Wednesday 28 October 2009

Time Out

I don't mean the time we went out, but oh, I need a time out!!

We were in Sinapore last weekend to spend some time with Gadget-daddy, but travelling with 3 kids is so tiring! We didn't even do anything adventurous this time...at least Myron and I didn't.
We stayed home on the day Gadget-daddy took the 2 older boys swimming and my sister's family went too. My mum and I and Myron stayed back so that he could get some shut eye while my mom and I prepared a bak-kut-teh dinner for a friend visiting that night.

Anyway, since coming back, I have been joining the kids at their bed-time, well, a little after them, but just feel so worn-out through the day.

Could be that Myron is now exhibiting the teething blues - refusing to nurse but crying more frequently though the day and night.

Could be the constant playing referee and judge and jury for the two older boys, and also monitor them at homework time...

Could be the lack of help with the boys in the night, now that their daddy is in another country.

Could be the anxiety about getting a car there and getting the boys registered on time for school... and how to move stuff down, when and how much of what....

I am so ready to sleep...
*yawn*


p/s- will come back and update this with some pix.
Just can't get myself to go get my camera right now. *yawn*

Monday 19 October 2009

All In A Baby's Day's Work

Eat




Sleep




Bath




Play




Look Innocent

An Un-Happening Day

Had lunch with my sister, mom and the two older boys at their favourite pasta place.
We got there first and when my sister came up to our table I told her, "We are very boring people. We are having the usual."
The boys will have their penne carbonara and the adults will do another pasta and a bread.

That says a lot about kids wanting and needing their routine.
... And we get sucked into it too.


On the way back, just the two boys in the back seat and me driving, I giggled to myself listening to them play and talk.

Doing a tug-of-war with Myron's inchworm:

Max: Koh-koh, why do you always want to win?!
Micah: Actually I was trying not to win, I wanted to be second. But my arm is just too strong.
*
*
*
Micah: I know the trick to win. You make the other people laugh.
(Told a joke that made his brother roll and then cheered that he won.)



In the evening, before bed:
We were playing through some pf the photos from my iPhoto album and there were quite a few that Max could not tell if the baby in the picture was himself or Myron. Hahaha... That's how much the boys all look alike!

Guess which one's who?
(No prize but you'll have a surprise when you check the answer at the bottom of this post.)



I have been a "kiasu" mom the last 2 weeks and asked Micah's teacher for homework.
I actually felt he needed to start a new routine before he starts school next year.
So he has been doing 2 pages of homework every day.
Most of the time he needs a lot of encouragement and assurance.
But I have come to realise his reading skill is better than he believes.


Last week, for a treat, Mommy bought the boys a surprise.
Now it's just sitting in the shelves.
The boys are more interested in the recently made movies, asking only for certain scenes which has their favourite characters and awesome fighting parts.
Boys.

Myron is now 7.5 months old.
He is starting to crawl and practicing standing.
He is also climbing over obstacles.
The safe places for him now are inside the play-pen, on the walker or on the astro-saucer.




When we all go out, this is how we look like in the back seat.



And the 2 big boys just ove entertaining their baby brother.
:)


Three boys are a handful... of fun!!

Thanks for dropping by.
Have a good week.


p/s- All the guess who's who of the baby photos:
They are all Max!

Tuesday 13 October 2009

2 Halves Of A 'Pinang'

Gadget-daddy has already left for Singapore.

I was feeling like we were being separated for the first time, like when he went to finish his studies in UK... more than 15 years ago.

This morning, after breakfast, I lay in bed for a little while to moap.
Then got ready to go out. Took the 3 boys and mil out for a no-reason-trip.
But we ended up in McD for lunch and had quite a fun time (sent mil and Myron back first as baby was asleep and mil sleepy).

So it doesn't get easier through the years. Even with all his early jet-setting days, the many months in US and the last long term away, Jakarta... Seems like it's something I can't get use to.

Well, some things are a little better... or worse. The boys are here to keep me company, and keep me busy.
They sometimes forget and ask when Daddy will be home (as in what time today) so that he can help them with some Transformer toy.
Then Micah will ask why can't we just stay in Malaysia, as he will miss his grandparents.

Today, for their bedtime story, I told them an old story that Gadget-daddy had made up when I was expecting no.2.
...
...
...

Ok... shall spare you.
Will go hit the hay now.
Boys have school tomorrow.
Counting the days to this weekend.

Good night.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Sandwiched

Why the two boys are not allowed to sleep with their baby brother:

One night, Mommy took the baby to the boys' bed because one wanted to sleep beside Myron and the other beside Mommy.

All finally asleep, so Mommy went for a quick shower.






When she came out of the bathroom 3 minutes later....


The baby was so sleepy that he didn't seem to notice he had become his brother's bolster.
:D

Mid-Autumn Festival 2009

Mid-Autumn Festival is often called Lantern festival or the Mooncake festival.
That's because, oh, so obvious, that this is the time we light up lanterns and give mooncakes to each other (normally among family members and close friends).

The last few years we have been celebrating Lantern/Mooncake festival at Ah Ma's house. So the usual, we light up paper lanterns and hand them on a plant by the garden.

Grandma and the three boys standing in front of paper lanterns hung on a tree.
Micah and Max are holding the lanterns, shape of the lotus flower, they made in school.

We also light candles on the wall that's between her and her neighbour.

Micah and Max lighting candles.
Supervised by Ee-ee.

And here's a shot of some of the traditional Lantern/Mooncake Festival treats.

Clockwise: Chinese tea, red eggs, baby yams, brown sugar (to dip the yams in), mooncake,
and "ngau-kok" (meaning bull's horns in Cantonese.
It's actually a root, but you eat it like a nut,
boiled, and then crack the shell to get to the white center).

It's Myron's first Lantern festival and it sure was fascinating for him to see all the lights.

Myron and grandma, holding a fish lantern.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone.

p/s- We are still eating the mooncakes my mother gave.

Myron is Seven (months)

I can't believe how time flies.

As much we would like things to be in slow-mo, we are also always cheering new achievements for our babies.



To date, Myron is still pretty much about 7.4 kg. Seems like this is his plateau weight before the next spurt. And he is about 64cm in length/height.



He has now mastered sitting up on his own, though he must have the space to do it (go reverse a little on all four and then push his body upwards to a sitting position. He has been at this for about 2 weeks now.)



He is trying to move on his all four, after having been on all four for a month and rocking back and forth like a rocking horse.


So this adventurous boy has taken to lunging forward, propelling his whole upper body through space, and very possibly to the edge of the "flat earth" called bed. He can no longer be left alone on the bed, even if it's barricaded on all sides because he could actually "jump" over the pillows and bolsters.



Myron has now 4 teeth. His upper two front teeth cut through the gum about a week back. He seems to love grinding his teeth together. Must be the new sensation and sound that is fascinating to him. But if you let him pick up a finger from you and put it into his mouth, he is like a terrapin that bites and won't let go till he has a piece chewed off from you!



Myron loves his cereals, rice with a tad of brown rice cereals mixed into Mommy's milk. Sometimes he will be fed with a spoon, but sometimes Grandma will just let him drink the cereal out of a shot glass to make the feeding process faster.

He now also an expert at grabbing things off you: gadget-daddy's glasses, the iPod from his brother, your cup from your hand if it's within reach, and anything that he sees on you, and then it goes straight into his mouth.



You're growing so well, baby.
And everyone loves you


Friday 2 October 2009

Tadpole Hunting

While Myron was having a late nap, the two older boys wanted to go to the park.

Their intention was to go do some digging at the sandy area (normally used to play football by the others) but I opted one mess for another.
I suggested we go tadpole hunting instead.

It was already cloudy and the wind was rolling more clouds in, so we made as quick a trip as we could.
We walked as quickly as we could, Mommy, at least.
Of course the boys ran rather than walked quickly, and so Mommy ended up doing a speed-walk and some hollering at the same time: "Keep to the path", "Don't pick that up, it's dirty", "Look out for ants", "Look where you're going. Don't walk backwards", etc.


We surveyed some fish ponds, but it had no tadpoles.
It was also rather dangerous as the boys kept leaning over the edge. The water's murky and I hear it is quite deep.


So we headed to an abandoned fountain area (Not exactly abandoned, but rather they fountains are "out of order" or never turned on as far as we know). Here the tadpoles were an "easy pick".




So here's our "catch of the day".



Charming and Disarming


A teasing smile - If you were to greet him at the door as you come in, he will flash a smile but quickly hides his face.

I-like-you smile - As you talk to him, he will stare at you with the his lips slightly agape, but you will see a smile forming there.

Delighted smile - When you play with him and tickle him, he sometimes giggles and laughs, but he will mostly give you the delighted smile where his whole face lights up and his cheeks pushes up and his eyes are in the shape of semi-circles.

But you should hear him chuckle and giggle when his big brother is making funny faces and funny noises which seems to really crack him up.
:)