So I had to be in Singapore for just two days this week.

Hot Mummee and the two kids sent me to KL Sentral to catch the express train. It was just going to be a quick drive-by drop-off.

I gave HM a hug and kiss, hopped out the car while Caitlin climbed infront to take over the front seat; gave her a hug and kiss too, and did the same with Caleb in his child-seat in the back, whilst half-ignoring his “(wanna get out and) walk-walk, walk-walk“.

Walked across the driveway waving to them as they waved back and pulled away.

Soon afterwards I was already on the express train. HM called to see if I was.

She then told me that as they were pulling away Caitlin asked for a photo of me so that she can look at it to remember me with.

Awww….

HM suggested to Caitlin to look at our wedding photos instead; of which there are a few around our home. Apparently Caitlin screwed her nose at this idea…

Why?

HM thinks it’s because she is in them!

It’s the funniest and I guess creative-est thing she’s ever done!

So we were on our way to a supermarket. I was running the shopping list verbally with her, play-testing if she can recall all the items we needed.

“Why don’t we make a shopping list?”

“Good idea, but I am driving….”

“I’ll do it.”

Hmm? She is going to school- yes, but I didn’t think she would be able to spell the items.

She proceeded to get the small notepad I keep in the car, and a pen. “What do we need to get again?”

“Some milk- two cartons, actually; yoghurt, those veggies Mummee needed for tonight’s dinner; oh and if we can find it, a case for Mummee’s phone…”

“Milk….. yoghurt……”, scribble scribble scribble. “Ok done.”

Can you see it?

She had scribbled out the yoghurt once it was in the shopping trolley, but you can just about make it out by the shape of the tubs that she had earlier coloured in

And, the phone that goes into a pouch!

Caitlin was contemplative in the car this morning.

Will standard 1 also have gym class? (Like she has now in preschool)

What about when you were in standard 2, 3, 6, Daddee?

Gym, computer class, and the short swimming lesson, are weekly lessons that she looks forward to in school now, that I know of. I just hope that when she starts the Chinese vernacular school next year at a proper primary school level, that she will remain as enthused about school as she is now.

Probably because she is doing alright in her schooling and the social side of it. It’s no surprise that schooling will only be fun or at least tolerable when these main things are going well for kids, at any age.

Personally I have been through Chinese primary schooling. It wasn’t easy in that “capital punishment” was enforced, particularly when I wasn’t such a good kid to begin with But I hear that it has since gotten tougher- that the workload has increased, and also that kids are better “protected” by their parents.

On the latter, in my day we were kinda on our own. If you were caned, you were caned for the right reasons. These days, I hear about parents turning up in schools protesting about “abuses” from their kids’ disciplinary actions. My view? These kids will learn that they can get away with more things now, ‘cos the school “fears” disciplining them. And where there are naughty kids, there will also be bullies. By boys and girls.

And on the former, I also hear of stories where kids can’t even complete their homework by bedtime…

I worry about these negative effects that may deter my kids from wanting to go to school to learn and socialise; especially when my kids seem to exhibit traits of strong-headed-ness. On the one hand they may be immune from bullies, and be popular instead, but of course these have to be from the right reasons….

It is as parents that we ensure they are. And for them to have something to look forward to all the time, at home and at school.

That means I gotta think of something for them to do this weekend!

Short post, this one…

I have owned an iPhone since the 3G model (and don’t get me started on how I lost that one); using the 3GS now.

Caitlin has always been “using” it for the simple games I have downloaded; where I had learned quickly that it was better to delete the arcade-ish games and install educational ones. I gotta say, whether Hot Mummee believes me or not, that that math game has indeed helped Caitlin to an extent. The user-interface, the touch screen and the cheers from getting the right answer, do indeed make her wanna think hard, count properly, and “win” the game.

So she is quite well versed with getting around and finding what she wants.

Recently on my trip to LA, I had bought the iPad for my brothers. (Okay the real story is that I bought it for myself, and was supposed to get another 2 when HM told me off. So I stopped after buying the second one!)

Caitlin had no trouble using that too.

This is not a plug for Apple; though if they were to give me a free iPad I would gladly reword this post My point is that they take to technology so easily.

Caleb is now fighting over his sister for time with my iPhone too these days. Other than (trying, for his age) playing games he is actually very well versed with the finger side-swiping whilst looking at the photos. He likes to review the photos as well as watch the videos.

I am reminded of how I was always the go-to kid when my dad had trouble with the VCR, back in the early 80′s. I also self-taught how to hook up 2 VCR’s and started making copies of borrowed tapes…

In the genes, you say?

That’s a description I had heard my bothers describe of me earlier, when i was fooling around and followed them to the driving range one evening.

They said I have a good swing, only it lacked the whip of the wrist, that my swing is too rounded and even. Otherwise, I do “feel” it too that the swing is not-bad

I think I can now justifiable use that on Caleb.

Earlier this year, probably not long after his 2nd birthday, we were already kicking a miniature basketball around inside the house. Caitlin, by comparison, sometimes still misses kicking the stationary ball, let alone decide which direction the ball will roll!

Caleb has always been able to center the ball, in terms of placing it squarely infront of him, and then actually kicking it straight to me. Not a bad feat for a kid his age; even my older brother (who is quite athletic himself during his day!) says so.

This morning, while waiting for lunch to be ready, we were again kicking the ball around in the living room. I decided instead of the usual to-and-froing, that I’d mark him soccer style.

Ball steals left and right, getting him to dodge in the same directions half a second later only to find the ball missing, and chasing after Daddee who is dribbling the ball away. Mind you for a 2.5 year old this is all new tricks for him to see and observe. At least it was all giggles and not cries of having the ball marked and stolen from him.

A short 10 minutes or so later old-man Daddee already had to sit down. But what does he find Caleb doing?

He is actually dribbling soccer-style behind the ball! The kid’s actually picked it up from just 10 minutes before!

Granted the living room isn’t very big, but he’s managed consistently to maintain just behind the ball, toe-tapping it 2-3 times as he ran after it before reaching the end of the living room, reposition, and start again the opposite direction!

Maybe I should expose him to golf next, and let him turn pro! Nothing wrong with soccer, just that as a professional career golf is a lot longer! This Daddee can be his manager and go on tour with him!

Oh, and yes- those are still his water-proof training pants!

Quite early on I had explained to Caitlin what fuel means to a car.

“It’s like food to the car; it needs energy to keep going. No petrol, and the car will not work anymore…” and somewhere along the way I had also shown her the low-fuel warning light that comes on.

Sometime last week, when it was just the two of us in the car, the light came on. She noticed, and we started talking about what to do.

“You’d have to get out and push,” I told Caitlin, “‘cos you don’t know how to steer, whereas I do.”

That was my logic, and after a lot of protest she kinda saw that logic, even though she was more concerned about the fact of pushing, than about whether it was even a viable option!

“But I know how to steer! Why don’t YOU go and push?”

“How do you know how to steer??”

“Remember this trip?” She asked…

… where in fact she did steer the car around the mall. In theory, she did steer around.

“Ya; but this is a bigger car, and you don’t know how to steer a bigger car…”

Silence.

We managed to get to where we were going, and that was it.

Last night when we were on the way home from Grandma’s, with Caleb and the helper also in the car, the light came on again.

She leans in and whispers, “Maybe we can get kakak and di-di to push, and you and I can steer ….”

Brain? Heart? Plastic?

This was from Caitlin’s doctor’s set

I have been lucky to be selected to be part of a delegation to visit the US, under their International Leadership Visitors Program, under their State Dept. We’ve been here since 2nd week of May.

So far I’ve only had 2 chances to speak to Caitlin and Caleb due to the time difference, and once because they were out with their grandparents.

Last night I called again, and Hot Mummee says I cannot speak to Caitlin- she was being punished for lying. “I want you to do something about it too” she said to me before handing the phone over.

Oh great, I thought. not the kind of mood I want during such scarce opportunity to chat.

“What did you do.”

Already sobbing, “I bluffed Mummee…”

“Why?”

She didn’t answer; probably couldn’t give any.

“Daddee’s very sad to hear that, Caitlin…” in between Caleb is trying to get back on to the phone after our brief chat; if you can call it that with a 2 year old- apparently when I spoke to him asking him what he was doing, he was waving his building block to me at the phone!

“Caitlin, pass the phone back to Mummee..”

“What?”

“Pass the phone back to Mummee; I don’t want to talk to you anymore”

As she does, she started sobbing again. “Daddee doesn’t want to talk to me!” and i hear her crying..

“Good!” I hear Mummee say.

At the end, I am not sure who is sadder.

I recall I used to do this to my mum as well when I was this age. Kinda also recall driving her crazy too.

You feed the 2 year old a mouthful. And he keeps it there. No movement, no chewing, no swallowing. It’s J U S T T H E R E in his mouth. Take away his entertainment (which is usually a DVD of Bee Movie or Ice Age or some such) and he’d start bawling, mouth agape, effectively showing you the contents or objects in discussion here.

What the hell do we do?? He won’t chew, or (I think more accurately) forgets to chew. Threaten to take away the uneaten portions and he objects verbally and very audibly. Put it back, 5 seconds later, it’s back to forget-to-chew. He’s probably already no longer hungry, else he’d be chowing down the food. But he still has to finish up the food cos, well, it’s prepared, and he just has to finish it!

But wait a second: I think I used to to it to my mum way after 2 years old, else I wouldn’t be able to recall it. Does that mean that Caleb will be doing this for more years to come??

That’s what the kids call it.

My camera and iPhone can take videos- videos of them, generally, on the bike, monkeying around, trying to capture their growing years. Often I’d play it back for them on my laptop- they do like to see themselves in action, over and over again. I think somehow along the way, in their own respective years and development, they’ve grasped the idea that these are recorded images of themselves, and others- moving pictures of people of past events, captured and able to playback.

Folks would know that I have been away from home for a few weeks. I have been using Skype to video-chat keep in touch with Mummee, and generally remind the kids that they still have a Daddee, and that Daddee really really misses them.

Caitlin has used this “service” before, when Mummee was away. This time she and I would chat quite happily after she gets over giggling that Daddee is now inside a small box on Mummee’s computer screen.

It would be a wonder for Caleb, however, that suddenly Daddee, in these moving pictures of him (albeit only a headshot of him) is suddenly able to respond!

Aren’t these moving pictures supposedly a captured series of past events? How is it that Daddee is able to talk to Mummee, jie-jie, and I?? I remember Daddee saying bye-bye, and now he’s suddenly trapped inside this small box? Inside Mummee’s computer??

He does say “Hello Daddee”, as per instructed by Mummee. And I’d respond “Hello Caleb”. We’d be doing this repeatedly, because, well, he doesn’t really have much to report unlike his jie-jie. No- he did try to tell me once over video-chat that he fell and hit his head….

Now, I am wondering if the next time he sees more moving pictures on my laptop, that he’d try and get the attention of the people inside…

Yes, I know this is overdue, so overdue that the fortnight of Chinese New Year celebrations are already over.

Just thought I’d share this lovely photo of my two lovely kids.

Grandma bought these outfits for them- trust her (and her taste) to find these treasures. The kids wore these on the first day of the new year. Never mind that Hot Mummee took forever to get them ready and was therefore late coming downstairs to greet and wish everyone- they looked fantastic and everyone ooh and ahh-ed.

Taking these shots of them wasn’t easy. As you can tell it’s not that easy telling a 2 year old boy to stand still, look this way, and smile, while at the same time telling his jie-jie to hold that pose and smile too, waiting for that opportune time of him.

During the few days we were at my parents’ house, one of the nearby neighbours had a lion dance come bless their new house. As this was already Day something-or-other, we weren’t dressed in our best (anymore); in fact it was still rather early in the morning and, well, my hair was still in a mess. Not to let the chance pass, I grabbed the kids and got into the car to search for the origin of the drumbeats.

It was just around the bend. There were scores of other neighbours already, keen to get a good angle of the performance. It was also rather sunny, but I insisted the kids get exposed to this once-a-year cultural performance. I grabbed a brollie and the kids, and started finding a good spot on the road, in the sun. The host auntie owner-of-the-house saw us, “Come! Come inside and watch! It’s okay!” And so we did. It was good timing too cos the crew was just about to start (I don’t know what I heard earlier then- must have been a rehearsal…?)

I found a corner of their living room to stand, a spot where we shouldn’t be blocking the dancing. I was holding Caleb, while Caitlin was beside my left thigh. Caleb hasn’t seen one of these before, being only 2 years old; while Caitlin should be alright.

The dancing started. The opposite of what I was expecting happened. Caleb was staring wide-eyed at the whole thing, poker-faced reactionless, taking in the whole noise of the drums and cymbals and the strange looking creature. Caitlin however was cowering, left thigh, right thigh, face buried in thigh.

Then the big event came. The 10-foot long firecracker was lit. Since it was rather crowded and we were boxed-in where we stood, I used my opposite hand to close Caleb’s far-side ear and pushed his near-side ear against my cheek, covering them from the loud popping of the firecrackers; we were after all only about 20 feet from it. They didn’t flinch, and in fact I think they enjoyed the suspense of it, hearing it and seeing it pop, red paper sprayed into the air by bright flashes.

When it was over, the owner-auntie came and gave all the children ang pau’s, mine included

I have said before that I envy Caleb’s head-shape: Cos this Daddee can never pull off getting a crew cut like this and still look “normal”, instead, likely to even get a chuckle from people at first sight.

This shot was taken under 30min of him having it cut. As you can guess, it was in a major shopping centre. Here we are taking some snaps of the Chinese New Year decor.

Despite minor protests from Hot Mummee, I stand by my decision for this crew cut… And no, this is not a sign of things to come, insofar as fathers imposing their wishes onto their kids! IT’S ONLY A HAIRCUT!

So it’s good that Caitlin has been able to read the alphabet for a while now.

The other day, while assisting with her pj’s, she noted “M” on the tag of her pj pants.

“Daddee, why am I wearing pyjamas for boys?”

“Huh?” Looking at the colour scheme of what she had on. “No, these are colourful pyjamas, both boys and girls can wear them…”

“But there’s a “M” written on it, and “M” is for Man.”

This title certainly got you clicking

Everyone has their styles. Some hold their groins scurrying and yelling “I gotta go I GOTTA GO” while others do so subtly, yet while others (still) don’t tell you AT ALL that they have done it.

As far as a number 1 goes, Caleb won’t tell you. At all. Until you carry him and feel the wet diaper on your forearm, or when you discover the puddle of pee on the floor, while he is still running around being his 2year old self discovering and/or copying what his older sister does.

For his number 2′s however, is something I haven’t seen “done” before.

I understand everyone needs their privacy, whether it’s cos the poop is gonna stink, or that it’s simply because it’s the action of pooping. But for a 2 year old, what’s “privacy”? So it is with a lot of laughter of adorableness when we hear about, and then get to see, how my boy does it.

In private.

When you kinda suddenly discover him missing, you start to wonder whether he’s okay- but more often than not it’s because he has run to some corner of the room/house; preferably behind something, and pushing. It doesn’t matter if the pusher is 2 or 20 years old, I believe all humans push the same way. It becomes a lot more “funny” when it’s on a 2 year old boy. The same slight-squirm, the same red-face. Only standing up, hiding in some corner.

When we discover him “midway” he is somewhat apprehensive, don’t-come-any-closer kinda gesture. Dunno why. Perhaps at (only?) 2 he is starting to feel shame and embarrassment already. This idea is emphasised when I tease him (yes this Daddee teases his kids)- at any “usual” moment I’d look at him and say “Ngg ngg? Ngg ngg??” (the local baby talk for pooping; I think you can imagine how that term came about!) where he’d quite vehemently declare “Mai! MAI!” (which till today we are wondering whether he is trying to speak Hokkien dialect when most of what he hears is Cantonese where “no” is “moi”, not the Hokkien “mai”) as if the act of it is shameful.

Not that we make fun of him, maybe he is starting to develop his own self awareness and image (self respect?)

For now, I will still laugh at him. It’s okay if he develops a complex surrounding pooping. Having a complex surrounding pooping is okay compared to “performance anxiety” surrounding peeing, at the men’s room urinal.

Heh.

Caitlin has always been a little taller than average for her age.

One day she came up to me all serious and asked “Daddee, am I tall?”

“Yes darling, you are considered tall for your age. Why?”

“I heard Grandma and Mummee telling their friends and say that I am tall.. and I don’t like when they laugh at me..”

“They are not laughing at you; why would you think that?”

“….”

“It’s ok, maybe even good, that you are tall for your age. You know how you are in Pre-3 class where your friends are at least more than a year older than you?”

Nods.

“Well, even though you may be the youngest there at least you are not the shortest.”

“I guess… but I don’t like it when they laugh at me..”

“They are not laughing at you, they are just saying that you are. Well, now that you are tall, don’t you think that it’s good, that you can reach for things by yourself now? You can almost touch the light switches now when you jump, wash your hands now without a stool, you feet now being able to reach the ground when you cycle?”

“I guess…”

~~~~

Years ago when I was an adolescent I remember a conversation my parents had with Dr Pixie. I can’t recall how the topic was brought up, but it revolved around someone who was still quite short for his/her age, and Dr Pixie said there was something- either a shot or taken orally (hormones?) that can assist this kid in a growth spurt.

“Wouldn’t that just make him grow faster, rather than taller (eventually)?” I asked.

Dr Pixie looked at me, almost looking glad that someone asked that. “Good question” she said readily, “that could very well be the case- yes”- to which my brother gave me a thumbs-up “Can be a doctor!”

Dr Pixie proceeded to offer that ultimately it was still one’s genetics that determined a person’s height.

I am happy that Caitlin is tall for her age- she is not too tall, just that she therefore appears older than her age. Call me discriminating, but I’d prefer her to ultimately be an average height woman. I have seen really tall ladies and I do know they have trouble finding men!

Would I personally be intimidated about dating a taller woman? Possibly. I say this because I suppose I’d never approached and chat up anyone taller than I!

There’s something I just revealed about myself; well we also know that I am not a doctor, as much as I’d like to be