Our Humble Family

Facebook overrides blogging?

2010-05-06T10:04:00.003+08:00

Ever since i discovered FaceBook, i have not blogged. It seems easier to just download all the pictures and share with everyone. Plus i am a sucker for comments. I love to read people commenting on the pictures.

Finally, we did embark on our 1st time family trip of 4. Daddy, mummy, princess Shermaine and prince Nicholas on an excursion to Hong Kong. It's a trip where parents became slaves and children became kings. We brought them to where they want to go and buy them what they like, they even get to choose what they want to eat. Sounds like heaven? The next family trip will be few years down the road, i guess.

It's becoming more and more tiring as the toddlers grow. Nicholas's terrible 2 tantrums added fuel to the fire. More and more fights and screams at home and mummy's final scream is always the loudest. I have resorted to using cane as well though it was not in my dictionary till i read an article. I agree now. "Spare the rod and spoilt the child".

Shermaine is talking back and asking "why why why? everyday. She is a smart girl and she doesn't take silence for an answer. "Why is the moon round today? what is the moon following us back to Yishun? Why do we have a brain? Why mummy needs to work.....why mummy why?? The best answer when i am speechless is "i will check and get back to you tomorrow ok?". yes, i keep to my promise. My best friend's name? Google.

Motherhood is such. It's all about different stages at different ages. Enjoy while you can. Happy Mothers' Day. Can't wait for my surprise.

Flying time?

2009-03-08T08:14:00.004+08:00

Shermaine has been more fortunate to be travelling around. She has been to Hong Kong and is forever talking about disneyland till today. She has been on a 2nd trip to Bangkok in the same year. Her talking point? The hotel room impressed her.

Nicholas has yet to get his passport but he has been to Bangkok too. In fact, twice when he is still in me.

Now, where should we go as a family of 4? The thought stressed me out. Haha but still looking forward to one. Perth, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Japan in the list for consideration. Date? TBA......waiting for boss to decide. :P

Shermaine to Hong Kong. Mar 19. 2008.
Shermaine to Bangkok. Dec 16, 2008.
I wish the list is longer. we will work towards it.

Fun with 2

2009-03-08T07:50:00.005+08:00

It's been a really long time since I last did a posting. Life has been busy with the 2 toddlers. At times, they love each other to bits. At times, they fight like it's a battlefield. That's what siblings rivalry is all about? Have fun.

Nicholas is 1 years old!

2008-08-29T14:28:00.008+08:00

Time flies........1 year has passed and we celebrated Nic's birthday. It was a busy day of fun and get-together. Thanks to all friends & relatives who make time to celebrate his day!

Reflecting back his 1year. It has been full of ups and downs. It's easier to care for Nic with the experience that we have gathered from Shermaine. But it's definitely not easy to manage both. Now they are in the stage of snatching toys and Nic biting to retaliate. It's amusing to see them fighting, then at times, hugging and looking for each other. :)

2 Little Darlings

2008-04-14T20:54:00.004+08:00

Life is really very different being a married woman and a mother to two lovely kids.
From weekend partying life to partor-ing days to married days.......now?? Cooking and cleaning auntie! :) I found myself liking to cook these days and is always asking for tips from friends on how to whip up nice dishes. As to cleaning, it's an addiction to keep the house clean and away fr germs for the kids.

Shermaine is at her Terribe Two's stage now. Always misbehaving and throwing tantrums......can't wait for this stage to be over!

Nic is 8months!! Time flies. He is learning fast and can stand with support. Words that he is uttering now, papa, mama, mum-mum, bear bear, isn't it fast?!!

Our visit to Hong Kong

2008-03-04T20:57:00.006+08:00

It was a trip that we looked forward to, Shermaine's very first trip out of Singapore. Fortunately, she has her own seat on board and she slept most of the time.

Look at these pictures, looks fun? I must say it's pretty tiring to bring a toddler for a vacation. More so when she sticks to mummy for everything, carrying her around, pushing her stroller and even carrying my own bag. This girl is so possessive of her things and my things that daddy cannot touch.

She was down with a bad food allergy on the 2nd day. It was so bad that she has swells all over her face, body and legs, very scary. It subsided after a visit to the doctor. The cure? A jab on her thigh. Luckily, she was behaving normally and enjoyed herself.

After all the "hardships" during the trip......still no regrets. We have fulfilled our promise to bring her to Disneyland. You should have seen how her face lits up and how she was kicking her legs and waving her hands excitedly when we reached Disneyland. Her favourite now? No more barney, no more hi-5, but Mickey Mouse!

Here's more shots taken in Disneyland.....she was daring enough to go on most rides and she enjoyed the parade and fireworks most. Money well spent!

What have i earned from this trip? Hahahah more toned and bigger muscles! Thanks to our 12kg Shermaine! Poor Nicholas has to stay in Singapore and poor mum has to babysit him. We should be bringing Nic somewhere too in the near future, to be fair. Where? No idea yet, a bit scary to think now of another such tiring trip. But, we will bring him somewhere.......we shall see. :)

Our 2 little ones

2008-02-19T19:24:00.005+08:00

Nic turns 6months already, flipping and "crawling" around the bed.
Shermaine on the other hand is talking and singing always, so good at her communication that i think soon, she's going to start talking back at me!

It has been fun to watch the 2 of them growing up together. There were days when i feel extremely drained as well. That's life isn't it? As the saying goes, life is not a bed of roses........So just take it easy and enjoy the parental process. :)

Nicholas has grown! He's 4mths plus now

2007-12-26T14:57:00.000+08:00

Nic is growing by day...now he is learning to hold both hands together. Hahah in time for Chinese New Year, he should be able to do a "gong-xi" already. At a healthy weight of 7.3kg, he is 4months old already. He loves to flip and enjoys people talking to him. I think he's going to be a playful boy next time as he is always smiling and chuckling. :)

It has been fun with him around but it definitely not an easy task with his night feeds. I never had that problem with Shermaine when she started to sleep through by 1mth! Nic is still taking about 2feeds at night.....*panda eyes* for me already.

Little Shermaine goes to school

2007-11-03T23:06:00.000+08:00

Alas! It's her turn......I guess it's part and parcel of us seeing our children grow up. Despite mummy's reluctance to start her at 19months, it's a necessary step to take. This is her first route to independence. I will just have to bear with the little heartpain and give her a little bit more time to adapt.
Shermaine, you are a BIG girl now!

Our Family Trail

2007-10-18T18:05:00.001+08:00

Looking back, time really flies.
We exchanged our marriage vows on 18Sep2004. 3years into our marriage, 2 little buddles of joy to complete our lives. As the saying goes, "life is not a bed of roses", there's always ups and downs. Our journey continues from here......

2months Nicholas

2007-10-12T20:02:00.000+08:00

Shermaine loves her little brother and gets all excited when she hears him.
When he cries, she will run from whatever she is to check on him and give him a "pat pat". Isn't that sweet?

Little Nicholas is not little anymore. Doc exclaimed that he's a BIG boy, in fact too big. Hahaha He doubled his birth weight, from 3.32kg to 6.34kg in 6weeks. So mummy has to watch his diet and milk intake. He is cooing, talking and smiling everytime. It's fun to interact with him. :)

Look how he grows -1month plus Baby Nicholas

2007-09-28T14:57:00.001+08:00

From his first cry, he has ballooned. Within 6weeks, I need to change his diaper size from Newborn to Small. Now from Small to Medium! Which mummy will mind a chubbier baby? :)

Now, he is still feeding on demand every 2-3hours day and night. Let's hope life's easier once his routine is more established and sleeping patterns more set.

The Making of Shermaine's Passport

2007-09-26T08:34:00.000+08:00

It is such a challenge to get an 18mth kid to sit still. It would have been impossible to get a good shot at the studio. So, we decided to do it ourselves. U can imagine the time we spent and the amount of coaxing we give, all for her passort. Either she moves away, makes funny faces or simply doesn't want to face the camera!

Finally, the chosen pic! I have to trouble a friend to help to resize and edit the photo to comply with ICA guidelines. I don't think that's the nicest pic but well well, at least it's approved and ready for collection! Phew! After 1 long hour of waiting, passport is finally collected.

Siblings bonding

2007-08-31T16:40:00.000+08:00

With the arrival of bb Nicholas, I worry Shermaine will be jealous, I worry didi cannot get along well with jie jie, I worry they will end up fighting next time etc etc.....so many anxieties on my mind. So whatever advice i received, I diligiently follow.....

1) Get a present ready for Shermaine when she first see her didi
-> Yes, I did that. Being more kiasu, i got 2 presents ready. A little bear for Shermaine on her first visit at the hospital from didi Nicholas. A drawing board (she loves it) on her 2nd visit from didi Nicholas. Can she understand when we tell her it's a gift from didi?? Well, at least she loves the gifts....

2) Avoid letting Shermaine see the scene of mummy/daddy together carrying Nicholas on her 1st visit
-> According to child psychology (I was told), the first sight for Shermaine is very important. It will cast a lasting impression on Shermaine, leading to jeolousy. So ideally, when Shermaine visits, daddy and mummy will carry her to see her little didi and introduce her to her new sibling.

3) Umblical cord
-> I kept Shermaine's dried cord in a nice container. I was told if i put both the sibling's cord together, they will grow up to be very close. Well, it's done too. No harm following. :)

4) Finally, loads and loads of positive reinforcement that didi loves Shermaine, and Shermaine loves didi.....
-> This has to start v early even before 2nd sibling is borned. Get the elder one prepared during the pregnancy.

Do all of the above work?? Ask me in 10years time, i might be able to give you the answers then. At least for now, Shermaine keeps asking for didi Nicholas, she loves to sayang and kiss him so much.

2007-08-22T07:55:00.000+08:00

Welcome to our 2nd addition-Nicholas Koh Jun Yang!

After a full 10months of hard work with constant morning sickness and fatigue throughout the long journey, finally, little Nicholas made his arrival on his estimated date of arrival. He chose to be out on 15th Aug 2007 at 11.15am. Despite the compact tummy that I had, he was of a good size of 3.32kg, 49cm. Phew, lucky for me, with the help of epidural, I had almost a painless labour of just 4hours. We are so happy to see him making his appearance, our little buddle of joy!

This day marks a new beginning of my "cow-ing" days....having breastfed Shermaine for 9months, I dreaded the start of another round of sleepless nights, painful engorgement etc etc. Well well, mummies are most "Wei Da". For the sake of my children, for the sake of all the benefits that behold them, l'm determined to go against all difficulties and inconveniences for a heathier breastfed Nicholas!

I'm a mother of 2 before i hit 30! Hey, that's an accomplishment! *clap clap*. That's it, our humble family of 2a2c is perfect already. Whatever it takes, whichever sacrifice I have to make, our goal is to bring up the 2 of them well, healthy and happy!

2007-06-08T17:05:00.000+08:00

Shermaine's Road to Independence

She loves to play her toys, watch her fav VCDs and is learning to walk around on her own. Everyday, we see her learning new things and saying new words.

When I go A for..., B for.....she will fill in the blanks for me. So far, her vocab includes:
A for Apple
B for Ball (her fav word)
C for Cat
D for Dog
E for Egg
F for Fish
G for Goat
H for Hair
I for Ink
J for Jam
K for Key
L for Leg ...............more words for her to go... it's fun to watch her speak. But she's still baby-talking alot to herself.

At 14months now, she is able to point to us on some of her body parts. Eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, leg, toe, finger, hand, cheek, chin, head, hair, stomach. I'm at a lost what else to teach her....she's absorbing like a sponge!

She loves her numbers too. When i go 1, she will go 2. When i say 3, she will continue 4, so on and so forth till she reaches 10! And she will clap her hands, then wait for me to say "clever girl!". She simply loves our compliments.

Letting her having a go on self feeding with some Kraft cheese. She loves feeding herself and is happy when she manages to get the food to her mouth. I hate the mess though...... must clean up after that. It's time I let her do more self feeding. The more she practise, the better she will be at it.

2007-05-26T18:02:00.000+08:00

Shermaine's 1st visit to the ZOO

Shermaine was all dressed up in the morning and ready to go for the Zoo.
We headed for the Zoo in the morning and spent the whole morning there. It was a fun family day out. She was curious and looked around all the time. But she was too young to understand alot of things and her concentration span was too short. We only spent the whole morning there but only covered half the zoo. Left about noon time when the sky looked dark. It was pouring when we were on the way back! Zoo zoo, we will be back again!

She was so tired that she knocked out almost immediately when we reached the car and continue sleeping back home....love her sleeping pics....our little angel. :)

2007-03-27T16:45:00.000+08:00

Shermaine's finally 1year's old!
We celebrated Shermaine's birthday at Aloha Loyang chalet on Mar 17. Arrive on Mar 16 and paintakingly did up all the decos. Shermaine was very happy and hyper throughout the party. Missed her milk feed and nap time but she doesn't seem to be affected. Well, it's her day anyway!

This is her 3kg cake from Bengawan Solo.....we gave her the brochure and ask her to choose. She pointed at this particular Kitty and Tweety cake twice! So, the cake is ordered!

Our family portrait. Peter, Daisy, Shermaine and another 5mths old darling in my tummy.

Shermaine and her handsome friend. :)

Shermaine saying THANK YOU to ALL who attended her 1st birthday bash!

2007-02-17T10:45:00.000+08:00

10mths, going on 11months and getting smarter by day

Shermaine has passed her 10months mark and going steadily towards 11months soon. She's always a cheerful and playful baby.

As she grows, she is able to understand more on what we are saying. It's really funny to see her reacting to what we told her.

Her progress so far:
-She has learned how to pass things in her hands to you when u tell her to.
-Standing up on her own but will fall quickly on her little butt.
-Screaming for attention when she's bored
-Crawling quickly towards you when going "kai kai'
-Poo poo in her little red potty (this, i have to thank my mum for the good training!)
-Combing her own hair
-Pointing to the right place when we say "ears, hair, head, eyes etc"
-Playing "hide and seek" with us

To get her ready for Chinese New Year, she has also learned to put her hands together and do "gong xi gong xi" and giving her little hand for you to shake when u say Happy New Year. I must say we are proud to see her progressing so fast.

She has 2 lower teeth and 2 upper teeth as she's growing towards 11months. Teething hasn't been easy as she'll be quite cranky.....but no more toothless grin from Shermaine!

Not the perfect shot but that's the only pic i manage to show her teeth!
I'm training her to brush her teeth every morning and night and she loves it! Think she loves the sweetie smell of the toothpaste more :)

Guess what she's doing?? Noticed her face full of concentration?? haha she's poo-poo-ing in her little red potty.

Concentrating hard again? This time on her TV. She loves advertisements, songs and dances. She will glare stonely at TV and ignore everyone else. Her eyes doesn't even blick!

Here's Shermaine combing herself "mei mei" after her bath.

More pics of the cheeky girl in action. Take a look at her favourite stunts, butts up!

The poor girl has just recovered from fever few days back. Right after the fever was gone, her whole body (face, neck, scalp, stomach and back) was full of fiery red spots, very scary sight! Luckily, doctor confirmed that it's called "fake measles" and is harmless and non contagious. It faded after 2-3days. Phew! Just in time for Chinese New Year!

2006-12-28T19:28:00.000+08:00

9months darling or devil???

She's demanding at times and using her weapon (crying) to attack us. No matter how devilish it seems sometimes, our hearts still ache when we see her cry. So will give in sometimes. But deep down, we know sometimes we have to be more hard-hearted to discipline her well.

On Aug 20, at 8mths plus, she had a big fall from mum's bed when mum went to the toilet, we rushed her to the hospital. Phew, everything was all right. She suffered from a bruise eye and head, but still playful and smiley as usual. She's such a darling. To save ourselves from the heartpain, we went to get her a new toy.

When she's approaching 9months, our bed frame becomes her new playmate. She will crawl to the bed frame and stood up. She seems to be ejoying this activity even till now. Here's some pics of "standing" Shermaine with some support. We are waiting for her to stand up firmly and walk! Daddy has been letting her practise on the playmat and exercising her feet muscles. It's a fun process to see her grow.

Shermaine seems to love taking pictures, she will either smile widely or post nicely for us to take!

She's enjoying feet sucking these days! seems to be tasty to her. :)

2006-11-17T17:13:00.000+08:00

Turning 8months Shermaine -demanding and fussy?

Shermaine's going 8months in a few days......she's very hyper and super talkative. Yack and Yack...in her loud baby-ish tone. Sometimes, we can hear her words clearly like kai-kai, mum-mum(makan time) and recently dada. I choose to not admit she's beginning to call her beloved daddy sooner than calling me! Humph!

Lastest development for Shermaine.....
-Yet to crawl well but can stand up if held on to something!
-Cries when she doesn't get things her way
-Fusses when she's sleepy before falling into slumberland
-Gets excited when going kai kai
-Can chiong very fast in her walker
-Smacks away things if she's not happy
-Laugh when people laugh (i bet she's just following suit!)
-Seems to love books, so I have started reading to her (KS mummy)
-She wakes up in the middle of the nite for feeding since 4months plus *panda eyes already*

I'm praying hard those bad habits that she has now is just a passing phrase. Otherwise, we need to look seriously into disciplining our little princess!

I just realised that day i don't have any of Shermaine's POM POM pixs....so here's some for our viewing pleasure! :) Daddy takes pride in bathing his little darling and he's getting better and better by day!

2006-10-24T21:59:00.000+08:00

7months and as playful as ever

I'm still waiting for the tooth fairy to visit. As of now, Shermaine is still "boh geh". She talks ALOT in her baby language every day and fusses when she doesn't get her things. I have started buying some colourful mini books for her as she expresses interest in them and can stare at them with interest for a longggg while.

Mum says she is very active and super cho loh, wat do u think?

Time flies, she is already 7months before we knew it. Looking forward for her to start talking. She's blabbing a lot now. Cute voices coming out but only she understands what she's talking about.

2006-10-20T16:25:00.000+08:00

6months marks Shermaine's half year old, a progressive month.

Look how she flips and flips and flips.....
From left to right, from right to left.....yes! even in her sleep.

She can even sit up unaided now.... just a few seconds initially. I got so excited that i took
so many snapshots at one go. When she just woke up!

2006-10-20T15:58:00.000+08:00

5months marks her first taste of solids

This KS mummy planned everything and got everything really. Just waiting for 21st Aug, the exact day when she turns 5months. We started her on solids at 5th months despite PD's advice at 6months.
The list of things i got:
-Bumper map for her to lie on
-Bumbo seat for her to sit on
-Feeding spoons / bowl / cups
-Bibs
-Oh....and her cereals.

Mummy starts with her first feed, daddy followed with the 2nd spoon and the rotation goes on. We were amused by her reaction and she seems to be enjoying every mouth of the bland, tasteless cereal.

g

Her first taste of cookies! She seems to be enjoying rite? For a while only.....she threw it
on the floor after that and the rest ends up in mummy's mouth. Yummy!

2006-10-20T01:05:00.000+08:00

4months onwards, life gets more and more exciting.

Playing, laughing, sitting, flipping, drooling...this is just the beginning.....

2006-10-20T00:21:00.000+08:00

Look how she grows.....

Between 2-3months, she's most of the time lying on bed looking around for people, hearing sounds and recognising familiar smells....she's a pleasure to take care of. From 1mth plus onwards, she slept through the nite quietly, only waking up with a wide smile always. She stretches ALOT though, we can hear here stretching away through the night.

Around 3months+, she's showing her fist to us everyday. Don't get me wrong, our darling is not playing boxing with us. This is the stage where she explores her fists.

2006-10-18T01:13:00.000+08:00

Shermaine's First Month

3days old and her very first smile. She melts our heart......

She's a replica of her daddy.

First few days back from the hospital was fun....everything, everyday was new. Luckily we have employed a stay-in confinement auntie, Auntie Siew Ying to help us. $1700 was her salary but it's worth paying that money. She takes good care of baby and cooks delicious food for us.

2006-10-18T00:16:00.000+08:00

Love at First Sight

21st Mar 2006, 1.28am marks that special moment......

She was too comfortable inside me.....we have to induce her. Induced at 3pm, check-in to delivery suite......push and push...finally, she's out with assisted forceps and the "happy-dural" injection. It was a life-time experience. The visit to the Mt Avernia Suite was pretty exciting though.

This marks the new beginning of our new life.......we named her Shermaine Koh Si Qi. Mummy's stomach was very compact but this little darling is not a small baby, she weighs 3.28kg, 50cm tall. Finally, we can cuddle her in our arms. I was too excited after birth that I can barely sleep. Legs were numb from the epidural jab and simply exhausted. Woke up and waited for a suitable time to call my mum, that was 6.30am!

Haha, mum was expecting my call already and sisters, dad all waiting to speak to me. Daddy was a happy granddad, wanted to come over immediately! A new addition to our family! My side's very first grandchild.
\(^o^)/

Our little buddle of joy

2006-10-15T14:43:00.000+08:00

Today 15Oct 06 marks my first attempt to create a blog. Have been reading sooo many interesting blogs but was simply tooo lazy to start one. I'm turning 29 already in Dec, so must start to have some keepsake of my "youthfulness" before it starts fading away.

Our first baby was borned on 21st Mar 2006. I thought I would cry the first time i see her. But the whole birth experience took all my emotions away....don't know how to react. Hb said "cry for wat?"....ended up, he was the more emotional one......face full of emotions when he snapped the umbilical cord! Well, the full 10mths of labour came and passed. It was an enjoyable pregnancy with 4 full months with my best friend, the toilet bowl. I will greet her everyday from morning till night, before or after meal. without fail!

Shermaine is coming 7mths this Sat. Time flies and motherhood is enjoyable to me.