Merry Christmas

Can't Wait for Holidays

Dancing, and notice that his socks are different colors. Lucas never want to wear the same socks. Do you call this 'artistic'?

Posing funny faces with my sister.


Oh...I can't wait for the Christmas New Year holidays. Last two months have been crazy. Besides work and taking care of Lucas, there is this house renovation that has been going on forever, introducing Lucas to school and new babysitters, flu virus that hang on to Lucas and myself for three weeks.
I am aiming and rushing the contractors to finish the renovation by this week, and Dominic and myself will be off from Christmas to New Year! Looking forward to some less stress days..hopefully and decide what to do for next year. Next year is going to be even more exciting...more updates later.

I have finally put up my Christmas tree. This year, Lucas appreciates and understands Christmas concept better. He knows about Frosty the Snowman, Ginger Bread, Santa Claus saying 'Ho Ho Ho', Christmas tree trims like balls, bells and chasing lights. In fact, when I was decorating the tree, he passed me the trim and said 'put there', 'put here'...behaving like my little boss.

Better Speech

Lucas has started to speak quite well lately. It is just like a quantum leap. Out of a sudden, he is just talking away like a chatter box. He is not shy to try to pronounce difficult words. Wasn't sure if this is due to his friends and teachers' influence or just about time. He can tell me what he eats in school (fried rice, pizza, cheese, apple), what activities he does (painting, pasting, dancing), what the teachers do to him (clean running nose). He can also have a conversation with Dominic when Dominic calls home.

Dom: Hi, Lucas, did you go to your friend's house today?
Lucas: Yes.
Dom: What did you do in friend's house?
Lucas: Pasting. Cro-co-dile (ride on the rocking toy).
Dom: Did you go to Omi's house?
Lucas: No. Fri-day. (he goes to Grandparent's house on Friday).
Dom: What else happens on Friday?
Lucas: Dad-dy go home (Dom comes back on Friday).
Dom: What are you doing now?
Lucas: Cy-cle (riding his bicycle).

Friend's House

A few days after Lucas started nursery, he told me one day 'Go friend's house', and yes he pronounced the 's! I was puzzled for a while. I thought I missed some announcement about his classmates birthday party. Then I realised he meant 'go to school'. I always tried to avoid using the word 'school' as it sounds too serious. He is supposed to go play and 'play school' is a mouthful. So, I usually asked 'Do you want to go to play with your friends?' That's how he made up the word friend's house.

The word 'school' and 'teacher' are never used in the nursery. All the teachers are referred to as Auntie so-and-so. The wall has no sign of alphabets but every inch is filled with the children's artwork - ranging from T-Rex to solar system to snowman.

Lucas is downed with a bout of very bad flu and cough. He missed his friend's house twice. As I tucked him to bed just now, I said to him 'You need to get a good rest. If you still have running nose and coughing tomorrow, you cannot go play with your friends'. He repeated after himself, 'Running nose, no friend's house'.

Saying 'Please'

Lucas finally learned to say 'Please'. And the incident that forced him to say the magic word is also very funny. Two days ago, he was feeding himself using his hand. That of course created a lot of mess on himself and his high chair and the floor. I was worried about the cleaning I have to do and pleaded with him (and half begging him) by saying 'Use your spoon PLEASE'. I must have said the phrase a number of times before he finally replied me 'Mee, p-Lease'. His body language was just like mine, pleading me and half begging me to let him feed himself using his hand. So, the lesson learned is to frustrate him, then it will force him to learn faster?

Holiday in Perth

We just returned from our holiday in Perth. I was a nice place, laid back and suitable for young children. We were there for a week with Dominic's parents. Perth is a 'no action' city. Everything closes at 5pm, and I mean everything! Only restaurants (and that is no all restaurants) are open. There is nothing to do but go back to the hotel which is just as well for Lucas. We stayed in a service apartment with kitchenette equipped with dishwasher, oven, coffee maker. We started of the day with breakfast in the apartment (food bought from cafe or supermarket) and took our time in sight-seeing. Visited King's Park, took a cruise to Fremantle and had the 'world famous' fish and chips, visited the Perth mint (a mint which run out of gold coin), and hang around the shopping area at Hay Street and Murray Street. Then we drove to Margaret River and spent 3 nights there. Eat lots of seafood in Margaret River and of course wine, went to the beach and then drove to Cape Leeuwin where Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.

We went to Perth for our honeymoon and this time we are back with a 2 years old son! Quite thrilling just thinking about it.

Lucas had his fair amount of fun too. He eats adult food the whole one week, get to sleep with us on our bed for one good week, spoilt with sweets and chocolate, enjoyed the children friendlier playground, greener space and air with pleasant weather, and most importantly our and his grandparents 24 hours attention. He has also becomes cheekier - at the apartment lift, he pointed at a main waiting for the lift and said 'big man no hair'! It was funny and embarrassing.

Thanks to the grandfather, we had a collection of 7GB of videos! I am waiting for the photos from the grandfather to publish in the next post.

Going to Nursery

Lucas is attending morning nursery now. Initially, I wasn't planning to send him until he is two and a half years old, but due to baby sitting problem, I am forced to put the plan forward. The nursery is 5 mins drive from the house, has very good teachers or at least I am impressed by them. I took him for observation and Lucas was happy. When I asked him after his observation class if he wants to go back, he replied 'Emm'. That was when the decision was made. His class is for toddlers age 18 months to two and a half years old. The student teacher ratio is 4:1. The activities go like this:
9 - 10am - Breakfast, painting, drawing and free play. The children get to pick their own toys/gadgets and play with others with supervision. If the children 'fight' or 'bully' others, the teachers will step in and give a lecture on discipline.
10 - 10.30 am - Outdoor activities. Before the children are allowed out, they are prepared with mosquito repellent.
10.30 - 11 am - singing / dancing.
11 - 11.30 am - Lunch. All meals are prepared by the cook in the nursery itself. There is also menu for each day. I did not have to pack any food for him.
11.30 - 12 noon - Story telling time.

That's what they do in the 3 hours! I certainly hope Lucas enjoys himself and learns to socialize with children his age.

Stressed

This week has been a mad week. There are just too much going on to swallow. First, I am down with sore throat since last week and still is. Secondly, the baby sitter who has been working for me for 13 months 'suddenly' decided to go back to Philippines and gave me one week notice to look for alternatives. Thirdly, my house renovation is taking some of my time to chase after contractors to finish up the work. Fourthly, Dominic is only home on weekends and this doesn't help either. Fifthly, I will be away for about 10 days for work next week and need to plan and pack. Need to plan and pack for my trip (and the work to finish before the trip, and work for the workshop) and pack for my boss, Lucas. Will be sending him to my parent's while I am away. Sixthly, Lucas is not warm up to the new part time baby sitter yet, and is very clingy to me. Seventh, Lucas just turned two and he is definitely living up to the term 'terrible two'! The list can go on and on....
Keeping my finger crossed that sanity will prevail soon.

Happy 2nd Birthday

Lucas celebrated his second birthday yesterday. How time flies...
We had a small celebration for him at the grandparent's house.
The grandparents specially cooked spaghetti with minimum spices so that he can eat but of course he was not interested. He was only interested in his ice-cream cake. At 2, the little boy:
1. weighs 12 kg (26.5 lbs) and height is 33 inches.
2. can make 2-3 words sentence
3. can recognise most colors and alphabets, and say them.
4. sleeps about 12 hours a day.
5. has almost the complete set of teeth
6. has temper
7. still on diapers
8. has yet to start on nursery
9. drinks 21 oz of milk a day, and eat 3 meals a day
10. still very adorable

Happy 2nd Birthday

My new bicycle ... I might be to small for this now

DO NOT DISTURB! Watching TV

Reading

My little boy is enjoying reading, or more accurately had me read to him. He likes non-lengthy and colourful books. The books he has are a bit boring now for him. Has been reading the same books for months. So, I asked some experienced moms for recommendation and bought him a few books today. This book called 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle is quite good. Lucas actually listen to the whole book in a sitting! That is a first.

Mid Autumn

Yesterday was a Mid Autumn day, that is the fifteen day of the eighth month in Chinese Lunar Calendar, when the moon is supposed to be at its fullest. It was also Lucas's birthday according to the Lunar calendar. We had a small celebration for him at my parent's place.
He still does not know the concept of presents and needless to say, appreciate opening his presents. The only item that made his day was the ice cream cake. Look at the picture and you will understand what I mean.

Conversation

Here is our conversation with Lucas.

Me: Lucas, what did you do at Omi's (my mother-in-law) house?
Lucas: EAT! Sand (played with the sand as shown in the slides above) HIDE (played hide and seek)
Me: What did you do with the sand?
Lucas: Big cake , t-wo. ('baked' 2 big cakes)
Me: Did you dance with Omi?
Lucas: Emm...
Me; Did you see the cats?
Lucas: Emm...
Me: Did you touch the cats?
Lucas: No.

Over the phone,
Dominic: Hi Lucas, what did you do today?
Lucas: Oo-mi ( I went to Omi's house)
Dominic: Are you a good boy today?
Lucas: Emm...
Dominic: Are you going to sleep soon?
Lucas: NO. Duck.
Dominic: Quack, quack, quack.
Lucas: (laughed)
Dominic: How does the lion goes?
Lucas: rooooarr. Dog.
Dominic: woff, woff.
Lucas: (laughed)
Dominic: Daddy is coming home tomorrow. Good night.
Lucas: NO.
Dominic: Daddy has to hang up now. Good night.
Lucas: NO.
Dominic: Our conversation is going to be very long.

Who Stole My Chocolate?

Lucas has sweet teeth. He is crazy about chocolates and sweets. We have 2 heart shaped chocolates in a nice container, a gift from a wedding reception we attended last weekend. I gave Lucas the chocolate after his lunch one day. He ate the white chocolate. Then he hold the container with a dark chocolate in heart shape in his hand while he was taking his nap. I did not think twice about it. The chocolate will not melt in an air-con room right? How wrong was I! When he woke up and did 'not' see the chocolate, he was wailing and kept saying 'Brown. Brown'. He must have thought someone (me or the baby sitter) must have stole or ate his chocolate. The chocolate melted and has no form. That was so hilarious. Well, it wasn't hilarious when he was wailing and it took me a while to figure out why was he wailing.

My Mirror

It is quite scary to see 'myself' in Lucas, especially my bad habit. He definitely 'mirrored' me well. I said 'hey' quite often when I wanted to tease him and at the same time wanted to be strict with him. Example, before bedtime, I will ask him to wait on the bed while I made his milk. He gets the kick by purposely disobeying me - he gets down from the bed and come to the kitchen to see me. I usually said 'Hey..you, who said you can get down from the bed.' He will laughed and ran back to the bed. Last weekend, he goes around calling me and Dominic 'Hey' and then burst into laughter! Dominic told him it is rude to call people 'Hey', and turned around to ask me where he picked that up!

When Lucas passed Dominic the phone, Lucas said 'Nah'. Again, Dominic turned to me and asked where he picked that up! What can I said. Must be from me.

Speaking Better

Lucas has started speaking in 2-3 words sentences now after months on his single syllabus single word!! His pronunciation is very good too. Today he said :
'Green shoes, where?' translated 'Where are my green shoes?'.
'Dad-dy, back home' translated 'Daddy, come home'.
'Mirk, dark, light on' translated 'Meor (the name of the building guard), it's dark, switch on the light'.

He also understand some opposite words as well.
Me: Mummy give you a small candy
Lucas: NO. BIG.

Me: Schh..don't scream. Neighbours are complaining.
Lucas: LOUD.

Me: Careful, the apple is cold.
Lucas: HOT. HOT.
Me: You are bluffing me.
Lucas: Ha..ha..

Lucas is 22 months old

He said a new word today...'WOW'
He is growing incisor teeth. So, the drooling and rashes are back.

Anklet Watch

Nursery Hunting

I finally made a first move in looking for a nursery for Lucas. He has been quite bored playing inside our tiny apartment, now that he is in his exploring age. I thought maybe I should send him to a nursery once or twice a week for 3 hours each time. The main purpose is for him to have a varieties of activities and play with someone his age. So, I finally get my butt of the chair and actually do something about it. I visited a neighbourhood nursery, recommended by 2 of my friends. One of the friend's comment was 'No exams, and no homework' and the other commented 'It is a school run buy teachers who have been teaching for 20-30 years and they don't have fancy paper qualification'. I told myself upon hearing this, I need to check this place out.
So, Dominic and myself took Lucas there for a visit. The teacher is of course nice and very frankly told us that parents usually asked her after a month 'So, what have my child learn?'. We were quite stunned to hear that. Are the parents expecting to have the child read A - Z in one month? Our questions were rather 'primitive'.

Us: Do you take kid who is still wearing diapers?
Teacher: Of course. They are so young, what to do expect them to do? We teach potty training here.
Us: How do you keep the children busy?
Teacher: They sing, dance, play in-door with other children, learn to color.
Us: Do they get outdoor activity?
Teacher: Sometimes. Once in a while.

Then, the teacher gave us a tour of the place. There is this dining area which has long table and benches, just like the school canteen but smaller version. There is a TV room where the teacher claimed that the school only allowed TV at 5pm to 5.30pm, while waiting for the parents to pick up the full day children.

So, after the visit, our conclusion is not conclusive. I have my reservations if this nursery thingy will achieve what I have in mind. I wanted a place where Lucas can enjoyed playing - he is bored to be indoor with his toys and what is in the house. He is very excited if we are out or when he is at his grandparents' garden. He is more outdoor. This nursery has hardly any outdoor activity. Then the number of children in the nursery are rather high too. There are about 20 full day care children (8am to 5pm) and about 10 half day (9am to noon). At the peak time, there are 30 children in the nursery, which used to be a house. Rather crammed I would think. Then the story of children getting sick very often once they started nursery comes to my mind. I can imagined why.

Dominic is more optimistic. He said go for the trial class and see if Lucas enjoys it. I am like I think I know he will not like it .....doesn't that sounds like any other mothers!!! Maybe deep inside me, I still want Lucas to be close to me all the time - separation anxiety.

Missing Daddy

Dominic is on the road again. He is now a weekend husband and father. While he is away, Lucas has been asking for him. During bedtime, Lucas will call 'Daddy, daddy'. I will reply 'Daddy is not here. Let's call Daddy to say goodnight'. Over the phone, the boy will keep kissing the phone. Dominic said he never kiss me like that when I am at home! At times, Lucas will look at the bedroom door and say 'Daddy, come'. Again, I have to tell him Daddy is not here.

He has grown to be very active. There is not enough things in the house to keep him busy. He is bored with his toys, his broom, and the pots in the kitchen. Asking for TV and going out of the house all the time. I need to find some activities that will excite him.

Green

Lucas is having craze for green color. He wants to wear green color everyday....red is no longer his favourite.

Christmas is only six months away

The house is already feels quite Christmas-y. Lucas has been playing the Christmas carols songs! It is only 6 months to Christmas.

Going Shopping with Lucas

Lucas has been acting as my 'wallet watcher'. Two weeks ago, we were having brunch and this little fellow was getting restless after sitting for awhile. I took him for a walk around the mall and stopped at a few shops, window shopping. Each time I am in a shop, he will pulled me out and said 'Out'. When I was in a hair accessories shop, I was trying some hair pins and I asked him 'Is this hair pin nice?'. He said 'NO'. He pulled my hand, walking towards the door and tell me 'Out'. Then he turned around and looked at the sales ladies and said 'Bye bye'. The two sales ladies burst out laughing.

Haircut and Diaperless

We had 2 big experiments with Lucas in the past few days. We took him to a barber shop instead of the unisex hair saloon for a haircut, and that turned out to be well. Everyone commented on how long his hair was - cannot see his eyes, cannot see his ears. We decided to try the barber as we figured the hair stylist in the hair saloon will not cut his hair when he starts wailing. When we walked in the shop, Lucas started crying when he sees the barber with thick moustache! But the barber is so confident and said, 'It's ok. I have been cutting hair for 40-50 years. I have seen all types of crying babies'. So, Dominic carried Lucas and sat on the chair. I had to hold Lucas's hands and the barber used one of his hand to hold Lucas's head and another to cut. Lucas was wailing and screaming all the time and the barber was so cool about it. It was all over in less than 5 mins, and Lucas actually had a complete haircut! And that costs us only RM8 instead of RM30 in a hair saloon.

With the higher price of everything now, I tried to get Lucas to use to toilet, again. He has been refusing to even sit on the toilet seat. One day, after talking to a friend, I decided to let him go diaperless for a short while. Explained to him numerous times on telling me if he wants to pee. Well...he did tell me but after the event. He peed, walked to me and said 'pee' while pointing to me where he peed. He did that 3 times in an hour, and after the fourth time, I decided to put the diaper on. And not to mention I have to do his laundry after that. The second day was just as fruitless. And now, everytime he peed on his diaper, he will tell me 'pee'. Still a lot of work on this department.

Lucas is 20 months old

At 20 months, he is quite a fellow.
1. He has finally grown more than 8 teeth. Current count is at 10.
2. He can count 1, 2, 3, 4, 10. Anything in between 4 and 10 are not in his vocabulary as yet.
3. He can recognize letter 'A', 'B', 'O' and 'Z'. Thanks to Sesame Street CDs.
4. He cannot say scissors but know the use. When I was struggling to open his corn flakes, he hands me a pair of scissors without being asked to.
5. He is still on diaper full time. Refused to even sit on his toilet seat.
6. He knows how to ask for the food he likes...ice cream, chocolate, raisins, prunes, cookies.
7. He still doesn't like to have his hair cut.
8. He can feed himself, but of course half of the food is on his bib or on the floor.
9. He is still undecided if he wants to be right-handed or left-handed. He can feed himself using both hands.
10. He knows what he wants to wear..red shirt with a doogie picture or shirt with turtle, etc.
11. He usually 'introduces' us to strangers. When he sees strangers who greeted him, he will look at the stangers and point at me and say 'Mee' (Mommy), and point to Dominic and say 'Daddy'. I guess it is his way of saying this is my Mommy and Daddy.
12. He is still using his bottle. Not cup trained yet.
13. He screams a lot less now..and hope it stays this way.
14. He has been sleeping thru the night (he was awake at 2am everyday for 2 weeks!)..and again hope it stays this way.
15. He is still very shy. When there are people in the lift, he is very hesitant to go in. If he does, he will hug my leg for his dear life.

Boy or Girl?

Do I look like a girl?


Till today, we still get question from strangers asking if Lucas is a boy or girl???!! Dominic used to get very annoyed when strangers asked this question but he is learning to accept it. He lamented 'Isn't he so boyish looking?' and I will go 'He is wearing blue, not pink'. The most predictable person is our wine seller. Each time, without fail when we go to his shop, he will ask 'Girl ah?'

I only started thinking hard when I was at a family gathering and all my cousins said Lucas look like a girl! One cousin even said if Lucas has a ponytail, no one will doubt if I say he is a girl. Then one day I asked my 'experienced' friend why people thought Lucas looks like a girl. Here are her answers:
1. He has such small and oval face.
2. He has such small sexy lips.
3. His skin is fair and so fine (aren't all babies have fair and fine skin, envious by the adults).
4. He has such fine hair...partially long too.

Let's see when will he looks like a boyish boy.

Two and Red

Lucas favourite number is '2' and favourite color is red.
When he tries to count the number of lights in the room, he will go 'Light, t-wo light, more light, and more'. At times, he will point both hands at both the bedside lamps and said 't-wo light'. If I am going to casino. I have my lucky number!.

He is into red. When he sees anything red, he will say 'r-red'. Now I know what color to paint for his bedroom's wall.

Long Weekend and Lucas is 19 months old!

Last weekend was a long weekend - sort of. Thursday was a public holiday and we decided to stop being lazy parents. We took Lucas to Bukit Tinggi, 45 mins drive from the city. It is a man-made resort close to 'nature' (Botanical Garden, Japanses Tea Garden) and it is 3500 feet above sea level but unfortunately it wasn't as cool as we would like it to be. But Lucas had a great time running downhill and asked to be carried when going uphill. Smart boy.
Let me have some ice first..then I will walk
Run, run, run...catch me if you can
After all the running...I need some water
My holiday is just like any adult - eat, eat and eat
My bib can eat as much as me.

Diet

The little boy has his diet completely changed. Until a month ago, he eats everything and he eats faster than I can feed him. Now, feeding time is very stressful. There are lots of coaxing, threatening, 'bribery' just to get him eat half the portion. And I am running out of idea what to feed him. He only like biscuits, rice, noodle and mashed potato. No vegetable or meat. Apple is the only fruits he eats. When my father-in-law saw what he is eating, he is obviously worried and telling me about the food pyramid. I wonder why there is a sudden change of taste. Hope it will not get any worse. Meanwhile, I have to look through the baby food and google some recipes.
It is a public holiday tomorrow and we are talking Lucas for a drive...a day trip since..well.. I can't remembered when was our last trip.

Toilet Trained

I have given up hope trying to get Lucas to be potty trained. So, I 'graduated' to toilet training. I let him sit on his seat before his bath. He still refused to 'perform'. The minute I take him off the seat, he will 'perform' in his bath tub. I am beginning to think I should just let him take his own time. He understands that I wanted him to pee when he is on his seat but just choose not to do so. Last Sunday, while I was away indulging myself in a mall, Dominic was trying to teach Lucas to pee. Dominic puts Lucas on his seat and this was what happened:

Dominic: Lucas, this is your birdie (point at his body part) and you pee with your birdie.
Lucas: (looked down and saw his balls as well. Looked up at Dominic and said) Egg!

That was hilarious.

Little Screamer

Lucas is back to his high pitch screaming again. His screams is a sign of his dissatisfaction. It is another way of saying 'NO'.

Lucas: (playing with his food during mealtime)
Me: Lucas, don't play with your food!
Lucas in good mood: Mum mum (eat)
Lucas in bad mood: Arrggg...

Lucas: (throwing everything that displease him)
Me: Stop throwing!
Lucas in good mood: (spank his own hand)
Lucas in bad mood: Arrggg...

Lucas: Out (wants to go out)
Me: Wait, Mommy have to finish work first
Lucas in good mood: Wait
Lucas is bad mood: Arrggg...

Lucas: Arrggg...
Dominic: Lucas, you are like a girl.
Lucas: Arrggg...

I hope this is just a phase. At times when is he not in his screaming mood, he understands and replies.

Lucas: (drinking his bath water during bath)
Me: Don't drink the water.
Lucas: (look at me and shake his head) No. (He is telling me he is not drinking the water. He is learning to blow bubbles like when he was swimming).

Lucas: Arrggg...
Me: Lucas, stop screaming. The neighbours are going to complain. You are too noisy.
Lucas: No. (stop screaming for awhile)

Lucas is one and a half years old!

It is either the time flies or I am getting old faster. Lucas is one and a half. To celebrate, we took him out and allowed him to eat French Fries for the first time. Seeing him grow is fun and joy, and we have to have bountiful energy like him to keep up with him. It still amazes me how much he learned by observing and how he gets what he wants with his single syllabus word.

I am cool even when I am sleeping

This is my new playgroup

I am old enough to choose what shirt to wear and what shoes to wear...and this was what I chose to wear in April - a Christmas shirt and winter boots

Antics

Few incidents which surprised me.

Me: Lucas, do you want to go to school?
Lucas: NO
Me: Then, what do you want to do at home?
Lucas: Baby (watching his cartoon/singing CD).
He can be a TV addict if not controlled. I allowed him to watch TV for half an hour every other day.

My sister: Lucas, give some of your food to Tung Tung (my 2 months old niece).
Lucas: NO
My sister: You are so stingy.

Lucas: (Point at the door and said) Out.
Me: You eat your dinner first, then Mummy take you to the playground to blow bubbles.
After dinner...Lucas ran to me and said..
Lucas: Bubbles

Me: Lucas, do you want to go to Kung Kung's house?
Lucas: dog, fish, 'mum mum' (my parents has a dog, koi pond, and plenty of ice-cream waiting for him in the fridge).

Lucas farting...
Me: Are you farting?
Lucas: (smiled and said) puuurrrr

Lucas climbed and sat in his stroller...
Me: Where do you think you are going?
Lucas: (point at the door and said) OUT

Noticed how he communicates in his one syllabus word.

Happy Easter

Good Night

Usually, I have to convince Lucas to let me go out of the room while he is trying to fall asleep.

Me: Mommy is hungry. Mommy is going to 'mum mum' (eat).
Lucas: NO
Me: But Mommy is hungry.
Lucas: NO
After several pleading, he will reluctantly say 'Bye Bye'..sign that I can leave the room.

Tonight was different. I was about to walk out of the room (thought he was fast asleep) and suddenly he turned to me and said 'mum mum'? (going to eat?). 'Bye bye' and gave me his flying kisses! I was dumbfounded.

Easter is this weekend, and I am going to spoil him with some Easter chocolate eggs.

Comparison and Competition

Before Lucas was born, we told ourselves that we will not subject him to the peer pressure, such as academic achievement. And we unconsciously did just that. There is another boy who is 2-3 weeks younger than Lucas in his playgroup. This younger boy speaks well. He has no problem speaking a 3 word sentence. His vocabulary also is wider. Lucas is still in single word sentence. So, Dominic and myself were unconsciously comparing two of them and wondering why Lucas is slow. Then, it hit us that we should not compare. Every child learn at his/her own pace. I think we have to keep reminding ourselves..why we human like to compare..

Haircut

Lucas is down with flu again. His body is warm but the fever has yet to surface. Hope it will not get to that stage.
Meanwhile, I managed to get his hair cut last Saturday. This boy just does not like to have his head touched. A complete haircut will take 2-3 trips to the hair salon. If we are lucky, first trip is to cut his back, and second trip is to cut his front. If we are unlucky, each trip is 2-3 snips. Less than 10 snips for a haircut. His front was cut in late January, and back was cut last Saturday. In less than a month, we will have to take him to the hair salon again to cut the front. And his haircut proves to be expensive. Whether there are 3 snips or 10 snips, the price is the same.

17 months!

Lucas is 17 months today. I have not been tracking his birth-month for awhile. He can be so adorable and behave like a little rascal at the same time. Here are how he spices up our life..and his own:
1. He thinks it is funny to give his high pitch scream when he is not happy with something.
2. He thinks farting is funny.
3. He knows how to make demands - asking for his music in the car, asking for food, deciding what fruits he like and dislike, asking to go out, screaming not to have his hair cut, asking us to get out of his way. It is amazing with his 20-30 words vocab, he can communicate with us and definitely understand what we tell him.
4. His favourite game is hide and seek.
5. His favourite toy is the broom.
6. He weighs 10.7 kg, and has 8 tooth (4 up and 4 down).
7. He is our alarm clock.
8. Taking care of him is our weight loss program.
9. We have to learn to sing children songs and recognise cartoons character.
10. He is selective of the people whom he allows to carry him. Usually big size guys get priority.
11. He taught us how to eat our dinner in less than 5 mins.
12. And most importantly, he shows us a different kind of joy.

Becoming Independent

Lucas woke up a happy boy this morning. He was sleeping on our bed (we allowed him since he wasn't feeling too well) and figured out how to get down from the bed on his own. Normally, when he is sleeping in his baby cot, we will have to cry for us to pick him up. This morning he seemed pleased with his achievement. If only he is tall enough, he will open the door and there will be no stopping point.

He is two third of his baby cot length now. When he turns, he will hit the cot frame. That also explains why he does not like to sleep in his cot. It is time to get him the proper bed, but there is just not enough space in the room. Soon, when we move to a bigger place, he will get his own room.

How much is enough?

We are at the cross-road on several occasions. We are not sure how much we can push Lucas or push ourselves and there is no hand-book on them either.
Lucas was down with fever the last 2 days. This was his third, the first was when he was 6 months old (we suspected the swimming pool water as the culprit), the second was when he was 13 months old (we suspected the polluted air in Bali), and this time we suspected my family!. He spent two nights with my family and comes back with a fever (germs get into his stomach). Wonder what they fed him.

Getting fever is a good sign. It indicates his body has the immune system to try to fight the germs. The question is how high should we wait before we rush for the paracetamol? Dominic is the dare devil compared to me. He will say, wait and see if his body can fight the virus without medication. I will reply we do not want to fry his brain. So, at the end, we agreed that if the temperature is 39 degree Celsius, we will give him paracetamol. If it is higher than 39.5 degree Celsius, we rush him to the doctor. Then, the agony is waking up a few times at night to check his temperature and be prepared to go the the hospital emergency room.

Then, the next question is when to start feeding him adult food? Every parents has their own answer. My answer is I don't think he is ready for adult food yet but Dominic thinks Lucas can handle adult food now. Since, I am at home most of the time, I get to dictate his diet. I am still cooking him his baby food - porridge, sweet potatoes and macaroni cheese. When we eat out, he gets to try adult food, just to keep him occupied so that we can eat our food. When I was at the paediatrician yesterday, she obviously does not think 17 months is the time for adult food! Now, when is he old enough?

Next, when should I stop sterilizing his bottles? I still diligently sterilizing his bottles everyday. I told myself to stop when he was 1 year old but obviously did not listen to myself. From now on, I will sterilize every alternate day. When should I stop completely? I suppose I will stop when I am lazy!

Happy Chinese New Year

Lucas in the year of pig 2007 with grandparents..at 4 months


Lucas in the year of rat 2008..at 16 months in the same outfit
Prosperous Buddha with grandpa

Learning to sleep on his own

There has been some improvement in Lucas's sleeping habit in the last two days. We used to lay down with him and wait until he falls asleep before we leave the room. In the last two days, I will tell him

Me: Lucas, Mommy is hungry. Mommy is going to 'mum mum' (eat). Lucas goes to sleep, okay.
Lucas: NO
Me: Mommy is hungry. Mommy is going to 'mum mum' (eat). Lucas goes to sleep, okay.
Lucas: (reluctantly say) bye bye. (and give his kissess)

I did the same thing again the next day and he buys it.
Dominic tried it too and it works.
So, we are consciouly telling ourselves to train him to fall asleep on his own.
And we are keeping our finger crossed.

Lion Roars

Lucas enjoyed hearing funny sounds. He thinks it is funny and usually will give his hearty laugh. Some of his latest sound..

Me: Lucas, the lion goes..
Lucas: roooarr

Me: The dog..
Lucas: woof woof..

Me: The cat..
Lucas: mik mik (he could not get 'miao' well)

Me: And Lucas..
Lucas: (smack his hand - to say that he is naughty)

Me: THe fireworks go...piouuuu
Lucas: Boom booom

Me: Who is the handsome boy?
Lucas: (Smile and pat himself ....)

In the car, when the player is not playing his music..
Lucas: nik nik (music)
Me: Your songs are finished. Let's listen to Mommy's song.
Lucas: Nik Nik.....(getting persistant)
Me: ok, you can have your music...sigh..

Jealousy

I have a new born niece now. When I carried my niece, Lucas is actually jealous or feeling insure. The first time, he pulled my hand and wanted me to carry him as well. When I said no, he frowned and wanted to cry. He looked so pitiful!
What amazes me is how or where did he know jealousy or feeling insure. How does he know that another baby is a threat to him but not another adult. Amazing how he can piece the puzzles together.

Baby Words

It is interesting to observe how babies learn to talk. We speak a few baby words to Lucas since he was born. 'Nien Nien' is milk, 'pom pom' is bath, 'oii oii' is sleep, 'gai gai' is going out. And till today, he never say any of the four baby word. He said 'milk' (quite good pronouncation) when he wants his milk, and point at the door and said 'door' (emphasize on the 'r') when he wants to go out. Last week, he surprised us with his own baby word. He said spoon as 'bing bing'. Now, when he wakes up, he will say 'bing bing' and he goes to sleep holding 'bing bing' in his hand.

Potty training has been unsuccessful again. He still refused to sit on it even for seconds. I even tried to fill the potty with water and let him play with it during his bath, and he still refused.

Lucas doesn't like his hair to be cut. We tried bringing him to three different hair salons and he wails everytime without fail. Two out of the three salons did not even bother charging us. We even tried cutting his hair on our own. No one said he is cute after our 'work' - you can guess how bad the outcome was.

Kindermusik

Lucas has completed his three months classes at Gymboree. We started looking for another playgroup for him. I wasn't that pleased with Gymboree play gym classes. It is like an indoor playground. So, we found this music class at Kindermusik. Took up the trial class and was quite impressed with the class and his new friends. Now, we signed him up for 8 classes. It is a class where the teacher will tell stories and then uses different instrument to make different sounds. Each time the teacher plays an instrument, Lucas is in full attention. When it comes to story telling, he is exploring on his own. There are another 2 boys in the class, just like Lucas. I came to my conclusion that gender also plays a part in children behaviour. Boys have little patience in passive activities. They prefer activities with movement and sound. So, now Lucas has 2 new buddies and I don't feel too bad that I spoilt him. It is the boy thing!

Little Screamer

New year, and hence a birth of a bad habit. we have a little screamer at home. Sometimes, we call him little terror, and sometimes Lucas, the destroyer. He has definitely grown to be smarter. He knows how to scream without a drop of tear. The saga is pretty routine everyday. When we put him to sleep, he screams the minute we walk out of the room. When he gets up, he screams again the minute he did not see us. He just dislike going to sleep. It is like he will missed all the action if he goes to sleep. It has been very exhausting for us. We tried all methods thinkable - explained to him, threaten him, ignored him and nothing works. Our neighbour downstairs made a comment that he might have psychology problem and asked us to find out the root cause!! Well, it is hard to explain to someone who had no kid. Raising a child is not a science.
My new year wish is to train him to go to bed on his own - go to sleep happily and wakes up happily.

He has also grown to understand a lot, from observation. He knows how to take a piece of cloth and wipes the floor, table and door. He wants to water the plants too. Understand quite a few things we said to him:

Lucas: (singing and jumping on our bed)
Me: Lucas, go to sleep now or I will put you on your bed.
Lucas: (quickly lay down and pretend to be sleeping. A few minutes later, singing and jumping on the bed again)

Lucas: (going to throw his bottle from his high chair)
Me: Lucas ! Don't throw.
Lucas: (Threw the bottle and then looked at me) 'No more'. (Gently slap his own hand. He knew I am going to ask him to slap himself)

Lucas: (being naughty)
Me: Lucas, Mommy is not carrying you. Go play with your toys.
Lucas: (walk around the apartment and said) Daddy, no more (and gesture with his hands.)

When friends and relatives asked when are we planning our second kid, our reply is always 'We are already exhausted with one. Don't know how we can handle two'.