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

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.
:)

State Of Mind

Was writing this in an e-mail to a friend, and thought of you, my blog buddies and visitors, and thought you should be in this loop...


As you know, we will be moving to Singapore soon.
Seems like too soon... But I'm sorta not* thinking about it.

It's not that I'm that busy preparing for the move, not yet for now, but that I am trying to give more time to the three boys while I can.
I think when we are down in Singapore on our own, I'd really have a lot less time, and maybe less patience due to lack of sleep and a lot less 'me' time.

So in the day time I am either nursing Myron, or carrying him and playing with him.
Or I'd be playing with the two boys, or attending to their basic needs like getting snacks or getting them cleaned.
I also try to get them to do something 'productive' like some crafts or reading or some games that will enrich them one way or another. So all these need Mommy to be present.
Occasionally I take a snooze with Myron, when I can't keep my eyes peeled. He seems to sleep better smelling Mommy beside him. :D

In the night, when they are asleep, my Gadget-daddy is usually doing something on the computer, or we will try to catch a movie together (rent on-line from i-tunes).
Yeah, we are also trying to have a bit of "we" time before he heads down south first.

There are a few things that I am anxious about:
I am not sure if we can register the boys in time for school next year, even if it is just kindy, but it seems they are very serious about placement there.

I am also worried for Micah if he can catch up with the other kids there. Not meaning to sound "kiasu", but I know I don't want him to feel lost in class and being teased by other kids for being slow or "stupid", which of course he is not.
I know.. I know.. I am just imagining the worst.
Hahaha... but that's what I'm worried about.

Max will still be in kindy K1 so not too stressed, as it's the year they start learning to read and write etc.
Just that he might have adjustment problems about a new place and no koh-koh in the class with him.
Max is quite reserve when it comes to meeting other kids. Most of the time he is quite ok with adults.

Personally, I think I will move into D-gear.
Denial!
I already know in a time of stress my first reaction is to try to be practical and run like a robot, not daring to feel.
Because I know I will feel lost and scared of being lost (literally) and wonder if I can fix 3 meals for everyone while I still have to attend to the boys.
And to do all that and keep calm, not be in a frenzy and yelling all the time. Eeek!!

I know they will adjust faster than I, and will do fine.
Just that right now, with 2 more adults in the house, they really get a lot of things done for them, and things get done properly.
So if they were to do a bit more for themselves, as I know they would have to, I may have to cope with crazy shower time, tolerate not-so-well brushed-teeth and keep my cool while I'm uncertain if they will clean themselves properly in the toilet after a 'big' one.

The 'biggest' thing that we will have to change, I think, is that the boys will have to feed themselves.
Yes, I am talking about the 2 big boys. Right now, at home, grandpa feeds them at breakfast and Mommy feeds them at dinner.
Yes, we adults are to be blamed, because we want no mess to clean up, and we want them to eat faster and make sure the eat a substantial amount.
So when we are on our own, in a sense I know they will actually adjust, because there will be no extra hands to pamper them.

I feel like we are heading for an earthquake.
*getting goosebumps*
*nibbling my nails*



* On my mental list:
kitchen ware
dining ware
bedding
books
toys
DVDs
playpen,
clothes
bath stuff
Housekeeping - buckets, mats, washclothes,

Social-bug Baby

Myron cried today when I said good-bye to him as we headed out to send his two big brothers to school.

Yes, this almost 7 month baby now knows when he is being left behind.

Of course we also had the 10 days with him all the time during the Raya break.

Myron is such a social bug, just like his first bro.
At shopping malls, or at restaurants, we would always look at people around him and smile at anyone who calls out or coo at him.

He loves being around people.
He loves the presence of another human being. Even if he is happy to be playing by himself, he would still call out for another person just to be with him.
He is not demanding that you play with him, but that you be with him.
Very "strange" and so seemingly deep in a grown-up way.

Well, it's just a few more weeks before the school holiday starts. Then he will have us all with him everyday.

Happy little baby.

p/s- His 2 upper teeth are just cutting through his gum. So this almost 7 month old has 4 teeth already. And he is still in the process of getting himself sitting up without help. Doing quite well in his progress.

Playgroup Update

The party I mentioned we went for at the playgroup 2 weeks back, was this sweet little darling's.


Calista is 1!

Look at her cake, baked by Aunty Mary.



The coordinator also showed me the rest of the crafts they did for the theme of sea-creatures.


They were made with paper, foams and old newspaper.

It was also at this party that I realised hoe ready Myron is for a regular visit to the playgroup.


Of course he was fast asleep at the end of the exciting event.