Messy Developments

Feeding oneself. That has to be one milestone every parent heaves a sigh of great relief at. I for one am familiar with all the benefits of a child who can feed himself, at least in my imagination. Jemmy's mummy was encouraging me to get this training going as soon as possible so that when #2 arrives, it'll be a great load off my shoulders. I tried. But I didn't make much headway. And it's because of me...

Every parent has some form of hang-ups. Mine's to do with mess. I can't take mess. I cringe when I see adults scattering rice around their plates, not stacking up the meat and fish bones in a neat pile, dripping soup while the spoon journeys from the soup bowl to their mouth. I see clips of children eating with their hands (read: all ten fingers and palms) and collateral damage extends to the entire highchair, their faces, bodies and clothes. Honestly, I think mess is healthy for children. I mean, when eating, baking, playing with brushes and just plain experimenting, I think mess is a good part of growth! But I just can't bring myself to execute it. I read Karen Cheng's account of her boys helping out with some paint work and I thought it to be such a cool and fun idea but like Karen, I won't be able to watch.

So... when gabe's mouth misses the spoon, when he tilts the utensil before it reaches him, when the food goes all over the highchair, into his bib pocket and onto the floor, I cringe big time and pick up each blob the instant it drops. That's not including the happy banging of the spoon, uncontrolled stirring of the food, and those itchy hands beating me to the food that has dropped. Urgh it's such agony on my part. But it has to be done, especially when Carissa has accomplished the feat at 1.5 years old! And so has that 1.5 yo boy sitting behind us at the restaurant yesterday!

I do think it's high time for gabe to go intensive on training. He's more than ready. And with the extra motivation by Carissa, I think I'll do better this time. But this goes against the very grain of my make-up, so fingers crossed and pat on my shoulder for encouragement ok!

Here's Looking at You Babe!

We went for the 32 week growth/ detailed scan last week and mei mei gave us a surprise. Anyway, she's one cooperative baby, and all the measurements (via ultrasound) were taken with ease. As we didn't manage to make baby-sitting plans for gabe, he came along and saw how the doctor "check mei mei".

Ok, now for the surprise. We didn't expect to be able to see this:


It's such a clear shot of her face! Can you see her hands placed so daintily under one cheek? Gives you some idea who she resembles more?

The Barney Bag

I walked by a pasar malam the other day and saw among other things, this.

Dangling amidst all the other "characters" was this super cheong-looking Barney. Stall holder said it costs $9. I don't believe it but I actually bought the bag. When I held it up to Gabe and asked him what it was, he replied "Barney!" without a moment's hesitation. Well, since the little guy can't tell the difference and grins from ear to ear when he's carrying it, we're all happy about the purchase *wink*. In fact, he even requests to "wear barney bag" (which we have to keep correcting to "carry the barney bag") when we do get out of the house. So on occasions, Gabe will be carrying his own change!

Doesn't he look like such a big boy with the "haversack"?

The Name Game... Again

So here we are again agonizing over the name to give to #2...

We spent the entire 10 months of pregnancy deciding what to name Gabe and miraculously came to a conclusion just when he was to pop. In fact, for Gabe's case, we spent more time laughing over what not to name him (English name). Credit given to derod for 90% of the corny contributions. As for the Chinese name, after mulling over for what seemed like eons, and given limitations like the mandatory "源" to be included in the name, we decided he should be known as 智源, the origin of which is taken from Proverbs:

16:22 人有智慧就有生命的泉源 and
18:4 人口中的言语，如同深水。智慧的泉源，好像涌流的河水。

Now that this one is a girl, it doesn't seem to make naming any easier. It's not that derod and I are incompetent with the Chinese language but it's more of trying to discern what the Lord has in stored for her, or what He wants her to be known for and hence giving a name that fits that purpose that He has planned. As parents, I think the participation of the child's spiritual journey begins here and hence the significance of naming your child.

And just when we thought we'd finally hit the bull's eye, we discovered our choice for #2, when translated into hokkien, was worse than disastrous. It was the kind of suicidal name you laughed at and swore you'll never name your child. *WAIL!* Now it's back to the old drawing board for us.

Blabber Horror

Gabe and I were scheduled for a trip out of the house today and after getting him dressed, it was my turn.

I looked through my wardrobe and declared to him in despair, "怎么办？妈妈没有衣服穿了..."

He repeated after me with "怎么办？妈妈没有衣服穿了！"

A few seconds later, he decided to have a go at it again and went "怎么办？妈妈没有穿衣服了！"

*FAINT*

"Thank You Mummy!"

I made macaroni soup for lunch yesterday and I must say it tasted pretty good. But what do kids know about good food? Anyway, this happened at the lunch table:

I was feeding Gabe his portion and somewhere around the middle of the meal...
Gabe: Mummy cook muum muum.
Cheoklet: For who?
Gabe: For Gabriel boy. Mummy cook food for Gabriel boy. Thank you mummy!
Cheoklet: Oh! *quite startled* Thank you for saying thank you. You're welcome.
Gabe: Thank you mummy cook food for Gabriel. (And for the rest of the meal, he repeated this sentence every now and then.)
Gabe: Mmm... soup is niiiiiiiiiiice. Soup is gooooood.

I was caught off guard that he could voluntarily say thanks for something that I've been doing everyday anyway. Makes me wonder if he'll say thanks to mummy for giving him a shower. In any case, I thanked him for appreciating my efforts and told him that it was really sweet of him to do so. Sigh... *face wrinkled up in emotion* so sweet hor?

Oh No!!!

Look what I'm doing already!!!!?!?!??!?!

And they are on sale.... **twiddles** Should I??????

House Elf at Work

Gabe loves to "help out" around the house and will fight for his turn at the mop or magic clean. He will even request for mummy to clean the house just so he can help out. He details to instructions of cleaning under the various furniture but mostly just runs around excitedly with the stick that's much taller than he is.

Busy elf!

Dragging the two packs around as if he's heading for a holiday. They were with him everywhere he went for half a day.

Gabe & Golden

Golden has gotten a status upgrade. Instead of simply being a sleeping partner (ie just lying beside Gabe), he's become somewhat of a comfort at times. I get amused at the various positions the two get into when I come in to check on the boy during nap times.

How on earth can one be comfortable like that?!

The arm first secures Golden before closing the loop with the two beloved fingers in the mouth.

Golden flat on top of his face. But Gabe tilted his face a little to leave some room for breathing.

Papa's Birthday

We celebrated derod's birthday yesterday with both sets of parents at an outdoor steamboat dinner. Prior to that, we had some time on our hands and went to Vivocity where Gabe's sharp eyes zoomed in on "WATER FOUNTAIN!!!" located outside of the shopping centre when he was tucked about a hundred metres deep within the barracades of shops. So, father and son spent some time exploring the feature before stomach-filling time.

Gabe's favourite Chinese song is sheng ri kuai le. So imagine his delight when everyone was singing it while he was secured on his papa's lap. He's probably thinking that everyone's singing the song to him!

We are three, for the moment. And derod is three-ty something.

After all the fanfare, we returned home and carried out our nightly routine with Gabe. I reiterated that it was papa's birthday and asked if he'd like to sing the happy birthday song to papa. Gabe happily belted out both renditions in English and Chinese. We were so amused yet amazed. You see, we've always known that Gabe knew the song(s) but since we've never heard nor requested for him to sing the whole song on his own, we were never really sure of the extent of this knowledge, until tonight. And the papa was so touched, he told me that it was "the best birthday present ever".

The Fuzzy Wuzzy Feeling

I've been taking time to prepare the logistics required for the arrival of #2 and today's task was to take out all the clothes that Gabe has outgrown, sort them out and repack them according to the different categories I have in mind. They go something like this:

Unisex Clothes #2 Can Wear
This would comprise mostly of home wear for the first few months. They are mostly in whites, yellows and pale blues. If #2 is going to be like her brother, then she would outgrow these by the beginning of the third month, if not earlier. Then they will be packed and stored away for certain buddies who are awaiting the arrival of the stork.

Boyish Clothes - For Home/ Rough Wear
Obviously #2 won't be needing these, which fill up a large vacuum bag. They are already packed and sitting in the store for the above-mentioned buddies.

The Choice Clothes
Most of Gabe's clothes were bought by family members and close friends, or were good quality hand-me-downs. Derod and I contributed to a few choice pairs of shoes. I had such a tough time sifting through these garments. To my surprise, I got quite emotional picking up and looking at these little pieces. Gabe spent much time in these choice ones. There I was, bathing and changing him into these little outfits then time flew by and he has outgrown them just like that. I recall him being so tiny and tubby, looking so wide-eyed and innocent in them. My baby is gone; he's all grown up into this talking, running toddler. I miss him. So I'm keeping some of these pieces with me as keepsake for times that have past us.

Such unexpected emotions at such mundane tasks...

20 November 2008 - A Good Day

Gabe has somehow wandered into the realm of the terrible twos and life, at least for the parents, has never been the same. I have absolutely no idea exactly how and when this happened but it beginnings can be traced to somewhere after he turned 18 months. Someone once told me that the terrible twos do not begin when the toddler turns two and neither do they vanish on his third birthday. So the last few months have been an increasingly challenging journey for the parents, and especially me as the main caregiver.

Life with Gabe can be sooooo trying at times, there are days that poor derod returns from a hard day's work to a grouchy wife and a difficult child. But today, oh today, was glorious! Gabe was the most obedient, cooperative, amusing, polite little boy throughout the day. Today, being around him was pure joy and it magically erased the effects accumulated from all those months of horror.

On top of that, we had these two bits of conversations that stuck with me.

I was showing Gabe some pictures of him as an infant and pointed out someone who is in need of prayer. After describing the situation in simple language, and reiterating that we should pray for this person, Gabe put his hands together and said the only prayer he knows. "Thank you Jesus for xxx..." He hung on the last few words while looking at me for further direction and after giving him a few helping words, we closed the prayer in Jesus' name. I was shocked! I didn't expect a response, and one that required him to dig into his reserve of capabilities and fish out something that was closest to the situation and apply it. You see, the only prayer Gabe knows is the prayer at meal times; he says his own grace at milk/ meal times so it's the only one he can fall back on. But it was the gesture of him praying for someone that really touched me. Derod and I hope that he will be a boy who grows up to embrace the Father in prayer and to keep others in prayer too.

The other conversation took place after lunch. I was peeling one of two oranges for us to share and he was holding on to the other. After some rough handling, I reminded him that he should be gentle with the fruit and be careful not to drop or throw it off his tray. At one point, he got so carried away he actually threw the orange on the dining table, upsetting some utensils. Sternly but gently, I repeated my instructions (makes you wonder why mothers become naggy). He read the expressions on my face and the tone of my voice and concluded, "Cannot throw orange. Mummy upset. Kiss mummy happy."

?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?

Well, it was a wonderful day. Enjoy it while it lasts, cheoklet, even though it's only for one day.

Conversations with my 1.8 Year Old

I can't believe the time has come for me to have conversations with my son. I mean, not too long ago he was still sitting there goo-goo ga-ga-ing away and here we are today communicating in long phrases and sentences.

Gabe started out repeating the things that I tell him. He does a lot of his repeating immediately, but what I meant from the previous sentence is that he'll see a situation/ scene which I gave him some description of on previous occasions, and tell me exactly what I told him back then. He'd also repeat instructions that were given to him some time ago when the same situation comes on again. Till today, he'll still be telling us, "Cannot come down the bed yourself. Must ask mummy and papa help. Cannot scream and shout and cry. " And this was the instruction that was first told to him when his bed arrived three weeks ago. The scary part of this memory thing is that he actually remembers promises (big or small) be it a day or a week later.

These days, he requests for things -- a certain CD to be played, a certain drink, a certain toy, to speak with someone on the phone, to go to someone's house, requiring you to perform a certain action.

He'll also tell us what's on his mind, and they reveal what he associates various places or people with. If we're heading to pick derod up from work, he'll rattle off that we'll get to go inside the tunnel (CTE), see water fountain (there's one just down the slope from derod's office) and name some of his colleagues. If we told him we're going out, he'd try his luck with some of his preferences e.g. to go to waigong and waipo's house. Then he'll fantacise that we'll "take the escalator and take the MRT train to go to Potong Pasir and drive taxi".

The other day I was home feeding him his lunch. He was so hungry that he asked for The Sound of Music to be switched off so that he could eat. I chided him for rejecting his breakfast and hence being so hungry that he couldn't wait for lunch to be served.
Cheoklet: See? You didn't want to eat your Sara Lee cake so now you're so hungry.
Gabe: Don't want cake.
Cheoklet: What about bread? What if mummy gave you bread instead? Would you have eaten it?
Gabe: *small pout and paused in silence for a while* Don't say "no!" to mummy. Cannot say "no!" to mummy.

There were so much unspoken thoughts in those two short phrases that I couldn't help but give in to laughing. I suppose I can still react like that for now, while his ability to comprehend is still limited. But not for long. Not for long.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night

Edelweiss

Gabe was introduced to The Sound of Music a few months back and it struck a chord with him. He caught on the favourite tunes of Doe a Deer and the likes and has been singing them through the day. But it was the scene of Captain Von Trapp playing the guitar while singing Edelweiss to his seven children that really captured the attention of little Gabe. He'd often fantasize aloud when the scene comes on, saying, "Baby play guitar. Baby sing Edelweiss." Perhaps part of the reason for being so familiar with the instrument is credited to watching his father play in the church band.

So you can imagine his delight when Auntie Lili gifted him with a toy guitar. He beamed with uncontrollable joy and to our amazement, belted out Edelweiss while trying to look like a professional strumming the instrument. Henceforth, everytime he reaches for the toy guitar, he'll go singing either Edelweiss or Doe a Deer, imitating the actors in the show.

Check him out in action, in erm, distracted action. By the way, Gabe has always shown much ease when it comes to rhythm but I can't say the same with regards to pitching. But there has been tremendous improvement of late and hence, what you see today.

Training: Shower Time

Most parents I know don't seem to have any problems showering their children. Gabe, however, proved to be a challenge when we transited him from the tub to the shower. The initial period saw lots of screaming, crying, and hence very wet and angry parents. He was so afraid of the water running down his face that the entire bath time would be traumatic for both him and us.

It took us about a month or so of long suffering persistence before he finally gave in to the idea. And it wasn't until about two months later that bath time became as enjoyable as before.

Jemmy's mummy again, gave some very helpful tips on how a mother with a growing tummy could get by bathing a toddler. Thanks, woman!

The latest fad is to burst into a run, out into the living room, screaming with glee and shouting "shame shame!" after the mother has removed all his clothes. Here's a shot of the boy goofing around before he enters the bathroom. He was very amused with the shirt being "stuck" on his head.

Training: Cot to Bed

You'll notice that we're trying to get as much training done as possible partly because gabe is at the stage of readiness and partly in anticipation of the arrival of #2. To complete the training of these areas would mean that we will face less protest in changing habits when he grows older, and hopefully that we'll have an easier time when #2 comes along. And since #2 is going to take over some of gabe's logistics, like the cot, it makes sense to transit gabe out of it, and make it available to his sibling.

We did some homework, checked out what some of our peers are doing, and settled on this Ikea bed. We made a few trips to Ikea, introduced gabe to his new bed there and told him we were going to buy that for him. With fingers crossed and hearts prepared for him not being able to settle into a proper night's sleep for a couple of months, we set the date for the transition four months prior to the arrival of his sibling.

To further ease him into the transition, other than the brain-washing we've attempted, we got him a big pillow and a new companion to add to the new piece of furniture. The pillow, so that he'll stop fighting with me for my very own baby pillow, which I hug to sleep, and Golden, a stuff doggie he fell in love with at first sight on one of those trips to Ikea.

The big day arrived and the bed was delivered and assembled. That very night, we put him to bed with the sole instruction that he was not to get out of bed on his own, and that he must call out for mummy or papa to help him if he needed to. He repeated the instructions to us voluntarily and lay stiffly in bed when derod put him down after our nightly routine. In fact, he seemed so conscious of himself that he hardly moved at all. We figured it's perhaps due to the lack of grills.

And guess what?! The first two nights are fuss-free, as though nothing has changed. We thank God tremendously for this miracle and pray that He will continue to extend His mercy towards us to ensure that every night will remain as smooth as these first two nights.

Training: Toilet

Gabe's pooping routine is rather predictable, and he's also able to communicate to us after he has soiled his pampers. So we started training him to poop on and into the toilet bowl a couple of months back. Thanks to jemmy's mummy, we got some tips on the kind of seat to purchase and some step by step procedures for the process.

We introduced the concept to him with a reward of a drink of ribena if he successfully poops into the bowl. The initial stage saw him protesting and sometimes crying when he was placed on the seat. Then he started protesting at the point where he realised we were going to drag him to the toilet. Today, he still makes his protests known, but we have less difficulty in getting him to the destination.

He does a hippity hop kind of dance on the spot and add that to the expressions on his face, and we know he's about to go. He is still not at the stage of volunteering the information of his urge but the signs are clear enough for us to whisk him to the toilet. There are times of false alarms, of course. We have also transited to the stage of rewarding ribena only when he does the full job in the bowl, and his pampers remain clean.

At the first sign of download, he will declare to us, "Good boy! Mummy give ribena!"

We've yet to succeed at getting him to pee into the bowl, which we really hope will take place soon, like before #2 comes along. It's funny because many mothers tell me that the pee-training usually comes before the poo-training. If anyone has any tips, please feel free to share with me.

Meanwhile, keep us in prayer as the boy transits from one stage to another into toddlerhood.

Note: image has been removed for modesty purposes

Update: 20 Months

Funny English
May I have the go outside please mummy?
May I have the sit down please mummy?
Your wheel
Papa give you peace (It should be "Jesus gives you peace")

Direction Sense
Can navigate from home to Buangkok Mrt on foot
Points to correct direction when asked where his home is, where mrt station is from waipo's house

Transited to one nap a day from about 18 months.

Speaks so much I lost count. But never fails to surprise with unexpected statements or weird English to make us laugh. Experiments with sounds to make you laugh.

Loves cleaning. Picks up pieces of paper or cloths and starts wiping everything. Fights to hold on to the magic-clean mop to clean the living room.

Imitates the mother cooking, especially "chop garlic" and "beat the egg". Helps that there is a masak station he can unleash his cooking skills at.

Has a scary memory that never fails to remind us we should be careful with our words or actions. Even things that we take for granted on an irregular basis is remembered.

Favourite toy: sausage
Favourite past-time: sitting on the day bed and reading the magazine

TV Time: approximately half and hour a day, with Mondays being the exception of an hour so that cleaning lady can get stuff done in the house.

Somehow started screaming and shouting for things he wants, without anyone teaching him. Has to learn to ask for things nicely before he is given them.

Initiates creativity. Creates "fireworks" and "water fountain" with soap on the glass door at bath time. "Draws" "fireworks" on his magnetic board. These will always be done in large circular motions as if trying to bring out his understanding of the nature of these objects.

Shoe size remains at 7, since about 18 months.

By now, all canines and front molars are out but are at different stages of growth. Loads of gaps in between teeth though, not the kind in nice, neat rows.

Train and Bus Boy

Gabe loves the (MRT) train, taking the train, watching the trains, commenting on what he sees with regards to the train.

Common phrases heard at the MRT station:
This one our train
That one not our train
Another train
Doors closing
Happy (berhatiti di ruang platform)
Train coming
Dao le
Hai mei dao
Train spoil
People get off train
Take escalator, take lift
Cannot take escalator on own

He loves to take the bus too. We'll be waiting for our bus at the bus stop and he'll obediently sit on the seat and wait till the bus comes. Meanwhile, he'll be playing with my ezlink card, and has no problems handing it back immediately at a single request. Likes to imitate the "deet" sound when the card comes into contact with the machine on the bus.

Thank God our boy loves the public transport, since we don't own a car!

Thorn Among the Roses

The Ds braved a trip across the island into the realm of Siberia (what a friend calls our home in this remote part of the world) last week with their two lovely girls. And how better to round up the gathering than with a few snapshots of the kiddos?

Seated in order of seniority, Tas, Gabe and little Yulia. A bit tak glam to be in diapers next to two well dressed ladies - something to dig out and laugh at him when he grows up. By the way, do gabe's grins give you a glimpse of him on cloud nine? You see, this guy is a buayalet (like piglet). He actually told me "U for Yulia" from the time after the visit. Amazing huh?!

Blabber Update: 19 Months

Adult: Call ______
Gabe: Don't be rude. [He actually meant to say "no!" but instead instructs himself while looking at you, with the response that you will give him when he does say "no", hence skipping the step of actually saying "no". The innocent bystander will be wondering why he is being told not to be rude when asked to be greeted. Alternative responses include "don't say no" and "must call people".]

Instructs the mother on a regular basis with "must call sam sok gong", changing the names of people according to his mood.

Tries to form a sentence with all the accurate vocabulary and grammar but due to the sheer feat, doesn't get it right the first few times. Will try and try again until he gets it right, and is satisfied with the final sentence, all on his own.

Negotiates. Understands the "do ___ first, then do ___" concept and tries to apply it to his advantage.

Increase in number of phrases in Chinese.

Can sing quite a few songs on his own without assistance. Increased repertoire of songs from The Sound of Music.

Can complete the-couple-equation for most of the people we hang out with, even if you only see him once a week, or been to visit at our home just once. For example,
Cheoklet: Auntie Joyce and...?
Gabe: Uncle Keith

Recognises and remembers all maternal and paternal family members on cheoklet's side and most paternal members on derod's, since derod's family is really large and we don't see all of them on a regular basis.

Counts from 1 to 20 in English, something he accomplished about two months back. Forgot his A for apple -- Z for zebra (which he achieved at about 15.5 months) since he moved on to other toys, books and veggietales.

Can describe your mood as "happy" or "upset".

Can grasp the concept of two. He takes a walk in the park and points out "two dogs", remembers there are "two aunties" in weiwei's house, etc.

Verbalises specific landmarks or memorable details of a place or person.

Please be Patient, the Doctor is In

For a boy who hardly makes any trip to the doctor's office, gabe has been doing more than his fair share of trots there these few weeks, and for all sorts of reasons.

He came down with a weird, red rash all over his body one morning. No accompanying fever or other symptoms. Turns out it's due to a virus. It was gone within a day but we still got to pay for the consultation and medicine.

One fine morning after I took him off the toilet bowl when he was done doing his business (yes, we've been poo-training him), I got more than startled to find it stained red, much like someone just poured a cup of ribena into it. So off to the pediatrician we went and he was diagnosed with constipation. Apparently, I had failed to notice the small but persistent signs for the last few weeks and the situation aggravated to this point. We had to give him a special sugar syrup to loosen his stools, go aggressive on the fibre in his diet and make the boy drink, which is one of the most tiring things I have to do. You see, gabe is bad at drinking. We have to coax, force, disguise, negotiate, do all sorts of things just to get him to take three sips. Anyway...

He came down with a bad bout of flu a week later. My personal method of dealing with gabe's flus is to last it out and unless it gets really bad, or if it affects his sleep, I would keep medicines out of the way. And if I were to medicate, it'll usually be self medication since I'm familiar with the few that he's been prescribed with thus far. But this one was bad. So off to the doctor's we went. Much to my dismay, we had to drug him for a week, but it all went off eventually and I took home more knowledge about his medicines and how/ when to administer them.

Two to three weeks later, which is today, we saw the doctor again! For the last two days, he has been giving me three soiled diapers a day, versus the daily trip to the loo for his downloads. The queer part was that the stools were progressively more watery with each incident. I wondered if that was diarrohea, since I'd never met with a situation like this before. On day two, he started to develop a low grade fever. Derod and I decided to take him to the doctor's the very next morning. Turns out, even if we didn't have that intention, the incidents following that morning would get our butts up and going: gabe woke us up just as the sun rose up the horizon with a big soiled diaper and after his morning milk feed, gave us two others within an hour. The diagnosis: gabe caught a virus and it should self-resolve but we have to last it out for the next three to four days. Meanwhile, we have to hydrate him with like a litre of fluids a day (I almost fainted) and we busted our pockets purchasing the prescibed fluids, which gabe fought to push away after just one sip. Apparently, he caught this virus from where children gather. The doctor named the possibilities of childcare centres and playgrounds.

When gabe was between six and ten months old, a friend commented on us washing his teether-toy when it dropped on the sidewalk where we had lunch, and on us wiping the high chair gabe was on (the wet tissue turned out pretty black). I thought about whether I was being too picky about cleanliness but decided that it was reasonable for two reasons. One, my son is a fingers-sucker and those little hands find themselves in his mouth after touching the world. Two, when we we young, there weren't such things as hand-foot-mouth disease, rotavirus and all sorts of other stuff you'd only encounter when one enters the realm of modern day parenthood. But as gabe grows older, I become more relaxed in this aspect but to rid him of the fingers-sucking habit is still the goal yet to be achieved.

Anyway, we ask for you to please pray that the little boy will recover soon and that we'll be rid of those doctor's visits. It's lucrative to be in anything that involves children (consultations, clothes, education, etc) so if you are considering a career change, why not place this on your list?

Training: The Church Part

Derod and I have come face to face with a growing gabe and decided that certain forms of training have to be put in place. For starters, we have set aside a routine to take place on Sunday during church services.

Thanks to two very kind and generous ladies who are supporting our efforts, we are training gabe to sit through the front part of the service like every other member in the congregation. That means that he'll participate in the singing portion of worship and sit through intercession and the Lord's supper with me. After this, he'll follow derod to the toddler's class, and spend time singing, learning a short lesson and getting some craft work done.

He has been relatively cooperative thus far and except for one occasion, we were able to co-exist peacefully. The distraction comes when he starts shouting out the names of people who go up to lead various portions of the service. He grins in glee when the children are dismissed to their classes. According to derod's reports, he is beginning to settle down as part of the class, versus living in his own world while being in the same room as the other children. He looks forward to the singing (and comes back home to ask us to sing the same songs for him), and to the tubes of glitter during craft time.

But of course, the papa is the one who has to do most of the craft work and getting the son to press the pieces of paper down after he glues them. Derod speaks with pride at this piece of work shown below, because he says the others just randomly paste the stars around, while his was the only one with a sense of artistic direction...

Gabe Says in "I Am Chao Been Because..."

My mummy turned me from this

To this...


Yee yee and auntie livingjoyfully have been the most articulate in expressing their *ahem* opinion towards mummy's "talent", which she doesn't exactly refute. Her only defense is that I can't sit still, a reason she can't use this time because I was happily watching Veggietales. Looks like the more challenging it is, the better my haircut will be.

What to do? I howled down the entire Compass Point and the small hair salon at waipo's place when they tried to give me professional services. So mummy says I'd better not complain too much. We just hope the hair will grow out soon.

Uncle ET in Beijing

Gabe's uncle et is well settled in the Paralympics Village in Beijing and has now got a space on the Straits Times blog to pen some thoughts prior to his race.

Please continue to pray for him to fully recover from the bout of flu and be in tip top condition as he races down the track for the heats on 11 September, and the finals on 12 September!

Conversation at the Masak Station

Gabe managed to "cook" a plate of vegtables and a plate of sausages, and derod came walking by.

Cheoklet: Why don't you let papa eat the sausages?
Gabe: Papa! *took the sausage out of the plate and handed it to derod*
Derod: Eee... use hands one. Papa give you rating "D".
Gabe: What's that!!

I thought that to be absolutely hilarious.

Paralympic Champ!

Image taken from the Team Singapore press release on 28 January 2008 entitled "Boccia Team Achieves Singapore ASEAN Para Games History"

Gabe's Uncle ET flew off to Beijing early this morning to participate in the Paralympics 2008. He's part of Team Singapore, and the only representative from the country in the wheelchair racing event.

We're cheering you on, and keeping you in our prayers. So fly with the wind and race your best! Whatever the outcome, you're already the champ in our eyes. And as for gabe, he's just waiting for you to come back soon so he can play with your wheels and see those lights on the little wheels go.

Clap clap! Uncle ET's the best!

The Father and His Son

Derod was a jitterbug when he discovered we were expecting our first child. Elated, but jittery. He won't say it but if you probe and probe enough, he would tell you he doesn't really know how to be a father, and most of all, about his fear of carrying a new born baby. A wobbly, fragile, head dangling (if you don't hold the neck properly) new born baby.

But he rose to the occasion effortlessly, and by Day three, was already doing this.


From then on, derod has been nothing but an amazing dad. In fact, he can do everything that I can do and look after gabe independently. Everything except cook his meals, cut his nails and hair. When I was stuck at home the last two months, he took gabe to church on his own, brought him to class, fed him lunch while out with the lunch kakis and took him home half a day later. He can bathe the fella, have his meal while feeding him, play with him, change him, put him to bed, basically exist independently with gabe, without me. I know of very few fathers who can, and who are willing to do that (kudos to you, you know who you are, dear friends).

So needless to say, derod has cultivated a certain bond with his boy. I've always been very proud to have derod as a husband, and now looking at him with his son, am so proud of him as a papa too.

In matching OP tees

Gabe Can Spell!!!

Actually, it's only just because he can sing "The B-i-b-l-e"...

Hee...

Gabe Says in "Dress Me Up"

Mummy used to have a lot more freedom before I came along -- freedom in mobility, in earning an income, getting stuff done and basically being productive in a different sense. I'm not sure if it's because mummy gets bored with this lack of freedom that she decided to go creative, with me as the subject/ model. She has this thing with headgear.

That's my gai gai pants on my head. And I'm holding my pajamas pants.

Switch.

Then there's this ah go go hairband...

Sigh... so I decided to give in to her craziness and strike a pose. The things I have to do for my mummy...

I Love My Music

Gabe was first introduced to Veggietales when he was about 10 months old. I needed to plop him somewhere when I vacuumed and mopped the house and attempted to use Veggietales as a form of distraction and entertainment. It didn't work. He just wasn't interested. But things took a turn when he was about 17-18 months old.

He started liking the Theme Song. In fact, he liked it so much he'd allow me to brush his teeth without the usual fighting, screaming or crying. He liked it so much there were some mornings the first thing he said to me was "Veggietales. Theme song." He'd like it so much he'll plague me with endless requests throughout the day to "Mummy, on Veggietales. Theme Song." And when he didn't get what he requested for (video's only turned on once a day), he'll go "Mummy, sing song the Veggietales! Sing song the bome bome bome bome!" Throughout the day. Here's how the theme song sounds like.



One day, he decided to attempt to sing the song for himself. And boy did we have a good laugh. This is his first attempt.



Then, he got to a more advanced stage where he added sound effects and commentary. He also chose which lyrics he wanted to leave out. For your information, nothing is wasted in this version of his. Even the parents took some time to figure out the parts that sound like jibberish, but they are parts of the song. Go figure.



The other figure that commands Gabe's attention is the purple dinosaur. Seriously, I do not know of any kid that doesn't love Barney. Why ah? Gabe can now sing, word for word, Barney's signature "I love you" song.


And... it is true that you'll influence your children according to your background. I grew up with a certain type of music in my household and it is then no surprise that with both influences from me and Gabe's waigong, that he'll be introduced to...

Yeah, go ahead and faint. The king of Cantopop is the next in line on Gabe's music list. Let's see how far this list will stretch by the time he turns two.

Introducing...

The latest to-be member of the boonite clan: Gabe's sibling to-be.

I think the two are going to be very different, judging from how I'm going through their individual in-utero phases, and perhaps from a very biased perspective, how they "look" on ultrasound at 12 weeks.

Gabe

Number 2

By the way, fella's got a hand plopped on the forehead here.

Surprises

Gabe: Papa. Armpit hair. *derod raises arm and gabe fiddles around*
Derod: Smell? *gabe does it!*
[Now, the boy will plonk his face into his dad's armpit voluntarily expecting some laughs out of us.]

While out in his stroller one late afternoon, Gabe repeats in complaint "shai!", after which he reaches backward and with both hands crack the pram's shade down to maximum, exclaiming "cover!" as he does so.

"Dark dark cannot see aeroplane!"

Derod: Waigong/ waipo/ yeeyee zhu na li?
Gabe: Potong Pasir
Derod: Baby zhu na li?
Gabe: Sengkang
Derod: Ji lou?
Gabe: San lou.

Gabe woke up one morning, sat up and declared "Must call gu por and hinweng gong!"

It was one of those days that we had derod's dad's car with us and I took Gabe to pick derod up from work. I casually told him as we were entering the CTE tunnel, "go inside tunnel". It stuck. Subsquent trips would involve Gabe going, "Fetch papa. Papa office. Go inside tunnel. Uncle James [derod's colleague who shares his office room]."

Gabe was with his maternal grandmother one Saturday afternoon and she was having a hard time putting him down for a nap. After having her patience tried for some time, waipo decided to raise her voice and Gabe pouted, rolled away with his back facing her, and a short while later, turned back to tell waipo "hui jia..."

Ze Incredible Taxi

Behold the amazing invention of my father, ze incredible taxi, of which gabe is main driver.