Julian and Jianna: The Case of the Teething Ring

On 14 August 2012, Julian and Jianna had an interesting interaction over a teething ring. No, Jianna is not teething yet but we gave her one to play and suck.


[Julian: Jianna, look! Here's your teething ring...]


[Jianna: Thank you, kor kor Julian! *kiss*]


[Julian: Ahaha!! Now you cannot see me... ahaha!!]
[Jianna: ?!?!]

Taiping Zoo Impromptu

Last Monday (6 August 2012) saw us at the Second Cargo Complex in Batu Maung after lunch. With not many planes to see, and being rather early to be going back home to referee kiddy fights :o), we decided to drive straight on to Taiping for an impromptu visit to the Taiping Zoo. We arrived at about 3.30pm.

Upon entering the zoo, we immediately hopped-on a long electric buggy that took us on a relaxing 25-minute tour of the zoo. After the tour ended, we then walked around and revisited the animals, allowing the kids to have a closer look. The sky was threatening to rain but it never really did. So, the cloudy sky was perfect for our afternoon outing.


[Flamingos]


[The emu keeping a close eye on the boys]


[The resident cassowary]


[The rhinoceros showing off its radioactive-colour-looking pool]


[Justin observing a small monitor lizard]


[Justin: Good kitty... good kitty...]


[Angie pulled Jianna away just in time... :o)]


[Julian: Run, Justin! Run!!]

At 5.00pm, we decided that we should be heading home to Penang. On the whole, it was a good way to spend the afternoon and to keep two active boys occupied. Educational for them, too.

Jianna at 4 Months

Jianna was 4 months old on 30 July 2012. Her visit to the clinic was on 8 August. No jab this month :-) She now weighs 6.7kg and her length is 66cm.

Here are her updates:

• We heard her laugh for the first time on 11 July 2012 although the teachers at her daycare had already heard her laughing before.
  
• Her neck is much stronger now and she can lift her head when placed on her tummy. She has also started "sky diving" (also 11 July 2012).
  
• She can support herself on her arms/elbows quite well now.
  
• She often sleeps on her tummy. She would turn over by herself while sleeping.
  
• She enjoys playing peekaboo.
  
• Her milk intake at day care seems to have dropped. She used to take 8oz but now only does 6oz. She almost never takes a feed in the morning, preferring to sleep instead.
  
• She is able to burp on her own.
  
• Her teacher reported that she would watch intently when the other children sing and play. She seems to enjoy the music.
  
• She likes to watch her brothers at play and would even laugh at their antics.
  
• She responds when her brothers play with her :-)
  
• She may have sensitive skin on the face. We discovered that her 'milk rash' was probably due to her being sensitive to the bedsheet she was using at daycare. Now we give her a sarong to use there and the situation has improved.

[Jianna lifts her head]


[Jianna laughs]


[Whatever these are, they're really delicious!]


[Hmm... but this one tastes rather strange...]

Baby Seahorses at the Penang Aquarium

We were at the Penang Aquarium in Batu Maung on 28 July 2012. We noted with interest a small tank of adult seahorses, some with a bump on their tummies. There was also a group of tiny white creatures huddled in one corner. At first we thought they were tiny shrimps. But on closer inspection, they were actually baby seahorses.


[Baby seahorses]

Among other attractions, there were a couple of alligator gars, turtles, and giant groupers.

Julian at 62 Months

Julian is now 62 months (28 July 2012).

Here are his updates:

• We taught him how to read price tags, so he's now happily reading the prices of things whenever he gets the opportunity.
  
• He continues to read sign boards along the roads. Since he's now learning Malay, when he comes across words he doesn't understand, he would ask us whether it is English or Bahasa, and then the meaning. Recently when passing by a shopping complex he saw the word 'PERCUMA'. When he was told the meaning, he said, "Just put the things in the trolley." We quickly explained that only parking there was for free and not the goods! Must be careful... don't want to be caught for shoplifting!
  
• He likes to ask us how to spell words.
  
• He likes to ask us addition of numbers especially on the clock in the car. E.g. When the clock shows 8:21, he would ask 8+21 is how many?
  
• He says black is ugly.
  
• He seems to like to shout :-(
  
• He is our 'bum sniffer' ;-) Sometimes we would ask him to help us check if Jianna has done big business ;-)
  
• He is protective of Jianna. He threw a small tantrum when grandaunt teased him, saying Jianna would stay at her house while we went for lunch. He also wouldn't let Jianna spend a night at grandaunt's. When asked why, he said it's because Jianna came out from mummy's tummy :-)
  
• He likes to try to make Jianna laugh :-)
  
• He copies how Bart calls Jianna, e.g. Girl and Chabor (hokkien for girl) :-)
  
• He is not very adventurous when it comes to food and often refuses to try new food :-(
  
• Recently we ordered pizza and when the pizza was delivered, he told the delivery guy "no need the 'sorry we're late' card". (Luckily, they were not late that time.) When we asked him why, he said "because we already have". Hmmm... he's caught on our habit of not taking 'extra' stuff unnecessarily. But then again, there are certain things we don't mind having 'extras'... free pizza coupons being one of them!

[Julian]

Justin is 3 Years Old!

Happy Birthday, Justin! Justin celebrated his 3rd birthday on 25 July 2012.

His birthday celebration was in three parts, just like Julian's. First, he celebrated in kindy on 20 July. Then we had a birthday lunch for him at Sea Palace restaurant on 21 July 2012. On his actual birthday, we lit a candle on a cake which his aunt gave and sang him a birthday song.


[Justin's Barney cake for kindy]


[Justin's "Henry" birthday cake]


[Justin's birthday lunch at Sea Palace]


[A simple celebration on his actual birthday]

Here are his updates:

• He's very cheeky and would deliberately give wrong answers to questions. For example, when we ask him his age, he would say he's 4 years old. When quizzed again, he would then say 6 years old!
  
• On and off, he would substitute the words of the songs he knows with other words. He learnt this from us... we used to tease him by purposely singing wrongly. He used to protest (still does sometimes) but now he joins in the fun of changing the words ;-)
  
• One afternoon at the babysitter's, when the babysitter was tending to Julian in the toilet, Justin locked them in! Apparently, it was rather dark except for some light coming in from the ventilation holes, so Julian was wailing. Luckily the lock was of the plastic latch-type, so the babysitter could just force the door open quite easily.
  
• He likes doodling and tracing dotted lines.
  
• He can write 'J' and '1'.
  
• He would copy almost everything Julian says and does. Sometimes it can be quite confusing for us... especially when we can't understand what he's saying. One example is that he always asks "Why you smell (as/at/like) *a particular word or phrase*?" (e.g. Why you smell door?") We discovered that he meant "How do you spell *word/phrase*?", copying Julian.
  
• He likes to question. His favourite questions are "What happen?" and "Because why?"
  
• He says black is ugly.
  
• He is quite defiant. When we ask him to say something, he would 'comply' but be defiant at the same time. For example, when we ask him to say "Sorry Kor-kor", he would say "sorry, Julian". Sometimes when we ask him to apologise to a particular person, he would apologise to another person!
  
• He will retaliate when 'provoked'. We were informed that he scratched another child in school, but found out that the child actually 'irritated' him. The child likes him and often hugs him, but Justin doesn't quite like being hugged too much...
  
• He is quite protective of Jianna. He makes sure Jianna is in the car before we leave when fetching the children. He would not 'allow' Jianna to spend the night with grandaunt. Why? She has to sleep on the bouncinette. (He learnt the response from Julian.)
  
• Food-wise: still no veggie/fruit :-( He has started to take a little bit of meat/fish when in the mood.
  

[Justin and his toys]

Jianna at 3 Months

Jianna was 3 months old on 30 June 2012. Her clinic visit was on 4 July 2012. She now weighs 6.3kg and is 60cm long. Her head circumference is now 40cm. She was also given her vaccination.

Here are her updates:

• She's still sleeping most of the day. At night she seems to be able to sleep for longer durations as well, taking less night feeds.
  
• Lately she's been able to fall asleep on her own at night at about 9.00pm after we change her for the night.
  
• She's still fully on breast milk. She drinks 2-2.5oz per feed at day care. She normally takes 4 feeds there. We've noticed that she doesn't drink much in the morning. Sometimes only half an ounce the whole morning. Then after noon, she will start drinking 'properly'. We don't give her the bottle whenever mummy is around.
  
• On 24 June 2012 we saw Jianna turning fluidly onto her tummy :-) Her hand was still somewhat trapped, though :-) We've caught her turning almost onto her tummy two or three times before then.
  
• She's very lucky to have two brothers who love her. They constantly tussle to be nearest to her and often 'sayang' her.
  

[Jianna's knitted booties]


[Baaarppp!]


[Jianna in a dress]


[Jianna spotting a milk rash]


[Jianna]

Julian at 61 Months

Julian is now 61 months (28 June 2012).

Here are his updates:

• He continues to be curious about the world around him. He shows interest in experiments, e.g. what floats on or sinks in water.
  
• He likes to imitate the characters in the shows he watches on the computer. We can never tell what would fascinate him. Sometimes he imitates the 'naughty' characters (that really drives us mad!). At the moment he's imitating a magician named Julian :-)
  
• He would often irritate Justin by taunting him. An argument of sorts would ensue and often Julian would end up crying because Justin would protest and retaliate by beating, pinching, or biting him. Sometimes he doesn't learn... or maybe it's just how their brotherly relationship is!
  
• He finally discovered the café au lait spot (birthmark) on the underside of his left thigh. He thought it was a wound-of-sort and started whining and complaining. He was pacified after being educated on what a birthmark is.
  

[Julian buttons his shirt]


[Julian loves to carry Jianna]

Justin at 35 Months

Justin turned 35 months on 25 June 2012.

Here are his updates:

• He can spell his name :-)
  
• He talks a lot now and can have a conversation with us. Once he asked me to help open a bottle cap and I asked him why. His answer: It's not open. Such logic!
  
• He's even making up his own words! When we ask him what it means, he would say it's Chinese for whatever that comes to his mind! The first we heard was 'markerverse' but he didn't have a meaning for that. He made up a word for 'apartment in Chinese' but we can't remember what it is.
  
• He has begun reading. He has finished Peter and Jane Book 1a and is now on 1b. We weren't very sure whether he was actually reading or he had memorised the book, so we tested him by pointing to some of the words elsewhere. He seemed to be able to recognise them :-) He also showed signs of being able to apply his phonics knowledge to a certain extent :-)
  
• He likes to sing. His current favourites are 'Fly, fly, fly, the butterfly', 'Christ in the vessel', and 'Deep and wide'.
  
• For better or worse, he has been taught to use the mouse on the computer at home. Now the boys take turns at the 'computer control'. We would tell them that when the long hand of the clock reaches a certain number, so-and-so would get a turn using the mouse. Thankfully, they comply to this arrangement.
  
• He is practically toilet trained and is off the diaper in the day time. We still get accidents on and off, though. He still wears diapers when sleeping at night.
  
• On the not-so-cute side, he has the habit of biting, pinching and beating Julian whenever he is unhappy with him :-(

[Justin caught with his pants up]

MY Garden Birdwatch 2012

On 2 June 2012, between 9.00am and 9.30am, the boys and I did a count of garden birds for MY Garden Birdwatch 2012. We positioned ourselves at the shaded carpark area of our apartment overlooking a fruit orchard.

Here's what we counted:

• 1 yellow-vented bulbul
  
• 1 Asian koel
  
• 1 black-naped oriole
  
• 1 spotted dove
  
• 1 house crow
  
• 2 olive-backed sunbirds
  

We also spotted 2 rock pigeons, 2 Eurasian tree sparrows, and some Pacific swallows but these were not included in the count because they were either spotted at another location or they were seen flying overhead (these were the rules of the count, among others).

It was educational for the boys, and they were already familiar with some of the birds. They are especially fond of the koels as there are quite a few around our apartment and their calls are distinct and loud!

Here are some photos of the birds we spotted that morning:

[Olive-backed sunbird, female]


[Olive-backed sunbird, male]


[Spotted dove]


[Asian koel, male]


[Yellow-vented bulbul]

Jianna at 2 Months

Jianna was 2 month old on 30 May 2012. Her clinic visit was on 4 June 2012. She now weighs 5.8kg and is 58cm long. She was also given her vaccination. Thankfully, she did not develop any fever.

Here are her updates:

• She's still sleeping quite often in the day, but not for very long periods at a stretch. She likes to be put on her belly to sleep. When awake she likes being carried, especially in the evening and early night. She also likes to have someone talking to her. She seems ok lying down on her own in the earlier part of the day. Well, I guess she needs some attention, too! :-) At night, she feeds 2-3 hourly.
  
• Her 'favourite' toys at home are a soft cube rattle, a squeaky car and a squeaky hippo.
  
• Since just after she turned 1 month, Jianna has been able to 'rotate' herself.
  
• Her neck seems to be pretty strong too. She seems to be able to hold her head up quite steadily when being carried on the shoulder and she can lift her head quite well when lying on her tummy.
  
• She's been blowing raspberries also since just after one month.
  
• She doesn't quite like to be put in a sitting position for burping, instead preferring to be carried on the shoulder for that. Very often when we try to sit her up for burping, she would straighten her back and lean backwards so that she can't be put in a sitting position!
  
• She has started going to daycare since 21 May 2012. She is adapting very well but is fussy taking milk from the bottle.
  
• She can smile socially :-)
  
• She had her first haircut at a barber's on 27 May 2012.
  

[Jianna shows her tongue again]


[Jianna's smile]


[If they do this to my hair again...]

Mizi Bistro Revisited

On 28 May 2012, we had lunch at Mizi Bistro at New World Park. It was not our first experience at Mizi's.

This time, we tried their Chicken Piccatta (with rosemary sause), and Seafood a la King (seafood curry). As with our previous visit, the set came with soup, a drink, and all-you-can-eat ice-cream. The set lunch is RM25 per set.


[Chicken Piccatta]


[Seafood a la King]

Food was not bad, and serving size was generous. However, the rosemary sauce was rather strong.

Julian is 5 Years Old!

Happy Birthday, Julian! Julian celebrated his 5th birthday today (28 May 2012).

Here are his updates:

• Off and on, he would ask to carry Jianna. We would then position Jianna in his arms :-)
  
• He is still excited about Jianna, eagerly showing her off. He would often say, "Come, see our/my new baby!"
  
• Sometimes someone would ask whether they can take Jianna home for the night. When it happened the first few times, he would become very quiet - not knowing what to respond. His expression would change and he would look quite distressed. After a while he would say, "But she's OUR baby...". Now he has figured out a response. He would say, "But she needs to sleep on the bouncinette!" :-) Wonder how he would respond if the person says she has a bouncinette at home! :-)
  
• He is now able to tell the time for the hours.
  
• He can do his homework on his own :-) Hurray!
  
• He can button his own shirt.
  

[Julian is growing taller]


[An even more overgrown baby]


[Julian and Jianna]

Julian celebrated his birthday with his friends at the kindy on 25 May 2012 (Friday). We got him a cake and he requested for Angry Birds decorations. His babysitter prepared some party packs.


[Celebration at the kindy: Julian's Angry Birds cake]

His birthday celebration with our extended family was on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). We had lunch at Sea Palace Restaurant. Mummy specially made him an airplane banana cake with jam biscuits as engines and chocolate pieces as the cockpit windows. The top of the fuselage had his name spelled out using alphabet biscuits.


[Celebration at the restaurant: Julian Air Cargo]


[The Five of Us]

Today, Daddy baked a butter cake and made a simple racing car out of fondont as decoration.


[Celebration at home: Happy birthday to meeee! Fhhhhhh! Justin joined in the formalities...]

Ferringhi Coffee Garden

We had wanted to have lunch at Ferringhi Garden on 24 May 2012 but unfortunately they only open for dinner. So, we had to settle for Ferringhi Coffee Garden next door instead. Items on their menu were "lighter".

We tried the Mini Burger Platter consisting of beef, chicken, and prawn patties. We also ordered the FCG Special consisting of sandwiches, crab cakes, petit four, French pastry, and coffee/tea.


[Mini Burger Platter: RM21.80]


[The FCG Special: RM26.80]


[Dining indoors at Ferringhi Coffee Garden]


[For those who prefer dining outdoors]

Food was delicious although we would have preferred a heavier lunch.

Justin in Baby Talk

Justin's photo appeared in the Little Stars section of Baby Talk's May 2012 issue!

Again, thanks to Ethan & Hannah's mummy for keeping a lookout for us.


[Justin's photo in Baby Talk's May 2012 issue]