I am Kah Yen. It's my birthday

Kah Yen's birthday is on next Monday, it's going to be her first birthday celebration in school. And she is probably the last one to celebrate birthday in her class since she was born in November. Almost every month she brings back birthday goodie bag from school from her various friends.

I have been thinking of a grand celebration from the beginning of the year. You know - with 3-D cake that wows all the children, and goodie bag that is unique and special! But then the second baby came and he has just celebrated his full month 2 weeks back. I am exhausted from all the feeding and rocking and waking up at night (I can have another 10 posts on this but I haven't the time to write even one). Daddy is also adjusting since he has to take care of Kah Yen all by himself now. It's only a few days away from her birthday and we haven't done anything. Guilty? Absolutely.

Thankfully Daddy has come out with a simple idea with his creative genes and managed to put the pieces together by sacrificing a few nights' sleep. Here it is! We did an activity book for Kah Yen and all her friends. The book will be put in the goodie bag together with other things we have bought.

Not sure if other children will like it. But one person loves it for sure - that is Kah Yen. She started coloring and scribbling the moment we passed it to her and couldn't get enough of it. We haven't gone through the text with her so she is scribbling random things on it.

Last day of work

Today is my last day of work!

No, I have not quit my job, and I am not going to be a stay-at-home-mum forever. It is the beginning of my 5-month maternity leave.

5-month is the longest break I am going to have ever since I started work some seven years ago. Though I will be busy at home wiping backside and changing diapers, and it is probably a little messier and dirtier than my 9-6pm office job, I seriously don't mind at all.

I am going to spend a lot of time cuddling my new born baby. I finally can be there to say "Good morning" when Kah Yen wakes up in the morning. I look forward to husband and Kah Yen coming back home every evening with meals on the table. And I can't wait for our family of four spending quality time together in the evenings before I send the kids to bed one by one.

And there will surely be more me-time and couple time too comparing to when I work full time. I hope to do more reading and journalling during this period. I hope to pick up something new too, probably art & craft so that I can do more meaningful activities together with Kah Yen.

How exciting!

When mummy is not at home

My 3-year old girl is having mood swings pretty often nowadays. She can be happily playing and talking all by herself, but when she is tired, bored, or when she knows it is time to stop playing and go to bed, she will either become very quiet or start whining. I am still not sure how to handle her mood swings. Honestly sometimes I get really annoyed by it. Thanksfully it usually does not last for very long, it doesn't take much effort for us to get her back to her cheeky self again.

Daddy captured these series of photos of her when mummy was not at home one day. She is so used to me welcoming and hugging her at the doorstep every evening when she comes back with Daddy, she was clearly not very happy that day when she found the house was all empty and quiet.

Despite Daddy buying a new smurf for her and building a big castle for all her minions and smurfs, this was her expression when Daddy asked her to pose for a photo.


"OK, I will give you a victory pose. Please get it done quickly."

"I am really not in the mood for any photo. Just one more we are done."



"I said no more photos! If you want you can have my back."

"OK. Take whatever you want. I am too bored I am going to shake my backside a little."



And finally, this cheeky girl was amused by her own actions and started laughing, saving Daddy a tough evening.

The new cook in the house

Kah Yen is very much into pretend cooking these days, ever since I brought a hand-me-down kitchen set from a colleague home, making me mighty guity that I have left it in my office for nearly 2 months before finally brought it home. I thought, it is just one of those plastic toys that she will play for a while and dump in the corner of the house.

I was wrong. She liked it so much she has been cooking dinner for everybody almost every evening. Husband and I are then invited to her dinner after she finishes cooking.

I love to observe how she play. And through this cooking game I discovered a lot more about her.

(1) She is super organized

More than the husband, more than me! I was actually thinking maybe I could train her to run the whole household by the time she enters primary school. No kidding. The way she cookes her food, the way she lay her plates, fork and spoon, soup and tea. She meticulously puts everything in order before inviting us to her dinner.

(2) She is imaginative

All children are, aren't they? There aren't a lot of ingredients for her to play with, but she can come out with vegetable with egg soup, chilli soup, half-boiled egg soup... (I wonder how do they taste!)

When I take the vegetable soup, she will say "No, Mummy, you must wait, the soup is still hot." When I take the chilli soup, she will warn me "Mummy, the soup is very spicy, you must drink slowly OK?" When I eat the chicken with my fork and spoon, she will stop me "No Mummy, you must use the knife to cut, this chicken is a little bit hard." Sure, you are the chef, whatever you say.

(3) She is imitating good behaviors from us

Sometimes when she calls us for dinner, Daddy is still busy with something. I'd sit down and try to grab the food first, she'd say "No, Mummy, let's wait for Daddy to sit down, then we eat together." Good one. Then when we all sit down, she'd say "OK, everybody, let's pray first before we eat." She will go ahead to say prayer for us. When I ask for water, she replies "Mummy, you must say 'Can I have some water please?'" When I take the whole bowl of soup, she jumps in "No, Mummy, we only have one bowl of soup, you must share." Hmm... Looks like I am the one need to learn my table manners from her!

This is a snapshort of her dinner prepared for all her minions and smurfs. Impressive isn't it?

Kah Yen's turtle

I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, Kah Yen was dooddling on her sketchbook on the sofa. A few minutes later she ran to the kitchen and called me "Mummy, come and see, I draw a turtle."

I responded the way a typical parent would respond to a toddler "Oh, really? You have drawn a turtle? I can't wait to seeing it." then ran out of the kitchen with an exaggerated excitement.

Honestly, I was expecting probably an out of shape circle, with some random dots, then a few twisted lines. That's how her drawings look like most of the time. At this age she can't really draw anything recognizable yet, and I think it is perfectly normal.

I was really surprised when I see this. Though at first glance I thought this looked more like a wild pig than a turtle. But...Hey! It is at least some recognizable shapes and you can see her finger gripping and coordination is improving.




Kah Yen's drawing of a turtle

 This is the original picture she was looking at from a coloring book we bought.

The two aren't exactly the same but we are still mighty proud of her. We are not in any way trying to train her to be an artist but we certainly enjoy seeing her grow through her drawings. From dots which she called "ants" to lines which she called "rivers", to finally this turtle with mouth, eyes, patches, and legs (way too many though!), how much she has grown in the last two years!



I can't carry you anymore

So far Kah Yen has been taken my pregnancy news pretty well (or I thought so). She sees my growing belly and knows I have a baby. She pats it and say "hello" to the baby when I ask her to do so. She sings ABC song to my belly sometimes. At the end of our night prayer I lay her hand on my belly and say a quick prayer for the baby and she says "Amen" to it.

Her world has not changed much since the baby is not yet born, however, one thing that I can see has been affecting her quite a lot, is that, I can't carry her anymore.

I have always enjoyed carrying her and cuddling her, though she is old enough to walk. I continued carry her through the last four months of my pregnancy (when I am not supposed to carry anything more than 10 pounds!). Now that my belly is bigger and my back is breaking me any minute, I really can't carry her anymore.

To get her to accept this fact is not easy. As usual, I went to the internet to read what other mothers share about this. And the common advise is not to tell your toddler you can't carry him/her because you are pregnant, or you are having a baby. They may get jealous and see the baby as a rival even before the sibling is born. So I have been very careful with my words. I have been using reasons such as "You are a big girl now you should walk more." or "Mummy is very tired." or  "Mummy's back is painful." But I think along the way there must have been moments when I lost my patience and threw out words saying I am pregnant and I am having a baby!

A few nights ago, while having dinner, Kah Yen wanted to pee. I carried her down from her highchair and told her to go to the toilet herself. In the past I usually carry her all the way to the toilet, help her to pull down her pants and sit on the potty, wipe her and make sure she wash her hands, though she is already capable of doing all these all by herself. But that night, I decided to break that habit and train her to be more independent.

She said "Okay", then walked to the toilet herself. Before she went in, she stopped, looked back at me, and out of nowhere she just asked "Mummy you can't carry me anymore because you have a baby?" Then she went inside the toilet.

I was stunned. I must have said those words to her somewhere along the way. Though she is not sounding particularly sad or anything, it still breaks my heart hearing her asking such a question. I felt terribly guilty.

When she came out, I gave her a tight hug. I told her I love her and she is doing really well by going to toilet all by herself. And I told myself I will be more senstivie with my words, and I will give her the same attention and love even after the baby is born.

I can't carry you anymore, but my love for you will never change.

Let's go to school today!

Kah Yen has been dawdling in the mornings and saying things like "I don't want to go to school today". We aren't sure if there are other reasons but what I can think of is her not getting enough sleep at night. She is sleeping for 10 hours only as comparing to 11+ hours before she attends school. On top of it she's also waking up at least once for toilet trip.

To make her feel better in the morning, Daddy drew this picture for her after she went to bed last night. Hopefully she will be excited to go to school when she sees this.  I love how it goes to show that Daddy loves her very very much.

Milestone: Moving to a junior bed

Yesterday marked yet another important milestone for Kah Yen. At two and a half year old, she has transited from her baby cot to a junior bed.

The time is just right. I am 5 months pregnant now. We need the baby cot for the second baby eventually. But we can't move her just before the baby arrives, she will feel rejected or being displaced. In fact when we prepare her for the transition, we are very careful not to use the "We need the cot for your baby sibling" excuse but always say she is moving to a junior bed because she is a big girl now.

We felt she is also developmentally ready. She has always been falling asleep on her own in her baby cot. She never co-slept with us. The first one and a half year she shares a room with us but she sleeps on her own at 830pm. When we moved to our new house at the beginning of the year, she sleeps alone in her own room without a fuss. In fact she is very proud she has her own room. Just one week back we were in Bali for a whole week holiday,we stayed in a villa with two bedrooms, and she sleeps on a single bed in one of the rooms. She never got up and wandered around at night.

Another reason is always because she is starting to wake up at night to ask to go potty. We are not doing any nighttime potty training with her, she is still on diaper at night. But she seems to be able to hold her urine for hours at night and wake herself up when her bladder is full. It is becoming increasingly challenging for me at 5-month pregnant to carry her up and down the cot at night to bring her to potty. With a junior bed, we don't expect her to wake up and go to potty herself of course (when all the lights are off), but at least I don't need to carry her up and down.

So with all these in mind, we planned to purchase her junior bed last weekend. We try to make this whole transition a fanfare. Days before our shopping day, we have been telling her we are going to buy her a junior bed because she is now a big girl, and make it sound as excited as possible, and we can see her face light up. Then on the actual day, the first thing I did when I woke her in the morning is to remind her we are going IKEA today to buy her new bed. She is all like "Yeah! Let's go!".

While in IKEA, we let her try all the junior beds. Of course we have already in mind what model to buy, and we are not going to ask stupid questions like "Do you like this one or that one?" We will be the one making the final choice and purchase, we just want to get her all excited through the whole experience. At home, when Daddy is assembling her new bed, we also allow her to sit near by as a "little helper" with close supervision. She gets to pass some screws and nuts to Daddy.

When the new bed is finally ready, we make sure she is around to witness the moment of shifting the cot out and the new bed into her room. (We haven't bought the new sheet and blanket yet, otherwise we will let her help to make her new bedding too.) She is then invited to try her new bed. She happily jumped onto her new bed. We also asked her to select the soft toys she would like to sleep with her on her new bed, and she picked up them, lined them on bed and we had a "grand" photo taking ceremony.

The pictures speak more than a thousand words.

OF course we know fully well the transition is not just as simple as that. Now that she is in a bed, the new problem will be how to keep her in bed and out of trouble. Yesterday was the first night, we kept the same bedtime routine and settled her to bed. She came out once before falling asleep to go potty. After that, she was back to bed and soon asleep. She didn't wake up the whole night.

We will monitor for the next few days how it goes. If she refuses to stay in bed and starts wander around, we will have to establish some new rules with her. Though I really miss the convenience a confining baby cot brings when it comes to sleep, I look forward to going through this new phrase with her and seeing her grow to be a more independent and self-disciplined big girl.

Kah Yen Quotables

I have found talking with 2-3 year olds can be hilarious sometimes. Here are some of the things Kah Yen has said. I want to record them all down before I forget.

(1) Miss Teh Kah Yen

We are reading a book together. There is a picture of a happy little girl on the page.

Me: Look! It is a little girl. She looks so happy. How about you Kah Yen? Are you a happy girl?
KY: I am not a girl. I am Miss Teh Kah Yen.


(2) It's a sunny day

We stayed in a two-bedroom villa during our one week holiday in Bali last week. Kah Yen slept on her own on a single bed in a separate room. It is lower than a normal bed so she can get up and down easily herself. We kept both bedroom doors open so we can hear her when she woke up.

I was dreaming when I heard footsteps in our bedroom. I opened my eyes. It's Kah Yen and the clock shows 7am.

Me: Kah Yen, it's only 7am! You woke up so early?
KY: It's a sunny day.

There goes my dream of catching back my one year short of sleep during this one week holiday.


(3) Old Macdonald

Me: Kah Yen, quick! Wear your shoes, we are going to Macdonald's to eat Pancake!
KY: Old Macdonald had a farm?

Yes, and we are going to eat the chicken on his farm too. I was almost gonna say.


(4) Timothy

 Kah Yen had two best friends in school. Their names are Timothy and Isabel. So this is what happened when I was reading her the children's bible the other day.

Me: Today's bible verse is from 1 Timothy. It is a letter written to Timothy.
KY: How about Isabel?
Me: ... ...

Someone please tell me how to answer her!

Mummy is happy!

We hardly use the word "sensible" on a two-year old child. The two are just not linked. How can a two-year old in any sense be sensible when they stand and dance on high chair during meal, run around the house naked when it is bedtime, spill water onto your carpet, draw pictures on your newly painted walls, and throw into a fist when you are leaving the shopping mall without him/her taking a kiddy ride? ... Well, you know what I mean and you know the list can go longer and longer.

But, there are times when your two-year old is behaving almost like a grown-up, and it is usually right after you have lost control of yourself and let go on him/her, and it almost instantly make you feel like you are the WORST mum ever ... Well, I just had such a moment.

It was Sunday, after church and lunch, we were finally back home at 2pm. I managed to put her to bed 30 minutes later after a quick shower and a bottle. She was expected to take a nap. However, half an hour later, I peeked into her room, she was playing with her soft toys. One hour later, I peeked again and she was still playing.

This has been happening quite often during weekends. The battle to get her to nap has been both frustrating and exhausting.

Hence, when I peeked in the third time and found she was still playing, I dashed into the room. I was angry on my face and in my tone. "Kah Yen, you are supposed to sleep, not play!' I shouted. And I removed all her soft toys from her bed to the carpet. She was stunned initially, and then started to cry when she saw her soft toys been thrown onto the floor. I stared at her with a stern face for a good two minutes. I then gave her only one soft toy - her Baby Pooh, and ordered her to lie down and sleep.

Part of me wants her to sleep because I care for her, the other part of me wishes her to sleep so that I can have my peaceful afternoon, so that I can even take a nap myself. That part of me was selfish. I know.

Five minutes later, I opened her room again just to check she was alright after my outburst. I saw she was lying down quietly on her bed, her eyes are still wide open though, she didn't look lie she was sleepy at all.

She saw me in. She turned her head and said:

"No more playing with soft toys, Okay?"

"Yes, that's right, it's your nap time." My voice was much softer.

"Must lie down and sleep, Okay?" She said again.

"Yes." I stroked her hair, and smiled gently.

"Mummy is happy!" She exclaimed and smiled at me.

I wanted to say something but my throat was blocked. My 2.5-year old, after I have just yelled at her, was lying down quietly so that mummy will not be angry anymore, but be happy. That seems to concern her more than anything.

I remembered all the times when I have yelled at her and been impatient with her, I wonder how much I must have frightened her, how disturbed her little soul must be seeing her causing me to be angry. And how shamefully I am for showing her the ugly side of her mummy - when to her pure and innocent mind, the word "mummy" means "love", and nothing else.

I left the room with a mixed feeling of guilt and warmth.

I will do better next time. I know.

Playthings

What is donkey doing with the cooking set?

And who are the boy and girl live on top of tree houses?

I took these two pictures after putting Kah Yen down for her nap. Usually I make her pack up her own toys after playing, but today I didn't because I want to look at what she has been playing.

She played with her cooking set when I was in the kitchen preparing our lunch. She cooked and talked to herself, and every five minutes she would run to the kitchen door and tell me what she was cooking. I don't know how the donkey ended up there, perhaps she was cooking lunch for donkey all this while.

After lunch while I was cleaning the plates, she played LEGO with Daddy, their favorite game these days. I heard them talking "This is for me, this is for you. That's Kah Yen, this is Daddy". Now I knew they have built mini-Daddy and mini-Kah Yen and together they lived on tree houses.

I know these are just simple things but having played with her and seen her play since a baby, I am truly amazed to see how her imagination and creativity evolved as she grows. Playtime has become more interactive, more engaging and more fun-filled. We may not go to many fun places and our house is not packed with toys, but we see her enjoy simple moments and simple things, and we celebrate with her. Everyday.

A Milestone, sort of

Well it is not really a milestone on the books but it is still part of the many growth and developments of a toddler that's worth celebrating.

Kah Yen learnt to wear her own shoes - the single strap type.

Well done girl! I guess what equally worth celebrating is the spirit of learning new things and learning to do things on her own, the spirit of two-year olds.

Happy Birthday to Kah Yen!

Happy Birthday my little girl!

You have the sweetest smile I have ever seen.

The purest soul I have ever imagined.

The gentlest heart I have ever asked.


On this day,

I wish the smile on your face will never fade.

I wish the Lord will keep your soul, as pure as gold.

I wish you strong and healthy.

I wish you be a joy and a blessing.

I wish you know you are always worthy.

I wish you will never lose your way.

I wish you full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

For these are the best things you can ever have.

These are the prayers I have for you.

Kah Yen is two

I have been procrastinating this post. She turned two last week. We bought the cake, lighted up the candles, opened the presents and sang the birthday song, Kah Yen was very excited by all the attention she was getting. I doubt she fully understands the meaning of "birthday" but she surely knows it is something good because everybody was treating her like a queen.

I am very happy but deep down in my heart, part of me also wants to tone down all the celebrations, that part of me wishes she stops growing up too fast. Turning two means she is saying byebye to the toddlerhood phase pretty soon - a phase of discovery, of learning, of fun and of pure joy, a phase I have enjoyed so much.

She is curious, she is playful, she is full of energy. She does things typical two-year-olds do. She sees a puddle, she jumps into it; She dashes across field to chase after birds and wonders why they always run away from her; She says "Hi" and "Hello" to the cats and dogs on the streets and if I don't stop her, she will give them a kiss on their furry cheeks too; She points and talks non-stop in taxis and on buses; She wiggles her body to the tune of the music; She jumps and rolls on our bed naked after shower; She plays with her toys full of imagination on some days while on others she throw them all over the floor; She likes to be read to and pretends she can read; She opens the bottles, she opens the drawers, she opens everything that is openable; She giggles non-stop at the silliest of actions such as a tickle, a wink on one eye or a sticking-out tougue.

She is also learning to be independent, a "symptom" of two-year-olds I have been warned. She brushes her own teeth (sort of); She turns on and off the water tap on her own when washing hands; She wants to be the one to open the door when going out, and switching on the lights when coming back; She will be the first one to push the lift buttons, which sometimes leads us to the wrong floor; She applies her own baby bath and rubs her own tummy; She wants to take off her own pants and her own diaper. Sometimes it annoys me when I am rushing and she is trying to be "helpful", but most days I give in a little to let her feel "Mighty Big".

I have never dreamt of having a girl so sweet, so gentle and so affectionate. When I leave for work early in the morning, she hurries to the door to give me a "hi-five", a hug and a kiss. When I pick her up from nanny in the evening, she won't leave without saying "Byebye" to everyone in the house, including running to the kitchen just to say "Bye" to the maid. She remembers all of them in her night prayers, when I say "God bless Kah Yen", she follows "Bless Popo, bless Korkor, bless Jiejie, bless aunty", aunty is the maid. She gives the biggest hugs and the biggest smile. She brings her Baby Pooh with her everywhere she goes. She helps us take our shoes off the shoe rack whenever we are going out.

She hasn't learnt her ABCs, she still doesn't count in sequence, she is not very interested in her colors, she can't hold her spoon very well, and she is still in her diapers, but all of these do not change the slightest how I love her just the way she is.

Happy birthday, my little girl.

It takes only three to make a party

It is Kah Yen's 2nd birthday this weekend. We did not plan a big party. It is going to be just Daddy, Mummy and Kah Yen. But on Friday Daddy had the idea of having a mini celebration at our Nanny's place before we pick her back, since her family had managed to find out about her birthday and have already bought her various birthday gifts one week ago.

Our nanny's children are married and live on their own, only two grandsons and one granddaughter come to the house every afternoon after school. They are the Korkor and Jiejie who play with Kah Yen everyday.

We bought a mini cake, a slice of cake to be exact, since it is dinner time for the children.

Jiejie had after-school activity so only the two boys were at home with Kah Yen. When we reached, we saw the two boys sitting at the bench chair drawing on a piece of paper each, Kah Yen was also doodling beside them. My nanny had told them to make birthday cards for Kah Yen and that's what they were doing. How sweet!

When I opened the cake box, the boys shouted "Wow, so small!" Kids being kids, they say what they see, even if that embarrasses you. The size of the cake did nothing to change their party mood though, when the candle was lighted, they clapped and sang "Happy Birthday" song the loudest.
They didn't just sing, they screamed their lungs out.

They cut the cake into all sorts of shapes and laughed at their own creation.
They gave you their biggest smile in front of the camera.

They hugged and kissed Meimei like there is no tomorrow one minute, the next they ran right into her as if she is invisible.

They presented their birthday cards right onto your face.

They did an impromptu "Gangnam Style" dance and was toally pissed when I don't know what is 'Gangnam Style".

They forgot it is not their own birthday.

Before we reached husband told me to use my high pitch voice to create the party atmosphere, the minute we stepped in the house, we found I was totally redundant.

It takes only three children to make a party.

Sleep mummy sleep

I was in deep sleep when I heard Kah Yen crying suddenly from her baby cot, in the middle of the night. It must be a nightmare again. I quickly got up and walked to her. I hugged her and gave her some water to sooth her down then put her down to bed again.

I thought I could get back to my bed like usual days when she wakes up for water and goes back to sleep on her own. But today no, she cried at my first attempt to leave her. The nightmare must have scared her. Sigh... Looks like I had no choice but to pat her to sleep.

I stood by her cot, patted her back while singing softly a lullaby. It must be 2 or 3am. I was extremly sleepy myself and could hardly keep my eyes open. The singing soon became humming and it slowly faded. The room was both dark and quiet. I continued to pat her while testing if she had fallen asleep. You know the test every mother knows how to do? You pat and then stroke and then lighter and slower and then you try to leave your hand up in the air, and you start counting 123. When you count to 10 there is still no movement from the baby, she is aleep. If the moment your hand stops in middle air she tosses, you need to pat a few minutes longer to test again. The worst is when your hand stops she turns to your direction and opens her eyes to look at you, she is not even near to falling asleep yet, you can forget about going back to sleep in the next half an hour. In fact if there a coffee machine nearby you might as well get a cup to stand by. I tried a few times and everytime she moved when I stopped, so I continue patting.

About 20 minutes later she finally went back to sleep. I counted from 1 to 10 and back to 1 again and there was not a single sound from her. Relived, I climbed back to my own bed and snuggled under my warm blanket. I didn't want to check what was the time. You sleep a whole lot better when you pretend you still have a long night before you.

However, I barely lay down for more than a minute when I heard some movement and murmur from her bed again. And her voice soon travelled to my ear, "drink water, mummy, drink water". Sigh...Didn't I get give her water when I put her down? Why didn't she drink a bit more? I thought she had already fallen asleep? When I think of having to pat her for another half an hour again, I was very reluctant to get up. And I thought of the alarm clock silently waiting to greet me good morning at 630am. I was almost sure I won't be able to get up on time and I will be late for work again....With such a heavy heart I dragged my body off my bed and went to pass her the water bottle.

What happened next was totally surprising, but it was surely sweet. And it is the reason why I take such length to write this article. My 22-month-old girl, after drinking her water and passing back to me the bottle, pointed at my bed and said "Mummy sleep". With that, she lied down on her bed and turned her back towards me, comfortably and contentedly.

Ah this little girl, she surely knows how to warm my heart. How she learnt to be so sensible? I certainly have not taught her to be so. Maybe it is just a once-off thing, but at that moment, I felt such a privilege and honor to be a mum.

Chasing birds and laughters

I don't know exactly what to write, I just got the pictures. Look how happy Kah Yen and Daddy are just by, doing nothing but chasing after the birds. We were on our way to the market on a Saturday morning, passing by this field with a lot of birds. Kah Yen was excited as usual and wouldn't go away. Daddy decided to have some fun with Kah Yen by chasing after the birds together.

What a big smile there is on her face! If you are there, you won't miss her laughter too. It is no wonder Daddy said Kah Yen's laughter is the sweetest voice he has ever heard.

And Kah Yen is always very generous sharing with Daddy her smile and laughter. For with Daddy, there are more spontaneity, more running-around and more playful moments.

Kah Yen's first children's day celebration

Yesterday Kah Yen celebrated Children's day for the first time at sunday school. It was exciting and fun but overwhelming as well due to the big crowd, I am proud that Kah Yen did very well through the entire two hours of celebration.

Firstly all the children were invited to join the adults for worship. I so wanted Kah Yen to participate in the worship I brought her all the way to the front row so that we can jump and dance around freely. (Yeah I sometimes do that, guess it says I am still young at heart) We both had a great time singing and dancing together with other children. 

After the worship all the 2-4 years old were led to a different room for children's day program. Usually Kah Yen's class consists of only 10-15 children between 18 months to 2-year old. Today with the addition of 3-4 years old, the total class size was more than 50. It was a massive crowd. Kah Yen was a little overwhelmed initially but she stayed on and behaved well.

Here is all the 2-year old at their first station game - kids bowling. How cute to see they all sitting properly waiting for their turn to throw the ball. And you can see all the parents, teachers and maids cheering behind them, probably even more anxious than the children. LOL. I couldn't squeeze in so I decided to stand aside to take some photos instead.

This is Kah Yen waiting for her turn. You can see the bigger kids were more "aggressive", while Kah Yen and the other girl were at loss what to do. They eventually threw the ball when the teacher guided them to.



After the bowling, they went to the next station - sandbag transportation. This is Kah Yen waiting in the line. I love how she followed instruction to stand in the queue and put her hand on the kid in front till her turn came.

At this station the children were told to carry the sandbag on their heads and walk to the line in front and back. I thought they are too young to play this game, but I was wrong. All the 2-year old were able to follow the instruction and transport the sandbags. Of course being 2-year old they were allowed to "cheat" by using their hands to support the sandbag to prevent it from falling. Kah Yen held the sandbag firmly on her head with both hands and finished the walk. I love how serious she looked, too bad I didn't get a photo.

After all the games Kah Yen received two goodie bags of candies and also a coupon for candy floss, she is too young to eat candy floss so Daddy and Mommy finished it on her behalf.

I can't help thinking how fast she has grown. She was still a tiny baby last year now she is celebrating children's day. I am proud of her for being such a well-behaved big girl. There will be many more children's day celebrations to come in the years ahead and I look forward to each and every one of them.

Sweet Kah Yen

I love taking afternoon naps with Kah Yen on Sundays. It is a treat for both of us, for she gets to sleep on Mummy's bed, and I get to take my only afternoon nap of the week, which is a rare commodity, with her so close to me. We are not cuddling each other in our sleep though, if you imagine it it's very nice but in reality it's quite the opposite, you know how babies roll and kick when they sleep. So the truth is I always sleep at the outer edge of the bed and leave the rest two-thirds of the space to her, though my size should be more than three times hers.

We don't lie down and fall asleep together. If we do that she will be over excited and turn the naptime into playtime instead. Usually I will sneak in and lie beside her only after she is fast asleep. We could sleep for almost two to three hours together on average.

Last Sunday Daddy joined us too because he rushed some freelance work till late the previous night. There is no way our bed can fit all three of us comfortably. So Daddy pulled out a mattress and slept on the floor in the same room.

I was sleeping soundly when I felt some movement beside me. Kah Yen must have woken up. Judging from my still so sleepy and drowsy state I reckon I have only fallen asleep for about one hour, which says Kah Yen woke up earlier than usual. "Never mind, let her lie down and play while I sleep for another half an hour more", I thougt so and I did not open my eyes. Oh I forgot to mention that when I came in to lie down, I must have taken her Piglet and wrapped my arm around it to fall asleep. 

So as I was drifting back to sleep again, I felt her move towards me and pull her Piglet out from under my arm. I opened my eyes and yes it was her. And guess what she did? When she saw me opening my eyes, she quickly put her right pointing finger on her lips and uttered "Shh..", How cute and sweet the way she did it. And she did not make another sound afterwards. Though she did not say anything but I could imagine what was in her mind: "Shh...Sorry Mummy I woke you up. You can go back to sleep, and Daddy was still sleeping too. So let's not make any sound."

I smiled at her and blinked my eyes. She smiled and blinked back. Our usual silent tricks. I was quite awake by now. I thought of teasing her a bit, so I took Piglet and put on my arm again. And as I expected, she took it back immediately. Her soft toys are all very dear to her and she always make sure everyone of them is with her when she sleeps. She won't allow anyone to take them away.

After taking back her Piglet, she went on to play with other things on the bed quietly, while I closed my eyes again. Ah I really needed to nap another half an hour or 15 minutes more, for I still felt very tired.

I dozed off again. A few minutes must have passed when I felt something soft and fluffy touching my arm. I opened my eyes and saw Kah Yen putting her little bear on my arm. This little bear is a new addition to her soft toys, given by our Nanny just two days ago. She put it there for a while - maybe two minutes or so - then she took it back.

I can imagine if she can express, she would say "Mummy, I can't give you my Piglet, but you can have this bear for two minutes, all right?"

What a sweet girl! My heart suddenly felt so warm and happy. Yes two minutes is enough, for me to cuddle the bear for a while, to lie down beside her a little longer, to linger in the sweetness of the air till a broad smile emerges on my face, and most importantly, to thank God for such a beautiful child He has given to me.

The most embarrasing library trip ever

Last Sunday afternoon we went to the library again, as part of our fortnightly library trips. Kah Yen loves to go to the library. The moment we reached the front porch, she would let go of my hand and dash into the glass door. Once inside, we can leave her to her own devices in the kids section, while I browse for children's books and husband stays at the magazine and video corner.

Things went on well as usual. Till a moment when I felt extremely quiet around me. I turned around and Kah Yen was not in sight. I left the aisle and went to search for her.

There at the open area with small round reading tables and chairs, I found Kah Yen, a boy and a female library officer stood facing each other and engaged in a conversation, mainly with the officer looking down at Kah Yen and saying something. Interesting, thought I. Did Kah Yen just acquaint herself with some bigger friends? I don't know she has such excellent social skills. Both surprised and delighted, I walked towards them. Half way, I heard the conversation. The officer was asking Kah Yen "Where is your mommy? Why are you pulling books off the shelves?" I halted immediately upon hearing where is your mommy. I saw Kah Yen looking up to her, innocent and stunned. I doubt she understood half of what the officer was saying. Then all of them saw me coming. The officer told me to watch her after confirming I am the mother because she was pulling books randomly off the shelves onto the floor. I quickly made my apology on behalf of Kah Yen and on behalf of myself, and brought her away. Apparently the boy found Kah Yen pulling books onto the floor so he brought her to the library officer and she was interrogating her! 

So my 22-month old just got interrogated by a library officer! I am almost sure when the officer saw me, her eyes read "So this is the irresponsible, over-protective, and spoiling-the-kid-for-nothing-good young mother!" and it made me feel so little. So for our next half an hour in the library I am sure I was more scared of seeing her again than Kah Yen, for she continued to pull the books while I turned my eyes left and right and left again all the time.

If that's all what happened during our trip, it wouldn't be so bad. However, the most embarrasing moment had yet to come.

I was still browsing through more picture books, while Kah Yen continued touching and pulling books at a shelf across mine, and at the end of the aisle sat a boy and a girl between 6-7 years old reading. Out of a sudden I heard an unusual sound, something you don't normally hear in public places. And clearly it was from Kah Yen. I turned around and I saw her, standing still and her body stiff as rock, her hands clinching to the edge of the bookshelf, her face blushing and perspiring at the same time, and she went "Mmm! ...... Mmmmm! ...... Mmmmmmmm!" Yes she was...... poo-ing! Right in front of the two kids! She wasn't potty trained yet but sometimes when we happen to catch her "getting into the business" at home, we will seat her at the potty and teach her to push by making the sound "Mmm!..Mmmm!" She clearly got the wrong message that the louder her sound is, the stronger is her push and the sooner the poo will come out! The girl who was reading looked up from her book at Kah Yen, then at me, and back and forth, clearly disturbed by the sound Kah Yen made and was anxious at what was going to come out soon. I could almost see her hand was going to cover her nose but she resisted doing so. Such a well-mannered girl! I don't have many options. I couldn't bring her to the toilet 'coz she was not trained yet, I couldn't ask her to go to a more private corner while she was in the middle of it. So I shouted coolly across the aisle "Kah Yen, when you are done, let mommy know I will come and change you." Then I pretended to get really busy looking at my book again, not daring to meet the eyes of the little girl anymore. What an embarrasing moment. And the smell that followed minutes after only made it worse, by ten times at least.

There ended our library trip. Till date I am still contemplating whether Kah Yen can understand if I tell her that next time she should not do her business right in front of other people. And if it's really an emergency then she should do it quietly and dicreetly, and act as if nothing is happening. I guess she won't. So for the next library trip, I am going to keep her in a more secluded corner, you know, just in case she has another unscheduled private agenda.