Changes in a week!

I was just away for a week, and already there is so much changes in Bryan

*He’s very good at saying “Ai” (yes) and “Mai” (Hokkien – no) when we ask him a question

*He has another usage for the word “Mai” (Mandarin, slightly different intonation) – BUY
He’ll flip through the magazines and books and point to the things he like and say, “Mai”

*He calls me Mah Mee more regularly instead of Mama

*He sometimes will answer “hah” when we call his name

*He learned the magic of the word “Please”. If he wants something, and we don’t give it to them, he’ll go -”Pis,pis,pis….” in a very “teh” manner. Very hard to say NO to him when he does that.

*He can say the following when I point to his animal book
– Owl
– Goat
– Bee
– Pan Ma (mandarin) / zebla (zebra)
(I diden even let him take his book to my mother’s place, so i was fairly surprised that he remember the names i told him the week before)

*He is no longer breastfed.

Yes. I have not bf him since I got back last Sunday. He did cry for a while before he goes to bed on Sun and Mon night.

But yesterday night, he did not cry at all. After I gave him his bath and dressed him, he asked for nen-nen. But i distracted him by taking him out to the living room to watch TV, and then fed him formula.

After his fm feeding, he played with his Cookie Monster toy. When i asked him to go to bed, he took the Cookie Monster toy with him.

His toy will glow and “talk” when he pushes the CM into the Cookie Jar. So he continued to play with his toy even after I switched off the lights.

I just let him play while i sing him his favorite songs. Then he got tired, I put his toy away, and continue humming to him. Soon he was in dreamland.

Let’s hope tonight will be equally as good and I will be on my way to successful weaning!

Mommy’s home!

Mommy & daddy is finally home after a week long holiday in Vietnam. We both missed Bryan terribly during the trip and were very glad to see the end of the holiday as we can now come home to see him.

There were no regrets for not taking Bryan along. Bryan would not have enjoyed it. It was terribly hot and extremely humid in Vietnam. Furthermore, it was a trip with tight schedules plus lots of physical activity (hiking, trekking, paddling or chasing after the train!) that were not suitable for children.

We came home on Sunday and I took an extra day off on Monday to accompany Bryan, to make up for the MIA time. I’m glad I did that as Bryan definitely missed us very much. He would cry almost whenever I leave his sight, and calls me “Mah Mee…” again and again throughout the day.

We took him shopping and dining at Queensbay mall last night, and this morning, after I sent hubb to work, I took him shopping at Tesco Extra. And he had a Portugese egg tart by himself!

Mommy & daddy missed you Bryan, and we loved you very very much!

Beginning of the terrible twos?

Bryan had been quite a handful to care the last few days, especially when either hubb or I is alone with him.

Hubb’s experience
The last few days, i have been leaving the house for office at around 630-700am for early teleconference calls. So hubb had to care of Bryan after I left and to send Bryan to my mother’s house. What happen?

#1: Bryan insisted on stirring and messing up hubb’s oatmeal. When hubb refused, Bryan threw tantrum and cried (really cried) loudly.

#2: Insisted that hubb open the fridge for him to play. When hubb ignored him, Bryan threw a fit.

#3: Wanted to play with a CD inside the cabinet. Hubb ignored him at first, then Bryan cried loudly. So hubb took out the CD for him to play. The CD is contained in a paper envelope. When Bryan had his hands on it, he tore the paper envelope in anger.

My experience
Hubb had dinner with his colleagues on Wed night, and I took care of Bryan alone. I showered at my mom’s place before i got home.

Before I tuck Bryan to bed, i wanted to wash my face and I let Bryan into the bathroom with me so that I can keep an eye on him.

Bryan started to play with the toilet seat cover…lift and then slammed it shut, repeat and repeat again. Then he discovered the flush handle and started flushing the toilet.

After I am done washing the face, I practically had to drag him out of the bathroom. Close the bathroom door and switch off the lights. No prize for guessing what is Bryan’s reaction when I did that. *roll eyes*

In addition, it was really hard to get him to bed the last few days. Usually, he will fall asleep by 10pm or so. But it was taking up to 11 or 1130pm the last few nights.

Some of my moomie friends say that this is the beginning of the terrible twos? So soon….?

Weaning? Wish mommy luck?

Since I am going away on a holiday with hubb for a week, many of my friends asked me to take this opportunity to wean Bryan off direct bf. And I do really want to wean Bryan off the br*ast, as I am finding it troublesome to pump for him when i am away. Furthermore, I have 2 business trips coming up soon and I have no intention to pump during the trips.

Afterall, he is already 19 months old and it is already way past my initial target of 6 months bfg.

Tonight, we packed our luggage first before picking Bryan up. So we picked Bryan up late from my mother’s place. We arrived close to 10pm and my mom was just finishing feeding Bryan 6 Oz of fm. Mom told me that Bryan asked for milk and he was fed 5Oz at about 8pm also. So mom, told me not to bf Bryan anymore, as he should be full already.

We tucked Bryan to bed as soon as we got home. As usual Bryan asked for nen-nen, but hubb and I manage to distract him and calm him to sleep without any bfg. So I must say that this is the first time that I have managed to tuck Bryan to sleep without bfg.

Looks like this is a good sign that I just might be able to successfully to wean him off when i return from my holiday.

Wish me luck!

Daddy: Bryan certified!

I had a teleconference meeting last night at 10pm, and we got home after dinner at about 830pm. So hubb helped to bath Bryan while I took mine and I was ready to tuck Bryan to bed by about 9pm. We were hoping that Bryan would asleep by 945pm, so that I can get ready for my teleconference meeting.

Unfortunately, Bryan was very playful last night. After I bf him, he continued to play, toss and turn around in his bed. In fact, I had dozed off before he did and I did not even hear hubb coming into the room (quietly). I woked up when I hear,

Bryan: *sitting up excited* Deh Deeeee! *looking at the door*
Me: Huh?? *look at the door*

The door was open ajar but no hubb there. Then I noticed hubb lying on the floor next to the bed. Hahaha..he was trying to come into the room unnoticed by Bryan. But Bryan did all right, and in fact was very happy to see hubb.

Since it was getting close to 10pm, I just leave the room straightaway and let hubb take over; expecting to hear screams of protest as I leave…but luckily I did not hear anything.

Anyway, after my meeting, I learnt that after I left, Bryan continued to play by himself , chatting excitedly, sit up, lie down before he got tired and fell asleep…without any fuss.

Then later during the night, he woke up again. Hubb went to his room to check on him.

Bryan: Mama, mama,….kia kia…*pull on hubb’s hand towards the door*

So hubb took him to the kitchen, gave him some water and then tuck him back to bed. I did not even leave my room to check on him. The agreement I had with hubb is he will call me if he need any assistance. Otherwise, I need not go out.

Bravo hubby…you are now officially BRYAN CERTIFIED!!! I’m so proud of both you and Bryan.

I can tell the stars

Bryan loves looking at the stars and the moon. One of the reasons he looked forward to coming home with us is that he gets the chance to gaze at the stars and the moon as we walked to the car from my mother’s place and from our car to the apartment. He also has plenty of stars and moons in his room.

Tonight, as usual, as soon as he alight from the car, he started to look for the stars. Then he said, “Huey Chi” (mandarin, Fei Chi for aeroplane). I looked up and could see the distant blinking lights of an aeroplane flying by.

I was so surprised because he could tell that it is an aeroplane and not stars. Previously, he will just point to the blinking lights and say, “stars” and I never bother to correct him. I didn’t know that he will be able to tell the difference.

But he did, and i wonder how? Kids, they never fail to amaze us!

Weekend Shopping

My colleague asked me last Friday,

Colik: What do you do with your kid during the weekends?
Me: Well, my son can recognize the logos of Tesco, Giant and he can demand me to take him to these places + Queensbay Mall. In fact, he can recognize a shopping mall, when we pass by one. So where do you think I take him?

Yeah, going to the mall is almost a must-do activity during the weekend. Bryan will demand for us to take him at least to Tesco. If we don’t, he’ll stand at the balcony door (he’s not allowed to go to the balcony) and he’ll point to Tesco, and say. “Adjo, kia kia.”

This morning, I asked him, “So you want to go Tesco or Queensbay mall?” He immediately replied, “Ah mo mol…kia kia.” So even if we have nothing to buy, we’ll still go to the shopping mall or the hypermarket.

p/s: Ah mo mol = Queensbay Mall

Tea for me

2 days ago, I went to Penang Road to pick up my new spectacles with Bryan. Then we walked down Campbell Steet night market and headed towards Tai Tong Dim Sum Restaurant for our dinner. We ordered Hoong Thong mee (noodles in thick gravy served with vinegar) and some fried raddish cake. As usual, Bryan gets to share our food, eventhough he had his dinner already at my mom’s house.

Then he noticed our pot of tea and the little tea cups, and he want to try that as well.

As it is just chrysanthemum tea, I decided to let him have some, after adding some cool water to his tea.


Now, you can really yum-cha when you go tim-sum with us.