Cute Quotations

Since young, Jerilyn knows to pinch her nose when she does a big business. Not long ago, she not only pinched her nose as she pooped, she also shoved(not physically) us away. She said "Mummy. Dont come here. Go away." It's cute the way she waved her hands vigorously, signally me to go away as if she is emitting poisonous gas.
Other times were:
when Daddy wanted to bathe her (because Mummy was not feeling very well) and she chased him out of the shower. She said "No. No. No. Daddy. Go out. Kai Lin ... myself." That day, she bathed herself. I am doubtful how clean it was.
when she had a nightmare and was wailing terribly. She screamed "Book... Mattress... Book... Book" and kicked. Didnt know what she wants. Daddy gave her book... She pushed it away but when he took away, she bawled louder. Anyway, when she calmed down, she said "Daddy. Go away."(not in a rude way but another way of telling her dad that she was ok and he could go to bed). Very cute.
when I carried her up to the sink to wash her hands. She said "Mummy. Dont touch(my hands). Dont disturb me." Though she does wash her own hands usually but she has never used these words.

Walking

Just 3 weeks ago, Jesslyn had started to learn walking and was taking 4-5 steps on her own. Now at 12m2w old, she has mastered walking. She can squat/sit down and then stand back up again, and she even walks backward. When we go shopping, she walks while gripping my hand. She doesnt fall as often as Jerilyn did. This is attributed to the fact that Jerilyn tip-toes while Jesslyn only tip-toes to reach the unreachable for instance doorknob. When she does the famous Baby Bop's Hop Hop Hop dance, she tip-toes as she sings "Hoc Hoc Hoc".

Jesslyn

Walking is a breeze for Jesslyn. She can toddle from 1 end of the room to another(my bedroom) but sometimes, Jerilyn intersepts her just to hug her and say "Love you too" as if Jesslyn said it first.

Jesslyn has learnt many things from her sister. Some of them are:
1. pushes people she doesnt like. Most often her own sister
2. says 'bu yau' when she is dissatisfied with something
3. imitates actions. She plays house and cooksing
3. beats and says 'da'(beat in Mandarin)

Jesslyn pushes her sister away when:
1. Jerilyn tries to hold her hands to walk with her or to play 'Ring-O-Ring O Roses'
2. Jerilyn hugs her
3. Jerilyn takes her things. Jesslyn will even beat her.

Jesslyn's Fav. Activity

Yes. climbing up and down the stairs is her favourite activity. As she cant walk down on her own yet, she usually stands on the 1st step and calls out to us. Once we are there, we have to hold out our hand to her and guide her down slowly. She is like the empress in China and we are the slaves.

Jessly's 1st Birthday Party

I would describe this birthday party as 1 stone kills 2 birds. My purpose of having this party is not only to celebrate Jesslyn's birthday but a gathering with the Loo family. Since the family tree expanded, we hardly meet until recently. Jesslyn's birthday is another fantastic opportunity to get every1 together. Everything was good except for the birthday cake which was a big disappointment. Not only is it too sweet and dry but the design was not what I expected (It was pre-ordered based on brochure). Secret Recipe's birthday cakes are nothing like its cheese cakes.
Back to Jesslyn, at 1 year old,
1. she could walk >< 9 steps independently.
2. she is very 'wei-siek'. As I am not a control freak, I practically give her all the sinful food(in small amount). She will climb on you for more and scolds and beats but she is not entertained.
3. some of the words she uses are: Daddy, bu-yau, mei-you, dog, Po-po
4. she loves to hang around at the staircase. Sometimes, she just sits there, swinging her legs. When she goes up or down the stairs, she tries to use her soles and not her knees.
5. she still picks and puts things into her mouth. However, some exposure to germs wont hurt her. It could even be good for children to boost their immune system. After all, she had fever once. No flu, no cough, no cold. No problem.
6. she sways to music. Unlike her sister who stomps and dances vigorously to music.
7. she is very 'manja'. She likes to lean against us. She understands 'sayang' by leaning her head against ours

Peek-a-boo

A picture speaks a thousand words. Kinda lazy to blog much nowadays.

They go crazy playing hide and seek. What you see here is actually half the normal craziness and noisiness. This is what you get when you put 2 girls together. With 2 boys, They will wrestle and punch each other until 1 cries. Wonder how is it like to put a boy and a girl together.

Imaginative Girl

Children are highly imaginative beings. Other than the pretend games such as cooking, driving, play house, enjoying sumptuous meals etc... Jerilyn surprised me with what she sees in things. For example
1. She drew an oblong and told me its a cucumber. After that, she added a dot and said "It's a whale" which actually did resemble a whale.
2. There were a few times when she was pooing in her potty when she called out to me excitedly "Mummy, see! Snake. See... snake.." She bent over to peep into her potty. It took me a while to understand that she was referring to her poops which looked like a snake. There were also times when she saw ice-cream shaped like poops.
3. She used to associate owls with her dad(probably because CH has got big round eyes). As she grew older, she imagined seeing things on the tree and one of the thing she saw was Daddy. Now, she says "Don't climb up the tree, Daddy" as she stares at the shadow of a spinning fan on the wall.

Home Saloon

The recent haircut at home. It was Jesslyn's second haircut. She was 11 monts. The reason we had her hair cut at home is because there is not much to trim anyway. Btw, guess who is the cameraman?

Imitating Animal Sounds

One of the activities both of them enjoy doing together.

WH- Questions

I cant recall when Jerilyn started using Wh- Questions but I remember it started with Who(which means What) is this? to What is this?. Now, she bombards us with questions of What,Why, Where and Who? Examples are:
What happened? What are you doing? What have you done? Why turn off/on the fan? Why close the door? What's wrong with the bicycle? Where is ...? etc..
She also uses Tag Questions and questions with auxiliary verb:
Shall we ...? Do you want ...? etc..

During one of her bedtime story sessions, she asked her dad "What is this?" pointing at a picture in the book. Her dad answered nonchalantly "Which one?" Her answer was "This one! You forget? This is a sponge. Hiya you!" He was dumbstrucked. We exchanged glances and I snickered.

Naming Family Members

This video was actually recorded about half a year ago but I was not sure if I should share with family and friends. Why? When my sis watched it, her first comment was "Why are you so fierce with her? How come you didnt praise her at all? Children must be praised." My defence is "I was too engrossed with the recording that I had forgotten all about praising."
Of course, I do praise her (very often) and I try to make learning fun most of the time. However, when her attention begins to wander, that's when my tone turns authoritarian. Is this an educationist's habit? Do most if not all teachers have the same tone?
Despite all these, I think she is doing quite well in learning the language. Her only problem is that she needs more exposure to English speaking environment. Although we speak to her in English, she doesnt hear us communicate in that language. All of us converse in Cantonese. This has caused her to catch up Chinese/Mandarin faster than English nowadays. Her ability to speak BM is at about 30words.

In Their Slumber

Moving Away

Hubby and I have discussed a couple of times what is going to happen if we leave the kids in their room. How long can they stay? Will they play til they drop off? Will they be frightened? Will Jerilyn bully Jesslyn? Will Jerilyn kick or even toss a blanket overn Mei2 accidentally in the middle of the night? To find out the answers, we have done a few experiements and below are the results:
1st time: Jesslyn cried the moment we closed the door on her and we had to welcome them back in to our room.
2nd & 3rd time: We moved their mattress, pillows, bolsters and blankets. They played for a good 10 minutes in the 'fan only' room and we felt guilty of enjoying the air-conditioned room while the 2 poor things were drenched with sweat. So, we welcomed them back into our room.
4th time: Jerilyn went alone. She kept going back and forth between our room and hers; first to take the pillow, then, the bolster, followed by the blanket. [Not that we don't want to help her take the things but we enjoy watching her knocking on our door, calling out "Daddy, bolster" and then, dragging those things into her room]. After that, we heard her going down to get milk. She was obedient enough to go back into her room but again, Daddy pitied her because she was wet with sweat.
5th time: It just happened this afternoon. This is how it happened: She was crying because Daddy spanked her. (Daddy couldnt tolerate her sitting on the staircase with her legs hanging over the railing). So, Daddy asked her to sleep in her room if she continued crying and she did as she was told with her little bolster in hand. She came back to get pillow, (adult) bolster and blanket (we thought why the hell she needs a blanket on her humid Saturday afternoon as she usually pushes it away during the nights in our air-conditioned room). At one point, we purposely locked the room. When it was opened, she asked annoyingly "Why lock the door?", which made me laugh. I anticipated her to return again with another excuse to sleep in our room but No!! When I checked on her 10 minutes later, she was soundly sleeping with the blanket covered up to her waist and her hair was wet.
My conclusion is: My girl is one more step away from us! Sob! Sob!

Learning To walk

This is how Jesslyn learns to walk nowadays. She has no problem following the momentum and speed while pushing the vehicle. She is a steadier walker than Jerilyn was. This is probably due to the fact that Jerilyn tip-toed instead of walking on her soles.

She can also crouch numerous times(>10 times) as she play hide and seek. Her favourite hiding place is behind the coffee table and the sofa. Any sign of encouragement from us makes her crouch over and over again. When she is up, she gives you that "I am here" look - cute.

With Jerilyn, my in-law bought one of those tinkling bracelet for us to know where she wandered. I always thought that it is not necessary and causes noise pollution. However, I think I have to ask my in-law to get 1 for Jesslyn. One fine day, while I was busy typing, the maid was cleaning in the kitchen and Jerilyn was watching television, Jesslyn had wandered off on her own. I thought she was with the maid and the maid thought the baby was safely with me. After cleaning, the maid looked for Jesslyn and she was nowhere to be seen. We heard sounds from the 1st floor and only then did we realise that she had climbed all the way up on her own and was sitting in the middle of the 2nd living room. Thank God nothing happened to her while she climbed up.

Teaching Values

Sometimes I feel that I am a lousy teacher, esp to my kids. When I teach, I expected Jerilyn to be obedient and do as I say. But my daughter being perverse and restless, she just wont sit and read. After reading with me for 2 minutes, she says "Mummy, you read." and she walks away. If she gets bored of drawing or playing, she says "Mummy, you draw/play." Yesterday, I was clicking on the mouse as the video ran and she said "Mummy, dont press, I beat you." I always believe that 'It's not easy to teach good values but the bad ones, you dont have to repeat twice.' esp with my type of daughter. This is why I still dont plan to send her to nursery unless forced to.
On the bright side, she is very inventive and imaginative. She now uses things like bedsheet, coasters as skateboard. She likes to play 'pretend' too. She puts pillows and blanket around her and pretend to drive. She even asks us to sit behind her as passengers. Another 'pretend' game she likes is cooking, which many children have the same hobby. If she isnt cooking, she just imagines that she is holding something in her hand for instance chocolate, flower or butterfly and pass it to us.
In relation to insects, she acts frightened when she sees 1 on the floor and shrieks and jumps. But she then picks it up to show us, which we tell her to throw away. Hope she will grow to love books later. Not that she doesnt look at them at all, it's just that when I try to teach seriously, she shuts her ears. She does 'read' them and often asks "Who(What)'s that?"

Genting Trip

My initial plan was to go with my parents but as my mum was not well, we had to leave them behind.
The trip this time was full of activities yet more relaxing as we spent 3 days on the cool mountain. Talking about cool, I didnt expect the weather to be cold thus I only brought thin clothings for the kids. It turned out to be quite chilly and Jesslyn had to wear her pyjamas on top of her normal clothing. Normally, I would have brought thick clothes but they were seldom worn.
We had a voucher which entitled us to a Free Kid ticket(worth RM35) toTheme Park. The catch is: with purchase of an Adult ticket(RM55) to the Theme Park. So, we bought 1 Adult ticket only. However, where's the fun when Jesslyn and Daddy are left behind. I didnt want to wave from the Ferris wheel or the gondola. I wanted the whole family to be involved. We later bought another ticket(RM25-Indoor only). After getting bored with Indoor games, we went outdoor. I persuaded my husband to try his luck, passing the security with his Indoor only wristband. Jerilyn and I went in first. I watched and prayed that he could pass. I actually doubted the possibility as when I went in, the guard made sure that it was written All on my wristband. As he took his turn, there were a bunch of teenagers scrambling through the gate and VOILA!!! They made it. The guard only checked that there was a band but didnt see that it was written Indoor, not All.
The games that we attempted were less interesting for 2 reasons: 1. The kids are too young 2. Daddy and I are too old. Nevertheless, it was enough for the kids to doze off the moment they hit the bed. Daddy concluded that the money spent was worth it when Jerilyn rode for more than 10 times on the vehicles. She remained in the ring and merely changed from 1 vehicle to another. We let her played as much as she could because these rides will last her 1-2 years before we are willing to spare money on rides. By then, we have to buy tickets for 2 kids.

Proud Moments

September 28
Proud moments
Every parent is proud of their children no matter how small and insignificant the kids' achievements are. I am no different.
At 9.5 months, these are the things that Jesslyn make us proud:
1. She bangs the room door if she wants out.
2. She imitates sounds from us or television. One of her favourite is the Raya song where she sings "Yaaa......".
3. She is jealous if I carry Jie2 and will cry til I carry her. When I pass Jie2 to Daddy and put her on my lap, she will call out to Jie2 "Dah, Dah" to show victory.
4. She climbs full flight of stairs and at every corner, she takes a break, grins and gives herself a victorious clap. The maid made a comment which I didnt noticed myself, ie if she needs to sit, she will turn her body so that her body is supported and she faces out.
5. She dances to music. [Look at the video].
6. When she is too short, she tip-toes to reach her target. For instance, she loves to play with the volume knob of our hifi. When she is too tall, she lowers her body to the ground to peek under the sofa or bed.
7. She says "Wah" at everything. Jerilyn only says "Wah" when she sees food on the table, which makes her grandmothers very happy.
8. She can walk with support.
9. She loves to read and write (as compared to Jerilyn)
10. It still overwhelms me to have a kid who needs Me more than anything else in the world. She is very manja. Whether happy or sad, frightened or calm, she will come to me. She likes to rub her head against something(our shoulders or the mattress. One day, I was scolding Jerilyn (very loudly) and I noticed that each time I raised my voice, she puts her head on my lap and rub, rub, rub. Imagine a dog rubbing his head on his master's lap. There was another time she laid low with her head against the mattress. Imagine a soldier lying low on the ground when in danger. She can be playing and all of a sudden, drop her head on the bed as if seeking comfort. Jesslyn's not a timid girl but she is 1 who loves to be loved openly and protected.

At 2y8m old, below ar the things I would like to jot down about Jerilyn:
1. Jerilyn can sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep and ABC. [Well, not every word but ... pls refer to the beginning of this blog]
2. She can speak more but many 'ar's at the end of the sentences. "Dont play ar?", talking to her sis.
3. Her favourite word now is "Dragon." When she plays pretend driver/pilot, she only sees Dragon in the sky or on the road.
4. Memorable quotes:
a. "Mummy very tired? Mummy sleep first." followed by closing of the bedroom door.
b. "You still want chocolate?" which actually means I still want chocolate.
c. "Give me something" Something refers to food.
d. When I made a mistake, she goes "Hiya you." Only yesterday, I accidentally banged the door, she said "Shh.... Mei2 is sleeping. Hiya you."
5. She used to draw big circles and scribbled all over the page but now, her scribbles are as small as worms. Yet, she insists those are dragons.

I am sure you have seen/heard of siblings squabbling over trivial issues. Well, this nightmare has started to take place in my house. When 1 is occupying a toy, the other surely wants a share of it. Both would be screaming at each other. As Jesslyn cant speak, she only cries. Jerilyn says "Mei2, dont play.", "Mummy, Mei2 is playing.", "Mei2, bu yao wan.", "Mei2, go away." Naturally, I am like most parents who ask the elder to give in.

Climbing

Jesslyn can now climb the stairs. Not the full flight but a few steps. The first time I saw her climbing was when she was exactly 9 months. I thought she could only climb 1 step so I was kinda relaxed, standing at the bottom. However, she didnt stop at 1st step. She continued climbing until she reached the 4th step. That's when she stopped and looked behind for support. Could she be tired? Or was she afraid of the height? Or did she think that it's enough for the day?
I dont know what is so attractive about the stairs. She loves to climb(or try to) on it. She will stop when I told her not to. Does she understand?
She can now understand words like 'Bye2', 'clap hands'. By merely mentioning these words made her waving her hands(or clapping her hands) violently.

The past week had been a disaster with 1 bad news and too much of things to worry and do. Hope the bad clouds have passed and the sky will turn brighter... much brighter. Have to go back to marking papers before the kids get up.

A Trip to the Zoo

As Jerilyn has always loved animals, we took the opportunity to take her to Taiping Zoo during the National Day holiday. What I mean by love is: If you ask her questions, her reply is "Dragon". Out of nothing, she will say "Dinasour" or "Monkey" or "Elephant". She just loves to utter these words.
So, the journey took 1.5hours. We started off with a train ride round the zoo and later ventured on our own. Jerilyn's favourite was the elephant. "Look, elephant. Elephant. Daddy, come here." She didnt have enough of them until we told her that we would go back to look at them. I dont expect much from our Malaysian zoos but I am sad for the pathetic looking animals. They looked so weak and abandoned. The only beautiful creature I saw was the swans. Most of the animals were motionless and hid from the public. If you dont search, you may miss some of the animals. At most spots, Jerilyn went "Look, giraffe." "Look, monkey." She was a noisy kid there.
While Jerilyn was excited seeing real life animals, Jesslyn sat happily in the pram. Daddy and I were actually quite surprised with her willingness to sit in it. It was the FIRST time she sat in that pram for more than 5 minutes(I am not kidding). My initial plan was to let Jerilyn sit in case she gets tired of walking.
We ended our venture about 40 minutes later when it started to drizzle. Moreover, the 2 were beginning to get restless.
In conclusion, it was a worthwhile trip for the kids but drastic measures have to be taken to improve and maintain the popularity of the zoo. One of the ways is to bring your kids to the zoo!

Is she Reading?

September 01
Is she reading?

I came across some educational videos(nursery rhymes, alphabet and numbers) in youtube a month back and I exposed Jerilyn to these videos since then. With access to these short, interesting videos, she doesnt watch much DVDs anymore. She used to watch about an hour of Barney everyday in our home but nowadays, she only watches an hour a week. However, this doesnt include the hours she spends on tv at my parents' house. Thanks to internet videos, I saved RM20 on electricity bill last month. Apparently, the home theatre consumes a lot of electricity. Morever, she only spends half an hour watch internet video everyday.
The video attached shows that she can read (it's actually memorising) the slides. Nevertheless, since watching these videos/slides, she is more receptive of alphabet and numbers. She has better memory too. For eg,She remembers that King Kong died in a movie and repeated it to me more than a week after watching it. I was telling her that the flower was gone because it dies and she said "Gorilla die". At first, it puzzled me why of all the animals - gorilla. It's also easier to teach her. Without much effort, she remembers who is the President of America, PM of Malaysia, recognises the M'sian and Perak flag etc..
My mum however, has only 1 comment: She will get bored in school if you teach her too much.

All About Jesslyn

I feel guilty for I have been neglected Jesslyn in my blogs. In contrast to Jerilyn, her development seems predictable and nothing to shout about. Poor kid for taking her for granted. Nevertheless, at 8months+, she can now stand steadily with support and crawl a lot. She can pull herself up at the fridge to reach the fridge magnet. She doesnt crawl on 4s anymore but on her knees.
Jesslyn is also a wrecker like Jerilyn. Anything she touches surely end up in pieces. I get upset when they tear(or eat) the beautiful books into pieces. You see, when Jerilyn reads, Jesslyn will come snatching the book away or she will lick the corner of the book. But what can I do? If I take the books away from them, they are deprived of reading materials. If I allow access to the books, they will end up looking so bad that one will lose interest in reading. In short, I have to be more careful when they are reading.
As for her eating habits, she has more interest with food now. She will climb on to us and open her mouth wide and big for food. If I were to make my own decision, I would have given her many kinds of food (for eg ice-cream,) but Daddy doesnt allow it. When we eat out, she screams at us if we ignore her. So, to shut her mouth, I'll stick food into her mouth.
What worries me is that she doesnt sleep much during the day time. Her daily routine is wakes up at 9am. Takes 2-3 hours sleep during the day and her nights end at 10pm+. This isnt normal, is it? I am worried cuz research says that babies need sufficient sleep in order for the brain to grow healthily. Will this inhibit brain growth?
Being the 2nd child is, in a way luckier cuz they have another kid to play with and learn from. The elder is their model. Comparing Jesslyn with baby Jerilyn, Mei2 seems to be more alert and reactive. Thanks to the active Jerilyn who gives all the stimulation to Jesslyn. As for me, I think I tried harder with Jerilyn but Jesslyn and I are more attached. I am still very proud of it. Daddy? He is hopeless. He stresses that we shouldnt force our children.
Its so difficult not to mention Jerilyn. Everything seems to relate to her. Haha.... Have I done Jesslyn justice?

All in 1

Why I choose the above title for this blog is because I will sum up everything into 1 blog. Time has been flying so fast that I feel like a robot. The same routine everyday. Get up->work->back from work->take care of children->eat->sleep. However, I should not be complaining as my routines are not as boring as those 9-5 jobs and I have 2 days of half day work every week. My job routine changes every 4 months and I have breaks every semester. Moreover, I dont have to work for 10-12 hours like my husband does. Anyway, the conclusion is there are definitely advantages too living in the old age.

Back to my summary: I thought of one of my dad's favourite proverb Jack of everything, Master of None" when I saw Jerilyn pushing the plunger into the toilet bowl. She has been a mechanic, the electrical devices repairer, the helper/cleaner and now the plumber.
Secondly, from only God knows where, Jerilyn learns to put the blame on Mei2 when something goes wrong. This was what happened: She was playing with Daddy's old-fashioned shaver and as usual, the parts came off. The shaver's head was detached from the handle. Instead of trying to put them together like she usually does with other things, she leaned forward to Mei2, tried to push the parts to Jesslyn and said "Mei2, don't play. Daddy de(in Mandarin which means belonging)" repeatedly. Daddy was in the toilet. I was more amazed than angry with Jerilyn. Where/How on earth a 31 month girl learn to put the blame on others to save her butt? Is this one of those things that they learn naturally as they grow like walking and talking? The best part was when Jerilyn sneaked looks at Daddy when he came out of the bathroom. She wanted to make sure that Daddy knows that it wasnt her who play with the shaver.
Last week, she took down a thin baby mattress from her room and played slides on the stairs. I didnt noticed what she was doing until I heard "woo... woo... woo..." sounds from her. I have to admit that I was proud of her instead of being crossed with her. I wasnt worried about her safety [Well, maybe for a split second]. I am sure my parents would have had heart attacks seeing that. Anyway, I did reprimand her and that's it. End of story.
Other than that, she is more willing to brush her teeth now as I told her that her teeth is yellowish. Of course, I have to let her brush her own teeth first before she would allow me to brush for her.

Boots or Shoes?

Jerilyn can now 'reason' with you if she doesnt agree. How? She said "No, it's not boots, it's shoes" when Daddy showed her the picture of a pair of boots. If she learns something new, she says "Ohh.... videoo...."(for eg).
My daughter tends to sweat easily (as you can see from the many photos), thus have to keep her hair short. Last week, we took her to the hairdresser and it was a good thing I didnt go alone as I did the time before. I have phobia after that disastrous experience. The whole episode repeated again. She cried as if the barber was cutting her ears off. The only difference was she didnt swallow any hair this time. When it was over, she told me "Pain, pain" but instead of pointing to her hair or ear, she opened her mouth wide and large to show an invisible ulcer. In fact, since her ulcer experience, she uses that as an excuse each time she doesnt want to eat or do something.
She is learning more letters in the alphabet and numbers but then, in a very slow pace. She shuts herself off totally if she doesnt have the interest ie with numbers and alphabet. If something catches her attention, she remembers it with 2 or 3 teachings for eg, recognizes Lee Kuan Yew and naming things.

Jesslyn is learning to stand. She can pull herself up to standing position but Hubby discourages this cause it seems that it is not good for her legs. She cant stand steadily but sway back and forth vigorously. She always acknowledges her achievement with a big smile on her face. She is proud of it. I dont quite remember how early Jerilyn learned to stand and walk. Must check out my blog later.

Teething Experience

The past week had been a torturous one. First, Jerilyn had fever since last Saturday. To make things worse, she has ulcers in her mouth (She is still having them now). In the beginning, she threw tantrums every time we fed her with medicine, which was mixed in her milk. If I use spoon or syringe, she spits out. Later, she got used to the taste, thus no problem with feeding. The fever lasted more than 2 days, which I think was the longest ever.
However, we then realised that she has 2 ulcers on her tongue and 1 big ulcer on her left cheek. I gave her a chinese medicine which has to be applied on the wound. Needless to say, she didnt want it. I rewarded, reasoned, coaxed, forced, threatened etc... but only force worked. I must add that although the medicine went into her mouth (by force) but after a while, everything she had in her tummy ended up outside her mouth. I didnt pity her. It only made me more furious with her. I beat her. My parents say I have to be patient with a sick child but .... she is sick, not lost her mind! Why couldnt she listen? Why couldnt she understand that only by taking medicine will her sickness go away? Only by not crying will she not vomit? Nooo.... she just wont listen.
Because of the ulcers, she hasnt been eating much. She always say "Pain. Pain. Dont want ..." I saw that her gums are swollen too. I was worried that if this goes on, she will be stick thin. How long is this going to last? Daddy took her to the dr yesterday. Guess what the dr said? He said he cant help us and the only advice he gave was give her 2 bottles of yakult each day. When Jerilyn came home, she said "Dont want Dr."
Now, gone are the 2 small ulcers. Left 1 big ulcer. Is this the end? Nooo.... On Thursday, I found another white spot in the back of her mouth. At first I thought there is another ulcer but today, my mum told me that she is actually teething. I know now what caused the fever.
This is her 17th tooth. 3 more to go for a complete set of baby teeth. Do we have to go through this 3 more times?
One good thing out of this experience is: I have a few peace and quiet nights, enjoying a magazine and watching tv in peace.

Consoling Mei2

Nowadays, I fetch the kids home from my mum's place after work. Sometimes, Jesslyn cries if she feels insecure in the baby basket. Normally, Jerilyn just ignores Mei2's cries or she would give her something to play with but just 2 days back, Jerilyn was being an extremely good, big sister. She wrapped her arms around Mei2 and patted her back. Wish I could just stop the car and record them on video. What was more surprising was when she said "Mei2, dont cry. Mummy is here" again and again as she patted her back.

Reciting Names

Jerilyn often does revision if she couldnt sleep at night. Few nights back, I overheard this:
Mei Mei .. Wei Lin
Mummy .. Jo-ann
Daddy .. Jerry
Po-Po ... Doris
Ah Yee ... ....
Kakak .. Yati
Ah Gong .... Ah Gong
Ah Mah ..... Ah Mah
I just kept quiet as I didnt want to wake Mei2 up. She knows our names since she was about 27 months old. I am surprised that she conclude that her paternal g/parents names are what she calls them.
Jerilyn pronounced my dad's name as Yosef.

What's on my Mind

Til now, Jesslyn doesnt like porridge. She is going to be 7 months plus. Her first reaction at every feed is giving us a squemish look and shivers. She will only take a few 'sips' before turning her head away or screaming at us. She even pretends vomit if I insist feeding her. She loves cereals tho. She will lick her lips when we feed her cereals. She has also started to enjoy chewing on baby biscuits. I am also giving her apple to gnaw on. I am kinda worried. What if she will not take porridge for the rest of her babyhood? I dont want to feed her solely with food from the counter . I wonder how it was like with Jerilyn......... This is when I appreciate writing blogs. I can refer back easily. I forget so easily. Blogs is a great invention. To me, writing blogs is like writing a diary, which I used to do in my teens. I still have some of the old diaries that I dont want to discard. Another plus point about writing blogs is it saves lots of space. I dont have to keep heaps of diaries.

Just now, I heard cries from the baby(2y+) next dooor crying. Her mother crossed my mind again. As I mentioned in my previous blog, the mother is working in KL and she only comes back during the weekends. However, for the past few weeks, I only spot her once a fortnight!! I still cant accept it that she can leave her 2 year old child behind and only sees her during the weekends. Every Friday, I will be looking forward to seeing her car as that's when she is back. I always tell my husband that I could be as excited as her husband and baby with her return. Or, am I more excited than them??!...... I know, it's none of my business but it saddens me. As the Chinese saying, yat ka mm chi yat ka si(1's family doesnt know the problems of the other families). Anyhow, this probably reminds me of my days in KL, alone. I was not even pregnant then. Living away from home was really painful. However, I have to point out that I enjoyed the life in KL and as the proverb goes 'Absence makes the heart goes fonder'. After seeing my neighbour, I know that I cannot allow my husband to work outstation with us at home and vice versa. There was 1 time that he almost got an offer to work in other state and I thought we could live the life like our neighbours. Now, I know that it's easier said than done.

St Anne's Feast

All of us really had fun going to Bukit Mertajam to celebrate St Anne's Feast. Well, maybe not for Jesslyn. We spent a good 2 hours there. I only walked up til the first station with Jesslyn and my mother. When Jerilyn walked up further with Daddy, I expected her to make a U-turn after ><10 steps. Mind you, the steps are narrow and slippery due to the wax. But I didnt see them coming down until they had reached the top of the mountain. I said to my mum that surely CH have to carry her down. To my surprise, she came down on her own feet; hair wet and cheecks red like tomato. She excitedly said "St. Anne" as she pointed.
As there were not many people, we seem to own the place. Leisurely taking photos and letting Jerilyn run around. However, my mother kept insisting Jerilyn to hold our hands. Too bad Jesslyn couldnt go down on her feet to run with Jie2.
Jerilyn surprised us all with her sexy poses. Jesslyn looked bored and uncomfortable. By the time we left, Jesslyn dozed off in my arms. 12:46 AM | Add a comment | Permalink | Blog it

Down with Fever

Jesslyn was down with fever last Sunday. It was the 1st time she was ill. If we recall correctly, Jerilyn had fever too when she was ill for the 1st time and just like Jie2, Jesslyn's fever started to develop in the evening and it lasted through the night. She was back to her old self the next morning. We sticked one of those plaster for fever on her forehead. Unlike Jerilyn who touched her forehead the whole night as if we applied poison on her, Jesslyn seemed ok with the sticky plaster. Oh! Anoher similarity is we suspect that they had fever cuz of the multiple mosquitoe bites. She has 7-8 bite marks on her body now. Poor girl.

More about little Js'

What can Jesslyn do now? Her favourite exercise is to do push-up and when she does, she pushes herself to the back til something blocks her way. Most of the time, she ends up under the bed or sofa. I dont remember Jerilyn doing much push-ups last time. When Jerilyn sees Mei2 under something, she goes up to her and pulls Mei2 out. Yesterday, She pulled Mei2 to me, said "Mummy here" while pointing a finger at me as if to tell Mei2 to stay near me. After a while, Mei2 wandered off. This time, Jerilyn pulled her to Daddy and said "Daddy here." Of course, Jesslyn doesnt like it when Jie2 pulls her like a gunny sack. Pity Mei2.

Jesslyn also loves to hold my hand to fall asleep. She feels secure holding on to our fingers. She is very attached to me. I actually feels more like a Mother now as compared to mothering Jerilyn. Jesslyn cries if I walk away from her or if some1 else is carrying her instead of me. Her eyes will follow my every move. Daddy pities me for Jesslyn is too clingy to me. He said he cant help me. However, he doesnt understand that I am enjoying every moment of it and I feel important. It melts my heart when she looks straight into eyes, very much in love.

Oh! I was teaching Jerilyn prepositions (ie under, on, behind) with her Daddy, Mummy and Jerilyn toys. I arranged Daddy behind Mummy and Mummy behind Jerilyn. So, as I was teaching her their positions, Jerilyn picked up Jerilyn and put in front of Daddy. This was followed by "Daddy bau bau" repeatedly. How touching! The message I got was Daddy's 2-hour time with her daily is insufficient for her and she showed her longing for affection and attention through the toys. Anyway, I put the 2 toys together and she was very happy and looked contented. Other than this, Jerilyn shows longing for attention when
1. if Mummy is around, she only wants Mummy to do chores for her. For eg, putting on her clothes and feeding her. She wont let the maid touches her.
2. if Daddy is around, she only wants Daddy to do chores for her and wont want Mummy and of course the maid.
3. if both Daddy and Mummy are not around, she lets the maid dresses her etc... without any fuss.

HOliday at the Peak

Taking 2 babies for a holiday is really no joke. Instead of a relaxing holiday, it becomes a stressful and tiring holiday.

This happened to us on our last trip to Genting. This time, we went with my in-laws. Talking about my in-laws, my mother-in-law was really fantastic. She practically brought 2 bags of food and snacks. Jerilyn had the luxury of eating half the journey up the mountain and whole journey down the mountain.

When we reached, we had to wait 1 hour 30 mins to check in. Jerilyn n Jesslyn were still in their best of mood. However, after we bathed and went out for dinner, that was when Jerilyn turned nasty. She cried til she fell asleep on her high chair. In the meantime, Jesslyn fell asleep in Daddy's arms. After that quick dinner, we disappointedly headed back to the hotel room. However, the deafening noise from the machines woke them up and Jerilyn's first word was netball. So, we bought tickets valued at RM30 and played a couple of netball games. She didnt play with much gusto like last time. She was indeed very tired but still, she played for the sake of playing. Later that night, we only dozed off after much tossing and turning around.

The next day, we spent another 1 hour plus in the entertainment centre before we headed home. Daddy said he has phobia going to Genting with the kids. I replied that this phobia will only lasts 2 weeks max.

Solid Food

June 22
Solid Food
Had started feeding Jesslyn with cereal a week after she turned 6 months. The first time, she drooled so much that the bowl was filled with her saliva. I had to threw the cereal away. The second time, I had Daddy to feed her. I never have much confidence when it comes to first timers. As expected, the feeding was a breeze as compared to the first. She opened her mouth wide when she saw Daddy bringing the spoon towards her mouth and she knew she had to close her mouth when the spoon was taken away. She finished everything in the bowl. The third onwards, I feed without much problem. Sometimes she is so excited to see me with the bowl that she kicks and bounces.
I plan to feed her with porridge soon but busy, lazy Mummy needs time.

Post Natal Dilemma

Its too late to talk about this subject, isnt it? I mean, it has already been more than 6 months since my delivery. I have wanted to blog about it for months but every time I sit here, I forget. See!!! This is already a problem.
Anyway, my main problem is not forgetfullness. It's hair drop. It started 3 months after delivery. It's terrifying seeing how many of my strands of hair on the floor. It's all over the place. Every often, I would find a strand on Jesslyn's lips. Once I went out with my colleagues and it shocked them seeing how much of hair sticking to the back of my blouse. This problem is more severe this time as compared to my 1st delivery. When I ask around, my colleagues too experience more severe hair drop after 2nd delivery as compared to the 1st. Guess our bodies havent recovered thus are more deficient of iron with 2nd or 3rd pregnancy.
I read that the falling will lessen after 6 months but it seems to be the same. I am worried that before the hair starts growing, I am already bald.
Do I need to be worried?

Irony

I live in a peaceful neighbourhood where majority are young couples with toodlers. My neighbour on the right is a small family consisting father, mother and a toodler while the neighbour on my left is a retired couple.
A month ago, the lady neighbour on my right found a new job where she needs to travel. In fact, she only comes home during the weekends. The husband works too which means the kid is left with the caretaker on weekdays. He doesnt bring home the baby until weekends.
On the other side of the fence, the retired couple has 4-5 grown-up children who are all making a living in other states. This couple keep themselves busy with gardening and sewing.
As for my household, both of us work, leaving my kids with my parents or parents-in-law. I fetch them immediately after work everyday. Generally, I spend 28 hours(equivalent to 4 working days) in the college. Still I feel that I have neglected them.
As I observe our different lifestyles, I couldnt help myself comparing. I find it ironic that when the kids need the parents most, the parents are out there, earning money with the excuse: for the children's sake. The kids are left with the grandparents, the nursery, the babysitter, even the maid. When the parents have retired, become old and have all the free time in the world to spend with their children, they are being left alone at home. In this modern world, if the retired people are lucky, the children live in the same state or city as them where they get to see their children once in a while. The luckier ones have grandchildren to look after.
Dont you agree?

Untitled

Jerilyn is so trained to say bye to things she is reluctant to leave behind that 1 day, when she took out a yogurt drink from the fridge n I asked her to put it back, she said "Bye bye....Bye.... See You" to the yougurt nclosed the fridge door. Very cute.
Gotta buy a new camera. The 1 I hv now gvs very dark n dull effect. Been shopping around. The videocam is also giving problems. I went to the service center today n apparently it is the tape which is faulty, not the videocam. I hope so too.
Hv been so busy at work that I cant afford to spend time blogging.
Hmm... another incident that I want to share. 1 day Jerilyn wanted me to sit wt her on the piano while I was busy watching tv. However, I obediently sat with her wt my body facing the tv. She insisted that I must turn towards the piano with my body and legs facing the piano. That's not all, she wanted me to play a tune and when I only played with 1 hand, she put my other hand on the keys. I realise that as kids start to grow, they are getting more and more demanding.

Home ALone

June 02
Home Alone
I take this opportunity to write what happened while the kids are not around. Daddy takes a day off today to take Jesslyn for a routine check-up at the clinic while Mummy had to go to work. I just returned from work. I presume they are at my in laws place. When Daddy updated me thru calls this afternoon, I was told that Jesslyn is 7.7kg (6 months). She cried very loudly when the nurse touched her. This is in contrast to the times when she was jabbed. She hardly cried. Looks like she has tough skin like Jerilyn. When people play with her, she has 3 reactions. 1. She laughs back, kicking her legs to go forward. 2. She hides her face against our bodies, giving a sheepish smile. 3. She cries which is very seldom. Yesterday was 1 of the rare incident. Daddy said when he came out of the room, every1 was staring at him, like a celebrity. Another possible reason why she cried was because she was unclothed and being laid on the table to measure her height and then weight.

Look Alike

Js' at 5.5months

Do they look alike?

Daddy's Amazed

I have used polite phrases such as Please, Sorry, Excuse Me and Thank you with Jerilyn since the day she understands language. She has picked up these phrases tho sometimes I need to remind/tell her to say 'Sorry' when she has done wrong or 'Thank you' when she receives something. On the other hand, she has no problems with 'Please' and 'Excuse Me'. When she wants something, she says 'Please Mummy' or 'Please raisins' meaning I want raisins please. When I am in her way, she says Excuse Me. When Jesslyn's sleeping on her things, she says Excuse Me before pushing Mei2 away. Today, we shopped for a Christmas tree (I know, its not Christmas) at 1 of those pottery shops along KK road. As the Bangladeshi was busy lining the 2ft high Christmas trees for us to choose, the trees were actually lined between Jerilyn n us. She was locked behind the many trees. She said 1 phrase which surpised Daddy, which is Excuse Me. Its not everyday that Daddy hears her say that. Moreover, she actually used it at the right place, right time. He was very proud of her.

Compare & Contrast

CONTRAST Jerilyn Jesslyn
poo every 3-4 days n it was never easy everyday
poo's texture very hard soft
pimples/rashes 3-4 month None
scared of heights Yes No
(Jerilyn was afraid when she was taken down the stairs but Jesslyn looks around inquisitively)
scared of strangers Yes No
colic Yes None
playing alone Yes No

COMPARE
* Both hate the stroller. Jerilyn used to get up n stood in the stroller.
* Both are quite independent. Jesslyn holds her bottle on her own during feedings.
* Both love Gong2 to carry.

Moulding the Children

Children are products of their parents or guardians moulding. Below are some of the habits/values she has developed whether thru conscious or unconscious moulding.
1. Closes the door particularly the bedroom door. If she doesnt close the door herself, she will tell us to close the door. Daddy is the 1 who instil this habit in her. He has this strong aversion against mosquitoes. She even makes it a point to lock the door.
2. Throws rubbish. We dont hv to instruct her. She throws away food wrappers, empty bottles or rubbish that she picks automatically. She takes pride in the task by running happily to the rubbish bin n dutifully throws the rubbish into it.
3. Independence
a) insists to feed herself
b) clothes n unclothes herself. Of course, she needs some help when the shoes/clothes are too complicated for her.
c) carries her own things when she goes out. When she is tired or lazy, she will pass the things to us.
4. Well-mannered - She says "Please Mummy" or "Please Barney"(wants to watch Barney) if she wants something but if we dont comply to her wishes, she turns nasty. She also says 'Thank you' and when it is time for bed, she says 'Good night Mummy' and 'Love you'. When she leaves a place, she waves 'Bye' to everyone n anything. She waves bye even tho no 1 looks at her. At the shopping mall, When she is adamant to take an item away with her, we tell her to say bye to the toy and she will obediently put the toy down, wave bye a couple of times and finally leave. She also knows how to use "Excuse Me" when some1 is in her way.

Jerilyn's Development (Update)

1. Supports her milk bottle, Sits Up - 5 months
3. Takes solid food - 6.5 months
4. First tooth - 7 months
5. Potty trained (however, it's inconsistent) - 9 months
6. Action word (bye bye, shake hands, clap hands) - 9 months
Other action words: Give FIVE, 'mei mei'(pretty), 'pa pa'(frightened), 'bau bau'(full) [within 11months]
7. Utters nan nan & ba-ba, drinks from straw, stands up with support (in fact she'd rather stand even while bathing) - 10 months
8. Walks with support (round the table & pushing anything with wheels), Feeds herself(buns, biscuits) - 11 months
9. Climbs - 11.5 months
10. Walks without support, replaces covers, scribbles, calls Daddy - 13 months
11. Calls Mummy - 14 months
12. Down with cough - 14.5 months
13. Says bye-bye(or tata) while waving and a few other words eg. no need, no more, car - 15 months
14. Runs - 16 months
15. Grows her 13th tooth, walks down a flight of stairs while holding on to the railing - 17 months
16. Kicks a ball - 18 months
17. Grows her 14th tooth, potty trained(for big business only. In fact, she doesnt use the potty but the toilet bowl. Save me lots of unnecessary cleaning.) - 19 months
18. Drinks from cup, calls po-po, feeds herself with spoon, weans off the dummy - 19.5 months
19. Grows her 16th tooth - 20 months
20. Toilet trained - 22 months
21. 12kg, Operates electrical devices for eg. turning on/off tv, opening and closing the door(she uses her body to push the door close) - 24.5 months
22. Walks down the stairs on her own, jumps - 25.5 months
23. Writes number 1 and draws circles - 26 months
24. 13kg, completes a 12pc puzzle, has the strength to open the fridge, takes showers but it may not be clean - 27 months
25. 14kg, rides a tricycle, jumps steadily with 2feet away from the floor - 29 months
36. grows her 17th tooth - 30 months

Touching Moments

I wonder if children can see with their eyes close or they can smell you even tho they are metres away from you. This is because when the kids are asleep and if I am in the same room, no problem. They sleep soundly. But the moment I leave the room, 1 of them would surely cry as if they could sense me being there or not. Tho I have mentioned this before but I couldnt help wondering why aloud again.
Something sweet happened yesterday while they were having their afternoon naps. Jerilyn woke up and when she saw Jesslyn, she said "Mei2 sleep". She crawled towards Jesslyn and kissed her forehead followed by lying next to her. I was touched by this. I was amazed how affectionate Jerilyn is.
When watching Barney, Jerilyn is also very affectionate. Towards the end of a movie, Barney will sing its theme song "I Love You". The song goes like this: I love You. You love Me. We are happy family. With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you.... This is when Jerilyn would come to us and give us a big hug and a big wet kiss. If she cant reach your cheek, she just kisses any part of your body ie legs, arms, hair etc... If we resist (when her mouth is dirty), she pulls us til her mouth touches us. Yikes!
As I have mentioned in my previous blog, Jerilyn sometimes read words to Mei2. Today she did the same. The difference is; 2 of them were lying on their tummies side-by-side. Jerilyn pointed to the whale in the book and said "Mei2, see... whale". She repeated a couple of times cuz Mei2 seemed indifferent to what she said.

jesslyn's Milestone

1. Weans Night Feeds - 2.5months. I would like to make a correction here. She doesnt need any feeding between 11pm to 5am. Is 5am feed consider as night feed?2. Turns her body, holding her bottle while feeding, watches her fingers as if admiring them - 5months
3. Good hand control: Grasps and plays wt toys, arcs her body backward wanting to free herself, giggles while watching tv, lunges forward if she wants u to carry - 5.5months
4. Kicks vigorously. does pushups. eats solid(her 1st food is cereal, which is the easiest to prepare) - 6 months

Vocabulary

May 12
Vocabulary
Jerilyn knows a wide range of nouns but she doesnt know how to put them into sentences. She lacks proficiency with other parts of speech ie pronoun, auxiliary verb, verb, adjective and adverb. In general, she can name shapes - square, triangle, circle. [She can draw circles and proudly tell us what she can draw], very few types of vegetables, the common domestic animals and wild animals(giraffe, zebra,), Sea creatures - fish, dolphin, sea horse, octopus, whale, crab etc..., most parts of the body - knee, ankle, tongue, tummy, numbers - she particularly likes odd numbers 1,3,5,7,8,9.
Her sentences include:
...dink milk. ...cannot see. ...sit here. ...come here. So nice. Take shower. ...close the door. Go down/up. Play .... or Dont play. Put here. Go away. Dont want. ... is here. This is .... No more/Finished. I want .... Give me.... Where is ..? There are many which I cant think of now and dont need elaboration here. Basically her sentences are 3-4words long.
She can speak a few words of Cantonese, Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia. The only word that she can use in 3 languages is "Pee". I think the urgency or importance of this word has made it easier for her to master other languages

Gratification

May 11
Gratification
I would like to dedicate this blog to myself and my husband.
First, I am shamefully proud to say that I CAN DRIVE! [I achieved my New Year's Resolution!!! The only NY's resolution that I could fulfill. HAHA!!] Not 10 minutes drive or driving in a desert-like area, which what I used to do, but driving for an hour to and fro Kampar. You may ask "What makes you drive?" My answer is I realise that I cannot be the little girl who always need daddy or hubby to chauffer me around.
I only had 1 lesson of long-distance driving to work accompanied by husband before I drove on my own to work the very next Monday. To me, it was no big deal that my husband accompanied me but when my colleagues asked & knew about my transportation that day, their response was "You have a good husband". I thought to myself "Wont any husband do the same?"
Once in a while, people remind me how great my husband is. During courtship, friends said "Your bf is a great person. He really 'sayang' you. Hv seen so many couples but havent met someone as loving as him." Now, friends say "You have a good husband." I know they were not just being polite. Doing house chores, taking care of children, cooking, chauffering, etc.... Dont all modern husbands do all these? Nevertheless, it's not only these that they praise. It's his sincerity and generosity. He has never taken advantage of any1 but readily offers his hand. He is also very sensitive towards people's needs. Am I taking him for granted?
Quote from The Road Less Travelled: Healthy couples instinctively will switch roles from time to time.
We just celebrate our 4th anniversary on 5/5.

Jesslyn's 1st Trip

Oh No! I didnt take any photos of Jesslyn on her 1st holiday trip! With only 4 hands to handle 2 kids, it was a miracle we could hv a decent holiday without much obstacles and perspiration. Haha... after all, the trip was to Genting. I know.... Another trip to Genting AGAIN. The journey itself wasnt much of a problem cuz Jesslyn slept most of the time. Most probably the bumpy ride at the back of our MPV made her dizzy. When hubby and my parents were at the casino, the 3 of us stayed in the room. I only took the kids out when hubby was around. Nevertheless, Jerilyn managed to play 2 hours of various games, which include netball, car racing, musical motion cars, musical horse ride n a few machines with buttons for her to hit. She loved the netball the best, squeaking and jumping at every throw. Similar to her 1st ride half a year ago, she still doesnt like the musical horse ride. She looked bored and puzzled. As for Jesslyn, she only watches her sister play quietly. She was turning her head vigorously when she saw the beautiful lights. We also took them to watch a performance called Dreamz which featured some wild animals and stunts. The show lasted 1.5hours. Jerilyn n Jesslyn were both very obedient girls considering they had to stay in their seats for 1.5 hours. Jesslyn was restless and cried a few times but the loud blaring music sinked her voice. Jerilyn moved back and forth from 1 seat to another for 10 minutes but most of the time, she stayed seated, enjoying the show. I regretted not having any proof of Jesslyn's 1st outstatin trip. I didnt mention that the video head was dirty when I wanted to record them.

Shopping Experience

Going for outings nowadays need more energy and planning than ever before. We have to make sure that both the kids and us are fully charged. On a rare good day, Jessly would observe the world around her quietly while Jerilyn would happily shop and touching things without much hassle. On other days, Jesslyn doesnt want to stay in her stroller and Jerilyn is not contented wt just shopping. The first 10 minutes of shopping, Jesslyn in her stroller, Jerilyn's sitting in the trolley. Another 10 minutes, Daddy has to carry the small 1 and push the stroller while Mummy handles the shopping trolley with Jerilyn's help. After half an hour, Daddy carries the big 1 and the stroller while Mummy carries the lighter 1 while maneuvering the shopping trolley. By then, our clothes become crinkled and sloppy. My face is oily and my hair looks unkempt. Sometimes I feel like we are monkeys in the zoo - being watched and pitied esp when they start crying and kicking and stomping the floor.

Yesterday, I took the kids to a hypermarket. Jerilyn wanted to walk with me instead of being caged in the trolley. I was picking some carrots for like ... 6 secs and when I turned around, there was no trolley. I didnt panic cuz I know she wouldnt be far from me and the place was quite empty so it wouldnt be difficult to spot her. I looked around the corner and voila! There she was. Pushing the trolley on her own while calling "Mummy". She was calm too, looking around for me and she maneuvered the trolley very well. She didnt look lost and seemed to be in control.

Stereotypes

Since young, we learned that girls wear pink and boys wear blue. Girls play dolls and boys play cars. Mummy stays in the kitchen and Daddy goes to work. But, now, stereotypes have changed.
As I find that Jerilyn has too many boy toys(another stereotype), I bought her a doll house, which I have always wanted since I was young. So, MY DREAM came true when I bought a doll house. The house consists of furniture(of course), Daddy, Mummy, a girl and a dog. I love to arrange the furniture (compensating the lost childhood play) and I usually put 'Mummy' in the kitchen, 'Daddy in the living room, the girl in the bedroom n the dog on the balcony. One fine day, Jerilyn opens the house door n threw the dog outside. I guess she thinks the dog belongs outside the house as the stray dog at my mum's stays out too. What surprised me was she picked up 'Mummy' n threw her out too, saying "Mummy chuo kong (Mummy works - Mandarin). Bye2" and closed the door. I was dumbfounded but I had a good laugh tho I didnt feel comfortable. I am depressed cuz she threw me out of the house. Have I neglected her that she thinks I should stay out too like the dog? Will she throw me out of the house when she grows up? Today, she not only put me out, she also did the same thing with 'Daddy'. I have tried to accompany and play with them as much as possible whenever I am home. Think I am not doing enough for them.

What Amuses Jesslyn

April 20
What amuse Jesslyn
Even though Jerilyn isnt very articulate yet [she only uses 3-4words in her sentences] but she must have thought that she has mastered English language cuz she has been teaching Mei2 the language. Other than naming pictures from books, she also flashes flash card n reads to Mei2. However, at most times, Jesslyn is unable too see the pictures cuz Jerilyn positions them in weird angles. Jesslyn seems to enjoy listening to Jie2. Everytime Jie2 talks to her or in action, it makes Jesslyn pays attn. Moreover, Jesslyn has different expression on her face; somex a smile or giggle, somex she looks puzzled n other times, she is just being attentive as if she is attending class. They adore each other.
One day, I was carrying Jesslyn while Jerilyn was climbing up the stairs. All of a sudden, Jesslyn chuckles aloud. She was laughing at Jerilyn. At first I thought I tickled her by accident. I dont know what was so funny but Jesslyn laughed at her sister climbing up the stairs. This happened twice so I am sure that I didnt tickle her. At another time, Jerilyn was playing with the door, closing and opening it repeatedly while I was also carrying Jesslyn. This made Jesslyn laughed too. What was so funny about it?
Laughter is contagious. Yesterday, it started with Jesslyn laughing at Jerilyn's action n Jerilyn was proud of herself. She laughed in return n then, Jesslyn laughed more. Mummy n Daddy laughed too n everyone just couldnt stop laughing. Children's laughter is the best sound on earth.

The Adorable Things They Do

Just like her big sister, Jesslyn prefers gong-gong to carry more than po-po. When she cries while po-po is carrying, gong-gong will come to the rescue by just supporting her neck with his hand TA-DA --- she stops crying.
There are 2 things they particularly do that takes my heart away. First is to see them lying side by side, chatting in their own language. Second is when Jesslyn giggles and chuckles at Jerilyn's cute actions. Jesslyn seems to looks up to her sister. Jerilyn has been teaching her sister new words too. Putting a big book straight up, she points to a picture and names the picture. Somex she says "Wei Lin, elephant." or "Wei Lin, see. Tiger."

When Jerilyn is in the mood to play piano, she picks a book, opens it n places it on the stand. Not only does she pretend to play a masterpiece, she sings as well. Its not very melodious but its sweet enough for my ears.

Last Saturday, Daddy brought us to Yeolde English to celebrate my belated birthday. As we usually order 3 sets of meal so that Jerilyn has her own share, that day we ordered seafood fried rice for her. At first she was happily feeding herself. Then, she was full n pushed the plate away. When I tried to coax her into taking a few more spoons, she looked up onto the ceiling and sang, pretending not to hear or see me. It was very cheeky of her.

After Jesslyn has taken her bath, it is routine for Jerilyn to squeeze out water from the small towel, turn the tub over to throw away the soaped water and putting it back where it belongs. She just loves doing things for others.

It takes me weeks to finish 1 blog cuz I just hardly have time to myself. 10 minutes break is the most I have at any 1 time. By the time I publish this, it is already 2 weeks old. I borrow a good book from the library which I intend to read during the holidays but after a few attempts to start reading it, I only managed to finish 3 paragraphs in the first page. Wonder if I can finish reading the whole book by the time the loan is due which is 4 months from now.

For the record, Jerilyn can solve a 12pc puzzle at 26months. She praises herself everytime she solves it. She would say 'pan-nai'(pandai) when she is able to do or identify a picture.

A Visit to the Clinic

Jesslyn had another immunisation today. At 3 months, she weighs 6kg; 59.5cm long. I took that opportunity to weigh Jerilyn (n myself), who is only 12.5kg at 25 months. As for me, all I can say is that the result motivated me to lose more kg. People have been passing positive comments n this has boost my confidence. My new year resolution is to shape back to 'before Jerilyn'.

Malaysia's Public Toilet

Our Malaysia's public toilets are well-kown for its...
Being that, I have trained myself not to use them except for the period when I was carrying babies.
Now, I wish to train Jerilyn this habit. Some many disagree with me for obvious reasons but I can't imagine bringing my 2-year old to the wet, smelly, often littered toilets.
In the beginning, when she said "boo-boo", which means 'I want to pee', I told her "Pee" as in pee in your pants. Yah! I know it was the wrong thing to say. It is embarassingly funny when I recall those incidents. Nevertheless, she didnt wet her pants until we reached home.
In our outings after that, CH took her to the toilets a couple of times but she didnt do her business as she wasnt comfortable with squatting while doing you-know-what. I wasnt confident enough to take er to the loo yet. Not sure if it was psychology or what but she came out a happy girl as if she had relieved herself. After that, I try to train her to do her business while squatting but at most times, she just laughs and nothing comes out.
Last Saturday was my 1st experience taking her to a public toilet. It was at a cafe. Thank goodness the toilet was clean. In fact, it was the cleanest I have visited in ages. I had trouble making sure only her shoes had contact with the surroundings.
A friend suggested that we only go to places where the toilets are clean but how many places with clean toilets can we find in Ipoh?
You may say that I could just let her pee in her diapers but the problem is she doesnt want to. She starts whispering "boo-boo" and points at you-know-where and if we dont take any action,she speaks louder and becomes more restless. It makes us laugh seeing her funny expression.
Wasted quite a number of unused diapers. Gotta train her.

TipToe

Jerilyn has been tip-toeing since she learned how to walk. You are right. She doesn’t walk on her soles, but on her toes. Every1 said she has the potential to take up ballet. We didn’t bother much back then because we were very sure she would get out of that habit and walk like a normal person. However, we are quite apprehensive now as this habit has caused her toes’ skin to crack and turn reddish. All this tip-toeing is putting too much pressure on her toes. We have tried explaining, scolding, beating and rewarding when she tip-toes. Nothing works. We wonder if she will actually drop this habit or will she walk like this forever? She even tip-toes with shoes on.

Inspiration

I've got the inspiration to write this after reading another mother's blog. Its about being a clean freak and passing it on to the kids. I have to admit that I am also a clean freak. I have high expectations of myself in maintaining the cleanliness of my home. I cleaned and cleaned that I think I was obsessed with it. I believe my dad is the one who instill this obsession in me. In fact, not only me but Jerilyn too. When she sees water, she would say "wet wet", take a cloth; any cloth at hand and wipe it dry while saying "mart mart"(wipe). She also does her cleaning at my MIL's and attempts to stack the chairs when we have finished our dinner. She is acting like a maid. CH had suggested to put her in the nursery when I started work but I totally objected. Other than for security purposes, what if she becomes the maid there? She is usually very willing to pick up toys for other kids. At home, she is being bullied by 2 of her cousins in the sense that 'they play, she keeps'.
In regards to cleanliness, when she sees a black spot on the wall, she comes to you, points at it and say "pa-pa"(frightened), thinking that it is an insect. She used to pester us until we got rid or tried to get rid of the "insect". As time goes by, she is more daring. If its on the wall, she will just point and say "insect". If its on the floor, she picks it up and gives to us, expecting us to praise her. This is because in the beginning, I praised her for being a good girl for picking up the insect n passing it to me. Now, she throws the whatever microscopic object herself.
She is also quite an organised person. After playing, she would put the things back to its original place. I would like to stress that this is not 100% consistent.
On the other hand, she is not much of a clean person at the table. She picks up the food from the table and puts in her mouth. Hmm... that could be her version of being clean. In the end, you would have thought that she is such a clever eater. Not dropping a single rice on the table.
For the past week, I hv been more relaxed because the maid has taken over my cleaning job. I dont hv to worry about the dirty floor n the sticky chairs and tables. I dont get all upset over spilt milk. I am not kiasu wt putting everything at exactly where they are supposed to be. N I dont get to bed at the end of the day wt a backache.

Escapade

am pretty much ready to start work again after 3 months of holiday. Not looking forward but am not complaining either. My only complaint is I have to switch my waking time from 10am to 6am ie depriving 3 hours of sleep daily. This is not only punishment to me but my kids too. :-(
The past 3 months have been fulfilling yet exhausting. Like yesterday, I put them to bed for their afternoon nap, intending to finish setting my exam paper. Just when I got the idea, 1 of them cried and I had to put her to sleep again. I came down, started typing and in less than 5 minutes, there they go again. I could hear Jerilyn's footsteps down the stairs, wailing "Mummy! Mummy".
I need space; space to think, to relax, to meditate even to breathe. And I cant do all these wt 2 kids for 247.
I need a break from them. In reverse, I will be taking a break by going back to work.

No More Night Feeds

Jesslyn has been a good girl for the past few nights. We sleep at about 1am and she doesnt cry for milk until 7am+ the next day. On the other hand, it's Jerilyn who has been the culprit, crying in the middle of the night for unknown reasons. Only she knows. We could only make guesses like a bad dream or the need to pee. Daddy would bring her to the toilet. If she continues crying, he gets her a bottle of water.
As I have said in my previous blog, Jesslyn is naughty in another way. She wants people around her at most times. I have thought if only I could have a dummy of myself, sitting next to her. Now, I have to sit on a stool next to her to make her happy. What makes it worthwhile is when she smiles back at you, not only with her lips but her sparkling eyes.

Nothing Particular

Jesslyn loves company. Unlike Jerilyn who could play on her own, Jesslyn usually cries when she doesnt see any1 within her view. On the other hand, she will put on a big smile when she sees someone. When we talk to her, she coos and smiles. It feels like a real conversation. Jesslyn likes licking her hands, which is another contrast to Jerilyn.
When Jerilyn started walking on her own at 13 months, I was proud. It was because I was told that girls learn to walk later than boys, which means girls are suppose to learn walking at about 15months+. Recently, I know some baby girls who can walk quite steadily at 13months but I remember that Jerilyn was stumbling at that age. Conclusion is children at this generation learn things faster at a younger age than us.
Jerilyn makes a breakthrough every time she reaches a full age. When she was 1, she learnt how to walk. Last month, she stopped using diapers at home. Now, she doesnt need diapers at all. She can control her bowels at night and during outings until we reach home. Yesterday, we had to go out for 4-5hours and I doubt if she could control her bowels. I put her in diapers and when we reached home, her diapers was as dry as new. However, my mum and sis discourage this cuz it may have negative effects on her kidneys. Hmm... there is nothing I could do tho. I could take her to public toilets but if you have experienced using public toilets in Malaysia, you would only go if your bladders were about to burst.
I am disappointed with Jerilyn's performance at my sister's wedding dinner. She was clinging to her dad the whole time and was not her usual cheerful self. Not many photos were taken. As CH and I were the cameramen and the videomen, we were too busy taking photos of the wedding couple and caring for the babies that there was not much time for photo taking of us.
I have heard of many complaints that babies have fever after a jab. This is a piece of advice I would like to share: Feed your baby with the medicine provided the moment you reach home and continue giving for 24 hours. I had been doing this with Jerilyn and she had never develop a fever after a jab. Good Luck!

CNY Gathering Findouts

I would say Jerilyn is an Extremist. During the CNY, she met with many of our friends and their children. Some said she is very 'chi-cha'(talkative), very playful and rough. A friend said she is shy. I say she is both to the extreme. When she feels insecure, she just stares and observes the other party. But when she plays, she is the other extreme.
Some were surprised we give her CHOCOLATE-flavoured milk. They claim that their children will fall sick as soon as they eat chocolate or other junks. No wonder when I offered their children(some as old as 6) chocolates, the mothers were hysterical, allowing only 1 pc as if I was giving them poisoned chocolates.

Baby Blues

Finally, delivery is over. Confinement is over. Now the bringing up. When will it be over?
Generally the confinement this time is not as tension as it was last time. Tension because I couldnt produce enough milk n didnt hv the confidence that I could fulfill my baby's needs. If only I was more patient. If that was not depressing enough, my MIL demonstrated her expertise (not that I dont appreciate her unconditiona help) with my baby that made me depressed for months n lowered my self esteem. Was it the baby blues?
Hmm.... Why am I talking about the past? Ok. Back to reality. This time around, I made sure that I had my 2 kids with me full-time. Accepting help only for food and laundry. It was tough. Somex, 1 cried after another. Other times, both cried and seemed to compete to see who wins in getting my attn. At the end of the day, I could feel the consequences when my back hurt when I lied down flat on the bed. However, I have no regrets and I would have done the same if I have to go through it again. I love to have them both together.
Now, I dont mind that my sister has brought Jerilyn over to my ma's place while I rest. Why is it ok now while it wasnt last month? Baby blues again?

Another Milestone

I am proud to announce that Jerilyn doesnt need napkins or pampers at home anymore. It is such a relief as I dont hv to do double or triple laundry everyday. Saves a lot of water. We still put her on pampers at night and during outings. Sometimes, she could control her bowel until the next morning. That's something to be proud of for a 2 year old girl.

Building Character

Going into 2 years old, Jerilyn has built her own personality and one of Jerilyn's character that we observe is Affectionate. She shows her love unreservedly. She could just come up to you anytime and kisses you. The person who gets the most kisses is Jesslyn. She just couldnt stop kissing her sister once she started; kisses the eye, the cheek, the forehead etc... She is also very Playful. Some said she is rough for a girl. You can hear her shrieks and laughter in a room of 20-30 people. When she plays, she is usually the loudest among the kids. Other than that, she is an Independent person. As I have mentioned in my earlier blog, she feeds herself, tries to change clothes on her own, carries her own stuff such as bath tub, bag, tumbler, not clingy to Daddy and Mummy etc....[to be continued]

Double Celebration

We are celebrating Jesslyn's Fullmoon tomorrow. Its 4 Jan 2009 (9th of month 12 in the lunar calendar). Why do I mention the lunar calendar? I dont usually observe lunar calendar unless it has certain significance such as CNY or my wedding date. So, it is significance tomorrow because it coincides with Jerilyn's 'chinese' birthday. Again, we dont usually celebrates 'chinese' birthday but since it's also a fullmoon, it's a double celebration.
In fact, on the day Jesslyn was born, in the lunar calendar, it was 11th of month 11, which coincides with my 'chinese' wedding date. Again, it was a double celebration.