De-worm

Chloe is more comfortable on her stomach.

I tried de-worm on Lucas after several friends recommended it. There were only 2 tablets for every 6 months. So, I got him the tablets that look candies. He eat them not knowing the actual content. Then I supplemented with some vitamins supplement and appetite boaster. The end-result is even worse than before. He is not eating at all!! He eats 2-3 spoons for each meal and only had milk 3 times a day. He is also not so crazy about his sweets anymore. Now, I am getting worried. What's wrong with him?? How to get his good appetite? I'm really run out of idea. I have a 8 years old cousin who were so skinny until now. This cousin were so active and hadn't been putting on weight. He only grows taller - same story as Lucas. Now, this cousin of mine is an eating machine. He can eat 3 drumsticks for lunch and need supper (more meat). I must say he looks better not being bony. Hope Lucas will eventually build his appetite and put on some weight. Chloe's face is almost the same size as Lucas...that's how skinny he is.

One Hundred

Somehow, one hundred is Lucas' favourite number.

One day, I was wearing him his diaper before bedtime.
Me: Lucas, when will you be able to go to toilet at night and don't have to wear diaper anymore?
Lucas: When I am o-ne hundred years old!
Me: Mommy won't be around to change your diaper by then.
Lucas: Where are you going?
Me: Mommy will be gone by then.
Lucas: What about Daddy?
Me: Daddy will be gone too.
Lucas: (puzzled) Then who am I going to talk to?
Me: Maybe Chloe is going to be around.
Lucas: (satisfied with the answer).

Me: Lucas, you cannot eat too many Mentos. 2 only.
Lucas: 2 is not a lot.
Me: Then, how many is a lot?
Lucas: O-ne hundred!

If only o-ne hundred is a 4 digit number, you can guess where will I be heading!

Chloe's First Swim

We took Chloe for a swim last Tuesday. To play safe, we usually waited until the kids got the jabs until 6 months before we take them to the pool. For Lucas, we did not have a float for him, and we did not have a swimming diaper too! Did not know that swimming diaper exists then. As a result, Lucas had such a bad diarrhoea from drinking the pool water. This time, we are more experienced. We had a float and swimming diaper for Chloe. So far, Chloe is doing well ... keeping fingers crossed.

Well...Chloe did not seem to enjoy the water. Maybe it was her first time and she was overwhelmed and confused. She was busy looking around and looking uncomfortable. She just sat on her float and I pushed her around the wading pool. Before we leave, we took her out of the float and Dominic carried her and and swim on the adult pool. She was not amused either. Hope the subsequent trip will be better.

Now with 2 kids, we both had to go to the pool. Dominic cannot handle 2 kids in the pool by himself. I used to sit around and wait for Lucas to finish swimming and then take him for a bath. I do not need to get wet at all. Now.....I don't have such luxury. Quite an effort to go swimming. Had to get both kids ready with the sun block, swimming diapers for Chloe and then swim wear. Then have to pack spare change of clothes for all before we drive 5 mins to the pool. No more taking an elevator and go 3 stories down the apartment. On the bright side, we are now treating going swimming as family activity. Hopefully, something the kids look forward to.

Where am I? Big bath tub?

Lucas swimming at 8th month, June 2007. Same float, isn't it?

Lucas is happy...Chloe is not so amused.

Father and Son Talk

Have you ever wonder what do father and son talk about when they are together?? This is what Dominic and his 3 years old son talk about.

Day 1- on the way home from school:
Lucas: Daddy, we must buy a car tomorrow. We buy a Mercedes ok?
Dom: No, Daddy will buy an Au-di first.
Lucas: Is the Au-di for you or Mommy or me?
Dom: The Ao-di is for Daddy. Then maybe Daddy will be a Mercedes for Mommy.
Lucas: It is Au-di or Ao-di?
Dom: The Germans say Au-di.

Day 2- on the way home from grocery shopping:
Lucas: (holding the cheese we just bought from supermarket) How many dollars is the cheese?
Me: It is 10 dollars.
Lucas: It that a lot of dollars?
Me: Yes, it is expensive.
Lucas: 10 is not a lot. 100 is a lot.
Me: If the cheese is 100 dollars, Mommy will not buy the cheese for you.
Lucas: Daddy, how many dollars is Au-di?
Dom: Oh..it is a lot of dollars. It is more than two hundred thou-sand dollars.
Lucas: How much is a Mercedes?
Dom: Oh...it is even more. It is more than three hundred thou-sand dollars. An Au-di and a Mercedes will costs more than half a million.

Dominic forgot his son can only sum up SINGLE digit number. When Lucas grows up, he will be very disappointed that he will not be getting an Au-di or Mercedes like his toy cars. It will be a PROTON, dear Lucas!

Down Memory Lane

Today is my off day. I worked 4 days a week i.e. Tuesday to Friday. So, I decided to organize the kids' closet. I started with Lucas's outgrown clothes. When I opened up the plastic bag and saw the clothes Lucas used to wear, I mesmerized those days when he was wearing them. Days when he was still crawling and cruising, not talking and chubby. Now, he runs, jumps, skinny and talks like a true chatter-box. Chloe can wear all his short sleeves body suits and some sweet colour shirts. But none of his pants can be recycled. Those pants are just too boyish for girl.

Then I cleared Chloe's closet. All those newborn to 6 months clothes can be given away for good. Yep...not planning for a third one.

All these children's clothes are quite wasteful if they cannot be handed down to someone. A lot of them are still so new (worn less than 5 times) and some are even branded. These kids are lucky to have generous relatives to give them nice clothes. I am too stingy to buy my kids branded clothes.

Chloe is Long

We took Chloe for her 6 months check-up today. She had 2 jabs and an oral medication. The first thing the paed said was 'Her hair is standing. She has curly hair.' She cried hard during and after the jabs. Lucas was like no feeling when he had his jab at Chloe's age. How different.

The little girl weighs 7.3 kg (5.8 kg when she was 3 1/2 months old), and is 69 cm (61 cm when she was 3 1/2 months old). Then the paed commented on Chloe's flat tummy! Chloe tried to sit up very often and her position is like doing crunches. That gives her the flat tummy.

Now that she has passed her 6 months milestone, we are taking Chloe to swimming tomorrow - if the weather allowed.

Reading and Writing

Lucas can write all the alphabets. His handwriting is not very steady but it is readable. I got him to write his name on the Christmas card gifts. He writes the Chinese style i.e. from right to left. And he has decided to be right-handed. He doesn't use his left hand much anymore.

He enjoys reading, that is we read to him. Sometimes he pretends to be reading on his own. He will run his finger through the words and make up his own story - far from what were written in the book. We are trying to use the phonics sound to get him to learn to spell the word. He enjoys colouring. He still use single colour for the whole picture. When we asked him to make the picture colourful, he will asked 'how about 2 colours?'

He has been doing additions the last few days and he knows simple addition. He will say 'I want 5 gummy bears and I have 2 on my plate. Can you give me 3 more?' We tried to teach him additions a few weeks ago but he couldn't grasp it. I told myself he is not ready. Now, it is a surprise he understands the concept. Maybe he learned this in school.

Chloe is 6 months old

Chloe is 6 months old. I'm not sure if time flies too fast or too slow anymore. One of my former colleague just sent her son to study overseas. Then I started thinking if it is me who is sending Lucas to study overseas, will I be filled with joy that I finally get my freedom or will I be so upset that I 'lose' him for good? After much deliberation, I think I will prefer to have Lucas as now. Everything 'mommy this' and 'mommy that'. I prefer him being dependent on me. It is such an adorable phase. Another friend also commented that she 'lost' her teenage daughter. The daughter is grown up and doesn't stick to my friend anymore. So, I am making a mental note to myself to enjoy them now. Yes, the kids are now very dependent and suck all the 24 hours a day of my time, but hey, it is only a phase. Soon, there will be no more 'mommy this' and 'mommy that' and I can't reverse the time.

Chloe is able to turn from the back to her chest and then back to her back. She eats solid but I must say it takes her a while to get used to new food. When I introduced sweet potatoes to her, she rejected the food the first time. The second time, she had a few spoons and then rejected the food. She only enjoys it the third time. The same goes with banana. So far, she is eating rice cereal, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, banana, papaya and apple. I will be trying pumpkins soon. She is going for her 6 months check-up and jabs this Tuesday. Will know her weight and length then. Sleeping wise, she is good. I just need to put her on her baby cot and she will go to sleep without a fuss as long as her stomach is full. She is sitting but not very steady. She reacts to her name. So far I must say she has been an easy-going baby :)

Lucas is building his fondness for Chloe. Every morning when Lucas wakes up, he will go to Chloe's room and give her a pillow or pat her or hold her leg. This is very sweet of him but of course will wake Chloe up as well. Lucas quite often asked to carry his sister. Meanwhile, when Chloe sees Lucas dancing, she laughs out loud. She thinks her brother is playing with her.

First Day of School

The weather was just too good to snooze on Lucas's first day of school. It drizzles and cloudy. I set the alarm at 7.30am. Shut off the alarm and went back to sleep at 7.30am. Then I woke up at 8am and told myself another few minutes of eye shut. The next thing I know was 8.30am. That's the time Lucas school commence. Both kids were so sound asleep and they did not wake me up as well. So, at 8.30am, I jumped off the bed, get myself ready in less than 5 mins, get Lucas ready and packed both kids to the car. Luckily the traffic was good. Was in his school by 9.15am.
Lucas was very good. No fuss about going to school and no fuss when I leave him. He misses his teacher. Initially, he did not want to wish his teacher happy new year but when the teacher gave him a gift, he gave this teacher a big hug!

Some peace and quiet at home without him.

Happy 2010

Happy New Year. I just realised that I have been blogging for two and a half year. Blogging does help to 'document' the kids' development and reference at a later stage. 2 days ago, Dominic was reading the old posts on Lucas which was posted 2 years ago. We thought Lucas was quite different from Chloe but after reading the old posts, Dominic's summary was 'Chloe is just like Lucas. Both cried before they go to sleep, put everything into their mouth. The only difference is Chloe drools and Lucas did not'. Well....what to say - products from the same factory. One thing which I have failed miserably is getting Lucas to sleep. 2 years ago, I said I will have to get Lucas to sleep on his own.........and today, I am still trying!

Yesterday was the last day of partying. Today is winding down day. Need to get Lucas to sleep early and get up on time to go to school tomorrow.

Back to routine.