The Fish Floats

On 16 April 2011, the sole survivor from the pair of fish Julian had as his first pet died. It lived approximately 4 months with us.

My Son, the Sun

Yesterday, while at the dining table, I reached for the day's copy of The Sun newspaper for Julian to read.

Me (pointing to the logo on the masthead): Julian, what's this?
Julian: The Sun!

Now, The Sun newspaper has "On [the day of the week]" stated just below the logo. So, wanting to test Julian...
Me (pointing to the day of the week): What's this?
Julian: On Monday!
Me: Very good! *beaming*

Angie was close by...
Me: See... that's my son!
Julian: No! The Sun!
Me: ??!??!?!

Justin Gets Warded

Justin was warded at the Penang Hospital Paediatric ward on 6 April 2011 due to high fever :-( He was treated for pneumonia and asthma. Mummy stayed at the hospital with him for two nights. He was discharged on 8 April, after the doctors' afternoon rounds, on the condition that he would be taken to the hospital for nebuliser for the next 2 days. This, of course, was preferable for us even though it meant 4 trips to the hospital on the first day and 3 trips on the second day. He is well now :-)

We are satisfied with the treatment and service received at the hospital. And the plus point is that the bill was probably just 1% of what we would have had to pay at a private hospital!

Julian at 46 Months

Julian turned 3 years 10 months on 28 March 2011.

Here are his updates:

• When someone asks him to sing, he will roar. This has been going on for some time now and he's not over this phase yet.
  
• When he doesn't know the answer to a question, or when he doesn't want to answer our question, his response would be 'alligator' or 'lion'.
  
• He recognises more words now, and continues to enjoy reading. yay! :-)
  
• He remembers the lyrics to quite a few rhymes and songs and would correct us when we sing wrongly.
  
• He likes to help mummy whenever he has the opportunity. He likes to turn on the washing machine and also beat the eggs to make his egg tofu (steamed egg).
  
• He is good at meddling with the computer. He somehow found some cartoons we had downloaded, so now he also watches cartoons on the computer. Since his computer time is limited, we have not stopped this. Justin, of course, is very happy to join big bro :-P
  
• He's getting better at school. The teacher recently told us that he can sit for longer periods now. He likes it when he is given attention and would diligently do his work when the teacher observes him. He is not rough when playing with other kids.
  
• Whenever he sees any bird droppings on the windscreen of the car, he would insist on going to the car wash. *slap head*
  
• He now sleeps with Klaus bear - a gift from our German friend. Klaus bear sleeps on a pillow next to him. On one occasion, Klaus bear was left behind at the babysitter's (no thanks to Justin) and we had to go fetch Klaus at 10.30pm! Luckily, it's just 5 minutes away.
  
• He would sometimes 'intercede' for Justin e.g. when Justin doesn't finish his milk, he would say "Mummy/Daddy take straw for Justin."

[Julian at his workbooks]


[Julian stepping out of his cockpit]


[Julian avoiding the glare]

Twelfth Encounter

We presented our twelfth Engaged Encounter Weekend. The 81st Catholic Engaged Encounter Weekend was held from 25-27 March 2011 at Stella Maris, Penang. 25 couples attended the weekend. We were on the presenting team with Fr. Ambrose Vaz, and Tony & Gwen Andres, all from the Singapore Engaged Encounter Community.


[Participants of EE81]

Justin at 20 Months

Justin turned 20 months on 25 March 2011. No visit to the clinic this month.

Here are his updates:

• His lower right canine has erupted.
  
• He would put his finger to his nose (supposed to be mouth) to indicate 'keep quiet' especially when he sees someone sleeping.
  
• When he doesn't want something, he would shake his head and say 'meh-meh' or 'mai-mai'.
  
• He can say'duh air' (the end), 'mai' with a rising intonation (smile), walk, 'mah meh' (mummy - especially when he wants mummy's attention).
  
• He would exclaim 'eh!' when the traffic light is green.
  
• We have elevated his car seat so he can have a better view. He notices big vehicles and would point them out. Perhaps they are more visible.
  
• He would roar when he sees a picture of a lion or tiger, or when Julian roars.
  
• He would try to imitate Julian's actions to the letter, disregarding the fact that some of his motor skills are not well developed yet!
  
• He joins Julian for daily computer sessions. Now there are two chairs in front of the computer. *roll eyes*
  
• He likes the peg puzzles very much and is very good at them. There are 3: shapes, vehicles and clock. He can match and fit all the pieces accurately except the heart shape :-)
  
• He will pull our hand and lead us where he wants us to go.
  
• He can follow simple instructions like 'put the toy in the box', 'pick up the crayon'.
  
• He can throw a tantrum when he doesn't get his way.
  
• He can fight back when Julian snatches something from him. He would either 'wrestle' with Julian or bite him.
  
• He's still doing only about 4 oz of milk. Even then, he sometimes refuses to finish drinking from the bottle. We then use a straw to entice him to continue drinking (which usually works).

[Justin at his writing table]


[All set to go]


[Working on a peg puzzle]


[Justin the cool kid]

Combat Comrades

We are pleased to note that in the past 2-3 months, Julian and Justin have been able to play together more and more without much supervision. Their favourite game is peekaboo. They also often play rough and tumble.

We also notice them 'doing things' for each other. For instance, we have seen Julian giving Justin a drink by opening Justin's water bottle and holding it for him to drink *awwww*. Justin would bring Julian's pants for him when the latter comes out of the toilet *how sweet*. :-)

Of course brotherhood can never be complete without a little bit of rivalry and jostling.

It's good to see them getting the hang of being brothers! :-D


[This is the way we wash the car, so early in the morning...]


[Julian feeds Justin]


[Standing in for Santa in summer...]


[The boys in their time machine...]


[The boys at the computer]


[Brotherly hug]


[Oopsie!]