmas Eve and celebrated my father's birthday on Christmas Day in Penang. It has been years since our family went on a holiday together.

As for Reese, he had a great time playing with a tent given by a relative of my mother in law. It was a really good tent and the previous owner of the tent is already an adult working in the U.S. hehehe...

We took Reese to Queen's Bay Mall and he played at the Jusco Wonderland. It was a great experience for him. He gets to play on a trampoline and also a pool of balls.

We also took Reese to the beach. It was ok. Reese didn't like the water nor the sand sticking on to his feet! At the end we asked him whether he wants to go home and his quick reply was "Better go home..." :)

On the last day we took Reese to the Botanical garden and walk around but didn't see any monkeys.

Tall trees at the Botanical Garden

Reese and daddy walking up to the lily pond

Making a silly face

Rare sighting of a Rainbow

This is hilarious, sorry for the loud crazy laugh in the above video. Reese was amusing himself by letting the punching bags hit him!

Whenever we ask who's laughing.... he will do his silly laugh. This was at the Botanical garden.

Psst... We are back!

After more than 10 days of silence.... we are back. So much to write about. Just drove back from Penang... taking a rest and reading some news. We spent 7 days and 6 nights in Penang. We had a lot of fun and to make it extra special, my parents and sister from KL also spent Christmas eve and Christmas in Penang. We had a good time eating all the yummy food and Reese had a good time playing with his Ama and Gong gong, going to the beach, botanical garden and playgrounds!

Will tell you about our adventure in Penang with some pictures and even funny videos! Might do it tomorrow... now a little tired... :) watch this space!

Reese and my Students

Reese and some of my students. Because he is the youngest, all my students love him and always give in to him! Reese likes to join them for classes. He will sit behind them and watch them learn or sometimes, if there is space, he will join them on the table and scribble away...while I teach the kids. He doesn't disturb us. :)

Being Bullied

What do you do when your child is being bullied?

Reese is a very good natured boy and lately he was being exposed more to other toddlers while playing. We realized that he is always being bullied. He was pushed many times when playing on the slide. While playing with toys in the toyshop even a younger toddler will bully him. Push him aside and take over his toys! What did my boy do? Nothing. He will just stare at kids and then move on or in the case of being pushed at the slide, he just sit there and let others push him. Hai.... as a parent I can only go over and remind the other toddler to share or don't push. I can't tell my son to push others or snatch back what is rightly his!

One parent told me to teach Reese to cry when being bullied. Do you think it's a good idea? I don't think so and how to teach him to cry? DifficultLAH. When at play with other children my boy is always being bullied by both older and younger kids (suspect older than him just that they are shorter than him). Reese looks big most of the time but actually he is younger than many of those kids! Poor boy! hahahaha.....

So is it better to have a softy or a bully?

Proper Homeschooling

For the past couple of months I did informal home schooling with Reese. I think he is ready for proper learning. He can be reason with, he can understand instructions and he has a longer attention span. He is ready for more active learning.

I am all excited to fix a schedule where I will do specific things with him at least 3 times a week. I am going to enroll him to 2 different playgroups. One run by a church and another by the British Women Association. Both playgroups offer different environment and Reese gets to meet different types of toddlers. It's going to be fun. If time permits, I might also enroll him in Gymboree too. I have checked their play/music/art syllabus. It's quite fun and I get to participate with him too. This way, Reese gets to socialize with other children at least twice a week for two hours. I get to spend quality time with him and probably share experiences with other parents too.

I will be reducing my work commitment so that I have ample time to homeschool Reese. I want Reese to have a balance when it comes to learning, at his age it's all about play and play and more play. That's how toddlers learn. I want him to have alot of fun! I want him to enjoy learning. It's going to be a blast!! Can't wait to start in January/February.

I need to stock up on colour paper, art and craft stuff, stationary........ got to prepare alot of things.... I am so excited.... hehehehe.....

I hope Reese is an easy child to teach.... hehehe.... so far he is a quick learner but not sure when it comes to later stages where academic stuff comes in..... really have to pray hard about it. Oh I really hope I can home school him successfully... I have 3 years to try it out. I need to be discipline, consistent, informative and resourceful and most of all be determine and pray hard for it to be a success!!!

What about you? what's for the new year for your little ones or not so little ones?

My little adventure with daddy

Tomorrow is daddy's 33th birthday. Last Sunday we had a simple celebration with daddy. Ama and Gong gong were here too. Mummy cooked 'Sau Mee' ( Long life noodle) and made 'Yong tau fu' (fish paste wrapped in tau fu skin). Gong gong and Ama bought a cheese cake for daddy. :) I had a little bit of the cake too.

Last Monday was a public holiday and mummy had to work and Gong gong and Ama also went back to Penang. So daddy decided to take me go 'gai gai' (go out) alone! First stop, we sent Gong gong and Ama to the bus station, said our goodbyes.... and daddy decided to take me to Ikanao Powerstation to play snow (fake)! I had a good time there and then daddy took me to The Curve watch the Christmas trees that can go round and round. We had a really good time there and after almost 2 hours of fun we went home. Daddy also showered me and I had my milk and nap followed by a late lunch of maccoroni and cheese. Daddy had maggie mee... hehehe...

Mummy was impressed when she found out about our little adventure. This is the second time I am out alone with daddy. First time daddy took me for a train ride and then we had noodles in town. That was a few months ago. :)

Life is going back to a routine

Reese's grandparents from Penang have gone home since yesterday morning. Our house once again becomes quiet and Reese will definitely miss all the attention showered upon him by his grandparents and we will miss the night time mamak (supper) and also the carefree window shopping and movie watching, not having to worry going back home to take care of Reese! :)

Everything is slowly back to our usual routine and now I have teach the maid what to do at my mom's place. So far, my maid is doing fine and we are somewhat happy with her. Alot of things that she needs to learn to do but it's ok.

Christmas is round the corner, we are going back to Penang this year. My parents and sister are also going to Penang. Our two families are going to celebrate Christmas in Penang!

Funny Reese

Funny shower cap

Don't I look funny?

Carnival hat and my favourite 'yang yang' drink (Longan)

My Handsome Prince at 26 months

Don you think he has grown up alot? He is so mature looking. :)

26 Months Update

Time really flies...... it seems like only yesterday I held him in my arms breastfeeding him and wondering when he is going to interact with me, when is he going to crawl, when is he going walk and when is he going to talk.....I miss my little baby... hehehe...

Reese has grown alot in the past month, suddenly alot of his t-shirts are a little short for his body and a little tighter too. His shoes barely fit him. Browsing his clothes at the baby section is no longer possible instead we have to look at clothes for 3 year olds!

Looking at him makes me feel so proud because now he is such a big boy and very much an individual! He has his own mind and wants things done his way too. He knows how to ask for things that he wants, he will tell you his preference when it comes to food, cartoons, books and just about anything.

He loves to run and jump alot. In fact he cannot be separated from our mattress because that is his playground and just a few days ago, I read an article in The Star that claims children playing on trampolines are good for their coordination and balance and other things which I can't remember. So I will continue to let Reese jump and jump on the mattress!

Reese is a very active boy and most of the time he will be jumping on the mattress, running around the house and the only time he sits still is when he is watching cartoon, playing with water or eating his favourite food.

Reese loves to describe things. He will use alot of adjectives to describe things that he sees. He also love to ask questions like 'What happen.....?', 'Who's there?', 'What is that?'. Funny most kids his age will ask 'Why' but Reese doesn't know how use it yet...hehe... Alot of times he will ask questions and then he will answer them.

He can speak in short sentences and at times adding a few adjectives in them. He also started to tell us what he wants like 'I want mummy sit down', 'I want mummy make chocolate milk' and 'I want beauty and the Beast'.

He still like his books. Love books with flaps so that he can open and close 'doors'.

Reese is less picky with his food now and thus it's easier for me to prepare his daily menu. He still doesn't take rice or any chinese dishes. Currently he will take chinese style soup, noodle soup, fried hokkien noodle, fried chicken, steam chicken, KFC mash potato, spaggetti (beef bolagnese), abc pasta with his fish chowder/mushroom soup/ministrone, fried fish fillet, peanut butter and banana sandwich, fish porridge, gramham biscuits, digestive biscuits, yogurt, fruits, fresh milk, chocolate milk, vitagen, yakult, string cheese and certain fruit juice.

His food portion is also getting bigger. He can almost finish an adult portion! When we go out, we can no longer just order for ourselves and share some with him. Now we have to order a kids meal or another bowl just for him. He drinks more milk now. On top of his usual 4 bottles (6 oz) a day he will add on another 2 bottles(3oz to 4 oz)

Reese is 92cm tall and he weights 15kgs give and take. According to the growth chart, his height is 80+ % (above average) and his weight is 90% (above average). I am trying to control his milk intake. Don't want him to be fat. Reese is a very solid boy, he may not look fat but when you carry him... you will realise that he is super heavy!

Reese sleeps around 9 to 9.30 pm and wakes up at 7 to 7.30am. He takes only 1 nap in the afternoon for about 1 to 2 hours.

From our observation Reese is not the fierce type and when he is around other children, he never snatches nor tries to take away things from other kids. If he wants something and others don't give it to him, he will just look at them and walk away to play with other things! When someone snatches his things, he will just make a little bit of noise and then move on!

Reese is generally a good nature boy. His tantrums now are more managable and when we scold him or talk to him nicely, he will listen. He likes to say thank you when he pass something to you. :)

He is still not potty trained. It's stressful for us so we will try again when he is slightly older. Yeah... we are lazy parents.

Wonder what's next.........

Reese's favourite toy

This is the only toy I bought that can really capture his attention. The day I bought it back.. he played with it for 1.5 hours! then later in the night he took it to the room and played some more and ever since then it became his favourite. He can play with it for a long time..... :)

John Deere Farm house set

You can 'grow' corn and have the tractor run over it!

Reese loves to open and close the doors

Why are you taking my picture?

Full concentration

Reese loves to put his whole head inside

My favourite toy!

Reese also likes to play with mummy's new phone

Food Poisoning Again!

Believe it or not, barely 3 weeks and I got food poisoning again. Same symptoms except this time I did not vomit. Gosh... what's wrong with me.... :(

Ate the same food as the rest of the family and yet I got it...... I think I have phobia over food poisoning.... scary.... the pain that I have to go through...

Conversation with Reese

Reese has been talking alot and not in one or two words but in phases and sometimes complete sentences. It's getting more and more fun watching him express himself in words as well as expression. Some of the conversation that I remember.

Reese: (Threw some flash cards on the floor) What happened?
Mummy: Opps... the cards fell down.
Reese: *giggles*

Reese: Fish...see fish....on the light, mummy.
Mummy: Ok.
Reese: Fish doing?
Mummy: What's the fish doing?
Reese: *smiles* fish swimming....fish dives...

Mummy: Reese, you want to go 'gai gai'?
Reese: No..no....no..
Mummy: Reese, want to drink chocolate milk?
Reese: Drink chocolate milk... want chocolate milk...

Reese: Find fish.... open book...
Mummy: Which book?
Reese: (Walks over to the bin and pick out the right book) where's the fish?
Reese: Orange fish (pointing at the fish).... fish doing?
Mummy: What's the fish doing?
Reese: Fish swimming....

Reese: Hello daddy..... tickle daddy... (pat pat daddy's shoulder)
Daddy: gees.... tickle Reese....
Reese: *giggles*

Mummy: Mummy wants to......
Reese: TICKLE
Mummy: Reese!!!!
Mummy: Mummy wants to blow....
Reese: STOMAK (stomach)... *giggles*
Mummy: *Blow raspberry on Reese's stomach*
Reese: *screams and laugh* mummy blow armpits!!
Mummy: *Blow armpit*

Watching Beauty and the Beast

Reese: Watch litterful and the beast
Reese: Wolves bite... beast pain pain...
Reese: Beast 'pom pom' (bath).... beast cut hair...
Reese: suu meeni (so many) birds on the beast....
Reese: Naughty man (Guston) come....
Reese: Pink flower....
Reese: Wah... suu meeni (so many) books....
Reese: Beast cry.... thunder!!! *screams*

I love you Reese.

Busy busy busy...

Phew! I was so busy the last week and no time to blog, actually... too tired to blog. :)

First my in-laws came then a few days later my new maid came. I was so busy running around preparing for my old maid to go home and prepare for the new maid to settle in and at the same time had to make sure my in-laws are comfortable at our home.

Thank God everything is in order now. In-laws are happy and comfortable, old maid went home to Indonesia ( We had tears in our eyes when we bid goodbye...), new maid came and somewhat settling into a routine. I am happy with her so far. Very petite and has a pleasant personality. She is young and seems to know how to do house work reasonably well. Not sure why, I am very comfortable with her and have no worries that she will run away. In fact, just barely one week I left her alone at home with the house key. When we came back and she was still there... :)

Only problem is she has no experience with young children and couldn't handle Reese alone when it comes to changing his diapers! Well, just need to train her. At the moment, alot of training involved when it comes to taking care of Reese. She is learning English to communicate with Reese and surprisingly, Reese likes her even from day 1. That is good.

So far so good, I just hope she is going to be a good, honest and patient maid. I have been constantly asking her whether she is comfortable with us and she seems happy. She also knows how to keep herself busy and she sleeps at 10pm!! Hehehe....

Oh.... and to reward myself, I bought a new Nokia N85 mobile! My first smart phone. My previous phone lasted more than 5 years and it's beginning to fail...so time for a new mobile....

Reese is getting more demanding also and talks more and more in proper sentences too!

So many changes this month.... My plate is so full right now....ha ha ha...

Oh...did I tell you that hubby and I managed to go out for supper and really enjoyed it. The last time we went out at night for supper was more than 1 year ago! It's nice to have my in-laws around so that we can have some couple time.

One word to sum up my current feeling - Happy

New Maid

Huh? She has arrived? Really? Oh... *shock*

That was my reaction when the agency called me just now to inform me that my new maid is here. It's less than 1 month from the date I put in my application request! Wow!

Initially they told me that it takes about 2 months and we had to crack our heads as to how to make sure Reese has someone able to take care of him during the two months. So the only solution was hubby's very healthy parents from Penang. After explaining to them our situation..they readily agreed to come down to take care of Reese for a month or so until the new maid comes. They came last Friday night and it's barely 1 week and my new maid is here! Hahaha....

We even invested on a new washing machine and dryer and a 2 seater sofa bed for my in-laws thinking that they need comfortable accomodation!!! and my new maid is here!

After my experience with the first maid, I have noted some dos and don'ts and lay down some rules for the new maid... haven't even started on that yet and she is here!! Gosh... I am so not prepared!

We are going to send off our old maid this Wednesday and at the same time bringing home our new maid....

I am anxious... worried... will this new maid going to be worth paying the extra and that she will get along well with hubby and Reese. Is she going to be an honest and hard working maid? Is she going to be friendly? What are her expectations? So excited also....

Food Poisoning

I have been sick since Sunday and as I write this post, I am still recovering from bad food poisoning. In 5 days I saw the doctor three times and took 2 jabs. I had terrible body and joint ache, I had diarrhea, I had fever, I had cold sweat, I vomited, I had bad stomach ache and crams, I couldn't sleep and most of the time I am on the bed or the sofa.

My poor husband had to take leave to care for me and my boy.

My poor boy didn't get to play with mummy.

It was a horrible experience.

I am glad that it will be over soon. I went to the doctor today and finally had to take 2 different antibiotics to clear the bugs! Ahhh.... should have given me earlier.

My Po Po (Maternal Grandma)

She is a socialite. She is a star in her own right. She co-owns a Karaoke (Senior Citizen) with her god brother. She is a teacher and she can sing! :)

She is affectionate, motherly and loud.

She is also fierce but when it comes to me, it is at least 100% less fierce.

She loves me dearly from the day I was born, she held me closely to her bosom and gave me kisses.

She commented that I look alot like mummy.

Every now and then, she would just stare at me and see mummy in me.

Just like Gong Gong, she helps take care of me. Mostly on my comfort, food and sleep while mummy is at work.

At times, even now she would take naps with me. Pat me and play with me.

Po Po loves to hug and kiss me and most of the time, I will avoid at all cost. :)

She has a secret weapon that used to work very well when she wants to get me to play with her, take my nap, change my diapers. Do you know what that is? It's her mobile phone!

Now I am smarter, I will only go to her for multimedia clips on her mobile!! He he he...

When I was an infant, Po Po used to fuss around me making sure I am taking proper nutritious food, enough sleep, not too hot, not too cold, not sweaty....

She took care of mummy after we came to stay with them for 1.5 months on my second month birthday. Mummy had a break from taking care of me, I mean it was hard work considering she was fully breastfeeding me and did not have a proper confinement. It was tough for mummy. During the stay, Po Po would get up in the middle of the night to care for me and allow mummy to rest.

Po Po is fierce but I love her. She do slap (not very painful) my hands when I get out of control or scolds me but I still love her. Now that I am older, she and Gong Gong would take me out for yummy lunches and car rides. :)

I love you Po Po.

** Have I told you about my Ye Ye ( Maternal Aunt)? Will tell you tomorrow.

My Gong Gong (Maternal grandpa)

My Gong Gong is a handsome YOUNG man. :)

He is a quiet and has few friends. A loving father to my mom and aunt and a wonderful husband to my Po Po.

He is gentle and very patient too.

Ever since my birth, he has always been helping the family to take care of me. In fact I filled his life with more purpose now; Taking care of his only grandson. I take up most of his day time on weekdays. :)

Despite slight disabilities with the right side of his body which was caused by a stroke after his heart operation 15 years ago, my Gong Gong still tries his best to take care of me whenever possible.

On weekdays I will go to my Gong Gong's house in the morning with mummy and kakak (maid) and return after dinner.

While mummy is teaching or out to work, Gong Gong will play with me, watch cartoon with me and explain what is happening in the cartoon. He is the one that manage my cartoon time. He is the one to look for when I want a certain CD.... hehehe....

Gong Gong will also sleep with me during my nap. He is always by my side to pat me when I get nightmares or just wanted to peek whether he is around me. If he is not sleeping, he will be reading newspaper by my side patiently waiting for me to get up or just to pat me to sleep again.

Gong Gong is very proud of me. He always teaches me new words through watching cartoon or playing. He never scolds me even when I misbehave! Po Po said that I bully Gong Gong. He he he....

Gong Gong loves me so much. He will walk out in the mornings to get bread and bananas for me. He makes sure that I eat my food and drink my milk. With the maid's help, Gong Gong manages me well. :)

Gong Gong will take me outside the apartment to play bubbles and a sometimes to the wading pool for some water fun. But due to his age and heart problems, he can't do that alot but it's ok Gong Gong, I love you anyway.... You have to take care of yourself so that you can see me grow up and take care of you then!

I love you Gong Gong.


**Tomorrow I will tell you about my Po Po and then my paternal grandparents....

Mummy Sick...

Mummy is sick and daddy didn't allow me to disturb her, didn't allow me to jump on her and didn't allow me to play with her. I keep seeing a bottle of 'medicine' (100Plus) next to mummy.
Mummy is always lying down on the sofa or the bed and kept sleeping or just staring at me and smile with a pitiful face.

I learn a new word though. It is 'Sick'. I don't think I understand the word 100% but roughly. I kept saying "Mummy sick, mummy drink medicine". I think I miss playing with mummy. Daddy was having a hard time stopping me from disturbing mummy. :)

Mummy loves it when I go near her and just put my face close to her and keeps calling her and giving her the sweetest smile and that is also the time mummy realized that I am getting fat! Mummy made a mental note to reduce my milk intake... hehe...

Hopefully mummy get well soon.

Stages in toddlerhood

Two days ago, sometime in the evening, Reese was throwing tantrum and demanding for pencils and I was in the room teaching some children.

It was a little out of control so I had to step in and raised my voice and scolded him. I think he knew when I was angry and will look at me and stop his whining but the moment I went back into the classroom.... he started again! So second round of scolding and he stopped.

His mood was really bad so had to ask the maid to blow bubbles for him to play to quieten him. After class the kids played with him and one of the mummies was chatting with me. I complaint about Reese going through the terrible two phase and she laughed and said.... wait till you experience NASTY FOUR.

Nasty four? Didn't know there is another stage in toddlerhood! I wonder how bad it is going to be!! Anyone one experiencing nasty four stage????

Reese in Action

We had steamboat dinner with some friends on Saturday night. We gave Reese some soup and he liked it. He drank alot of soup until we decided to give him the bowl! For the first time, he drank soup straight from the bowl...not even a drop on his t-shirt! He even asked for more soup after that!:)

Creative talk

Do you speak with your spouse like that?(When child is around):

(After calming Reese down from one of his tantrums)

Me: Dear, did you keep his B.A.L.L.O.O.N?
Hubby: Yup, it's outside.

Me: Eerr... where is his little S.T.A.R?
Hubby: I kept it...

:) I used to laugh at parents who has to spell out certain words in their conversations to avoid the keep understanding what was being said. Now that I am a parent, it's really no laughing matter. It is essential!!

So what happens when he can spell? I guess will have to speak in Bahasa Malaysia and when he can understand Bahasa Malaysia? mmmm.... must speak in code... hehe...

Fun Time at Kizspot (One U)

Throwing balls around

Love the balls..

More balls...

Yippie!

Mummy come join me...

Who can I throw at?

Ah... sliding with mummy...

Last Sunday we took Reese to Kizspot. Paid Rm25(per child and free for parents) for some indoor fun (Parents and children must wear socks). Reese was a little scared at first and didn't like the ball pool! Took sometime for him to warm up. It was fun. I got to go on a slide with Reese too... Had to climb up and down with Reese and I had a sore and somewhat aching body yesterday morning. Getting old...haha..

Name

While playing on the bed before bedtime.....

Reese: Reese Matthew Kam....

Daddy and Mummy: (looked at each other...a little stunt) Wow! Clever boy (clapping hand and cheering real hard)

My boy can say his full name and he is exactly 2 years 1 month old !!!! Yahoo....