We had lunch at Blue Reef Fish and Chips at Straits Quay on 15 August 2011. It was one of our rare cafe-dining experience minus the kids :o).
For their set lunch, you get to choose any of their ala-carte main dish and add RM1 for the soup of the day, and a drink. For the main dishes, we chose a mahi-mahi fish and chips in beer batter, and a grilled stuffed chicken.
[Mahi-mahi fish and chips in beer batter: RM16]
[Grilled stuffed chicken: RM23]
The food was not bad and the ambiance was pleasant enough. We were there for an early lunch on a weekday, hence we enjoyed the place while it was still quiet.
Last Sunday (7 August 2011) started out pretty normal. We had lunch at Ultimaxx Cafe at Queensbay with some close friends and later went into the mall for the kids to have some fun at a small kids' play area with kiddie rides at the North Wing. This was when things started to go horribly wrong.
The play area has a perimeter fence. Julian had this idea of running out of the play area, around part of the fence, and back into the play area again via another entrance. He did this a few times and since he was within sight, we just let him be.
Then, as he was running back in, he slipped and bumped his head against the base of the carousel. We heard a loud thud. As we got to him, he started wailing. To our horror, he had a nasty gash on his forehead above his left eye. It was bleeding profusely. We panicked. We grabbed Justin and Julian and "ran for our lives". It was about 1.45pm. Angie carried Justin while I carried Julian... putting a hand over the wound. His face and shirt were covered with blood. It must have been quite a sight. We managed to get some ice and wet wipes to help ease the bleeding before heading for the hospital. As we drove, we all managed to calm down, including Julian.
We headed for Pantai Mutiara Hospital, being the nearest. By the time we arrived, the bleeding had stopped. At the A&E, they managed to get his face and wound cleaned. The A&E doctor indicated that the wound would need to be stitched by the surgeon. For kids, who are unlikely to cooperate, this would be done under general anaesthesia (GA). Julian would also have to stay the night for observation. The cost would also run into four figures. After some consideration, we decided that we'd take Julian to the Penang General Hospital for treatment. So, after dropping Justin off at the baby sitter's, off we went. It was about 3.10pm.
[Julian's gash, photo hastily taken]
[Another blur photo, not a pretty sight]
It wasn't until about 4.30pm before Julian was seen by the doctor. The doctor assessed the wound to be "2x1", roughly 2cm across and 1cm deep. The doctor then ordered X-rays to be taken to rule out any fractures or the presence of any foreign body. Fortunately, the X-rays came back alright and they could proceed to stitch the wound up.
Julian was first given some syrup paracetamol and an oral sedative. The medical assistant (MA) then tried to inject some local anaesthetic (LA) around the wound. Success was limited as Julian was struggling and wailing even after being restraint by the doctor and Mummy and Daddy. So, after consulting another doctor, it was decided that they had to put Julian under heavy sedation (not sure if this was GA). For this, they inserted a Vasofix catheter into his hand, during which he also struggled and wailed. After the GA was administered (we told Julian that his hand was drinking medicine), he was very drowsy but refused to go to sleep! He still had to be restraint. When more LA was injected, he struggled and wailed even when he could hardly keep his eyes open. As the MA put the five stitches, we tried our best to comfort Julian, promising ice-creams, Slurpees, and trips to see airplanes.
Julian's ordeal ended at 7.00pm. However, he was placed under observation for one hour since he was given heavy sedation. So, we went to the emergency ward and tried getting him to sleep as he was still groggy from the sedation. For the first 15 minutes, he resisted sleep, wanting to walk around although he could hardly stand. He finally dozed-off after we closed the curtains around him.
[Julian resting]
8.00pm saw us leaving the hospital. Julian got up as we drove off. After picking Justin, Julian requested to see airplanes *slaps forehead*! Since we nearly promised him the sun and the moon as his wound was being stitched, we reluctantly obliged. Shortly after parking at the Cargo Complex, a Silk Air aircraft took-off. That really made his day.
[Julian's stitches]
[Julian after the stitches were removed on 12 August 2011]
Julian turned 50 months (4 years 2 months) on 28 July 2011. He weighed 17.7kg at the clinic where he was scheduled for a regular check-up. He was also due for his deworming. His height is 104cm.
Here are his updates:- He now likes to say "No, thank you" when declining an offer, e.g. of food, water, etc.
- He sometimes likes to kneel when praying before going to bed.
- He loves outings to the Second Cargo Complex of the Penang International Airport located at Batu Maung. He would tell us what the aircrafts are doing, e.g. that the airplane is flying to another airport, that the airplane is taxiing, etc. He also likes to ask, "What's the name of that airplane?" as well as to count the number of take-offs and landings. He can identify a few popular airlines and freight carriers.
[Julian cutting cake]
Justin turned 2 on 25 July 2011. Happy Birthday, Justin! At the clinic, he weighed in at 11.4kg. His height is 85cm. He was given his first deworming medicine.
Here are his updates:- His speech continues to improve. He can repeat the last syllable of words we ask him to repeat. He says 'pee' (please/peace), 'Daddy, wee-you/ee-you' (Daddy, where are you?), 'there ya' (there you are), 'naih' (goodnight), 'og' (out), 'perh' (open)
- He can now pronounce 'koh koh' (elder brother), and 'ah kong' (grandfather) with the 'k' sound.
- He would sing bits and pieces of the nursery rhymes when he hears them. He knows quite a few!
- He is familiar with the sequence of the nursery rhymes from Starfall.com.
- He would put his hands together and bow when asked to say 'peace'. We taught him this for exchanging sign of peace at mass.
- He does 3/4 of the sign of the cross at prayer time (up to 'holy' - at which he would pat his shoulder) then goes to 'Amen'.
- He still imitates everything Julian does.
- He's into screaming when things don't go his way. This could be when we don't give him what he wants or even when the toys don't 'work/move' as he wants it to. One instance would be when the front object in a line of objects he is pushing gets out of line!
- He's getting more assertive. He has a mind of his own and often leaves us in no doubt about it!
- He is able to rinse his mouth at brush-teeth time.
[Justin loafing around]
[Justin the chairman]
We celebrated his birthday a day earlier at Sea Palace Restaurant. He had a cake with baby Mickey & Minnie. Julian would not allow him to have the same Mickey Mouse picture on his cake. Justin loves having the birthday song sung to him and he can blow out the candles all by himself! Cutting the cake is also fun :-)
[Justin's birthday cake]
[Family photo during Justin's birthday lunch]
[Yay! I'm two!]
[Justin celebrating on his actual birthday]
Julian has always been telling Justin what he sees while travelling in the car. However, Justin has recently taken the lead. Here are samples of conversations initiated by Justin while travelling in the car:
Conversation 1
Justin: Teh toh! (Koh koh, meaning elder brother... Justin still can't pronounce the "k" sound)
Julian: (didn't quite hear Justin calling)
Daddy: Julian, Justin is calling you.
Julian: Yes, Justin?
Justin: Baa!
Julian: Yes, bus!
Conversation 2
Justin: Teh toh!
Julian: Yes, Justin?
Justin: Har!
Julian: No... car!
Conversation 3
Justin: Teh toh!
Julian: Yes, Justin?
Justin: Veh! (van)
Julian: (yawns)
Poor Justin... but he's getting there :o).
Julian turned 49 months old on 28 June 2011.
Here are his updates:- He likes to help around the house, e.g. helping Mummy do the laundry and put away clothes, help to beat eggs for steaming, etc.
- Lately he has problems with his shirt labels, insisting that he wants them removed.
- He is fond of identifying the "silent E" in words.
- He wants Mummy/Daddy to be "happy". Sometimes when he's naughty, we'd tell him, "Mummy/Daddy is angry" and he'll get upset, insisting we're "happy".
- When he does things right, he'll proclaim, "I'm strong!!"
- We've been pointing out fruiting trees to Julian such as rambutans, cikus, coconuts, bananas, papayas, and durians, and also that rambutans turn red when ripe, etc. Now, when we're out in the car, we get an earful from him pointing out one tree after another and whether or not the fruit turns red, yellow, orange, or brown!
- He's hooked on Angry Birds.
[Julian at Stella Maris]
[Julian stacking soft toys]
[Julian stacking containers]
[Julian makes a funny face]
[Julian under a coconut tree at Straits Quay]
[Julian eating with training chopsticks]
Justin turned 23 months on 25 June 2011.
Here are his updates: - He can recognise and say numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10; and letters A to D.
- He can "sing" or mimic the sounds at the end of the phrases of the songs Through the Years, and Love's Grown Deep.
- He's learning how to jump.
- He says "four", "teh" (ten), "hik" (six), "poh poh" (meaning grandmother), "teh toh" (for "koh koh" meaning elder brother - he can't say the K sound yet), "bra" (brown), "no" (snow), "nake" (milk), "pi" (pink), and "ah toh" (for "ah kong" meaning grandfather)
- He likes to dunk cream crackers in Milo or coffee.
- Two bottom molars have erupted.
- He loves action songs and nursery rhymes especially Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
- He sometimes keeps water in his mouth, a habit he learnt from Julian.
[Justin]
[Dancing King]
[Justin loves Julian's bag]
[Fun in the sand at Stella Maris]
[Digger Driver: Ways to abuse a used tea bag]
After noticing a cendol pulut stall near the Sungai Gelugor mosque, I did a Google search and stumbled upon reviews of the cucur (fritters) and cendol stalls at Jalan Ismail Nagore in Gelugor, Penang (the place used to be the Gelugor express bus stop). So, I decided that I'd have lunch there on 9 June 2011.
They were both simple roadside stalls, no names... just signs to indicate what they were selling. Cucur is a thick deep fried fritter made of flour, bean sprouts, and prawn. Cendol by default is a dessert made of coconut milk, brown sugar (gula Melaka), short green noodles, and kidney beans; while cendol pulut has glutinous rice added.
The cucur stall also serves taukua (tofu), egg, frankfurter, fishcake, potato, and a few other items... all deep fried.
[Cucur lunch: With taukua, potato, egg, and fishcake added. RM4.20]
[Cendol pulut: Refreshing. RM2.30]
My verdict? Delicious! I shall return...
Our recent outings to the Ayer Itam area seem to be dampened by rain. The latest outing-cut-short was to the Ayer Itam Dam on 29 May 2011. It was the first visit to the dam by the boys. The weather looked fine at first but after parking the car and before we could even start walking across the dam, it started to drizzle. Argghh!
[Julian and Mummy at the Ayer Itam Dam]
Happy Birthday, Julian! Julian turned 4 years old on 28 May 2011.
Here are his updates:
- He has shown that he's the caring "big brother". There were times when Justin dilly-dallies when asked to go indoors, and when we threatened to walk-off, Julian would run over to Justin to hurry him on, or pull his hand.
- Currently he likes to ask Justin: "Justin, you want? Ya?" for a variety of things. Justin would always answer "Ya!"
- For a few months, he has been talking to Klaus Bear before he sleeps. We use Klaus Bear to ask him questions to engage him in conversation. They then tuck each other into bed.
- His reading continues to improve. He can now read simple phrases from newspapers and brochures.
- He's hooked on singing Kenny Roger's "Through the Years" by heart, and some parts of Kenny Nolan's "Love's Grown Deep". He had been hearing these songs from the family photo montages we made.
- Ever since our Kuching holiday, he's now a fan of 7-Eleven. When we ask him what he wants to do there he'd answer, "to buy something" or more precisely "to buy Slurpee!".
[Julian]
[Julian eating banana]
[Julian having a good laugh]
Julian has always been the very active-type. He doesn't sit still except when glued to the TV or computer, or when sitting in a baby chair during meals, or when "held at gunpoint" to do homework :o). However, he's showing some signs of "mellowing down"... perhaps he's maturing a little bit.
For quite some time running up to his birthday, he would often say "My birthday - Mickey Mouse!" (for his cake) and sometimes "My birthday, go restaurant". We eventually bought him a Mickey Mouse cake for him to celebrate with his friends in school the day before his birthday.
[Julian's Mickey Mouse cake to celebrate in school]
On his actual birthday, we celebrated with a lunch at Sea Palace Restaurant.
[Julian's ice-cream cake (from Ah Kong) with Mickey Mouse: For the family celebration at the restaurant]
[Julian cutting his birthday cake]
[Family photo]
Justin turned 22 months on 25 May 2011.
Here are his updates: - He's gradually getting back into his bottle milk routine, almost always finishing 4 oz again. However, we noticed that he likes it earlier in the night and he does better when he's drinking in front of the computer *slap head*. Our primary objective now is to get him to drink... deal with the computer bit later...
- He can say 'stop' with hand action, 'tuck' (truck), 'ep' (help), 'mao' (mouth), ear, yellow, purple, 'dek yu' (thank you), 'beck' (black), bag, and 'shish' (fish).
- He sometimes dilly-dallies just before entering the apartment door. So, we resort to counting from one to three and he complies.
- He likes to line up vehicles, push them, and say 'teet-teet' (imitating Thomas the Tank Engine's whistle).
- He sometimes gasps when he sees something exciting... real drama king...
[Toys in line]
[Banana time!]
[Mummy giving Justin a lift]
[Justin in the pool]
[Justin the Drama King]
