Gosh I've never used the word CUTE on my own kid but dang, it sure is cute when Day dances!
Day has started dancing but he's mighty selective about the songs he wants to groove to. His fav? A funny little ditty from the maid's mobile phone, which she suddenly discovered got him going while attempting to distract him during feeding time.
I wish I could post a vid online but I have no idea how. He hears it and he drops whatever he is doing to jive. No matter where he is. In the bathtub, in the high chair, while running.
And his dancing isn't like arms/legs flailing. At this point, he just bounces up and down, bopping his head in sudden swerving movements (as if he suddenly realizes he should be going left instead of right) and jerking left and right.
Sort of like a marionette but a highly amusing one!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
verbal interaction
Day has found his voice! OK it's not an overnight thing and has been happening gradually over the past month, but it's about time I got it down on the blog.
Over two months ago, he was going mum-mum a lot, which stands for food, and a month ago, he was doing tongue gymastics.
Nowadays, he actually repeats (and sometimes remembers) words we tell him. These are some of the words in his very small vocab now:
Mum-mum (which means food, still his hot favourite word)
Papa (papa)
Ka (car)
Gng (light)
Pa-pai-ta (papaya AND banana)
Apa (apple)
Ba (bird AND bus)
Ba-ba (ball)
Wow-wer (flower)
Ga-ga (gai gai, which stands for going out)
Guess these words say a bit about what he cares about! (He never calls mummy though! Maybe I'm there too often)
When he says these words, he spits out every word with real intensity and he says "ah" with his mouth in a huge "O", which is so big it wrinkles his nose and distorts his face. Or when he says ga-ga, he makes the G sound like someone who is getting ready to spit (as in ga-PUI!)
It's wonderful, though, to have him suddenly point out something and shout out the word and without looking, I know what it is. When I turn to him and laughingly say "Yes, that is a flower!" he is full of glee and giggles.
It's hard to imagine that the baby who could only cry before is now talking. Daddy always said he couldn't wait for Day to speak so he will know what's in his mind. Thinking back to the time we first found out about Day, it's really strange that the thing which once showed up on a pregnancy test kit is now communicating. Weird.
Over two months ago, he was going mum-mum a lot, which stands for food, and a month ago, he was doing tongue gymastics.
Nowadays, he actually repeats (and sometimes remembers) words we tell him. These are some of the words in his very small vocab now:
Mum-mum (which means food, still his hot favourite word)
Papa (papa)
Ka (car)
Gng (light)
Pa-pai-ta (papaya AND banana)
Apa (apple)
Ba (bird AND bus)
Ba-ba (ball)
Wow-wer (flower)
Ga-ga (gai gai, which stands for going out)
Guess these words say a bit about what he cares about! (He never calls mummy though! Maybe I'm there too often)
When he says these words, he spits out every word with real intensity and he says "ah" with his mouth in a huge "O", which is so big it wrinkles his nose and distorts his face. Or when he says ga-ga, he makes the G sound like someone who is getting ready to spit (as in ga-PUI!)
It's wonderful, though, to have him suddenly point out something and shout out the word and without looking, I know what it is. When I turn to him and laughingly say "Yes, that is a flower!" he is full of glee and giggles.
It's hard to imagine that the baby who could only cry before is now talking. Daddy always said he couldn't wait for Day to speak so he will know what's in his mind. Thinking back to the time we first found out about Day, it's really strange that the thing which once showed up on a pregnancy test kit is now communicating. Weird.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
babe in bintan
That horrendous lump on Day's head looks like something is trying to break out of his skull but it so happens to be a bite from a vicious Bintan mosquito.
Day just came from a two-day trip from Bintan, on Sunday and Monday. It's the second time he's been out of Singapore since his Christmas Malaysia holiday. Here are the highlights.
JOURNEY
Because Day's dad went a day earlier, me and Day had to go alone on Sunday morning. Lugging two big bags and baby in a home-made sarong sling (I actually managed to tie a knot in my beach sarong to carry him in, so I can reduce luggage), we took an hour-long ferry ride and managed to get to the Bintan Lagoon Resort in one piece.
I've never travelled alone with him before so it was an adventure. To keep him quiet and still on my lap the entire way, I kept stuffing his face with banana cereal.
The immigration queues were a bit of a frazzle and in the process of struggling for a pen to fill in the forms (I forgot) while still carrying baby, I actually left my passport behind at the counter. I only realized when trying to stuff the passports back into the bag that mine was missing. The man at the counter, who was craning his head looking for me and waving my passport when I scurried back a few minutes later, looked like he thought I was loony.
The biggest bump was at the end of the journey, when I, with bags and baby in arms, lost my footing and slipped down the steps of the coach taking us from the ferry terminal to the resort. Well! Luckily we were all fine. I'm sure I'll do better next time.
MORE ACCIDENTS
Apart from that champion mozzie bite, Day didn' get any more bites because we made sure we pasted anti-mozzie patches on his clothes at all time, so he looked a bit like a dart board from the back.
But he had a whole lot more other accidents. He rolled over and fell down the bed in our villa bedroom, with such a loud thump that those downstairs knew immediately what happened. He also rolled down the three steps at the front of the villa when he missed his footing. That makes two clumsy oafs in the family.
ANTI-BEACH
Bintan is all about sun, sea and sand. Day, unfortunately, hates the beach. He refused to touch the sea or sand and if he wasn't trying to run away, he was clinging to us for dear life.
Daddy, an avid windsurfer, was predictably upset. Looking Day in the eye, he said: "How are you going to windsurf next time?"
Something good did come out of it though. Once we realized Day would stay all obedient and quiescent in our arms instead of struggling to get down if we were stepping on the sand, it was easy putting him to sleep by the beach.
NO FOOD, NO SLEEP
Everybody likes a holiday. Maybe not for babies, cos' every day is a holiday for them anyway and any change of environment is probably stressful for them.
Though he acted quite cool about the whole thing and was his usual bouncing-off-the-wall self, we knew he was stressed by the shit indicator: When he failed to poo on Day 1. (and he poos every day)
His napping was also all over the place and food-wise, well. We gave him everything from ice kachang to udon to Italian bread, but he didn't seem to appreciate it.
THE GOOD PARTS
But other than that, it was a great trip. Daddy really enjoyed the golf courses, he played on the 18-hole course every one of the three days he was there.
It was also great for Day to meet auntie Angie - Dad's colleague - her husband David(!) and daughter Ysanne. They have been members at the resort for over a decade and big David goes to play golf at least once a week at Bintan. Because of them, we got 30% off everything and we didn't even have to pay for the villa, which comes with a sea view and which usually costs about $800 a night.
Here's Angie and Ysanne, in the golf buggy which we use to get round everywhere and which I (a car-phobic) relished driving.
The resort is one of those all-in-one resorts, where there are facilities for everyone. So to cater to all those golfers who come with their families, there were heaps of things for Day to do. Swimming pools with slides and fountains, ponds with huge hungry koi (Day loved looking at the fish), a lovely childcare centre with loads of toys and a groovy playground.
We'd like to think that overall, he had a good time!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Monday, May 16, 2005
scaredy cat mummy
I've become such a wimp I can hardly believe it. A few nights ago I grabbed an umbrella to brave a fine drizzle to intercept Day's daddy, who had gone out on a bicycle for supper. When he went out the rain had not fallen yet.
By the time I reached the main road, it was pouring, the kind where the rain falls straight-down in sheets despite the gale. That wasn't the problem. My problem was when the lightning dance started. Now Singapore has one of the highest incidence of lightning strikes in the world, and I read somewhere that there is a higher chance of getting struck by lightning here, than of getting hit by a car or striking lottery.
I never cared much about lightning before, and in my younger days have gone tramping around in flat open fields during lightning storms where I would have been a prime target for frying.
This time, I was absolutely terrified. I clung onto the umbrella (which happened to be one of those giant golf umbrellas) for dear life and everytime lightning flashed, I shrunk further up into the hood. Psychologically it was the only protection I had between me and the lightning though I'm pretty sure if I had been struck, I wouldn't even know.
My self-disgust reached a peak when at some point, I heard a squeak. From myself. Which turned into squeals.
I forged on because I though Day's daddy needed saving. Imagine my utter disappointment when I saw him walking the bicycle back with an umbrella. Thereafter, everytime I squealed, he chortled. Laughed. Guffawed.
The point in all this is that I pride myself on being a gung-ho, anything-goes person. I think I didn't even really care about the value of life and wouldn't think twice about danger.
All that seems to have changed once I became a mother. Suddenly, life is very very precious to me. It's not even the philosophy that matters, it's in the little details of how paranoid I am nowadays. Apart from not wanting to brave a rainstorm for fear of being struck by a lightning, I:
* Shun all horror / violent movies because my tolerance level is zilch. I watched one very bloody/violent/morally black Korean movie called Old Boy and while I would have enjoyed its gripping symbolism before, I sat with my back pressed against the seat in the cinema with a splitting headache. Especially at scenes where teeth were wrenched out with crowbars and where daughers had sex with fathers.
* Run at any little sign of danger. One time the family felt tremors while eating at a restaurant in the sky, I wanted to abandon the rest of the food and run down the stairs (not the lift, too risky, what if it plunged?) with Day in my arms. Everybody else wanted to finish the food so I stayed, eyes on the lookout for cracks in the walls.
* Shiver when I read about bad news. Gobal killer flu pandemics, how the world is hotting up, natural disasters like tsunamis. It all freaks me out.
* Shun all former thoughts of bringing my baby to wild and exciting destinations like the Silk Road or Mongolia. What if he gets fever? Or needs a hospital? Or eats some parasite that grows in his tummy?
It was the same with one of my ex-bosses, suddenly we become all soft and gooey after having children. I suppose it's because I know for sure I don't want to die - Day is depending on me - and I wince at anything that could harm my child.
This is a pix from my last big Adventure - going to Mongolia for a three-month community expedition in 2001. I guess I'll have to say goodbye to these adventures (with or without Day) ... for now.
By the time I reached the main road, it was pouring, the kind where the rain falls straight-down in sheets despite the gale. That wasn't the problem. My problem was when the lightning dance started. Now Singapore has one of the highest incidence of lightning strikes in the world, and I read somewhere that there is a higher chance of getting struck by lightning here, than of getting hit by a car or striking lottery.
I never cared much about lightning before, and in my younger days have gone tramping around in flat open fields during lightning storms where I would have been a prime target for frying.
This time, I was absolutely terrified. I clung onto the umbrella (which happened to be one of those giant golf umbrellas) for dear life and everytime lightning flashed, I shrunk further up into the hood. Psychologically it was the only protection I had between me and the lightning though I'm pretty sure if I had been struck, I wouldn't even know.
My self-disgust reached a peak when at some point, I heard a squeak. From myself. Which turned into squeals.
I forged on because I though Day's daddy needed saving. Imagine my utter disappointment when I saw him walking the bicycle back with an umbrella. Thereafter, everytime I squealed, he chortled. Laughed. Guffawed.
The point in all this is that I pride myself on being a gung-ho, anything-goes person. I think I didn't even really care about the value of life and wouldn't think twice about danger.
All that seems to have changed once I became a mother. Suddenly, life is very very precious to me. It's not even the philosophy that matters, it's in the little details of how paranoid I am nowadays. Apart from not wanting to brave a rainstorm for fear of being struck by a lightning, I:
* Shun all horror / violent movies because my tolerance level is zilch. I watched one very bloody/violent/morally black Korean movie called Old Boy and while I would have enjoyed its gripping symbolism before, I sat with my back pressed against the seat in the cinema with a splitting headache. Especially at scenes where teeth were wrenched out with crowbars and where daughers had sex with fathers.
* Run at any little sign of danger. One time the family felt tremors while eating at a restaurant in the sky, I wanted to abandon the rest of the food and run down the stairs (not the lift, too risky, what if it plunged?) with Day in my arms. Everybody else wanted to finish the food so I stayed, eyes on the lookout for cracks in the walls.
* Shiver when I read about bad news. Gobal killer flu pandemics, how the world is hotting up, natural disasters like tsunamis. It all freaks me out.
* Shun all former thoughts of bringing my baby to wild and exciting destinations like the Silk Road or Mongolia. What if he gets fever? Or needs a hospital? Or eats some parasite that grows in his tummy?
It was the same with one of my ex-bosses, suddenly we become all soft and gooey after having children. I suppose it's because I know for sure I don't want to die - Day is depending on me - and I wince at anything that could harm my child.
This is a pix from my last big Adventure - going to Mongolia for a three-month community expedition in 2001. I guess I'll have to say goodbye to these adventures (with or without Day) ... for now.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
day the bully
Day's daddy is not happy about this post because he says it will "tarnish the image of my sweet little boy". Well I'm not doing a PR exercise and in truth, Day is turning out to be a bit of a thuggish bully.
He is exhibiting quite shockingly (in my opinion) aggressive behaviour, particularly towards the little boy he sees almost on a daily basis, Matthew our neighbour. I'd expect the two boys to like each other, but no.
Depending on his mood, he could ignore Matthew completely, running circles around him and doing his own thing. Or in the course of an hour, he would exhibit the following moves several times.
The pincer grasp
He grabs any part of Matthew and refuses to let go, especially when Matthew is trying to crawl towards some toy.
The choking hug
This is Day's favourite move. He goes towards Matthew like he wants to hug him. He places both arms on his shoulders but instead of embracing him, he locks his arms and wrestles Matthew onto the ground. He also sometimes approaches Matthew from behind and pushes him forward.
The bite
While pinning Matthew on the ground (we seldom let him get to this stage) he tries to take a chunk out of whatever part of Matthew is in front of his mouth. He's left bite marks in Matthew's forhead and back. One time he bit Matthew, I was so horrified I swatted him across the cheek.
Poor Matthew is usually bawling by this time.
For a while, I thought perhaps Day was really trying to be loving and was merely copying his daddy, who gives him bear hugs and pins him on the ground. But that was dashed when I started hearing his snarling.
There was a time when Matthew came over and started touching some CDs in our CD rack, which happens to be one of Day's favourite haunts. Day actually snarled, bared his teeth (all five of them), ran over and tried to give Matthew the choking hug, only we managed to pull him away.
My goodness, it's absolutely horrible. I reckon one day Matthew will fight back and then we'll have two beastly boys on our hands.
Luckily he doesn't seem to do it to anyone else. Not when he meets up with the girls, Miri and Ally. At most, he tries to mount them from behind.
But at the moment, it's scary to see my affectionate little boy do a Jekyll-Hyde.
He is exhibiting quite shockingly (in my opinion) aggressive behaviour, particularly towards the little boy he sees almost on a daily basis, Matthew our neighbour. I'd expect the two boys to like each other, but no.
Depending on his mood, he could ignore Matthew completely, running circles around him and doing his own thing. Or in the course of an hour, he would exhibit the following moves several times.
The pincer grasp
He grabs any part of Matthew and refuses to let go, especially when Matthew is trying to crawl towards some toy.
The choking hug
This is Day's favourite move. He goes towards Matthew like he wants to hug him. He places both arms on his shoulders but instead of embracing him, he locks his arms and wrestles Matthew onto the ground. He also sometimes approaches Matthew from behind and pushes him forward.
The bite
While pinning Matthew on the ground (we seldom let him get to this stage) he tries to take a chunk out of whatever part of Matthew is in front of his mouth. He's left bite marks in Matthew's forhead and back. One time he bit Matthew, I was so horrified I swatted him across the cheek.
Poor Matthew is usually bawling by this time.
For a while, I thought perhaps Day was really trying to be loving and was merely copying his daddy, who gives him bear hugs and pins him on the ground. But that was dashed when I started hearing his snarling.
There was a time when Matthew came over and started touching some CDs in our CD rack, which happens to be one of Day's favourite haunts. Day actually snarled, bared his teeth (all five of them), ran over and tried to give Matthew the choking hug, only we managed to pull him away.
My goodness, it's absolutely horrible. I reckon one day Matthew will fight back and then we'll have two beastly boys on our hands.
Luckily he doesn't seem to do it to anyone else. Not when he meets up with the girls, Miri and Ally. At most, he tries to mount them from behind.
But at the moment, it's scary to see my affectionate little boy do a Jekyll-Hyde.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
groovy swimsuit
Day's groovy new swimming costume, a present from Ally's mummy! He probably doesn't need the cap though, since he's got no hair. That's why he's trying to pull it off!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
ball heaven
The weather's been so SO freaking hot lately, it hurts the eyes to look outside the house and I'm sure an egg would fry on the pavement. So it's been hard to bring Day out for his usual outings. Wherever we go, it's got to be air-conditioned.
So when I spotted an indoor play gym at Parkway Parade, located within the games arcade (I reckon it's so that babies will learn to associate the place with Fun and graduate to arcade games when they are a little older) I jumped at the chance to bring Day there.
It cost $5 for 30 minutes of play, and another $2 for 2 pairs of groovy purple free-sized socks (for Day and me) as our feet have to be covered when we go in.
What a HIT it proved to be!
The ball-filled pit was heaven for Day, who fought to get in once he saw the balls and he literally squealed in delight when he was smothered in balls. I was only a little concerned when he tried eating the balls: For one, the next baby who gets in would NOT want to touch a ball sticky with saliva and for another, who knows who was mouthing the ball before Day?
He perpetually had a ball or two in hand. After a while, he started noticing other things around him and had a go on the play house. He liked that too, especially clambering up the slide.
There was another area with a maze, and lots of obstacles to climb, but we never got round to it. I had to drag Day out of the ball pit kicking and screaming.
There will be a definite next time for this one.
So when I spotted an indoor play gym at Parkway Parade, located within the games arcade (I reckon it's so that babies will learn to associate the place with Fun and graduate to arcade games when they are a little older) I jumped at the chance to bring Day there.
It cost $5 for 30 minutes of play, and another $2 for 2 pairs of groovy purple free-sized socks (for Day and me) as our feet have to be covered when we go in.
What a HIT it proved to be!
The ball-filled pit was heaven for Day, who fought to get in once he saw the balls and he literally squealed in delight when he was smothered in balls. I was only a little concerned when he tried eating the balls: For one, the next baby who gets in would NOT want to touch a ball sticky with saliva and for another, who knows who was mouthing the ball before Day?
He perpetually had a ball or two in hand. After a while, he started noticing other things around him and had a go on the play house. He liked that too, especially clambering up the slide.
There was another area with a maze, and lots of obstacles to climb, but we never got round to it. I had to drag Day out of the ball pit kicking and screaming.
There will be a definite next time for this one.
Monday, May 02, 2005
tata and day
Day loves his Tata - that's what Hakka folks call their father's father.
Six months they were still getting to know each other. Though Tata was already very fond of Day then, Day still need a little warming up.
Now they see each other once a week but it sometimes doesn't seem like it's enough. On a very basic level they just seem to click and Day, after squealing in delight and lunging towards Tata every Saturday, will sit quietly in his arms.
Maybe it's because Day has inherited more than a quarter of his genes from Tata.
Same eyebrows, same dimples, same hair and (momentarily) the same number of teeth.
Six months they were still getting to know each other. Though Tata was already very fond of Day then, Day still need a little warming up.
Now they see each other once a week but it sometimes doesn't seem like it's enough. On a very basic level they just seem to click and Day, after squealing in delight and lunging towards Tata every Saturday, will sit quietly in his arms.
Maybe it's because Day has inherited more than a quarter of his genes from Tata.
Same eyebrows, same dimples, same hair and (momentarily) the same number of teeth.
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