Sunday, April 29, 2012

Brunch with the girlfriends

 After several failed attempts to meet, it finally happened today! We tried out a new place - Food for Thought @ Botanical Gardens. The place was semi-open concept and it was kinda like a canteen. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was so-so with us each having the standard brunch fare of eggs, sausages and bread. It was slightly warm, though the management was already aware of this problem and had already planted standing fans about the place. My table could feel one of these fans but it was still too warm for my liking (I think it were the lights). There was a childrens' playground which was a great place for kids to run amok and we decided that it's a nice place to meet again in the near future - with our offsprings in tow so they can enjoy the place too.

Our conversation was pretty routine, with us sharing what's going on in our lives and though there was nothing uber interesting, I really enjoyed my morning because it's so rare to have some time to ourselves and to spend precious time with great company is always awesome.

Hope we do another catch-up session soon!
Us with the little man
My little man and me

Saturday, April 28, 2012

My Saturday

And that's exactly what it was. Today was all mine (well, most of it anyway).

Kate was with her ah gong and ah ma; my mom helped babysit Jake and the husband had class (he's awful company these days anyway).

After breakfast and a handover session of Jake to Mom, I went for a two-hour facial session. It was bliss, lying there having someone inflict pain on me (the months of not cleansing properly - not by choice, thankyouverymuch - is showing and I was embarrassed when the beautician commented that my skin was xxxx and xxx =_=) and because I didn't have to jump up to attend to any baby, I snoozed comfortably for a while (I don't know how long, but when I'm relaxing, who's counting the minutes?)

Then it was followed by a shopping session. I had to purchase a gift for a friend and I took the opportunity to load up on some of my own beauty items and it felt heavenly to be able to pamper myself. Making the purchase is step one - really hope I have the discipline to actually take step two, which is to utilise these things to maintain and upkeep myself. [Man, being a woman is so tough. All these things we have to do!]

After the bit of shopping, I'd originally intended to hang out at some cafe to have a quiet meal while reading a book (I was prepared with one!) but my boobs got in the way so I had to change my plans. I headed in the direction of home, picking up some market fare along the way. Once home, I enjoyed the peace and quiet of having the whole house to myself. After mommy duty, I resisted doing any house work and instead, started the book while having my meal. [Hunger Games, thanks to the sister. It's pretty good!]

I think I read for about half hour before taking a snooze, which lasted a good forty minutes (40!) before I got a text from the husband that he was on the way back. 

The evening was not-that-great (pretty shit really, compared to how awesome the day had been) but I'm not going to dwell on that. Instead, I'm going to be thankful that I have help with the kids and I was able to have all that time to myself today. 

:)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Teddy bear cookies!

Kate loves to watch youtube & is adept at navigating link after link to watch video after video. Not sure how, but we discovered that she had chanced upon a video of baking and she really loves to watch this particular video of some lady & kids baking teddy bear cookies (the next-in-line favourite is the baking of a princess cake). After watching her watch it for this long, I thought of making the session happen for her. I sought the help of some dear friends who are great people as well as great cooks and a happy Saturday some weeks back, a few friends gathered at their place and we had a great afternoon baking cookies (ok, I didn't bake. I watched. And ate - hah) and hanging out.

I told Kate of this session on a Monday and the whole week, she'd ask me expectantly "We are going to make teddy bear cookies?" - and I'd reply patiently "Not today, we're going on Saturday. Today is only xxxday." And this went on every day until Saturday came!

Here are some pics of the girl in action:

Kate and Finn watching Uncle Jeremy in action

Rolling the dough

Teddy bear cookies!

Thanks for the great session, Uncle Jeremy! You're so patient and great with kids - you're right on track to be the best Daddy to Shane!

Tada! The proud little baker with her very own cookie


Eating the cookie she baked
Beaming with happiness



Kate went on and on decorating the cookies that were baked. Aunty Shumin patiently helps her

First you squeeze out the icing

Then you put the eyes on
Kate truly had a blast and it was a great afternoon well-spent hanging out with my friends too. She loved it so much that even till today, she'd go through the pictures in my phone and look at those taken on baking day. And she'd say to me, "Mommy, next time we go bake teddy bear cookies again, ok?!"


I'm so happy that the girl enjoyed herself and I'm so thankful to have awesome friends to have helped make the session happen! Thanks Jeremy and Shumin!

Scenes from our home


It was raining that day and I wasn't up to lugging both kids out to eat. Instead, I ordered a home delivery treat. Look at how happy she is!

Tummy time training for the boy. Left...
Right....
And back left again! Was so proud of him!

Faith comes to visit. A series of lovely pics of the girls being lovely

And silly

Haha

BTW, Faith and Kate have the same birthday - 17 September!

Jake with Shane, who is Faith's little brother. Shane is 3 weeks older than Jake.

Kate giving her brother a kiss

Nainai's birthday dinner

Supermarket shopping - they were all in stripes! & check out that gorgeous (rare) smile on the boy!
We headed out - waiting for the bus

Hanging on for his dear life (I was safe though, not sure why he had to do this ;p)

Hm. He needs a haircut.

Kate plays with Jake. Here, she is "sleeping"

When they awake, they eat breakfast. She shares cake with didi.

And when it rains, they must use the umbrella!

I make my first appearance at work - while still on maternity leave. It was a good night though - I felt refreshed (yet weird) going out alone to do adult stuff, I actually felt & looked like a proper human being (proper shower! make-up! clean clothes!) - and it was a nice fun setting to see the colleagues again.

I love seeing the boys hang out. 


Father playing hairdresser
Happy two-months, my lovely boy. I love you.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Loving it

Jake turns two months old tomorrow. And two days shy of that, I have finally gotten the hang of this whole motherhood business and I'm totally loving it! Truth is, while I love my kids, I have been awfully stressed and I don't recall the exact moment I got this realisation - it's probably a combo of having faced the fear of looking after two kids by myself, and gotten the hang of this fatigue from lack of sleep, and maybe the hormones have settled - whatever it is, I'm enjoying myself.

I may feel down again some time, but hey, that's life ain't it.

I'm happy that I've come to this state - that I can enjoy being a mother to two beautiful children. And I'll keep enjoying these moments with them especially since I'm home with them now. Not too long to go before I head back to work (boo) so really, I'm happy that I'm loving it.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Precious moments

Kate comes home. The first thing she does, whilst taking off her shoes and standing at the front door is yell "JAAAAAAAKKKKKKEEEEE" (no signs of her acknowledging her Dad nor me).



I was on the phone talking work, keeping both kids in my line of sight. Jake, who was lying contentedly in the cot, started to wriggle and whine. I start to pat him while continuing my conversation, wishing hard that he doesn't escalate into a loud cry. From the corner of my eye, I see Kate lifting her lil kiddy chair and moving it towards the store-room. I start to make my way towards her - and see her pick off Jake's pacifier which was hanging off the yao lan and run with it to the room and puts it into her brother's mouth. What a  clever little girl! I was totally impressed and touched.



The first thing Kate does when she opens her eyes in the morning, is look for Mommy and Jake. :)



I was doing the dishes in the kitchen - Jake was asleep and I realised that Kate was rather quiet and called out "Kate, where are you?" while walking out to look for her. I spot her in the darkened master bedroom and she runs out, telling me "I turn on the music for didi already." and walks off to play with her toys. And she has! She's switched on the hanging mobile for her brother and the music was tinkling away... (heart melt moment)



While occupied with the dishes/laundry, Jake started to fuss, no longer pleased to be lying on his own. I call out to Kate to sing to her brother and she starts to sing, while holding the iPhone in one hand - and I see her approach him and sayang his head with her other hand and plant a kiss on his head. (aawwww)



Kate has this thing about demanding to "touch didi" and "see didi" - and what's funny about this is that her definition of seeing didi is to see him with 5cm distance between their faces (heh)



When I burp Jake, it's not uncommon for him to regurgitate some milk. I usually ask Kate in a semi-excited voice "Kate, didi vomit! Pls give me tissue!" and she will help quickly. Sometimes, she even wipes it off for him.

On one occasion, I asked her for help and she - who was engrossed in watching her favourite Barney youtube videos - says "I'm busy, you take by yourself" =_=

I find that the most efficient way to burp Jake is to put him over my shoulder, so sometimes when he regurgitates milk I can't see it (if it's only a small amount). And who else, but the little enthusiastic big sister will suddenly yell out "DIDI VOMIT!" (haha!)

Monday, April 23, 2012

Happy 8 weeks, dear Jake

Today, I celebrate surviving 8 weeks of newbornhood - round two. *Seaworld applause

Even while I grin and take a bow, I must admit that it's more manageable this round - not because it's any easier per se, but more because I know what to expect and thus am a lot less fussed (also read as "I am less psycho"). While I was stressed not knowing what to do every time Kate cried before, I pretty much know what Jake knows now (or rather, I just attend to him trying one possible problem after another - does he need a diaper change? is he hungry? is he bored? is he hot? ...) I also don't have to contend with breastfeeding worries (enough milk? how to milk? drinking enough? ...) this round because I was experienced from before (it helped that I didn't have engorgement nor fever too). But what makes it really different (and truly better) is that Jake's temperament is different from that of his sister. While Kate was definitely a fiesty baby, Jake is a lot more mild and sweet-natured. I think he's an angel baby! Though he's not put on a strict schedule (I'm too lazy to do it), by now, he's already on his sorta schedule which I can totally live with (and am happy about!). Of course, it's not that he doesn't cry his lungs out as if we're torturing him at times, but the truth is, with his sort-schedule, my life is made much easier and together with all the "better-ness" mentioned, it's probably why I am surviving.

Jake's sorta-schedule: He's usually always up by 7am (only on one occasion have I managed to cheat 42minutes more of snooze time - by stuffing the dummy to him (I know, I'm terrible - but I swear it was because I had a particularly rough night!). Though it's only ever happened once because the boy is smart enough to spit it out all other times!) By then, he either needs a feed or he is happy to be entertained - either carried or shifted to somewhere other than his cot. It's as if he knows he's up and wants to be about - not here thankyouverymuch!

So I tend to him (either to feed or to play a bit) and an hour later, I'll give him his morning bath. He enjoys it and I love to splash the water about him and I actually feel him becoming clean and comfortable. Jake gets warm quite easily (btw, he has sweaty palms and feet!) and I also see his face turning oily through the day. So I love how he smells and he must feel as shiok as I imagine him to feel!

He's usually ready to go down for a snooze again after and it's easy to just rock him to nap. When he's up, it'd be feeding time - then it's play-time - then it's nap-time. And that's pretty much how his day goes! He only gets grumpy and unhappy (nap interrupted) if he is soiled and needs to be changed; or if his tummy is uncomfortable (though sometimes he can just sleep through slight regurgitation); or if he wants his dummy that's fallen out of his mouth.

At 8 weeks, he's awake for longer stretches (sometimes up to an hour and more) and he goes to bed by 8pm. He still wakes up every 2-3 hours through the night and I'm trying to see how long my body can tolerate this - though I hope he snaps outta it soon (go, Jake, go you can do it! - though maybe I should research to see how I can help him - and myself...)

Such a pleasant baby, isn't he! I've told the husband on more than one occasion that "he's so easy to love". And through all the time that we have spent together all this past 8 weeks, I have really grown to love this little man. Truth is, with all that I've had to contend with (dealing with the hormones...), I've been so caught up with the not-so-importants. And along the way, when the sunrays stream through the clouds, I remember to stop to smell the roses. And when that happens, I smile and breathe in the baby goodness (oh! so lovely!) and like I said, I remember to feel the love for my son.

And finally, here's a bit on some of his developments:

  • Fists are sometimes unclenched
  • For the first two weeks, all Jake ever did was eat, sleep and poop. Like, seriously - a textbook baby!
  • Now, he is very alert when awake - his eyes dart around and he looks like he is absorbing everything around him
  • He coos and gurgles and smiles! It's taken him a while but when he does smile it really makes me crack up!
  • He stretches and grunts and makes all these 'man' noises - something I never encountered with Kate before (!) and after speaking to some other Moms, I gather that it really is a 'man' thing!
  • He also poops/farts and burps really loudly! Like, adult-sized (heh)
  • He is able to lie down and entertain himself for some time - he will stare at something that catches his fancy and lay there (so cutely!) 
  • He listens and seems to recognise voices - I swear he recognises my voice and by now, I always get to see him smile more than once every day!
  • He has the most fantabulous head of hair for a newborn and it's the key talking point among people (even strangers). By now, he's had his hair trimmed twice by his Papa. 

I like to think that after spending nearly all my time with him since his birth, that I'm his favourite person :)

And here's a series of pics of him since birth - easy to track based on his hair - haha!
27 Feb 2012 - Thomson Medical Centre
9-days-old

12-days-old
14-days-old: you can see his spotty face - a transfer of my hormones to him as well as due to the "heat" he's receiving via breastmilk from the confinement food I was consuming

One-month-old; check out his boomz hair!


29 March 2012 - Jake gets his first hair cut

7-weeks-old - Angry!

7-weeks-old - smiley!
7-weeks-old - liking to observe (thanks to the bestie for this hanging mobile)

My 8-weeks-old lil man - Mommy loves you so much

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Happy day

Started good from last night when the sweet husband insisted we head out to dinner. I figured we may as well make it a productive run and so we headed to Ikea in hope to get some shelves for the house. The trip to Ikea failed (didn't get what we wanted) but at least we filled our tummies and we managed a detour to another place where we did buy something we needed.
Post-morning bath with Jake: it was warm enough to don this teeny tank on him - love how "man" he looks with the hair & (kinda) strong arms

Seeing me snap Jake, Kate said that she wanted to take a picture with him. Here's a series of them before I managed a decent shot. It's funny how Kate decided to take his head into her hands - guess she didn't like his head bobbing around much.


A good shot out of the many NGs

Jake went down for a nap and in that time, I managed to spend quite fruitfully with the princess.

Doodling

& we played a silly game of pretend. Here you see her "ringing the doorbell"

It started to pour & there was no way I could manage both kids down to grab lunch. After trying three fast food delivery services, I struck gold with the 4th (phew). No one had to starve. The princess is obviously thrilled! She loves pizza! Here, she goes "WAAAA"

Our unhealthy but rather yummy lunch (such a splurge though for 1.5 people!)

Uh, I did mention she was very thrilled

And here's the final pic of the day - Jake is enthralled with his new toy. Courtesy of the bestie, this hanging mobile does keep him entertained as he just stares at the butterfly. Gotta get batteries to get the thing singing to him too.

Note: several times today, I bit my tongue and I swear it was going to bleed from controlling myself. But I did well today, no tantrums (from me) nor outbursts. I was close one time when Kate threw a tantrum for nothing (I think I asked her to do something like pee or whatever) & she threw stuff on the ground. Somehow, I managed to bite my tongue, take a breath and I told her calmly (I was surprised at how calm I sounded, I was brewing within!) that she could either (1) pick up the things from the floor or (2) go to her room to cry and continue her tantrum and I'll not speak to her. It worked! She said "I pick up the things" & proceeded to do just that - and our day rolled on uneventfully. *beams with pride

There will be ups and downs and I must remember that the tough bits are really not that tough - I just gotta choose how best to deal with them and if I remember who these people are (my children, dammit!) then I should just love them and do what is best for them (which does not include losing my cool).

Little steps... big accomplishments. & I keep walking.