Angie & Bart's Blog

A Morning at the Arboretum

2009-12-15T23:59:00.000+08:00

Last Friday morning saw me indulging in some photography at the arboretum behind the School of Pharmacy in Universiti Sains Malaysia.

[Pied Fantail]

[Pied Fantail: Showing off its "fan" and its vent]

[White-breasted Waterhen (or Burung Ruak Ruak in Malay)]

[Black-naped Oriole]

[Black-naped Oriole in flight]

[A stuck moth: This moth was flapping its wings in the water]

[Dragonflies mating]

[Dragonflies mating: From another angle]

Getting Along on the Gym

2009-12-15T23:53:00.000+08:00

Julian and Justin seem to be getting along, save for the occasional attention seeking antics by Julian.

[Love is Sharing]

Julian at 30 Months

2009-11-29T00:28:00.001+08:00

Julian turned 30 months (2.5 years) old on 28 November 2009.

On the talking front, he's progressing... sometimes surprising us with short sentences, e.g. "I want [something]" instead of "ai [something]", or "Where is it?" We also noticed that he has started to pronounce certain words in full instead of just one or some of the syllables, e.g. "motorbike" instead of just "bike", or "chimney" instead of just "chim".

He can be quite imaginative while playing - he was given a small Chinese drum by Ah Kong and it has since served as a drum, a stool and a cauldron.

At home, he's a generally well-behaved boy, save for the occasional need for discipline. In the absence of his peers, he's also pretty manageable while out shopping or for meals. However, he shows his "wild" side in the company of his "idols", i.e. those slightly older than he is. This is when he runs, prances, chases, squeals, and sweats *slaps forehead*.

[Oral Addiction: Still asks for the pacifier especially before bedtime and while travelling in the car]

[Julian and Ah Kong]

[Run! Run!]

[Game, set, and match!]

[The "good boy" smile]

Justin at 4 Months

2009-11-27T00:46:00.002+08:00

Justin turned 4 months old on 25 November 2009. We took him to the clinic on 24 November 2009 and he weighed 7.1kg (an increase of only 100g from the previous month). His length is 65cm.

Some observations:

Since 23 November 2009, he is able to flip over onto his tummy with ease.
He is also able to lift his head up while on his tummy and has started some "skydiving".
Over the last 1-2 weeks, his intake of expressed breast milk (while at the babysitter's) has increased a little bit to about 3oz per feed.
He has started to baby-blabber, sometimes up to a minute or two at a stretch. Don't know what he's trying to say though... quite amusing :o). He seems to have a lower voice tone compared to Julian. In a choir, we think he'll be singing bass.

[Paradigm shift: A different point of view]

[Justin with Poh Poh]

[Justin smiling]

[Justin smiling, again]

Buggy Deposit

2009-11-14T22:39:00.000+08:00

We spotted a patch of insect eggs on one of the doors of our car. Anyone knows what insect deposited these eggs? We suspect it could have been a moth.

[Buggy deposit: The patch of eggs measured about an inch across]

[Close-up of the eggs]

Cameron Highlands 2009

2009-11-12T00:31:00.001+08:00

We were all in Cameron Highlands from 31 October-1 November 2009 with Mom and Dad, and Niq, Chui Ying and Gabriel. We left Ipoh in 2 cars at about 10.30am and arrived at Brinchang via the Simpang Pulai route at about 1.00pm for lunch. After lunch, we headed down to Tanah Rata and checked-in at Oly Apartments (RM210 per night, low season).

We then went to pluck strawberries at Mountain Strawberry Farm in the Sungei Palas area. It's an all-in-one farm with a mini zoo, cactus garden and flower nursery. A plus point about this farm is that, since it's quite secluded, we practically had the whole farm to ourselves :o). As soon as we were done plucking, it started to rain heavily.

[Julian having a go at strawberry plucking]

[Justin amazed at the size of the strawberry Julian plucked]

That night, we had dinner at Jasmine Restaurant in Tanah Rata. It's a cozy Dutch-themed restaurant serving oriental and western fare. Then, after some shopping, we headed back to the apartment to celebrate Dad and Niq's birthday.

[Happy Birthday! Julian and Gabriel couldn't resist joining in the fun]

In the morning of the 2nd day, we attended the 9.30am mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Convent. After mass we bought some mango chutney, and orange and grapefruit marmalade before heading to town for Bah Kut Teh brunch at Mayflower Restaurant.

After checking out of the apartment, we visited the Agro Tourism Park in Brinchang and a bee farm at the Kea Farm area. We also opted not to fight with the weekend crowd at the Kea Farm and settled to buy some corn and tamarillos (buah cinta) at a smaller market just at the junction of the road leading to the Sungei Palas Boh tea plantation.

[Julian the Strawberry]

[Julian the Vege-inspector]

We left the highlands at about 3.00pm.

Are You Sleepy?

2009-10-30T16:52:00.000+08:00

Julian readily complies when asked to say certain words in our effort to teach him new words.

Conversation #1: After picking him from the babysitter's...
Mummy or Daddy: Julian, did you have a good day?
Julian: Day?
Mummy or Daddy: Julian, say "yes".
Julian: Yes.

Conversation #2: Sometimes, just for fun, Daddy will teach him some exclamations...
Daddy: Julian, say "Alamak!"
Julian: "Amak!" (and laughs...)
Daddy: Julian, say "Oh! My goodness!"
Julian: "Uh-ness!" (and laughs...)
Daddy: Julian, say "Ayoh!"
Julian: ... (just laughs)

Conversation #3: Since he's quite good at "parroting" what we say (just like most kids his age), we tried to "con" him into agreeing to go to bed, but we were in for a surprise.
Julian: (Yawns...)
Daddy: Julian, are you sleepy? Say "yes".
Julian: No.
Daddy and Mummy: ????

Justin the Story-teller

2009-10-29T00:05:00.000+08:00

Justin was in one of his story-telling moods...

[Chehhh! Why didn't you tell me earlier that you also go hunting??!]

[I went hunting the other day. I loaded my shotgun like this...]

[Then, I saw this huge bird. I took aim... and fired! Bang!!]

[But it got away...]

Julian at 29 Months

2009-10-28T00:10:00.002+08:00

Julian turns 29 months old today.

On the talking front, he's progressing but still isn't talking in full sentences. He's now better at talking over the phone instead of shying away when he hears someone talking at the other end.

His latest pre-occupation while on the road is spotting trucks, buses, or vans, and saying e.g. "truck, round!" (with hand gestures), prompting us to sing "The wheels on the truck go round and round..." *can be tiring*...

He's now interested in the computer *sweats*! Just like how he used to be glued to the TV, we sense that the computer is starting to be one of his staple entertainment *got to remember to keep this in check*.

Anyway, although he has yet to recite his ABCs in sequence, we discovered that he actually recognises all the 26 letters of the alphabet, all thanks to his punching away at the keyboard. He now also knows the numbers 1 to 20 (but he still says 13 as "three-teen" and 15 as "five-teen"). He pronounces 11 and 12 correctly, though.

For more than a month now, Julian readily wants to go to bed at night. With some prompting from us, he'd turn the TV off, wish Mummy or Daddy "goodnight" (depending on who's minding Justin), run off to the room onto the bed, pop his pacifier into his mouth, and after some "minor" rolling-around (and some shoulder and bum patting), doze off to sleep. It all takes an average of 15-20 minutes.

[Julian is facinated with candles]

[I'm better with my sleeping routine now]

The Great Big Hug

2009-10-26T00:01:00.000+08:00

"With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you" (ala Barney) is not necessarily a gentle thing. Let Julian show you how...

[Julian: With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you...]
[Justin: :o) Thank you, kor kor (elder brother)]

[Julian: Won't you say you love me too?!!]
[Justin: Akkk!! Okay! Okay!]

Actually, the photos were taken in the opposite order... more interesting when presented in reverse :o).

Justin at 3 Months

2009-10-25T00:20:00.004+08:00

Justin turns 3 months old today. (Update: Justin went to the clinic for his immunisation on 27 October 2009. Weight: 7kg (about 75th percentile). Length: 62cm). Justin still sleeps a lot and doesn't drink very much (no significant increase noted). However, he's now getting used to the bottle at the babysitter's.

Last 11 October 2009, he was able to flip over from his back onto his tummy. He did it twice that day but hasn't repeated it since.

Other things we noticed about his development:

Still trying to lift his head while on his tummy.
Gets excited when he sees someone face-to-face and starts to smile, say his "ah-goos", and squeal.
Can almost hold his head steady when upright.
Loves to blow raspberries
Loves to suck his fist.
Can bear some weight on his legs when held upright.

Justin fell a little ill on 17 October 2009 with a runny nose and a low-grade fever. Fortunately, it didn't get any worse.

[Justin asleep]

[On the glider: We put him here when we have our meals]

[Smile #1]

[Smile #2]

[Smile #3]

Sticky Situation

2009-10-16T22:45:00.000+08:00

Julian found himself in a sticky situation yesterday when Daddy decided to put some stickers to "good use"... much to Daddy's amusement.

[What's all this?]

[Hey! Bodily accessories! What fun...]

[Arrgh! Get them off! Get them off!]

Quick Updates on the Boys

2009-10-10T23:45:00.001+08:00

Julian seems to be able to recognise the roads leading to places he's interested in. For instance, as we head to a seafood restaurant in Pantai Bersih, he would say 'crab'. This is before the restaurant is in sight. Hope it's a sign of a good sense of direction!

Nowadays, when Julian sees words he would quite often say 'A-B'. He hasn't got his alphabet in order yet but at this stage, we're not worried :-)

Justin is starting to play with his saliva.

Julian at 28 Months

2009-10-02T23:38:00.001+08:00

Julian turned 28 months old on 28 Sept 2009. Last month we forgot to note that he weighed 12kg and was 95cm tall.

Julian can now generally understand instructions quite well. Sometimes, of course, he chooses to ignore them.

He's still not speaking fluently yet and quite often we still need to decipher what he's saying. However he is able to express himself more. He can tell us that he's hungry and wants to eat. Previously he asks for food only when he sees it. He can even ask Ah Kong to BUY something for him - and of course he almost always gets it! :-) When he has a physical discomfort, he is able to indicate to us where the discomfort is - which is helpful.

Although he can speak, he seems to get tongue-tied when on the phone. When we try to get him to talk to someone on the phone, he would become silent. When he does finally speak after much coaxing, he would speak very softly. Wonder why...

He also likes to punch away at the keys on the computer keyboard and has learnt a few more letters of the alphabet this way.

[Amen! Rare quiet moments...]

[Peace be with you]

[Me and my mess...]

[... Land me in jail!]

[Julian's signature smile #1]

[Julian's signature smile #2]

Justin at 2 Months

2009-10-02T23:20:00.003+08:00

Justin turned 2 months on 25 September 2009. He had his first immunisation at the Taman Tun Sardon clinic on 28 Sept 2009. He took it quite well - cried a little when the jab was given then quiet down :-)

His weight was 6 kg, an increase of 1.6kg. Although he has put on quite a bit of weight, Justin doesn't drink very much. At the baby sitter's he takes about 2oz EBM (expressed breast milk) 2 hourly. At home he feeds on demand - and he doesn't ask very often. However, he sleeps a lot.

At 2 months Justin is able to smile socially. He likes people to talk to him and can coo in return. He's a very 'loud' baby, making a lot of noise when he stretches while asleep or awake.

He likes to be carried on the shoulder rather than in a sitting position. He would protest if carried in a sitting position for long.

[Justin]

[Justin asleep on Mummy's shoulder]

[Justin asleep, again]

[I'm not too pleased... Wekkkk!]

[I'm strong... don't mess with me]

[Justin's social smile]

[Ha ha... very funny]

Teat-ing Problems

2009-09-27T00:15:00.002+08:00

Since birth, Justin has been given the bottle several times during his stay at the hospital, and just twice at home during the confinement. During the second 'bottle' occasion at home he showed some signs of resistance but we didn't worry about it since he was fine with the bottle earlier.

Justin started going to the babysitter's recently and unfortunately he objected to the bottle. The babysitter had a tough time coaxing him to drink. We have since changed the teat from silicone to latex orthodondic teat. He seems more receptive with the change but generally still shows his dislike for the bottle...

Julian Swears It's a Frog

2009-09-27T00:12:00.001+08:00

Recently we were shocked and alarmed when we heard Julian utter a certain four-letter word (which we won't write here!). We were greatly relieved when he continued by saying 'ribit-ribit' (his version of how a frog sounds). He saw the handphone and wanted us to play the 'bullfrog' ringtone for him...

So if you happen to hear Julian utter the forbidden word, please excuse him. It's quite likely to be a matter of articulation rather than manners.

Julian at 27 Months

2009-09-09T09:37:00.002+08:00

Julian turned 27 months last 28 August 2009.

Since the arrival of Justin, Julian has been quite affectionate towards Justin. When Justin is sleeping, he would sometimes go over to pat him and say "shyang" ("sayang" or "love you" in Malay). We are sometimes worried when Julian does this because we're not sure if he'd end up being a bit rough and wake Justin up. At other times, when Julian sees Angie stroking Justin's back to induce burping after a feed, Julian would also go over and do the same.

On the talking front, the proverbial "light bulb" still has not come on. But lately, he is fond of saying "wait", and "wait-nit" ("wait a minute") with hand gestures.

He now weighs 12kg... finally putting on some decent weight.

[Shyang...]

[Overgrown baby: Julian on the bouncenette]

Green! Go!

2009-09-06T23:12:00.004+08:00

Last Friday, on our way to dinner, we happened to stop at the traffic lights. As we waited for the lights to turn green, I had the following conversation with Julian:

Me: What is your name?
Julian: Tin (referring to Justin)
Me. No... that's baby's name. What is your name?
Julian: Green! Go!
Me: (oops!... drive!...)

Julian can actually answer "What is your name?" correctly sometimes. He would answer "Wern" (his way of saying "Julian").

Justin Full Moon

2009-09-02T15:13:00.003+08:00

Julian is one month old as of 25 August 2009.

We celebrated his full moon with lunch on 23 August 2009 in Penang. Boxes of traditional full moon goodies were also distributed.

[Full moon goodies: This time we bought these from U-ton]

[Full moon lunch at Sea Palace Restaurant in Pekaka Square]

[One for the album (photo by Niq)]

During his first month check-up at the Taman Tun Sardon clinic, he weighed in at 4.4kg and is now 59cm in length (at birth, he was 3.3kg and 47cm respectively).

[Justin]

[Justin showing some interest]

[Angie and the boys]

Julian Ponders

2009-08-13T17:24:00.001+08:00

Julian can be quite philosophical sometimes, especially when there's water, boats, and stones (to throw).

[There's so much out there to explore...]

[What does the future hold for me?...]

[Who cares? Just throw caution to the wind and live for the moment! :o)]

Julian at 26 Months

2009-08-13T17:23:00.001+08:00

Julian turned 26 months last 28 July 2009 shortly after being promoted to "kor kor" (elder brother).

He continues to amuse us with his speech as he learns new words and short phrases. He likes to say "Lee... touch!" while showing his index finger - he learnt this from Pocoyo where Ely the elephant warns Pocoyo not to touch his castle made of building blocks. He also likes to say "cious!" (delicious), and knows how to demand for a bigger piece of cracker. He is also facinated with the "ground" (playground) and "chim" (the chimney of the Gelugor power station).

Physically, he's as active as ever... loves to run, climb, and harrass... *horrors!*

[I Can't Stand Still: No, Angie was not trying to catch Julian. Rather, she tried to steady him for a posed photo at St Anne's Church and released him just before I took the photo... a futile effort... *sigh*]

[I Love Fish: But the fish doesn't like Julian]

[I Love Lala: Julian looks just like a fishmonger doesn't he?]

Egyptian Exodus (Day 3)

2009-08-13T17:22:00.000+08:00

On 7 July 2009 (Tuesday), there was an showcase involving all the participating teams after lunch. So, I had some time in the morning for some sight-seeing. I decided on a tour to the Giza Pyramids and the Sphynx (all in the same area), and the Citadel in Cairo. It cost me USD85 (a little expensive as I was alone on this tour). We left the hotel at 8.15am and arrived at Giza at around 9.15am

The pyramids at Giza are much larger and taller than the one in Sakkara. There are 3 large pyramids here. I learned that the pyramids were made of stone blocks and covered with limestone. So, originally the pyramids' surface was smooth. But after many, many years, the limestone layer eroded... all except for the tip of one of the pyramids. Initially, I had the misconception that the pyramids were located far away in the desert. However, I discovered that they were located "just out of town" in the Giza area :o).

[Pyramid of Khufu]

[Big Building Blocks]

Just next to the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), there is a smaller pyramid of the Queen Hetepheres. Again, visitors are allowed to venture into the burial chamber. However, in contrast to the one we went in at Sakkara, this one was hot and humid!

[Going Down]

[Tomb of Queen Hetepheres]

Just a short drive away, my guide took me to see the Sphynx. It wasn't as big as I envisioned it to be :o).

[The Sphynx]

At 10.45am we left the Sphynx and headed back to Cairo. We arrived at the Citadel at 11.30am. It is basically a fort but the main attraction is the beautiful mosque of Mohamed Ali. Visitors can also see a panoramic view of Cairo from the Citadel.

[The Mosque of Mohamed Ali]

I arrived back at the hotel at 1pm, just in time for the Imagine Cup showcase.
Later that evening, we were all transported to the Giza Pyramids for the World Festival or closing/award ceremony. We were a privileged lot as the pyramids are normally closed to visitors after 6pm. The pyramids have a warm glow at sunset. Showtime was at 8pm. Malaysia won 1st (my students :o)) and 3rd places for the Design for Development Award.

[The Pyramids at Sundown]

[Imagine Cup 2009 World Festival at the Pyramids]

Justin Comes Home

2009-08-10T21:51:00.002+08:00

Justin came home two Sundays ago (2 August 2009) after staying in hospital for 8 days due to jaundice.

We are all adapting reasonably well, especially since Justin is a much better suckler and a sounder sleeper than elder brother Julian. He seems to be a pretty contented baby so far.

Julian is showing some attention seeking behaviour but is coping as best as he could. He does not seem jealous of Justin but we feel he seems to want more attention from Mummy (especially) and Daddy. So, our immediate challenge is to have a suitable routine in getting Julian to bed since both of them are rooming in with Mummy and Daddy.

[Justin in "sunglasses": We didn't want him to find his way back to the hospital unnecessarily :o) (just kidding)]

[Justin and Mummy leaving the nursery]

[Justin and Mummy arriving home]

[Justin settling in: He has some "eye shadow" (as Grandma puts it) caused by the accumulated blood at the vacumm site resolving itself]

Justin is Homesick

2009-07-31T23:52:00.002+08:00

Justin is already 6 days old (as of Friday, 31 July 2009), but he is still at the hospital as he has jaundice. Justin's delivery was assisted by vacuum and as a result, he has the characteristic swelling on the head with some accumulated blood. We were informed that this extra blood is not easily processed by his yet-to-be-fully-efficient liver (or is it spleen?) and this is likely to be causing the jaundice to linger.

Angie was already discharged last Monday (27 July 2009) but she is lodging at the hospital to breastfeed Justin. She is obviously much more mobile than when she was recovering after Julian's birth via Ceasarean section :o).

[Justin]

[Justin with Mummy]

[Justin with Daddy]

[Angie on the way to the feeding room]