There it is…red spots and and some tiny blisters on his palms and feet. I can’t see clearly if there are any in his mouth but none on his lips. Immediately we bring him to see the pediatrician. She examined him and confirmed that it’s HFM disease. She gave us the medicine for his mouth and calamine lotion.

Jonathan looks alright so far. He is still moving around but a bit restless. He is not bothered by the blisters in his mouth, palms and feet. We went for dinner after that and he can still finished his rice with bak kut teh soup. I had to lie to him that if he is not eating, we have to spray the medicine in his mouth.

Praying hard that his condition won’t get worst the next day. Praise the Lord, he wakes up this morning greeting me good morning. Gonna feed him some cooling stuff to clear the heatiness.

So there goes our long weekend…at home. Hopefully he recovers fast because we are flying off to paradise the week after next.

Up to you lar…

Few times I posted a question to him and his reply to me was… up to you lar…

Me: Jonathan, do you want to drink chocolate milk or strawberry milk?
Jon: Up to you lar…

Me: Jonathan, when you grow up, you want to be a doctor or a teacher?
Jon: Up to you lar…

Oh, my…where this little boy learn this from?

Oh, no…from me! Quite often “up to you” is my reply to Darling whenever he asked me to make a decision, like where to eat, what to eat, can buy this or not, etc.

I then asked Jonathan…

Me: Jonathan boy, do you know what it means when you say “up to you“?
Jon: It means…”I don’t want“.

Hah! So my son thinks that whenever Mommy answers Daddy with “up to you” means Mommy is angry or disagreeing with Daddy. Clever boy. It is kind of true but not always true because sometimes I am undecisive and it’s so much easier to push the burden of thinking to another person.

Whenever there is a birthday party in school, he will show me the party pack he got and tell me what kind of cake his friends were having.   At this age, he knows how to ask for things.  He told me he wanted a football cake and party pack for his friends. He even tell me what he wants in his party pack.

So I got Jerrica to make a football cake for him. Why football?  I really have not idea. He saw this football cake in Secret Recipe.  That was where is said he wants a football cake ONLY football.  The one in Secret Recipe had a scarf wrapped around the football. So he will always remind me that he wants the football ONLY.

Here are Jonathan’s friend in school.  They sang birthday song to him in 3 languages… English, Mandarin and BM.  Cute fellas. One of the children asked me if I am Jonathan’s sister or mommy. So funny…

Lucky boy is he. Loved by people around him. His cuteness overshadowed his mischievousness.  Never had I in my childhood received so many presents.

Jonathan boy, no matter how mischievous you are, you are always our little boy…our greatest pride and joy. Daddy and Mommy pray that you will grow up to be a God fearing child. We pray that you continue to stay healthy and safe.

And this is how he wants to eat his mooncake.

He finished up the whole mooncake?

Nah…he didn’t.

There was once he got angry when I sliced the mooncake into pieces. Unlike Daddy and Mommy, he dislike the egg yolk. Good…less one person fighting for the egg yolk.

So here wishing everyone, a Happy and Joyous Mid-Autumn. Enjoy yourself with your love ones.

One of this kind of truck stoped beside us at the traffic light while sending Jonathan to school one of the mornings.

And you know what he told me…”Mommy, see the truck got BLANKET.”

Infact, he is nothing different than most newbies. In the first week of school, he asked me to go to school with him, refused to enter his classroom, wanted me to stay with him, held my hand so tightly, sticked to me and cried when I left him there. But he was alright after some pampering from the teacher and principal. Despite that, he still love to go to school. He would come and tell me, “Mommy, I got school today”.

Second week was a total change of him. He put on his uniform all by himself.  I let him take his own sweet time in buttoning his shirt,  while I make up and dress up for work. He went down from the car willingly and held the teacher’s hand, said good morning to teacher and then waived goodbye to me.

He is into the 3rd month of schooling. This boy of mine is still excited about school and I pray that he will always be. But Mommy and Daddy is so stressed out every morning having to wake up a sleepy head.  I try my best not to make him grumpy else I’ll be late to work for entertaining a grumpy kid. When he got up from the wrong side of the bed, he refuse to bath, laze on the bed/couch, refuse to drink his milk, walk like a old man. When cupid strikes him, he talks, wear uniform on his own, take breakfast, carry his own school bag, wear his own shoe.

Funny things or angry moments happen every morning.  Overall, I am thankful and glad. My boy had stepped in to another phase of childhood.

So not used to not having her around. She used to keep me busy – making her milk, sterilizing her bottles, keep watch of her feeding time, administering her medication, bathing her, nappy changing, washing, drying and folding her tiny clothes and organizing her closet.

Missed kissing her, stroking her head admiring her short fine hair, breastfeeding time, massage time, having her chubby cheek resting on my shoulder, watching her sleeping peacefully, cradling her in my arm and singing to her.

Readjusting my life, living without her and to never let the memories of Samantha fade.

In times like this, God’s incredible grace is there to pick us up, to revive lost hope, to heal broken hearts, and to strengthen us.  God has given to me two wonderful man before He gave me Samantha, for a purpose. That is to keep me going and never let me fall today.

I, take u, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse………to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

When the doc told us that Samantha is very ill, Darling and I hold on to each other and said, “Let’s go through this together.” Darling had been very supportive throughout this period of uncertainty and pain. He understands my heart and my need. And now, we have each other to share the emptiness and grieve for our loss.

Samantha @ 2 months

God blessed us with Jonathan to keep us busy. He puts joy and laughter in our heart.  There was no chance for us to drop our tears in front of him.  He now knows that her little sister Samantha is with Jesus.  When asked, he will say, “Samantha is sick and die already. Samantha is in heaven now.” We still talk to him about her little sister Samantha hoping that she will always be in his mind.

Jonathan @ 31 months; Samantha @ 2 months (before her condition started to deteriorate)

Here, we would like to say thank you to all of you for your prayers and concern for our family. I felt so touched by all of your love for Samantha. May God bless you.

We had a party for Jonathan 3 year old birthday on 10.10.2010.  A belated celebration as his actual birthday falls on a Friday. Some snapshots from the party. More in Facebook.

Engaged a face painter. At least got the kids and adults occupied with something. Check her out here.

Took this chance to meet up with some mommy bloggers…Chanel, MC, Yugene, Merryn , Joanne and Rachel.  Thanks guys for coming and the gift for Jonathan and Samantha.  And it was my first time meeting Chanel and Mchyl. Was so happy when they accepted my invitation.

So what is the takeaway from the birthday party?

No more birthday party for you, boy. I hope…

Our very first party was on his fullmoon. We had a food caterer for both events and the no. of guests was more of less the same. But we were not feeling as hectic as this time.  Kimmy and I were going around entertaining the guests. And you may or may not know that I am not a sociable person and will try to avoid it if I can. So that Sunday was like forcing myself to greet and talk to people I know and worst, people I’m meeting for the very first time. Just doesn’t know what to say and how to make them feel not lonely.  Sorry guys, for being a bad host.

We are planning to send Jonathan to school next year. Not that I think he is ready but I think he needs to learn to be more sociable. I would expect some crying sessions and refusal in the beginning, knowing him, my son! It’s happening in Sunday School.

Another reason (more of an excuse you’d say), I am unable to spend fun-time with him at this moment. My mind have many activities that I would like to do with him but regretfully can’t (if you understand the situation I’m in now). Not wanting him to miss out all these, and so I think sending him to school is another way for him to learn, pick up more things and most importantly, have fun.

And so, a bit late, we are scouting for a school for him. Few aspects that we are taking into consideration when looking for a school for him.

Location
Either close to our house or along our way to work so that either Darling or myself can drop him off school. May be a bad idea because there will be tendency that he refuse to get down from the car.

Time
School must open its door by 7.45am, else we will be late to work. If this is impossible, we have to find a transporter. May be a good idea so that we don’t have to wake the sleepy head up early in the morning.

Fees
School fees can be rather expensive nowadays compared to many years back. We don’t mind paying a little more but must be reasonable. But how much is consider reasonable?

What are other aspects that you think I need to take into consideration?

What are the things that I need to observe or ask during my visit to the school?

His favourite website now is the Disney Family Games. I personally find that this website provides many good activities for toddlers to learn words and songs.

Here’s a video of him playing one of the number matching game.

Jonathan @ 3 Years Old

From my Mommy & Daddy:

Jonathan boy, you are our gift from God and we love you so much.
You are a smart and obedient boy,
you amaze us every day and bring joy into our lives.
May you always know that God loves you,
and that you are chosen to do good and wonderful things in your life.
And may the angels guide you, protect you all the days of your life.

Two months back when I asked him his age, he was still saying, “I am 2 years old.”
After some brainwashing from me, he will now say, “I am going to be 3 years old.”
I’m starting another brainwashing session for him to say, “I am 3 years old.”

When I asked him, when is his birthday.  He answered, “In the room.”  Because we got his 2nd birthday pic hanging on the wall of our bedroom.  I guess he is confused with “when” and “where”.  He answered it right occasionally…”October 8.”

We are planning to throw him a birthday party this year since he now know how to have fun. I showed him many designs of cake. Asked him to choose which one is his favourite.  He will go like, “Ermmm…I want Thomas Train.  Ermmm…I want Mickey Mouse.  Ermmm…I want action hero.” The next time you ask him again, his like changes.   He is so undecisive…like me!

A very impatient boy. Temporamental at time. When he couldn’t get something done, he gets agitated easily. I calmed and talked to him many times on this but still couldn’t “fix” this personality of his.

Still a shy boy. He needs warming up. Brought him for a Muzikgarten trial class and he refused to enter the room. Was clinging to me the whole session and refused to participate. He opened his mouth only towards the end of the class and gave the teacher a goodbye hug.

Timid. Fear of fire crackers and loud noises. When he sees Tinker Bell hiding underneath the flower petals or the big cat coming, he hid himself under the blanket too.

Despite all his mischievous act and temper, he is still an obedient boy and a great helper.  Of course he needed some pushing and encouragement sometimes.

Now that he is more vocal, I love to ask him questions to simulate his thinking. Sometimes he gave silly answers. Well, kid’s imagination.

These are some of the things about my boy…Mommy’s boy but spoiled by Daddy.

…Vita-juice!

Mommy can’t figure out how I got this word from. She never introduces Vitagen to me before except for Yakult, Solivite and Nutrigen.

…Lift-Fork!

My Daddy got me this forklift. The fork can move up and down. Isn’t this cool?

]]> http://www.bondedtogether.net/journal/2010/09/09/this-is-what-i-call/feed/ 6 http://www.bondedtogether.net/journal/2010/05/24/something-o-jonathan/ http://www.bondedtogether.net/journal/2010/05/24/something-o-jonathan/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 06:24:09 +0000 Julie http://www.bondedtogether.net/journal/?p=1262 My 2.5 years old boy is growing up! I am unable to catch up. Do you know what I mean?

He begged me to carry him in the shopping mall yesterday.  Oh dear, he is so much heavier than he was the last time I carried him 9 months ago. He is now 15kg.

His vocab has improved a lot. That makes our conversation more understandable and enjoyable. Now, he is able more willing to follow you read or sing. He can answer your questions and tell you stories from pictures or retell the tv shows he had watched. His favourite tv show is Special Agent OSO.

Since the arrival of Samantha and with her condition that requires more care and attention, I spent less time with Jonathan now. I could only watch him play on his own. Missed putting him to sleep and snuggling beside him. Missed our bathroom fun time. I missed our bonding time so much!

With a new baby in the family, he is learning to behave like a brother.  He is a great lil’ helper and “runner”. He has the brotherly instinct in him naturally. Whenever Samantha cries, he will put aside whatever he is doing and be the first running to her little sister, comforting her. He watched how I take care of Samantha. He reminds me when I forget her handky. He imitates how I express breastmilk. He even use a handky to wipe his chest as how I clean my nipple every time I finished expressing milk. *slap head*

Tell me you like his new hair style. I love it but many want to chop off his “tail”.

Two weeks ago, on a Saturday night that was 27/3/2010, Darling initiated the mission which I was doubting if we could sustain. It was a tough night for Jonathan boy. Initially, he asked for his peh peh with his manja voice as usual but his request was rejected by us. Then he started to whine, then cried, then thrown tantrum by rolling on the bed, kicking here and there. We kept telling him ”no more peh peh“, “Jonathan big boy already”, “peh peh for baby only”, “peh peh shame shame” but he still can’t accept it.  After sometime, he drifted into dreamland with tears.  Oh, my poor boy. In the middle of the night, he woke up once to look for his peh peh and cried when he can’t find them.

The second night, he went to bed without any fuss as he was too tired because he didn’t take his afternoon nap. Phew……we thought tonight is an easy night. Who knows, it was Chap Goh Mei! He was awaken by the firecrackers and it turned an easy night into a horrible night. He cried so terriblely as though having a bad dream.

The following nights, Darling was on night shift. I warned him that if I couldn’t bear with Jonathan’s act, I’ll give in. (Guess I am not as firm as him or not as patience as him)  I was praying hard that Jonathan won’t give me a hard time each night. Hehe….he was very co-operative indeed.  Few nights in the beginning, he requested for his peh peh and I kept telling him “no more peh peh“, “Jonathan big boy already”, “peh peh for baby only”, “peh peh shame shame”. It was really a brainwashing session. He didn’t cry or throw tantrum but just whine a little. I gave him his milk bottle or water bottle with teat to soothe himself.

One week gone. Occasionally he still ask for it.  He nearly wanted to pull out the toy pacifier from one of the doll. The following week, he began to understand and accept it. He never asked for his peh peh anymore. We browsed through the photos in my camera and when he sees himself with pacifier, he said, “Jonathan shame shame”.  When we asked him if he still wants peh peh, he said, “Peh peh for baby.”

Many asked me before this, when would I want to wean him off from pacifier. I couldn’t gave an answer because I was afraid to see him “suffer”.   If you ask me now, how to do it, I can only share with you what we had been through.  It really depends on your child, how you handle the situation and perseverance is very important. Some parents had to perform tricks (like cutting off the pacifier in front of the kid), some kids need to be encouraged with some “bribe”, and like my son, I think he just need to be brain-washed. (Now I’m wondering if he will easily get influenced by others when he grows up. Hmmm…..)

Not forgetting, all credit goes to Darling, for being a very supportive husband and a firm Daddy.  And also Jonathan boy for being a very understanding and well-behaved boy.

I used to say: “Come boy, Mommy carry you.”

When he wants me to carry him, he would say: “Mommy, carry you, please.”

***********

I would ask him: “Jonathan boy, Mommy make milk for you, ok?”

When he wants milk, he says: “Mommy, make milk you.” (Notice too that the “for” is missing here)

When he made this mistake, I would stare at him with a smile. He can read my expression and then corrected himself.  But suprisingly he won’t get the “I” and “You” or “Me” and “I” mixed up. He knows when to use them.

Such as: “Daddy, I want egg.”  and “Daddy, you want egg?”

                  “Give me.” and “I want.” instead of “Me want.”

I try to use nouns and names when speaking to him but often forget ’cause we are so used to using pronouns in our daily adult conversation.  Nevertheless, it’s so cute sometimes when you hear the mistakes they made.

… the remote control is out of battery.

… my remote control car refuse to move on its own.

… the arms of my Ultraman dislocated.

… my shoe has a “buaya” mouth.

… I don’t hear any sound from my computer while playing games or watching my favourite VCD.

…there is no light shining from the torch light.

Many more mishaps happened due to my naughtiness curiosity at this age but Daddy got all that fixed.  That’s not all.

…Mommy sees a lizard. She will be screaming, “Darling! Come and catch this lizard away.”

…I see baby cockroaches running inside the car. I’ll scream, “Daddy, catch!”

Isn’t my Daddy great? And I shall now call him Handy Daddy. Hooray!

In the bathroom after shower…

Jonathan: Mimi, I want put up there. (Wants to hang the shower head on the handle)

Me: It’s ok. Mommy help you to put up there.

Jonathan: No, no…I want put up there. *Started to throw tantrum*

Me: You are so heavy. Mommy can’t carry you. (Imagine a 6 months preggie carrying a 13kg object up to the sky)

Jonathan: No… I want Mimi carry.

Incident #2

Jonathan in the bath tub with Mommy watching beside…

Jonathan: Attempt to reach high up to the soap holder hanging on the wall. Eeeik…..successful! The soap drop in the bath tub. Happily, pick up the soap and start rubbing it on the bath tub, bath toys and wall.

**************************************

One night, my conversation with Darling…

Me: Darling, you let Jonathan hang the shower head ar?

Darling: Yup. Why?

Me: No wonder. You know, he ask me to carry him to hang the shower head. How to carry him with a big tummy like this lar.

Darling: *Smile*

Me: Then must be you who let him play with the soap.

Darling:  Ok mah…

Me: As if. He took the soap and rub it on the bath toys lar. If didn’t clean up the soap, it will leave stain on the toys.

Darling: *Smile*

**************************************

I know after Darling read this post, he will say the same to me… “Mommy teach naughty stuff too. Eat junk food right after meals.”

Ok, back to the topic. As I am expecting #2, I need calcium. After finishing all the milk samples I received, I bought a tin of Wyeth Mama and placed it together with Jonathan’s milk powder.  I am the one who ensure we have sufficient stock and replenish Jonathan’s milk powder when it runs low.

The drama happened last week. It so happened that Jonathan boy had not been asking for milk before bed time for 2 days and so I did not check if there are still milk powder left in the tin.  The following day, no more milk powder left in the tin and MIL had to open a new tin. You see, Wyeth milk product in tin came with a BLUE lid.  MIL noticed a tin of milk powder with blue lid at Jonathan’s food area and thought that was Jonathan’s milk powder and coincidentally it was still unopened. When she opened it, she was wondering why the scoop is different which is bigger and different in colour. She thought it’s a new formula and continue to make milk for Jonathan.

When I came back from work, I saw Jonathan’s empty milk powder tin and a foil cover in it. I can sense something is not right so immediately open my Wyeth Mama.  Jackpot! It was opened and the foil cover was gone. So Jonathan boy had been drinking Wyeth Mama for the whole day today!  And yet he gulped down everything. 

This is what happen when you are not a fussy eater! *ROFL*

My MIL can only read simple Chinese character and she didn’t really notice the picture on the tin…a pregnant lady vs. a lion.

Rule #2.  Have meals always on the high chair and not in front of the TV.

Rule #3. Buckle up when you are on your high chair. (more of Daddy’s rule)

Rule #4.  Wipe your dirty hands and mouth with a hankerchief and not your clothes. (Do you wipe your tongue too? He does!)

Rule #5.  No wasting of milk and bring the bottle to the kitchen after you had finished it. (But I wonder why they always left 1 or 1/2 oz milk unfinished)

Rule #6.  Keep the toys before you go out kai-kai and before leaving the living room for bedtime. (But not all the time coz sometimes I don’t have the patience to wait for him or when we are short of time)

Rule #7.  Abide when daddy or mommy says “Let’s go”. (Else there comes the “magic stick”)

Rule #8.  Wear your shoe when you are out from the house and make sure you wears it right.

Rule #9.  Sit in the shopping cart always and no running around the supermarket.

Rule #10.  Stand up by yourself when you tripped/fell.

Rule #11.  Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

Rule #12.  Take and eat the biscuit one at a time. No eating like a Garfield.

Rule #13.  Always on your car seat. Cry and fuss will not release you from it.

Rule #14. Clear your toys that are in the bath tub after bath. (He sticks the fish foams on the wall and put the rest in the basin)

Rule #15. Comb your hair after bath. (I used to comb for him but beginning to let him comb himself now. Of course I still have to complete the job for him)

So, how well did he scores? I’ll give him 95%.  What happened to another 5%? Well, that goes to his tantrum, temper, laziness and not paying attention.