He certainly inherited his parents’ ability to eat the same thing day after day, meal after meal and not be tired of it. So long as it is a favourite food, he can have it a couple of days in a row without any fuss. Right now, the hot favourite is pau. Though he does sometimes alternate between liking the filling and the bun itself.

Best washed down with a packet of chocolate milk. Chocolate is like the spoonful of sugar that helps everything go down. Chocolate coat the food and mealtimes will probably go by much faster than they normally do. Only thing is, I don’t think we’d be doing it anytime soon. We’d need to order cacao by the truckload…

But what he really needs to work on, is his eating manners. Such a messy eater. *Tsk tsk* Not to mention his ’sam seng kia’ way of sitting with his leg up… *slaps forehead*

(With baby K, we bring extra diapers and clothes in case she does a big poo job. With Jayden, we bring extra clothes and wipes to clean up after meals! Little wonder the diaper bag is not reducing in size anytime soon… nor that we are no longer carrying travel sized packs of wet wipes around. They just finish too fast! Bring on the large packs of 80s and more!)

… and just like that, we turned into a family of 4; 2 kids, 2 adults. It was a tiring last leg of the pregnancy with Kathlene being overdue. So much for the anticipation that she’d be early or, at the very least, on time. She lasted straight through till the 40th week and then some.

We had scheduled for her to be induced on 5th August but she had other plans. She decided that 3rd August was much better and started giving birthing pains that late morning. On hindsight, what must have been contractions (though not at all regular) started in the morning and intensified in the afternoon. Between handling the newly minted older brother and the general tiredness, we didn’t quite manage to time the contractions.

Plus the fact that she wasn’t quite the typical baby who came with classic textbook signs of labour. No waterbag bursting, no drama. Just a bit of show and a really irritating (not to mention painful!) backpain. We later found out that she was facing front which added to the back pains.

I wasn’t quite keen on being strapped up to the machines and bed. Neither was I sure I was in labour. I called the gynae and was put on hold. And even at one point in time, having the clinic on both my land and mobile lines. Funny now that I’m looking back! The good doc said to go… and go we did. I went to the hospital with parents and Jayden in tow, settling my admission to the maternity ward.

Not quite the best of decisions because there we learnt that I was already 8cm dilated (the nurse initially though 9cm!) and everything moved in a flurry of activity. The nurse freaked out and called the doctor immediately. She did the routine urine tests and vaginal examination before realising I was already 9cm from her first estimate. The waterbag had NOT broken (hence the wrong analysis) and they were all going ‘please don’t push!’. The admission attendant was driving me insane with the procedures. Seriously, questions like “whose Medisave account to use?” and “where is the gynae bill?” are not top priority when contractions are coming fast and furious and oh, no epidural to ease the pain away. Yes, because I was admitted so late, there were no options left save the laughing gas… which really isn’t funny nor useful. Unless you are desperate.

Basically things moved really fast and baby Kathlene breathed her first breath just under an hour of admission. Such a far cry from when we had Jayden! We were in and out of the hospital with little trouble too. And all was well until breastfeeding at home started. Kathlene has a set of powerful lungs and a real appetite. Plus her dogged choice of ONLY the breast, it made for a harrowing first week.

She dropped her birth weight (obviously) and we sought the help of 2 lactation consultants. Things have now eased up and she’s growing reasonably well. During Monday’s gynae check up (for me!), she tipped the scales at 4+kg, obviously regaining her weight and adding more to her lanky frame. We’d probably have more updates later… when she goes for her own 6 weeks check up.

During this 6 weeks at home, she has shown herself to be quite the baby with a character. From our interactions, we think she’d be the one doing any bullying in the home. She loves to be carried and is so darn sensitive that she wakes up (sometimes, thankfully not all the time!) when we put her back in her cot. She is quite irritated with the cheeky older brother right this moment and lets out some freakishly loud screams when she is past her tolerance level. By this I mean the sort of scream where the face turns beetroot red and the cries reach a state of soundlessness even.

Still in spite of all this reaction, elder brother Jayden is quite oblivious to the effect he has on her. He tries to be the good doting brother but really, knows nothing of his strength. His limited interactions with her need to be watched because he has been caught hitting her, even once throwing a bottle of lotion at her. Hmm.

Whilst we are home most times, we are venturing out more these days. Jayden has spent a good part of the 6 weeks with his paternal grandparents and I think everyone is enjoying it. The bond is stronger and he is picking up more mandarin. He talks endlessly right now and is a ’snacker’. He does not quite have proper meals, ie the sort with rice and 3 dishes or the like, but has favourite foods that he gobbles down without thinking. Sometimes it almost feels like he is overdosing on them. Wait, he IS. Right this moment, the boy can be bribed with bananas, longans, POCKY, fishballs and raisins. The ‘food of the moment’ changes with the day.

Jayden has grown a fair bit during this period too. Not quite physically but mentally. Many times we are quite stunned by the way he processes information and the rate in which he picks things up. He can hold his own in an argument in due course. Not quite something I am looking forward to. His speech is good too, demonstrating clear thought though the diction needs working on. And because it already is so endless in nature, I am not quite sure how he can ‘one-up’ it during the “WHY?” questioning phase. His current obsession is to go on a holiday. Somehow he understands all those travel brochures and hotel advertisements! The power of media… cannot be denied.

And so, that kinda sums up what has been happening with the kiddos over in our corner of Singapore. If you made it this far, you are probably a relative, friend and / or mother. Drop a note to say hi!

Jayden has taken a greater interest in having his pictures taken. Probably because he sees us snapping away at his baby sister and also wants in on the action. He sauntered into the room one day and proceeded to promptly climb my swivel chair (with me on it!) and attack my worktable. So the next best thing to do? Distract him with Photobooth.

We took tonnes of photos, practised ‘counting’ (count down to the timer!) and smiled many times for the camera. Simple joys… and it does not cost a thing. Ok, not an additional cent.

There are a couple of sure fire ways to scare this kiddo. One is bring him swimming (or close enough to a swimming pool) and the other is apparently haircuts.

It is odd though. For weeks he had been asking for a haircut. Everytime we passed the salon, he’d ask for one. We tended to arrive in the vicinity after closing hours so we promised him a trip, another day. When daddy was free on Thursday, we thought we’d make good on the promise and thus, trooped down to the salon.

Said lil boy changed his tune. He struggled and refused to cooperate. It took a lot to get him seated on daddy and trim a little off. But not enough to finish the cut. So erhmm… I can’t quite tell whether there’s a noticeable difference after the ‘cut’.

Seriously… what’s the big deal?

“Eye spoil spoil” was what Jayden said when we trooped down to the optometrist on Saturday to fix daddy’s specs. He climbed up on the bar stool and stared intensely as daddy tried to decide whether to make a new pair whilst waiting for the other to be repaired.

After the intense gaze came the wise statement, “eye spoil spoil” before he turned his attention away on to more frivolous things… like the big fish tank in the shop.

… and he isn’t wrong. Just a layman boy’s way of putting it across.

If you are a kid (or maybe, just my kid), a great party would consist of…

chocolate

Balloons (helium filled please!)

and cups.

Easy peasy right? Food is optional.

Thanks Lynda for having us over. We all had a ball of a time.

Enough said.

All children seem universally attracted to such money gobbling machines kiddy rides. Just a matter of time… Jayden now stares longingly at them. We seldom indulge in them. At most he’d just sit in them for a while (ok, as long as we let him), turning the wheels and jabbing at the buttons until we walk away.

Quite useful for times when you desperately need a breather.

Move over Barney, after an almost 1 year stint at the top of (Jayden’s) charts, Fun Song Factory has taken over. It is about time really. I was getting purple overdose. Whilst I admit the videos did teach him a couple of things or two (ok, more!), the repetition was getting to me.

So you can guess who was mighty pleased when lil boy went to grab Fun Song Factory from his cd rack the other day. And to request them for almost a week straight. Bye Barney. I know you won’t fade into extinction but at least, now I don’t have to see you everyday.

Yes, so maybe we’d move on to Hi-5 and the like. Song and dance time!

Not that we went anywhere. Life just happened.

Was quite amused by the news feature of the youngest member of Mensa. At age 2, she has an impressive IQ of 156, just 4 points below that of Albert Einstein. She started talking at 5 months and walking at 8 and… at the risk of being labeled ’sour grapes’, I’d just say I think I’d die if Jayden started walking and talking so early.

That said, I think it is awfully fun observing the things he CAN do. Nevermind the IQ tests. At a couple of days shy of turning 27 months… he does…

1. counting! : in English, till 5 accurately. He won’t count for you per se. He counts properly when no one is looking (heh)
2. keep his toys : every night, before heading off to bed, he’d keep everything in their proper place. He does it himself, with a little directing. But most of the time, on his own accord. And it all fits nicely!
3. reporting : if he’s out with the gramps and we aren’t along, he’d come back and ‘report’ on what happened. Especially so if he got a beating. (haha)
4. ‘English oral, describe what is happening in the picture’ : he loves to look at pictures… particularly of himself. And then he’d describe what he sees; ie “Jayden carrying bag”, “Jayden at grandma’s home” or “Jayden sleeping!”. This sorta thing.
5. tell you what he wants : he’d dictate which shows he wants to watch. From his collection of vcds, he’d specifically tell which disc he wants. Either by speech or bringing it direct to you and stuffing it in your face. Demanding.
6. pack his bag : everytime we are headed out, he’d look for his own bag and pack it. He’d insist on carrying it too. Nevermind if it is just for the short trip down to the vehicle where he has to take it off and be strapped into the car seat. He’d remember again at the end of the journey and insist on having it back on his back. He’d also take care to pack for the trip. Depending on where we are headed, he’d pack a different item.
7. have a very sociable personality : hugs and kisses and lots of interaction. However given the current scare over Influenza A outbreak, we are likely to be postponing sending him to daycare after all.

Offhand, that’s about it. It doesn’t mean that we are having an easy peasy life with him, cursing cruising through his toddler years. He still has his issues. Especially with food. He’s getting more and more mischievous (he keeps pushing the bar on this one!) and you really gotta watch him lest he gets himself into some kind of weird scrap.

Ah well.

Cheeky lil boy needs a cheeky faced bib. No?

From Little Odd Forest, the Cheeky Monster Baby Bib is loads fun. And nice to touch. Oh, and of course, it does its job as a bib.