The Second Arrival

Dear everyone, meet my little daughter, number two to the Boonite household, 陈智柔 Gayle.

Rou was born on 28 January 2009 at 3.41pm, weighing in at 2.96kg. She came out demonstrating how strong her lungs were with good bouts of cries and the first thing the nurses noticed was the two little lobes of flesh on her right ear.

More about her on her very own blog, when the mother has more time. Yes, I have caved. Visit www.rourou-tzg.blogspot.com for updates! Meanwhile, here are some pictures taken while we were still in the hospital.

Fresh out of the womb, cleaned, bathed, dressed and happily relaxing on the warmer.


Heh heh... she's still got mummy's eyes, just like gor gor.

Christmas 2008

I have only just realised that I didn't blog about the last Christmas, so it's coming at the same time as the update for CNY.

This year's celebration was held at Gabe's sum sok gong's home, where we found an overwhelming amount of food, noisy company with lots of laughs and a mountain of presents under the Christmas tree. It'll suffice to say the adults were all stuffed with food and the kids with fun and presents.

Gabe and auntie Nikki at the sidelines of the water fight out on the balcony.

Fuel up before the real fun begins. I love the mini santarina hat!

As always, getting all four kids together for a picture tops the list of challenges.

And it's finally time to distribute the presents. Gabe's patience finally paid off when he was called to collect his first gift. See the glee on his face!

Waiting for his turn again. Last year, the wide-eyed babe sat through the distribution with nary an idea of what went on. This year, with the ability to participate, he was thoroughly enjoying the process.

Entertaining everyone with displays of purposeful ha-ha-s.

The loot. Gabe very obediently helped mummy to stack all the presents up until it was time to open them.

Carefully tearing up the wrapper...

Another conscientious effort...

And another...

And another...

Present of the year: the remote control Taxi! Incidentally, waigong bought him the yellow one and uncle ET got him the blue one ie HE HAS TWO of them!

Ending off the day with the bubble gun, which each kid got in a different color.

Those Two Fingers

Gabe's obsession with his two fingers have been both a convenience and a headache. We didn't offer the pacifier past his first month and somehow, the little one managed to find comfort in stuffing his fingers into his mouth as early as the second month. The choice ones are the fore and middle fingers on his left hand, as opposed to the common thumb. So anytime and anywhere he requires some comfort, he'll DIY, and we won't need to lug out extra logistics (pacifier) and ensure they are clean and sterilized (especially if they drop on the floor). This is especially convenient if there's only one adult in the car and he/ she is driving and won't be able to attend to his needs.

But, this habit has its down sides. Major down sides. Although it came to a point where he'd only suck them when tired/ sleepy/ sleeping or when he's in the pram/ car seat, it was a tough habit to kick. Most literature would encourage parents to wean the kid out of the habit by age two, and if it has to go past that age, to limit it to the bedroom ie when the kid requires some comfort to fall asleep. So for us, the fingers-sucking habit when Gabe is lounging comfortably in his car seat will have to be first to go.

So began our strategizing. Again. Sigh... being a parent requires putting so much brain cells to work at such schemes. We decided and communicated to the boy that if he sucks his fingers during the car ride, he will not be allowed to "drive car when papa parks the car at the multi-storey car park at mummy and papa's house". It took a few days before the concept sank in but it eventually did. There were times when you'll notice him fighting a mental battle, where his hands will be wide opened and hanging around his mouth and cheeks. Other times you'll hear him giving you the instructions that "sek sao ji [sucking fingers] cannot drive car" as a reminder to himself. Then there were occasions he'd be so tired out while we're getting home that he gave in to his drowsiness, sucked his fingers, fell asleep and woke up nevertheless to the consequence of no time at the wheel. But we're glad to see significant improvement and we've reached a point where we're almost at 100% success, at the expense of his verbal diarrohea. I'll leave details on this for another post.

Apparently, my in laws have been very successful at getting him to sleep without sucking those two fingers, citing the popping up of the "bubbles" [the callouses that pop up as a result of the habit]. Somehow I've not managed to convince him to do the same. But there are occasions where I instruct him specifically not to and he'd cry in utter despair "mummy let you sek sao ji!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The interesting thing is that on these occasions, he'd obey but due to extreme grouchiness, cry uncontrollably until I have no choice but to allow him to do so. Then he'll settle back down to sleep peacefully. Looks like a long way to go on the bed part of this habit, but we do hope to break it soon.

A look back at the journey of Gabe and his two fingers:

Trying out the various fingers before he turned two months old.

6 months

8 months

12 months

16 months

The Gourmet Boy

Gabe started to identify his foods as early as about 16 months of age. He'd look at the plates on the dining table, or scrutinize his little bowl of food and point out the items specifically. Then he progressed to request for specific foods, asking for fish, egg, or whatever that he felt like having more of. Because of this ability, we have also gotten a clearer idea of what he likes having and we'll entice him to take more of his meal by offering him a piece of whatever in the spoonful of food he was taking.

Many months ago, around the time where this ability became clear, there was a rare occasion where Gabe was having trouble taking his dinner. Derod decided to play a game with his son and hopefully trick him into eating more. So he told Gabe that he was supposed to guess what food papa was feeding him with. Derod would scoop up a single item along with the staple, cover it with his hand and stuff it into Gabe's mouth which was to be opened by the count of three. Honestly, when he was trying to explain the game to the boy, my eyes narrowed into slits and I was seriously thinking that my husband was wasting his time. I mean, how on earth are you going to get cooperation for a game with a kid less than 1.5, let alone succeed at the ploy of getting him to eat more from it!?

But I was proven wrong. Gabe actually enjoyed the game, and to top it up, he was able to tell us what went into his mouth by the sheer taste of it. We upped the ante by offering up to three items, excluding the staple, and he still managed to name them all. It left us pretty much flabbergasted and amused at the same time.

The other day, I decided to fry a big batch of shallots. Don't ask me why but I do derive quite a bit of satisfaction churning out a box of homemade shallots. Anyway, Gabe has this thing for condiments, and is especially inclined towards the addition of marmite, parmesean cheese and shallots (which we refer to as onions) in his meals. So when he heard that I was frying them, and add that to his penchant for observing cooking, he insisted on and obtained a full view of what was going on. Two days later, I was cooking lunch with the leftover shallot-frying oil and our friend yelled from the living room where he was watching his daily dose of Barney, "Onions! Mummy, onions!!"

Looks like he can sniff out good stuff too. And all this before he turns two! Obviously he didn't get these genes from the papa, who on occasions, can hardly even remember the taste of the food he swallowed just a moment ago. Ehhh.... *twitch eyebrows*.

Car Manners

It's common knowledge that Gabe is a car fanatic and he'd jump at any chance to sit at the wheel and do his version of the vroom vroom. This means that everytime we are in a vehicle, he'd request to "drive car". After a really long time, we have managed to establish certain rules, which the little one will repeat to himself as a reminder/ instruction whenever a situation occurs.

1. "Baby cannot drive car on the road. Only papa and mummy can. Baby can only drive car in the multi-storey car park in mummy and papa's house." [That's after we have parked the car.]

2. "Cannot drive uncle's taxi. It's not waigong's taxi. It's other people's taxi." [He'd initially request to be at the wheel when we are paying for our taxi ride home!]

3. "Only papa can let you drive car. Mummy cannot let you drive car." [A rule I added upon the impending expansion of my tummy, which makes it difficult for him to be on my lap when I'm at the wheel.]

4. "May I drive car please papa?" This one took a long time to sink in. You see, Gabe would scream and shout in excitement when the car journeys up our multi-storey car park and his aggressive demands of "drive car! drive car!" are nowhere near our standards of a polite boy. We have gone through months of reminding him to "ask nicely", and upon this instruction will he then make the polite request. There came a time where enough was enough and we'd just keep quiet, give him a little more time (chance to request) before pretending to get out of the car. The training finally paid off. Gabe will wait patiently and quietly while derod reverses the car, pulls up the handbrake and just prior to turning off the engine, sweetly go, "may I drive car please papa?"

He Prays

Much to our surprise, Gabe has been spontaneously sprouting out little prayers. This phenomenon started say, some months back, and it's occurrence is both sporadic and without specific targets. It occurs mostly when derod is saying our nightly prayers before putting Gabe to bed and in the middle of his father's prayer, Gabe will start his own.

It's always in the only form he recognises, which begins with "Thank you Jesus...". He's fished out names of unexpected uncles and aunties (our friends) and their children. But the latest one was really cute -- he was having a flashback of what he had for dinner and then his imagination took off as the prayer proceeded, as if he was lengthening the little conversation. It went something like this:

"Thank you Jesus for the dinner, have rice, have fish, have chicken, have egg, have vegetables, have meat, have soup, have mushroom, have papa's muum muum, have mummy's muum muum..."

All this while, derod and I were looking at each other with amusement and bewilderment, and me feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer fact that my son is praying on his own (never mind that the content is really interesting).

And while Gabe took a moment to ponder on what other food he's missed out, the parents quickly came in to end his prayer in Jesus' name and continue with the original one.

Gabe's 1st Successful Professional Haircut

I've been the primary creative source behind gabe's image since he was born, with the exception of the shaving of his hair at four months of age. During this time, we've gone from completely cooperative, magazine-flipping babe in bumbo chair to wailing sessions heard by the entire block to successful attempts on the highchair due to Veggietales. As I've mentioned previously, I enjoy cutting his hair. It's perhaps just me fulfilling a side of me that never existed, like an alter ego you know, except that creativity is never in my blood.

So, to end off the episodes of clean up (hair all over the living room is not at all fun), and in recognition that a small pair of scissors will never do what a wave of the shaver can, I took him to the hair salon downstairs my parents' place. I've been at the mercy of these neighbourhood stylists since my primary school days, and when I was finally financially independent enough to venture into the territories of "designer" charges, I was still very regular at the place for cheap but shiok shampoo sessions. So needless to say, we are very familiar with the ladies who now have the task of cutting my son's hair.

Our first session took place about two months ago, with me carrying the traumatic, screaming toddler. We succeeded at shortening the sides and the back of his head. He left remembering (and till this day still reiterates to us) the name of the auntie who cut his hair, and the little tank that housed a fish and two lobsters.

So with Chinese New Year around the corner, and the length of his hair seriously threatening the boundaries of his eyebrows, we made a date to the salon. The ploy is as follows:

- Waigong will cut his hair too, as a role model, and a demonstration that there's nothing to cry or scream about, and after the whole process, that waigong "is a good boy" for cutting hair without fuss.
- Waipo will bring the Barney VCD there and request for the ladies to play it during the deed, simulating those crazily-priced outlets at shopping centres, without paying the exorbitant prices. Idea credited to the cheapo mother.
- Mother will drill/ psycho the kid on the process of the haircut. Good boy must sit on the chair to let Auntie Jubee cut hair; watch Barney while cutting hair; no need to scream and cry; after that good boy will be rewarded with view of fish and lobsters.

So with fingers crossed, I took gabe on an MRT ride back to my old home and my entire family was waiting there (the yee yee took the opportunity to go for a shampoo). Gabe was placed on a huge block in the armchair, elevating him to a comfortable height for the stylist, turned in the direction of the tv and by the time the introduction song for Barney came on, he was staring at the screen motionlessly. I tell you, he looked so cute from behind -- this little kid with a little head, completely still and allowing Jubee to do all the mojo.



All four of us stood at a distance, marvelling at how our ploy worked. But it didn't last very long, and another lady had to double up as entertainer. Everytime he turned around to look at us, three of us automatically started clapping and praising him for being a good boy, much like how circus clowns are cued to respond. Later on, he began negotiations with Jubee, telling her he "don't want" the shaver and that he wanted her to "finish" the haircut, and she'll respond with various attempts to lengthen his time in the seat.

Well, you'll see that the final result is not perfect but already a stupendous (Barney's lingo) improvement to the track record.

And... how one kid can mobilize the entire family and two thirds of a salon in accomplishing the task of a haircut...

"Useless" Conversations

I never understand why my husband bothers to have certain conversations with his son.

Derod: Do you want to learn programming?
Gabe: Yes!
Derod: Next time when you grow up, papa teach you programming ok?
Gabe: Ok!

Water Play

We took Gabe out for lunch with the Ds at Vivocity on New Year's Day. It was a good time of catching up and the kids had a rather good time looking at boats and the monorail at the water front. We found the kid's meal at Marche's to be a steal, so the next time you venture into that territory, hesitate not and grab a kid's meal if you have a child in tow.

We made the playground a pitstop and since I brought extra change for gabe, he was free to explore the little jets of water. Tas preferred the playground and Yulia was too young to get into any trouble, so gabe took to his thing with the "water fountain".

He went from observing at the sidelines to standing near the steam of water, to putting his hand out to touch the stream of water, to being all wet eventually. Oh, and we noted a pack full of poo when we changed him out of his wet clothes. Derod figured he must have either had a lot of time doing his business standing there "meditating", or that sudden spray of water must have scared the shit out of him, literally (last picture).