Nursery 2 months on - Caitlin

I was ecstatic that for the first time, there was no tears when I dropped you off in nursery on the 28th of March (there's been lots and lots of crying before this).  When I picked you up, there was even the hint of a laugh :)  You have finally settled?  Unfortunately, timing's just not right.  As I write this, we have just returned from a week's holiday in center parcs, which meant that you skipped nursery for a whole week, and have been extremely sticky. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

Long overdue - Holiday in Malaysia

It's been 4 months since we got back from Malaysia and am now finally writing about the fun times and places visited.  I was back for 6 weeks with Isaac and he 'ponteng' school for the whole duration :)  We did so many things and caught up with so many family and friends.  We went to KL Tower, KLCC aquarium, KL bird park, KK crocodile farm, KK beaches, and lots of parks.   Importantly, we had quality time with both sides of the family and ate lots!!  It would have been perfect if Richard could also be back for the 6 weeks but he had to leave after 3 weeks.  Boy did Isaac miss him.

Another birthday celebration

Isaac developed a love for 'flat noodles with brown sauce' which was 'kon lo quay teow'.  He ate that everywhere we went.  Most of the places visited was to keep him entertained as he missed Richard after he left and his routine back in Liverpool.  He really had a ball of a time with all the activities.  Until now, he talks about 'N' his cousin and says he misses her.

Caitlin was weaned to solids, learnt to sit and crawl in Malaysia.  I was surprised at how early she crawled (on her belly) at just about 6 months plus.  It must have been due to the lack of clothes and having her knees constantly exposed.  Until now, she belly crawls and I wonder if she will ever crawl on her knees :)  Mosquitoes LOVED her and she had quite a few bites.  Thank God there were some effects from the 'mozzie patch'.

Chinese New Year

Thank you gong gong, popo and ah yis for the outfits!!

After the success of last year's cardboard 'dragon', we (a few set of parents with boys) got more ambitious this year with wanting to make it more real and better by doing paper mache lions.  We thought what a good idea to get the boys involved.  Unfortunately they were only interested for about 15 minutes and the rest of the work were done by the parents.  It was sooooo much more work than we expected and this will definitely be the last of our 'art and craft'.  It was good but tiring fun and the final work was superb and really looked like the real thing!!

Step 1: Paper mache of the lion heads

Step 2: Decorating and base coat

Step 3: Painting

Ta-dah!!

In action

Life on maternity leave

Currently, it's such a bliss!!  I would not trade the time I have now for anything.  Not that I had a choice previously, but I really regret not having taken a year of maternity leave with Isaac, time that I will never be able to get back.

I think I took a long time adjusting into this role of being a full time mother.  The first 6 months was really tough, juggling a new born, a toddler and maintaining the household (thank God for parents and in-laws), and I really missed my comfort zone of work.  I remember saying numerous times then, I miss work and work is so much easier as at least people are grateful and I get a break!! It was me grappling at a different identity.  But since then, I have enjoyed my 'time off' more and more, and dreading when maternity leave comes to an end.  I look forward to each morning getting Isaac ready for school, feeding Caitlin and then heading out for our mummy-Caitlin activities (which are packed to the brim), then have the most interesting and entertaining conversations with Isaac after getting him from school, and then it's our mummy-Isaac-Caitlin activities :) Really love seeing them both play together and entertain each other.  It's been slightly hindered by having to prepare for a MD viva next week, but can imagine it to be even better when that's all over and done with!!  Of course there are times when either of them drive me up the wall and I'm tearing my hair out, but thankfully those are relatively rare occasions.  Thank God for such blessings. 

If situation allows, a one year maternity leave is a must for all mothers!!

Bye-bye Chill SEAT, hello Qashqai +2

We had to bid farewell to Richard's faithful SEAT Ibiza Chill after nearly 13 years of service end of December last year.  We had a new Christmas present of a 7 seater!!  So far, we love our new car.  It is by no mean luxurious, but it does have all the essentials that makes life easier.  Maybe we need to wait for the kids to grow up before we get our luxury car :)

Caitlin - 10 months old

It's Monday tomorrow and I am dreading sending you to nursery.  On your first proper day last week, you cried the moment I passed you over and I got a phone call 4 hours later to be informed that you refused to eat or drink anything.  So, that day and the day after, you were on food and drink strike the whole time you were there (thank God it was only for about 5 hours).  You did manage a nap though, although I think it's because you cried so much that you tire yourself to sleep.  Oh dear, what will tomorrow bring?  I am sure you will cry, but will you try eat and drink something?  Please Lord, help her settle.

On a happier note,
- You now recognise and will do actions to the song 'wind the bobbin up' and 'if you're happy and you know it'.  Your dada thought you were 'washing your hands' when you were trying to 'wind the bobbin' :)
- Can sit from a crawling position, and pulling yourself to standing from a sitting position (NEED to lower your cot - been meaning to do it for 2 weeks now).
- Answer to your name being called and understands bye-bye and hello, although they are both the same action of hand waving :)
- Are quite 'chatty', including calling out 'dadadadadada' and 'ah Maaaa!!!', although am still not sure if you are specifically calling daddy and mummy yet.
You're a 'homey' like your 'koko' as you're super happy when at home and it's such joy to see you laugh and play.  I took out another set of Isaac's toys eg: shape sorters, walkers, hammering toys, and both you and Isaac went ecstatic over them.  So far, you prove to be 'daddy's girl' as you would cry if Richard doesn't pick you up when he comes back from work (or maybe you're just bored of me?).  After picking you, you won't let go of him and will want to be carried by him all the time.

You are nowhere near sleeping through the night and since starting nursery, been waking up hourly to 2 hourly.  I previously mentioned that you were strong-willed but I think I see a 'hot temper' too as you would scream till my ears resonate when you don't like something.  Now I see where the screaming for hours when you were a baby came from.  Richard jokingly mentioned, do we need to discipline you from now? ;)

Isaac learning about life?

The most time consuming thing about blogging is the editing of photos, videos and than uploading them, and hence I sometimes don't blog because there isn't enough time to choose, edit and upload photos.  But, there's so much that goes through my head that I need to write down before they are forgotten, especially things Isaac say and updates about Isaac and Caitlin's life.  So, my strategy is now to post all that I want to write first and sort out all the photos when there's time on my side (definitely before I go back to work).

So, before I forget, these happened in school the last week.

I was pulled aside by his teacher when I picked him up and I know it must be something serious as there's hardly any report apart from during parents/teacher meetings.  I was told there was an incident and Isaac was slapped in the face by his friend and then went on to explain the whole situation and how they dealt with it etc.  The exact account was retold by Isaac the moment I saw him.
Isaac:  Mummy, I got smacked today by 'E'.
Me:  Oh dear.. What happened?  
Isaac:  I was the dinosaur and was chasing everybody and suddenly she came and smacked me in the face.  Miss J then asked her to say sorry but she couldn't coz she was crying.
Me:  Did you say never mind it was OK?
Isaac:  No, because it was NOT an accident and we were both crying.  But I was good and didn't smack her back
And we continued talking about importance about forgiving etc..  But that is the first time he got slapped.

On the way back from school
Me:  Isaac, I met 'T's' mom today.  Do you play with him?
Isaac:  No, because he pulls 'J's' hair all the time and I'm 'J's' friend and so I'm not 'T's' friend and don't play with 'T'.
Wow.. are they learning about 'brotherhood' from such a young age?

Isaac always has a snack after school.  So, on the way back in the car one day
Me:  Isaac, guess what I got you for snack today?
Isaac:  I don't know?
Me:  It's round, and sweet, and you love it.
Isaac:  Pancakes?
Me:  No, you eat it a lot of the time and it comes in a box and there's chocolate on top
Isaac:  I don't know?
Me:  Doughnuts!!
Isaac:  Mummy, you should have said round with a hole in the middle, then I will know it's doughnuts!! 
Me thinking hmm... that's true :)

We were again reading about dinosaurs (still your craze now) one night
Me:  If you were to name a dinosaur, what would it be?
Isaac:  Easynamosaur!!
What a classic answer!!

Out of the blue,
Isaac:  Mummy, you will look prettier in a dress
Me stunned and wonders where he gets that idea from?

I took out all your old toys again and you have been playing with them everyday since
Isaac:  Mummy, PLEASE don't give away any of my old toys!!!  I love them!!!

Your favourite come back answer now seem to be 'I'm not sure, but I think......'