Goodbye Vios Hello Odyssey

Bid farewell to my faithful friend today.
She is only 4.5years old. Still so young. Sigh.
Feel a little emotional when she was driven away yesterday.
And still feeling the same when I see her again today.
Shed my tears, actually.
Afterall, she is our very 1st and it has served us well.
Many times, it brought us to-and-fro Malaysia safely, whether rain or shine, never utter a single complaint.
Our family getaways, will never be as fun, without her.
I will miss you, my dearie.
Forever in my memories......

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We embraced a new member to our family yesterday.
It was a dream come true.
Although she didnt spend her early years with us, we promise we will still love her dearly as if she was already with us from day one.
I havent got a chance to spend time alone with her yet.
Think maybe not now.
I am not confident that I will be able to handle her as yet.
Maybe. Maybe wait till 妹妹 arrives first.
Anyway, welcome to our big family.
Indeed, a family of 8 (including the domestic helper) is big eh!

The Kiddies' Room

Finally, finally, finally.........
After so much shifting and moving, the furniture are staying for good at this position.
Yes, we are shifting the furniture in the study cum kiddy room again.
It was kiddy room when Kaden was borned and turned back to study room when confinement auntie left.
And now its going to be kiddy room again and this time, its for good and I meant it.
Cos there's no where we can shift the single bed to....hahaha..
For once, Trenyce feels like she has a room of her own.
Well, for a good 8 weeks before 妹妹 arrives.
There will be some minor changes to the sleeping arrangement but the furniture will stay for good.
*Heng ah* Hubby must be very glad he doesnt have to do all the shitty shifting again :p
Well, I'm glad this tricky thing has been solved, so now is just the waiting game....

{picture to be uploaded}

Easter Long Weekend in Singapore (Jalan Kayu Animal Resort and Downtown East Explorer Kids)

We originally planned for a short trip back to Labis but changed plans last minute and hence spending our Easter long weekend in Singapore instead.

DAY 1: 10th April 2009, FRIDAY, SINGAPOREWe brought the kids to Downtown East on the first day of our long weekend. I have planned to bring them to Downtown East for a long time eversince they renovated and finally did it on Friday. We spent the entire morning at eXplorerkid and even got a chance to taste the chicken rice from the ex-Manadarin Hotel Chef who dished the famous chicken rice from Chatterbox, the shop is called Mr Chicken Rice. Both the kids had lots of fun especially Trenyce. Frankly there are more things for her to play than Kaden (only the toddler play area). But Kaden doesnt seem to mind, he has much fun walking around the big playground;) As the floor is rubberized, you dont have to worry about your little toddler getting hurt from falling hence watching over him is a breeze, all I need to do is to keep an eye on where he is wandering to....

It was still early, so we hanged around the fish pond area. The kids enjoyed watching the fishes.
Kaden弟弟 at the toddler play area.
Trenyce 姐姐 at the Ball'O'City.
Kaden弟弟 climbing up the MegaPlay with 爸爸's help.
Trenyce 姐姐 at the ballpool.

Just an hour at eXplorerkids is enough to wear off the kids' energy. Trenyce was perspiring madly and I stopped her from playing though she insisted that she was not tired. Anyway, we decided to call it off a day when our one-hour time is up. Kaden was also showing some signs of tiredness as he didnt have his usual 3hourly-interval nap yet. We quickly headed for the ground floor where Mr Chicken Rice is located to have our lunch. We were lucky as it wasnt very crowded and we managed to find a seat quite easily. As expected, the boy started to get grouchy midway when I was feeding him, he wasnt cooperating with me. Nevertheless I struggled through the feed and managed to make the cranky boy sleep with a full stomach =p

If you are interested:
1. eXplorerkid at Downtown East level 3, operate from 10am to 10pm on Weekends & PH. Do remember to bring your kids' and your own socks!
2. Mr Chicken Rice at Downtown East level 1, operate from 11am onwards.

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Day 2: 11th April 2009, SATURDAY, SINGAPORE

We went to Jalan Kayu for a prata feast in the morning. After food, we brought the kids to the nearby Animal Resort. It was our 2nd visit but Kaden's first. He was so very fascinated with the animals he saw at the resort i.e ducks, peacock, dogs of different breeds, goats etc. His favourite though was the ducks and the dogs while Trenyce's favourite was feeding the rabbits with carrots bought at the animal resort.

Kaden弟弟 and 爸爸

Trenyce 姐姐, Kaden弟弟 and 爸爸.

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Day 3: 12th April 2009, SUNDAY, SINGAPORE

We went to Bishan Library in the afternoon. It was Kaden's first visit to a library. He was happy to see so many books surrounding him. Hmm, or maybe he feels like he's in a maze with many bookshelves surrounding him? Anyway, I brought him to the toddler's corner to get some books for him while he stood there 'digging' at the books. When I found him a book, he was happy to walk around the library with the book in his hands. At one point, he even sat down nicely at one of the steps 'reading' his book. =)

Kaden 弟弟 at Bishan Library.

Chatty Kaden

Little Kaden has been 'talking' alot recently. He expanded his vocabulary by another two words just 2 days ago. It was "No" and "Kaka" (meaning sister in malay). He will even shake his head when he says "No"..haha. He is also able to call Ester, our domestic helper, "Kaka" these few days and when he hears me mentioning Ester's name, he will shout 'ka ka' after me. Sometimes he will even walk to the kitchen and call her......the whole family is so amused by his reaction...haha...

His 'talking' milestones

His initial first words was 'mum mum' meaning food and 'ah ma' meaning grandmother and for the first few months when he started to babble, he would refer everything as "ah ma" but strangely, not 'mum mum'. Hmmm...interestingly, he is able to associate 'mum mum' as food and nothing else.

Occasionally, he would call me "mom mom" meaning mother, but it wasnt very often =( Then he learnt to call Trenyce as 'jiejie'.

The next word he learnt was 'there'. If you asked him where is ah ma? He will say "there" and point his finger at ah ma. Likewise, if you asked him, for example, "where is the fan?", he will point at the fan and says "there!"

Just two weeks ago, he started calling 'papa' or 'da da' and his pronunciation is getting better everyday and now he can call 'papa' very loud and clear!

And finally, about a week ago, the grandfather finally had his turn to be called. Kaden finally calls the grandfather 'gonggong' hehe!

No wonder people says the 2nd kid usually learns things faster because they get to imitate their siblings. And they really imitate very well! ;)

Mood: Exciting Milestone: 14 months old

Yet another milestones for Trenyce!

I am happy that Trenyce is finally joining us at the dinning table. It started about a month ago and somehow got 'cut off' in between when she was down with fever but we resumed the 'schedule' again about 1 week after she recovered when we noticed MIL was cooking porridge for her lunch & dinner again. Besides that, I am also training her to eat by herself as MIL has been feeding her all along in order to "speed things up". I am also trying to expose her to more fruits variety. She has apples, orange juice (with pulp) and honey dew just this week. Out of the three, I would say the third mission is the toughest as she doesnt like fruits so sometimes it really get on my nerves just to get her to 'swallow' the fruits. Nevertheless, I will keep trying.

Added on 12 April 09: Bought some strawberries for girl today, another exciting venture awaiting me....

Dear Lord, pls grant me the patience to bear with all the obstacles faced in getting Trenyce to eat fruits. Amen.

Mood: Grateful Milestone: 4 years old

Guilty

How time flies...Im already in my 3rd trimester. Counting down now, 9weeks more to my EDD. Oh not much time left, better hurry to get all my stuff done before 妹妹 comes. It has been tough for this 3rd pregnancy, maybe becos I have to take care of Kaden at the same time and this boy needs alot of attention. Not that he is an attention seeker but rather he is so very active that he keeps knocking his head here and there....just yesterday, he 'earned' himself two 'fifty cents' on his forehead. He is so active that at times I still need to carry him like a baby to feed him his night feed before he goes to bed otherwise he will be struggling with the bottle. Just imagine carrying him with a protruding tummy, tough eh!

Sometimes I do feel very guilty, guilty that I wont be able to spend much time with this boy once 妹妹 arrives. I hope the parenting magazine is right...that siblings with age gap less than 18mths will not feel anything about a new silbing taking some attention away from them. So I am trying to make up now by spending more time with him as well as Trenyce. I wouldnt want history to repeat itself again. I am thinking of setting a timetable or something to allocate my time for the kids. Of course, BB will still get the most attention from me and will be even more so if I BF her. But I wouldnt want to neglect my other 2 children especially Trenyce. I do notice that she needs alot of attention from us and gets upset when her presence is ignored. For Kaden, I guess is he still too young to notice anything and I hope he wont!

I better start working on the timetable thingy soon..

Mood: Thinking hard....

Kaden Vs 妹妹

Just feeling curious about how big is 妹妹 compared to her brother when he was a foetus then. So took their scanned pics and compared....hehe

Looks like 妹妹 is slightly smaller than Kaden in the beginning but managed to catch up later...hmm...

Kaden's scanned pics.

妹妹's scanned pics.

Mood: Creative

Mdm's Checkups So Far......

25th Oct 2008, SATURDAY, SINGAPORE
1st Gynae checkup. 7wk 1d old.
Mother weighed 61kg. Baby妹妹 length: 1.03cm
EDD 12.06.2009

14th Nov 2008, FRIDAY, SINGAPORE
2nd Gynae checkup. 10wk 1d old.
Mother weighed 60kg. Baby妹妹 length: 3.25cm

5th Dec 2008, FRIDAY, SINGAPORE
3rd Gynae checkup. 13wk old.
Mother weighed 61.6kg. Baby妹妹 length: 6.65cm

26th Dec 2008, FRIDAY, SINGAPORE
4th Gynae checkup. 16wk old.
Mother weighed 63.8kg. Baby妹妹 length: 9.16cm

21st Jan 2009, WEDNESDAY, SINGAPORE
5th Gynae checkup. 19wk 5d old.
Mother weighed 66.2kg. Baby妹妹 length: XXcm

31st Jan 2009, SATURDAY, SINGAPORE
I wasn’t feeling well after the trip back from celebrating CNY at Labis. Can feel some pain at my lower abdomen. It was my 6th Gynae checkup. Baby is 21wk old. Mother weighed 68.1kg. Baby妹妹 weighed 330g.

23rd Feb 2009, MONDAY, SINGAPORE
7th Gynae checkup. 24wk 3d old.
Mother weighed 70.5kg and baby 妹妹 weighed 705g.

23rd Mar 2009, MONDAY, SINGAPORE
8th Gynae checkup. 28wk 3d old.
Mother weighed 72.3kg and baby妹妹 weighed 1.01kg.

20th April 2009, MONDAY, SINGAPORE
9th Gynae checkup. 32wk 1d old.
Mother weighed 74.2kg and baby妹妹 weighed 2.01kg.

Conversation with Trenyce姐姐

Trenyce姐姐 posed a question to me this morning before I left for work.

姐姐: Mummy, why we haven’t visited Uncle Goh (referring to my gynae)for such a long time?

妈妈: That’s because when mummy went to see Uncle Goh, you are usually in school so you didn’t get to see. You missed seeing 妹妹 isit?

姐姐 nodded her head.

妈妈: Hmm… next visit mummy put it in the afternoon so you will be able to come along ok?

姐姐: OK!
I am glad that Trenyce姐姐 is showing concern for her little 妹妹. Mood:Grateful Milestone:4 years old

Our New Furniture (4th Apr 09)

Our new sofa and single bed finally arrived. The whole house was in complete mess. Hubby has to shift the furniture in the study room (originally the master bedroom) in order to make way for the bed. 爸爸 complained. Err, becos it’s the 3rd time he shifted the study table. Everytime when a new addition joins us, he will have to do so. No choice, my dear….our house is only this big =p

I was so tired wth all the packing and cleaning up. True, I have a domestic helper to help around but some of the stuff are rather personal so I cant let her to do the cleanup for me so in the end I have to do it myself. I was so tired that my body is aching the next day and I couldnt move myself, just wanted to ly on the bed!

Most of the things have been cleared up except for the kiddies' room. It is still in some form of mess. Trenyce姐姐 has been asking us every night when is her room going to be ready. She is waiting to move into her 'new' room and sleeps on her new bed. Currently, she is sleeping in the grandparents' room. Not on their bed but on the floor with the daybed mattress.

爸爸 has promised her that he will get it done this weekend. Seriously, we still dont know how to arrange the furniture in the room...partly beocs we are running out of space in the store room to keep some fo the stuff so its really a big headache now!

Well, I will leave it to 爸爸 to solve the problem haha =p

Kaden弟弟 is sick

25th -29th Mar 2009, WEDNESDAY to SUNDAY, SINGAPORE

Kaden弟弟 was not feeling well for the past few days. He was down with mild fever due to teething. Although the western doctors do not believe that teething will cause fever, it really was indeed the case. It started on Wednesday when hubby and myself discovered that his forehead was a little warmer than usual. We alerted MIL to keep an eye on him as the fever is behaving like yoyo, going on-off. This went on for about two days and on Friday, MIL announced that Kaden 弟弟 was having fever and had given him a dose of panadol syrup. This syrup can only be given maximium 3 times per day, every 6hourly.

Poor boy having 4 teeth (2 upper & 2 lower) erupting at the same time. He must be under a lot of pain, so uncomfortable that the usual cheery 弟弟 is now a very grouchy boy. I quickly boiled Lingyong (羚羊水)and barley water for him over the weekend, hoping to help him ease the fever. Luckily, the fever ceased on Sunday but another illness striked the next day!


30th Mar – 3rd Apr 2009, MONDAY to FRIDAY, SINGAPORE

We noticed Kaden弟弟 was coughing on Monday morning. It got worst in the night as he kept coughing almost every other hour. It was so bad that it disrupted his sleep and as a result, he couldn’t sleep very well. I didn’t sleep the whole night as well as he was extremely irritable by the cough and I had to pacify him to sleep. This went on the entire night and by the time dawn came, I had to prepare for work. Nevertheless, I dragged my feet to work. I was so zombie man!

His cough turned worst on Tuesday morning and we decided to bring him to the pediatrician if his cough did not improve by the time we return home. Well, we had to bring him to see the pediatrician afterall. Made an appointment at 7.15pm, it was the earliest timeslot we could get. We didn’t even get a chance to have our dinner and had to leave immediately for the clinic when we reached home.

We waited at the clinic for almost 45mins before its finally our turn. Dr Anthony from ABC examined Kaden弟弟 and he concluded that Kaden弟弟 had caught the flu bug. His coughing was caused by the mucus that he couldn’t dispel since he neither knows how to blow nose nor spit the phlegm. But it wasn’t serious so he doesn’t have to go through the ‘face mask’ to relieve the phlegm in case it ‘clogged’ his lungs. As usual, it was another sleepless night for me…..

I went on child mc the next day cos I am going to pengsan (meaning cant take it anymore in hokkien) already. Im severely lack of sleep. Its very unhealthy for a heavily preggy to go on sleepless nights. Well, no choice. True enough, I fell sick due to lack of sufficient rest even the 1-day child mc couldn’t help to replenish the lost sleep. I was down with running nose and cough for the next couple of days. Its very troublesome for preggy to fall sick as it will take a long time to recover cos basically there’s no medicine to take (无药可救) and I have to rely on ‘inner self’ (靠自己) to recover. Well, its not the first time anyway............

Mood: Uncomfortable Milestone: 13 months old