Full Day - Singing Class

It was a day of firsts for the girls, as Faith attended her first swimming class in Full-Day and Saige - her first class at Kindermusik.

From all accounts, both girls enjoyed their classes.

For Saige, this was really quite unsurprising. Both Eve and I had been noticing that the little one loves music and dance. The concerts at Disney, the rides on Small World, the playing of the xylophones at home (the only thing in the toy corner she doesn't put into the her mouth to "mum-mum"), the dancing to the music of practically anything...it was quite clear to us that she would enjoy music class. She did. Eve mentioned that even though she entered class a litle sleepy (she had to be awoken from her nap), she actually followed Ms Janice's movements quite intently and as Ms Janice put it - very engaged and alert. ...

For Faith, it had honestly been a bit of a question mark - and still is - on how she would take to full day. After all, we had just come on the back of a long holiday and the CNY hols, where the family spent every waking hour together. And Faith takes time to adjust to new friends and new surroundings. So far so good it seems and our fingers are crossed it will stay that way. Eve secretly went to check out her swimming class and it seems Faith was enjoying herself (albeit just kicking her feet and doing water play). When we went for dinner, Faith was famished - she literally devoured her chawanmushi, salmon-roll and had asked for noodles from Mummy.

Christmas cum Birthday celebs 2010

Unlike previous years where the little family would bring out the Xmas tree and organise a Xmas lunch cum birthday party, we had decided, this year's Xmas would be a bit simpler and less hurried. After all, we have had a busy end of year, having come back from Phuket in Nov, then Beijing in Dec, and again preparing for the US in Jan. All we really wanted this Xmas - was quality time spent together.

A departure from previous year's venues, we decided to invite everyone to the Hong Kong Street Cafe's outlet in Novena. It was quite serendipitous how we had come across this place - mum and dad had been eating in Nissan Hong Kong Street - one of our favourite 'zi char' places, and the boss had told them about this new place. Given that it was air-conditioned, had a small area cordoned off for 2 tables, and was reasonably priced, we decided to try this new place out. As always, Xmas time was always a good excuse to get together with the extended family.

Here's looking forward to a great 2011 ahead...this coming year will be different - Saige is turning 1 and Eve will start planning to bring her for some classes, Faith will be going for full-day, and I'd be focusing on my "new" role at work. Big changes in all of the little family's life....what will remain the same will be the same family support that has allowed every year to be great, in spite of everything else that is changing - thank goodness for that!!

Gifts

Since I last wrote in June, work has just been getting a little bit busier. I now travel almost every other week and in days where I am at home, I sometimes work till the wee hours just to get the work done and out of the way.

It is times like these when weekends become even more precious and indeed downtimes like now ( I am writing this in Manila after getting back from dinner and clearing my work), become a time for me to reflect on what keeps me centered and grounded.

When I got into the hotel in Manila this afternoon, I received an email from Eve - pics that she had taken this morning of the two girls. I remember vaguely that I we were trying to make Saige laugh this morning for the camera, but as usual, in my rush, did not have time to see how the pics turned out. As it turned out, the shot was fantastic - not only were the girls smiling, it was so natural and so casual, the lighting was so well composed, it was like a studio shot - even better perhaps.

Which goes to show the miracle of kids. Faith this morning had gotten up quite grouchy and sleepy. You wouldn't have guessed from the broad smile on her face holding up her little sister.

The night before, she had a lecture from daddy and mummy on how disappointed we were in her behaviour for the past few weeks - eating problems and all. When she went to bed, we all hugged and she promised she would be a good girl. Later, before falling asleep, she told me again that she "would be a very good girl for me so that I would not get sad". Such is the innocence of children.

Lately we have had more of these talking sessions with Faith - because lately, she has learnt and been using phrases like "go away" and "I don't want you" in her fits of anger. I believe that fundamentally, Faith has a kind heart and is naturally good-natured. Her spontaneous outburst into dance, her love for music, her hugs when I come back - all these make me believe she is still a young baby at heart. In this baby though, there is now some growing angst - she is maturing - she is able to reason, she no longer cries when she goes to school, and she is now the jie jie of a precocious baby that has just started to crawl, Yet, she is all of 3 years plus and still craves the attention of her parents - one who is distracted with work and the other with taking care of the littler one. Once, when I had a telecon I had to take in the evening, she came into the room and started to fiddle around with the PCs - when I tried to bring her out the room, she was really angry and said she only wanted me to keep her company and she was asking why I was still working (after coming home).

It is true that life is about the choices we make. Overall, I feel the family leads a very blessed and indeed, to some extent, a privilleged life. We never worry about our day to day needs, the kids get the full attention of their mum at home, and our family support from parents of both sides are immense. I sometimes wonder how do working parents cope - if I already feel guilty sometimes with my travels, wouldn't it be worse for families where both parents worked full-time? Then again, I grew up with mum and dad working full-time, but I never felt any less loved..oh well.

When Eve emailed me the pictures this afternoon, she wrote "Lovely shot, darling. ESP like the one of the girls laughing together. So natural, so happy. We are lucky, darling."

Indeed, we are truly blessed.

Saige at 6 months and 24 days old

Saige with this kawaii "fake-hair" hairband that I absolutely love and Louis absolutely hates

How time flies. The initial three months with a new baby always seemed to be the most difficult period to get through. But once the milestone has been reached, the rest of the time just seems to fly by.

I've not been vigilant about keeping the blog updated with Saige's progress. These days, my preferred mode of diary entries tends to be on the Total Baby application on my iPhone or quick posts on FB. As with technology, there is always the risk of data loss -- accidentally or otherwise. I had kept some records on my iPhone but it has been erased accidentally by Faith.

Of course, my brain has turned to mushed and since some of the records have been lost, I can't remember the dates. But here's whatever I have managed to start afresh after the data loss:

1, Grabbing of her two feet @ 5 months, 5 days old

This, I confessed, was an engineered skill. Babies come into their respective milestones or learn a skill at their own pace. I was looking back at some of Faith's postings and noted that she was grabbing her toes and putting them in her mouth when she was 4 months plus. Thus, to ensure that her little sister isn't too far behind in this particular skill set, I had been teaching Saige to use her little hands to grab her little feet.

Saige manages to bring up her feet with her hands and brought her toes to her mouth to gnaw/suck on them at 5 months, 5 days old.

2. Cutting tooth @ 5 months, 8 days old

My kids *always* sprout their teeth at the time when I least expect it.

Been touching and feeling her gums whenever Saige had sleepless nights around the time she was 4 months plus, just to see if she was teething. Alright, alright... so, I was overly anxious. But those baby books put the age range starting from as early as 4 months. You never know, right?

Funniest thing was that she displayed no symptoms of crankiness, diarrhea, fever, face rash, excessive drooling etc. Nothing except for 2 nights of repeated night wakings. Out of curiously on the 3rd day, I felt her gums and could feel something hard and slightly sharp from her lower gums.

Two teeth sprouted at the same time. She sprouted her teeth nearly a month earlier than Faith was during her time.

This little tiger cub sure lives up to her zodiac sign. These days, she enjoys bringing our fingers to her mouth and biting on a small section of our finger pads. Hurts like the dickens :)

Can you see her two teeth?

3. Started her first solids @ 6 months, 3 days old

Being a 2nd time mom, I relish the convenience and ease of breastfeeding. The first time around with Faith, I was rearing to give her solids and started her at 5.5 months, with one meal a day and progressing to 2 meals a day after Faith fully turned 6 months old.

With Saige, I dragged my feet until she was a few days past 6 months. I'm slightly ashamed to confess that 3 weeks later, she's still on 1 feed a day of solids. Alright, mummy! Time to haul a** and be more hardworking.

Her repertoire of food given to date: avocado (likes), pumpkins (neutral), banana (likes), apples (dislikes cos the type of apple I chose was too sour and tart), rice cereals (likes).

Of course, I'm less zealous about maintaining the 3-day rule while introducing new food. In between, when the mood strikes me, I've also given her some rice grains and rice puffs. Both of which she quickly gums them and seems to like.

The differences between feeding Faith and Saige around the same age was rather contrasting. With a few exceptions, Faith pretty much ate whatever we gave to her in the beginning. And she quickly build up her appetite and was eating significant portion of food despite her diminutive size. The only clue as to when she's full was when she gags.

With Saige, the first few experiences with food was not as encouraging. The taste and texture of solids (or shall I say liquidy solids) was rather foreign to her, even though she had been eyeing the food we ate for the longest time. She took only a few spoonfuls and refused to open her mouth thereafter. When she had enough of the food, her signs to signal the end of meal times are pretty obvious. She would clamp shut her mouth, turn her head, become distracted with everything else but the food.

Time will tell what kind of a eater Saige would turn out to be.

With only Faith as an example, showing an early interest in food certainly didn't result in an enthusiastic eater at toddlerhood or as a pre-schooler. In fact, its quite the reverse actually.

4. Creeping @ 6 months, 17 days old

Saige's gross motor skills development has been good.

She learnt to flip very early on -- shortly after she turn 3 months old. These days, she's been very mobile. She can turn a mean 360 degrees and creeps along rather quickly all on her tummy. Looking at her creeping, its almost like a commando doing the leopard crawl on an obstacle course.

Its a fairly coordinated movement where she would use her feet to dig in and then propel herself

forward with her forearms. Her favourite 'toys' to creep for are mobile phones, remote controls and my breastpumps. You can see her look of concentration as she creeps towards the targeted items and her sense of satisfaction when she pounced on the items of desire. Unfortunately, that self satisfaction is short-lived as the item would be remove quickly from her as soon as she reaches it, else, all electronic devices might be short-circuited due to her tendency to gnaw and salivate over them.

5. Other developments

The little one has strong legs. She loves being pulled up to a standing position while gripping onto our fingers. When you do that with her, she would laugh delightedly. Yesterday, we sang and played "London bridge is falling down", with her grabbing onto my fingers and standing up, while Faith crawls in between us. Saige was giggling and laughing so much.

She can also sit for a few short seconds with the frog style or tripod position.

Overall, Saige is a smiley and happy child. Louis and I feel blessed to have 2 kids that are always happy and smiley.

You know, I really really like being a second-time mom. I'm enjoying my time with Saige so much more at every stage than I did with Faith.

That's something that I totally did not expect :)

Little Family at my birthday dinner on 22 Aug 2010

What's the problem?

Kids say the darnest things and increasingly, it is getting to be true with Faith. These days, the little one picks up words and phrases very easily from her environment -- home, school, friends, TV programmes etc. Her conversations are usually a reflection of things she mostly picks up from us at home, in school or TV programmes. Sometimes, watching her speak is like a mirror effect. It makes us more mindful of the words/phrases we use in front of her. Other times, I don't have the vaguest clues where she picks things up from.

Like all things, there are always the good and the bad. Sometimes, whatever that she's saying seems beyond her age and astounds us. She would sometimes asks Louis when he returns home, "Daddy, how was your day at work?". A few weeks ago, when Louis was travelling quite often, she one day told him, "Daddy, you don't work so late. Come back and spend more time with us."

Louis, the ever dotting father, tells me that his little girl says things that melts his heart.

Most recently, she sometimes would ask me "What's the problem?". That's when my internal antenna starts to twirl and I'm strike by anxiety. Call us annal retentive, but Louis and I are particular about how she speaks and the phrases she uses.

Kids at this age are pretty innocent. They say what's on their mind. They have not much idea about the nuances of words and intonations or how simple words/phrases could mean so many things when spoken in different tones. Hence, we are zealous in reminding her like a broken recorder to keep using words like may I, could I, would I. And telling her not to start a sentence with Give-mes and I-wants.

Does it work? Not all the time, which is why I say we are constantly reminding her like a broken recorder.

Increasingly, I have to remind Louis or my mom and even myself to be mindful of what we say in front of her, no matter how innocent it may be. Most recently, I had to catch myself mid-sentence when I was so irritated by her whiny behaviour and actually raised my voice at her to ask her "What's your pr(oblem)...?". I had to swallow my words and rephrase it to "What is the matter with you?" instead :)

Thankfully, she's not using that much Singlish. For now. Some friends, who knew that I was anxious about it told me stop worrying. Its a matter of time that she picks it up in school sooner or later.

That may well be true, but nonetheless, hope springs eternal. Louis and I are still of the opinion that if we continue to be mindful in how we speak around and to her, the grammars and correct sentence structures would be instilled in her mind. She might lapsed into Singlish - as we tend to do and enjoy doing so - but at least, she knows to use proper English and to phrase her words politely in the right situations.

Happy 4th Month Saige

Saige is 4! Months that is. It may not be 4 years yet, but still it is something to rejoice about. Perhaps because this daddy has been travelling since the day Saige was born, this day makes it even more "significiant". Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

I probably haven't been spending as much time as I should have with Saige. Probably is likely an understatement because the travelling (which now seems to be happening every two weeks) takes me 2-3 days out of town at a stretch. When I am in Singapore, I probably get to really spend time with her in the early mornings of the weekdays and on the weekends; on the weekdays - before I prep Faith for school and rush myself off to work, and on the weekends - less the three to four hours we send Saige packing to join her sis at my mum's place, so Eve and I really have some quality time. Come to think of it, the longest stretch of time I got to spend time with Saige in the 4 months - was in the first two weeks when I was on home leave after she was born, and when the little family (with dad and mum included) were in Hong Kong just a few weeks back.Saige is a smiley kid and I like it when I know I can make her smile so easily just by calling her name. And she has that special way of smiling - when she is in a really good mood, she smiles and kicks her legs and brings her hands to her mouth - that's when you know she really had a good nap. However, she reserves her chuckles for mummy - Eve somehow is the only one who can consistently make her chuckle. Somehow, Saige doesn't chuckle no matter how much I throw her in the air or tickle her. Eve calls it the special mummy's bond.
Saige is now able to recognise our faces. She reserves her puzzled look for Faith each time Faith sings to her - she must be curious why this jie jie sometimes jumps around and wiggles her buttocks while coming so close to her face. It doesn't help that Faith does monkey faces each time she comes close - Saige must be wondering why this face looks vaguely familiar.

Saige is now getting increasingly curious. She has started to turn her head around to look at who's talking to her. More tellingly, she turns her head to the TV when the Disney Channel is on. I think it's a matter of time that the two girls start competing for which channels to watch.

Saige is getting more expressive. She makes it clear when she is upset about not having enough sleep; she shows her frustrations when she gets her hands jammed under her body when she flips over; she coos when mummy talks to her. Eve and I have noticed that her tongue is really sharp. I hope she is able to pick up Mandarin so she can debate/quarrel with her sis in Mandarin - someone has to teach Faith the language.

As Eve would say, Saige is now at a really fun age - she is able to interact and so far, does little apart from sleep, eat and play. Eve is already looking forward to bringing her for music and gym classes when she grows older. As for me, second time round has really been different -I definitely spend less time with Saige compared to when we first had Faith. And Eve is already complaning that the two little girls are the only Daddy's girls for now. Sigh - we need a holiday soon - it seems that holidays are the only real bonding time I get with the girls - Eve included :)

Saige at 2 months and 3 weeks old

Is it just Louis and me that think it, but the 2 sisters do bear resemblances to each other? Its not that all babies look alike, right?

Sure, they might not have been carbon copies of each other, but there are similiarities. Here and there, now and then.

Saige is just a week short of turning 3 months old. She is growing and gaining weight at a nice and steady pace. She has not turned out to be one of those Michelin babies, with fat chubby thighs and arms that I had so fervently hoped for. Then again, she was only 2.7kg at birth. Comparatively, she's much bigger than Faith was at that same age.

She gurgles, babbles and coos even more now. To me and whoever that is willing to sit and talk to her. You can hear her laughter too if you swing her up and down - gently of course. Her neck is also getting a little firmer. Still not very steady, but strong enough that she can hold it up steady for a few minutes, without flopping.

I've managed to capture the picture of her smiling, and looking rather like one of my favourite pictures of Faith at around the same age. I was trying to take a picture of Saige for the application of her passport. Yes, we want to be prepared to be able to travel if the opportunity crops up.

Not sure when that would be but we'll see :)