The Wonder of Having Sons

This isn't a blog of mine. It was sent to me from my friend, Janice, and it cracked Sam and I. The boys in the photos are really naughty! (except for the baby eating the huge watermelon. That's just super cute =D

I wonder if we'll ever go through these when Sean grow older??? Yikes!!!

For those of you who were fortunate to have daughters ONLY, be glad....
be very, very glad...

And you also find out very interesting things when you have sons, like ....

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with WhiteKing makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A 6-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man

says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a 4- year old boy.

11.) 'Play Dough' and 'microwave' should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super Glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jelly you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jelly.

15.) VCR's do not eject Peanut Butter & Jam sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odour is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in East Melbourne has a 3-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.


22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

Hurricane Sean

Last Tuesday, when Sam and I came home at 10.30pm after BJJ, the living room looked as if a hurricane has run amok inside. Hurricane Sean!

The PIL had a guest and they must have been engrossed in their conversation that they left Sean to his own devices. He overturned his ball pit and strewn all 200 balls and his toys all over the floor. All the dining room chairs, excepts the ones being sat on, were toppled. Even his armchair was toppled! (I still don't know how a 17 month old baby toppled an arm chair by himself * roll eyes*) And of course, he was watching the TV all the way in front, as close possible to the screen. He also had poop in his diaper and from the smell and texture, it looked like he had pooped some time ago. When mummy isn't home, all hell broke loose! ....shake head...

So Sean has found a new game....Toppling big objects.

The next few days, Sean would topple chairs whenever he could. I, of course, stopped him, especially since his feet almost got squashed several times. Yikes! My FIL though said to let him do it since he enjoys it, never seeing it as an accident waiting to happen! I know that it's grandparents privilege to spoil their grandchildren, but I wish they would at least not be so easy going about letting Sean do anything he wants to do.

I have had to chase him round the dining table, stopping him from toppling the rather heavy wooden chairs and admonishing him. It has taken days to undo the damage of one night of no rules. I have had to re-established the TV rule too. Sometimes I spend half and hour switching the TV on and off before he'll sit long enough to watch a show. Sean isn't that naughty, but he is a curious and adventurous toddler who needs to have boundaries set around him.

The TV Rule

I was growing concerned about the amount of TV watching Sean had been doing. One of the reason is that everyone at home likes to watch TV and everyone, including myself, has used the TV as a way to occupy Sean when we need to do something. Bad habits!

Another concern of mine was that Sean liked to watch really close to the TV. He practically walks right up. So we've used the coffee table as well as the foot rests to block the TV to give him at least 1 meter away from the TV.

I still found it too close to my liking, so I decided on a little experiment. Sean has to sit on a chair if he wants to watch TV. No more walking right up to the front. I use "Cars", his favorite movie, for the experiment. We put one of the lower arm chair (so he can climb in and out of the chair easily) in the TV area for him to sit on. He has to sit there or anywhere else that's at least 2 meters away. Whenever he moves to the front of the TV, I'll pause or switch the movie off. Of course this erupted in many tantrums at the beginning.

Sam couldn't understand at first why I was being so "strict". He said that he was brought up on TV and doesn't see anything wrong with it. Yeah right.... Sam's idea of baby sitting Sean is to let him watch South Park! Now when I need Sam to occupy Sean while I do something, his trick is South Park, which I don't really approve of. I've asked Sam to find something else besides South Park. Unfortunately, the "Cars" dvd doesn't work in the PC. Even "The Three Mousketeers" and "Nemo" doesn't divert Sean's attention as well as South Park. So Sam still has to find something else to entertain Sean. If possible, something not TV related.

I'm not really against TV in general. I still watch TV together with Sean. But there needs to be some rule regarding the amount and the way he watches it.

But the experiment is working. Last week, Sean was watching 'Johny & The Sprites". The Astro doesn't work when it rains heavily. The TV turned blank. Sean went to the remotes and "tried" to fiddle with them. When he saw me, he quickly scurried to his chair... he he he...He thought I switched the TV off because he was in front of the TV again. I said to him "It's not mummy this time round." Since he behaved so well, I let him watched DVD in the room instead. Reward for good behavior ha ha ha... It's just so funny to see his face when he realized that he broke the rule and then scurried to the chair.

Now he doesn't insist on watching his "brrr brrr" movie when we go downstairs anymore. I let him walk around the living room to find something to interest him. I try not to switch the TV on for as long as possible. So of course I don't really watch TV anymore. Later on he'll ask to watch TV. Since he has behaved well, I let him watch, but not as much as he used to. I still let him watch other movies in the room when he's restless though. One step at a time. At least experiment No.1 works! =D

Mummy controls the remote! Yeah!

Milk ....milk....milk....

So.... I'm weaning.

What I really want is for Sean to accept other types of milk so that when he doesn't like his food, he has milk (not BM) to fill him up, as well as something to bring along when we go out, just in case he's hungry. And of course gradually wean himself off the breast completely.

I have to admit that I'm starting the weaning process rather late. It would probably be easier if I had started when Sean was a year old. Now he's cleverer. He knows the difference and will protest about it. Seriously.... I have no problem having a battle of will with him. But that will make a very unhappy baby as well as an unhappy household. Everyone (and I don't just mean Sean) has become too dependent on the power of the breasts!

I've tried several types of formula and have decided not to buy anymore. Sean has never finished a can of formula in his life, even when he was being supplemented last year. I've had to throw half cans away because they've been opened way too long.

We tried soya milk and cow's milk as well (chocolate, strawberry & plain (fresh and pasteurised)) but he has been difficult. We can coax him when he's really hungry or thirsty, but he takes 1.5 oz every other day. That's really too little for a growing toddler. How I wish he can drink an 8oz bottle of milk at once, but even when he accepted EBM in a bottle, his max was 4-5 oz. But.. he can finish a cup of yogurt, so at least that can fill him up..... hopefully.

It just occurred to me last night that the reason this is so difficult is because he's still getting his breast milk several times a night. And he knows when he insist on nen-nen, he'll get it. So this is the real problem. I don't think it'll be possible to cut the breast of completely at the moment. Everyone isn't ready for it.

But there's a ray of hope yesterday. I managed to trick him he he he =P

I tried giving him Dutch Lady chocolate milk again yesterday afternoon. The moment he saw me put the straw in the box, he ran away to his Ah Ma (who happens to be at home), asked her to carry him and protested when I came closer with the milk. So OK... I didn't want to push it.

Later at night as we went up to the room, I carried the box of milk up. The moment he saw it, he protested. I said to him " It's not for you... it's for mummy." So in the room, while he was playing in his cardboard house, I sipped the chocolate milk and "Mmmm....yummy, do you want some?" So he tried a sip, then went back playing. I played with him and gave him a few more sips.

When he became restless, we watched Nemo. When he was engrossed in the movie, I put the straw in his mouth and let him drink. So he drank! There wasn't much left because I drank most of it while trying to show him how nice the milk was. Ha ha ha... but at least I have a trick up my sleeve!

Fork Power

Today I decided to let Sean use the fork with his meal. I made a carrot & potato pancake with cheese for his lunch. He really enjoyed his meal! No fussiness or rebellion for at least 20 minutes. =D

He was probably happy that he got to use this tool (fork) that has always been denied him. I gave him both spoon and fork ( I trimmed away the sharp points from the IKEA fork to make it duller), letting him choose which one to use. He tried the spoon and then the fork. He found the fork so much easier to use. He speared his bits of pancakes and ate it easily. Of course, there was still a mess, but definitely less mess than trying to get him to eat porridge with a spoon!

I gave him sliced bananas which he ate with his fingers and proceeded to rub his hands on his hair. What a messy boy!.. but I'm glad to see that he's starting to enjoy his meals at home. Fork Power!=D

But still no milk.. he sipped a little and threw the cup away. He tried to pour it out but I stopped him. I think someone else has to give him his milk. I read that it's much easier for someone besides the mummy to introduce milk to a breastfed baby. I'm hoping my MIL can do that whenever she babysits Sean. Sean refuses to eat with the maid, especially if I'm around. He would run to me and try to climb me and struggle if she comes nearby. So the maid isn't a good candidate to help me wean him.

I don't really want to fight with him over milk if he really hates it. My mum said I stopped drinking milk at 1 year old. No wonder I'm short!!!! 8{

If Sean doesn't like milk (the way I didn't and still don't like milk), I guess he's gotta get his protein/calcium some other ways. So let's do the "Noodle Dance" and think... think.... think.....

(This Mama watches too much cartoons!) =P

Destructor Boy - difficult eater

Sean has been getting rather naughty recently. For example, the sticker book we bought for him during CNY didn't last a week! He tore a page on the way home from buying the book. By day 6, all the pages have been torn out. I've layered the cover with plastic and let him use that as his sticker book.

But he's just so boisterous....and rough with his things. His favourite story book (to flip, not to be read unfortunately) has been torn in so many places that the pages are covered with tapes. Sigh...... (shake head)

He's also been very difficult with his meals. It's nothing new, he's always been a difficult eater. Even when he was a young baby, he never ate a lot at one go, preferring to drink a little at a time, but very often. But last time he was okay with drinking milk(EBM and even a bit of formula) in a bottle. Recently, he has only wanted breast milk, his "nen-nen". He runs away whenever we try to give him any other milk. It's been hard to even get him to drink water. We've hard to resort to giving him diluted juice, but even then, it doesn't always work.

On solid food. I can't remember the last time he actually finish a meal. He likes to eat outside food and will eat with us whenever we go for meals. But it can't be good for a young toddler to eat so much outside food.

I've read that toddlers don't need to eat 3 full meals a day and many prefer to graze throughout the day. So I'm hoping that Sean is getting enough nutritions with his haphazard meals. I've also been giving him yogurt for snacks. I have to remember to stock up on healthy snacks for him. Otherwise he will be asking for nga-ku crisps all the time!!

Mad about Cars

Sean's latest movie mania is "Cars" by Disney & Pixar. It's a great movie, not new but I'm sure well loved by most little boys and even big boys. Even my hubby is impressed with the graphics and story line.

Sean watched the movie once sometime back last year. I didn't realize that he was attracted by it. My first inkling was when he pointed to "Lightning McQueen" the main character while Christmas shopping in Dec. I told him that he had too many cars at home and I wasn't going to buy him another car for Christmas.

Then last week I took out the dvd so he could watch something other than the Disney Channel. When the Astro died before CNY, he got to watch "Cars" over and over again. Now the first thing he wants to do when he gets downstairs is to watch the movie. He would go right in front of the TV and point while saying "brrr brrr" and would throw a tantrum if I don't switch it on.

I would sometimes tease him while he watches but he ignores me. You can see from his face that's he's totally absorbed. Sometimes I switch the TV off just to get his attention. This must be what they mean in books when they warn us against TV!

But what impresses me is the fact that he remembers the story line. He doesn't like the night scenes during the police car chase and when Lightning McQueen was chased by Frank the harvester. Before these scenes appear , even when it's still daytime in the movie, Sean would get fidgety and wants to be held. So I would fast forward the movie to bypass those scenes and when he sees the next scene, he would smile, as if he knew that the scary part is bypassed.

Ok.. he's watched the movie many times, so maybe it's not that impressive, but still... he's just 17 months old. Do toddlers this age remember that much? or is it just my imagination?

Oh yeah, I finally got him Lightning McQueen. Not the expensive original, but the Rm4 version from a stall at Tesco. What a bargain! ha ha ha

CNY party at Bryan's place.

We just came back from the CNY lunch at Paik Ling's, Vint Ze's and Bryan's place. It was fun to get Sean to meet up with the other children. Although I think they spent more time fighting over toys rather than playing together.. ha ha ha...=D

I was also too busy watching over Sean to make sure he doesn't destroy Bryan's property. Unfortunately, not quick enough, Sean scribbled crayon all over the TV! (Sorry PL.. can't replace with Plasma TV, just wet wipes to clean the scribble, can? =P)

I was also afraid that Sean would tear things apart, which he did! Ooopss.. sorry Bryan for tearing your puzzle box cover. Aunty Marlina will tape it up for you, ok?

We should try to get the kids together more often. Sean enjoyed playing with "new toys". Maybe we should have more play dates. =D Thanks Paik Ling for organizing the party.

Happy Chinese New Year 2008

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

This year we opted not to go through the 6-7 hours journey to Kelantan for the CNY again. There isn't a room for us at Sam's grandmother's house. We would have to share the room with PILs. I don't think Sean would be able to sleep well and would wake everyone up several times every night. As it is, he still wakes up a few times at night.

Anyway, Sean has been rebelling to sit in his car seat for the last few months. I can't imagine sitting in a car trying to control an active toddler from injuring himself for 6-7 hours. I don't think I can survive the journey!

So this CNY has been very quiet for us since there are only the three of us. No relatives to visit since Sam's relatives all balik to their respective in-laws kampung or go overseas during the CNY. No relatives for me to visit, of course.

But it's been extra quiet. Firstly, we've been having black outs several times during the last few days. I've just been worried about not having air-con because it can be really difficult to sleep when it's so hot. Last night, I ended up having to manually fan Sean with a piece of cardboard while he sleeps.

Next, our Astro died the day before CNY new year eve and we can't get any Astro repair or replacement until Sat (if that's even true). The blackouts probably killed the Astro, as well as our fax machine. So no there's been no TV for us either. I tried watching the local channel but they're terrible! So Sean has been watching "Three Mouseketeers" and " Cars" over and over again! Until I can remember the story lines for both shows. =P


We decided to go to the playgrounds at the nearby Taman Aman since there's no TV. The playgrounds look inviting whenever we drove pass. So I thought, we should go and see if Sean would enjoy playing at the park. There are 2 playgrounds in the park. We visited the first one. It's actually quite well designed, except it's rather run down since it's an outdoor playground We let Sean walked a bit but I felt it wasn't safe for Sean.

So we drove to the other side of the park.. he he he...Oh well, the pathway was being duged up and was muddy. The other playground was worse! To be fair, the design of the outdoor playground is actually quite good. They have bridges, and nets for climbing. Lots of slides, etc. But it was dirty and a little rusty. The non-slip flooring was slimy and slippery. We didn't even try the playground. But we walked around the outdoor gym, which was surprisingly cleaner than the playground, for a while and then went home. So that was the end of our playground visit. I doubt we'll ever go the public playground again. We'll probably stick to clean, indoor playgrounds from now on.