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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Mommy....! Mommy.....!































I thought I was her favourite. Christa always looks for me during her night feeds since I've taken up the responsibility with mommy going into her 2nd Trimester pregnancy. But this morning she was whimpering out, "Mommy...! Mommy...!" as I carried her to her baby sitter. She didn't see mommy as mommy had to go off to work earlier this morning.

I thought, "Nevermind... maybe she misses Mommy". At least she's not the 'politician' Clarissa has turned out to be. She has learnt the trade to get into the good books of Grandfather and Grandmother with all the terms of endearment e.g. "I love you very much! I like Yeh-yeh and Mah-mah!". Her loyalty could be bought with Cadburys and M and M's. "Hmmm... maybe mine too?!"

Will I ever be her favourite? Does it matter?

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Laptop attack!































I left my HP laptop unattended for 5 minutes last week and Christa (1+ yrs) was quick to plug out my Data cable while Clarissa (3+ yrs) went on to test all the keys on the keyboard. When I came back I found out that the laptop was off (someone pressed the blue on/off switch) and Christa was finishing off the touches of removing the plastic connector of the Data cable. (Since then the data cable comes loose on its own and I had it replaced for RM10)

Clarissa was quick to run away but insisted she didnt do anything. "Daddy, see Christa pulled out the wire!", she said pointing at Christa who held the wire in her hands. Christa immediately threw the data cable away thinking that I may reprimand her. She ran up to me and hugged me tightly with a grin on her face.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Charity Walk at Titiwangsa Lake!










Friday, April 20, 2007

Talent at writing new lyrics?




Clarissa (3+ yrs) learnt a new Nursery song called "Mr Sun" last week. I joined her after changing the lyrics to "Mr Bean" knowing that she liked the hilarious character. The whole family had a great time watching the movie, "Mr Bean's Holiday" during the preview screening.

The lyrics went like this:-

"Mr Bean, Bean! Funny Mr Bean. Drink up your cup of tea!"
"Mr Bean, Bean! Funny Mr Bean. Come out and play with me!"

Within a few minutes we were all singing the same song. She then tried to get her little sister involved by changing the lyrics,...

"Mr Bean, Bean! Funny Mr Bean. Come out and play with Christa!"
"Mr Bean, Bean! Funny Mr Bean. Come out and play with Christa!"

Everyone she knows had since been incorporated into her nursery rhymes and any songs she hears. Amongst her favourites are.....

"God is good! All the time!"
Changed to "Daddy's good! All the time!"

Will she go on to be a lyricist? Or will she just use this to get other's attention?

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Chocolate vs Plain Milk














Clarissa (3+ yrs) has a different liking at different locations and different times. When she wakes up in the morning and after the afternoon, she takes Growing-up milk. She insists on chocolate milk before bedtime at night. She is also more selective on her food intake and has been exposed to all sorts of food.

Christa is every mother (and father's) perfect child as she takes anything we slip into her mouth!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Come in and play with me....!



I thought that it was a friendly and lasting invitation when Clarissa (3+ yrs) invited Christa (1+ yrs) to join her in her cot. The giggles and play lasted for 10 minutes and then started the tugging for pillows and soft toys. Soon, they were pushing, kicking and scratching. It finally ended when Christa landed her teeth on Clarissa's leg. Clarissa started screaming and then clenched Christa's hair intending to pull everything off! Christa loosened her jaw and joined in the wailing.

"Daddy! Can't you separate both of them instead of watching!!!" I always thought that they would appreciate each other more if they spent more time together. Looks like this time I had to be the 'cot' referee to stop the girl fight! "Ok, girls! Stop fighting!", I said. Mommy watched in disbelief as I lifted out the younger sister from the cot for a breather.

Round 2, anyone?

Monday, April 16, 2007

Playing a game in pitch darkness!

Fancy getting caught in a power failure at an apartment and someone switched off the generator for the lift. We came out of our car and saw the lights go off suddenly. Not a comforting thought to have to carry the 2 girls 10 floors up the stairs (and mommy is pregnant too!). Thinking that it would be a short blackout, we all went to the guard house to enquire further.

Nobody had any clue of what was happening. "Shucks!" At a distance I could see the flikering lights from the candles of a 'mamak' (a slang for indian muslims) shop. "Let's go for 'teh-tarik' (special brewed tea, drained from a height to oxygenate the tea to add a spectacular flavour to it)", I said. Both Clarissa and Christa was elated. Feeling a bit adventurous, I decided to get Clarissa a tender young coconut. Clarissa was thrilled having a coconut to herself. It's the type of feeling when she received her first soft toy. An hour later, the generators came on for the lifts and corridor lights. By the time we went up, Christa was already fast asleep.

"Daddy, I want air-cond!", Clarissa demanded. "Daddy, I am very hot and sweating. I want air-cond!", she reiterated. I tried as much as I could to explain to her about the blackout but nothing worked.

"Let's play a game!", I said. "You hold the torch and shine into the aquarium tank while daddy pour in the fish (newly bought at East Aqua, IKANO)". In my mind, I was thinking whether I would get to resuscitate the fish on time as they were already gasping for air.

Clarissa felt in control. She had the only torch and took charge (but the light was shining all over the living room except in the tank!). She was a gem and she helped mommy and I unpack, clean-up and even held the light while we took turns in the shower. I managed to keep the fishes in two 4 foot aquariums by giving periodical air supply via the aerator tubes. We had an old cardboard folder each to fan the girls as it was already late. Clarissa soon fell asleep at 11.30pm.

At 1.00am, the electricity supply resumed to my relief.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Missing me much? Or just needing more attention.

I was away for 1 day for a relative's funeral and came back quite late last night. Clarissa was already asleep. THe next morning I sent her to her Montessori and to my surprise she would not walk. I carried her from her cot into her car seat. On arrival, I carried her and placed her in the Montessori. Once her feet touched the tiled floor, she broke out in tears and wanted to follow me to work.

Hmm...! I was just away for a day. Mommy was away on work assignment too! Maybe that's why she didn't feel like going to school. I felt bad and stayed a little while longer at the gate saying good-bye. But had to go finally.

I will spend more time with them, I thought. When? Just when?

Monday, April 9, 2007

Caffeine to keep us awake!


You dont really want to give your children coffee if you can avoid it. Clarissa (3+yrs) has a liking for anything sweet and icy cold. We made the mistake of allowing her to take sips from my glass during dinner. Before we knew it, she had already taken 3/4 of my glass.

I did not get my coffee but Clarissa was wide awake the whole night keeping me company as I worked on my assignment. We're lucky Christa didn't like coffee! Otherwise, we'll have trouble keeping the noise level down in the apartment!

Saturday, April 7, 2007

First Dental Check-up
















Christa and Clarissa had their first dental check-up free at One Utama Shopping Centre yesterday. The event was part of the "Colgate Oral Health Month" co-hosted with Colgate-Palmolive and Malaysian Dental Association. The campaign will be held at other centres for the month of April.

Part of the highlights include a simple education programme:-
1. Brush with toothpaste
2. Follow with floss
3. Finish with Rinse
4. Visit the Dentist Regularly

You could also have fun educating your children at this children's site.

Every participant would be provided a free sample of Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste too! Clarissa (3+yrs)didn't like to see the teeth disease models (see photo). Christa (1+yrs) was just enjoying the whole thing except when she had to sit on the dental chair. It was too much to see a mirror stuck in her mouth! The dentist was not ready to see infants but we went ahead with me holding the struggling Christa tightly.

All ended up well with Christa and Clarissa both getting their toothpaste samples and a balloon each!

Friday, April 6, 2007

My own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)



We were too late for "Meet the Robinsons" as it was fully booked. Didn't really think much about it when The Cathay Cineleisure counter assistant told me to watch TMNT as it was suitable for kids.

In the cinema hall, Christa (1+yrs) was enjoying herself standing on her seat while Clarissa was happily chomping away at some Pringles. It started with the TMNT being separated and the leader Leonardo was away in Latin America with some soul searching in the jungles. There was trouble when he returned as Raphael who was disillusioned by all the injustice and crime in the city did not welcome his return. As they started fighting it out in the streets late one night, Christa and Clarissa started feeling restless. Clarissa refused to share her Pringles but Christa wasn't ready to stay put without a fight. But it was still manageable as I got a few pieces from Clarissa and gave them to Christa one by one.

Towards the last 15 minutes of the movie, the monstors were all caught and the evil generals were ready to rebel against their king brother. The music and violence was both getting too unbearable to Christa and she just bolted out of my clutches and shook her head and wanted out!

Spent the last 10 minutes outside the cinema hall talking to Christa along the alley. The cinema attendant told me that the movie was going to end which caused me to want to watch the ending. I swiftly took hold of Christa and sat right at the back. Clarissa then brought Christa's bottle to give her some water but a fight broke out and they both grabbed the Pringels container. The last monster was lured into the building and finally,.... both Clarissa and Christa ended wailing and screaming at each other but only I knew what happened as others couldnt hear the commotion as there were huge explosions on the screen. `

I was glad the movie was over. Definitely TMNT is and should not be recommended for all age groups. It should be at least above 13 yrs of age. Maybe there should be a warning to have hearing protection too!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Lactose Free Milk to the rescue



Christa (1+yrs) has a liking to pick up things and still try to chew on them to find out they are edible. Or is it due to teething? It slipped my mind as to advice mommy to give Lactose Free milk when she came back with diarrhoea (pretty much foul smelling and "eeii... yer!", as Clarissa would put it) from the baby-sitter. 3 days later I thought we had some Similac LF formula in the cupboard.

So now we have 3 different trays of milk i.e.
a) 1+ growing up formula
b) 3+ grouwing up formula
c) Lactose Free Formula

She seems to be doing better 24 hours later and the diaper rash is gone after application of a zinc oxide-urea cream. Hopefully, in a week's time she could get back on her regular formula. I just abhor the cleaning up after every 'pooh-pooh'.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

A promise is a promise!



Came home with Clarissa (3+yrs) this evening and told her we were going out for a walk after her shower and dinner. Saw a twinkle in her eye as there was a large play area at IKEA and Hytex Town at IKANO Power Centre. "Oopps!", I thought. I was tired but I was committed.

We quickly went up the apartment and took our shower but I was dead tired and took a nap as soon as mommy came home. An hour passed and I awoke at 7.30pm only to find Clarissa engrossed with Barney and Friends (DVD). We had dinner and soon mommy came back with Christa (1+yrs).

I was ready to get tucked in bed but then Clarissa said, "Daddy, when can we go for a walk?". Mommy looked at me. I returned a guilty look and told her I told her I would take Clarissa out. "But it's already 9pm!", mommy said. I then suggested that we got the children dressed and we'll just take a walk by the pool at the apartment.

We got out of the lift and proceeded to the poolside and Clarissa reminded me, "Daddy, I want to go for a walk and walk at IKANO!". I looked at mommy for some moral support. Out came a solution. "We'll go for Ais-kacang (crushed ice with brown syrup and other delicious dressing)!", mommy said. We got all excited and took a 5 minute drive to the hawker centre in Section 17, Petaling Jaya. With the bowl of Ais-kacang in front of her, I asked Clarissa, "Do you still want to go for a walk?". "No, daddy, I want my Ais-kacang!", she replied with the same twinkle in her eye. She then quietly asked mommy whether we were still going for a walk after the supper.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Accidental exposure to childbirth




Clarissa was having dinner with me when the TV Cantonese drama series on Doctors' lives had an episode with a patient in prolonged labour. "Daddy, why is that auntie screaming?", she asked. "She is about to give birth to a baby, like Christa (see photo)", I said. "Why is there so much blood?", she asked. "Eei... yer! The baby is coming out from her 'pet-pet'(babies lingo for the female reproductive organ)!". I was left speechless as it was too late to off the TV and did not have a clue what to tell her. "Yes!", was the only word uttered from my mouth. "Eei... yer! So much bloo..oodd!", she exclaimed.

We were lucky as both mother and baby survived and within seconds the baby was crying. And Clarissa went on asking more questions. "Daddy, why is the baby crying....?".

Monday, April 2, 2007

Going Grapes to get to school?


Clarissa (3+yrs) and Christa (1+yrs) were both rather lethargic this morning as the weather was rather pleasant at 25 degrees C. Neither wanted to lift their heads of the bed and mommy had only 10 minutes to get them ready. "Christa! Clarissa!", I called out to them. Christa rolled on her tummy and held her bolster tighter. Clarissa was in her own world and stretched a little.

"Who wants grapes?", mommy asked. Christa quickly rolled off the bed towards the kitchen. Clarissa clamoured to be taken out of the cot. Within 10 seconds both were in the kitchen. Within the next 30 seconds they were at the gate of our condominium unit with their shoes on (see picture)

I can't remember what my parents did to get me out of bed. Must have been the fear of the cane which got into our heads or the joys of attending kindergarden.

Who tells more lies?

"Who spilled the water?", I asked. Clarissa pointed at her sister but her hand was holding the milk bottle. Christa just ran away. I just wondered who did it.

Barney, the idol!



I think initially all parents are glad that finally there's something that will keep the children occupied. Now that they have found Barney, the children's program mascot, I have to share my TV with militant supporters who insist on having Barney on and nothing else. It's as if they have been promised ice-cream or chocolate to sit 'quietly'.

Somehow, I get more hugs too as the Barney theme song "I love you,...." has them hug each other. Christa started singing "twinkle-twinkle little star even before she learnt how to speak her first 3 words. Barney, I take my hat off to you.