Rock-a-Bye Baby

It's very rare I can record a full video like this. They would usually want to be the cameraman instead of being the actor.
This is 1 of the few I have. Enjoy!
Next task is to record Jesslyn singing.

Am I a Housewife material?

I am in a dilemma.
My maid is leaving in 2 months time. Yet, I still cant decide if I should employ another maid or be a homemaker myself. If I were to continue working, I would feel bad leaving my kids behind at the mercy of a stranger. I wish to spend all(well not all) my time with my children. This is the time they need us the most. However, I doubt I can stay home 247; being a mother, a wife and a maid. After having the convenience of a maid for almost 2 years, I dread lifting my fingers on housechores. It's also stressful to be in the same house with 2 hyperactive toddlers, not for 1 week or 1 month but as long as they are in the house with me.
Sigh! Should I leave it to the coin to decide for me?

Experience at the Cinema

We took the kids to the cinema for the 1st time yesterday. Since Jerilyn has a collection of Shrek characters (thanks to McDonald's business idea), we thought Jerilyn could relate more with this movie. I was very excited about the 'adventure'. I remembered my childhood movie experience at the cinema was a disaster. My parents took me to the cinema for the 1st time when I was around 5yo. I was so scared of the big screen that I covered my eye with a kuaci packet. I could only cover 1 of my eye as the packet was that big of a size only. haha.... I remember switching the packet from left to right and back to left again. The movie was in black and white. According to my mum, I was making so much noise(probably crying) during the show that they had to give up watching halfway through the movie. They hadnt watch any movie since. Pity my parents.
Anyway, we bought 3 tickets (RM12 for adult and RM7 for kid). CH purposely chose side seats where there are only 4 seats. His rationale is most likely the 4th seat would be empty cuz Ipohians arent freaky to watch a movie alone on a Saturday night. So, we were all set for the movie, with sweaters, lollipops, popcorn and sodas to keep the kids occupied.
True enough, the 4th seat wasnt taken. The kids were sandwiched between us. I missed the good ol' days when we cuddled in each others arms. Now, we have to extend our arms as much as possible to pass the popcorn. Jesslyn sinked and relaxed in her seat. Jerilyn was slightly tensed. All was well until the bunch of ogres appreared. Jerilyn couldnt take it anymore and became restless. CH took her out and never returned. On the other hand, Jesslyn was oblivious to what's going on and enjoyed finishing the popcorn more than the movie. The 2 of us watched the movie til the end when all of a sudden, she cried. Thank God it was already the end. We left and met up with Jerilyn who apparently spent the time in those gaming centre.
Thats my 1st experience in my cinema with the kids

First Keyed Word

This was exactly what Jerilyn typed at my Yahoo Messenger window when all of a sudden, she thought of Po2.
pppppppppoppopppppp
She said "How to spell Po2? P-O-P-O" I thought she was just spelling it out orally, not realising she also keyed the letters until I returned to the window.
I am not sure what she understands about Po2's death but she talks about Po2 everyday. She'll voice out when she sees something that belonged to Po2. She often talks about our experiences with Po2 as if to remind herself not to forget her. Jerilyn would say "Go to Po2's house." and not Gong2's house. If she accidentally says Gong2, she would correct herself.

Portrait

"Mummy. Look at this! Look at this!" I wasnt sure what I was looking at so I asked "What is this?" She said in a high pitch, dont you know tone "Mummy lor."
Although it didnt look anything like me but I am proud that she has the sense to draw the hair, the face, the body and the limbs. She is an even better artist than me. Til now, if I were to draw, I am only capable of drawing stick portraits.

More Updates

Jesslyn's some bad habits, which I find quite embarassing if she does it in public. One of the bad habits is sniffing our finger(s) when she tries to sleep. Very rarely she can fall asleep without clutching our finger(s) and sniffing it. It looks like she is sniffing some kind of drug. Yikes! What a view! She also uses our hands to caress her face. Cute isnt it?
I have started encouraging her to use the potty but it hasnt been very successful. She will sit on the potty at her own free will (still wearing her napkin) and say "Shee Shee" but nothing comes out of it. As compared to Jerilyn, I am not very kiasu about potty training.

I dont know if it is a coincidence or I am being over-conscious. The English exam paper that I marked recently was about coping with the death of a father. It reminds me of my mum. I borrowed a Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul book from the library yesterday. The 1st chapter is about missing the husband who had passed away. Again, it seems to relate to mum. Is there a message behind it?
Jerilyn is quite sensitive to certain words nowadays. When she hears or sees Jesus, hospitals, Po2 and churches, this is what she says "Mummy, you dont cry ar, pls ar."

Do your children use your words against you? When Jerily is angry, she uses what I said to her on me. All the disciplining backfired. She thinks she can do or say what you say. Probably all those freedom of choice and action I instilled in her have more or less influenced her. If she is angry, she says "Mummy (do something). I beat you." or "You go out." or "You sleep with Ginger." etc... Do you face the same problem?

With regards to my mum, Jerilyn talks about her everyday. Its weird that when at my dad's place, Jerilyn doenst ask for Po2 but whenever she goes to church, she would ask me "Where is Po2?" When she sees Po2's photo, she would ask me to call my mum and says "Mummy, dont cry ar." She still thinks that my mum would return 1 day. Yesterday when she saw my tearful eyes, she said "Dont cry Mummy. Everyday cry cry cry. Why you cry?" I told her that I miss my mum and I want to see her. Her reply was "Po2 not sick. She come here. She stay in the next room. Then, we say Goodnight. Sleep tight". Jesslyn, on the other hand, just calls out Po2 out of the blue, meaning she could be lying down when she suddenly jolts up and calls "Po-Po".

Jerilyn has learned to sing the whole of some new songs Humpty Dumpty, Hickory Dickory Dock, Happy Birthday (in Mandarin) and 2 mandarin nursery rhymes. In fact, Jesslyn too can pick up 2/4words from each line. Sometimes Jesslyn is even faster than the song.

Jesslyn's Milestones

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) - 6months
5. Stands on 4 limbs, moves around by slithering, sits up independently for a few minutes - 6.5months
6. Reacts to the word 'Bye', eats other solid food like bread crumbs and taufoo - 7.5months
7. Pulls herself up to standing position - 8months.
8. Climbs the stairs(4steps), understands bye2 and clap hands, plays 'tim chong chong' - 9months
9. Climbs full flight of stairs, dances to music, imitates sounds like 'yah', 'bah', 'che(jie)', walks a few steps with support, plays peek-a-boo, scribbles, weight 9.1kg,, height 74cm - 9.5months
10. Says "Daddy" clearly(She calls me Daddy too). Imitates animal sounds, has 8 teeth - 10.5months
11. Stands independently for >5secs, puts objects into containers - 11months
12. Runs(3-5 steps) to a target(it was food) - 11.5months.
13. Weighs 9.4kg at 76cm tall, walks 7-10 steps independently, climbs <6 steps up and down the stairs on her soles, added vocabulary, says Thank you automatically - 12months
14. Calls grandparents, calls Mummy(its her fav word now) - 13months
15. Drinks from straw, follows simple instructions "Close the door" "Put it down", "Keep it" climbs the sofa and tables - 15months14. Walks up & down the whole flight of stairs independently, goes up and down her 'car' and pushes it back and forth, gives orders to the maid "Yati, nan-nan", says 2 to 10 - 16months

To save time, it's easier to add Jerilyn's recent development (3y3m old) here: She could push herself up and down the toilet bowl., meaning she can do her toilet business totally on her own. She has started to write by following the lines and dots. She knows how to control the mouse.

New Life

Normally, people mourn and grieve for the deceased but often neglect and forget those who are living.
Thus, this time, I would like to dedicate this to my dad. One month after my mum had gone, we are putting life back in to our life; with some adjustments. My dad is coping quite well with his new life. When I said new life, I mean

• having to take meals alone (I passed by Simee kopitiam 1 fine day and saw Daddy reading newspapers while having a drink there. It hurts to see him alone when it used to be a pair)
• not having Mummy to nag at
• not having Mummy to complain to when he has a mosquitoe bite or a backache
• not having Mummy to share stories with. He cant share with me as I dont know many of their old acquaintances
• having to babysit his grandchildren alone(with the help of a stranger; the maid)
• not having Mummy to share and laugh together esp about their mischievous grandchildren
  It is cruel to take a loved one away from you but it is even more cruel for the dead to leave someone you love behind to suffer the pain and loneliness. Looking at his eyes, I know tears of goodbye must have hung in his heart. We dont really pour our hearts out but there is an understanding. Nevertheless, my dad is still blessed with 2 granddaughters who occupy half of his day and make him laugh and fret at the same time.
  We Miss You so much, Mummy!

Updates

It has been ages since I updated about my kids. Where shall I begin?
Let's talk about Jerilyn first. Over the months, she has learned to cycle the tricycle and oh! She just learned to use the mouse (device) yesterday. There is truth in 'Do not underestimate a child's abilities'. I never thought a toddler as young as 3yo can control a mouse. I mean.... when was the first time I touched a mouse? I have forgotten how techno savvy children nowadays are. I only held and guided her hand for a while before she could manoeuvre the mouse herself. This afternoon, she was playing shape & pattern games on the computer. In terms of reading development, she can spell and recognize a handful of words. She can count to 20 but she cant read some of the numbers.In terms of behaviour, she has picked up some bad behaviour. [There are many praise-worthy behaviours too but just like the media, good news is not interesting. So, let's skip that]. For eg, if she doesnt like it when you reprimand her or limits her freedom, she says "You dont talk to me. You go to hospital/work." to me. To Daddy, she says "Daddy, you go to Singapore." She can be very unreasonable when moody. She learns to warn her sister like the way we warn her. For instance, "Mei2, dont cry. You go outside." She confronts with her arms on the waist, "Mummy, why you scold Kai Lin?" "Why you throw this?"She also knows how to hurt you the most. That is by calling me 'Ah Yee' and my sister 'Mummy'. She would look at me slyly and call me me 'Ah Yee'; point at a photo of my sister and said "This is Mummy."
As for Jesslyn, I am sure you have heard that being the 2nd has an advantage over the 1st child. They have the upper hand of getting the experience earlier than the elder. They also learn through observation and parroting. These are some of the things Jesslyn can do and understand much earlier than Jerilyn.
She can count. You say 1, she says 2,3,4,5...9,10.. 12,13.
She can sing/hum Twinkle, Twinkle. She has no problem humming songs together with the television prog, her tone perfect.
To play certain car toys, you have to pull and let go so that the car moves forward, right? That's what she does. Jerilyn didnt understand 'letting go'.
She bends her head low (like the Japanese bow) when I turn on the shower, expecting her hair to get wet. I didnt teach her this. I still wonder where she learns it from. Her sister still struggles when I wash her hair.
She can imitate difficult words and short phrases very closely. For eg "I love you" "beautiful" "Jerilyn". She is cute when she says "Huh?" if she cant get what you said. She will repeat it many times til she can grasp the word and repeat after you.
She can answer simple questions such as "Where is ...?" Her immediate response is "There!", arm stretched out & index finger pointing even though the thing is nowhere to be found. "What is your name?" "Wei Wei." She understands Yes/No questions & For instance "Have you ...?" "Do you want ...?" "Are you...?"
Other than that, she can now walk up and down the stairs with the rails as support at 15.5months. Some of her favourite words are"Bu Yau ar" (She speaks Manglish)"Go Go Go" "Bau Bau" "Oi Oi"
Character wise, Jesslyn has better PR and more confidence. When she talks, she is loud and clear. Sometimes I find her a bit brash. She must have loved exhilarating adventures such as roller-coaster. She purposely stands at the edge of the bed or sofa and yells "Wouw... Wouw... Wouw". She pretends that she is falling. She doesnt cry like Jerilyn when she wakes up from her nap. If you beat her for being naughty, she stares at you and smiles cannily as if nothing happened.
Jesslyn is as 'wai siek' (gluttonous appetite) as her sister. She can eat even the hardest food ie 'ubi kentang'. She wont let you eat in peace if she is not given a share. In fact, I have to make sure that my house is never short of snacks to fulfil their big appetites. My sister can give a testimony on this. Like Jerilyn, she wants to feed herself too. When feeding her, she has to be given a spoon too so that she can feed herself at the same time. You cant solely feed her cuz she would rather not eat.

The Demise of a Mother

This is my umpteenth time trying to blog this but I still find it difficult to express how I really feel. There is not a day passed by which I dont think of her. The feelings of sorrow, guilt, regret, blame, hate and especially how much I miss her. There are many 'If only I ..." moments. Though her demise was expected but knowing that I wont see her again is the most excruciating experience ever. Knowing that she cant see my children grow(bringing Js to school in their little uniforms) is the saddest for me. Realising that she hasnt returned to JB for years and wont be able to anymore is my biggest regret.
My mum had been a pillar of strength and wisdom in my family. Now that she is gone, no one updates me with the latest news: which company has bankrupt, which company has bought over another, who is Jimmy Choo, what is Bernard Chandran's latest venture, what has Francis Yeoh bought lately. No one says "You dont have my genes when it comes to dressing." No one tells me "Do something to your (messy) hair." Less one advises me "Dont lose your temper on your children." When I was at my dad's today, I stared at the sofa that mum used to laze on. That was her favourite spot; reading the newspapers and playing sudoku. Now, it is just an empty, cold sofa. No more does it look familiar. In fact, it is foreign to me. I miss the familiar sight of her sitting with her legs crossed, her bifocals hanging loose on her nose, newspapers on her hands while her eyes focused on the television.
Since my mum joins God 2 weeks ago. Jerilyn talks about Po-po everyday. On one hand, she says "Po-Po with Jesus Christ", on the other, she still believes that Po-Po will return to stay with us. She would say "Po-Po stay here. Then, Po-Po sit on the chair. Mummy push." Sometimes, she thinks that Po-Po is still in the hospital. SHe tells the maid "Po-Po sakit, hospital." When she spots something which belonged to my mother, she says "Po-Po de" When she goes to my dad's house, she asks to be carried to have a closer look at my mum's photo. Jesslyn too calls out to Po-Po everytime she sees her photo. I hope they will always remember mum somewhere in their little hearts.
I cant undo the wrongs or do what is already too late but I will compensate by bringing up her grandchildren the way that will make her proud.
We love you always, Mummy.

Additional Member in the Family

Let me see. I havent written for almost 2 months. Have been extremely busy lately. In actual fact, I did not have the mood to blog. I had nothing to write about. I didnt have the mood to write. CNY was quiet and sombre although I am joyful that my sister(with her husband) have returned to celebrate it with us. This CNY, I dont have photos to share because my camera had broken down just when I needed it most. My daughters were looking like princesses (though they didnt act like 1) in those lacy dresses my sis bought. However, my camera works like magic now. I dont know what happened but on CNY 15th, I turned it on and voila! I started shooting pics of my daughters with my sis. Yes.... Juliana is still here. She has been back for 7 weeks and will return to Australia soon.
So, what makes me write again? DOG! I dont like dogs. I am the only person who hates dogs in the family. Although my family had brought up 2 dogs in my life but for unknown reason, I never like them. Anyway, one day, my sis and husband(dog lovers) found a labrador lying next to my car. The moment they opened my car door, it was claimed that the dog jumped into my car and they insisted that the dog and I are what the Chinese called 'yau yuen'. So, they insisted that I keep the labrador, a golden retriever. They took the golden retriever back to my..actually my dad's house. They claimed that Labradors are good for children's development.
Jerilyn is only as tall as the dog so she definitely jumps when the dog comes close. However, it didnt take long before Jerilyn went near the dog and tamed it; stroking its fur and ordering the dog to sit or 'come here'. Jesslyn screamed and tried to climb on me when the dog to her. The kids looked frighten but they enjoyed the screaming and playing. Later, we asked Jerilyn to give the dog a name and she came up with GINGER. We are pleasantly surprised with that name. 'Ginger' is perfect this dog. Dont you agree? Not only is the name most appropriate for the dog, its also gives the dog a class on its own. I usually hear human names on dogs which are not creative at all. I, myself am not creative. All of us couldnt think of a name. That was why we asked Jerilyn to name the dog. For this reason, I dont have the heart to give the dog away. Maybe it is good for my kids. I want my children to be animal lovers, unlike me. The picture below is taken from the internet. I havent got time to take a photo of Ginger yet.

Stressed

When you have a very ill person at home, you just dont have the mood for anything; going out, playing with (my) kids, watching tv and even indulging in food (my all time favourite). It also takes a few times more muscles to laugh. This is how I feel for the past few weeks. Having kids, low EQ and heavy workload make things worse
So, why do I have the mood and time to blog?
Have you ever felt such intense emotions that you feel breathless; that you want to explode? How do you release your stress? For me, writing is a way of releasing stress. I used to lament in my diaries. Since I dont anymore, I write it here. However, writing here isnt the same as writing the diary. I wrote freely. Anyway, all I want is for her condition to stabilise. Running errands and taking care of her is my responsibility. But having to worry what's going to happen tomorrow is a mental torture. I am drained out. It's exhausting mentally and physically. I need to have some peace of mind. That's all I ask.
What my Ah yee said keeps me going 'Just do your best.'

Creepy

Even though I understand that imaginary friends are normal for small kids but experiencing it is a totally different story. I am not sure if I being a Chinese has anything to do with the paranoia. I have always welcomed Jerilyn's resourcefulness and creativity in pretend games and sports. She sees dinasours and dragons while driving using the pillow and bolster. She pretends to make a drink(a cocktail I presume) from an imaginary machine. She uses cushions and pillows to skate. She slides down anything which is 30 degrees and above. She uses her 'toy' golf club to play snooker, hoki, baseball and golf (of course).
However, I feel awkward when it comes to imaginary friend. It happened 2-3 times before this but what happened yesterday gave me the goose bumps.
I was putting Jesslyn to sleep when I heard her talking downstairs. I thought she was talking to herself or the maid. When I came out of the bedroom, she was still talking as she walked up the stairs. Upon seeing me, she looked to her right, pointed at me and said "Call Mummy." Looked left, "No, not Jie2. Mummy....." Looked right again. "Call Mummy ar." I am not kidding that my hair stood a while as I am writing this. To some, this may be normal and there is nothing to be concerned about. To others, you may think that I am exaggerating. However, this incident gives me the creeps. My sister and BIL suggested that if this happens again, I could ask her who she is talking to or ask her to introduce her 'friend' to me. Yesterday, I only pretended not to hear her and walked down the stairs with her. However, as I was going down, I was very conscious (in case I knocked into anything).

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.