Category Archives: Caleb the heir

Missing their growing months..

Posted on 2 September, 2011 | 1 Comment

So I’ve been here for 7 months now, away from the kids all this time sans their short visit in May/June. We have been keeping in touch using skype.

I know Caitlin has been going to primary school this year, and Caleb, being going-on-4, is developing fast.

But it still “hits” me when I speak to them, or overhear them during skype; how much they have “grown”.

While speaking to Caitlin, she slips in words and/or translations of things I say, or shows me art-craft works that she has obviously learned from school. Words or art stuff that I have not taught her, concepts and skills that she has obviously picked up being a kid in school.

Caleb’s speech is more cohesive now: longer sentences, not-so-simple-anymore requests and demands. I am also told of stories of what he’s been up to, and his reactions and responses.

Missing all these… Can’t wait for them to join me soon.

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Posted in A father's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir

Bits and doodles from the kids

Posted on 3 July, 2011 | 1 Comment

A drawing and colouring Caitlin did while she was here, after I took them into the city on the train and trams, to visit a local market…

During our first Skype session after this same recent visit to Melbourne / seeing me after 5 months of my being here; matter of factly, she says to me “Daddee, everytime I think of you I feel like crying..” And moves on to another topic.

This one was from last year (late 2010):
Still within earshot when the restaurant staff walked past us, Caitlin asked: “Daddee, is that a boy or a girl?”

Yikes..

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Posted in A father's POV, A toddler's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Parenting musing

Thomas and his friend…

Posted on 25 June, 2011
Choo Choo..

This gallery contains 1 photos.

.. In the form of my son I think it was my brother’s handy work finding some fibre as pretend smoke..

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Reunion at last

Posted on 9 June, 2011 | 4 Comments

So Hot Mummee, the kids, and HM’s mum are in town during the Malaysian school holidays; recall that Caitlin is at school now.

Yes, the long awaited reunion with them, since being away for so long.

And how much, and also how little, things have changed.

The good news/change is that:

  • Caitlin has some school homework with her. She came to me for help like she’s been doing this for years;
  • Caitlin has learned a lot; she can read and comprehend a lot better now, knows quite a bit of her multiplication tables;
  • Caleb is a lot more cohesive now, much expanded vocabulary and also more expressive;
  • They do seem to get along better, share stuff, starting to signs of relating to each other.

Now the “bad” news:

  • They are still as cheeky as ever!
  • But with age, comes more sophisticated cheekiness!

It’s the first time for both of them to experience an Australian winter (but it’s technically still not the coldest time yet) but they seem to take this on quite well. Sure they complain about first observations like COLD TOILET SEATS and cold winds, but generally they seem to enjoy their time here :)

They will be leaving for home this weekend, but at least I got to see them, hug them, and note these growing characteristics…

Oh, and Hot Mummee still looks, well, hawt :P

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Posted in A father's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Parenting musing

Portraits of the kids..

Posted on 9 May, 2011
caleb

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This is why I wanna take up photography.. To document their growth… To make an album, or two, or three… To be able to look back and remember when they were so tiny, so innocent, so adorable… For they grow … Continue reading →

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Long distance relationships

Posted on 9 March, 2011 | 2 Comments

Caitlin has turned 6 in Nov 2010, Caleb has just turned 3 in January 2011.

Caitlin is of a certain intellect already. We “connect” as we talk about stuff- and we can do that just by sitting down, in the car, at the table, and lately, over the internet on Skype. In fact with this latest medium, we also type messages to each other whilst I coach her on spelling them :)

Caleb however, is not at that level of intellect yet. We don’t “talk” per se- we play together. Though he understands stuff that is being said to him, he is still distracted by physical, tangible, more touch-sensory perception of the world and people around him than about to sit down and talk.

And so, he doesn’t miss me, not as much as his jie-jie does.

This was evident tonight. I got a message on my iPhone’s chat program from Caitlin, asking me to get on Skype to videochat, peppered with emoticons that she has recently taken to giggle at :)

And so we did, like usual, hearing and seeing each other on screen.

While talking to Caitlin and Hot Mummee for a while I saw Caleb in the background of the video chat. HM asked him to come talk to Daddee.

He didn’t want to.

I don’t blame him. There is no fun, at his level of intellect, to talk to Daddee in a window in the computer screen. There is no play involved like how it was with physical-Daddee; like how I’d play with his toys with him, kick the ball around with him, goof around with him.

I have said before that he will grow to not know his Daddee if we don’t hurry along our plans. This is perhaps the first step down that path.

I don’t have much time left.

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Posted in A father's POV, A toddler's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, The future

Updates..

Posted on 4 March, 2011 | 1 Comment

When I was home my kids would be all over my iPhone for the games. I have blogged before about how Caitlin plays a particular zoo management game; and Caleb too would have a few of his favourites.

Games, or apps for that matter, usually get updated by the developers. Either to add in new features, bug fixes, to be more updated; in particular with games, new scenes or characters would be added. With the zoo game that Caitlin plays, I have seen new animals and rangers being added when they are updated.

So now that I am away from home I have removed most of the games that were on the iPhone. For that matter I have also removed some of the security features- there were a few times when Caleb had unintentionally deleted my apps and info; he didn’t know better, of course.

So now when I check for updates of my apps, some of these installed games would indicate that there are updates available.

I don’t update them now.

And I kinda feel guilty, and sad.

Guilty because, even though they are games- I only install educational games or at least non-violent games; they do teach something to the kids. Hand-eye coordination, math games, basic strategies (the zoo management game), or simply interacting with “tools” that will become even bigger parts of their adult lives compared to us now. Guilty because I have taken away this opportunity/”toy” away from them.

And sad. I miss them.

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Posted in A father's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Ergonomics, The future

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