differences versus similarities

it's amusing watching my 2 boys interact with each other. both have their own unique pepsonalities plus i get to see their differences & similarities through playtime, mealtime & bedtime. so here goes...

although 3 years apart, big bro an & lil han enjoy the same things. they both love anything automotive/machinery, thus sharing similar toys, books & tv programmes. sometimes we do get 2 of the same toys for them (based on the advise of many) but different colours, it works for only a short period of time. why? the big bro would reason that he needs 2 lorry containers for his so-called fear factor stunt & begins to imitate joe rogan himself & the lil one would occasionally walk away with whatever big bro is playing with & claims that it's his toy. boy oh boy!

it's the same situation for books. i'd say it's normally han who grabs whatever his big bro is reading & wants it for himself there & then regardless of the numerous books he can choose from the shelves or baskets.

not enough books for 2?

i've got loads to say about their mealtime cos the appetite of these 2 brothers vary a great deal. big bro an is picky with food. it was worst when he was younger. his disfavour toward food gets in my hair. i suppose i lost most of my patience with him in this area. his common remarks would be 'yucks!' or 'smelly!' whenever he's oppose to eating whatever that's being offered to him. he's also gifted at regurgitating his food at any given time. we, at home, call it induced vomiting.

hubs loves to cook & is good at it. if not for him & his patience, an wouldn't be opened to try other food. hubs would try all sorts of dishes to provide variety & to generate an's interest in food. every once in a while, he'd become daddy's assistant in the kitchen, helping out with the preparation for cooking or baking. despite the kitchen being a mess, an would proudly eat whatever he has made with daddy even if the cake is a lil on the hard, rubbery side. kudos to hubs for his ingenuity!

an's favourite food includes pizza, cheese, KFC, mcD, fried rice, sausages & roti boom/bom. at one time he only wanted to eat roti boom/bom for lunch! hubs had the biggest headache that week :o)

as for the bigger eater han, no problema! he eats rice, veggies, meat, fruits, etc! he's a rice person ~ must have rice, must eat rice! hooray for hubs! one of his boys turned out to be just like him! han definitely has a bigger appetite than his big bro despite his small frame/size. on the plus side, he certainly doesn't share his big bro's taste for food. if we go to a fast food restaurant for an's sake as a treat, we'll make sure han has his bowl of porridge/rice when he gets home.

roti boom/bom is super yummy
with its rich fillings of
margarine & kaya (coconut-egg jam)
plus the additional egg.
now you know where an gets his tastebud from :o)
* guilty me *

ah! bedtime! both love soft music to be played before they hit the sack after a long play day. an loves stories to be read or told to him, whereas han prefers to be sung to. if hubs is around, he'll do both. he'll tell an a story or 2 first while the lil fella waits for daddy to finish up & sing to him. if daddy is away, mommy will just lie in between them & scratch both backs until they fall asleep. i'll be too worn out then to either tell stories or sing songs & my boys would understand :o)

eye in the sky

on the faithful day of 17 may,

an old friend sms-ed me, asking me to go out
for a rare, engaging sight of the rainbow encircling the sun.

i left the workplace during lunch hour with friends.
it was a hot, humid day & the midday sun was glaring mercilessly at us.
the batteries in my loyal cam were flat
but thank goodness for agnes & her new cam
which was in her handbag with charged batteries.
great thing i'd my sunnies on or else
i wouldn't be able to see much thru the monitor
especially from pointing the cam directly at the sun.
i believe i did look kinda silly at that time!

i adjusted the exposure to -2.0
cos the sun was just too darn bright.
my eyes were squinting even from behind my sunnies.
who was i kidding! it was the midday sun in all its glory!
but my eye in the sky shots were
well worth the blinding light in my eyes.

i've always loved rainbows!
it's after all God's covenant made to noah,
thus the name chosen for our first-born :o)

z o o m i n g han

i was lying on the bed waiting for
lil han to settle down before his bedtime.
he was in the mood to z o o m around
like an airplane, so i let him.

i love this shot in particular.
besides extending both his arms
backward like the wings of an airplane,
he was also seriously
z o o m i n g with his lips!
boys & their sound effects go together
like bread & butter!

i must say there was

much drool lost in the act
of becoming an imaginary airplane :o)

famous 5

yup, birthday boy an is definitely famous for many of his antics. those around him would know! i've been reading up on the emotional expression of a 5 year old child & he has definitely grown into one! i won't elaborate on it since this is a writeup on his birthday which we celebrated on 10 may 2007 :o)

it was a daddy & son day. hubs had previously missed 3 of his birthdays due to work & couldn't make it back in time. so this year, daddy made it up to an & cancelled one of his biz trips just to be with his much delighted birthday boy.

mommy of course ordered the cake & wanted it to be thomas the tank engine. the lady who's known to make yummy cakes didn't know who thomas was but tried her best in producing a cake with the tank engine. i did give her my cake design, colours & all. the kind lady altered one or two colours, her reason being too much colouring isn't good which i okay-ed. the cake however, to everyone's amusement, came out looking candid! she told me she was going to do a big thomas & it ended with a small thomas + 3 malaysian flags (very patriotic of her), 2 small bunches of flowers & the biggest laugh was over the 2 awkward looking ultraman figurines :o)

2 questions came from the birthday boy:

"mommy, why thomas look different?"
"mommy, why is the ultraman on my cake?"

the chocolate cake was no doubt mouth-watering!
i know i ate a lot!

mommy also ordered pizzas for an as per his request which was the same request as his 4th birthday. sigh! when an likes a certain something, it'll be the SAME thing he'll ask for over & over again (such as fried rice, roti boom/bom & the obvious, PIZZA!).

what has an taught me for another year?
to practice more PATIENCE!
i'm seriously running out of it :o)

fun with photoshop

besides photographing my boys & everything else,
i also enjoy photo editing heaps!
my favourite software is photoshop & has been for eons
unless i'm convinced otherwise which i think NOT!

i like this picture of an & lil bro han slightly in the background
with a thumb in his mouth.

the original picture was coloured & i found many elements
that were bland, so i coverted it to grayscale,
then selected duotone to add more shades to it.
i love sepia toned photos as much as
the traditional black & white ones!

filter -> render -> lighting effects -> lens flare

it was fun playing with the lighting effects & lens flare
for it felt like i'd conducted my photo shoot within
the comfort of my palm & loyal, dutiful mouse :o)

filter -> sketch -> water paper

the water paper effect is simple yet artsy.
the turnout of this picture reminds me of a postcard.
i think i'll use this effect in future for creating
my own personalised postcards & greeting cards!

filter -> stylize -> glowing edges

i was pleasantly surprised when this picture
looks more like chalk drawing despite its glowing edges!

what happens when...

my boys watched johnny & the sprites.

i believed it was the first time they
saw the new series played on telly
at grandma's place while chilling out
on a mid sunday morning after Mass.

big bro an went from laid back
to finger-biting...hmm...

lil han was just sitting a couch away &...

he went from deep concentration
to finger in the mouth as well!

i've never seen both of them do that
at the exact same time.

my boys must've been bewitched by
johnny & the sprites!