I'm a Scott's Emulsion Kid!

Gabe has been on the original flavour of Scott's Emulsion cod liver oil since he was 13 months old. He's done with the first bottle and we opened the second today. He looks forward to breakfast and the teaspoon of "treat" that comes after it, exclaiming "yooou" (means "oil" in Chinese) excitedly when the bottle is brought before him.

This actually had a pretty psychological beginning. On day one, I opened the bottle, heaped a tablespoon with the thick, white liquid and made derod take a big mouthful, tasted some myself and brought it to the wide-eyed gabe who was eyeing the contents of the spoon with great interest. All this while exaggerating how yummy this thing was. Of course he gave the squirm after tasting it, but when given daily dramatic reminders of how yummy this white thing was, he soon developed a taste for it and today, gives his widest grin when he catches sight of the bottle.

The things I have to do (and the eeky stuff the papa has to endure) to get some vitamins into him. But well, it's worth it :D

The Non-Existent Side of Me

The creative, make-things-with-your-very-own-hands part of me.

But I decided to venture into unknown grounds to try out some things for gabe.

After more than a year since his birth, the mother finally got down to select his photos (0-12 months) and got them printed out. But to slot everything (about 900 of them, in case you're interested) into big fat albums seems like such a shame. So after much thinking and "consultation sessions" with my creative friends, I decided to do up a scrapbook in addition to the big fat album. About three photos a month for the first year of his life to document his growth and to kinda leave him a little something to look back at when he grows up. Upon shian's recommendation, I signed up for a basic scrapbooking workshop with Made With Love. It was fun, and something refreshing as I got to sit among a class of strangers and learn something new. It was there that I was reminded how I managed to fail art class in secondary school. In any case, with my new found skills, I'm about to launch Project Gabe Scrapbook soon. But it'll probably make a church mouse out of me; these things aren't cheap!

So that's one. The other project saw me wandering into Spotlight to grab some textiles and in-fills for a pillow for gabe. As a testament to how un-cheoklet this move is, a friend whom I bumped into at Spotlight exclaimed, "what are YOU doing here?" Point taken. So begins the project to replace gabe's pillow, which is too small to accommodate all his rolling about. And since I don't own a sewing machine, nor do I know how to use one (my classmate had to discreetly help me set up the machine at my home-ec exam!), I stitched the entire thing up with needle and thread.

Well, I think he likes it. *beam*

Duck Tour

Gabe's waipo got us all tickets join the duck tour her church was organizing. So last Saturday morning, we marched out into the clear skies and began our tour.

Enroute to Suntec City. Fueling up before the journey begins.

With waigong at the Duck Tour counter. Fortunately waigong didn't end up buying the duck beak, cos they gave it out free of charge at the end of the tour. Now, we have three sitting in the house.

Yeah! Up up up the stairs!

And on to the tour bus!

Back row fits us just right. Derod joked that we'd probably die of the exhaust gas (pipe's located directed behind us) but yee yee quipped "better us that the oldies", who were occupying about 90% of the bus.

Argh... too loud for little ear drums...

Duck into the water!

Not too interested in the Merlion, nor the Esplanade...

Highlight of the trip: The Singapore Flyer. Visible almost the entire journey, gabe didn't quite stop "wheeel"-ing through that one hour.

Frustrated by Love

Gabe is a happy boy, generally. He seldom cries, and other than being hungry and sleepy, is seldom on the grouchy side too. He's fun to play with, crackling with laughter and saying things that catch you off guard.

But that's a picture that many others do not see. You see, gabe's right smack in the middle of a phase of stranger-anxiety, meaning, he starts freaking out when "strangers" (those whom he doesn't see on a regular basis) want to/ carry him. So we get a fair bit of "bad behaviour" when we meet with members of the extended family, and on Sundays when we go to church. A tip for those patient ones: gabe 吃软不吃硬 ; go for persuasion and entice him with things he loves e.g. let's go see taxi, bus, bird, walk up the steps, etc. Otherwise if you try to yank him out of his comfort zone, he'll give you a vocal session you won't forget, not to mention some aching ear drums to go along with the package.

Speaking of comfort zone, there're his two fingers and their signature position between his lips. Gabe sucks his fingers for comfort when he is sleepy, in need of calming down, in the pram or car enjoying the joyride. Sundays are usually bad for his morning nap; there's so much adrenalin pumping in him that he cannot get to sleep.

Lack of sleep + stranger anxiety + too many people trying to grab him = very grouchy gabe

And how does the kiddo comfort himself? Yup, in pops those two fingers. So when well-meaning people walk by to tease him by forcefully pulling those two fingers out, you can imagine the resistance. There were situations where the above happens, I take so much time and effort to calm the babe who refused to be comforted, and 20 metres later, the cycle repeats. The record must have been like 3-4 cycles?

Please do not misunderstand me. I am one who is usually amused when people jibe at gabe. And these very people are the ones who love us and our child very much to want to play with him. They do not irritate him with bad intentions, and the next person in line did not know what had happened earlier. But when it happens in waves, gabe is badly affected, and the mother is driven to the edge in trying to calm a screaming baby for an extended period of time.

But I suppose that these issues of living together shows us what it means to live in a family, whether related by blood, or by the blood of Christ. So I pray that derod and I will find understanding and support in our families, and that we too will learn how to ease gabe out of his walled-up boundaries to embrace those who love him.

Step by Step

It's difficult to say when gabe actually started walking. He has been taking those couple of steps between one piece of furniture to another, and always lounging towards his destination, so it's not really considered walking.

But in the last week, things have progressed pretty quickly. Those few steps became steady ones, and he was able to walk a short distance to me from the coffee table at the beginning of this week. That was under instruction.

Yesterday, I caught him walking in the living room on his own initiative. Doesn't matter that the distance was pretty short but it showed that this very cautious boy was confident enough to do it on his own.

Today, his waigong, waipo and yeeyee came over for dinner and kiddo was practising walking from one person to another, always giggling while heading for his destination and giving a hearty laugh once there.

Ah... a new phase has begun.

My Redeemer Lives

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'.

The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.

They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Mothers' Day Celebration

Derod and I took our families out for dinner together. It has become an increasingly regular thing where we just kill two birds with one dinner. The in-laws enjoy one another's company and the atmosphere is always very amiable so it works out very well for us.

We took to Vivocity's HK Kim Gary's (thanks to han&karen's recommendation some time back which got us drooling at the thought of the pork chops ever since) for a simple dinner and a walk around the shopping centre thereafter. It pretty much felt like a tour guide leading a pack of tourists; nine adults and a kiddo, plus constant stops to look at things along the way and to pass the Bundle from one set of arms to another. But eventually we did make it to a car roadshow where gabe got to do his vroom vroom behind a set of wheels, and to check out a pair of sandals for his very fleshy and large feet.

It was a good evening. The oldies enjoyed the meal, gabe gave the uncle/ aunties many hearty laughs in return for their attention, and derod and I got a good breather since there were seven other people playing "pass the gabriel" that night *wink*.

"Practising my walk with my gonggong and waigong."

"With my ah ma and waipo!"

"Why must we take a family picture? I want to playyyyy..."

"Yeah! That's more like it."

"Ah pek!!! He's the first person I can address on the paternal side of the family."

"Gugu knows I love to splash around. Doesn't matter gugu's all wet. I'm sure she enjoyed it as much as I did."

"Better be careful..."

"Hmmm... looks safe, and fun"

"It is fun! SPLASH!"

My Day

It's Mothers' Day again! How a year passes. Last year, gabe was an angel since he was immobile and lying quietly on his bouncer almost all the time. Papa did him a favour and got the mummy some nice flowers.


This year, he's a different kind of angel: the kind that can make you cringe in embarrassment and frustration but also capable of tugging at your heartstrings in an instant. And again, thanks to papa, mummy got a piece of handmade craft from the kiddo, customized with my very own name on it. They made it at the toddlers' class at Sunday school. The blue heart is a gift from the church.


I said "they made it" because papa was trying hard to get him involved. By keeping the glue and scissors away, by getting him to do small little things, and by helping him write his first message to mummy. Check it out!

Zoo Trip

Papa is home, and while he's got a day before starting work again, we took a trip to the zoo. I have to say that though gabe could recognize some of the animals, he really wasn't too keen on them. Case in point: at the water animals show, he was more excited at the ball that the sea-lion was fetching than at the sea-lion itself. Nevertheless, both derod and I thought gabe enjoyed the day out.

"Cow! Mooo..." That was our cue.

Hydrating before the trip begins.

Not too keen on posing with croco.

Otters are preferred : )

Do zebras fly?

Highlight of the trip: the keepers were going on a one-week trial period where visitors get to feed the giraffes. Gabe was cool throughout; absolutely no sign of tantrums or fear of the large animal, which he calls "oh-laff".

White tigers? *yawn*

A father-son moment.

Proof of our visit!

I Love My Cars

Or whatever that has wheels. The bigger the better.

Recently, gabe had the pleasure of sighting a fire engine and a cement mixer right downstairs our house, which gives him a really clear view of them. I told him that the fire engine makes a "bee boh bee boh" noise, which he can only say "boh", which really sounds like "ball"...


He has started loving the rare times he gets at the driver's seat. He'll turn the steering wheel at great speeds, do his version of a vroom vroom imitation, chuckle and squeal in delight while at it. Applies to the twenty-cents cars (which are no longer priced at twenty cents) at shopping malls (immobile at our will) and the tricycle at home.

Masak Masak

Today the orforgods gave me an opportunity at a remote shopping spree. Basically they were at the site, saw some goodies that they thought I would want, provided descriptions over the phone and the deal was closed.

So now gabe has a kitchen set, complete with oven and stoves that whistle or sizzle, depending on whether it's the kettle or frying pan you put on. It is also accompanied by all sorts of utensils imaginable and plastic mimics of edibles, some of which you can "cut into half" and put together again. Wonder who is more excited: mother or kiddo.



For the record, I have no problems with my son playing masak masak. Contrary to popular perception, playing "cooking" is not restricted to females *wink*.

Boys Will Be Boys

Those who have met my son will no doubt attest to his high energy level, loud voice and his inclination towards balls and vehicles. But few know that he almost didn't turn out this way.

You see, in June 2006, Derod and I took a holiday in the Maldives and in order to enjoy the unbelievably expensive trip, I had to ensure that absolutely no disruptions would take place whatsoever. This included preventing the arrival of my da yi ma, which was scheduled to arrive right in the middle of the trip. So, I visited my family doctor and he prescribed some hormones which will do just the trick. But it came with a warning: if I were pregnant, and I took the pills, and if the foetus was a girl, no issues. But if I were pregnant, and I took the pills, and if the foetus was a boy, then we should just have to accept that our son will be highly effeminate.

To cut the long story short, it came to a point that all signs pointed to the arrival of da yi ma but I had decided not to take the pills till the final moment, which never came. Then other queer signs started showing: half a glass of white wine got me spinning; I was so tired I slept at 10pm every night while on holiday; the return journey gave me the worst backache I've ever had. Then we discovered that gabe, in his then invisible form, was making his presence known.

It was right then that I knew that God had given us a son, for otherwise, those pills would have been popped without hesitation. Five months later, we got the confirmation at the detailed scan.

So today you see a wide-eyed gabe going absolutely bonkers when he sees the SBS bus (he can now say the "s" in "bus"), train ("aine" as it is known), cement mixer ("men"), and the like, crawling at great speeds towards anything he'd like to lay his hands on, and just being rough and rugged like boys are. And we thank God for our son.