So when I came back, the little boy (with his Ah Ma of course), spotted me 1st and ran towards me... I fumbled to get the camera out and only managed to shoot the video after he was 1/2 way through.
Hah... Ah Ma was letting him taste a little bit of ice cream (most of the ice cream was actually dumped, to prevent over-eating)
Video
Then we proceed to look at snails. Loads of them, probably due to the rain earlier in the afternoon and yesterday (24th, also his birthday). Along a 1 meter stretch, there must have been at least 15-20 snails visible, just enjoying their time out on the grassy patches, in the shade of course. En was enjoying himself immensely. Some photos of him pointing and of course, the snails themselves.
Photos to be inserted
Photos to be inserted
It seems that during and after CNY, his development have jumped a notch, and he is able to do more things now, like climbing onto the kitchen chair un-aided, climbing steps un-aided as well. He is able to actually say "bread" (in a baby voice of course) This happened approximately around 1-2 weeks ago), and he can actually actually find the books (the bible books that basically has the New Testament portions, especially portions with illustrations where Jesus feeds 5000). More amazingly, he is able to recall which book actually has the "bread"
He is also able to gesture his thoughts very clearly (just that he is unable to verbalise what he wants). Granted, this was already the case maybe a few weeks back.
pics just before dinner
So during dinner time, he was basically gesturing for the Videos. So we (me and ah ma and yu ling(later)) asked him, "里面有什么?" he said "ba" (which basically means bus) and drew huge circles. Basically meaning "The wheels on the bus"
So dinner came and went and it was now time to sleep. Ever since the CNY weekend, he basically sleeps extremely late and wakes extremely late as well. he was pushing 930pm- 945, which was late to me, but yesterday he was only able to sleep at about 1030pm!
Yesterday night was probably justified, given his (plus Mine and Yu Ling's euphoria) over what I consider a milestone to be remembered. Here's what happened.
So after his usual shenenigans, including trying to dupe me into bringing him downstairs citing his wanting to poo poo (which of course he isn't really feeling the urge, as far as I can tell.... and I gotta think of a way to stop this dishonesty... but i did eventually bring him downstairs to walk a bit, but no taking pants off to poo), he finally was willing to lie down in bed to sleep
Then she started to rattle off the significant people in his life, and I list them down in no particular order: "Ah Ma""Ah Goong" "Goong Goong", "Poo Poo" "Ba Ba" "Ma Ma" "Ah ker" "Ah Ty"..Moo" (I said 舅母? To which he EXCLAIMED "AAH!").
Then he started to say Ba Ba over and over again (usual actually) with some weird variations like mamaba, mamababa, mamaba, babamaba.... etc, then he said this which sounded increasingly like Thai to: BaBa Bi Ba BiBi... for quite a few times.
I kept wondering as he went on where he picked up this strange accent from.... then he snorted.
At that instant I had an ephiphany: He was actually saying Peppa Pig! Once he knew that I understood, he was extremely happy (us too actually, though I must say that we'd rather it was something else) and he spend the rest of the night saying "BaBa Bi" or "Ba BiBi", with the appropriate snorts/ oinks til he finally fell asleep at approximately 1030pm
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
20th Feb 2015 - a post from the Mrs.
So I encouraged Yu Ling to also share her experiences, and after a day of interaction with him. ( I was preparing fro the arrival of guests on the 2nd day of CNY 2015 and since i wouldn't be able to do my tasks at hand if he was around, someone had to take care of him, away from me.)
She has this to write:
Spend a lot of time with En today.. Let him took his nap..
He was taking all the bottles fr my bathroom ranging fr guggle, contact lens solution, toothpaste etc and fr the cupboard and putting it on KJ's tatami mat..
Then he started asking me for all my pillows, arranging them and started jumping on the pillows for a good 10 min..
After that he managed to knock out in the corner of the bed after his regular dose of water..
Today I got a chance to feed him after moon cake festival.. For once he was very cooperative and didn't need the video to have the porridge finished..
Mil said I was slow but it was pretty stressful doing this task as I have to make sure the porridge is not too hot for him and that I don't take too long to shove it in his mouth or he will loose interest easily..
Surprisingly en was smiling with every other scoop I shove into his mouth and I was smiling at him too1st time in a long time without any video accompaniment too! Think En finds his mom feeding him a rare occurrence and interesting as well, especially after close to 1/2 a year of not doing so.
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
10/02/2015 Evening
A moment I wish i had captured on video.
I had written in my very 1st post about some moments being not easy or downright impossible to capture on film/video, and I just had one of those moments yesterday.
Nevertheless, while it is still fresh in my memory, I'd better pen it down, less this very valuable piece of memory fades, or worse, forgotten.
So I took bus 700 back home, which instead of dropping me along Petir road, would drop me off at Pending road, next to the community club. I would then make my up up and (jaywalk) cross Petir Road, which I did.
All the while I was trying to keep a lookout for the boy and his Ah Ma. 1/2 way through, at the road divider, waiting for traffic to clear, I caught them about 200 meters away, just in front of the counselling centre, working their way up the ramp. As usual nowadays, En En is the one pushing his own stroller, up the ramp, and they were exactly 1/2 way through, at the bend.
The seem to have spotted me too. Ah ma was asking En to look at my direction, and I waved. En could not ascertain if it was me. At this point, I could have taken out my ipad/ iphone and started recording. However, as much as I wanted to, I am mindful that I am still on a road divider, and it would be very unwise to be holding a recording device, trying to capture, AND at the same time cross the road while looking out for traffic.
Thus I could only commit to memory (and words) the following scene (at about 100 plus meters away):
I had written in my very 1st post about some moments being not easy or downright impossible to capture on film/video, and I just had one of those moments yesterday.
Nevertheless, while it is still fresh in my memory, I'd better pen it down, less this very valuable piece of memory fades, or worse, forgotten.
So I took bus 700 back home, which instead of dropping me along Petir road, would drop me off at Pending road, next to the community club. I would then make my up up and (jaywalk) cross Petir Road, which I did.
All the while I was trying to keep a lookout for the boy and his Ah Ma. 1/2 way through, at the road divider, waiting for traffic to clear, I caught them about 200 meters away, just in front of the counselling centre, working their way up the ramp. As usual nowadays, En En is the one pushing his own stroller, up the ramp, and they were exactly 1/2 way through, at the bend.
The seem to have spotted me too. Ah ma was asking En to look at my direction, and I waved. En could not ascertain if it was me. At this point, I could have taken out my ipad/ iphone and started recording. However, as much as I wanted to, I am mindful that I am still on a road divider, and it would be very unwise to be holding a recording device, trying to capture, AND at the same time cross the road while looking out for traffic.
Thus I could only commit to memory (and words) the following scene (at about 100 plus meters away):
So he paused and looked intently in my direction. Then he confirmed it was me and became very excited, pointing in my direction and from my viewpoint bobbing up and down (and making shouts of exclamation).
Then he turned and began running down the ramp at top speed. However, he was grabbed and stopped by Ah Ma, who probably told him he was forgetting something. So he turned back, grabbed his stroller with both hands firmly at what could be termed as handlebars, turned it back facing down slope and started pushing and running down the ramp as fast as his little legs could carry him. Ah ma, was of course concerned that he would fall and tried to hang on to the stroller and slow him down.
6-8/02/2015 Friday to Sunday
Entries can obviously be written when there is time and opportunity. Fridays til Sundays are generally pretty short on both. From Friday evenings til at least Sunday afternoons, the family goes over to stay at my in-laws.
This basically means I have a lack of access to the tools of writing (mainly my laptop...... no its not really portable, its a desktop replacement weighing about 5 KG). Yes I can write this on the iPad whenever both are available, but let's face it. The most productive writings are normally done with a proper keyboard and I don't have those portable Bluetooth keyboards (don't really see a practical need for them).... Not to mention that those are normally undersized.
Further more, the kiddo is trying to watch videos in the iPad longer and and longer. In fact, if he sees me using it, he would badger me into letting him see the videos. Thus, I'd rather not let him see me using it at all, if I can.
Its a shame, in terms of information retention, as weekends are where stuff happens and I get to see it 1st hand, rather than hearing it fro Ah Ma when I come home in the weekdays.
Speaking of events, there was En's elder cousin's (Reece) birthday party on Saturday at My Sister's and En's cousin's (Also called affectionately as En En) 1st birthday party at the Interlace on Sunday.
Friday Night
So basically not too different from normal weekday nights except that after dinner and washing up, we would go to Po po's place instead of going upstairs. i must say that we are getting later and later. We used to be able to make it before 9pm to popo's place, but now we reach 915pm or even beyond.
Generally it before we set off , besides the normal stuff, it also means that besides packing teh things necessary to spend 2 nights at popo's, it means the dishes must be washed, and the place generally cleaned before setting off. Setting doesn't mean getting to popo's place directly. I would need to drop off ah gong and ah ma at their place before going to popo's.
At least for this week, i attribute the cause of the delay to be ourselves spedning too much time at the dinner table and not the maid. Something to look into next week.
This basically means I have a lack of access to the tools of writing (mainly my laptop...... no its not really portable, its a desktop replacement weighing about 5 KG). Yes I can write this on the iPad whenever both are available, but let's face it. The most productive writings are normally done with a proper keyboard and I don't have those portable Bluetooth keyboards (don't really see a practical need for them).... Not to mention that those are normally undersized.
Further more, the kiddo is trying to watch videos in the iPad longer and and longer. In fact, if he sees me using it, he would badger me into letting him see the videos. Thus, I'd rather not let him see me using it at all, if I can.
Its a shame, in terms of information retention, as weekends are where stuff happens and I get to see it 1st hand, rather than hearing it fro Ah Ma when I come home in the weekdays.
Speaking of events, there was En's elder cousin's (Reece) birthday party on Saturday at My Sister's and En's cousin's (Also called affectionately as En En) 1st birthday party at the Interlace on Sunday.
Friday Night
So basically not too different from normal weekday nights except that after dinner and washing up, we would go to Po po's place instead of going upstairs. i must say that we are getting later and later. We used to be able to make it before 9pm to popo's place, but now we reach 915pm or even beyond.
Generally it before we set off , besides the normal stuff, it also means that besides packing teh things necessary to spend 2 nights at popo's, it means the dishes must be washed, and the place generally cleaned before setting off. Setting doesn't mean getting to popo's place directly. I would need to drop off ah gong and ah ma at their place before going to popo's.
At least for this week, i attribute the cause of the delay to be ourselves spedning too much time at the dinner table and not the maid. Something to look into next week.
Thursday, 5 February 2015
Evening 05/02/2015
So after work, I popped by one of the stores I frequent to see if there were any new stock for SY/ Decool/GUDI stuff I could get my hands on. So I got one piece and made my way back home.... that was pretty late... at 705pm by the time i reached Pending LRT. Deciding not to walk from that station, I went to the busstop to wait for for the bus.... to travel one busstop. Heck... why not? The transfer system meant that I would not have to pay a single cent for the one stop, plus it can shorten my walk... so why not?
So I was waiting... and 966 came.... not my bus.... 184.... not the one either. Then Yu Ling appeadred infront of me with the why-are-you-at-this-place-and-not-walking-home look. Told her I was waiting for the bus 960, 171 or 963.
Anyways, it was her intention to wait for a bus too, so we waited for just about 1/2 a min more and 960 came. Boarded and 1 stop later, we alighted. I took the new year goodies she was carrying (since waiting for the bus) and alighted. I was kinda looking if En would be around, but decided it was highly unlikely since it was pretty late and if he was out, he would have been back by the time anyway.
So we walked back.
We barely walked more than 10 steps when we heard someone calling us. It was En running to greet both of us! What a surprise!
Turns out he had been taking a walk with Ah Ma and were just looking for snails. So we carried on back and looked for more snails along the planted areas besides the sidewalk. Given the dry weather these few weeks, snails aren't easily found, but we did see a few empty shells, which to him were snails anyway.
Saw a few cats too, but the little boy though throughly fascinated, was kinda scared to apprach one close up and just kept imitating mews (High pitched "Ngs") trying to get the cats' attention.
Looked at his favourite jackfruits as well as starfruits before making our way upstairs.
Dinner time for En so that means he wanted my Ipad for his daily dose of children's' songs. Thinking that he has had too much of South-asian accented singing, I decided to playback the Mother-goose Club's songs playlist I had (which I though had superb arrangements and dance moves).
Now obviously to minimise the need to manually select a new song each time after one song has ended, the answer has to be a long medley, or rather, series of songs that will play sequentially automatically. There are 2 ways as far as youtube is concerned.
1. Select/ compile a playlist of favorite/popular songs made up of different individual uploads/songs
2. Play a "song" that is actually many songs uploaded as one meta.
Obviously there are pros and cons to each choice, and if i choose choice one, of of the bad thing is that Youtube has the policy of adding advertisements in between songs, which can only be skipped at least 5 seconds after the ad runs. That, to me, was something I was willing to tolerate generally. Afterall, a few ads won't hurt, right?
Wrong. There is at least one ad, which to an adult is so annoying and utterly jarring to the ear, absolutely scares En white. Its a stupid donkey which brays in the most irritating way possible, and 5 seconds is 5 seconds too long.
How scared was he? After using the playlist for quite a few months, he knows by memory that it is possible that devil of a donkey (actually its the stupid braying that gets our goat) could appear on screen. So what does he do after each song ends? He would ask me to come next to him and he would clutch my hands tightly. Yes, both his hands would be clutching each of my hands wrapped around him from behind, in case that stupid ad comes. And boy did it come. It cm at least 3 times in the span of 6 songs. By the last time, he was on the verge of tears. Then I decided that enough was enough and I switched to the 2nd option, To which, still having the expression he had on the verge of tears, he nodded firmly in approval. Stupid donkey. Stupider ad. And guess what? That ad in question is for songs targeted at children! Hah! These guys would do pretty well working for Monsters Inc instead.
Anyways, dinner was pretty uneventful after that and after the fruit distribution (which he had less enthusiasm today... not sure its a sign that he's moving on and growing up, or that stupid donkey), it was time for his shower and bed time after that. During changing time, though, was also a time to revise some words he picked up in both English and Mandarin... like numbers 1-10, fruits, colors, etc.
Oh, and because CNY is right around the corner, Ah Ma has got a a vase and some floral arrangement set up. So inside one of the petals is a little decorative green frog. And Ah M apointed it out to him, the previous night.... and regretted it immediately. As a result, he wont stop fiddling with it and kept beckoning people (mostly Ah Gong and Ah Ma) to affirm what he is pointing to. In fact, he fiddled with it so much that the froggie fell off.
In the bedroom, the 1st thing after going in was to look for his little teddy and give it a good hug and kiss.... followed by "sluiping". So we gave him the bottle. While drinking, somehow he went to the wardrobe and tried to lift mama's bag. It was quiet comical and I filmed it down:
After that Mama read some bible stories to him... and as usual he is partial to the illustrations in the portion of Noah's ark, Today he was particularly interested in the Tiger, particularly its legs, which were white, and he also lifted up his own and pointed to it, wanting us to say what it is. Then he winked hard for a couple of seconds, indicating eyes and then pointed out the ears and nose. Then he went back to the feet, to which I asked (referring o the white forelegs of the tiger), is it wearing socks? He nodded (kids have their own perception of things... lol~!) and I asked him if he wants to wear his too (necessary since he always kick his blanket off after we try to cover him when he is sund asleep). He nodded, which is a 1st, because he never liked wearing them before he sleeps. I always had to wear them when he was sleeping.
So with that, it was actually his actual falling-asleep time and he lay doen and slowly drifted off to dream land, and here I am narrating events after that.
So I was waiting... and 966 came.... not my bus.... 184.... not the one either. Then Yu Ling appeadred infront of me with the why-are-you-at-this-place-and-not-walking-home look. Told her I was waiting for the bus 960, 171 or 963.
Anyways, it was her intention to wait for a bus too, so we waited for just about 1/2 a min more and 960 came. Boarded and 1 stop later, we alighted. I took the new year goodies she was carrying (since waiting for the bus) and alighted. I was kinda looking if En would be around, but decided it was highly unlikely since it was pretty late and if he was out, he would have been back by the time anyway.
So we walked back.
We barely walked more than 10 steps when we heard someone calling us. It was En running to greet both of us! What a surprise!
Turns out he had been taking a walk with Ah Ma and were just looking for snails. So we carried on back and looked for more snails along the planted areas besides the sidewalk. Given the dry weather these few weeks, snails aren't easily found, but we did see a few empty shells, which to him were snails anyway.
Saw a few cats too, but the little boy though throughly fascinated, was kinda scared to apprach one close up and just kept imitating mews (High pitched "Ngs") trying to get the cats' attention.
Looked at his favourite jackfruits as well as starfruits before making our way upstairs.
Dinner time for En so that means he wanted my Ipad for his daily dose of children's' songs. Thinking that he has had too much of South-asian accented singing, I decided to playback the Mother-goose Club's songs playlist I had (which I though had superb arrangements and dance moves).
Now obviously to minimise the need to manually select a new song each time after one song has ended, the answer has to be a long medley, or rather, series of songs that will play sequentially automatically. There are 2 ways as far as youtube is concerned.
1. Select/ compile a playlist of favorite/popular songs made up of different individual uploads/songs
2. Play a "song" that is actually many songs uploaded as one meta.
Obviously there are pros and cons to each choice, and if i choose choice one, of of the bad thing is that Youtube has the policy of adding advertisements in between songs, which can only be skipped at least 5 seconds after the ad runs. That, to me, was something I was willing to tolerate generally. Afterall, a few ads won't hurt, right?
Wrong. There is at least one ad, which to an adult is so annoying and utterly jarring to the ear, absolutely scares En white. Its a stupid donkey which brays in the most irritating way possible, and 5 seconds is 5 seconds too long.
How scared was he? After using the playlist for quite a few months, he knows by memory that it is possible that devil of a donkey (actually its the stupid braying that gets our goat) could appear on screen. So what does he do after each song ends? He would ask me to come next to him and he would clutch my hands tightly. Yes, both his hands would be clutching each of my hands wrapped around him from behind, in case that stupid ad comes. And boy did it come. It cm at least 3 times in the span of 6 songs. By the last time, he was on the verge of tears. Then I decided that enough was enough and I switched to the 2nd option, To which, still having the expression he had on the verge of tears, he nodded firmly in approval. Stupid donkey. Stupider ad. And guess what? That ad in question is for songs targeted at children! Hah! These guys would do pretty well working for Monsters Inc instead.
Anyways, dinner was pretty uneventful after that and after the fruit distribution (which he had less enthusiasm today... not sure its a sign that he's moving on and growing up, or that stupid donkey), it was time for his shower and bed time after that. During changing time, though, was also a time to revise some words he picked up in both English and Mandarin... like numbers 1-10, fruits, colors, etc.
Oh, and because CNY is right around the corner, Ah Ma has got a a vase and some floral arrangement set up. So inside one of the petals is a little decorative green frog. And Ah M apointed it out to him, the previous night.... and regretted it immediately. As a result, he wont stop fiddling with it and kept beckoning people (mostly Ah Gong and Ah Ma) to affirm what he is pointing to. In fact, he fiddled with it so much that the froggie fell off.
In the bedroom, the 1st thing after going in was to look for his little teddy and give it a good hug and kiss.... followed by "sluiping". So we gave him the bottle. While drinking, somehow he went to the wardrobe and tried to lift mama's bag. It was quiet comical and I filmed it down:
After that Mama read some bible stories to him... and as usual he is partial to the illustrations in the portion of Noah's ark, Today he was particularly interested in the Tiger, particularly its legs, which were white, and he also lifted up his own and pointed to it, wanting us to say what it is. Then he winked hard for a couple of seconds, indicating eyes and then pointed out the ears and nose. Then he went back to the feet, to which I asked (referring o the white forelegs of the tiger), is it wearing socks? He nodded (kids have their own perception of things... lol~!) and I asked him if he wants to wear his too (necessary since he always kick his blanket off after we try to cover him when he is sund asleep). He nodded, which is a 1st, because he never liked wearing them before he sleeps. I always had to wear them when he was sleeping.
So with that, it was actually his actual falling-asleep time and he lay doen and slowly drifted off to dream land, and here I am narrating events after that.
Morning 05/02/2015
The morning started pretty normally, and En was awake before Yu Ling went downstairs, so I brought him downstairs too.
AFter he started his morning regular programming of milk drinking, TV (peppa pig) watching, Yu Ling sneaked out and I went up to wash up
Today was a little more special after that, because I had to stay home a little longer to do some work before I set off.
So I came downstairs, and started to do my work. By then he had already finished his milk (10 ounces!) and was trying to get my attention. I would really have loved to do give it to him fully, if not for the fact that I was monitoring something impt on MOM's website.
Then he heard the neighbor's door open and he rush to see what is going on. I swear this little boy of ours has got a great set of ears. he is extremely sensitive to these sounds. We can be playing together in the living room, when suddenly he would stiffen and run towards the gate, because he hears someone either coming in or going out.
Anyway, this morning he hears the neighbour's door and he went to the gate to check it out. Our next door (396) neighbors (mother and son) were outside, and he greeted them "ah-Ker!!" and "Poopoo"/ "Ah Ma"
These neighbors really like En En. They got him a Christmas present (They specially went to pick a present for him) and always keep inviting him to play at their house (an invitation til date we have not taken yet, not because of any prejudice, but because we just don't want to trouble them). The son (whom I'll just call Uncle N, for neighbor, who is in his mid-late 30s?) absolutely adores him. Today he came over to talk to En En (which he would do normally) and En En ran back him and showed him an egg. So Uncle N teased him and said, give me ah? then I bring it back ok? En en exprssed his reluctance... haha... my boy, next time if you offer something to someone, don't really expect to get it back!
Anyway, En en was ready to go out, so I decided to bring him out for a short walk with Ah Ma. he was pushing his stroller of course.When we reached the lift, En En positioned the stroller in the lift in such a way that it was hard for anyone else other than the 2 of us to get in without being awkward. That was when me and Ah ma saw Uncle N. Apparently he went slightly after us. Normally he would take the staircase right in between out units, but today he went to the lift and since the lift was kinda "packed" he took the stairs. Ah Ma commented and I agree that he came this way especially for En En. Kinda touching actually, that a relative stranger would actually develop such a fondness for En En.
So downstairs we went and we walked towards the jackfruit tree. Uncle N followed us rather closely (we don't mind really) behind En En. Then En En made the U-turn with the stroller and stopped at the jackfruit tree pointing at the jackfruit. Upon seeing Uncle N, he pointed to him and then o the spot beside him indicating he wants Unle N to come over so that he can show him the jackfruits. Uncle N was more than happy to oblige, and honestly, I also feel good that there was a small payoff for the affection our neighbors have showed him.
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Evening 04/02/15
So after a day's work and I am almost home. I get off the bus, looking left and right, trying to see if kiddo and his Ah Ma are nearby.
Can't see 'em, so I make my way back home.
Then somewhere like close to a hundred meters away, I see a small figure running towards me.... its Kiddo!
I immediately whip out my Ipad trying to capture this moment for posterity... i fumble to get the recording function on.... but I do it after a slight delay.
Can't see 'em, so I make my way back home.
Then somewhere like close to a hundred meters away, I see a small figure running towards me.... its Kiddo!
I immediately whip out my Ipad trying to capture this moment for posterity... i fumble to get the recording function on.... but I do it after a slight delay.
En's running greeting
So after that, i decide to carry on filming as we make out way back home.
On the way back home.
Along the way he got distracted by snails .... snail shells actually.
Followed by jackfruits and cats
Cat chasing
Then we finally go up the left and back home
Finally back home
So we are back home and he gets his hands and feet washed as usual. and we put him up on the high chair.... with him wanting the ipad ("eug ugh" pointing to the space infront of him where he wants the device.)
Impatient little fella.... he kept pointing while i get the youtube app ready. He then wanted to choose his preferred videos, which de did, and it was dinner time.
Once soem of the videos/ images that mattered to him more came on, he would excitedly point to the screen trying to get people around him to see what he just saw (humpty, balloons and sheep)
So Ah Gong and Yu Ling wasnt back by the time dinner started and sounds of the lock rattling came. Without looking, he shouted "Mama"
Turns out, it was Ah Gong. Normally Yu Ling comes home earlier than Ah Gong arriving, so that must be his logic. So he greeted his Ah Gong: "Ah..............................................Goong!
The next time he heard the rattle, he knew it was Yu Ling and shouted correctly this time.
The fruits tray came out later than usual and he did not have a chance to see it. So out of sight and out of mind. He was playing with Ah Gong. Ah Ma commented that the fruits would have been eaten quickly if En had been distributing it.
So bathing time came and went and it was time to go up. That was when he saw the fruits tray and wanted to have a piece of the action distributing.... but it was late and I distracted him with a souple of videos I taken earlier.... though it is getting hard to tear him from the screen once it starts....
Once he was up there, the usual request for water (sluip... sluip) came. He is so possessive over both of us that even when Yu Ling went to the washroom, he kept wanting to go in/ get her to come out.
then the usual bedtime stories. Tonight he is especially partial towards tigers, sheep, balloons/balls rainbows .... and water melons.... which is actually a picture of a Jewish man in green overlapping robes which looks somewhat like a water melon. He pointed to it (ugh ugh!) asking us to say what it is (he knows... rather, in his mind he recognizes it to be something) and when i said it is cloths, he shook his head and pointed to it again. I said 西瓜 and he nodded his head, smiling. Of course I tried to correct him, but he has made up his mind clearly what it is (to him). Then he pointed his finger and waved it.... indicating multiples and I went along saying 西瓜西瓜西瓜西瓜西瓜...... in quick succession. he gets a kick out of it for various objects he likes.
He then demanded all the pillows and cushions as usual... and had a good time with them, then he saw mama's putting on a hair clip. He wanted the hair clip on his hair too! mama said: "your hair is too short!" but of course, he would have none of it and insisted on the clip. So we did, and he started to feel for it on the top of his head, satisfied, with pacifier in mouth. We all had a good laugh, and I took him to the mirror at the dressing table and he was satisfied too! lol~! he removed it and I put it back for him several times.
Then he exclaimed: "Ngh Ngh!" Meaning he wants to poo.... That is kinda troublesome, so we sought to confirm ...and he nodded affirmatively and pointed to the door... oh well, downstairs we go! I asked him to take the newspaper for me and he did... haha... nice kiddo.
So he did his business, and once we were done, it was time for bed, for real this time.
In fact, i fell asleep before he did. My last memory of him before sleeping was him fiddling with the corner of the blanket lying down.
Once he was up there, the usual request for water (sluip... sluip) came. He is so possessive over both of us that even when Yu Ling went to the washroom, he kept wanting to go in/ get her to come out.
then the usual bedtime stories. Tonight he is especially partial towards tigers, sheep, balloons/balls rainbows .... and water melons.... which is actually a picture of a Jewish man in green overlapping robes which looks somewhat like a water melon. He pointed to it (ugh ugh!) asking us to say what it is (he knows... rather, in his mind he recognizes it to be something) and when i said it is cloths, he shook his head and pointed to it again. I said 西瓜 and he nodded his head, smiling. Of course I tried to correct him, but he has made up his mind clearly what it is (to him). Then he pointed his finger and waved it.... indicating multiples and I went along saying 西瓜西瓜西瓜西瓜西瓜...... in quick succession. he gets a kick out of it for various objects he likes.
He then demanded all the pillows and cushions as usual... and had a good time with them, then he saw mama's putting on a hair clip. He wanted the hair clip on his hair too! mama said: "your hair is too short!" but of course, he would have none of it and insisted on the clip. So we did, and he started to feel for it on the top of his head, satisfied, with pacifier in mouth. We all had a good laugh, and I took him to the mirror at the dressing table and he was satisfied too! lol~! he removed it and I put it back for him several times.
Then he exclaimed: "Ngh Ngh!" Meaning he wants to poo.... That is kinda troublesome, so we sought to confirm ...and he nodded affirmatively and pointed to the door... oh well, downstairs we go! I asked him to take the newspaper for me and he did... haha... nice kiddo.
So he did his business, and once we were done, it was time for bed, for real this time.
In fact, i fell asleep before he did. My last memory of him before sleeping was him fiddling with the corner of the blanket lying down.
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
En En on 4/2/2015 morning
Morning
Yu Ling wakes up early in the morning in order to set off by 730am. Normally En (and myself ) would be still asleep. Though sometimes we might get awakened by noises... can't expect Yu Ling to be completely noiseless of course!
So approximately 715, when Yu ling was ready and opening the door to go downstairs ( I was awake by then), En stirred... and woke up after hearing the door close. He let out a high pitch whine and indicated that he wanted me to carry him downstairs. (He tells me to get up by making a "lift-up" motion with his hand....I had taught him to "pull" actually, but he took my motion as one of lift-up instead, but it works almost as well, so there.)
So I did, and we went down stairs ( he likes to hold the railing of the stairs, in whatever position he is in at the time) and midway, he saw and said softly: "妈妈"
Coming downstairs time is also milk time and after kissing 妈妈, I brought him to the living room to lie on the sofa and have his milk. he motioned for the remote control and then turned on the TV like he has done for the past 4-5 months (at least.... kinda hazy as to when he 1st started being able to do that and well.)
Anf the program at that time was... Peppa Pig (730am - 8am). The theme song started playing and he snorted/oinked in sync to the theme song... "Pe...pa pig (snort , snort)" And that got his attention enough to allow Yu Ling to sneak out of the main gate undetected, and also for me to go up stairs for my own preparation.
So about 815 or so, I came down stairs... hoping to sneak out as well, agfter grabbing my drink and stuff. Normally works without a hitch, but today, he was at the usual peeing/ passing motion spot on the balcony (carried by Ah Ma of course) when he saw me coming down the stairs. he shouted "爸爸！"happily and I reciprocated.
So he struggled to get free and came to me... bare ass-ed, and slightly later climbed and plonked himself on the sofa (His backside was wiped... but .... hm...) for Hi-5! Did I mention he loves to dance/ jump up and down to songs? I'm sure the song "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" was inspired by kids like En, who absolutely jumping on mattresses and sofas.
So it was time for me to go out and of course, he would have none of it..... or at least he wanted to go with me. Basically no chance of sneaking past him. he has honed his focus skills pretty well to avoid distractions in the house allowing us to sneak out once detected.
So out we went, together with Ah ma and the stroller.
The stroller was obviously there to carry him, but nowadays, he has a new use for it: he pushes it around. Of course the stroller was bigger and taller than he is and it is a comical sight seeing him push the stroller with no way of seeing whats behind him.
However I must say he did pretty well tough (as long as there are no steps involved anyway). He was able to steer it into the lift, turn it around, out of the left, along the corridor and even make a u-turn onto the ramp! Well done kiddo! Impressive indeed!
En pushing his own stroller
Fortunately for me though, beside the u-turn onto the ramp is also one of the major sources of distractions we can still use to make our getaways (to go to work). A jackfruit tree. He is absolutely fascinated by the jack fruits. (The other major source of distraction being snails. Sometimes, though rarely, chameleons and other exotic animals that pop up).
Of course, sometimes whilst escaping, we would be spotted but of course we couldn't turn back and we would hear him crying and shouting for us.... and that is especially heartbreaking. When that happens, basically I feel like just throwing everything away and just turn back and hug him tightly.
Yu Ling wakes up early in the morning in order to set off by 730am. Normally En (and myself ) would be still asleep. Though sometimes we might get awakened by noises... can't expect Yu Ling to be completely noiseless of course!
So approximately 715, when Yu ling was ready and opening the door to go downstairs ( I was awake by then), En stirred... and woke up after hearing the door close. He let out a high pitch whine and indicated that he wanted me to carry him downstairs. (He tells me to get up by making a "lift-up" motion with his hand....I had taught him to "pull" actually, but he took my motion as one of lift-up instead, but it works almost as well, so there.)
So I did, and we went down stairs ( he likes to hold the railing of the stairs, in whatever position he is in at the time) and midway, he saw and said softly: "妈妈"
Coming downstairs time is also milk time and after kissing 妈妈, I brought him to the living room to lie on the sofa and have his milk. he motioned for the remote control and then turned on the TV like he has done for the past 4-5 months (at least.... kinda hazy as to when he 1st started being able to do that and well.)
Anf the program at that time was... Peppa Pig (730am - 8am). The theme song started playing and he snorted/oinked in sync to the theme song... "Pe...pa pig (snort , snort)" And that got his attention enough to allow Yu Ling to sneak out of the main gate undetected, and also for me to go up stairs for my own preparation.
So about 815 or so, I came down stairs... hoping to sneak out as well, agfter grabbing my drink and stuff. Normally works without a hitch, but today, he was at the usual peeing/ passing motion spot on the balcony (carried by Ah Ma of course) when he saw me coming down the stairs. he shouted "爸爸！"happily and I reciprocated.
So he struggled to get free and came to me... bare ass-ed, and slightly later climbed and plonked himself on the sofa (His backside was wiped... but .... hm...) for Hi-5! Did I mention he loves to dance/ jump up and down to songs? I'm sure the song "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" was inspired by kids like En, who absolutely jumping on mattresses and sofas.
So it was time for me to go out and of course, he would have none of it..... or at least he wanted to go with me. Basically no chance of sneaking past him. he has honed his focus skills pretty well to avoid distractions in the house allowing us to sneak out once detected.
So out we went, together with Ah ma and the stroller.
The stroller was obviously there to carry him, but nowadays, he has a new use for it: he pushes it around. Of course the stroller was bigger and taller than he is and it is a comical sight seeing him push the stroller with no way of seeing whats behind him.
However I must say he did pretty well tough (as long as there are no steps involved anyway). He was able to steer it into the lift, turn it around, out of the left, along the corridor and even make a u-turn onto the ramp! Well done kiddo! Impressive indeed!
Fortunately for me though, beside the u-turn onto the ramp is also one of the major sources of distractions we can still use to make our getaways (to go to work). A jackfruit tree. He is absolutely fascinated by the jack fruits. (The other major source of distraction being snails. Sometimes, though rarely, chameleons and other exotic animals that pop up).
Of course, sometimes whilst escaping, we would be spotted but of course we couldn't turn back and we would hear him crying and shouting for us.... and that is especially heartbreaking. When that happens, basically I feel like just throwing everything away and just turn back and hug him tightly.
En En's Antics 3/2/15 evening
Coming Home
So I came back home slightly earlier than usual and thinking I might see En en and his Ah Ma (my mom) either at the park or along the stretch park connector, went to look for them. Turns out they were at the blk 259 market and by the time they got back home, it was basically 7pm or so.
En, once almost reaching the house, was calling "爸爸, 爸爸". Seems that he knew I was home... probably he saw my work shoes outside the flat. So I answered his calls and went to the door. He was just coming up the small flight of steps on the corridor with the assistance of Joylene (helper) and when he saw me, his face broke into his usual toothy grin, and I of course, reciprocated.
Told him to sit down for I helped him removed his shoes. hah... he sat down right near the entrance blocking Ah Ma and his stroller! Moved him in a little to make room for Ah Ma and got his shoes off.
He was then led by Joylene to the bathroom to have his hands and feet washed... and after that, he would be asked to do his usual feel stamping at the doormat of the bathroom to dry his feet and a towel/ handkerchief for his hands. Even to now, he simply heartedly wipe his hands.... only to be corrected each time by whoever is helping him wipe his hands.
Then he pointed to the high chair/ baby chair, indicating he wants to be seated there. I carried him and tried to place him in, but he resisted a little by not putting his legs into the legholes..... then I realised what he wanted me to do: Get his favourite songs going on my Ipad. So I asked if that was what he wanted. Yes, and he slinked nicely into the chair, and the songs started playing.
Dinner Time
His usual favorites are the ones with loads of animation and upbeat music. Fav now has to be Humpty Dumpty. Once that song came, he would basically go "Ah! Ah! and pointing to the screen in an attempt to get people to affirm what was screening. if you give the correct answer, he would nod his head and say, mmm! If he reaches a song he doesn't like, he will motion for someone, normally me (papa! papa!), grabbing my hand and pointing to the screen indicating he wants another song. All these while Ah ma is feeling him porridge.
Sigh.... seems he is getting more attached/ addicted to the animated songs/ videos, so much so that he protests (Ugh! Ugh! shakes head) when ever we attempt to switch it off. Thankfully one trick can and til now still works: The after-dinner fruit tray.
En actually has this peculiar but particularly endearing liking: he absolutely loves to pick fruit off the fruit plate... and give them to people around him. Until about a week ago, he was contented with people taking the sliced fruit and putting into his hands for further distribution. Now he wants to do it himself! by having the plate right infront of him! No one is to help him, and anyone who attemnpts to will have his hands pushed away!
So yesterday, the fruit in question was grapes. Well, its not the 1st time and I've taught him previously that when plucking the grapes off, he also has to get rid of the stalks, and he tried to do that. 1st, he wanted to separate ALL the grapes in the bunch in individual ones. Anyways, the result is of course loads of grapes ending up on the floor. So Ah Gong stepped in to help with the grapes, despite resistance.
Anyways, so that was done and he started to distribute grapes as usual, but today he done it with a lightly different way he had done previously after the initial few. With all the grapes separated. he now grabs a few of them. So Yu Ling was just beside him and he basically grabbed literally handful after handful of grapes to her until she could no longer carry any more. I attempted to hide the tray, but he discovered it anyway and I brought it to the living room instead..... well, probably isn't the best idea because the grapes ended up mostly on the floor again.... hah. Anyways, by this time it was about 810pm, and Ah Gong said it was time for shower before bedtime!
Bedtime
So the bath went on as usual and the dressing up as well. Basically PJs with double layer top. Nowadays, right at this point, he will start looking for Yu Ling (妈妈！妈妈!) before we proceed up the stairs, while also making the "sluip... sluip) sound, indicating he wants the usual bottle of water then.
As of maybe up to a week ago, he has developed this habbit of swishing his water in his mouth and through his teeth as though rinsing his mouth after tooth(teeth?) brushing, and not swallowing the water. I had to sing Johnny Johnny Yess Papa, to get him to swallow... because, he would want to say the words Papa and HaHaHa.... and to do the last part, he has to swallow.
He then proceed to confiscate all the pillows in the room, and even Yu Ling's, despite Yu ling asking him if she could keep (nope, by shaking his head and saying "ng"), When asked whose are those, he replied with a sheepish smile/ grin... "Eh(n) Eh(n)"
Then Yu Ling then told him his birthday is coming soon, and hearing that, he immediately went to the otherside of the bedroom, picked up a book, ran back and opened it. We were wondering what he was up to, and he then flipped to the page of a birthday cake with candles, and wanted us to sing him the Birthday Song/ Happy Birthday! That was funny!
So I did, and he danced/ jumped up and down. He had me repeated the song numerous times, indication being an index finger pointed upwards as if saying one more time, and looking at me earnestly and nodding his head.
So when that was done, he then flipped the page to one with a dinosaur and indicated that he wants me to sing the dinosaur song! So that was going OK, until he started to turn round and round in circles and that got his mother's goat.
So I remembered what I did the previous night (Yu Ling was having a company dinner) alone with him. So I had a candy box (京都念慈菴）with the wrapped pastiles inside. Since it was new to him, he had a good time with the sweets, taking them in and out of the box, individually and then later in a bunch (that's how he did it yesterday night, and probably why he wanted to grab the grapes in handfuls tonight). Then after some more playing and even throwing (new) the sweets and at one point, he seems to realize that it can be eaten (he took one, put it in front of my mouth and said "uhm!"). After a little while, (it was about 920pm) he got tired and lied down and grabbed his towel/ blanket.
Then he started to smile (at no one, but i was watching him). I asked him what he was smiling about. Then I smelt it. He had let out a silent fart. and you know what they say about silent farts versus loud ones. So I held a pillow to cover my nose and shouted“Yieee...臭臭！” He laughed and laughed and I joined in as well, for the next 15-20 secs, it was non-stop laughing until Yu Ling told us to stop.... for fear that he will get over excited/ stimulated. Asked him if he wanted to pass motion, but, thankfully, he shook his head.
Anyways, we offed the light and he slowly drifted to sleep with pacifier in mouth and corner of towel/ handkerchief in hand.
So I came back home slightly earlier than usual and thinking I might see En en and his Ah Ma (my mom) either at the park or along the stretch park connector, went to look for them. Turns out they were at the blk 259 market and by the time they got back home, it was basically 7pm or so.
En, once almost reaching the house, was calling "爸爸, 爸爸". Seems that he knew I was home... probably he saw my work shoes outside the flat. So I answered his calls and went to the door. He was just coming up the small flight of steps on the corridor with the assistance of Joylene (helper) and when he saw me, his face broke into his usual toothy grin, and I of course, reciprocated.
Told him to sit down for I helped him removed his shoes. hah... he sat down right near the entrance blocking Ah Ma and his stroller! Moved him in a little to make room for Ah Ma and got his shoes off.
He was then led by Joylene to the bathroom to have his hands and feet washed... and after that, he would be asked to do his usual feel stamping at the doormat of the bathroom to dry his feet and a towel/ handkerchief for his hands. Even to now, he simply heartedly wipe his hands.... only to be corrected each time by whoever is helping him wipe his hands.
Then he pointed to the high chair/ baby chair, indicating he wants to be seated there. I carried him and tried to place him in, but he resisted a little by not putting his legs into the legholes..... then I realised what he wanted me to do: Get his favourite songs going on my Ipad. So I asked if that was what he wanted. Yes, and he slinked nicely into the chair, and the songs started playing.
Dinner Time
His usual favorites are the ones with loads of animation and upbeat music. Fav now has to be Humpty Dumpty. Once that song came, he would basically go "Ah! Ah! and pointing to the screen in an attempt to get people to affirm what was screening. if you give the correct answer, he would nod his head and say, mmm! If he reaches a song he doesn't like, he will motion for someone, normally me (papa! papa!), grabbing my hand and pointing to the screen indicating he wants another song. All these while Ah ma is feeling him porridge.
Sigh.... seems he is getting more attached/ addicted to the animated songs/ videos, so much so that he protests (Ugh! Ugh! shakes head) when ever we attempt to switch it off. Thankfully one trick can and til now still works: The after-dinner fruit tray.
En actually has this peculiar but particularly endearing liking: he absolutely loves to pick fruit off the fruit plate... and give them to people around him. Until about a week ago, he was contented with people taking the sliced fruit and putting into his hands for further distribution. Now he wants to do it himself! by having the plate right infront of him! No one is to help him, and anyone who attemnpts to will have his hands pushed away!
So yesterday, the fruit in question was grapes. Well, its not the 1st time and I've taught him previously that when plucking the grapes off, he also has to get rid of the stalks, and he tried to do that. 1st, he wanted to separate ALL the grapes in the bunch in individual ones. Anyways, the result is of course loads of grapes ending up on the floor. So Ah Gong stepped in to help with the grapes, despite resistance.
Anyways, so that was done and he started to distribute grapes as usual, but today he done it with a lightly different way he had done previously after the initial few. With all the grapes separated. he now grabs a few of them. So Yu Ling was just beside him and he basically grabbed literally handful after handful of grapes to her until she could no longer carry any more. I attempted to hide the tray, but he discovered it anyway and I brought it to the living room instead..... well, probably isn't the best idea because the grapes ended up mostly on the floor again.... hah. Anyways, by this time it was about 810pm, and Ah Gong said it was time for shower before bedtime!
Bedtime
So the bath went on as usual and the dressing up as well. Basically PJs with double layer top. Nowadays, right at this point, he will start looking for Yu Ling (妈妈！妈妈!) before we proceed up the stairs, while also making the "sluip... sluip) sound, indicating he wants the usual bottle of water then.
As of maybe up to a week ago, he has developed this habbit of swishing his water in his mouth and through his teeth as though rinsing his mouth after tooth(teeth?) brushing, and not swallowing the water. I had to sing Johnny Johnny Yess Papa, to get him to swallow... because, he would want to say the words Papa and HaHaHa.... and to do the last part, he has to swallow.
He then proceed to confiscate all the pillows in the room, and even Yu Ling's, despite Yu ling asking him if she could keep (nope, by shaking his head and saying "ng"), When asked whose are those, he replied with a sheepish smile/ grin... "Eh(n) Eh(n)"
Then Yu Ling then told him his birthday is coming soon, and hearing that, he immediately went to the otherside of the bedroom, picked up a book, ran back and opened it. We were wondering what he was up to, and he then flipped to the page of a birthday cake with candles, and wanted us to sing him the Birthday Song/ Happy Birthday! That was funny!
So I did, and he danced/ jumped up and down. He had me repeated the song numerous times, indication being an index finger pointed upwards as if saying one more time, and looking at me earnestly and nodding his head.
So when that was done, he then flipped the page to one with a dinosaur and indicated that he wants me to sing the dinosaur song! So that was going OK, until he started to turn round and round in circles and that got his mother's goat.
So I remembered what I did the previous night (Yu Ling was having a company dinner) alone with him. So I had a candy box (京都念慈菴）with the wrapped pastiles inside. Since it was new to him, he had a good time with the sweets, taking them in and out of the box, individually and then later in a bunch (that's how he did it yesterday night, and probably why he wanted to grab the grapes in handfuls tonight). Then after some more playing and even throwing (new) the sweets and at one point, he seems to realize that it can be eaten (he took one, put it in front of my mouth and said "uhm!"). After a little while, (it was about 920pm) he got tired and lied down and grabbed his towel/ blanket.
Then he started to smile (at no one, but i was watching him). I asked him what he was smiling about. Then I smelt it. He had let out a silent fart. and you know what they say about silent farts versus loud ones. So I held a pillow to cover my nose and shouted“Yieee...臭臭！” He laughed and laughed and I joined in as well, for the next 15-20 secs, it was non-stop laughing until Yu Ling told us to stop.... for fear that he will get over excited/ stimulated. Asked him if he wanted to pass motion, but, thankfully, he shook his head.
Anyways, we offed the light and he slowly drifted to sleep with pacifier in mouth and corner of towel/ handkerchief in hand.
An ephiphany... of sorts anyway.
Basically this blog is through my perspective of things, with respect to the growing up years of my kiddos. Together with my wife, we have 1 boy coming to 2 years old in Feb 15 and another boy due early April.
En En is coming to 2 years old later this month and as parents, YL and myself have had the privilege of seeing him grow just about every single step of the way.
Though there are times where he can be very difficult, we treasure every single moment where we can be together doing stuff together - Yu Ling, myself, En En, even with his grandparents, and uncles and aunts - even if it is simply giggling and laughing at the silliest stuff there is. We treasure them because every single treasured moment, is simply history the moment right after it happened, you can have similar events later on, but it will never be the same as the 1st time.
That is why parents nowadays, ourselves included, take photographs or videos as much as possible, in an attempt to capture those precious moments and immortalise them forever. That is well and good, but it is still not perfect. It can't capture a few things though:
1. Spontaneous events - where things happen so quickly it is simply impossible to capture
2. Camera unfriendly events - where the use of recording devices simply isn't feasible
3. My mental state/ thoughts at the moment.
4. Context of the event/ significance
5. Etc.
Also, I have received what I thought was a very meaningful and good advice from an elderly lady (80 plus) in a seminar before. Just a little context. She was one of the 2 VIP speakers for the evening and we were asked to refer to a verse. She saw a majority, or at least significantly enough people from the congregation whip out their digital devices for the e-bibles and she went on to dispense this golden nugget of an advice. She said something like this: My friends, in this age where everything is digital, do your children (and their children) a favor. When you are gone, leave something of yourself for them to sift through and discover.
That hit me. But it wasn't enough to start me writing. Then came upon another article on shared by a friend on Facebook yesterday. It is a piece written by a recent empty nester - a parent who just experienced his/her kids leaving home and generally being independent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelley-emling/things-empty-nesters-want-parents-of-little-kids-to-know_b_6526292.html
This excerpt sums it up succinctly:
The combination of advises got me started today.
Well, this blog is anything but analogue, but at least its a start of a legacy of memories I will leave for myself, Yu Ling, the kiddos, and maybe even their own kiddos many many years down the road.
To the people who are always advocating looking forward and not waste time looking back. I say this: The most important things and people in our lives have either happened in the past or will become history at some point. Even ourselves.
En En is coming to 2 years old later this month and as parents, YL and myself have had the privilege of seeing him grow just about every single step of the way.
Though there are times where he can be very difficult, we treasure every single moment where we can be together doing stuff together - Yu Ling, myself, En En, even with his grandparents, and uncles and aunts - even if it is simply giggling and laughing at the silliest stuff there is. We treasure them because every single treasured moment, is simply history the moment right after it happened, you can have similar events later on, but it will never be the same as the 1st time.
That is why parents nowadays, ourselves included, take photographs or videos as much as possible, in an attempt to capture those precious moments and immortalise them forever. That is well and good, but it is still not perfect. It can't capture a few things though:
1. Spontaneous events - where things happen so quickly it is simply impossible to capture
2. Camera unfriendly events - where the use of recording devices simply isn't feasible
3. My mental state/ thoughts at the moment.
4. Context of the event/ significance
5. Etc.
Also, I have received what I thought was a very meaningful and good advice from an elderly lady (80 plus) in a seminar before. Just a little context. She was one of the 2 VIP speakers for the evening and we were asked to refer to a verse. She saw a majority, or at least significantly enough people from the congregation whip out their digital devices for the e-bibles and she went on to dispense this golden nugget of an advice. She said something like this: My friends, in this age where everything is digital, do your children (and their children) a favor. When you are gone, leave something of yourself for them to sift through and discover.
That hit me. But it wasn't enough to start me writing. Then came upon another article on shared by a friend on Facebook yesterday. It is a piece written by a recent empty nester - a parent who just experienced his/her kids leaving home and generally being independent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelley-emling/things-empty-nesters-want-parents-of-little-kids-to-know_b_6526292.html
This excerpt sums it up succinctly:
As I've often said, you think you'll remember every key moment of your kids' lives -- but you won't
The combination of advises got me started today.
Well, this blog is anything but analogue, but at least its a start of a legacy of memories I will leave for myself, Yu Ling, the kiddos, and maybe even their own kiddos many many years down the road.
To the people who are always advocating looking forward and not waste time looking back. I say this: The most important things and people in our lives have either happened in the past or will become history at some point. Even ourselves.
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