Dances with Wolves

Do you remember Dances With Wolves and Kevin Costner's butt? If you do, then you're probably a 70's baby or older. High five! Do you know, I actually remember watching it with my BFF? It was after our Sec 3 exams and we bought circle (yes! CIRCLE!) seats at Capitol Theatre. I can still see the ticket auntie scribbling our seat numbers down in the ticket booklet with that red peel-away crayon. Remember that?? And I think our ticket cost $4.50 or something crazy like that. Good times, good times.

In the movie, Kevin Costner was christianed "Dances With Wolves" because he, erm, danced with some wolves. There was another dude called "Wind In His Hair" who apparently ran (or rode his horse??) really fast and always looked like he was in some Sunsilk ad. There was a "Smiles A Lot" too. Poor chap sounds like a Care Bear though, haha! And don't get me started on "Kicking Bird". Quite an unfortunate name for the tribe's Holy Man, if you ask me.

Anyway, the whole Sioux indian naming thing got me thinking. Wouldn't it be cool if my kids had red indian names? We'd be the coolest parents when registering their births, they'd be the coolest kids at the playground AND they'll never get called on by their teachers during lessons. They'll thank me for that. The only problematic situations I can think of are:

• when I'm pissed off with them (what a mouthful!)
• when I'm trying to shout warnings to them (by the time I call their names, it'll be too late!)

PF and I had great fun thinking up names for them and have narrowed it down to three for DN and three for DS. You help me decide which ones to go for.

Ong Der Nen or...

1. Whines Too Much
2. Still Fits In Bumbo
   
3. Wants Plaster On Every Mosquito Bite (see pic)

Ong Der Shyen or...

1. Sucks On Toe
   
2. Squeaks When Put Down
   
3. Flips Over And Cannot Flip Back

Big toe en route to mouth

For PF, I think these are very apt.

1. Watch TV Ignore World
2. Writes Complaint Letters
3. Must Buy Wife More Presents

And these suit me I think.

1. Shops Online Again
2. Not Agile Anymore
3. Too Much Bak Kwa
   

What's your red indian name? ;)

My Mei Mei!

A cousin's of PF shared this story about sibling rivalry that scared the bejesus out of me. It's a really short story and goes something like this - one day, she found her 2 year old standing on his 8-month old baby brother in the playpen. ACK!

That's natural birth control for you!

So it was with much trepidation that we introduced DN to DS for the first time in the hospital. We did our prep work and prepared a present for DN (from his sister). Before DS arrived, we read "A New Baby" to him and every night, we invited him to talk to his little sister via baby telephone (toilet roll). I don't know if it was the present, the book, the baby telephone, or just that DN is real sweetie at heart, but I don't think he's going to use DS as a stepping stone any time soon.

PHEW!

He really does love his little sister. He gets real excited when DS smiles at him and will promptly shout (and scare the living daylights out of his little sister at the same time) out, "Mei Mei smiled at me! Mei Mei smiled at me! She smiled at me you know!"

During DS's first month, the first thing DN wanted to do every day he came home from school was "look at Mei Mei". After kicking off his shoes, he would rush over to her cot and attempt to hug her with his grimy hands and shower her with sweaty kisses. Sweet, but terribly unhygienic!

One day, when confinement nazi left the flat to walk DS along the corridor, DN shouted from the living room, "HEY! That's my Mei Mei!" He was worried his little sister was getting kidnapped, but apparently not worried enough to get off his seat from the couch and stop watching cartoons to chase after confinement nazi and get his sister back. LOL!

He even tries to be the mummy by singing her his favourite lullaby (you MUST click on that link!) when she gets a little fussy.Yes, I've got a little hokkien kia at home. And if DN keeps up with the serenading, I will soon have TWO.

And now that DS is actively cooing and communicating with us, when DN is in a patient mood (not often enough), he will talk to her and give her advice.

DS : *coo coo coo*
DN : Hello Mei Mei! (playing with his cars)
DS : *coo coo coo*
DN : You cannot play with this yet okay? I am big. You are small. When you're big, you can play.
DS : *coo coo COO*
DN : Hush hush.
DS : *coo COO COO*
DN : Don't cry okay? Ti or or... beh lor hor... ah kong ah mah gia gut tor...
DS : *COO COO COO!!!*
DN : Hush hush! Quiet quiet! Otherwise I'll make you stand in the corner!

He tries. He really does.

But don't get me wrong, it's not always hunky-dory in the Ong household. We are so NOT perfect. Just the other day, I lost my temper when DN prodded his sister with one of those handheld back massager sticks (sometimes, I'm just so eloquent) despite being warned not to. And he refuses to share his pillows, bolsters, towels, EVERYTHING with his sister. And the other night, he peed on the bed, and ME, when PF carried his sister out of the room instead of him. Me! He peed on me! My son actually urinated on me! So yeah, it's not all ribbons and rainbows over here too. But overall, I'd still say that he does love his little sister and can be quite a sweetheart.

At times.

Sleep tight, my little bunnies!

Thrilled to be 3!

I can't believe it, my little boy is THREE! Remember this photo?

DN was about 9 months old when we took that. And look at him now! Goodness, where did all that time go?

It's that time of year when I put on my proud-mama hat and wax lyrical about DN and his amazing abilities and talents. Come on, indulge in me a little. I will only do this once a year... per child! Heh. ;)

1. Pronunciation

I really should take more videos of DN speaking. I remember stumbling upon an old old old cassette tape recording of myself reading when I was little and it was just precious! DN will never speak this way ever again, so I really should record it.

He says...

"meep" instead of "meat"...
"stot" instead of "spot"...
"shimish" instead of "finish"...
"beebee" instead of "baby"...
"reek" instead of "read"...

I love it!

2. Quirks

He is quite anal retentive. I like! How do we know he's anal about things? Well...

Halfway through dinner yesterday, DN asked for more "meep". On the menu yesterday were chicken and pork. I put more pork on his plate, next to the chicken, because he'd finished all of it. Suddenly, there was an outburst from DN.

DN : Nooooo...! Cannot!
Me : ???
DN : Cannot touch! *point*point*point*WAIL*

And he pointed at the pork that was touching the chicken!

Another thing he's anal about? His socks. He absolutely HATES it when his socks are not pulled all the way up. Like ALL THE WAY UP. There cannot be any slack in the sock AT ALL. And both socks have to be the SAME HEIGHT up his legs. Slack socks drive him absolutely livid and his eyes literally pop out if he spots a height difference in both socks. He'll wail, start pulling crazily at both socks and complain to us about his socks. As this happens on an almost-daily basis, it's gotten to the point where we've started buying ankle socks so he cannot complain. Either that or he'll have to start wearing tights. -_-

3. Dressing

Question: Why do kids only want to wear just ONE outfit? For like FOREVER?

Answer: Because they know exactly how much you've blown on all those trousers, t-shirts, shirts, socks and shoes so when they go out in public, they will look loved and well taken care of, and they just want family and friends to think the exact opposite by wearing only one outfit everywhere. Crap, what am I saying? They just want to make life difficult for you!

DN only ever wants to wear his one and only pair of jeans and his Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Sometimes he'll relent and wear this other pair of trousers he has, but nothing shorter. On days when we manage to get him to wear shorts, there's usually much cajoling, negotiating, deceiving and bribing going on.

4. Likes, Dislikes

DN likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, all sorts of vehicles, tofu, sushi, animal biscuits, soya milk, kissing his sister, disturbing his sister, his excavator pajamas, his teddy, riding his tricycle, going to the park, swimming, telling us when he farts, spotting cement mixers on the road and being independent and doing everything himself.

And he dislikes brushing his teeth, bathing, carrying his own school bag, walking when we go shopping, using his fork and spoon when eating, creepy crawlies like ants and spiders, fried rice, gravy on his white rice, skin on his apples or pears, puzzles, sandwiches and when any one of us takes up HIS space on the shoe rack.

One thing that I'm really glad he likes is reading. Or technically, US reading to him. Reading is something we started the day he could sit up comfortably and I'm so glad he has always enjoyed listening to stories. Every night MUST end with at least 3 stories. His current favourite book is a treasury of Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam, Postman Pat and Thomas The Tank Engine stories. I've been trying to get him to tell the story back to us, but no dice. He'll just go, "No! You reek (read)!"

5. 3 years and counting

Overall, this past year has been quite a ride. He spent 2+ months with me in the UK and got to see, and play with snow. He went to Paris Disneyland and met Mickey in person/mouse. He started school when he was 2 years and 8 months old, and also started on music classes and swimming classes (both of which we've pulled him out of because he keeps falling sick). He had his speech explosion (when he was 2 years and 2 months old) and he became a big brother. :D

The terrible two's weren't as terrible as I thought they would be. In fact, they weren't terrible at all! DN has been very agreeable and reasonable this year (mostly). I really think they meant terrible THREE's actually. :p

DN's Report Card #1

DN spent the day with his grandma (wee) and I got this "report card" from her via email. I just had to post it up here because it made me laugh out loud! 

"... Minutes before the PM nap, he asked for PF. He said, "Mama call Papa lai". He was in a state of distress so I called PF. He calmed down after that and slept because he was so tired.

I fed him when he got up and then we got changed and went to my colleague's daughter's 3rd birthday party. He was very talkative during the drive. Probably because he had enough sleep and his belly was full. As usual, I boogied to my fav tunes on the radio. (Yes, my mom is very hip!) He was very observant and said, "Mama drive" and nagged me every time my left hand touched the manual shift. He kept saying, "Mama drive". Many times I placed my hand on his knee (just to reassure him) and he would say, "No, mama drive". His regard for values and safety is well ingrained in him!

At the party, he took a while to warm up. He behaved very well and was kind, thoughtful and always aware of the consequences. I'm so proud of him. He enjoyed playing with the kitchen set, the supermarket trolley and the doll's house. He also pushed a toy stroller around and cuddled the baby so lovingly and gently. He didn't give way at times, but thankfully he didn't push other kids around.

I'm afraid he ate everything which you probably would not allow. His belly was so big, I got a bit scared. It was so huge. He looked pregnant.

I'll continue with part #2 tomorrow."

Thanks Mom, for the update. You're the best. ;)

Happy Birthday Der Nen!

Yup, DN is 2 and I must say, this 2nd year has been great fun, way better than his 1st year. I know I'm going to sound as heartless as those hamster mothers who eat their young, but DN in the 1st year was really boring! He couldn't walk or talk and was always drooling and pooping. Okay, strike the 'pooping' because he's still capable of pooping 4x a day if he eats a lot.

The worst thing about his 1st year had to be the nights and the breastfeeding. Now I'm going to sound as heartless as Colin-the-baby-whale's mother, but honestly, I never really got the whole breastfeeding thing. Many moms talk about how wonderful breastfeeding is because of "the bond" with the child, but unless they meant the literal, physical "bonding", sorry, no comprehendo senor. It was embarrassing when DN signed milk in public. This was also usually accompanied with him reaching into my top. It looked like I was raising another Hugh Hefner!

So yeah, I'm liking DN's 2nd year so much more.

• He's more or less sleeping through the night now. ROCK ONNNNN!
• He's moved from signing to talking (a little).
• He pretty much understands everything we say and we can even reason with him.

I guess what I like the best about this year is how his personality has emerged. He's quite a funny chap.

• He's a "think big" kid when it comes to toys and playing. He has no patience for puzzles and he finds them utterly boring. He won't sit down to figure out a shape sorter, but give him stools and chairs to stack and he'll be there.
• He quite an amiable and sociable fellow. When we meet up with his buddies, he's usually a koala for about 10 minutes, observing the rest. Once he's warmed up though, off he goes, socialising and playing with the rest. He'll wave at uncles and aunties on the street and is always ready to give his trademark (fake) smile.
• He just LOVES to eat. He will never say no to durians, suckling pig, fries, prata and grapes. He's not that fond of nectarines, tofu, cakes and potatoes though.
• He can be quite anal retentive at times. Sometimes he gets strangely fussy and things must be done a certain way. For eg, only I can take off his diaper and only PF can wash his bum. Sometimes (unfortunately for me) it's the other way around. -_-
• He LOVES sports and guitars. Yeah, it's so funny. We've caught him "playing" tennis and volleyball, sprinting, bowling and even doing gymnastics.

We didn't do anything fancy for his birthday this year. We just had a BBQ party for the little gang because they're all turning 2 this month. It's so nice to see how all of them have changed and grown. They're now so comfortable with each other and they know each other's names. Now I can't wait for them to be 3!

The kiddos LOVED the cupcakes! They were all excited when we opened the box and ALL of them wanted to touch the cupcakes. DN kept going, "cake! cake!" for about 45 minutes.


Here he is, opening his presents the morning after the party...


... and playing with the gifts immediately after breakfast.

DN, Sept 2006

DN, Sept 2007

DN, Sept 2008

Happy Birthday DN! We love your trademark smile! :D

Thanks Aunty Dawn, Gong Gong, Aunty Grace, Aunty Brenda, Aunty Wee Ping, Aunty Megan, Aunty Joanne, Aunty Ling and Aunty Carla for all your presents. :)

Poor Bubs :(

DN's a pretty tough cookie.

1. He has never cried at his vaccinations or blood tests.

2. Now that he's older, I've started scolding him for unacceptable behaviour (hitting people, throwing his toys in frustration, shouting when he doesn't get his way), but so far, he's NEVER CRIED. We can see his lower lip turning down and quivering, his eyes well up, but so far? No tears. This one's got some pride. PF and I have our work cut out for us, sigh.

3. When he falls down, 8 out of 10 times, he'll just cry a bit in shock, then pick himself up and carry on. He's not really a cry baby. The only time he'll cry is when it's really painful. Like this morning when he fell on the road as we were walking to the car. :( The poor bubs cut his lip, which bled and swelled to twice its size immediately.

But being the tough cookie that he is, he stopped crying a little while later and gestured at me to sit back because I was leaning forward and fawning over him in his car seat.

DN : "Sit back, Mama, you're embarrassing me."