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Milestones and growing up Nat Kao

The distance that is 5 cm away

April 24, 2013

The distance that is 5 cm away

Is the distance that you can sometimes be comfortably away from me

Any farther than that

I’ll have to see you stomp your feet

Show me a pitiful face

With hot tears rolling down your cheeks

This is the distance that is more than 5 cm away

And this is really pushing it…

The distance that is 5 cm away

Is the distance that you would never go

If you were given a choice

For you’d much prefer

To cuddle me tight

Hold me close

Have me babywear you every single waking minute

So in order to keep you less than 5 cm away

I pee with you sitting on my lap (trust me, I have perfected this skill)

I bring you along on the bus to kindy with kor kor and jie jie

I walk you wearing you

I sleep hugging you tight

So that you know

Whenever I have to be more than the distance that is 5 cm away

It’s because I really

Need to

Have to

Breathe

Take a break

And not because

I don’t want you closer

Than the distance that is 5 cm away

Dedicated to Nat – the love of my life, my Glutinous Rice Ball

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Family life as we know it Milestones and growing up

Too far moments in history

April 10, 2013

Tonight the kids shared a moment in history which may never repeat itself in the months to come.

Nat, at 14 months, is finally drinking his milk from the bottle. Not much, but 10ml is good enough for a mother who has been trying to bottle-feed him since Day 1.

And so, we lined all three of them up for a photo to remember. Because soon enough, somebody’s gotta start drinking milk from the cup, or not even have the night milk feed at all (especially when it’s time to start toilet training for the night).

Soon enough, each of them would go on to reach their age-appropriate developmental milestones as they grow in the days and months ahead.

They might not be holding the bottle like they did today – together, at the same time.

And tonight, for the first time in my life, I allowed my mind to wander yonder to think about the moments in history which would only happen once. Like…

…2015 is the only year all three children would be preschoolers. Nat would be 3 (pre-nursery), Becks 5 (Kindergarten 1) and Ben 6 (Kindergarten 2).

…2019 will be the first of the three years to follow that they would all be primary schoolers.

…2025 will be the year that they will share a moment in history again. That would be the only year all three would be in Secondary school.

As I counted their ages with each progressive year, I began to feel a lump growing in my throat.

By the time I reached 2025, the lump in my throat got way too huge to swallow.

In the short span of time thinking, I also started to have a headache. The numbers 2015, 2019 and 2025 made my head throb. It’s crazy enough to be doing those mental sums and then imagining what life would be like with my children all grown up, and having to deal with that lump that’s still growing in the throat.

So for now, in 2013 – every day this year – they will still be my babies.

Now that helped me gulp the lump away.

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Getting all sentimental now Milestones and growing up The darndest kid quotes and antics

Letter to my littlest #5

March 27, 2013

Dearest honey bun,

13 is such a wonderful number, because every day with you at 13 is a day filled with laughter. You’re so funny you crack us up every single day with your antics and babbling. Oh, how I wish you would stay 13 months forever.

You love anything round and you’re totally obsessed with balloons. You snatch little children’s balloon-on-a-stick whenever you see a kid with one when we’re out. It’s becoming embarassing; I have to apologise to older little children on your behalf. In your first gym lesson you made an older girl cry because you grabbed her rubber ball. I still can’t believe you did that.

Because of your obsession, we’ve started to blow balloons in the house and now the house looks like one of those Singkids Play System playgrounds with balloons and balls everywhere. You say “ball” the first thing you wake, and “ball” even in your sleep. Oh, but now there’s also “up-ple” (apple) and “bb-berd” (bird) that you say non-stop every day. You love to crunch apples and chase the birds and dogs when we’re downstairs.

You have zero sense of fear, we’ve come to the point we are scared to bring you to the playground. Have you seen the way you climb up slides and stairs not meant for your age? You do it so well the neighbours are awed and tell me they cannot believe you just turned one. Yes, we’ve all seen you go down the slide at the playground downstairs all by yourself. I was thrilled and flabbergasted at the same time. You, my son, are the only one capable of letting me experience this. I’m not sure I should say ‘thanks’ or ‘no, thanks’, but you’re definitely one gungho fella!

Speaking of gungho, there was this time you saw your older siblings jump from the sofa onto the playmat, and you decided you would do the same. Once again, I experienced that feeling of being flabbergasted, watching you jump off the sofa, laughing and squealing at the top of your voice. You didn’t care if anyone was waiting to catch you, you didn’t mind if no one did, you just JUMPED. Gawd, are you 13 months or 30 months?

At 13, you do the funniest things. You blow raspberries on my thighs, you laugh (in such an exaggerated way) when we laugh, you imitate people around you, you do what we tell you to do – sit down, lie down, stand up, throw away the rubbish please, change diaper, go and bathe – it’s totally amazing you understand so much. You snuggle up with kor kor and jie jie when they are fast asleep, and you say “WOOOOOOOO” in all kinds of pitch and volume when its time to sit on your trike / glide on kor kor’s Y-Bike / wear your shoes / play ball / read a book.

It’s been so fun with you every day. Stay this way, ok? I love you to the moon and back, Nat, please stay at 13. Please?

With all my love, and then some more,

Mama

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Learning fun! Milestones and growing up The darndest kid quotes and antics The Kao Kids

My mother, my student

March 9, 2013

Little Miss Bossy has found a new hobby lately. She’s decided she wants to be ‘Teacher Jenny’ (the teacher who used to teach her when she was at daycare).

Becks: Mama, sit down!

Me: Ok…

Becks: I’m going to read to you ah. This book is ‘One Fish Two Fish’.

Becks: Fish swim like this (makes action with two hands)

Becks: And fish can drive

Me: Yes, and so says Dr Seuss… (listening as she rambles on about fish for a few minutes)

Becks: Ok, now we sing a song. SING! All the fishes swimming in the water… (she switches from English to Chinese playtime songs about fishes).

Me: All the fishes swimming in the water…

Becks: Hey, Mama! DO WITH ME THE ACTIONS! (hollers at me while the brother watches in amusement)

Me: Right…

Ben: Hahahaha! Mama is Becks’ student! Hahahaha!

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Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days What to Expect... As a Mother

Mom, interrupted, Part 2

March 8, 2013

We haven’t been doing much homelearning these days. Murphy is quite the chap that’s been sticking around here lately, with the Kao kids taking ill, one after another.

First up, a case of vomitting, high fever, cough and runny nose, needing meds like Rhinatiol, Motillium and Adezio for almost a week.

Then someone had bronchitis and needed Flixotide, Combivent and Sodium Chloride in mist form thrice a day through the nebuliser.

Today, another kid threw up like clockwork and yet another epsiode of stomach flu has begun.

This whole week alone, the kids are finishing up the Paracetamol Suspension faster than I can pronounce ‘Paracetamol’, not to mention tissue papers.

With the remaining energy that’s left, we’ve only managed to go downstairs for mini explorations to search for critters…

Play ball with the baby who adores all things round every waking minute…

As well as try a few of the many craft materials in February’s Toddibox (review on that later!)…

It’s been quite a manic month, this March. I need to be showing Murphy the door.

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Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days What to Expect... As a Mother

Mom, interrupted, Part 1

March 6, 2013

Ever since the stay-home gig started on 1 March, it’s been nothing short of crazy here.

In fact, I’ll be frank and go as far to say it’s been *crap*.

I’ve been barking, hollering and watching my blood pressure go up while feeling my blood boil as I attempt to undo some years of bad habits and poor child training.

I would go, “Stop what you’re doing and let’s have breakfast now.”

And the kids would go:

“But I’m busy. I want to do what I’m doing.”

“No, I don’t want to eat breakfast. Eww, what’s that? Yucks!“

This happens for lunch time, bath time, nap time and whatever-Mama-says time. Every time.

Then there would be the meltdowns and temper tantrums ranging from not wanting to wear a particular piece of clothing I’ve chosen to not being the first in line for vitamins. Like the “why-you-give-whoever-the-vitamin-first-and-not-me” kind of silly tantrums.

Plus, arguments and fights on an hourly basis and having to put children in their time-out corners for I-dunno-how-many-bloody-times a day, a needy baby who wants to be carried ALL THE TIME, a four-year-old asking you incessantly “What can we do now?” and a middle child who’s practically screaming her own head off when things don’t go her way, I’m pretty much going beserk after 6 days.

I’m also doubling up as maid of the house because it is just impossible for the helper to manage the chores. So guess what, I’m also mopping the crayon stains, folding laundry and changing bedsheets. Every day, someone would wet the bed, spill milk, scatter Cheerios, litter the house with shreds of paper cut-outs and eraser shavings, and smear the walls with Crayola.

Yesterday’s dirty laundry

Two baskets of unfolded laundry

And then some more

But I’m no fool of a Mama that will accept things as they are, and have these kids continue to be poorly behaved.

Child training – this is how it begins.

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Ben Kao Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up

Roar! It’s dino galore!

March 1, 2013

Ben’s been obsessed with dinosaurs for many months now.

Although he still has some problems pronouncing the long names like the hypsilophodon, tenontosaurus and euoplocephalus, (who wouldn’t?) thanks to the Flip-o-saurus I bought him, he’s learnt to invent names for dinosaurs using his imagination. This wacky book contains fantastic pictures and breaks dinos’ names up which allows the kid to mix and match their body parts to create their own make-belief dinosaurs.

The hardest part of this dino craze is having to explain the history of these prehistoric creatures to him, why they’ve become extinct, how these creatures are classified (saurischia, the lizard-hipped; ornithischia, the bird-hipped plant eaters; the long-necked ones, bipedal ones, bird-footed ones, armoured ones, and those with horns and shield around the skull).

It’s almost excruciating.

Because I want to encourage his curiosity, I also end up squinting and reading him The World of Dinosaurs, an encyclopedic guide to these prehistoric creatures A LOT, especially before bedtime, and having my tongue tied every minute of it.

In December, we had lots of counting and sorting fun with the dinosaur counters I bought from The Mind Store. I used the 108 mini dinos – the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Dimetrodon and Woolly Mammoth in various colours – to teach classification, colour sorting, counting, sequencing, and simple addition and subtraction. It was a great deal of fun learning with these counters.

The boy also amassed a huge number of different dino figurines for his own pretend play since Christmas, both from the toy store and from those hatch-a-dino eggs. Dinosaurs (rubbery, slippery ones!) practically hatch and grow when you throw those eggs into water. It was thrilling for him to watch what would be hatched and even more amusing for us to hear him scream the name of the dino over a pail of water – Stegosaurus! T-rex! Pterodactyl! – like some pro.

I think I’ve learned so much about dinosaurs the last few months I should be given a Ph.D for it. And the boy? He’s still very much obsessed with these prehistoric giants so we threw him a dino-theme birthday party.

[To be continued…]

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Ben Kao Milestones and growing up The darndest kid quotes and antics

WTBW: Ah Boys to Men

February 27, 2013

Ben’s been quite captivated by the movie trailer of Ah Boys to Men playing at the DVD stores. He’s been fascinated with soldiers and guns since he was two, and has a group of friends at daycare who loves shooting with “rifles” and “pistols”.

Part 1

Ben: Every man must go to the army?

Me: Yea. Someday, when you’re 19, you will go. And Nat too. Your father and grandfathers have all been trained in the army.

Ben: Gong gong is a soldier?

Me: Yes. He used to be.

Ben: And Dada?

Me: Yes. He still is one.

Ben: Huh? Why he teach and then he shoots?

Part 2

Ben: What do the soldiers eat in the army camp? Is there a kitchen?

Me: Yes, there’s a cook house. The soldiers eat simple food. Maybe not very tasty food too.

Ben: Huh… Why?

Me: It’s not like they get Pastamania all the time. They’ve gotta eat quickly and do things quickly, no time to do fine dining.

Ben: Why must they do things quickly?

Fatherkao: That’s what soldiers do. They do things quick.

Ben: They need to do things quickly so they can shoot the bad guys?

Fatherkao: Yea, something like that.

Ben: How come there are bad guys in the army camp?

Part 3

Ben: In the army, you must train very hard?

Me: Yes, like what you saw in the movie trailer. They do drills, practise shooting, sleep very little and run around a lot.

Ben: Is it very tiring?

Me: Of course.

Ben: And I will be away from you? You will cry when I go?

Me: Yes, I will cry when you and Nat go to the army.

Ben: Huh, then I don’t be a soldier anymore, ok. I’ll be an astronaut.

~~~

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Ben Kao Getting all sentimental now Happy days Milestones and growing up

Happy 4th birthday, my boy

February 26, 2013

My dearest Ben,

Wasn’t it yesterday you were four days old? How did you turn four years old so quickly?

You were the gentlest and sweetest creature my world has ever witnessed. I remember holding you in my arms in the wee hours of 26 February 2009, looking at a dream come true. We waited almost a year for you. We were trying so hard then, and finally when we stopped trying, you came.

You came and rocked my world, son. You showed me tenderness and what little boys were made of. You’ve got heaps of unending cheekiness, curiosity, and that tremendous keenness to learn and grow. You, my boy, have taught me much as a mother.

Through your questions, I’ve learned to be patient.

Through your mischief, I’ve learned to let go and have fun.

Through your sensitivity, I’ve learned what it means to love and feel.

How did you grow up so quickly? The years have flown by fast and I’m unwilling to let you grow up. I wished you’d remain my little baby boy forever.

Happy birthday, Benji boy. I love you always and forever. I loved you before I knew you and now I’m loving you with everything I’ve got.

Affectionately yours,

Mama

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Happy days Milestones and growing up Nat Kao

Baby Nat’s ONE-derful party

February 25, 2013

Nat is the only one among the three kids we have that knows he’s turned one. Every time we sing the birthday song, he claps his hands and blows an imaginary candle when we’re finished.

I know he must have thoroughly enjoyed the party we threw him last Saturday.

We held a celebration at The Grassroots’ Club Children’s Playroom for Nat’s first birthday bash. This event marked our fifth party held there. We celebrated Ben’s first birthday there. Becks’ full-month and first birthday celebration were held there, and so was Nat’s full-month. The place has become quite synonymous with any of the Kao kid’s party among family and friends.

Since this would probably be the last BIG party I’d ever organise (I don’t plan on having a fourth kid, so there’ll be no more full-month celebrations or first birthdays!), I thought I’d really make sure that my baby would have the best party of his life. Well, maybe not the elaborate Disneyland kind of party, but good enough for Nat to remember in photos and make him grin all night.

The venue was great because it has a ball pool which Nat absolutely loved and an indoor playground and kiddy rides which gave the adults much breathing space and chit-chatting opportunities while the kids were fully entertained, playing catching with one another and climbing up and down the playground structures. Ben and Becks were old enough to run along and play on their own, and that gave me time to catch up with friends and relatives, and parade the birthday boy around.

The food we had was catered by Casserole. It was decent, and the favourite amongst the guests had to be their nonya chicken curry and bobo chacha (a warm nonya dessert of coconut milk, sweet potatoes, taro and tapioca). The portions were generous, and that made some of my relatives very happy because they could pack food home for their lunch the next day. I also got an agar agar cake (which was so very tasty, by the way) from Cake Story. The folks there accepted my last minute order and was exceptionally prompt in responding and delivering the cake despite having one day’s notice.

Nat’s star-theme two-tier birthday cake was baked by the Queen Bee herself, Christina, who painstaking adorned the cake with colourful stars, both big and small. Stars because the boy loves the Ikea star night-light in his room, and would point to it every night when it’s switched on to say “aaar…” much to our amusement, and I’d thought it’d be nice if he had lots of stars for his cake, and say “aaar...” the whole night long.

He loves balloons too, so we got him a customised bouquet of colourful ones from Twinkle Balloons. He loved the balloons so very much he didn’t say “[st]aaar” as I hope he would but “bb-bor” the whole time at the party. He made the guests laughed quite a bit with his obsession for all things big and round.

We had a fabulous time with friends and family celebrating this big milestone. I’m reminded of the times when my other two babies were once one, and how fast time has flown by. Now, I don’t have a baby anymore. I officially have three toddlers.

A heartfelt thank you to all who came and blessed Nathanael with your presence and presents. (I would have loved to upload pictures of you on this blog but I respect the fact that some of you are very private people. Will have them emailed to you!)

It’s been a really one-derful evening!

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