snowmen collector

i've decorated our bedroom (for the boys' sake) with christmas stockings, reindeer & snowmen (my fav)! i'm currently building my collection of snowmen which began 2 christmas-es ago. i'd go high & low looking for snowmen in any shapes & sizes. the ones on the wall are (drum roll please)...

my homemade snowman & nope, i haven't given him a name. i made him last year ~ my 1st amateurish attempt! i think it'd be nice having a collection of homemade snowmen if given the time to make them :o)

next is my cherished musical snowmen stocking ~ purchased 2 years ago. it was the one & only one left hanging in the store & i knew i've got to have it. of course many other christmas stockings were for sale but not with snowmen on them! i particularly like this one cos at that time i was 6 months pregnant with lil han & there were 2 snowmen on the stocking, one bigger than the other. so i thought to myself, 'perfect! one is an & the lil one is han.'

this one i bought for RM2 (a real bargain) was initially a key ring but i took off the metal ring & attached a thread to it instead to turn it into a christmas ornament.

finally, the cute reindeer stockings ~ the only non-snowman related, is hung on the wall. dad & mom purchased it 4 years ago from sydney, downunder. it's a long stretch of reindeer with the 25 days christmas countdown on each stocking.

our tree in the living room isn't up yet. i've got matching snowmen & baubles for it from last year ~ can't wait to set it up!

happy decorating y'all :o)

noah van gogh

i'm so proud of an for producing this artwork, among others. he normally does his painting at the back of the house. he has his lil art corner at the shaded area of the back, so whenever he feels like it, he can crayon or paint away! he'll do a few quick pieces at one time & the one below caught my eyes instantly with its colourful display of splashed paints!

i've asked him the meaning of his abstract painting

& here's what a future noah van gogh has to say:

title: windmill

• the big splash of bright blue is the windmill
• the bluish green zigzag on the top-left is lightning
• the multicoloured spots is rain

i was indeed impressed with his explanation.
an, in his painting, was envisioning
a windmill on a stormy day.

holiday projects

an hol activities include attending classes mainly for crafts & play. it's only his 1st week & he has produced 3 beautiful handcrafts. i believe his teacher had put in most of the work but to think that he was involved in the process of creating them is definitely worthwhile. an gets all excited every time he has something new to show me. it's a joy to know that he's having fun!

being a parent, learning from trial & error (heaps of it i must say!), or constantly reading anything & everything that's parent-child related to exchanging info with other mommies about what's best for our kids ~ i, for one, would like to give our boys an educational experience that's truly wholesome, an equal balance of work & play i.e. i want them to learn at their own pace + space & i pray i'd never ever compel them into something they're not into even if i, their mommy, consider it to be otherwise. education is an important aspect of life, but for me, striking a balance in life is a bigger deal.

anyway, having said all that, mom told me that an will be baking cookies today. yeah for him!

glittering, green-eyed snake

funky checked, old school dino

hippy tie-dye cloth

last day of school

it was the last song performed by all the students of the kindergarten & an looked happiest. he'd been asking me day after day whether tomorrow & the day after tomorrow is a school holiday. sometimes he'll show me his 2 hands with 10 fingers standing uprightly & ask me, 'mommy, i've this many holidays?' ~ so cute when he does that! i then assure him he has more holidays than his 10 fingers & that answer always makes his day!

who wouldn't want to be a kid? it's so much fun that i miss it myself! haha!

i love christmas-es!!!

i know it's early november ~ can't help BUT get excited over the fact that christmas is only a month away! i'm a kid again! yeah! jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...oops, getting carried away now am i :o)

5 reasons why i love christmas...

1. the birth of CHRIST which brings renewed faith, hope, immense LOVE & a rejoicing spirit!

2. a time of recollection & thankfulness

3. reunion of loved ones, near & far

4. shopping for pressies (i'd be lying if i excluded shopping ~ hehe!), wrapping them up & designing my own gift tags

5. christmas songs, big green trees, pretty decorations & beautiful, glittering lights

reminiscing

celebrating an...
4 years of wonderful memories...
more to come...

11 weeks old foetus

2 hours old

15 weeks old

11 months old

today...coming to 4 ½ years old

brotherhood

the long raya break was awesome. i’d 5 days off including the weekend. swell!

an is also free from school for a week, so timing was perfect. at least i get to spend more time with him, if not the whole 1 week. it was pretty restful, nerve-wracking @ times (especially when i needed to get some cleaning done pronto) but other than that, sweeeeet!

i learnt a lot about my 2 boys during this time. an has gradually, from my observation, developed a sense of responsibility toward his younger bro. he has grown into a much loving & caring older bro, plus can be very protective over lil han. for instance…

when passing han’s babysitter’s home during the hols…
daddy: we’ll be sending ti-ti to aunty's place.
an: no! i don’t want him to go there.

after having scolded han for being repeatedly naughty…
an: mommy, don’t scold ti-ti ok. he’s still small.
mommy: ok (touched by his concern).

when han was playing with a musical toy & no sound was coming out of it…
an: mommy, it’s off, i’ll turn it on for him (then turns ON the toy for his bro).

on the contrary, lil han loves the attention when big bro isn’t around. when an was over at grandma’s place, this is what happened…

mommy: where’s ah-hia*? (*ah-hia is older bro in hokkien)
han: (smiling) huh…?
mommy: call ah-hia.
han: (still smiling with the i-pretend-not-to-know look on his face) huh…?

despite the brotherly squabbles, sibling rivalry & whatnot, they are inseparable. i truly take pleasure in watching them play, giggle away, tickling each other, having the time of their lives ~ moments i'll absolutely cherish forever!

an & han watching fun song factory with undivided attention.

mommy's lil helpers

this is what happened when mommy did laundry during the weekend ~ the boys had a ball playing cleanup.

introducing my horse, mr moppy

giddyup horsy!

don't miss the spot there

who left this piece of junk on the floor?

can we clean up? YES WE CAN!

our very FIRST family vacation

DESTINATION…
manila

DURATION…
4 days, 3 nights

PACKING…
was hard cos i wasn’t sure where to start! i knew what to pack for hubs & myself but for 2 kids?!? now i know what mommies go thru when they pack for everyone. i brought everything extra for the kids, just in case.

AIR TRAVEL…
was great. i thank GOD that the kids were alright with the take off & didn’t fuss in the air. i was a bit concerned beforehand but lil han surprised me when he dozed off after we've all settled comfortably in our seats, before take off i.e.

BUS RIDE…
from clark international airport to metro manila went smoothly except for the heavy traffic flow. we arrived on a saturday, hence the jam. it'd normally take 2 hours or less to get there from the airport but the plus side was that we got to see the outskirts of the city.

ACCOMODATION...
edsa shangri-la. beautiful hotel. very cozy. scrumptious breakfast. need i say more :o)

SHOPPING...
was my main intention. haha! i was told by many that manila is a shopping paradise. i shopped mostly for the boys & YES, i definitely see more choices & greater bargains there! we managed to experience the last day of sale in asia's largest mall, a.k.a. the mega mall manila.

the best part about this shopping centre is that there are strollers for rent. we rented one for P180 (approximately RM13.23) to last the whole day. i carried lil han while big bro an sat contentedly in the stroller when he's tired from walking.

i for one love shoes & bags & i got to see so many - it's crazy! i'll have to go shopping for ME on our next trip. yup, there'll be a next trip. i'll make it a MUST :o)

of course not all is perfect. the kids did get cranky & lil han wanted ne-nen all the time! so he was hanging onto me 24-7! i'd really have to put us in the marsupial category - i'm mama kanga & lil han is baby roo.

we headed to greenhills on the second day of our travel. i absolutely enjoyed this place. it's a flea market-cum-shopping mall under one roof, selling all sorts. i love flea markets! hubs & nico, my BIL babysat the boys so that faridah, my soon-to-be SIL & myself can go bargain hunting. i'll give her 2 thumbs up for being a hard bargainer.

PICTURES...
were hardly taken since lil han was extremely attached to me. hubs managed to snap a few, so here goes...

lil han twisting away in bathroom slippers

outside the hotel - an made sure daddy took a picture of him with the water jetting upwards

big bro an sure likes fountains - big & small

outside teriyaki boy, waiting for our table

NICE BREAK...
for all of us. i'm grateful...

déjà vu

i sent big bro an to school yesterday. as we reached the school gate, he turned to look at me & spoke in a small voice…

an: mommy, where are my books? feeling the weight of his bag.
me: you need your books for school?
an: nodded his head with a shy smile.
me: looked at him in the eye & couldn’t help but smile too. we ended up having a good laugh.

so i reversed & we went back to get his books. thank goodness his school is just LITERALLY around the block.

the reason why his books were left at home was cos he’d to revise them for the coming assessments. normally their books are kept in school, therefore i wasn't aware of his missing books earlier on. as i put them into his bag, he proceeded to ask me…

an: is my water bottle in the bag?
me: yes.
an: is my container in the bag?
me: yes.
an: what’s in my container?
me: don't know. ah ma prepared something for you. you’ll have to wait & see in school.

the part about him forgetting his books & his need to get his books before school made me recall my childhood days (miss it!). there were days when i accidently left a text/work book at home & how i've asked dad to turn back so that i could go home to get it. i’d feel really bad then & i’m sure an was feeling the same when he forgot his books.

i’m pround of him, proud that he is being a responsible student, young as he is :o)

picturesque sunset @ tanjung aru beach

sunday, 10 september 2006, the famous 4 headed to tanjung aru beach for the grand viewing of a magnificent sunset. we got front row seats as well!

an loves the sunset & it's one of the lil miracles in life that i know i tend to forget/overlook. he gets excited over it & asks a zillion questions as to the whys & hows of a sunset plus he can be so mechanical about it! he's 4 & very inquisitive!

this picture was taken by hubs. not a bad shot!

love the colours of the sky!

one…two…LIFT!

despite having a busy schedule, i relax by taking pictures of my boys in their most carefree state. i learn to liberate myself more by watching them. why take life so seriously? a question i constantly ask myself.

thanks to my SIL, i did find the next best thing, i.e. work that gives me access to weekends/public hols with my truckers. whoopee! no more working on saturdays, sundays (occasionally) & public hols! i say AMEN to that! so nope, i won’t be officially a SAHM but i’ll certainly have more time with big bro an & lil han.

dad’s youngest sis, we call her se ko (youngest aunty) came down from kota belud last friday with heaps of fresh goodies including coconuts. lil han couldn’t resist them & observed the coconuts from every angle. he kept saying, “kick the ball. kick the ball.” he’d normally say that when he’s about to kick one. we’d to explain to him that coconuts aren’t balls & he’s not to kick them ever. big ouch there!

here's han trying to be hercules. he must be thinking that coconuts are extraordinary balls – they’re hard & positively HEAVY!

my lil han-ney bunny

busy bee

i’ve been bogged down by work lately - who isn’t? i’m taking a breather, a short one before the workload comes again. ah, nice ^_^

i’m alright really as i’m going to be a SAHM again (mid of next month) until i find the next best thing. yippee! this time i’ll have my long awaited BREAK for sure! what a relief!

one night, big bro an said to me, “mommy you don’t go to work tomorrow. i’ll share the cheezels ah ma bought for me with you.” i smiled at him. he then proceeded to say, “you understand?” i almost burst out laughing. how cute! he was sounding so much like the parent. tsk tsk tsk!

i’ve probably said this a zillion times but time truly flies in just a blink of an eye.

portugal out

i’m truly saddened by the fact that portugal didn’t reach the final. it would’ve been THE MATCH to watch but i’m sure many would think otherwise. portugal have played well with the addition of a few unnecessary blunders.

i’d give the french team credit for proving themselves worthy of coming this far after their last unimpressive performance in the 2002 world cup. being that it’ll be zidane’s last match in the final after having announced his retirement from the sport, he deserves all the glory.

i’m praying real hard + fingers & toes crossed that italy wins the 2006 world cup & that portugal defeats the germans for 3rd placing! go portugal!

any soccer moms out there?

fruity han

lil han is into fruits now. he can consume up to 2 bananas a day which is the max we give him. too much of a good thing wouldn’t be too good either. we’ve also given him grapes. he didn’t really fancy the squeezed orange juice i offered him the other day though not sour. i’ll try that on him another day. yet to give him puréed apple & pear. as for green leafy veggies or beans, he has no problem at all - thank goodness for that!

anyway, ah ma bought him an apple & an orange from the market yesterday morning. it was intended for him to hold & observe the fruits closely, more of a mini social science class. we’ve noticed that with him, anything red is apple & that includes tomatoes!

lil han was clearly happy with his apple & orange. he did look at them attentively for a bit before the poor fruits became his bowling balls! he smiled with glee when he rolled them repeatedly on the floor. tsk! tsk! tsk!

ole brasil!

hooray for world cup 2006!
an is rooting for brasil &
i’m for portugal & korea.

however an thinks that every yellow jersey
belongs to brasil. this is one scenario…

ah kong & an was watching tv together & ah kong wanted to watch some sports, so he switched the channel & came across a football match.
an: ah kong…look…brasil… (exclaimed excitedly)
ah kong: no…columbia…
an: nooooo…brasil…
ah kong: it’s co-lum-bia (tried explaining to an)
an: daddy said so… (he said stubbornly)
ah kong: ok… (gave in)
** the columbian team was in yellow **

talkative han

lil han, who’s coming to 15 months, is fast at picking up words, loves imitating new sounds & does excellent in both. his development in speech began much earlier than big bro an, who only made more effort to speak at the age of 2 1/2. lil han also started to crawl & walk earlier. based on all his milestones, i reckon he’s trying to catch up to his big bro. he adores an & loves to play with him or just be around him. nope, they’re not entirely, 100% angelic towards each other & yup, they do fight over a whole lot of things but they never fail to look out for each other.

han’s vocab includes…
daddy
mommy (sounds more like ma-may)
baby (sounds more like be-be)
bye-bye
papaya (fav word)
banana (sometimes he calls it a-na-na)
apple
egg
duck
bird
bus (he says bu first, then pause for a second before the s-sound comes out)
button
tank
gine (short for engine)
star
wow! (he actually says wow! when he sees something he likes)
watch (sounds more like atch without the w)
ouch!

in hokkien he can say…
ah kong (grandpa)
ah ma (grandma)
ah ku (uncle)
titi (younger bro - referring to himself)
tia-tia (painful)
teng (light)
ee (chair)
bo (none/don’t have)
mai (don’t want)
oi (shoes)
bang (mosquito)
pah (beat/hit - normally used when he sees a mozzy & wants to smack it)

he makes sounds for…
cat – mau mau
dog – wou wou
lion - oar
car - bur bur
heli - po..po..po..po..
water - shh...shh...

last but not least...
mo-mom for food & ne-nen for milk!

han amazes me every single day!

when i grow up...

an & i was lazing on the couch last night after i put lil han to bed. he was busy scribbling & doodling on his wipe-clean book & i was watching one of my fav program, project runway season 2. i was thinking to myself that if only i'd the skill & patience to sew, i'd love to be in their shoes. i like the thought of designing clothes, bags, shoes, jewelries, well hey, the entire collection for that matter! why not if i can actually do it! *wishful thinking*lol*

i turned to look at an & wondered what he'll grow up to be. so i asked him, "what would you like to be when you grow up? " he gave me 3 answers in the order below...

feet up

this was a fluke shot! it was taken a while back, in the middle of the night to be exact, when lil han didn’t want to sleep at all! he was so energetic & simply wanted to do his thing! i was trying to stay awake while he walked, tiptoed like a ballet dancer, stumbled, mumbled, hummed, did his lil dance move in the room almost all nightlong. then bingo! i grabbed my camera & tried getting candid shots of him.

i like this picture of his lil feet up. they were up for a mere second & it went straight down. cute lil feet! but very soon it won’t be that small. big bro an wears a size 13 - it’ll be a full-size 1 in next to no time!