A Hair-rowing Experience No More

Julian went to the barber on 15 January 2011. For the first time he sat on the chair (elevated) by himself and even allowed himself to be wrapped in the cloth! What a pleasant surprise for daddy and mummy :-) Well done, Julian! This deserves a special mention on the blog :-)

Just for the record, on previous visits, Julian would sit on daddy's lap and refuse to be covered. He used to cry, then gradually he stopped crying but would squirm throughout the haircut. Toy distractions and bribes of lollipop did not work... Julian got upset when the hair fell on the toy and he couldn't care less for the lollipop ('future' reward didn't register with him, I think).

Julian Bitten

Julian was bitten on his forearm by a schoolmate on 12 January 2011. We do not know exactly how it all happened but apparently this schoolmate had a tendency to bite when provoked. So, this time, his target was Julian. Ouch!


[Julian's bite mark]

Julian at 43 Months

Julian turned 43 months (3 years 7 months) on 28 December 2010.

Some updates:

• Since we got our new computer, he's been on the computer every day that we're home. However, we control the amount of time he spends on the computer. We would tell him when the long hand of the clock reaches a certain number, he would have to press 'x' and shut down. When the time comes, he would stop playing without any fuss :-) The maximum we allow him is one hour.
  
• He likes to play a fishing game on the Internet. It's educational for numbers and counting but we also insist that he does his ABCs and reading before fishing.
  
• He is able to sing several nursery rhymes in full now. He's even able to sing in tune for some parts :-)
  
• He can say his prayer on his own (short version). With a little bit of prompting, he can do the 'long version' :-)
  
• Now he's at the stage where he demands full attention and wants to show us everything. Mostly, he will demand daddy's attention: "daddy, dump truck carry sand!", "daddy, how many fingers are there?", "daddy, which one do you like?" (by this it means daddy has to repeat the question, i.e. ask Julian which one he likes), "show mummy...Mummy I catch two foams", etc. He would call loudly and repeatedly if he doesn't get an immediate response.
  
• He is also starting to ask questions to get information, e.g. "Mummy, what's that?" (when he sees something new to him), "Daddy, what are you doing?", "Mummy, where's daddy?"
  
• He's showing some improvement in his maturity in that he can be reasoned with more often now. He can respond in a calm and 'mature' manner.
  
• We use a counting method to get him to do (or stop doing) things. E.g., mummy will count to 3, Julian must get on the car seat. This works generally well. However, at the beginning of the month he would sometimes 'rebel'. When we start counting 'one', he would say "I don't want 2. Only 1." More recently, he sometimes 'bargains' with us - "No, count to [another number]". Sometimes, he gives a number that is sooner than our offer :-)

[Julian]


[The smart way to water paint]

Christmas 2010

Our celebrations began on 21 Dec with dinner in Butterworth. Aileen and Christina were in town but we missed Antonia this year.


[Christmas in Butterworth: The boys with Ah Kong and Poh Poh]

We travelled to Menglembu on Christmas Eve and attended midnight mass in Batu Gajah. It's been a long time since we went for midnight mass and this year we were reminded why we stopped going... the crowd... the slight rain didn't help either... Justin was asleep from beginning to end, while Julian dozed off midway through mass on daddy's shoulders. We were outside the church as it was packed inside. The speakers outside were not working so we could hardly hear what was going on. In addition, the people outside were talking away.

Christmas Day saw us opening presents and enjoying mum's home-cooked lunch. Julian and Gabriel had a whale of a time in Grandma & Grandpa's new balcony-top swimming pool. Justin, alas, was fast asleep... Dinner was the simple yet delicious claypot chicken rice in Menglembu town.


[Christmas duet: Deja vu from last year's performance]


[Christmas in Menglembu: Presents, presents...]

Boxing Day was a Sunday, so we attended Mass as usual in the morning. The highlight of the day was more splashing time in the pool for Julian. This time Justin joined in, but Gabriel had left for Ipoh. That evening, we travelled back to Penang.


[Splashing time!]


[Christmas at home: More presents!]

Justin at 17 Months

Some updates:

• His 12th tooth, the upper right molar has erupted.
  
• On Christmas Day we noticed his upper left canine just erupting.
  
• He is able to spoon-feed himself, although he sometimes has difficulty scooping the food from the plate.
  
• When offered food, he prefers to take the food from the packaging/'source' rather than have us handing it to him.
  
• He doesn't like to come down the slide anymore. We have no idea why.
  
• He was able to respond accordingly when instructed to 'stop crying' on several occasions when he was simply fretting.
  

[Justin loves to stack blocks]


[Justin in the pool with Mummy]


[Justin having a go with painting]


[Justin feeds himself]


[Justin trying a pacifier]

Julian's First Pet

Julian went on a school excursion to the CTY Aquarium on Burmah Road on 15 December 2010. Each child was entitled to bring home either a pair of fish or a tortoise. We opted for the fish as they have a shorter life-span.

After the excursion, while at the baby-sitter's, Julian had already subjected the poor creatures to a great deal of stress (read: fish tank tsunami). On the third day, one died. The better half is still alive today, tolerating Daddy's meagre maintenance, and bearing the brunt of the boys' force-feeding.

But credit is due to the fish... because feeding it is enough incentive for the boys to rush straight home instead of dilly-dallying at the apartment lift lobby.


[Julian's first pet]


[Behold the lop-sided one...]

Straits Quay

On 7 December 2010 we took the boys to Straits Quay, the newest-but-not-completely-opened mall on the island. We read about the Christmas candyland and the big Christmas tree there. We were not disappointed. However, we were rather early so we didn't get to see the tree lit and we didn't wait for the carollers. We think it's a beautiful place, although Julian was too busy running to take in the sights, and daddy was hot on his heels ;-) Justin was walking at a more leisurely pace so mummy was more relaxed :-)


[Candyland]


[The Giant Christmas Tree]


[Closeup of the Star and decorations]