Our 2 Darlings: Ethan & Elkan

Elkan Weaning off Pacifier at 4

2011-11-20T23:10:00.001+08:00

Ethan weans off his pacifier at the age of 4 and we wish that Elkan would do the same at 4 too. We did some brainwashing after he was 3 1/2yrs old , constantly reminding him that he got to throw away his pacifier when he turns 4, just like his brother.On the fateful day of his birthday, we reminded him that he will have to throw away the pacifier in order to receive the birthday presents, on hearing that, Elkan was quite affirmative and immediately, with a determined and serious look on his face, threw his pacifier in the dustbins. We were quite surprise and happy with his decision.Night time came,he started lamenting and regretting his decision about throwing it away. He told Mummy that "Next time, I dun't want to throw my "tutu" and he would go back to the dustbin and hoping that he would have the bravery to rescue his tutu from his decision (but Elkan was quite afraid of what he would find in the dustbin). He would be repeating and reiterating how much his missed his "tutu". Mummy have to bear with his grumbling for a few nights and gave him the milk bottle nipples to help him tide through 3 nights. after that he managed to kick off the habit

Ethan's Piano

2011-11-08T22:40:00.000+08:00

We sent Ethan to Sylvia's Ng Piano class at Pandan Valley because the schedule coincide on Saturday where Elkan was having his Chinese class at Berries. Daddy will also sit in the class with Ethan to see how the teacher was teaching and whether Ethan was coping with the class. After 3 months, Daddy decided he wanted to change the teacher because we feel that the teacher had too managed too many students at one time during the half hour lessons. We could not grasp what she was trying to teach and find it a struggle for us to understand and coach. Daddy's friend who is a piano teacher, recommended her teacher to us. It was God-send. Teacher Lucy not only teaches sight reading, she also make sure that sitting posture, hand/wrist posture are correct and pays undivided attention to Ethan.Now Ethan can play about 20+ songs like Jingle Bell, Good Morning, Twinkle Twinkle ,This old man, 10 Little Indian boys

2011-10-19T22:00:00.001+08:00

Ethan is 5years and 2 months old when I started to realised he is abit late compared to his classmates in weaning off his diapers at night. It had not occurred to me that I should start him early as I myself wean off when I was maybe 6years old. Maybe, deep down I still think that Ethan was still a baby To wean off, the child needs to pee at least at twice at night. It has been 6th day that Ethan stayed dry without his diapers

2011-08-09T22:54:00.001+08:00

Found a useful link of where to go

2011-07-19T22:34:00.001+08:00

Celebrating Mummy and Ethan's birthday together on 3rd July at Clementi. Look how eagerly they have been waiting for to blow the birthday cake. Favorite chocolate cake from Classic Cakes. Ethan likes the Lana' s / awfully chocolate type of moist fudge cake whereas Elkan, anything sweet he gobbles up

2011-07-19T21:38:00.001+08:00

Underwater pictures of both of them. Ethan in light blue googles and Elkan in dark blue

Ethan & Elkan School Performance in May

2011-07-05T00:10:00.007+08:00

Ethan Acted as a Lobster for his english performance and performed as a tapole for his Chinese perfomance

Elkan acted as a black rabbit for English and white sheep for his Chinese act

Lastest Swimming Pictures June 2011

2011-07-03T16:12:00.009+08:00

Latest pictures attached by Coach Kian Hui

Swimming

2011-01-13T23:21:00.002+08:00

Ethan and Elkan started their swimming in 2010 when Ethan was 4years old around October and Elkan is 3 years old. Both of them had water phobia initially, does not want to go swimming nor enter any pool. It was only after numerous trips to Marina Barrage they began to like playing and started to swim.

We decided they were ready to learn swmming.

We enrolled Bubbles & Splashes Swim School as they were quite popular in the forum. Till date after 12 weeks of swimming and coaching by Teacher Kian Hoe, they loved their swimming sessions

Outing at Keppel Club

2010-11-18T23:33:00.004+08:00

We met our close friends for a family picnic cum outing at the space near Keppel Club. There is a huge space for the kids to run and play with their scooter while the adults sit down to catchup.

Skypark

2010-09-11T18:18:00.010+08:00

Thanks to Auntie Peggy for inviting us to visit the Skypark, the view during the day and night was simply scenic.

Ethan's Chinese progress

2010-09-11T12:55:00.003+08:00

This is the level of Chinese at 4 years old which Ethan is expected to be able to read.

Ethan is 4 - 15th July

2010-09-09T00:12:00.003+08:00

Here is Elkan trying to partake in the Cake Blowing session and enjoying the yummy cake from Sunset Way Classic Cakes

Children say the darnest things......

2010-09-09T00:04:00.006+08:00

This morning, MIL asked Elkan to wake Daddy Up.

Elkan rides into the bedroom with his Micro G Bike and tells his Papa
"Wake up Papa, Mama has gone to work already... Can you wake up"..

Then Daddy stands up beside the bed and stoned for a while,
Elkan stops the bike at proceeds to say...."Can you leave the room please?" ....... He rides off, only after I start moving.

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Elkan is making a lot of noise in the backseat of the car. Papa asks "Which naughty boy is screaming and giggling?"

Elkan - "Papa, the good boy is screaming."

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Elkan detests cutting hair, in his own words "short hair not nice." So Nai Nai always try to secretly make a snip here and there when he is engrossed in his VCD shows.

One day, Nai Nai tried again, he turned around and bellowed at Nai Nai "I TELL YOU AHHHH! ";;;

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My maid taught him philipino language for "Bo tak" or Bald. He was in Daddy's car and saw a bald man sitting in the bus, he said I saw Uncle "Carl-bu (Botak) and I told him I will cut his hair to Botak next time, he told me "Next time when I grow taller, I cut your hair carl-bu then u know"
-------

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Micro G Bike

2010-09-08T23:15:00.008+08:00

I wish they had the balancing bikes in Singaore market, seems very hard to find it selling in the bike shop. Saw the comments from a bulk purchase of balance bike and i started to reseach on it. I rented 2 of such balancing bikes from Rent that Toy and it is really cool! My son literally learn balancing on bike in just 3weeks, it is super lightweight at 1.5kg - any 2year old can easily handle it.

See Ethan and Elkan blancing on the MicroG bike !

No pedaling at all, they just use their legs to brake or accelarate!

Elkan's progress in Chinese

2010-09-08T22:10:00.009+08:00

I find it is really hard to teach your own son even though I had ample Chinese flashcard materials left from Ethan's class. The challenge in making them focus, making lessons that are fun even for 1 1/2hr a week is tough, not even think of time and effort to think of songs, activities related to the Chinese characters? It does earn my respect for one of the mummy's (see Tammy's Blog) that she did not send both her children to any phonics or Chinese lessons, thru reading and flashcards, both her children managed to learn English and Chinese. I dun have the patience and time so Daddy's decision to let Elkan attend Berries is the right decision. We wanted him to be expose to Chinese as early as 2 1/2 years old so that he finds Chinese is fun and enjoys learning it.

Berry does have an interesting way to teach Chinese. If they are teaching the character 魚, they will give each students live fish to take home. Or
Started Elkan in Berries for almost 3 months since. At 2 1/2 years old, he is abel to identify and pronounced 27 Chinese characters. Even difficult ones like 獅子，老鼠 he can identify. The list of Chinese words Elkan can identify are:

1. 老虎
2. 海
3. 水
4. 牛
5. 羊
6 獅子
7 老鼠
8。山
9。鳥
10 雞
11 螞蛦
12 蝴蝶
13 蜜蜂
14 花
15 石頭
16 蝦
17 月亮
18 星星
19 太陽
20 雨
21 風
22 樹
23 狗
24 豬
25 馬
26 貓
27 魚

Into Digital Photography

2010-08-14T11:43:00.006+08:00

Finally got the lightweight Canon 550d as my birthday gift from Hubby. Now I can take better pictures of the kids. These are my first few shots

2010-05-27T15:21:00.003+08:00

This is Ethan and Elkan in their 2010 Chinese New Year Shirts. Ethan had to perform this year so I bought both of them their first Chinese Costumes

Marina Barrage Evening

2010-05-27T15:18:00.003+08:00

I have always wonder what Marina Barrage would look like in the evening. We decided to go one day and found the view simply marvellous with the evening sunset across the sky. The boys had fun pretending to swim. Looks like Ethan is ready for swimming lessons from the pictures

Happy Mother's Day 2010 -Taste Paradise

2010-05-20T23:50:00.004+08:00

I enjoyed the food at Taste Paradise so much so that I decided I need to take pictures and renonsance the mouth watering flavour of my favorite custard bun

Elkan Art Time

2010-04-06T23:54:00.003+08:00

These are series of photos taken by his teacher Ms Mag when Elkan is doing his art. I like the look of seriousness and concentration on Elkan's face when painting his letter "D", they prompted me to get a paint palette from Popular to let them continue with the painting.

Elkan & His Donut

2010-04-06T23:52:00.002+08:00

This session is about Letter "D" and Donut is one the key activities where the children gets to spread chocolate and rainbow bits on the donut. Elkan is certainly enjoying himself

兄弟情

2010-04-01T14:50:00.002+08:00

有時我會想，鈺勳和鈺斌整天你爭我搶，不曉得會不會傷害了他們兄弟之間的感情。這幾天，傭人回國，我有較多的時間和他們在一起，也對這一點有了一些新的想法。

1。星期一下午，回家的時候，鈺勳和鈺斌都正在睡午覺。不知不覺，雷聲大作，天空中下起了滂沱大雨。他們兩兄弟一向害怕巨响，我趕忙衝進他們的房間，見到鈺勳緊緊地抱著弟弟，安慰他不要哭。

2。晚上，由於哥哥下午睡得不好，所以起得遲了。睡醒時，哥哥見到弟弟不在，很納悶地走來問爸爸和媽媽，弟弟去了哪裡。我們不動聲色，告訴他，奶奶把弟弟拿去和堂弟交換，原因是換了之後，應該就能減少在玩具上面的爭執。鈺勳聽了之後，臉上顯示出很擔憂的神色，堅持弟弟不能換，不管怎麼樣，還是要和弟弟在一起。後來，弟弟回家後，兩人很開心地抱在一起。

3。星期三，我開車去接鈺勳和鈺斌。由於路上堵車，所以到達的時間比平時晚了一些。到學校門口的時候，很驚訝地看到校長正在抱著鈺斌。校長告訴我，鈺斌看不到我或奶奶，開始在音樂房里哭了起來，見到我來後才停止不哭。我從校長的手中接過鈺斌後，就看見鈺勳拿著弟弟的書包和水壺再加上自己的書包和水壺，搖搖晃晃地走向我。雖然弟弟走開了，但他依然沒有忘記要幫弟弟照顧他的東西。

現在，雖然他們依舊有時吵得很厲害，但我相信血始終濃於水。

Maidless in Singapore

2010-04-01T14:32:00.003+08:00

Time flies. Time for our maid to go back to Philippines after her 2 year stint here.

We are happy for her to go back, at the same time curious about whether we have the capacity to cope with it. I started to plan.

- Tough on Nai Nai to bring them to school alone.
- How does she manage cooking while keeping an eye on the 2 monkeys?
- How do we divide the household chores?
- How to take them for make-up lessons due to the upcoming Good Friday?

I called Elaine who thankfully agreed to give Nai Nai and the 2 boys a lift. Relieved the strain on Nai Nai to carry up and down the buses and walking quite a fair bit. However, her child came down with Chicken Pox in the 2nd week. Gave Ye Ye then a chance to escort them to school. On one of the wednesdays, where Ethan had a make up class for Chinese, I took the car and brought them to and back from school.

Mama and I decided to split up our responsibilities, each of us would take a week of half-day-leaves. Make them take their afternoon naps, their evening playground stints, feeding and bathing them and watching them while Nai Nai prepares their dinner. It was a bit tougher for me, because the kids were definitely closer to Mama. To my surprise, Elkan stuck to me a lot. I had a very good time with him. Feeding him was a joy, he finished his dinners in about 15 mins, we would sing and play a while, and he later demands that I bathe him.

The bug problems did make it much more complex though. For much of the week, we were scanning the older beds for bugs, after the boys repeatedly got bitten. In the end, we decided that it was too much of a risk to take, and decided to throw ALL old beds and mattresses away. Then bring Elkan (chief victim) to the paed for some much needed magic cream to cure his bites. Thankfully to a classmate who made a very quick delivery arrangement, we now sleep in peace under his Anti-bedbug beds, and Mama and I have a new comfortable King size bed to sleep on. :))

Maid is coming back today, hope this allows us to relax a bit more in the days ahead!

Bug attack!

2010-03-30T21:39:00.004+08:00

For some reason, for the month of March, we were the victims of bug attacks. You name it, we get it.

1. Bed bugs - Many bed bugs infested 2 super single beds and my queen size bed which we bought for Telok Blangah. We were practically catching a few every day. Disposed all the beds and pillows.

2. Centipede - Out of nowhere, a centipede appeared in our bedroom. It was sheer luck that it bit none of us, because Mama, Papa and little Elkan were sleeping in our bedroom that night. Killed with Baygon.

3. Cockroach - 2 baby cockroaches appeared in my car. While they were caught (one by papa and one by mama), we sprayed baygon, and we implemented a no-eating policy in the car.

4. Mosquitos - After the bed bugs, Elkan got bitten on the face, which we suspected, mosquitoes were at work. Sprayed Baygon all 3 rooms, and killed 4 in the maid's room.

It has been a nightmare for everybody. I pray hard it is over. The only silver lining is that I got myself that king size bed that I had been wishing for!

Elkan's latest school life

2010-03-30T21:05:00.005+08:00

In one of the earlier posts, I mentioned that I spent with Elkan his first day of playgroup. After a bright start, little did I know that subsequent days would be a disaster. Mama and my maid brought him to school, and he cried a lot. It was quite chaotic. Subsequent weeks, my maid had to stay with him for about an hour, before slipping away to go home, while he was engrossed in playing.

After a couple of months, things became better, and our dear Elkan is up to his usual mischief. First of all, on one occasion, when Auntie slipped home again, he actually asked his teacher, "Where is Auntie? ... Missing again???" Had his teacher quite amused by it. Then in the music room, while everyone was concentrating on the music teacher, he climbed up to the piano and played with the cover of the piano, causing it to slam down. Luckily there was another toy which was on the piano, which prevented the cover from snapping his fingers. Else our dear boy would have cried the house down.

Gradually he found love among his teachers, Ms Mag, 楊老師, Ms Sandra, Ms Xav all liked him a lot. He fed himself, and was always one of the first to finish lunch. He spoke well, first in English. With he and Ethan interacting a lot, his communication skills improved rapidly. Initially his Mandarin was sounded much like a foreigner, but as I got Nai Nai and Ye Ye to speak more to him, he can speak better now.

Generally, teachers could see he had a more outgoing and bochap side of him, which made it easier for him to adapt and make friends. Let's hope he continues to love school and grow well there.

Gathering of friends

2010-03-30T19:36:00.002+08:00

We have always been looking to catch up with Ms Pris's family and Yixin's family.

Ms Pris is Ethan and Elkan's first teacher and they never forgot that. However, she was transferred to another Pats Schoolhouse branch but we still kept in touch. We were happy for her when she "delivered" another girl in addition to the first one (Rouxuan I think). We got to know Yixin's parents via the Saturday class that Ms Pris first conducted. That's how Ethan knew Yixin. They liked Ethan and we liked Yixin a lot too. Saturday class those days were always a joy, where we saw how Ethan and Yixin enjoyed class under Ms Pris.

One of the saturdays, we decided to meet up at our Ghim Moh house! It was a very happy gathering. Ms Pris was surprised that Ethan had put on some height (although to us, he looks always the same). As of 29 Mar 2010, Ethan is 94cm. Is that tall? I don't know. Maybe since papa and mama are on the short side, we hope Ethan and Elkan would be taller! Ms Pris and hubby brought their two girls along. We could tell Rouxuan was a very independent and confident girl as she adapted easily even in front of strangers and a different environment. Yixin had also grown much taller. She was a pretty girl now, although still clingy initially to Daddy and Mummy. :) Interestingly, as Yixin and Ethan were of the same age, they shared similar traits. We were told that Yixin would complain of being 累 after walking for a while in the shopping center and demand to be 抱抱. Hey Ethan is like that too!

It was a very good Sat morning for all of us to catch up altogether, the challenges we face trying to teach them, how parents are generally trying to balance work and family. Through the get-together, I have the feeling that these are 2 couples who are very dedicated to their kids and trying to let them grow up under strict and yet loving care. Tough jobs to balance work and family, but we are all trying our best.

It's been a long time...

2010-03-30T17:22:00.004+08:00

since we both last blogged...

But I have been keeping a list of items that I want to write about...

1. Gathering of friends.
2. Elkan's latest school life.
3. Bug attack.
4. Ethan's writing
5. Maidless in Singapore
6. Brotherhood

Elkan's first day of school

2010-01-06T22:54:00.005+08:00

6th of January turned out to be Elkan's first day of school. We were informed by Pats Schoolhouse there would be 3 days of orientation starting from the 6th Jan, so Sherry and I initially decided to be with Elkan on Day 1 and Day 3 respectively. Turned out that we decided that I should go on the first day so that Elkan would not be so sticky to me. It turned out to be a pretty unforgettable experience...

We set off from home at around 10:15. Elkan's mood changed immediately when he knew that he was going to take a bus to school. He gave a loud squeal of delight and I brought him down to the bus stop to wait for Bus 92. On board the bus, he greeted the bus driver with a loud "Hello Uncle!", which caught the bus driver by surprise. It was a nice ride to the school and when we reached there, we were greeted by the school principal who knows Ethan and Elkan pretty well. She took his temperature and checked for signs of HFMD. Elkan was at his best behavior, saying thank you and giving her a big smile.

That best behavior turned into ecstasy when he saw Ethan approaching from far. It was quite coincidental as Ethan returned from his daily stint at the playground. Both brothers started chatting like... ermm... long lost brothers (ironically). Before I could even take off my shoes, Elkan dashed into the school leaving his stunned daddy behind. By the time I dashed into the direction where I last saw him, he had ended up in his own classroom (without me being sure how he got there).

We were introduced to Ms Mag and Yang Laoshi, his english and chinese teachers. Both of them seemed rather experienced and when Ms Mag introduced herself to Elkan and tried to get him to repeat her name, Elkan called her by her first name ... "Hello Mag"... Very amusing. (Later on, when I asked him again, who was his teacher, he actually said Ms Pris... he still remembered her).

I dashed off to meet the principal to settle some admin matters for Ethan, and told Elkan I would be back later. He hesitated but didn't object. I meant it to see if he would be very clingy, but turned out he wasn't. When i returned half an hour later, he was sitting on Yang Laoshi's lap, with Yang Laoshi suitably impressed that Elkan was not making a huge fuss. Ms Mag introduced the class to Letterland (letter B). Elkan sat closer to where Ms Mag was holding the book, and he listened quietly unlike other kids who were reluctant to go nearer.

Soon class ended and he proceeded to the music room where another teacher Ms Sandra was on hand to conduct some music lessons. Elkan enjoyed it, but clearly his lack of musical exposure showed, where he had some difficulty following some of the songs and rhythms introduced. But still he liked it, as Ms Sandra asked them to use sticks, hoola-hoops to generate music, something which he was new to. At the end of the lesson, he gave Ms Sandra a big hug.

Playground time followed next. Elkan was glad to be playing in a different playground, and he immediately took to the curly slide, climbing up and sliding down the curly slides at least 8 times. I introduced to a different slide (straight one) to him, and he liked it too. But he was pretty reckless in climbing up unlike some of his other classmates. Often, he missed some steps and might have caused a big fall if I had not caught him. I am a bit worried about this to be honest.

After about half an hour at the playground, the scorching heat was causing the kids to sweat profusely. We went back to his classroom and were greeted with cakes and Milo. I think Elkan exerted himself quite heavily. When offered the cakes, he literally stuffed each of them in his mouth. I had to remind him to break up the cakes into smaller pieces, when I saw him trying to stuff the cake again. When offered the Milo, he firmly pushed the Milo away and shook his head slowly but firmly, as if he was worried that the teacher might not understand.

He was the last to leave the class, as I wasn't sure if Ethan had finished his lunch as well. But before that he made sure he gave Yang Laoshi and Ms Mag a bear hug each and headed for the exit where he ran into Ethan again. This time round, they saw Nai Nai and Auntie Sonia at the gates waiting eagerly for them. The 2 hours passed by so quickly, but for me it was a memorable occasion. My second son is now in school, he has grown up and ready to embark on his next phase of his life. I hope he will cope, have fun and stay safe

Elkan Weans off Sarong

2009-11-08T19:34:00.002+08:00

Elkan manage to wean off his sarong at 2years old, now he loves sleeping on the bed these days.

Ethan Chinese Words Status Update

2009-09-28T23:22:00.005+08:00

We have put Ethan into Berries once a week. These are the words he already knows (after MIL flashes chinese cards to him everynight). As of Sept 2009, he knows:
1. 少
2。远
3。近
4。瓜
5。风
6。鼠
7。妈
8。爸
9。男
10 女
11 蛙
12 鸟
13 兔
14 猪
15 下
16 上
17 门
18 窗
19 鸡
20 鸭
21 牛
22 羊
23 奶
24 爷
25 马
26 狗
27 人
28 火
29 山
30 猴
31 猫
32 大
33 鹰
34 外
35 高
36 小
37 少
38 椅
39 桌
40 口
41 天

2009-09-21T00:32:00.002+08:00

After 18mths of hardwork, Siang Ling finally graudated with his MBA

Ethan Writes

2009-09-19T15:48:00.004+08:00

Elkan's Milestone

2009-09-13T17:52:00.007+08:00

Elkan knows how to sing:
1. Happy Birthday
2. I love you Barney
3. ABC song
4. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
5. Rain Rain Go Away

Today this conversation went on in the car after coming on from the supermarket.
Mama: Elkan, we go home and Auntie Sonia make milk for you ok?
Elkan: Go Gai Gai...
Auntie: Cannot... Tomorrow papa and mama have to work....
Elkan: Ok... Elkan go Gai Gai....

Laughter from everybody.... :)

Ethan's progress

2009-09-10T22:06:00.008+08:00

Ever since Ethan started attending school, we have been wondering how we can plot his progress. Like all other parents, we started looking at the various enrichment programs. In the meantime, we would bring him to the library at least once a week and read to him every night either English or Mandarin books.

Along the way, we find that Ethan is a boy that loves his loved ones to give him encouragement. Lately, my mum has been using some Chinese flash cards to show him every night before he sleeps. To our surprise, he has managed to learn quite a few words. Interestingly, the words that my mum chose are somehow related words, which enable him to remember in an easier fashion. He now knows about 20 characters 人，大，小，高，猫，羊，牛，蛙，鸭，鸡，猴，兔 ,上，下，猪，近，远，鸟，门，窗 A total of 20 Chinese words. Mama and I tested him tonight and to our surprise he could recognise them. I guess this is really proof that kids have huge learning capacity.

His counting has improved as well, thanks to the fact that we asked him to recognise bus numbers every time we sit in the car. Thanks to these bus numbers, he can now count from 1 to 100.

I always believe that progress cannot be measured simply by his academic achievements. We have tried to teach Ethan the art of sharing and I somehow see a little bit of light there. As with all siblings, they usually fight over things, let alone these 2 mischevious boys of mine. But I have been trying to teach Ethan that the more he shares with Elkan, the more I will love him. Ethan is somebody whom I find is quite reasonable. If you talk with him slowly and patiently, he will gradually get the message. Hopefully in the long run, this approach will work better and better.

HK Trip

2009-08-02T08:41:00.003+08:00

On my way to HK now for work for 1 week....have been hinting to the kids that I will be taking a plane to Hong Kong and so far the reactions from both kids is a "Don't want". Elkan will still whining while Ethan just sticks out his tongue and say "Don't want". Will they understand the concept of time by not seeing me for a week?

Mother's Day Celebration

2009-07-12T23:07:00.009+08:00

Glad that parents' in law are enjoying their food in one of the Chinese Restaurants at One Fullerton. The Kids enjoyed themselves as well.

三歲了。。。

2009-07-12T21:52:00.007+08:00

鈺勳三歲了！

記得小時候他暍奶的時候，特別的麻煩，總是愛挑三揀四。。。現在的他會跑，會跳，也上學了，三年的時光彷彿過得不留痕跡。

兩個星期前，曉玲和我和鈺勳的老師交談過，討論他在學校的進度。老師們都說他比起以前來得自立多了，很多事情都會懂得自己做。剛到學校的時候，依賴性很強，到現在懂得拿起湯匙自己把午餐一口一口地吃完，都不太敢相信這是真的。那天，曉玲和我在去牙醫那兒前，送了他去學校。眼見他打開校門後，把鞋子脫了，坐在椅子上乖乖讓老師檢查體溫，然後拖著不輕的書包，一步一步走向課室；最後實在拖不動了，才用力把書包推進課室里。目送他身影消失的那一刻，心頭閃過一絲莫名的感動，我的兒子真的長大了。

老師說他的自信心依舊不足，但已經比以前好了。對於畫畫，他不太行；但對於華文的進度，他的主任（關老師）還相當滿意。他的英文老師（蕭老師）是他的最愛愛，雖然對他相當嚴厲，但對他期望很高。對於這點，曉玲和我很是感激。老師說他很愛看書，滿腦子裝滿了很多古怪的想法。

對待小鈺勳，我們還是很嚴格的。但在知道他自信心不足的情況下，我們相對的選擇給了他更多自由表達的空間，希望他在未來的日子里，過得更快樂，充實，自信。

小鈺勳，爸爸媽媽祝你生日快樂，永遠健康幸福。

Elkan's speech progress - 20mths

2009-06-15T22:58:00.004+08:00

Elkan's speech have seen some improvements, he seems to be more talkative these days although I would think he is abit slower than Ethan when he was at the same age. He still knows how to say 1 word, sorry, crane,moon,plane,elephant,antelope,fan, pa pa (afraid).

He likes playing tricks with our maid Sonia, which he calls Ti. Our maid told him not to call her "Dar" which he will try to test her. Elkan says "Dar"
Maid says "I dun want"
Elkan says "Di"
Maid say "Yes"
Elkan says "Dar"
Maid says "I dun want"
Elkan says "Di"
Maid say "Yes"
and he repeats with a chuckle until he is tired of the game.

Sometimes he will ask his Grandma to come,to which Grandma replied "Elkan come", he will reply "Ngai Ngai come" and back and forth with his Grandma.

Ethan's "Cheeky Boy"

2009-06-15T22:52:00.004+08:00

Ethan has a habit to ask either mummy or daddy to brush teeth together. Today, Mummy and Ethan were brushing teeth together when Daddy came out of the bathroom and asked Ethan why he did not wait for his papa? Ethan replied "You Cheeky Boy, you cheeky boy" All of us burst out laughing...Mummy then ask Ethan to apologise and say I love you,Papa which he unwillingly obliged. Papa say "你講話好向放屁一樣“ which Ethan picks up immediately and said the same thing....

Play Dough

2009-05-09T14:01:00.005+08:00

I was inspired by a mummy blogger http://www.oureverydaythings.com on her determination to teach her children art crafts and creativity. I believe playing with dough can simulate creativity just like legos so I went to internet to research on a safe receipe for play dough. There are 2 types of receipe: cooking required vs non- cooking.

Cooking required:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 cups water
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup cream of tartar
Food Coloring
Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook and stir over low/medium heat until play dough is completely formed and no longer sticky. Allow to cool slightly before storing in an air tight container or zip lock bag.
No cooking required:
Uncooked Play Dough:
instead of over medium fire use 2 cups of boiling water, Just pop it all in a mixing bowl and mix!
Viola!

Hope to have some safe play dough fun to "tame" the boys down

Elkan's speech progress - 17mths

2009-04-26T23:46:00.003+08:00

Tried teaching Elkan to pronounce some words. He is able to pronounce 3 syllabus wordings but no full sentences as yet. Tried teaching him to say Elephant", Antelope and Alien and he is able to formulate the sound and repeat after me.

When I get angry with him, will try to use "threat" against him like Mama sayang Auntie (the maid) and he will come rushing and trying to be part of it and gets angry with the maid. However feel that my patience with Elkan is not as tolerant as before. Already started using caning method on Elkan. so heartache

New idea

2009-04-01T21:29:00.002+08:00

For a long time, Ethan knows that Papa's office is at Tiong Bahru and Mama's office is at Raffles Place. A conversation took place between Ethan and 爺爺 today.

爺爺: Ethan, how are you?

Ethan: 我要去 Office.

爺爺: Where is your office??

Ethan: Downstairs at the play ground ....

爺爺: ?!?!?!?!

The dreaded 4 letters: HFMD

2009-03-26T22:42:00.001+08:00

Before we had kids, we used to hear and read about the dreaded Hand, Foot, Mouth disease that plagued the little children. Needless to say, we were also afraid that Ethan / Elkan would catch the disease.

Unfortunately, our worst fears have come true. First it was Ethan who was discovered a few days back. He started feeling uncomfortable on Tuesday, with my mum observing that he was more lethargic than usual. Then came the fever, and then he pointed at his own throat and told my mum "Pain Pain". After taking him to his new doctor at Railway mall, we came back with a load of medicine basically addressing his fever, to rashes and itches.

Then just a couple of hours ago, Elkan seemed to show all the symptoms as well. We are more worried about him now, since he is still unable to communicate that well, and we fear that we may not understand where is the discomfort coming from....

Only pray hard that they turn better soon.

Outings Marina Barrage Trip 2

2009-03-22T14:29:00.004+08:00

Went again to Marina Barrage yesterday as the weather is not too hot. Both the kids had so much fun. Elkan is busy chasing the water fountains, exploring where the water came from and waiting to "catch the water" until he got all drenched. Ethan is more comfortable with scooping water by the side of the pool and watering the plants with his toys.

From the way they play, one can really observe the character of the boys. Ethan is a more cautious one preferring to play in a more peaceful area, shaded, shallow water pool where there are no big water jets appearing out of nowhere. Elkan is the opposite, one garang fella. Walking everywhere, and daring anyone to try to slow him down. It was quite scary as the whole place was full of concrete, and we were afraid he might fall down.

"Elkan: Who turned on the shower???? "

"Elkan: Don't shoot. I surrender"

My favorite photo

2009-02-24T22:56:00.001+08:00

This is my favorite photo using www.fotoflexer.com to change the background to sephia.

Scene shots of the brothers taking turns to lie down over each other. It is so funny

Ethan adapts...

2009-02-18T22:41:00.002+08:00

School life has become easier for Ethan, and he seems to be enjoying life there... The initial weeks where he would pine for Nai nai have seemingly evaporated. When we met Ms Pris again, we were told that he is more or less a cartoon character. There is a small girl who still cries in school, and imagine Ethan attempting to console her "don't cry" and on the other hand, supplying her with endless tissues to wipe her face... must have been a hilarious sight.

Somehow we feel that Ethan's Chinese has improved quite a lot in the first 2 months. He has learnt quite a few Chinese songs in school, and unknowingly at home, he sings out loud to himself, which surprised some of us. He is also able to string more complete sentences... "This is my mother", "I want to go supermarket"... His singing is quite bad though, quite out of tune...

On the other hand, his running nose appears to be getting from bad to worse, thick green mucus that have lasted for months... my mum brought him to the chinese doctor and she recommended him to have chinese medicine as well as massage. Hopefully he gets better...

Elkan goes to school too...

2009-02-18T22:32:00.002+08:00

We started bringing Elkan in Pats Schoolhouse for 2 hours every Saturday, similar to what Ethan did last time. Sherry and I were talking about it, and deliberating over whether it is too early to put Elkan in school (she felt it was too early at 15 months). But i decided that we should just do it, i was feeling that he would either hate it or love it, but felt that it was more likely to be the latter.

True enough, the first day he stepped in school, he was totally at ease. No tears, no fear of strangers, his face gleamed with delight at the new toys available everywhere... ermm... some of them not exactly his toys, like the teacher's file, the radio, etc... he found everything that he could reach a toy. It was still Ms Pris that took care of the class, so it was back to familiar faces. When it came to the playground, he tried everything... from the curly slide to the rope bridge that had many holes...

Elkan is starting to show his own character as well. He has shown to be a fearless destroyer at home... any cabinet unclosed invites trouble... gor gor's toys no problem, he take and run away... if he wants to go left instead of right, and the maid defies him, he gets annoyed and beats the maid. We had to discipline a few times for pulling the maid's hair and beating her repeatedly... My mother says he is a "pie kia"... To date, he calls everybody except Ye Ye, Shu Shu and Shen shen...

Ethan starts school ...

2009-01-20T23:01:00.001+08:00

To me, it is sort of a milestone to see Ethan make the first steps to school... even though technically they call it a playgroup. This year, we starting putting Ethan in Pats Schoolhouse from Monday to Friday. The costs are high to both me and Sherry, but we felt it is a place that he is very comfortable with, and better still Ms Pris will be taking him in his class, which we felt will make the acclimatization much easier.

We found another similarity between him and his 叔叔. After the first day of extreme excitement, he quickly found out that the new version of school meant that he has to stay half a day there alone without papa and mama. Pretty shocking for him, so that means that from 2nd day onwards, it became quite difficult to motivate him to go to school. Everyday, he would try all sorts of tactics to avoid going to school. He would laze in bed, cry, ask Nai Nai to quickly finish cooking and come and fetch him.

First 3-4 days were full of tears... but gradually, the tears subsided, and we can see him improving day to day. We received positive feedback from his teachers, that he can finish his porridge, his bowl of noodles during lunch. He made some new friends, and even celebrated a birthday in class. Miss Pris was telling Nai nai that he is gradually behaving like a boss in school asking others not to cry, and reminding some of his classmates where they should be sitting. Occasionally, while waiting for nai nai to fetch him, he will pick up a book and flip the book himself...

Yesterday, there was a funny moment. Nai Nai brought him to school, and upon reaching there, he would normally tell " 奶奶快快回來" . Today he said "Nai Nai, go home... ". All the people there the teachers and other staff heard it and were so surprised. They all clapped in unison... and his next sentence... "Nai Nai, Ethan go home... ".... All of them collapsed laughing...

This Friday, they celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year by having steamboat. Hope Ethan enjoys himself.

Some of Ethan's artwork

Outings: Marina Barrage

2009-01-04T23:35:00.001+08:00

Explored the Marina Barrage and I must say this is a great place for kids water play.
There is ample space to run about and feel the wind. We saw people flying their beautiful kites. There is also an interesting educational tour on how the barrage works. Kids can dip their feet or waddle in a small pool nearby

Outings :Chek Jawa

2009-01-04T23:03:00.000+08:00

It is our first outing to Chek Jawa and Ethan's first boat ride which was not a pleasant experience to him. Ethan cried all the way thru the 15min boat ride to Chek Jawa. He was terrified of the engine's noise. But after the boat ride it was a very good nature walk. Ethan enjoyed seeing the mud skipper and little crabs running around at the beach. We get to see the wonders of nature and is especially impressed with the quality of a digital SLR camera. So tempted to get one myself as the pictures taken are so sharp. Credit to U-jin for his skills.

Rented toys

2008-12-14T11:46:00.000+08:00

Recently rented some toys for Ethan and Elkan from rent-a-toy. They are so happy

Actually found this exersaucer selling at Kiddy Palace for 399 and took a picture of it

Ethan Quote of the Day

2008-12-09T22:02:00.001+08:00

"Ethan take the train to go school" Papa tells Ethan
"Bus sleeping,train sleeping, Papa's car 起來了 replies Ethan

"Ethan,which shoe are you wearing" asks Mummy, holding to 2 pair of shoes
"This one go market, because..." All of us were surprised that Ethan actually say the word "Because"

"Naughty you" is another word that Ethan picks up from the maid's lazy English. When he discover Papa or Mama disappearing into another aisle during a supermarket trip, he found one of us and use it. Now he uses it on his brother, whenever he wants to comment that Elkan is naughty.

He knows our names so sometimes when he call us and we do not respond to him, he will tease us by calling our name. Sometimes he will call his Papa "Pooh Bear"

Sunday 16 Nov 2008

2008-11-16T23:14:00.001+08:00

It had been another busy Sunday, but a great time spent with Ethan and Elkan.

After trial lessons at Kindermusik, I brought Ethan to the Market Place at Tanglin Mall to wander around while waiting for Elkan and Mama to finish class. Ethan has always been fascinated with supermarkets, so the the Market Place was a great place for him to spend 45 minutes there. While going through the alleys, he suddenly accelerated and went to other alleys. Seeing that our maid was tracking him closely, I went off to look at the different Italian pasta sources. After a while, I vaguely heard his voice calling "Papa Papa".. and decided to find out if everything was ok. In the end, I found that he was also looking for me, and when he saw me, he actually "scolded" me "Naughty you... ". :) The words "Naughty you... " is always used by Sherry to scold him when he is disobedient and today he actually used it on me.

In the evening, Ethan woke up from his afternoon nap and pestered me to bring him out in my car. Seeing that tomorrow was the start of another working week, I obliged but as usual "negotiated" with Ethan whether it was possible to use public transport instead of the car. I told him the car had gone to sleep, but he argued with me that the car had "woken up already"! In the end, we brought Ethan and Elkan to view the Xmas lights at Orchard. They were fascinated and went home 2 satisfied boys.

Trial Lessons at Kindermusik

2008-11-16T22:51:00.000+08:00

We signed up for Trial Lessons for both Ethan (Kindermusik -Our Time) and Elkan (Kindermusik - Our Village) today. Both are attending separate class, Ethan's starts at 10am while Elkan starts at 11am.
It is a 45mins class held at Tanglin Mall, aims to generate music appreciation.

I was with Elkan while Siang Ling started the class with Ethan.

Elkan's Class
Starts with baby massage.
Differentiate between "Up" and "Down" using flutes annotations as well as placing the baby on our knees and going up/down.
Carrying the baby and doing some actions
All the mummies hold a huge multicolor parachute with the babies under it and float it up and down
Babies play with some musical instruments like xylophone, bells

Elkan likes the class, however he tends to wander off and explore the carpet or the door instead of paying attention in class.

Ethan's class
Compared to the last time Ethan was in class at Siempi, this time, it was better. The class size was roughly the same but I guess the classroom setting was much more comfortable, the room was larger, carpeted. He didn't ask to go out right from the start, but still felt uncomfortable with different classmates, different teacher. After some songs, he decided that he had seen enough and pestered papa to go out and look for mama. That was about the halfway mark of the course. Luckily after that the class had some instruments for them to play with and he managed to last until the class finished (to papa's relief).

One thing quite interesting was that he addressed the teacher as Ms Pris, which suggested that he thought all teachers were called Ms Pris. (Ms Pris was his teacher in Pats Schoolhouse, and he liked her a lot). From Papa's point of view, the class was ok, it was more a play experience to bond parents and kids. As for honing the music talents, it remains to be seen how much kids would benefit.

The Brothers Sharing

2008-11-03T23:13:00.000+08:00

Here is a picture of Ethan sharing with Banana with Elkan as well as a glimpse of their relationship

Elkan 's 5th teeth is out

2008-10-30T22:49:00.000+08:00

Notice that Elkan's 5th tooth (top incisors) is starting to sprout out. He is able to stand without any support for 5s and starts to take 2 steps before falling down.

Celebrating Hubby's Siang Ling birthday

2008-10-28T21:39:00.000+08:00

Celebrated Hubby's birthday by organising a night stay with a couple spa together at the Sentosa Resort & Spa. I had this idea since last year but somehow did not get to execute it cos hubby was concern of the cost. This year, I was determined to pamper my hubby and had secretly arranged the room night as well as birthday cake to be delivered to the room at my expense of course. Hubby had never been massaged before and was complaining about aches and joint pains.

We were placed in the couple rooms but I chose different spa treatment for both of us. The 2 hour spa was so enjoyable and made us feel very relaxed with all the soothing smells of lavender, hibiscus, lemon etc. It was rated Best Spa experience by one of the Travel magazines. Siang Ling enjoyed it so much that we planned to have another massage/spa treatment/get-a-way next year

Elkan - 1year old Milestone

2008-10-28T21:29:00.000+08:00

Elkan is 8.2kg at 70.5cm tall at 10% percentile. Dun know why he is dropping from 50 to 10. He seems to eat so much. Night feed at 9 or 12 midnight about 7oz. He is able to respond by clapping his hands and squeals with laughter whenever we say "Happy Baby" or whenever we are back at home from work.

If we ask him where is Mama & Papa picture he will respond by looking and pointing to the pictures on the wall. He likes to point with his index finger whenever he sees a cat, bird, car, moon or something of interest. He will also call you by saying "Eh,eh,eh".

Elkan - 1year old Birthday Party

2008-10-28T21:12:00.000+08:00

We celebrated at home for Elkan's birthday. I bought an agar agar jelly instead of the normal birthday cake. This year I was particularly fussy on the cake I want as spent about 3 weeks doing research on where to order the cake from. I have consider the Pattisser, e-creatives, Pine Garden, some fondae cakes which requires at least 3 months in advance of booking. Was trying to find an ideal cake that I want. I wanted a cake with a numeric "1" as I feel that we did not have it when Ethan was 1.

Some cake reference which people commented it was good are:

http://aimummy.blogspot.com

http://www.freewebs.com/vivicakes/

http://gladcake.blogspot.com

http://myssaliana.multiply.com

http://www.cheryshuen.com

http://www.pgcakes.com

http://www.pnfpastry.com

Lana cakes at 36 Greenwood Avenue

Chance upon an agar agar supplier called Mr & Mrs James via website. They made lovely agar agars and I ordered Pooh Bear with a numeric "1" cost $40 size A4 + $5 for delivery. Taste is Great!

Elkan seems very happy. He knows how to call "Mama", "Ye Ye" "Teh Teh" (dunn know what this means"

Ethan is 10kg on 14 oct - 27mths old

2008-10-21T22:18:00.000+08:00

Ethan finally reach the magic weight of 10kg. He is really small and short and never seems to grow any bigger nor taller.

I was asthetic when he finally starts to drink some chocolate milk, at the moment, magnolia strawberry or chocolate. Keeping my fingers cross that he continues.

He seems to be able to recognise these words: tree, man, duck, hat and cow as he is able to put puzzles pieces with the words in the correct slot. Not sure if he recognise the shapes of the puzzles or the actual words itself. Have to test if he really knows these words by writing it out. I bought a Thomas puzzle book from US and he likes it very much. Have to continue to contribute to Amazon's economy.

Ethan's 635

2008-10-14T23:04:00.000+08:00

Ethan has been very fascinated by the car, ever since we got it in early September. He is always very excited when we go out in the car. As such, we have been teaching him to describe the Sylphy, like what is the car number (635) and what the colour of the car is (beige).

But as time goes by, excitement can get the better of a mischievious boy like Ethan. He is always hinting papa to bring him out in the car. On Sunday, I was lying on the bed reading a book, and he came by onto the bed, lying very close to me. He was looking into my eyes and whispering, "papa, 635?". I had to control my laughter and I asked him innocently back "papa doesn't really know what is 635.... ". To my surprise, he smiled in his usual mischievious face and whispered again "biege colour?" ... He was hinting for us to bring him out in the car! Goodness..

Ethan "Paint" Hurdle

2008-10-11T16:07:00.000+08:00

Ethan has always been fussy about his cleanliness with his hands. He does not like the stickiness and messiness appearing on his hands. He always want to wash his hands if he gets any glue or paint on them during his art lessons in Pat Schoolhouse. And each session of painting never lasted more than 5mins as he will rush to the toilet to wash his hands.

So I try to encourage him by getting my hands in paint or glue in the art class with him and it has been like that for almost 4mths. At home, I try to encourage him to play with crayola paint as well.

During one painting session, teacher wants them to paint on their hands and feet to make an imprint. I was thinking "looks like we are going to submit a blank piece of paper this time", I ask Ethan if we could paint his hand and feet and I quickly took the paintbrush and painted his feet in one color and make an imprint of it. His reaction surprised me cos he ask for more. We had fun painting the hands and feet of different colors. After that session, we have no problem getting his hand with paint.

Ethan Sings "Ke Ren Lai" @ 2years old

2008-10-08T22:30:00.001+08:00

When Ethan was young, every night I will sing till he sleeps or read a story book. I use to "improvise" the songs "Ke Ren Lai" and add in GrandPa, GrandMa,Father,Mother,Shu Shu, Shen Shen, Jiu Jiu and Wai Po,Pei Gong, Gu Gu and surprisingly Ethan is able to call these names at the age of 15mths.

What make me happier was he is able to sing the song at Age 2 even including the maid in the song itself. I have recorded his singing as my ring tone and someday I will upload a movie of his singing

He likes to sing the following songs to himself:

1. ABC

2. Ke Ren Lai

3. Row row your boat

4. London Bridge

5. Ms Polly had a Dolly

6. Teo Chew Song "Gao Un Gao Un"

7. Yao ah Yao

This is a very long video of Ethan rocking Elkan to sleep, meanwhile singing his favourite songs. He actually went on for quite a while....

Elkan @11mths old

2008-10-08T22:05:00.000+08:00

Elkan has 4 teeth to date, 2 on top and 2 below. These days he has been very talkative uttering "Ah ah ah" whenever he sees the cat or birds or us when we come back from work. Seems to be saying "welcome back". He is able to identify the pictures on the wall whenever we say "where is Ye ye (grandmother/father family portrait" and "Mummy and Daddy picture" he will look up to find it. Also ask him where is the fan/lights and the moon, he will look up and search for it.

He is also "allergic" to the word "Bye". Whenever someones says Bye in the kitchen or living room, no matter where he is, he will start to cry. When you open the door, he break into a grin with his teary eyes.

He loves to imitate me pouting my lips.

Find he is hyperactive, wriggling non-stop when you carry him with your arms. these days he is trying to climb out of the stroller. Here is a picture of him caught in the "act"

Last Quarter of the Year

2008-09-27T13:38:00.000+08:00

Somehow time flies. We are already approaching the last 3 months of the year. I thought there were many things to look forward despite the external economy showing signs of getting from bad to worse.

- Elkan's birthday coming. He turns 1!

- Anya (Claire's baby sister) is coming... Uncle Yaozhong's daughter also coming in Jan / Feb in 2009, ... Yijin also expecting to deliver in the coming year.

- There are plenty of birthday celebrations to attend (Ethan's teacher's daughter celebrating her birthday, Auntie Peggy holding a birthday party for her daughter)...

- Ethan going to school when school starts again. Wow... I am wondering how he will find it in school. Just heard that he should be accompanied by a few people in his class like Brandon, Ethel and so on.

- Ethan will also have a new playground at school to enjoy!

Speaking of class today. Compared to a few months ago, we had now many more children joining Ethan in class (Ray, Ethel, Brandon, Yixin, Xuanting to be exact). Can see he is enjoying it. Ethan seems to be pretty well liked by his teacher as well as other of his friends like Ray and Yixin. He played sand today, as the playground was being renovated. Next week, when mama and papa goes with him to school, he should be able enjoy the new facilities. However, what was surprising to me that when it came to washing hands, he insisted on asking his teacher to lead him to the toilet to wash his hands. Wouldn't let me do it. Perhaps it is a good sign that he is ready to go to school. :)

Perhaps I am looking forward to Mama coming back today. The whole family is going to find a nice eating place in the East and then proceed to the airport to fetch Mama... The kids will be ecstatic to see her again... me as well... :)

When Mama is away ...

2008-09-23T23:40:00.000+08:00

I used to wonder it is like for my kids and wife when I am away on traveling or burying myself in the books in the my EMBA class. This week, I found out. Sherry is away in Hong Kong for a business trip. :(. I miss her and I think the boys miss her presence too.

Ethan didn't ask about her on Monday. Sherry had an early morning flight to Hong Kong and when he was asked about Mama at the market by my parents' friends, he had a firm answer that Mama was at work ("Zuo Gong" in his exact words). Monday night, we spent a long time playing together. Ethan's favourite game these days is to pack his cars on a "tunnel" (many pillows stacked together to construct a tunnel). After that we spent some time looking at photos, where many of them were baby photos of himself and Mama. Still he didn't ask.

This morning, he did! I could sense that he is beginning to feel the absence of his mum. He asked the maid and my mum where mama was. He was given the reassuring answer that mama was still at work. For the whole day at work today, I was thinking about taking leave on Friday afternoon to settle a couple of issues as well as go to the airport to fetch Sherry (together with Ethan and Elkan of course). However, I got a call from her in teh afternoon, saying that due to the typhoon in HK, she would only be back on Saturday, since she needs to spend more time to attend training. Oh no!!

At night I returned home at about 8 plus, and when Ethan was asking about Mama again, we told her that Mama was in Hong Kong. Ethan obviously could say "Hong Kong" but didn't understand what it meant. He just continue to utter "Mama is in Hong Kong". After a while, he requested to sit on my lap to share my dinner. Sherry usually wouldn't allow him to do so, but I decided to carry him anyway and share my dinner with him. He sat on my lap and pinched some food every now and then. Father and son shared a warm occasion on the dining table... At that very moment, I wish Sherry would be together with us here at home. I look forward to the weekend where she would be back in Singapore.

Ethan helps out with Elkan's poo poo

2008-09-10T21:12:00.000+08:00

Whenever Elkan needs cleanup after he poos, Ethan will be the first one to help out. He will say "powder,lotion" before rushing to another room to pickup powder and lotion. Then he goes to my room to pickup the diaper. He hands over the items to my maid and goes to the kitchen to pickup a plastic bag for the maid to put the diaper in. Then he picks up the tied plastic bag and pass it to Grandma to throw.

Ethan is also a vainpot. He asks for the mirror when he wants to comb his hair. He will say "I want see mirror" with a comb in his hands.

He likes to crawl under tunnels so I pile up the pillows for him to crawl under. When his Dad tried to crawl thru to catch him. He says "No,no papa too big" Of course his daddy feels insulted.

Ethan Crack Jokes

2008-09-06T14:18:00.000+08:00

At the age of 2, the speech learning ability demonstrates. Ethan knows how to crack jokes. Suddenly he will whisper "Na na pu pu chou chou (Grandma farted) or Ye Ye pu pu chou chou" (Grandpa farted) or Di Di Botak and Mama Botak and giggles to himself. Should not have taught him the meaning of Botak.

Zoo Animals

2008-08-21T20:30:00.001+08:00

Ever since the trip from the zoo, i have been playing the memory game with Ethan. I would flash the animals card to him and ask if him have seen this animal is in the zoo. He is able to identify and pronounce the names of at least 40 animals. I flash him Baby Einstein animals cards and below is what he is able to identify and say:

shark crab camel dolphin

frog cat dog cow

goat pig kangaroo giraffe

bear bee elephant monkey

frog peacock panda butterfly

snake fish lion tiger

buffalo antelope rhino hippo

wolf fox chicken duck

aligator

Shall make an attempt to go the zoo again once we have the car. Yes it is coming end Sept.

A memorable day...

2008-08-15T23:33:00.000+08:00

Indeed a day to remember - 15 Aug.

1. Today was the first day that Elkan called Papa. Elkan had called Mama and Nana for many days and I was actually wondering when he is going to called Papa.... To my surprise, after his bath this morning, when I went into the bedroom to play with him, he actually uttered "... pa pa ..." . I looked at my maid in surprise, and she was looking surpised too with Elkan's latest words...

2. I only realised from Xiaowen's email that Clara has arrived!! Also that another classmate is expecting... double happiness... :))

3. I guess the greatest joy today came when our Singapore table tennis girls made it all the way to the finals beating Korea. The Koreans came into the game very confident, after getting us in the late night draw yesterday. However, our team gave every bit of their effort. Li Jiawei improved even though she lost again the chopper from Korea. Wang Yuegu gave every bit of effort against Tang Na, who was a very powerful opponent. Both Li and Wang did their best in their doubles and won in straight sets against the Korean choppers. Ironically the Korean team manager had declared her confidence in the doubles game prior to the match. Finally watched Feng Tianwei, who was surprisingly entrusted with the first game as well as the last game. From the last time she played against Guo Yue, she has definitely improved, and she downed Tang Na in straight sets... Amazing!! She held her nerve against the other Kim and send us into the final, 48 years after Tan Howe Liang won our first Olympic medal. I was so happy that I went around office sharing the great news with fellow Singaporeans, Jonathan, Susie, Desmond, Pooi Leng, Meng Haw, Carol... I texted my friends Xiaowen and Yang Ling who are both friends who play the game... I even messaged my professor in my EMBA class, whom we shared the passion for table tennis.

What a day!

Ethan and Elkan in Aug 2008

2008-08-14T22:00:00.000+08:00

Embarrassingly, I think this is Papa's rare posting about my two "bao-beis", Ethan and Elkan.

I am in the bedroom with Elkan being rocked to sleep and Ethan just peeked through the door to whisper good night to me. He realized that he had to whisper because he saw that the room was dark and his little didi was falling fast asleep. According to my mum, Ethan is up to plenty of mischief these days. Yesterday morning, when everybody was either going to work / going for breakfast / Nana taking Elkan for a walk, Ethan was waking up. When he heard the front door open and close, he realized that Nana was back home with Elkan. Happily he locked himself in the room by a click of the lock! Unable to find the key, Nana, Yeye and our maid were panicking. In a moment of desperation, they climbed out of the window and used the window ledge and entered the locked room via the window! Without any doubt, he was scolded by Nana while others were simply shaking their head at his latest mischief.

That night, Sherry and I brought Ethan to the Dawson NTUC. Sherry has an unshakable loyalty to NTUC, such that she is even willing to take a bus there. Thinking that it has been a long time, since we brought Ethan along as well (of course not as a reward for his earlier mischief). While Sherry was gathering all the stuff she needs, I put Ethan in the NTUC trolley and toured the relatively empty place. We came to the rice section, and I was pointed to the rice sacks and told Ethan "There, Ethan, these are rice...". Ethan frowned and looked at me, "No, Papa, no rice..." He then used his right hand and made the shape of a bowl and said "rice... png (hokkien translation of rice)...". What he meant that was that rice at home had usually come in the form of a bowl and steaming hot as well! Later on that night, we went back and open the container which we stored the rice and explained to him that we had uncooked as well as cooked rice..

Elkan is gradually getting quite fun to play with as well. I still can't quite figure him out, he seems that kind of blur blur, nonchalant baby that is quite bochap about what happens around him. BUT, we realized that there are two things that he is pretty fussy about... his food and his daily trips to the market.... When he gets hungry, he will really turn into a monster and scream the house down. Next, he has been pestering everyone in the house to bring him out. Whoever, that brings him downstairs is his best friend and when the person carries one approaches our HDB lift, he would be very upset.

This evening, he and Ethan were lying on the bed together and playing on the man made tunnel (made using pillows). Ethan was having fun amusing his little brother and you can tell Elkan was very excited to play with his gorgor as well. Later on,Elkan managed to somehow get near Ethan and started wanting to pull his hair out. Surprisingly Ethan did not complain too much and was always too happy to let him do so.. (much to my surprise). I really hope they grow up having a close relationship.

Ethan turns 2 on 15 July

2008-07-18T22:38:00.000+08:00

Celebrated Ethan's birthday at home just between families as it is a weekday. We did not have any party other than the 1st month celebration. Guess Ethan will miss out alot of presents. We bought oreo cheesecake from Bakerzin. Sonia, our maid even got him a present. I am quite please with this maid. Got her by chance. Although she dun know how to cook, but can see she is very patient with kids and love them alot.

Actually wanted to get Thomas cake but most of them required 1kg. Smaller size ones from Polar looks nice but is full of cream.

Papa's recollection: I think for this birthday, Ethan realized the fun about opening presents. There are actually quite a lot of other presents that papa and mama have bought but are hiding above the cabinets... I think we bought too many presents!

2008-07-18T22:22:00.000+08:00

Elkan is getting more demanding these days. It is getting harder to carry him cos he will step up from your tummy and climbs up along the chest. Also if you are seen eating something, he will cry and wants to eat. If you go out of the door, he wants to go out and will cry. Even when the lift door opens, and he is not in it, he will start to cry...so much more demanding than Ethan. Think he will be naughtier as well.

Notice his bottom front teeth seems to be coming out soon. He is drooling and loves to bite things.

Ethan speaks and babbles more words. Everything you say he will repeat. Ask him where Ye Ye goes, he say market , coffee. If he wants to dance, he says York (meaning Grand Old Duke of York). Every morning, train him to have habit of saying "Good morning" and he will say "Shua Ya" (meaning brush teeth). He loves to join us at dinner table and tries to scoop food with our spoon/fork.

He is quite well toilet trained. We started training him to be off the diapers at 22mth. He dun like to be on diapers. He will say "Yang" and wants to take over the daipers. He knows how to say "Sh-Sh" or "Um Um" when he wants to urine or poo but tend to mixup which one is which one.

Patschool House D'Story Club

2008-07-13T13:47:00.000+08:00

We enrol Ethan in weekend playground 1 1/2hr Sat program to climatize him into the concept of "school". It is the only school so far that he replies with a "Yes" whenever I asked if he wants to go school. I have tried him in Little Skoolhouse - Ulu Pandan and CS Montessori at Tiong Bahru but he does not like it at all. It is an expensive program but we get priority in registering him for 3yr old class next year. There is limited choices in the surrounding area as this is an old neighbourhood and it is either PAP,Buttercups or Pat's schoolhouse in the vicinity.

Here he remembers the songs played and his friends' names. Typical activities during the 1 1/2hr program:

- Free play for 15 mins ; they play with toys

- Story Time 15min

- Art & Craft Time 15in

- Outdoor Time either playground or Water Play

- Music Time

Ethan learning to make Pizza in one of the theme on Letter "P". In Letter "L", they eat Lemon biscuits and tries to squeeze / smell a Lemon. In introducing "U", Ethan gets to play in the rain with an Umbrella.

Elkan learns to crawl

2008-06-19T22:14:00.000+08:00

Here is a video of Elkan learning to crawl when he was at 7mths

Miss Polly had a dolly

2008-06-14T23:43:00.000+08:00

Ethan knows how to sing
Mum: Ms Polly had a dolly who was ....
Ethan: sick..sick..sick
Mum: so she told the doc to be ...
Ethan: quick..quick..quick
Mum:Doc came with his bag & his..
Ethan: hat
Mum: and he knock on the door with a
Ethan:tat...tat...tat
Mum: he wrote on the paper for the pill
Ethan: pill.pill
Mum: I be back tomorrow for my bill
Ethan: Bill Bill

Snow White and & Dwarfs

2008-06-13T22:31:00.000+08:00

We will read a book to Ethan everynight and usually it is the same book over and over again. So to convince him to start a new book, I have to rack my brains to entice him to start a new book with me.

We started with 10 Dalmatian and I decided to start him on Snow White and 7 Dwarfs one night.

I began to point to Sleepy Dwarf and said "This is the sleepy Dwarf " and I signaled a yawning hand to mouth action. But because the dwarfs in the storybook have long white beards, he point and says Yeye.

Yes, this is Sneezy Yeye, I said "A-choo" pointing to the next dwarf and Grumpy YeYe, folding my arms and producing a "Umph" sound and trying to show a angry face. Happy YeYe, clapping my hands, Bashful yeye and I said Shy Shy, Dopey with BIG ears, and Doc

And everynight he will want me to read out the Dwarfs name with the corresponding actions. I quizzed him after 3rd night by pointing to Sneezy Dwarf and he is able to say A-choo. I asked him who is Grumpy Dwarf and he is able to point to the correct Dwarf.

Kids are really like sponge

June Updates

2008-06-12T23:21:00.000+08:00

It has been 3 months since I last blogged. Shall make a conscious effort to start blogging everyday to capture their growth. Feel so guilty that little time is spent with them

Elkan at 7mths 6.8kg started on his porridge. Ever since then, he does not like plain cereal anymore. He most receptive to food and will cry for food when you are eating and not sharing with him

Ethan, 22mths goes to Pat Schoolhouse D'Story Club on Sat morning. Hoping to enrol him their when he is 3 years old. Abit worried not able to get into any school as the surrounding schools are either full house or purely operating as child care center.

These days Ethan knows how to pronouce his name and Elkan's name. When we spell out his name, he recognises it! So happy. Sometimes when he is in the mood, he will sit down on the bed and flip thru books. However his favourite is still Thomas and he is able to point to the correct train if we ask him who is Gordon, Percy etc.

There was one time my maid carried Elkan, Grandma and Ethan were downstairs for their morning stroll. Ethan wants to be carried and asks to "bao bao" Grandma replied she is tired and ask him to continue to walk. He turns around and ask my maid "Ti, Di Di Na Na" and extends his 2 hands up and say "bao bao" (meaning give his brother to Grandma so that my maid can carry him)

Ethan is also able to recognise the right language to use when face with different people. For example, if he sees a white hair man/woman, he will greet them "Yeye / Po Po". If he sees a Malay man, he will greet him "Ah yah". So one day Grandma brought him to his favourite hunt - Shop & Save, and they met an auntie with white hair, so Grandma being polite ask my son to call him auntie. Ethan hesitated and called "Po Po"

Elkan at 5months

2008-04-27T14:58:00.000+08:00

Time flies and Elkan is already 5mths old. Last 3 weeks was terrible as the 2 boys got sick one after another.
Elkan had herpes virus 6 which leaves him at high fever for 2-3days at 38.5 followed by red rashes all over the body. Doc says he must have contracted the virus from outside but Elkan is always at home. So it took him a while to recover,then come Ethan's turn to have fever at 39 then. Elkan started having flu and running nos, and 1 week later, Ethan's turn as well. Now I have a cabinet full of medicine name which I wish to share with those who read the blog which you can try to stock up before seeing a doctor.

Fever :
Paracetomol and Paracetomol Suspension - no difference whether it is for below 6mths old or above 1 year old, the dosage is different.
Below 6mths old - 1.5ml
Above 6mths old - 2.5ml

Fever above 39 - Orange medicine called Nurofen at 4ml 6hourly interval

Cough,wheezing :
Nuelin - below 6months old
Bricanyl, Terbutaline, Bambec - above 6 months

Flu, Nasal Congestion :
Zrytec oral with Iladin (below 6mths) / Oritrivin (above 6mths) drip in nose
Rhiniramine

Mucus :
Mucosolvan

Phelgm:
Rhinathiol

Constipation:
Glycerin

Anti-ich oral (for mosquito bites):
Antarax
Anti-ich application:
Fucicort

Elkan at 6 weeks

2008-01-23T22:43:00.000+08:00

Elkan is able to lift up his head at 6 weeks old.

I have a habit of leaving Elkan in this yellow bouncer which I would place on our bed to prevent Ethan from tripping over him. Sometimes, I would leave it quite near the edge of the bed, thinking he has still sometime to go before learning to flip.

One day, I received an urgent phone call from my MIL. She told me Elkan has fallen off from the bouncer. Fortunately, he was found lying on the bed with half of his leg hanging off from the bouncer. He normally sleeps on his tummy which we suspect he could have wriggle to 1 side and the bouncher tip him off, causing him to slip off..

We will continue to monitor him after the little "mishap" and I shall not leave him too near the bed edge again

Flu Virus Attack

2008-01-16T19:37:00.000+08:00

14 Jan is a bad week to start. First MIL was down with slight flu. Although she wore a mask while preparing food and sleeping separately from Ethan, he still caught the virus and was down with running nose and cough with phlegm. I thought his immumity should be tougher since he was breastfed. But having said that, most of the time, he was drinking frozen milk rather than direct feed. He was a fussy baby and will cry at every feed so most of the time I pump out.

Then Daddy & Mummy got infected and of course the little one, Elkan also got it via Mummy. The doctor's bill is almost $200 for the 3 of us.

I hope Elkan will be a stronger baby given that he was on direct latch 100%.

Flash card progress

2008-01-11T17:17:00.000+08:00

I have been flashing picture cards to Ethan twice a day or sometimes more when I run out of games/toys/things/VCD to show him. So far he is able to recognise and pronounce the following at 18mths:
Owl & eagle - he will say bird
Hat - he will point to his head
Rabbit & Frog - he will bounce up & down
Shapes Circle/Square/Triangle/Rectangle/Star/Oval - recognise all shapes

Know how to pronounce:
Cat - call as "mao mao"
Dog - call as "wo wo"
Aunties & Uncles - "Ti" & "Ge"
Sisters & Brothers - "Jie" & "Ge"
Juice - "Ju"
Shu Shu & Jiu Jiu accordingly but 1 syllabus
Apple - Per
Pear - Pear
Thank you - queue
Please - pease
Circle/Oval/star - Ge/oval/tar
Flower - wer wer
Poo Poo - Ng Ng
Door
Mr MacDonalds - Ne Ne

I am quite please with his progress of speech and recognition of pictures.
Yes, just the other day I was changing Elkan and ask Ethan where is bird bird, he points to Elkan and say bird...sigh

The other day I was pumping out my breast milk and Ethan walk in so I casually tell him "mama pump pump ok,dun disturb". Subsequently whenever he sees me with the pump gears, with 2 hands on his chest, he say pum pum

New Year New Start = Changes

2008-01-11T11:40:00.001+08:00

2008 is a year of unexpected changes.

First, our car died in a flood while parking at a low lying area. So decided we will be getting a weekend car instead. Daddy is excited visiting all the car showrooms and test driving them. We decided we will be getting a beige Nissan Selphy when the time is ripe

Wanted to test the property market to see if there are buyers interested in our area, advertised and only 3 callers called. Out of which 2 are "tham thia" type and the last buyer was the most sincere one and end up selling to him.

Wanted to send Ethan to Flexi care at Little Skool House but end up sending him to weekend Montessori Class at Tiong Bahru. Firstly cannot bear to see him alone in school and secondly he will be the youngest in class, he is not even stable in walking! Thirdly, was more keen on parent accompanied programme.

Last Saturday, was our first class together at Tiong Bahru. The Monthly Fee $140 for 1 1/2hr class and the schedule was roughly like this:
- 40mins work time where we play with Montessori's equipment/toys
- 10min art & craft
- 10min circle & song ( everyone walk/run/jump in circle)
- 10mins of phonics
- bye bye song

For art & craft, the teacher place a marble dipped in yellow paint, in a tray lined with paper. Ethan is to "shake/roll" the marble and make patterns out of it. This is then followed by red & blue color.

Phonics Session, we sing and learned about alphabet "a" & "b",

Ethan seems to enjoy himself, although he is again the youngest in the class. He is facinated with the Montessori toys of pouring,scooping, taking out puzzles. He is also interested in cooking as well as throwing plastic fruits in class! Ai yo, he is the only boy in class who does that and poor me was busy picking it up. So embrassing!

My Little Helper

2007-12-19T11:05:00.000+08:00

Ever since Ethan sees the maid cleaning, he has been imitating her.

He will take any cloth or tissue lying around and starts wiping cupboard/wall/table/floor. So if we tells him: Ethan, clean/wipe where, he will look for the cloth in my room, takes it and starts to clean around. These days, no need to ask him also go around the house cleaning.

Here is a video of him helping with bean sprout

Bad Hair Day

2007-12-19T10:35:00.000+08:00

How do you treat a bad hair day?

Simply by visiting the barber.
However our barber is our very own MIL who have XX years cutting her 2 sons' hair. With her dedicated service, it beats the commercial $18per hair cut charged
This is the dummy's guide to cutting hair for your child under 1 year old
Step 1: Be creative. Let the process be fun for your child. Divert his attention
Place him in a bathub filled with toys or water etc
Step 2: Make him comfortable.
Shower with lots of powder or dress him in newspaper
Step 3: Play favorite movie/show
Lastly: cut it real fast

Here are some pictures of Ethan and Elkan's bad hair days

Elkan at 6 weeks

2007-12-14T15:36:00.000+08:00

Status update of Elkan's progress.

At 1 month old checkup, he is :

Weight: 4.24kg

Height: 55.5cm

Head circumference: 37.5cm

He is able to lift up his head already.

Elkan's Fashion Show of the year. My maid decides to show off the clothes we have gotten from handovers from friends and colleague. Ethan has won some of these and we never took pictures of him in it. So we decided to take some keepsake

The sailor moon design series

The Cutie series

The Confinement Period

2007-12-07T09:56:00.000+08:00

With the birth of Elkan, I have a much better experience compared to the first one. I am able to manage my engorgement and breast feeding experience much better.

During Ethan's time, I experience severe engorement when discharged from hospital and it was like rock man! Had to engage mother in law's help to massage the breast for me... Terrible! I was constantly massaging, pumping and breastfeeding. Hardly had any time to rest!

This time round I had my breast pump ready and any slight discomfort during my hospital stay of 4days, I would pump immediately. Also, manage the feeding much better as I practise scheduled feeds of 2 1/2 - 3 hour during the day and demand feed during the night. Elkan, by nature, is a small eater and feeds only 3hrs at night.

During my confinement period, Ethan and grandma will visit me every 2-3days. He will call "mama" and shows signs of missing me by clinging or hugging me everytime he sees me. Just hearing him call "mama" is enough to melt my heart.

Will be shifting back to MIL's house so that we do not have to shuttle back/forth with 2 young kids. Ethan was elated to see me back and shout "mama" non-stop and follows me wherever I go. Come nightime, he will ask for me to accompany him to sleep which is a routine I use to do before my pregnancy. The 1 month separation has brought us closer

Elkan's Birth Photos

2007-11-21T13:01:00.001+08:00

Elkan was born on 30 Oct planned caserian cos there is too many conditions to fufil for natural birth. Knowing that my cervix would not dilate during Ethan's birth, I do not want to take the risk of emergency caserian again.

So Elkan was born planned on 30 Oct 37 1/2 weeks old at 2.72kg 49cm long. He looks like Ethan when he is asleep but when he open his eyes, he has double eyelids and much bigger eyes than his brother. Here is a picture of Elkan and Ethan below

I will be doing confinement at my own house while Ethan stays with his grandma so as to ensure ample rest for me. Sob Sob..will be separated from my son and gets to see him every 2 days or so....miss him so much

Ethan learns to spin himself & lie about poo poo

2007-11-21T12:26:00.000+08:00

My son...sigh..knows how to say "Ng Ng" when he wants to poo poo at 14mths. So Nai Nai (Grandma) will faster take his "tang tong" (potty) cos fear he poo poo on his diaper. So he think it is very fun and one day decides to "tekan" her.

One day he told ngai ngai suddenly he wants to "ng ng" and grandma rushes to prepare the necessary. Then he fakes a smile "hei hei" and there was no poo poo...so at 14mths he has learn to trick his grandma....sign...faint...

Also he has learn to turn round and round while sitting down

Ethan at 14mths Spinning (27 Sep)

2007-11-21T10:41:00.000+08:00

His favorite toy is anything that spins or go round and round. His favourite is the fan and he ensures that all fans in the room must be on, he always points at the fan and asks"heh"

When his daddy is around, nobody else can spin the toy for him. It seems that he reserves his favorite spinning for his daddy only.
Here is a video of him (and this happens everyday) taking his favorite toy for his papa

Ethan at 14mths Hide & Seek (26 Sep)

2007-11-21T10:06:00.000+08:00

Cannot resist to post a few videos of how Ethan is doing right now. He is getting more and more mischevious at 15mths.
Here is a video on him playing hide-and-seek with Grandma

And a hide-seek with papa