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