A Little Birthday Party.

Genevieve turned 1 on the 19th of Oct, and Julian turned 2 on the 27th of Oct. Yes, the 2 little one's are less than a year apart in age and they play nice. Most of the time anyway.

So, since we had a Great Big Party (120 man event) last year for Julian's 1st birthday, which happened to coincide with Genevieve's 30-day naming ceremony, this year I decided to have something smaller, also because I'm 31 weeks pregnant and absolutely can't run around looking for paper napkins and extra spoons. Much to Maran's dismay, I put my foot down and only called 20 of our closest and dearest family and friends. We had the BBQ on the 6th of November (slightly later than intended due to my dad being out of the country on work) at 6pm in my mom's place, since I've decided to park myself here until I deliver Little Pumpkin...hehe! Thank god for moms!

Prep for the Party:
1.Blew up about 50 balloons... I did not participate and was only supervising in case the adults get naughty and decide to burst them. We hung them up after.
2.Made little personalized picture cards for guests to leave messages on. So, in 10 years Julian and Genevieve can read them and laugh...
3.Got the BBQ stuff ready.
4.Made sure the cake was done and ready to serve when the guests arrived.
5.Dressed Julian and Genevieve up for the party... (best part!).
6.Had Maran put up the Birthday wall Poster.
7.Wrapped up the gifts for the "little" guests.

Party started at 6pm... and we had loads and loads of fun!!!

Genevieve trying to run to the cake

What's happening?

Julian : The Bullet

Sis and Me

Father in law writing a message for the little ones

Mom and Me

Anand (BIL) and Maran BBQ'ing

Nephew Jay and Me

Genevieve and Me

Sis and Genevieve

Julian... Does he look like he's just put something in his mouth???

Julian trying to chew on the rafia string

 I love having parties!!!

When the Waddle isn't cute anymore...

I promised myself that I wouldn't have the "pregnancy waddle", whilst being pregnant the third time over. Yes, yes, I admit... I waddled a whole lot when I was pregnant the first and second time... albeit trying really hard NOT to. It's not easy, especially looking at ladies literally skipping and cat walking all around me while I tried hard just "trying" not to waddle!!!

It was about a month ago, when I was about 26 weeks pregnant (belly wasn't showing yet) when I caught myself waddling in MidValley Shopping Center, and not waddling slowly, but a quick waddle, mind you. I was almost running-waddling to get myself a shopping trolley outside  before it gets taken (yes, it was a Saturday and  most of KL was there). I hadn't really noticed, but a lady walking towards me asked if I was pregnant. I, of course, beaming with pride said yes. She said "I can tell, you're waddling". How annoying!

These days, I try to not waddle so much because it does look horrendous from the back and I hate it when random people come up to me and ask if I'm pregnant just because of the waddle. But it takes so much effort! So I decided to do a little research as to why pregnant ladies waddle. (Nope, they don't teach this in med school).

1. The baby belly :
Assuming the baby belly creates the waddle does make sense, but there is more to it than that. The  additional weight that sits on most women while pregnant is primarily in the front, causing the shift in the centre of gravity higher up as the pregnancy progresses... therefore the waddle.

2. Backaches :
With so much weight in the front of the abdomen, it can cause back aches, especially if we already have back issues. With the baby leaning on the bladder, we always have to use the bathroom. What does the baby making us have to pee all the time have to do with our back? Altering our gait helps with bladder control a bit.The waddle helps with this ache, and as silly as it looks, who cares, if it helps with mobility.

3. Relaxin :
Relaxin, a hormone that's released during pregnancy causes loosening of the pelvic ligaments which can cause laxity. When there is too much laxity there can be instability and pain, so gait alteration is another cause for the waddle.

So, there goes... Quack!! Quack!!

2 word sentence!

Little Genevieve (age 1 year 2 plus weeks) just said her first 2 word sentence today!!! And it was "Doggy there" haha... she was pointing at Bailey, our pup at the time. She has said "Doggie" and "There" before, but never together! And she said it twice, so it was definitely NOT a fluke!

Her current vocabulary consists of:
1.Amma  (that's me)
2.Mum mum (when she hungry or when she sees food)
3.Doggy (whenever Lexi or Bailey are around)
4.There (when I ask her to point to the fan / light / her nose etc)
5.Wowow (when I ask her what sound a doggy makes... this is cute)
6.Hello (whenever she sees a telephone or handphone, and sometimes the remote- hehe!)

and now...
7.Doggy there!

So proud of my 2-word saying little girl... I really hope this continues...

Pointing, when I asked her to point at the camera.

Shapes galore...

I can't remember if I mentioned it on blog, but sometime ago (roughly 3 months back, when he was about 21 months old, when I still had a maid and life was muccccccccch easier!), Julian started pointing at random objects like the moon, traffic lights, garden lights etc and yelling the word "circle". Of course, it sounded like "kerkel" but I'm his mom, and I usually can make out most things he says.

So I took it upon myself to teach him shapes, but for the first few days of trying to teach him shapes like square and triangle, he called everything "kerkel" and absolutely refused to cooperate. He'd look at me with a silly smile, point to a square and gleefully cry out "kerkel!!!". So, I gave up. Yes, I know terrible thing to do, but hey at the time I was 5 months pregnant with 2 kids under the age of 2, a husband who's away on work most of the time and with a maid who was driving me up the wall. So, yes... I gave up thinking that he'll "get it" in his own time.

Then, a week down, I can't remember when exactly, he came up to me as I was  getting ready to go shopping, he pointed to my earring and said "oval". Hmmm... so I pulled his Shapes Book out and pointed at the various shapes, he named them all correctly! Ahhh... my son!

So these are the shapes he currently knows: (or shows me he knows)
1. circle
2. square
3. triangle
4. right triangle
5. rectangle
6. oval
7. crescent (although he calls is "moon")
8. star
9. heart
10.hexagon
11.pentagon
12.diamond

He loves this particular video on youtube, which I can play over and over again and he never gets bored... so easy to please! Below is a video of Julian, he's a little soft as it was time to sleep...

I shall be working on Polygons next...

Delightful Play-Doh

The kiddos who usually sleep for  3.5 hours in the afternoon, decide TOGETHER to wake simultaneously after what was barely an hour. There goes my afternoon, I thought. As I normally plan my day around their nap times, I had a tonne of work which I had to finish today... and it seemed to me that if the 2 bubs were going to be awake and wanted to play, there was no way I was going to have anything done.

So I came up with a brilliant idea... Play-doh!!! Homemade, of course. Too much toxic substances in the shop bought variety. It took me only 5 minutes to make it, and a WHOLE hour and a half to myself whilst the kids made a mess in the wet kitchen. Yay!!!(I couldn't have them play outside, as it was raining.) Thank god for maids! I just popped in with my laptop to supervise.

This is the recipe I used, and because my brother is a part-time baker... I had ready stuff in the house which I could grab. Phew!

Everyday Playdoh
1. Mix 1 cup of flour, 1/3 cup of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar in a bowl.(didn't have tartar, so I went without)
2. Meanwhile, bring to boil 1 cup of water, one tablespoon of cooking oil and a few drops of food coloring.
3. A little flavoring essence could be added, too.. I used vanilla.
4. Pour hot mixture into flour mixture and stir. Add more flour if necessary.
5. Store in refrigerator after use.

I had them pick the colours, since they had about 30 to choose from, there was a little bit of a turmoil there.

Very excited!... Note: The kitchen was very clean when we started.

At this point he was deciding what to do with the Play-Doh

So, he decided to share it with his sister, Genevieve...Awww, so sweet!

This is Genevieve, happily playing on her own.

Note the sticky fingers. Luckily this Play-Doh came off with a single wash, no trouble at all!

Julian trying to pat the Play-Doh down with his foot, to later cut it with heart shaped cookie cutter. Smart boy, multi-tasking!

He rolled this one on his own!

STILL trying to figure out what to do with the Play-Doh

Note the even messier fingers!

Trying to add Play-Doh buttons to the red roll.

And this is what Genevieve finally achieved. A messy self, and an even messier kitchen. Note the "I didn't do this" look.

Smiley: Julian made this, with my help, of course.

Play-Doh safely tucked into plastic bags for later use.

They were so tired after the exciting afternoon, that they had an hours nap after... good for them, and even better for me!

Colour me WILD...

I’m convinced Early Literacy (Reading and Math) is extremely important in building a child’s vocabulary, and eventually his affecting his growth and maximizing his potential. An early start gives us, as parents the opportunity to lead our little ones to love reading and not to look at it as a chore or something one is forced to do. Learning should be made to be fun and easy to do.

About 4 months ago while driving my car, Julian (then 20 months old) suddenly pointed out to a red Honda City and said, “Red car!”. I was surprised (who wouldn’t be?), so I decided the next day that maybe I could start showing him different colours to promote colour comprehension. I had a stack of  10 printed butterflies of various colours and laid it out in front of him, and as I was beginning to name the colours, he NAMED EVERY single colour (without help). I was stunned, and tried immediately thinking back of when and how he could’ve learned it. All on his own? Maybe. By observation? Could be. Then it struck me that I had actually flashcarded him colours sometime ago, not too aggressively but I did. Probably 2-3 times, maybe. What an amazing memory. I believe that young children are sponges. They soak it all in. Young kids are more able to retain information. I know that I can recall more from my early childhood than I can from high school.

This is a blurb from Babycenter  “Your child's ability to recognize different colors heats up at around 18 months, the same time he begins to notice similarities and differences in shape, size, and texture. Then it will be a while longer before he's able to name the colors — most children can name at least one color by 36 months.”

Awhile ago, someone told me that I was “pushing” my children to read and “study”- as he referred to it -  too early and that they should be having a fun-filled childhood, not bogged down with reading and difficult stuff like schoolwork . Pushing? I’m not too sure. Difficult stuff? I don’t think so. At that point, the only thing I was doing was reading to my 2 bubs roughly 2 books a day (their favourite board books, Little Puppy and Puppy Dog, don’t ask me what the fixation with puppies are, and STILL is) – which is VERY few, and doing a little flashcards for about 10 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week. Nothing much else, lots and lots of play and of course plenty of wooden puzzles, also for them to play with. Genevieve, at that point 8 months old was only putting the puzzle pieces in her mouth, and Julian at 20 months  was only interested in throwing the pieces around. I still persevered thinking that one day, they might actually take a liking to it. (STILL persevering, HAHA). In my opinion, why not teach and ingrain into them the love of reading/study/schoolwork (however one may refer to it) so when the child eventually goes to school (which in this day and age, they have to, to be socially independent) they don’t perceive it as a burden or duty.

I don’t think my son is “precocious”, no way. Mainly because, I have in fact been practicing a little reading, bits and pieces of  flashcards when I have the time and a some music (although very little), without which I don’t think he will be able to know as much as he does. One of the main approaches of the program I wanted to use with my children was that it should be a fun experience, nothing forced nor punitive. We enjoy it, our “learning time”. If it helps them in any way, then why not? Let learning be fun and casual and most importantly always improvise to make them want more!

 This is a video of Julian naming the colours

Childhood Obesity and Cheese...

After their run in the park, tortoise watching and ball catching yesterday, Julian and Genevieve were TRULY tired. Tongue wagging (literally!) Julian came up to me and announced that he wanted, "Cheeeeesssseeee!". Normally, he has a slice of Kraft Cheddar Cheese Singles in the mornings alongside his glass of milk and of late little Genevieve also follows suit, NOT an entire slice but an estimated quarter slice.

So, since I always thought Julian as slight for his height, although he weighs in at a hefty 13kg (that's due to a good bone mass) I was happy with his good choice of snack. To my horror, he ended up eating 3 slices of cheese, and not to sidetrack Genevieve, she had an entire slice on her own! Initially I was excited that they were consuming "extra calcium" and "extra Vitamin D", and tried to allay my own concerns regarding Childhood Obesity due to fat content in cheese, but Baby Daddy Maran wasn't too happy with "too much of the good thing".

Me, being the paranoid mom that I am, usually control what goes in their mouths (more so with a history of atopy in my family), but what happens when I'm NOT around is when I get worried. Like a week ago when my Dad bought Julian an ENTIRE bar of Cadbury's milk chocolate with macadamia nuts.(Sorry, Appa) Yes, it was bought out of love, but chocolate before 2? Hmmm....

Not to digress, I researched a little and saw this article on 10 Frightening Facts About Childhood Obesity, which could happen to any child looking at the nature of what we do, technology and habits. Since I started Un-schooling the children, I have noticed a trend of them wanting more and more screen time (etc the laptop) - will post on Disadvantages of Increased Screen Time soon - especially at certain times of the day. In my eyes, more screen time equals less play time equals less calory burning and eventual obesity. Drastic, I know... but that's how it is!

Image from Obesityhelp101.com

So. I have decided to start them on healthy snacking and went to the supermarket to buy fresh food items like:
1. Nestle's Low Fat Fruit Yogurt (which has probiotics- great for the gut)
2. Banana (1 a day, high in Potassium)
3. Grapes (antioxidants), Citrus fruits (Vitamin C)
4. Cherry tomatoes (easy to hold and crunchy to munch) - my Dad brought some lovely ones from   Cameron Highlands today.
5. Cucumber and Celery (which can be eaten raw, cut into sticks - lovely to hold and munch)
6. Soya bean drink  (fresh from the Chinese uncle), with no sugar - when you start them young, they know no difference!!!

What I TRY not to buy:
1. Processed foods like Bottled Baby Food (only for extreme necessities, I have stopped for the past 6 months)
2. Processed meat for the kids - sausages/ meatballs/ nuggets (who knows what goes in there?)
3. Tropical fruits (this I only get once in a while - due to the high sugar content- Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 also runs in the family)
4. Junk food (chocolate, ice cream - I make my own -, sugared biscuits, deep fried foods)
5. Fast food (might as well control it now, when I still can!)

There's much more I can add to the list, but here's the gist. I may not be the world's healthiest eater, (definitely not!) but I can start with my children. I'm also not one of those "ONLY ORGANIC FOOD FOR MY KIDS" sorta person, though I seriously "salute" those who are, mainly because as a working mom with so little time to spare, I buy easy-to-get foods, and also am a big believer in easy-to-prepare food. I thank God, my children are easy to please when it comes to food, so food prep for snacking is a breeze!!!

Articles worth a read:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/obesity_in_children/article_em.htm

http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/apjcn/Volume6/vol6.3/kasmini.htm   (Prevalence of overweight and obese school children aged between 7 to 16 years amongst the major 3 ethnic groups in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)