Jianna at 21 Months

Jianna turned 21 months old on 30 December 2013. Here are some updates:

• She can count 1-10 correctly.
• On 12 Dec 2013 we noticed the starting of a mole on her face.
• Her vocabulary has increased significantly.

[Swinging fun]


[Jianna loves bags]


[Concentrating.]


[Painted nails from a birthday party at school]

Julian at 79 Months

Julian turned 79 months old on 28 December 2013. Here are some recent photos of him:


[Enjoying ice kacang]


[Puzzle fun at a playground]


[Doing a headstand]


[Gangnam Style]


[I got through the bars!]


[In a tight squeeze]


[At a fishing village]

Justin at 53 Months

Justin turned 53 months old on 25 December 2013. 

For sometime now, going to the barber has been a 'hair-rowing' experience for him. He would cry and object. It was only recently that we found out the problem. He hates the shaver. So now we specifically request for his haircut to be done with the scissors - and he would remind us about it, too. Problem solved :-)

Lately he likes to 'confirm' things we say. He would often use the, "..., is it?" question tag. E.g. 
Justin: What colour is the tree trunk? 
Mummy/Daddy: Brown.
Justin: Brown, is it?


[Mr Cool]


[With nails painted after a birthday party at school]

Christmas 2013

Christmas was spent with our families. This year, we put up a Christmas tree in our apartment for the first time. The children were very excited :-)


[Briefing before decorating the Christmas tree]


[Julian hanging a decoration]


[Justin doing his bit to beautify the tree]


[Jianna checks the decoration]


[Daddy gets to put the star at the top]

Family Day in Pangkor

We spent a 3-day 2-night stay (17-19 January 2014) at Teluk Dalam Resort in Pangkor for Bart's department's family day. The event was from 18-19 January but since 17 Jan was a publich holiday for Thaipusam, we took the opportunity to go a day earlier.

We arrived at the resort late afternoon and therefore spent the first day at the resort.

The second day, we went for a round island tour with the children and another family. Our van broke down during the tour, which caused a bit of worry to our boys. But all ended well and we were back at the resort in good time for the family day event which began that afternoon. That night, another untoward incident happened. There was a blackout - and just as the kids were getting ready to sleep! Fortunately, for whatever reason, there were two tea candles in the room. We found out from the reception that it was an island-wide blackout.

The final day there was telematch. This time, Julian was able and eager to join in the fun. He took part in two events and was thrilled to receive the prizes. Daddy's team also won a hamper so the kids enjoyed more goodies :-)


[Kampung style accommodation]


[Our room]


[Hornbill of Pangkor]


[Inspecting fish drying in the sun]


[Posing with the Tinman]


[Family shot at the Dutch Fort]


[Julian in action]


[What is Pangkor grass made of?]

Jianna at 20 Months

Jianna turned 20 months old on 30 November 2013. Here are some updates:

• She now likes to feed herself at mealtimes.
• She would ask Mummy to read to her. She would open a particular page and upon hearing some 'reading' done, would then close the book and say "the end".
• She can recognise quite a few colours - black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, yellow, red - and name most of them.
• She's still picky about who she allows to carry her.
• She can say 'no thanks' when declining something.
• She knows '10' comes after '9'.
• She can choose the Thomas (or other) video clips she wants to watch by pointing to the thumbnail on the computer.
• She can say her brothers' names, though not clearly.
• She can 'sing' the national anthem and parts of the state anthem. She can also do the actions for her school song.
• She often says 'Why?'.
• She can put on and take off her pants by herself.

[Jianna's favourite spot in the apartment] 


[Jianna 'armoured' in the car]


[Wearing a diaper cap]


[Getting in touch with her feminine side]

Julian at 78 Months

Julian turned 78 months old on 28 November 2013.

• On 3 November 2013, Julian reported that his bottom two incisors are loose. A visit to the dentist on 26 November got them both extracted. Julian was very brave!
• He reads quite a bit of Geronimo Stilton comics so much so one night we caught him talking in his sleep, "I'm the editor of the Rodent's Gazette. My name is Geronimo Stilton!".
• He is able to help Jianna wear her shoes.
• For some time now he has been able to help us type and send smses.

[Sweat absorbent headgear]


[Check out that bubble!]

Justin at 52 Months

Justin turned 52 months old on 25 November 2013. He now weighs 19kg. Here are some interesting conversations we've had with him recently. 

Conversation #1: 
Daddy: Justin, what do you want to be when you grow up? 
Justin: I want to be a toy maker. 
Daddy: Can you make lots of money? 
Justin: No, I want to make toys. 

Conversation #2: 
Justin: 7+7=14 
Mummy: Yes. What is Justin + Julian? 
Justin: Family. 

Lately he's into asking for definitions of words, phrases, things.


[The Pants Headgear]


[It's a queue!]

Kindy Concert 2013

The kids participated in their Kindy Concert on 23 November 2013. This year's theme was Fairy Tales by the Sea. It was also Julian's graduation. Jianna made her first stage appearance. 


[Justin's reaction to Jianna's stage appearance: "Why Jianna shame-shame?"]


[Julian as King Triton]


[Julian graduates from Kindy]


[Justin is a colourful fish]

Jianna at 19 Months

Jianna turned 19 months old on 30 October 2013. Here are some updates:

• She's finally saying 'Mummy' instead of 'Mama'.
• She can't make the 'k' sound yet, so we get 'tum' (come), 'tar' (car), etc.
• She can now say 2-3 word phrases, e.g. "No! Toh toh! Muh murhs!" when she objects to her brothers watching other cartoons and insists they turn on Thomas and Friends.
• We often tell her that she has to wait for her turn to watch Thomas on the computer so now she would say "Na-na turn!". When her brothers ignore her, she would source for 'reinforcement' by calling Mummy or Daddy to the computer, asking us to tell her brothers to show her Thomas.
• She is now able to 'join' her brothers in play.
• Her 15th tooth is coming out.
• At home, she sometimes drinks milk from a cup with a straw. She's still breastfed most of the time.
• She eats well at mealtimes. She likes rice/porridge with meat and vegetables. She doesn't fancy eggs, tofu or fish. Even food that has 'seafood' flavour, e.g. prawn stock, is likely to be rejected.
• She insists on carrying her Spongebob bag and Mickey Mouse bookcase every time we go out.
• She prefers to walk by herself more often now as opposed to being carried.
• She can now generally sit in her car seat without fuss, especially for short journeys and around town. For the longer journey to Ipoh, she can stay in her car seat for about 1 hour before she starts fussing.

[Wrapped in Daddy's pants!]


[With Justin: Excited watching Thomas and Friends]


[Jianna the Engineer]


[Jianna on the go...taking a book phone call from Thomas]


[Cool babe] 


[Jianna and her bags]

Julian at 77 Months

Julian turned 77 months old on 28 October 2013. Here are some updates: He loves to teach Jianna how to talk. A typical lesson goes like this: Julian: Jianna, say "meat!" Jianna: Mitt! Julian: Say "pork!" Jianna: Pokk! Julian: Say "veggie!" Jianna: Ehgee!

• He now seems to enjoy 'table-top' activities like colouring and doing workbooks.
• He is now able to 'think of others'. For instance, when we ask him if he would like more of something (e.g. sausage) he would ask how many there are. If there's only one he would display sadness and hesitate to take it.
• He likes being helpful. He would help fold some clothes, put his folded clothes away, bring things when asked, etc.
• He is getting more and more independent - taking and doing things for himself :-)

[Julian allows Jianna to sit on him]

Justin at 51 Months

Justin turned 51 months old on 25 October 2013. Here are some updates:

• He is quite good at giving 'reasons' (excuses, maybe?) for incidents.
• When we decline to buy him something, telling him that the thing is too expensive, he would say, "But I like expensive (toys, etc)."
• He says he no longer misses Ah Kong and Poh Poh because we have put their photos on the wall next to his bed.
• He often says he doesn't want to go to school, and that he only wants to go to school on fridays (especially when there's a birthday celebration).
• He very often insists on Mummy taking him to school.
• He still loves to play with trains and angry birds.
• He no longer wants to be a pilot when he grows up. He used to copy Julian previously. He now wants to be a toy maker.
• Seeing Julian getting Geronimo Stilton comics, he would also ask for other titles in the series.

Here are the faces of Justin: 


[Angry]


[Snort]

Jianna at 18 Months

Jianna turned 18 months old on 30 September 2013. She had her immunisation at the clinic. Her current weight and height are 9kg and 78cm. Here are some updates:

• She now has 14 teeth.
  
• Since a few months ago she has been expressing her choice of clothes to wear whenever the opportunity arises. She particularly hates changing into her pyjamas. We suspect it could be because she feels hot in it since it's long-sleeved.
  
• She can identify the trains Thomas, James, Percy and Toby. She can say "more-more" (Thomas), "Bee" (Toby) and "Dee" (James).
  
• She can call her aunts "Ee" (Tua Ee & Gee Ee).
  
• She likes watching the computer with her brothers.

[Jianna loves water]


[Doing homework on the floor?]


[Jianna feeling "urgent"]


[Lazing around]