Constipated Gabe

Gabe has a constipation problem. He goes to the loo on an average of once in five days and when he does, it hurts. It's a vicious cycle - when you don't poop regularly, the accumulated stuff hardens and makes it even more difficult to purge. So it's not a surprise that he hates pooping. But he goes one step further in attempt to prevent himself from sitting on the toilet bowl. We have to drag him to the bathroom when we catch him in a crouched-up position, trying to "suck" his poop back in when it's so near to exiting, so he won't have to go through the mental and physical agony.

Apparently it's normal for kids to have constipation problems but it's interesting to see how each kid responds and in this case, try to get out of the situation...

"Wahhhh.... I don't want to mm mm mmm...!!!"

"Ahh... whatever..."

Wai Po's Birthday

Waipo turned wiser again and we took her to a nearby restaurant that has become a regular destination for our family. It's never crowded, the food's not too bad, the prices are reasonable and best of all, the kids get to see a huge bucket pour water out at the swimming pool just one level up. But first, the assembly at our home for some pictures before adjourning to fill up our tummies...

The kids with their grandparents.

Then it's our turn. What you don't see is all the fanfare happening next to the camera. "Next to" because meimei's busy looking at the distraction and not at the camera!

Another attempt :)

The wacko family. Everyone gave a different expression, all except father and son.

The yeeyee attempting to make her face visible while holding on to the kids.

Foooooooood time!

Take the excitement down a notch and catch a clearer shot!

Rou entertaining herself after her dinner.

Happy birthday to waipo!!!!

The favourite grandson...

and the favourite granddaughter. Cos there's only one of each!

Cooking Mum

Cheoklet: Shall mummy go out to work and someone else comes to take care of Gabriel and meimei?

Gabe: No. Don't want mummy to go out to work. Mummy stay at home to cook lunch for Gabriel.

Playground Date

Gabe and I took a trip to a nearby playground one evening after dinner. He was playing around, enjoying having the whole playground to himself when a little girl joined in.

He started being a little jittery and pranced around a lot more. He kept wanting to be near the little girl and started saying things like he wants to say hi to his friend, and then ran to where she was playing.

After warming up to each other, they slid down parallel slides together, and ran up and down the bouncy bridge. I learnt that she was 3 years old but Gabe was the taller one. At one point, my son ran up to the girl and wrapped his arms around her, right under the nose of her father!

From a young age, Gabe has shown his preference for pretty females. From my friends to salesgirls to the foxy lady to passer-bys. Apparently, he found the little girl at the playground to be very pretty. How did I find out?

Cheoklet: Who is more pretty? Mummy or that jiejie? (He'd always say mummy whenever I ask him to compare between me and someone else. Of late, he's grown more diplomatic and would say mummy and someone else.)

Gabe: Jie jie.

I wonder how he'll respond to questions related to me and his future wife stranded at sea.

Spouting Opposites

"My name is Gayle.

Meimei is a boy.

Mummy's a man.

Papa's a lady."

The Desert Song

Gabe absolutely LOVES The Desert Song by Hillsongs.

Honestly, I can't even remember how it all started. But as of now, he would sing it throughout the day and it's such a hit that it can be used to coax him to shower, eat something he's not keen on, etc, like "mummy will sing the desert song if you..."

He doesn't know all the words but knows enough of the chorus and bridge to plague us with it all day. He'd want his bedtime songs to be replaced by it. He'd ask if Sunday's songs include it. He'd ask to view the song on youtube, hear it in the car. He'd even sing "Mari Kita" to the tune of it. (Don't worry, I know the title of our national anthem is Majulah Singapura.)

All this saturation got me looking at the lyrics of the song. It sings of a person living in dark days but his focus is on the character and promises of our God and in the depths of whatever agonizing situation, he cries "I will bring praise", and concludes that no matter what season of life he may be in, God is God, and hence the reason to sing and worship.

It is a humbling lesson and more so when the Lord uses my 2 year old son to convey it.

Gabe tapping his "drumsticks" to his favourite song.

Territoriality: The Sibling Edition

There has been quite a drastic change in the relationship between the two siblings. While Rou is increasingly showing affection for her brother, Gabe has grown antagonistic towards his little sister.

It all started from the time Rou was able to move around (whether by wriggling, rotating or plain butt shifting) and reach out to pick things up. She has such a keen eye for little things lying around and will find her way somehow to get to them. She would pick up Gabe's favourite taxi and he would get upset. She would pick up whatever that belongs to him, and he would get upset. What was exclusively his is now in the hands of another and he didn't like it one bit; his territory was invaded from within the boundaries of his home, which was far worse than having to share toys when he meets with friends once in a while. It came to a point where Gabe would be playing in one corner of the living room, saw Rou make a move towards a toy lying out of her reach, dash past her to get to the toy first and "safeguard" it for himself.

Then Rou progressed to crawling, and at a relatively early stage at seven months. This mobility meant that she could get to whatever she wanted to reach easily. And it didn't help that she's attracted to her brother and would always want to participate in whatever he's doing. Gabe would be piecing his jigsaw puzzle together at one corner and she'd make her way there. Then she'll do what she does best - separating/ tearing apart items and fiddling with them for ages before putting them into her mouth. The brother is obviously not keen at being interrupted at play. He would shout for help the moment she showed some intention of coming towards him. If we weren't fast enough, he would shove her in frustration. And the snatching. All this got him into quite a bit of trouble with the parents.

With time, Gabe got used to having his sister around during play time, and probably gave up on chasing after her to "save" his toys all the time. We saw a sudden magnanimity over the masak masak, then the miscellaneous things that lie around and on good days, his cars and even his straws (which he uses as drumsticks)! But he still hates being disturbed at play, and if she thwarts any of his toy arrangements, we'd have to go back to the old drawing board again. We still see his protectiveness over things he believes are his.

The climate has changed to one where conflict is present, and I'm looking forward to another change, this time for the better. Waiting for the day that Gabe can see Rou as a playmate. Still, our prayer for the two siblings remains the same: that they will grow up close to each other and be able to encourage each other in their journeys in life, and their walks with God.

One of those rare shots