Fatherhoot Inc.

Brudders

2007-09-09T23:54:00.001+08:00

After the hard weekend, we got the two brothers to wear stripy shirts (I'm also in my green stripy shirt - which I ordained as my 2007 lucky shirt as the fortune teller said on TV during the Lunar New Year Countdown that green would be my lucky color. Coincidentally, today is also Toto Day - but unfortunately, I haven't struck any lottery this year, not even a sniffle), sat by the doorway to the deck and look photogenic. This is a tremendous task as most parents can attest to, but for some strange reason, we manage to succeed today - probably becos' of my lucky green shirt. It was cute, as they cooperated (rarely) alongside Momo who kept her grin throughout. After the snapshot, it was off to celebrate Grandpa 's birthday before we (meaning both of us without the kids) head off to London and leave the kids to the grandparents + helper. The last time we "dumped" our child at home was when En was about 5 months plus ---- and head off to Thailand.

And guess whose the most cheekiest of them all. Sigh.

Nursery rhyme

2007-09-06T01:17:00.000+08:00

While at work today, it suddenly dawned upon me (think the work must be stressful) to find out when and why people start to rock baby to sleep. It seems to come naturally to me since day 1, but it is nevertheless a learned process that is imbued into our sensory and KIV in our brain until it is retrieved later when we have kids. Well, sadly, I didn't get to find anything useful from google to explain "the history of rocking baby to sleep" (other than the shocking discovery of the side effects of rocking a baby too much as revealed by experts in the medical field - not very helpful and encouraging for that matter). However, I did come across the word "rock" --- which led me to "Rock-a-bye baby" --- which led me to "nursery rhymes" and some facts about the songs we have been singing to our kids.

Before I go on, I have been playing nursery songs (sang by a bunch of local kids who try their darnest to sound British --- which is not bad --- given that I have another CD sang by British who sounds like Irish and no-one can understand what they are singing) non-stop in the car whenever the kids are in the car. But it never failed to strike me that nursery rhymes are morbid and downright violent. With "babies falling", "blind mices", "Humpty Dumpty breaking into pieces", "Jack breaking his crown (just because he wants to fetch water", "London burning" and "the tragic death of Clementine"... the list goes on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, back to the topics of nursery rhyme, here's what I can gather from the ever reliable Wiki:

Many cultures (though not all; see below) feature children's songs and verses that are passed down by oral tradition from one generation to the next (either from parent to child or from older children to younger children).

"Ring a Ring O'Roses" - has reference to the Great Plague of London when the first symptoms of plague were ring-like sores. People didn't understand the illness and would place flowers in the pockets believing that illness came from bad smell, so having something sweet smelling would kill the disease. If only they have Air Wick (Lavender flavour) then, it would be easier.

"Pop Goes the Weasel" - is not about weasels but actually about silk weavers working with their shuttle or bobbin (known as "weasel"). Another version says it refers to the need for the poor working class to have to take their coats (weasels and stoats) to pawnbrokers to obtain money for drinking. The "eagle" in the song may refer to a pub along Shepherdess Walk in London (I want to go and see!). Maybe that's why English pubs are thriving then with so many young urchins inculcated with the logic of selling clothes for a pint so early. So much for age limit on drinking. No wonder our kids are turning alcoholic early.

"Jack and Jill" - lots of versions. Most interesting one alluded that Jack is LouisXVI of France who was deposed and beheaded (lost his crown) alongside his Queen Marie Antoinette (or Jill) who "came tumbling after".

Humpty Dumpty - one of my son's favourite song is actually a cannon used in the Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War. It was mounted on top of a church defending the city against siege of 1648. But the church tower was hit and "Humpty" was sent tumbling to the ground. Well, the King's horses and men tried to "mend him" but in vain.

Mary had a little lamb - probably the most literal and had the most element of truth in the lyrics. Cos' the nursery rhyme was inspired by an actual incident involving one Mary Sawyer (later Mrs Mary Tyle) who kept a pet lamb and took it to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. Some visiting nephew of Reverend was amused by the sight and wrote the poem and passed it to Mary.

Mary Mary quite contrary - (what's with the obsession with the name Mary) actually alluded to Mary I of Scotland with "how does your garden grow" referring to her reign, "silver bells" referring to (Catholic) cathedral bells, "cockleshells" insinuating that her husband cheated on her, and "pretty maids all in a row" referring to her babies that died. (How spiteful leh).

Rock-a-bye Baby - is an American nursery rhyme and lullaby, whose melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad Lilliburlero. Originally titled "Hushabye Baby", this nursery rhyme was said to be the first poem written on American soil. Although there is no evidence when the song was written, it may date from the 1600s. It is rumoured that it was written by a young pilgrim who sailed to America on the Mayflower. He was said to have observed the way Native American women rocked their babies in birch bark cradles, which were suspended from the high branches of trees, allowing the wind to rock the baby to sleep. However, the branches holding the cradles steady had a danger of breaking, causing the cradle to fall and the baby in it to get hurt. Rock-a-bye as a word was first recorded in 1805. The nursery rhyme indicates falling near the end due to a terrible infant accident in 1706 where the Earl of Sandwich's son was tossed without warning from his cradle. The cradle was later found in the Temps River empty and alone. (tragic)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - combining a French tune with an English poem, Mozart apparently loved the song. However, the original lyrics from the French song was "seduction" cool. (That's why seduction and flirting comes naturally to some, while others are totally clueless - the latter probably slept to the tune of pop goes the weasel or the silly monkey jumping on the bed song that keeps ringing in my head).

Xuan and Momo

2007-09-04T23:53:00.000+08:00

Other than the abvious fact that I've become lazy and inconsistent, I swear I wanted to post these videos and blog earlier, but things just keep happening to distract you. Like moments ago as I was writing this entry, I kept plying up and down the stairs to pacify, change and rock Xuan as he whimpered in his cot. His diapers had leaked and required the immediate and intense remedy of changing without exciting him too much. I failed, he was awaken and took eons to go back to sleep.

Anyway, his elder brother En is likewise growing up fast these days. He mastered the art of bossing people around so that it irritate the @#$% out of you. He also mustered enough guts to say "no" and "dun want" to every little requests I made and instructions I passed to him. Chasing Momo around the house had become his favourite pass time and provided his little brother live entertainment. To reciprocate, his little brother would eyeball his every movement intensely, let out a loud guffaw and would follow up with a mimic of En's actions.

I really fear for Momo's sanity in a few months time when the younger gets up on his feet.

Momo's nightmare

2007-08-14T23:42:00.000+08:00

En En is reaching the dreadful terrible two, and it definitely shows in his perpetual tantrums against everyone in the family when we do not give in to him. Although I must say his grasp of vocab is impressive, it kind of gets in your nerve when he uses them to boss you around :P

"Papa / Mummy sit here", "Papa / Mummy read book", "Put back", "No", "Piano" etc etc.

Currently, his temper is often targeted at Xuan, whom we know En loves a lot, but yet cannot stand playing with his toys. We had a preview of what's to come when the two boys would fight over toys in the very near future. Two screaming boys are not exactly music to the ears, and one of them cannot fight back yet. It will not be a lovely sight when both can actually fight, and we kind of place our bets on Xuan to win, as he is fast outgrowing En physically.

However, his favourite victim has to be Momo --- whose sweet temperament prevents her from retaliating.

SAHD - definitely

2007-07-12T22:34:00.000+08:00

I have been tagged by two mommies - BP and Shelia. Now I am stressed out. But I will start with BP's topic as it is indeed my ambition to be a SAHD. The photos in this blog entry has absolutely no relevance to the topic, except maybe the fact that En has taken after my TV freak genes.

I have always openly proclaimed this ambition as I rather enjoy staying home with the kids and doing a bit of housework. But having a maid / housekeeper around will definitely make the experience more enjoyable. Therefore, I have, for the longest time, told my wife to climb up the corporate ladder swiftly and earn enough dough for me to stay home with the two boys. That will solve the problem of my wife constantly worrying about what the maid and other caretakers are doing with our kids while we are at work.

Watching them growing up in distinct phases is a rare treat and definitely therapeutic. For a while, I even enjoyed waking up in the wee hours of the morning to feed En, burp him, and pat him to sleep. It helps with bonding and I am rather a permanent fixture in En's billboard of favorite person -- No. 1 that is. It pays off, and the rewards are ...well rewarding. For Xuan, I got lazy. Only recently did I start to feed him at midnight daily. We are not as close, but am heading in the right direction. It's deja vu again, and I rather enjoy watching the bloke suckle the bottle while lying in his rocker -- he only feeds in his rocker. He's easy to burp (all thanks to Dr Brown bottle) and sleeps without the need to pat. Just rock him hard and he'll doze off after a while.

Finally, I can be the male version of tai-tai. Ha Ha. I will bring the boys to eat cake , drink coffee, hang out at libraries, bring them for children shows. In the evening, we will play basketball, swing the swing and slide the slide --- cool. There will be no more office politics, burnt weekends, and late nights trying to chase after people to clear work.

And Tag... you're it!
Now for us to hear from these fellow moms and dad:

JoyfulJazzyMummy of {Every little blessing}
nohp13 of Brightsong
Skyy Low of Skyy the limit

Instructions
Folks, here’s how it works:
1. So easy peasy, if you were given a choice, would you be an SAHM or FTWM? Just provide 3 darn good reasons.
2. Include your post link to the list below and finally,
3. Tag another three mommies

List (so far -- inherited from JoMel, including my own dream job):
1. Immomsdaughter prefers to be an SAHM
2. Miche prefers to be an SAHM too.
3. SYH prefers to be a PTWM.
4. Shoppingmum is definitely an SAHM material.
5. WMD definitely prefers FTWM.
6. Nomadic Mom THINKS she prefers to be a PTWM.
7. Dancing Queen is a PTWM.
8. JoMel will be an FTTT.
9. BP dreams of being an FTBM.
10. Fatherhoot dreams of being a SAHD - no doubts about it.

Magic

2007-07-05T00:24:00.001+08:00

I was sick for the past two days. So I had the golden opportunity to stay home and interact with the kids. Both surprised me. But what touched me most was En finally grasping the concept of sharing and getting along -- albeit grudgingly.

First, we read a book of "big" and "small" with Xuan. En enjoyed boasting about his knowledge of the concept to his brother and answered every questions I threw at him enthusiastically. He even cheered himself on when he got it right. His brother was obviously amused. Then, we went on to flash cards. Although En was resistant to the idea, he reluctantly shared his cards with Xuan when I demanded that he did so. Xuan went on to put the cards into his mouth. I asked En to "educate" his brother about the concept of edible. En looked bemused, paused, and put a card (8 oranges) into his mouth ---geez.

Then our neighbour's kid came to our house. He was fidgeting with our stuff (like he always does) and En was puzzled by this strange visitor. He kept repeating "Kor Kor" while eating his dinner, and even offered a toy to the kiddo after he was done. This has never happened before.

Then, En spent an enjoyable evening playing, prancing and making a fool of himself with his cousins and Momo across the basketball court. This was quite a feat considering just a week ago, he was crying everytime he saw the same cousins. He refused to even go near their house when we bring MOMO for her evening walks. We were hoping it was a phase and Miew tried to bring him there more often to socialize. Guessed it worked. Under the navy blue sky and sweltering heat, the adults sat on the deck, watched and were duly entertained by the kids. It was magical while it lasted ---- until dinner time that is.

Words roll

2007-07-02T00:32:00.000+08:00

En is now on a roll when it comes to speaking. He is picking up everything we are saying like a high IQ parrot, either we start to swear in 3-syllabus words knowing his cap is at 2, we better start to think before we speak. Shit (oops). Anyway, over the weekend, he had been babbling non-stop, and has mastered the irritating word "No", shit (oops). Other comprehensible words in his dictionary (as of 1 July 9.p.m --- when he went to bed) includes:

Words/meaning:
Car - cars (his first word). Different type of vehicles are differentiated by sign language e.g. riding a motorcycle.
Bus-ssh - bus.
Big - big. Commonly use with Big Bus. When use on its own, refers to elephant.
Star - stars.
Papa - me.
Didi - Xuan his brother.
Momo - dog.
Pour Pour - Maternal Grandma.
Gong Gong - Maternal Grandpa.
Ye Ye - Paternal Grandpa.
Bing Bing - his cousin across the street.
Kai Kai - his cousin across the street, Bing Bing's brother.
Poo - shit.
Duck, dog, cow, fish, cat, bear - various animals.
Me - him.
Peese - Please.
Mum Mum - eat.
Ham - ham.
Egg - egg.
Bl-ead - bread.
Fork - fork.
Spoon - spoon.
No - no.
Issh - yes.
walk - take a walk.
work - work. Usually referring to people not around in the house.
Two, four, six, eight - the numbers he can recite ... interestingly only the even nos.
Draw - to draw.
Sssss - the thing is hot.

If you are sharp, you would notice one important word missing --- yes "Mummy" which he still refuses to say. Strange boy this.

We went to United Square today, and for the first time he saw kids practising fencing footwork. He was engrossed, and thereafter keep jumping up and down, trying to assimilate the fencers' footwork -- strange boy this >++D

Camera action

2007-06-24T23:00:00.000+08:00

It's a blood vomiting experience trying to take a passport photo of your kid. You want it done properly since it's going to be in the little red book for quite a while, and you being the one that's going to look right into the eyes of the immigration officer, you want your kid to at least look decent and not embarrass you in an alien country. But like I mention, it's near impossible. They can't sit still, and always move when you snap. The best shots are always the instant before you click - no matter how fast you are. I kind of give up and will leave it to the professionals in the studio. Such experiences remind me of Calvin and Hobbes....

Father's day in

2007-06-19T11:18:00.000+08:00

My father's day was spent at home with wife working hard before she fly off the next day, and I fussing after two boys. It ended with Shrek at night. What more can you ask for ha ha.

Oh, while we are watching Shrek 3, which is not too bad a show, a kid started crying. My question is why is a kiddo there in the cinema (and he/she sounds like an infant) at the 9.30pm show? That's the problem with a lot of S'pore parents now - for selfish reasons they make the kid trudge along with them late at night on the premise of spending time with the kids. There was once I was at Swenson with my wife at 2.00am + and a family was there with their daughter who cannot be more than 4 years old.

I think kids need to sleep early -- it's good for their wellbeing. What's the point of forcing them to go out with you late into the night when they obviously will be tired and grouchy after a while - hence the kiddo in the cinema. Anyway, who am I to judge what's wrong or right.

Baby Blues

2007-06-17T13:36:00.001+08:00

I live Baby Blues since Kai Koon lent me her entire collection. It prepared us for our first child, helped maintained our sanity while we are raising En, and guided us again while we are having the second. And there is no doubt Daryl - the totally committed Dad- is my role model. Ha.

Back to business

2007-06-15T14:48:00.000+08:00

It has been quite sometime since I last posted something here. Not that I was not interested in tracking the development of the boys anymore, quite contrary, I became more involved since my wife flared up the last time about my "perceived" inertia with regard to the boys' development and progress. So involved that I decide I want to write something else to balance my mind from work and kids - hence my chinese blog. Anyway, my wife does a better job documenting the development of the boys and I feel that as long as someone is doing it, it's fine with me - lazy me.

Anyway, with the kids, I decided to play ball anyway, and am now back to feeding the little one on the strike of midnight. Feeding the little one Xuan is quite different from my experience with feeding En when he was that age not oo long ago. Xuan is soooo much easier to read and manage, and it's actually therapeutic watching him suckle, coaxing him, burping him, watching him pout when he doesn't want milk anymore, and my evil streak of aiming for a little opening between his lips and shoving the nipple straight into his mouth when he least expected it so that he would be "forced" to drink - ha. It's a chore I enjoy.

Now that Momo (dog) is back, the family (Mummy, Papa and En - xuan would be sleeping by then) would take walks around the College Green estate and enjoy the serenity of the place (while we can - I don't expect it when the #@#$ students moved in by end of this year).

Think I will try my best to relive this blog again..ha.

Xuan

2007-04-11T22:16:00.000+08:00

My wife say I'm biased towards En and doesn't show enough care and concern for Xuan. Nonsense. I love Xuan and he loves seeing me, or at least he keeps giggling when he sees me - maybe it's because I look funny.

Anyway, Xuan is definitely a very sweet and joyous baby. Generally mild and easy to manage, and will coo and talk to anyone. But he did throw a big tantrum yesterday night when he was brought upstairs just when both of us got home. He started to cry very loud for no apparent reason, and only stopped when he was brought downstairs where everyone else were. After that, he just lay down in his rocker to pout and sulk. Really cute. Ha Ha.

The dragonfly's trauma

2007-03-21T02:00:00.000+08:00

Well, this is closest to kampung style living you would get in Singapore. Dragonfly in a tub, boys half-naked running wild and terrorizing little insects. What more can you ask for... although I think the dragonfly will beg to differ.

en shopping

2007-03-16T00:27:00.000+08:00

Brought En to the supermarket that night, and he was really enjoying his ride on the shopping cart, weaving through the aisle and pointing at everything and say "THERE". (That's another word to his limited vocab of "car","ba" (which I shamelessly associate with "Pa"), "bear","where","bathe" and of course "THERE".)

His hands were everywhere, poking at the cereal and wanting to take a bottle of water (which incidentally was much bigger than him) from the shelf. No wonder kids are hazard in the shopping centre!

(Notice his bruise nose has turned purple. Very macho - ha ha).

---------------------------------------------------------

Meantime, xuan smiling (as usual) at home.

Fireman En

2007-03-11T16:58:00.000+08:00

I dunno what to say. Melanie (maid) says En now bears the mark of College Green i.e. a bruised nose he gathered after chasing after a ball that is half the size bigger than his head and falling face down onto the Court. He cried for a while but went on to get the ball while at it. It was funny at first - with him and the red nose, but it turned deep purple today and it looks damn gross. His legs are full of mozzie bites. This is kind of typical of the kids here, and I reckoned it's fine for character building ha ha (Said like Calvin's father, i.e. Calvin and Hobbes). Doc says apply lots of lotion, and I did. Not helping a lot though, the mozzie bites look like twenty cent coins.

And he enroute to role playing and is ready for dressing up now. We bought him a fireman hat from Toys 'R' Us, and he enjoys putting them on for the camera. The same day, we saw his cousin Kai Kai riding a bicycle outside in his Superman costume. Apparently he wore this to his violin class and was "suan" by his teacher to play like Superman.

Growing up nowadays is fun.

fatherhood explored

2007-03-11T01:51:00.000+08:00

I purposely forced my good friend Kok to carry baby xuan to test his aptitude for fatherhood, and I must admit he surprised me with the tender, loving manner he handled xuan. He was coo-ing and talking to him in a tone I have never heard before. Ha Ha.

Think when you are the only one in the clique with children (and two for that matter), you kind of want to "pull" your friends along this road of no return. You keep telling them tales of your adventure and misadventure with your children, in a bid to brainwash them into thinking that having kids is exactly like what they portray in pro-family ads you see on TV (Why the typical couple always have kids of both gender, when it seems that I only can produce sons - does that mean that I not perfect family?)

It brings me back to two days ago when I tried to conjure multiple reasons for blinkymummy in an online debate on why couples should have kids. Can't really remember what I wrote, but they are all lame to be honest. I guess different couples have different reasons, or they try to think of one so that they can justify and convince themselves that having kids is their calling.

For me, I love kids and I think having them makes a family complete (along with my dogs). It could actually boil down to the fact that I'm the only child and I often yearn for the company of siblings. I was lucky cos' when I was about 10 years old, my parents decided to move in one floor below my aunty who has five children. Immediately, they became my pseudo-siblings and I still see them as my sisters and brothers now. It was a family that was always filled with laughter, and the initmacy was infectious. Hence, I decided, quite young then, that I wanted a family like theirs with children - and lots of them if possible.

I conclude that there is no "magnificent" or "revered" reason to have children. Neither should it be seen as a duty or resposibility to your ancestors. Most of the reasons are selfish, but the efforts we have put in to bring up the kids (so that they wouldn't let you vomit blood in future) is selfless. And it has been a wonderful journey to date. And the best part is, you will never know until you are a parent. Ha Ha.

What do they eat?

2007-02-15T23:06:00.000+08:00

Eh, sometimes I dunno what kids eat nowadays... the little one doesn't look like a baby lo, he looks like a boy (think I am talking rubbish).

He seems to be relishing his days at College Green. Walking non-stop around the house, stomping on the deck, playing with a basketball that is bigger than him - basically an energizer bunny that goes non-stop. The open space seems to suit him well, minus the mozzies which leave big red scar all over his legs.

Man in pink

2007-02-08T21:31:00.000+08:00

We dressed En in his new fusia pink shirt, and added a sweet clip to top it all up. I would have to admit that he did look pretty. Ok, it is not our intention to confuse the little one, but we still have people asking whether En is a girl or boy. And I'm getting quite tired of answering them. Anyway, this outfit definitely would do little to help clarify matters ... ha ha.

Anyway, we brought both kids to Dr Lee for their jabs right after this photo-shoot, for another kind of shot. En was enjoying and keeping himself quite busy with the toys in the clinic, unaware of the trauma he would face a short while later. He cried like mad after his two jab, and we did not have the heart (nor would he understand) that it would be deja vu two months later.

Little Xuan had his 5 in 1 jab, and which developed into a fever today. Poor boy.

Hand me down

2007-01-21T23:02:00.000+08:00

Baby En reminiscing the happy times he spent lying on this cot watching the same little prince mobile just er... 12 months ago? How time flies. Now, his brother Xuan is hogging the cot, using the same bean bag, and watching the same mobile and seeking solace in the same soothing tunes.

Also see the interesting Kodak moment video on babyenyap.blogspot.com.

Return of the mahjong prodigy

2007-01-20T23:13:00.000+08:00

Yes, the return of the mahjong prodigy - the mahjong table and beyond.

After a wonderful lunch excursion to his namesake - En's house (THANKS) - where he roamed the house as if he owned it, poked a golden retriever (Pebbles) twice his size on the head, made a mess of the dining table, hid a lego toy at every corner of the house, baby En returned home and continued to make his mark at the mahjong table. Grandpa and aunty succumbed to his mahjong prowess where he totally hogged the tiles and refused to give anyone any tiles he fancied (or he reckoned they fancied) - already the making of a great mahjong player.

I'm so going to get flamed for this.....

Scared or not?

2007-01-05T20:49:00.000+08:00

It's a fine line between a mischievous kid and a hyperactive kid. At the age of one, you don't know whether you kid's exuberance falls into which category. En is at that age, and displaying signs of being over active. He's like an energizer bunny, and can go on and on and on and on..... dragging you around the house. Of course, his grandparents are in denial and said that we are paranoid, and that this behaviour is cute. Of course lah, they only see him once or twice every week leh. Although his nanny says his fine too.

One night, he was reading his puppy book and suddenly went hysterical. He started to laugh and then kept on banging the book on the floor. He even licked the book (like a puppy)...eeks. I don't know whether to laugh or start to get worried. Maybe is because I keep saying rearing children is like keeping a dog - either my theory is right - or a 'sublimal side effect' arising from our parenting method. He is turning out like Momo (our corgi).

En - The Mahjong Prodigy?

2007-01-01T22:47:00.000+08:00

I think this is the only video neither my wife nor I want to post in our respective blog. It is a classic 'violation' of all the sacred parenting handbooks. But since I am already not a firm follower of parenting handbook (see my first posting), I will do the honour of presenting to you "En - The Mahjong Player".

Ok, some backgrounder before I get slammed by netters. We play mahjong almost every weekend - and instead of Mozart & Beethoven - En was stimulated by the clashing and banging of mahjong tiles, the shouts of "pong", "kang" and "hoo" throughout the nine months of pregnancy and when he was an infant. I did a small experiment one day, and realized he slept like a ... er well ... baby in the same room we played mahjong. As he was growing up, he was always keen to see us play mahjong and would sit ..almost quietly beside us... while we play. He would even arch his head to see our tiles.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T11:43:00.000+08:00

Ok, we received the Year 2007 in our normal way - mahjong and fireworks, albeit with fewer number of people this year as wifey is till doing confinement. Wife and I won $23 from her parents in mahjong, and we watched the spectacular fireworks (probably for the last time) from our flat in Cantonment - dig the ones that flared from the rooftops of some buildings in the CBD. None of the kids were awake, and we had no intention of waking them up in the middle of the night for this.

Wife and I are quite strict about bedtime - and our elder son would be in bed by 9.30 pm (used to be 8 pm a few months back). So we are generally quite appalled when we see parents with blurry eyed kids shopping or having supper late at night. We reckoned it is because either i) they don't have maid / someone at home to help tend to kids while they need to run their errands or ii) they are trying to make up for lost time with their kids. If it's the latter, I think it's very uncalled for - it's not good for the kids - they need the sleep. It also enforce discipline and gives you some time at night to spend time together. Even if we are at someone else's place, we make sure we find him somewhere to sleep at the same time until we leave.

Though some of our friends are still quite bewildered as to why we avoid bringing kids to wedding dinners or for night outings as per other parents. For the record, wedding dinners start at 8.30 pm - BEDTIME!!! I don't want to bring a kid there, only to find that when the dinner is about to start, he starts getting cranky the entire night. Well, it's different parenting style, and this is something worth picking up from the western school of thoughts.

Happy New Year folks. And to my pals -sorry can't spend both NY and X-mas with you guys this year - must have been fun.

Alice in wonderland

2006-12-31T15:33:00.000+08:00

Ok, you can say I am kind of 'cheapo'. I saw a similar piece in Wild Child that cost more than $150 bucks, so I thought it would be nicer and cheaper if I did it for the boys myself. It would at least truly be from me to them. So I went to Spotlight, picked up a board, some acrylic paint and sandpaper, downloaded some pictures of 'Alice in the wonderland' and piece them together to form a drawing.
< ----------- See the raw layout (decided to do away with Cheshire Cat) It was hard work. I am fine with drawing and painting, but I am not particularly good with crafts. But I am quite please with the final piece, notice I even signed off as Papa 2006 Dec - impressive hor. (Think it looks better tinted) Ha Ha.

Brotherhood

2006-12-30T20:29:00.000+08:00

It's funny and endearing when you see your sons bond. This is the advantage of having your children close in terms of age. En and his bro is only 15 months apart, and En is too young to understand that this other being is here to share his parents love and toys. He is likely to grow up getting use to the shared attention with his bro (I hope) though the downside is they will probably fight through their growing years. The grandpa said they will likely form a brotherly alliance to terrorise other kids in the neighbourhood and school.

At the moment, he is curious about his bro, respond well to the term "di-di" (brother), but seems to stick to me like glue more than ever. Maybe he does sense something. He doesn't take well to me carrying his bro, and his beloved nanny tried once and he wailed.

Well, we tried taking a brotherly kind of photo and clip before I tear down the X-mas tree. As I mentioned earlier, this is probably the last time they are celebrating X-mas in 16 Cantonment Close. Next year, it will be at College with all their cousins.

Let's go to the zoo, there's lots of things to do...

2006-12-30T00:23:00.000+08:00

Plans to go to the zoo was aborted since the wife is too tired. Pretty good weather today, but ended up browsing the zoo website instead. Found out a few things about the zoo, first - is damn bloody expensive now to go there. I thought "Friends of the Zoo" membership used to be cheap, now cost a bomb - family package from $170 - 280 bucks! Ok-lah, maybe if I go every weekend, maybe worth it. Second, the "adopt an animal" programme caught my eye, good to get for the kids as their birthday present one day - can teach them some lessons in wildlife preservation some more, not bad - can adopt hippopotamus (love the word) and "big-nose" probi-something (and too lazy to check) monkey. Wish got tiger or lion, En loves 'em and can "roar" fiercely too (must take a clip someday). I also clicked on the Career option, wonder whether I can be tram driver for a career change, like not bad. I know when I retire, I will become a tour guide, I love showing people around and helping tourist in distress ha ha.

Is there such a jingle, or is it my imagination. It keeps ringing in my head as I type this ... "Let's go to the zoo, there's lots of things to do.... blah blah."

Also recently, there's big publicity about Inuka the polar bear. Which reminds me, CL was the poster girl for the Zoo ad featuring Inuka mother (I think) many years ago. Ha Ha. She's all grown up and still as cute (maybe now should be pretty) as ever (though I haven't seen her for a while - how are you doing Cai-li) ha ha. Maybe they should like recall all these people in some Zoo Anniversary or something, quite interesting. Like the time when my cousins (all five of them) appeared in the MacDonald's Ad decked in white shirts and jeans when it was Mac's dunno how many years Anniversary. Ying told me she was one of the first in the queue when Mac's first outlet in Liat Towers opened. (They stayed in Anguilla Park then). Ha Ha.

Baby Xuan Video Clip

2006-12-28T14:29:00.000+08:00

First video clip of baby Xuan.

Ok ok, I know this video is a bit boring. But it's not much different from the other boring video that new parents take of their children and force you to watch them a gadzillion times rite? At least I put it on the blog and you can CHOOSE to watch it if you like. But do watch it, it's boringly kind of cute. Anyway, of course it's boring, what else can a newborn baby do leh? If you want a funny one, see En En one below - now that's cute. I think a use the word boring a little bit too many times. Boring.

Baby En and Momo the dog

2006-12-27T23:02:00.000+08:00

This is probably the best video we have taken so far of En and Momo, which also explains why it is in all our blogs. It shows how En interacts with Momo, with a rojak of intrigue, love and fear all at the same time. En is totally in love with the dog, either that or he's little mind is already scheming on how to ride that short and long moving mammal, once he gets over the fear factor. I fear for Momo once the two boys grow up and she's older... sigh.

Of family portrait and 16 Cantonment Close

2006-12-27T22:50:00.000+08:00

Every year, we will take a family photo by the X-mas tree. This was taken half-way through a mahjong session and before Xuan popped, courtesy of Binghong. As usual, we had a tough time getting a fatter momo to sit tight and En to look at the camera and smile (which he did not). This year's photo probably will carry more sentimental value given that this would likely be the last X-mas photo we take at 16 Cantonment Close before we move to College Green early next year. Sigh... an overwhelming gush of nostalgia just came all over me ...

We will miss this place. The small but cosy den we have called home for 5 years. We took great pain designing it and the good fengshui gave us two lovely boys (though I would love to find out how to re-position certain things so that I can still have my girl). The boys will probably not remember this place - hence the family photo! Can't find time to take with Xuan though... and Momo is currently having her little holiday at my parents place while we cope with Xuan, so we are one family member short!

Silent Night

2006-12-26T22:51:00.000+08:00

Geez, another year-end holiday spent at the hospital. Ronald MacDonald Family Room at KK Hospital is actually quite cool and feels like a clean and quiet hostel with no drunk teenagers rampaging down the corridor. Facilities include a library, computer terminals (I am using one now), kitchen (with nice designer chairs, tables and ambience lights) and a kids room. We seem to be the luckier parent(s) as we believe other parents who stay in this place probably have a more serious and tramatising reality facing them. So far, I have seen a couple with a hollow glaze in their eyes (they have a baby who keeps crying) and a woman on wheelchair.

However, living away from home means we spend minimum time with baby En. While it is already common fact that I'm nos two in En's list of favourite person (his fav is his nanny), I have never really seen him so possessive as he did this evening. He seemed to know I'm going back to the hospital after fetching him home from nanny's place and kept his antenna on full alert once I attempted to slip off. The maid kept distracting him but it didn't seem to work. It finally worked after he was totally engrossed in his musical instruments. I felt bad. Think we should really spend more time with him - thinking of bringing him to the zoo to put a certain realism to the animal flash cards he had been taught. So far, he can recognise lion (he roars when he sees lion / tiger), giraffe, monkey and zebra. He also recognises dogs, cats and birds (which he will start to flap his 'wings') - which I suppose you cannot really find in zoos. But I realise that unless you are friend of zoo, the tickets bloody expensive hor.

Baby Xuan Part III

2006-12-25T00:44:00.000+08:00

We survived the first night with baby Xuan at home with virtually no sleep and no confinement lady (who could not leave her village due to the "great m'sia flood"). Xuan poohed the whole night and could not seem to feed well. He was also turning redder and redder by the minute - which, from our fretful experience with baby En (see my earlier blog), we knew it was jaundice in the making. The first thing this morning, we sent him in to K.K Hospital (decided it was cheaper than Mt. E) where the Medical Officer confirmed our diagnosis, but deemed the jaundice level (at 230) not high enough for Xuan to be admitted - duh. Asked him how then would we know when to admit him, he said if the baby feeds well and passes out urine at least 5 times a day, he should be fine. He asked me to come back tomorrow morning to check on his jaundice level again and decide whether to admit him or not. Eh- not very convincing leh.

So both of us were well zonked for our first day. Luckily, Ling-jie (confinement) lady managed to hijack a bus which ploughed through the flood and came to Singapore at about 7.30 pm. We heaved a sigh of relief. And the moment she stepped in, everything fell into place. Even Xuan's seemingly oversized clothes seem to fit after she dabbled with them (when we dressed him, he looks scruffy and odd).

Am looking forward to my good night sleep tomorrow. And pray that Xuan's jaundice level dip.

The arrival of Xuan II

2006-12-23T17:58:00.000+08:00

With babies, I reckon I am always like one-step behind. Can only upload photos today, but still haven't shot any photo of Xuan at home yet.

Today Xuan is officially named Yap Bao Xuan, Noel (which means Christmas and gift apparently). I am resisting Gillian's proposed Ye Bao Bei, and was extra careful not to write the wrong name due to some Freudian slip thing.

His birth cert is currently the hottest 4-D digit in the family with various permutation. As per baby En, I wrote the Chinese character of his name 叶保轩 , but did it better for the carbon copy. The original birth cert got one ugly handwriting. The officer asked whether anyone told me I could type using computer and save it as softcopy. Er.. no leh, nobody told me that. (My thoughts - why can't your bloody computer just incorporate a Chinese software leh. But the officer quite a nice lady so couldn't bear to scold her.)

Mummy and baby were discharged today. Bill was obscene. And cos' it's Saturday, I didn't get to go home in a limo...darn. And I though I could so didn't drive. It was raining when we got home.

Anyway Welcome Home chap.

The arrival of Xuan

2006-12-22T02:16:00.000+08:00

At 1340hours this afternoon, the wife gave birth to our number two - baby Xuan.

It was a chop-chop affair lasting only a grand total of 7 hours (people who have gone through labor will understand that this is not too bad at all). The wife was admitted at 7.30a.m on a rainy morning. (We had to drop Baby En at nanny's place at 6.45a.m). She was on the bed, put on epidural and all set for induction by 10.00 a.m.

Our midwife Sister Cheung (from Hong Kong) was the same nurse that delivered En. We knew we were in good hands. She was also damn nice- staying past her shift to help us deliver Xuan.

I am always amazed at how hospital knew how to catered to local populace need to buy 4-Ds for such auspicious occasions. Most of the records have four numerals. Baby Xuan was brought to this world at 1340hrs (first 4-D), He weighed 2.925kg (to 3 decimal points?! Nvm 2nd 4-D) and is 48cm (cannot buy cos' only got two numbers). It's also quite amazing how I can remember these numbers even though my mathematics and stats suck big time. I can even remember my first boy En's weight was 3.040. Maybe cos' it's also related to the 4-D lottery thingy or some mysterious father thing.

Anyway, several pictures were taken (As usual) but I left the #$%^ camera in the hospital so cannot upload today.

Bits and pieces of memorable moments (as all fathers will concur, in the delivery suite - one can either remember the long arduous wait or the frenzy and panic during the actual delivery - for the latter - everything flashes by) Other things I could remember include:

a) Unlike the first time, the anesthetician (is that how you spell?) who did the epidural did not ask me to leave. Actually, she demanded that I stayed and watch. Yeeks. Not a nice sight - the needles damn long, so was my wife's fingernails that clawed deep into my skin. The amused anesthetician asked why I was pale. Duh.

b) I lingered around the delivery suite and hospital like a lost soul. Drank countless cups of tea from the vending machines which, I believed, were purposely not built on the same floor. Also read Baby Blues on the super comfy Lorenzo couch to get inspiration of being a father of more than one kiddo. Quite nice - I mean the couch. The thought of being a father of two sons was daunting.

c) Wife must be bored. Out of the blue, she suddenly decided that we should name our Xuan something 'christmas-sy' - like Santa. I cannot register that though. He would be the joke of the townand anyway, his older brother seemed to detest the bearded man in red suit - he would cry everytime he saw Santa. Alternatively, we could name him Nicholas or Noel - I suggested instead. I would prefer the latter - though I was duly informed by Jou Hwei that it meant shout of joy, praise, christmas carol and the name of a local hamper store. I don't even know how to pronounce the name - No-erl or No-ell? Duh. I will just stick to Xuan-Xuan (as girly as it may sound).

d) About 5 hours later, the midwife said that my wife was fully dilated. She called Dr Yeoh in and in three pushes, baby was out. Very efficient.

Xuan is smaller but comes built with dimples. Welcome to the world son, hope your brother likes you... ha ha.

Secret Garden? (From 叶深人静)

2006-12-18T01:20:00.000+08:00

今天与孩子的干妈喝下午茶, 就在观音庙附近的 Secret Garden。还真的很秘密，人不多，甜品别致好吃，但价钱稍微贵了点。最喜欢他们的 outdoor seating，还有沙发咧。恩最喜欢外面的秋千。我吃很不起眼的 hamburger，老婆吃 crayfish and scallop spagetti （这个好吃！但价钱不便宜，$20）但最令我们陶醉的是那里的的甜品 - triple choc and hot dates！不知道他们的户外桌椅哪里买的－不错。最近在物色户外家具 hee hee。

开 cafe 一直是我们俩人的梦想。曾经就跟好友一起开过，他晚上开ｐｕｂ，　我们早上开ｃａｆｅ。　由家人打点 - 最终失败收场，还亏了钱。还好朋友还有的做成- 他们夫妻挡现在专攻 whiskey - THE WHISKEY　ＳＨＯＰ，还不错。现在才知道做生意不容易。很佩服朋友的坚持。我呢，还是打工好啦，要做生意需要一股热忱，坚持和蛮力。生病还的开店，又没有 annual leave。
^---- the whiskey shop at cairnhill
－　叶子言

Christmas Lights

2006-12-14T23:23:00.000+08:00

The photo is not clear. Somehow, i really dun know how to use digital cam... funni. Apparently, this time my setting was on "document" - no wonder there is this paper like thing with words on the screen. I was wondering what it was.

Anyway, it's baby en second Christmas and we decided to bring him out to see Christmas lightings. The last time he went, he was only about 2 months old and slept when we walked down Orchard Road, and only woke up when we are in the car going back home. Well, he seemed to enjoy looking at the street lights.

This year, he seemed to identify with Christmas trees. He can just stare and stare at the twinkling lights and shiny ornaments. Either that or he's bored, we can't really tell.

Anyway, he perked up when we went to the Takashimaya toy fair. Well his grandma seems eager to carry him, I dun really mind. The last time I brought him to Robinson Toy shop, he kicked up such a big fuss and started to struggle out of my arms. His eyes were focused on the toys. I had to haul a screaming boy in the opposite direction, with pass-by staring in amusement. I know what they are thinking - I used to think the same when I see other parents with hysterical kid - spoilt kid, parents' fault. Hey, I don't spoil my kid o.k., at least I totally ignored his piercing wails and did not give in, I showed him nice girls clothes instead - quite proud of myself after that. At least now in Taka, he didn't pull the same stunt.

Toys Galore

2006-11-28T00:04:00.000+08:00

Verdict: kindermusic does wonder. After the first lesson two weeks ago, he decided that he should start walking after all since all the other girls in the class can do so. Lesson two - he picked up the concept of "finders keepers" and "ownership", refusing to give up toys to teacher or other kids. Lesson three- papa had a bad back, so maid went with him. Heard he enjoyed himself thoroughly and followed the teacher wherever she went - either he's a bootlicker or a realist - she's the one with the toys. Well, lesson two stuck with him and he decided that he would now hang on to other people's toys he liked regardless of who's at the other end. He did it to ah Yu, his 4 year old cousin, and I demanded that he lay off. He actually understood but followed up with wails and tears. His cousins pacified him, I totally bo-chap. Reckoned he better start to learn the concept of sharing - considering how many toys he has to himself now, and a baby brother is coming soon to share them. He had a bad dream that night - probably I was the monster.

Car-toon

2006-11-21T00:08:00.000+08:00

Our hope for a child prodigy was dashed when baby en's first word was "k-ah". I knew it was coming when I noticed that his attention was often drawn by moving vehicles. So much for taking on mother nature to curb the masculine streak in him. His grandparents were quick to jump on the bandwagon, and bought him a green Little Tikes car we labeled Mercedes. It didn't help that they recoup their capital and even made a quick profit when the serial number on the receipt struck 4-D. In double quick time, en was the proud owner of the Mercs, two ride-ons (one was a farm buddy courtesy of his god-ma) and snazzy one walker parked in his garage. His green Mercs is still the envy of older kids in the neighbourhood. Grandma related an instance when one kid actually stepped out of his ride-on and came over to ogle at en's ride.

Well, we are not giving up. We signed him up for Kindermusik and he seemed to be enjoying it. Little girls are coming up to him while little boys are throwing balls at him. Not that he mind. Cross fingers. instruments and hog them.

LANGUAGE OF LOVE

2006-09-26T23:42:00.000+08:00

This is a strange world. Well, at least for babies - these adult Singaporeans must be wierd. Picture this - two Chinese parents speaking to each other in Mandarin, and mum turned to his son and blurted in broken English "Keep quiet, guai guai eat food, don't pray with your food. Drink Orleng Jooce." What the *%$#. Why can't they just use Mandarin? Can't they speak to the child in a language they are comfortable in? My guess - they want to give their child a headstart in the working language in Singapore, an edge over others in school or at least make sure they don't fall behind. I believe children are like a sponges, they learn, adapt and assimilate quickly. Put them in London and they will speak with an English accent, in US "Wassup", in Aussie Land "G'day". Put them in kindergarten, they will pick up English from their friends and teachers. Teaching them broken English is not helping them. It will saturate these sponges and spoil them. Changing is more difficult than learning something new. Example, my parents in law, they cannot speak English well, but when they turn to speak to the little one, they use whatever limited English they know "En, come, sit", "Don't naughty" - hey that's what they teach at dog obedience school. We had to tell them sternly to use Mandarin - and they give us THE LOOK - it's as if we are asking them to speak French. Duh?! If you ask me, if the common language of the house is Mandarin - use it, if it's Cantonese - use it - why devise a second language for your child? Anyway, isn't it better for him or her anyway to pick up a mother tongue from young and be proficient in it? It actually gives them an edge later in life. I come from a family who uses a mixture of Mandarin and Hainanese (I cannot speak Hainanese well, but comprehend it quite ok), my parents speak good Mandarin, picked up Cantonese when I hang out with my cousins who spoke the language among themselves, Hokkien came naturally in army, I picked up English from school and friends. I'm effectively multi-lingual ha ha. Isn't that better? I definitely don't want my child to be banana, worse a banana who speaks rotten English.

IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW!

2006-09-25T21:49:00.000+08:00

I visited a colleague who has just given birth to a baby boy. He's so cute, name's cool too - my favourite basketball star (and shoes) - Jordan. Side-track a bit, ever notice people always start debating on who the baby looks like. As if one can tell. I always try not to make that comparison. It offends the other party, and hell, I even have trouble identifying my son when he was in the hospital's nursery. I was goo goo -gaa gaa-ing with a bundle wrapped in blue, when it suddenly struck me that that bundle wasn't my son. Anyway, he or she better look like both mum an dad if its the end product of *ahem* biological synthesis. So likewise, Jordan is smart and clingy like all cute baby boy when he just popped out. Anyway, coming back to the subject, while I was watching the baby, I have this odd feeling of deja vu. It struck me that all the routine of rocking, graveyard shifts, the perculiar sounds made by the infant every 15 to 20 mins that stir you out of bed to check just so he/she is all right. You can debate all you want that it's just normal 'noise', but when the kid's yours, you will wake up anyway. HELP! This is a premonition of what's to come in a few months time, when I will be second time dad. Another colleague remarked that he knows someone who is having number eight - two doctors -well if they can afford it. But aren't doctors on call? How do they cope? They probably sling the baby while they do their rounds or operate - aka Grey Anatomy. Check back in 3 months time to see whether I'm still sane.

RAISING TWO BOYS - SOS!

2006-09-23T21:06:00.000+08:00

Just finish this book. On the premise that I have utter disdain for books teaching me how to be a parent , I must say Biddulph did a pretty good job. At least I am convinced that boys need good role model in other men. As the only child, I was pretty weird as a boy. I talked to myself and amused myself by playing the hat, the dog, the car and shoe in Monopoly all at once. My two male cousins, much older than me, kinda broke me out of my shell once my parents moved one floor down from their apartment. I remember so wanting to be whatever they were - dressed like them, listened to the same music, read the same books, talked the same talk. Lucky they were good role models, and think I turn out better than without them in the picture at all. They are still role models to me. Now how to find that someone for my boys. I know I have to play a part, but my father tried to make time with me (at least I know he tries), but I'm still not that close to him (although in many ways, I am still like him). This is partly due to the fact that both my parents worked and I was like a nomad moving from house to house when I was a kid. Work is work, but I try hard to spend as much time with the boy as possible. Leaving him overnight with the nanny is out of the question for us. Still, to be safe, we decide to move to a place where good role models (male ones) are in abundance. Well, I hope we raise our boys well.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

2006-09-23T12:13:00.000+08:00

Bao-what? That's the question we have pondered over dinner, in the car, on the bed, watching TV over the last few months. What's in a name? A parent's hope for the child, their aspiration, their wish of what their child should be (or should not be) are all embedded in this identity that will follow the child for life. It doesn't help that our family follows a tight list of middle character to be used for sons closely, and we are left with only one character to play with out of three (minus surname too). And it so happen that my sons' middle is not so glam- 'Bao' (to protect).. it makes choosing the character that follows all the more challenging. Wife wants something manly and connotes success and vigour. I just want my child to be happy and have a good character. Well we can go with "Bao-bao" (baby), "Bao-bei" (my precious), but he will probably be a joke in school. Likewise, calling him "Bao-xi" (sure die), "Bao-le" (full), "Bao-tong" (sure to get stab), "Bao-jia" (sure to get eaten/ cheated ... and durian sellers slogan) is not very helpful either. Others like "Bao-yu", "Bao-ling" sounds girly. We had difficulties naming our first born "Bao-en" (en means grateful) which sounds not too bad, and now the second one - another boy - will have very limited choice. We have shortlisted "Bao-kai" (which connotes happiness/ victory - depending which character we use) but the shortcoming will be him being teased as "spend money" or "broke" in Hokkien. Others will be "Bao-xuan" (tall, with character and poise), "Bao-jing" (quell uprising - aka Guo Jing in Condor Heroes ha ha), "Bao-xun" (fragrance). I'm stuck. Think we will go to the fortune-teller to pick the most auspicious one. After that, we will debate over his English name. Any suggestions?

GROWING UP

2006-09-04T23:39:00.002+08:00

The little one is growing up really fast, he's now edgy, want to do many things at one time, babbling non-stop, and wants to stand up once his little hands can find something to support. Curiousity directs his every movement, and he seems particularly interested in the most dangerous items in the house which includes metal knobs, wires, electric fan churning at full speed, etc. He watches the dog walk past with a cheeky grin, but Momo watches over him and adoringly licks his feet when she trot past. Once she licks his face, and he belch... probably over Momo's bad breath, that was really cute. But one thing I cannot stand is his "separation anxiety" - he wails whenever he enters a room full of stangers. He can't stand stares, and seems to prefer the female species over males. It's difficult bringing him to a party or gathering. Damn weird.

Dark Sunday

2006-07-06T00:09:00.000+08:00

Just when you thought the lil' one is getting the routine right after months of deprived sleep, and you are feeling proud of yourself as you slip into the comfort zone, the whole family went back to the drawing board as we figure out how to cope with a sick baby. It all started one Sunday night, when the fever shot up and we realised that the stinking ear thermometer we have sucks. I went to buy another snazzy one that is easy to use, not knowing that regular (every 15 -30 mins to be exact) temperature-taking become the only thing on our mind for the next one week, coupled with wetting of forehead, bouts of bad tempers, coping with a baby that don't want to drink or eat, and scream till he lost his voice (and can only croak), and a general sense of guilt, helplessness and exasperation. We visited two docters, got the same diagnosis (viral) and instructed to wait out. Got more desperate when baby's temperature is as stable a seismograph plotting an earthquake, and our emotions racing across the spectrum of euphoria to depression and back. During this period, his favourite toy was the cheapest one we bought, a plasticky rattle of sort with a smiley face imprint that makes an irritating eee-ooor sound as you shake it. It's his only source of comfort during this period. And being responsible parent, my wife and me decide to go ahead with our holiday plans on the seventh day. Cool. Well we did call back, and in Bangkok, gave 100Baht to a half-blind lady cradling a visibly sick child wrapped in blankets and a wet towel on his forehead on a chilly wet evening. We could emphatise for one, and she was grateful and shocked. I pray for her and the child, and hope both boys (hers and mine) can get well soon.

Baa-Baa

2006-06-21T23:24:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, you dunno whether this is going a tat too fast. The little one has been talking to himself for two week or so now, alternating between "baas" (which I delude myself that he is calling me) and "maas" (mum?). Pretty chatty, talking in his bed, talking when he sits alone behind the car, laughing to himself - pretty amusing. Coming to 8 months, he looks like his almost one - what's up with babies nowadays - they all huge - they should start changing the baby clothes tag. I am buying clothes that say 12 -16 months since he was 6 months old. Wonder whether it's what he drinks (Similac) or what his parents eat? He's also sitting up on his own now - on baby chair, here's a pic of him at MacDonalds. The day he starts asking for fries... darn.

TEETH IT!

2006-05-18T20:41:00.000+08:00

The little guy is teething. Other than being cranky and grouchy, teething is not much an issue. But he has this little white spot that looks like an ulcer by his two front teeth. We were pretty worried. One pediatrician told us it was another tooth as it felt hard, but three teeth at one go? That's rare. Like all first-time super worried like hell about anything parents, we went for a second opinion - this time to a dentist. The tooth doc told us it was just cavity tissue, nothing to be worried about. Well you gotta trust a tooth expert on this.

GIMME MY MILK

2006-04-18T22:47:00.000+08:00

Babies can really drink. At least mine can. At 3 weeks when he started to drink 4 ounces, we know we have a glutton in the making. Now that he is 5.5 months, yesterday he emptied one bottle of 7 ounces milk plus half a scoop of cereal. Everyone's impressed except my wallet. Yep, he's drinking Similac, one of the most expensive milk around and downing a big can every 2 weeks. Note that I have a babysitter, and i need to buy two of everything. That's double the price! Well at least he is growing fast physically and mentally. So much so that I think he is too smart for his age. We now call him the "Great Pretender", cos' that's what he does best - pretend to cry. He can pretend so hard that tears would trickle down. But break into a sly half smile when he finally got your attention. He tries it on everyone 'cept us, cos' he kinda knows that we dun buy it. Ha Ha. Why- cos' we have a dog that does the same thing i.e. pretend to whine and yelp in pain even before I try to punish her.

AH TU (AKA RABBIT)

2006-04-15T03:16:00.000+08:00

This must be one of the best buys for En, his first security blankie with a rabbit head, aptly named "Ah Tu" (aka rabbit). When En was about 3 to 4 months or so, he would kick up a massive tantrum between the D-hour of 8 to 9pm. Nobody would believe us when we tell people so, until they see it for themselves. My parents went to the temple to get some charms to put under his bed, my father-in-law analysed En's room and drilled it down to a inauspicious painting. Well, we reckoned it could be due to sudden change of environment as that was also the time when we bring him home from the babysitter - so we bought him a security blankie so that there is always something familiar by his side when he go from place to place. It kinda work. There are many security blankie in the market, the most famous being Okie, a blankie with a knot for its head. I am not comfortable with Okie cos' it looks like, well, a ghost. Damn scary. So we bought one with rabbit head instead. Looks cute ain't it. The fantastically 'obiang' yet literal name was given by Ros, En's godma. Love it.

BABIES OF THE HOUSE

2006-04-09T22:13:00.000+08:00

Over the 10 months of pregnancy, we had to fend off questions after questions about how pets and infants don't go, and we should get rid of Momo, the first baby of the house in case En suffer from asthma. It never ends. Today, people still gape at how En can "survive" with a dog at home. The only supportive people we encountered were other pet-lovers and an owner of a pet shop who claimed that mothers who have dogs will pass certain immunities to their infants. Well, being pet lovers, we tend to believe the latter group. Luckily we did. Momo proved to be a superb help - barking to alert us when En cries, and has a comforting presence when we are traumatised by En's antics! When En's cognitive skills developed, he started to have a keen interest in Momo, and eyeing her wherever she goes. Quite interesting. Well, we have two lovable babies at home :)

BOTAK HEAD

2006-04-04T22:05:00.000+08:00

We never had the intention to cut En's hair cos' he had lots of them when he was borned and they were brown and silky. However, when he started to pull his hair when he was about 3 months, they started to tangle up. Moreover, there were dry yellowish pigment on his scalp which we reckoned was cradle cap. According to our babysitter, shaving off the hair would be the most effective way to get rid of the cradle crap, so we had no choice but did it. We didn't bear to bring him to the hairdresser (luckily we didn't, apparently he wailed), so we got the babysitter to do it. We had a shock and a good laugh when she sent as a MMS of En without hair. It was prickly but after a while we found it quite cute. So for a while, he was ridiculed and nicknamed "Botak head" (Malay for bald). It also became obviuos that he was flat on one side of the head cos' that boy only sleep on one side! Anway, he thought it was fun (with all the burst of laughter when people sees him) and seemed more jovial without hair! Good thing is the cradle cap really disappeared soon after, cheaper than buying special shampoo for cradle cap.

Character Building

2006-03-29T22:31:00.000+08:00

Feeding babies build character. You need patience, lots of patience. Baby En is difficult to feed nowadays, he keeps spitting milk thinking it is fun and cries when we try to feed him when all he wants to do is sleep.So it will be feed half an ounce, cry, pacify, feed again in that order. Doing it a few times, he will eventually feed, but this process will make your blood boil. I know better than give up before he finishes his milk. Experience has taught me that half fed baby will give you hell in the middle of the night i.e. he will wake up every one or two hours cos' he has a half empty stomach. So I would rather endure, be patient and make sure he slurp it all up.

2nd Trimester Getaway!

2006-03-27T23:12:00.000+08:00

Well, it is no secret that 2nd trimester is the honeymoon period for mummies-to-be. So my wifey grab the chance to demand for a holiday. Well, might as well with the hectic schedule and bad moods. Thus we packed our bags (not too heavy and no backpacks!) and head for France to leech on our dear aunty and her family in Paris (love her!). Well, it was a great choice cos' my aunty took real good care of wifey, making sure she ate well and sleep well, and I don't go overboard with the walking and sightseeing. We attribute Baby En's good health, looks and fun demeanour to that fantastic trip. We stayed 3 weeks ... visited Paris (Lourve, Picasso museum, Parc Asterix), Bloir (Loire Valley), St Malo (Britanny - home of wifey's favourite crepes) and the famous Mont-St-Michel. It was great fun, good food, relaxing pace, good lodging (something she can't complain about now).. one of the best holidays. The only down side - faulty camera that churns out grainy photos.

Thus, all fathers - go for the hols - it's worth it. At least you won't get nagged, and making her happy during pregnancy save you a lot of trouble, grouses, complaints, flares during the term and after birth. And trust me, it will be sometime when u will travel abroad again (discount JB). But remember - it's meant to be a relaxing trip, not the travel groupies where u wake up at 5 a.m. and drive for 10 hours to see a lake type. Don't be too ambitious.

The Baby Book Curse

2006-03-26T14:37:00.000+08:00

Many new parents are suckers for baby books. Like all men, I am not a fan of baby books and choose not to read them unless something crops up. During the 9 months of labour, this nonchalant attitude towards the discourse by baby knowledge thru' literature was interpreted as - well, nonchalent. I prefer ‘on-the-job’ practical training, and to-date I manage to survive without them. And baby books almost cost me my baby’s life. When baby En came back from the hospital, he had slight jaundice. Following strictly to the baby book, we decided not to feed him other liquids while my wife breastfed him despite protest from the confinement lady. Well, with no liquid intake to wash out the bilirubin, his jaundice rose to dangerous levels and he had to be admitted to the hospital on the 3rd night. We were so guilty. The nurse scolded us for not going on instincts, and said that baby books are written by and for “ang-mohs” (Caucasian mothers) who naturally have a ready source of breast milk than Asian mothers. Well, the baby book should have disclaimer! Photo by Attitude Photography

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT

2006-03-25T23:40:00.000+08:00

Ok, ever had trouble with feeding your baby at night, when he just wanna sleep and don't want to be fed! The poor soul who wake up so dutifully to ensure that this little thing is fed is met with a stone wall, a mouth that refuses to suckle the damn teat! Well, there is no short cut. The only solution is patience and lots of love. My ammo - a cup with hot water to keep the milk warm (a warmer would be nice), the baby's pacifier - to plug his wails so that the wifey is not woken up, the hanky - in case he regurgitate from all that wailing and lotsa of stamina. Basically, when he starts the cry engine while feeding, insert the pacifier (or thumb if you don't use pacifier - which i don't know why). Pat him until he enters the "daze mode" and then try to insert the teat again... sooner or later the baby will give up and slowly suckle till he sleeps or while he sleeps! And I promise, this will improve with time... send me a email if u got problem :) I have lotsa experience with difficult baby, mine is defintely one. Photo by Attitude Photography

Love Eric!

2006-03-25T23:24:00.000+08:00

I must mention - all these nice and arty photos are from my very good friend, the ever young, bubbly and nice Eric Er of Attitude Photography.This fantastic photo was a one-take masterpiece, when the baby was wailing cos' we woke him up in our attempt to put him in this position. This pic is ideal for the toilet, and no pun intended. It is a MASTERPIECE! Photo by Attitude Photography

Raising Baby - Raising Dog

2006-03-25T23:10:00.000+08:00

What I said in the intro, about the similarities between rearing dog and raising child will indeed insult the throngs of parents who swear by the different versions of baby books in the market today. I still stand by what I say - look around you - the "shut up", "stop shouting (barking)", "sit down", "let's go", "stop", "don't pee there!", "eat properly" people use on their child is no different from what you hear at any dog obedience class. Nevertheless... there is something different about a child, your child - the sense of bonding. Can never forget the first day he was born, me lying alone in bed (wifey in hospital), thinking - wow, i have a child - that feeling is difficult to put into words, but if i need to describe it, it would have been "magical" and "breathless"!

Photo by Attitude Photography