I can...

Jonas' can-do list at 24 months 1 day old:
1. Count to 10
2. Count to 20, though leaving out some of the numbers between 13 and 20. Haha.
3. Recite the alphabet but he's been leaving out E,F,G,K,L and W is currently 'ba-ju-ju' and he finds it funny too.
4. Recite the colours: white, black, blue, grey, pink, brown, green, blue, red, yellow, purple.
And he's crazy about grouping objects according to their colours, as well as having no qualms throwing out (yes, the physical act of throwing included) whatever object which doesn't fit the colour scheme. He talks about the shades of colours too, e.g. 'dark blue', 'dark pink'. AND he's been giving his opinions on what he thinks is 'nice' and says it out loud.
'Mmmm, nice!' is for food related opinions;
'Blue! Nice blue!' is for colour and clothing related opinions.
5. Says and identifies the shapes: square, circle, triangle, oval, diamond, star, heart, fan, and rectangle. He says whether a shape has corners or not and can count the corners too; he knows that circles do not have corners.

Sunbeam

Jonas, I noticed quite early on this year, has a favourite Sunbeam teacher at church creche with whom he enjoys interacting with. I can't quite remember her name though I must have asked her at least thrice in the past 3 months. Haha. She's not around every Sunday but when she is, like today, Jo gets enthusiastic about joining in for Circle Time; he wiggles, claps his hands, taps his feet, and does his all-fall-downs with gusto and a smile on his face. When the teachers are different, he's sort of half-hearted about participating; it's touching yet quite amusing too.
Today, he's been playing quite independently so long as I stay nearby; I've got to anyway since there were just too many kids and parents today for the 9am service. Last week, attendance was poorer but the environment was much better for the children. Well, it comes and goes, I suppose.
In another 6 months' time, he'll have to move on to the older group already - wow! I'm quite curious to see how he'll fare in the more structured environment over there.

Easy Yummy Cream of Mushroom Soup

This is a recipe I had tried and tested several times successfully; the first attempt being in St Albans where the shrooms were always nice and fresh.

Ingredients:
3 punnets of Swiss brown cap mushrooms (only these type of shrooms with the nutty taste will do) - rinsed of dirt (keep the skin on) and roughly chopped up
3 slices of rasher bacon - finely chopped up
1 cup of Bulla pure cream or thickened cream
3L Soup stock or water

Method:
1. Heat up the soup pot. Pour in some olive oil.
2. Dunk in the bacon bits and fry over low-medium heat until fragrant and most of the water content has evaporated; the edges should have turned golden brown.
3. Add all the shrooms and stir fry over medium heat until heated through.
4. Pour in stock/water. Bring to boil and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
5. Use a handheld blender to blend all the contents till the desired consistency. Or you can scoop out a ladle of the shrooms and blend the rest till fine, then add in the bigger chunks for some 'bite'.
6. Continue to simmer while slowly adding in the cream. Add to desired consistency.
7. Add salt, pepper to taste.
8. Serve warm/hot on its own, or with your warm chunk of buttered toast. Enjoy!

The 2nd Birthday

This was planned more than a month in advance and it finally happened today. The household was abuzz with activity at about 8am after Jo and I finished our breakfast. I brought him out to see the decorations I'd put up the night before and the minute he laid eyes on the dining table's disposable tablecloth, he said, 'Nice. Nice table.' And he said it with much sincerity and genuine appreciation; it proved to be a good start. He checked out the yellow balloons I had tied to the coffee table's legs and promptly wanted to remove one of them to hold, so I blew one up on the spot for him. 'Balloon, thank you. Balloon,' he replied. Was he thanking me, or thanking the balloon, I wondered.
Well, our guests started arriving at around half past eleven. Caleb and family arrived first and Jo was a bit startled - even though I had been telling him everyday who's coming and what's going to happen starting almost a week ago. He ran to me and held on to me tight, while trying to work out who these folks in his home were. Jadon arrived soon after and immediately went to play in the tent. Jonas kept looking for me and finally ran to the kitchen where I was and said, 'Too scared.'
Well, I guess my little birthday boy was slowly but surely starting to warm up to his guests when lunch was laid out and his friends were busy chomping down the noodles. Jonas was actually more concerned about his grandparents and great-grandmother carrying and playing with Danielle, Kat's 3-month-old; too concerned to eat.
So the eating, playing, chatting went on for a spell, and the adults took a break from the kids by putting on a Barney VCD after they'd finished their lunch. What a welcome breather it must have been.
I brought out the birthday cake in the middle of the show; it was a homemade cream cheesecake courtesy of Kai's aunt and I had decorated it with some plastic cake toppers from Wilton's which I'd purchased from Phoon Huat yesterday. This is my favourite segment of the party today. The candles were lit and we started posing for photos with the birthday boy. Jonas was very much preoccupied with the dancing flames on the candles throughout; it was quite a din with us trying to get all 3 boys looking at the camera.
Finally we got on to the birthday song - and Jonas was clearly enjoying the attention and was clapping along - and it was time to blow out the candles. Jonas tried to blow, then Jadon, then Caleb; none succeeded. It was really hilarious watching them pout and attempt to force the air through their teeth; we adults were really tickled because they looked so adorable. Jason even asked if those were trick candles :)
Well, I blew out the flames in the end and we all enjoyed our slice of cake.

Homemade Yogurt

I tried making yogurt on Friday afternoon and the result is pretty good.

Ingredients:
1L Full Cream Milk (I used organic UHT milk)
2-3 tbsp the best plain yogurt you can find in the supermarket (I used Paul's plain set natural yogurt)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to about 100 deg C. Turn off oven when done.
2. Heat up milk in saucepan/pot over medium heat.
3. Stir, and watch it; it's ready when the milk is hot to the touch but not boiling.
4. Stir in the yogurt, cover the pot and place in the oven for 8-12 hours. The longer the duration, the more sour it gets.
Alternatively, you can use a thermos flask to store the contents after heating up, and store in a warm place for the same duration.
5. Taste, and when satisfied, store in the fridge. Consume within the week or as soon as you can.

Christmas

Christmas is getting near; my Filipino colleagues shared with me that in their country, the Christmas ambience kicks in starting September each year: SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, and finally DecemBER. So they actually spend a third of each year celebrating this wonderful season! That's nice.

I'm also hoping to plan for a Christmas celebration at home but the details will have to come after I settle Jo's birthday playgroup details. Hopefully, Jadon will still be able to attend after the dental surgery today (Jason, Cecilia: Jonas and I will be praying very hard for Ja to have a super-speedy recovery).

I saw this very interesting article posted on another site (http://home.att.net/~JesusIsTheReason/8.htm) titled:

The Hidden Meaning of the 12 Days of Christmas

People often think of the twelve days of Christmas as the days preceeding the festival. Actually, Christmas is a season of the Christian year that begins December 25 and lasts until January 6th - the day of Epiphany - when the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the light of the world and recalls the journey of the magi.

From 1558 until 1829 people in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. It was during this era that someone wrote 'The Twelve Days Of Christmas' as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without risk of persecution. The song has two levels of interpretation: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the church. Each element in the carol is a code word for a religious reality.

1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ.

2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.

3. Three french hens stand for faith, hope and love.

4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels.

5. The five gold rings recall the Torah (Law) the first five books of the Old Testament.

6. The six geese of laying stand for the six days of creation.

7. Seven swans a swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit.

8. The eight maids a milking are the eight Beatitudes.

9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5).

10. The ten lords a leaping are the Ten Commandments.

11. Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful diciples.

12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

Brilliant, isn't it? Now I'm sure you'll be enjoying the carol from a different perspective.

Special Steamed Tofu

My MIL concocted this yummy dish for Jo on Tuesday for dinner in less than half an hour; super-duper! I've modified it slightly though.

Ingredients:
Raw fish paste (we used Bobo from the supermarket) - the amount should be half of an adult's fist
Minced chicken - the amount should be about the size of an adult's fist
Silken tofu - half the standard block for a start; add more if you prefer the result to be softer which may suit a younger child
1 medium-sized chicken egg, slightly beaten
Pumpkin, diced into 1cm cubes - the amount should be in a third of the meat portion
Frozen garden peas (optional)

Preparation:
1. Steam the pumpkin cubes until cooked (the softness of this depends on your preference. Set aside.
2. Mix the fish paste, minced chicken, and silken tofu in a bowl.
3. Add the egg, a pinch of salt, some pepper, a dash of sesame oil, 1 tbsp of Japanese soya sauce, and some cornflour; mix well. 9If you have the time, this can be set aside in the fridge before cooking.)
4. Mix in the cooked pumpkin cubes and garden peas to the mix, and lay the mixture on a steaming plate so that the patty is evenly thick throughout.
5. Steam for about 8 minutes; put a chopstick through the thickest portion and the dish is done if the chopstick comes out clean.
6. Serve hot with warm rice.

Bacon Minced Meat Mix

I cooked this dish for Jo's dinner yesterday and it was a hit:

Ingredients:
Bacon, chopped up - the amount should be at least half of that for the minced meat
Minced meat (I used pork but chicken or beef is fine as well) - the amount about the size of your child's fist
Frozen garden peas
Frozen / canned sweetcorn
Frozen / fresh carrot, chopped
1-2 fresh mushroom, stems removed and chopped up

Preparation:
1. Add to the minced meat - a tiny pinch of salt, half a tsp of Thai fish sauce, a tsp of corn flour, sesame oil (optional) - and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, put 1 tsp of corn flour and 1 tbsp of tap water - stir until flour dissolves. Put aside.
3. Heat up pan (I use a small AMC shallow pot for speed) on medium heat.
4. Add chopped up bacon when pan/pot is hot. Turn to low heat, stir and fry the bacon bits until fragrant and browned. Remove excess fat/water in the pan if desired.
5. Add mushrooms and fry for 1 minute.
6. Add all the vegetables and fry for 1-2 minutes; they should be almost cooked through at this stage. The carrots may need to go in before the mushrooms if these are fresh ones.
7. Add 4-5 tbsp of stock or water. Add a dash of dark soya sauce for colour.
8. Add minced meat and stir well, breaking up the lumps. The pan should be on lowest heat for this stage to avoid overcooking the meat.
9. Stir in the cornstarch mix. Turn off heat when done.
10. Remove from pot and serve with warm rice.

Base Check

Kai called to report that he's cleared base check; he sounded more relaxed today but audibly tired. It's much easier this time round, mainly because we're both too busy with our own schedules to be thinking too much. Of course there are days when I break down and wonder why there is so much separation in our relationship but the demands of our little fella quickly pull me away from all the self-pity and what-ifs; all the better for it since nothing fruitful comes out of those sessions anyway.

Dot will be joining Clar soon though it must seem like an eternity to be waiting till post-CNY. But from experience, I'll say that just get busy with many activities and time will pass quickly. When that happens, you'll join the ranks of Shar and enjoy taitai life; that's not a bad deal. Pity you'll be far away in South America; we're all over the place these days. The last meetup at Bakerzin is truly precious indeed. We must meet up again for a few more times; Jo has memory of Godpa and Godma and we need to take more photos of you and him to bring with you to Brazil.

Sleep Training Day 02 & 03

Day 02
It took Jo about 20 minutes to nod off on his own, as compared to 30 minutes the night before. The downside was he had some weird dreams in his sleep and made crying noises which kept me awake in the middle of the night for a while.

Day 03
Jo woke up before 6.30am this morning when the sun's first ray shot in. I told Kai I really need to put in blackout curtains so that everyone can sleep better and longer! And he refused to let me get ready for work this morning, which really pissed me off a bit as I was running late.

Luckily the afternoon panned out quite well; I discovered that after he started sleeping on his own, he was also able to play on his own for longer periods of time in the day!!

Tonight was a bit icky since he had his nap between 12pm and 2pm, so he was actually over-tired by bedtime. Thank God he managed to fall asleep on his own after about 10 minutes of on-off calling me to his bedside. He fell asleep at 9pm. This is an ideal bedtime, really; hope we can keep it up.

Yoghurt with Apple and Honey

I've been buying off-the-shelf yogurt for Jo for the longest time. Decided to make my own yogurt recently but before that, I decided to try mixing in fruits with plain yogurt first to test the response. This quick recipe is a bit tart, depending on the apple, but the honey balanced it out. Jo ate about 60-70 ml of it.

Ingredients:
1. The best natural plain yogurt you can buy with 'live' culture.
(I bought Paul's Set Yogurt in natural flavour from Shop 'N' Save. It was quite stiff, so I added in some fresh full-cream milk to make it runnier.)
2. A quarter slice of a medium red apple, finely/roughly chopped up depending on your preference
(I used Royal Gala today; it's sweet and crumbly but rather tart.)
3. Good quality honey
(I used some Manuka Honey from the cupboard today. If there's a risk of allergy, substitute this with brown sugar, to taste.)

Method:
Mix it all together and serve chilled. Delicious!

Sleep Training Day 01

23 months and 10 days old

The Nap

Nap routine started with saying, "It's nap time, darling." It was almost time (i.e. about 6 hours from the time he woke up) anyway and he was clearly low on "batteries".
Request for milk - done.
Proceed to nap venue.
Request to be read to - done BUT 2 books only. The 3rd book we would put next to his pillow and read it when he's up.
End of story time.
Mummy states: "Sleep on your own, darling. Mummy will come back in 5 minutes. You may not sit or stand up."
Mummy leaves and stands outside the room, unseen.
Jo lies on the bed checking out the 3rd book and reading to himself.
After a while, he called out, "Mama!"
I replied and went in, adjusted his sleep position, stroked his head and back and said nicely but firmly, "It's nap time."
(This repeated itself about 5-6 times before he finally fell asleep stroking Giraffe's feet.)
Yippee!

The Nighttime Sleep

This is what I've been dreading but it's Saturday and the best time to start something new. I've been dragging my feet for too long, regarding this. I guess there's that part of me that just can't bear to... but he was taking longer and longer to fall asleep even in my presence. That was driving me bonkers. So yup, we start tonight.

Night time ritual, as usual:
Shower and change in to PJs
A cup of milk in the kitchen
Mummy goes for her shower while he doodles on paper with Grandpa at the dining table
Mummy goes to kitchen to announce that it's time to go to the room
Potty time - the best time for "harvest" is a short while after the warm cup of milk; it works 90% of the time and it worked tonight. Potty time ends with the reward of being allowed to flush it all away.
We immediately proceed to the sink to wash hands, brush teeth, and clean up.
Then off to bed to put on diaper and pants. But first, some ointment to the tummy.
We read 3 stories tonight, but seeing that I'll be embarking on my grand plan tonight, I acceded to his request for a 4th story - 'The Three Wise Men' from the Bible.
Then we prayed and I massaged him.
Lights out (okay, the nightlight stays on. Jo has an overwhelming fear of the dark and anything black).
And the grand plan begins....

I was called in countless times - must be at least 20 times.
Then he cried and said that he hit his mouth (with the ointment bottle, accidentally). So I had to comfort him.
The plan continues.
Mickey and Giraffe were then brought in for solace.

He whimpered but half-cried in my absence. I was just outside the room but I wasn't worried as I remembered that there's a difference between genuine crying and self-soothing crying. His was the latter. Of course, when it escalated and threatened to cross over to genuine cries, I went in and reassured him. He did soothe himself to sleep in the end. Praise God.
It wasn't as tough as I had feared.

End of Day 01

I want to go home myself

Well, it first started with Jo saying, "Go home."
He says this when he truly doesn't want to be where he is, and his tone is one of absolute determination - and consternation. Well, we don't usually give in to his demands immediately although this means that we'll have to put up with his screaming or crying. At times, he'll even pull my bag towards the exit to prove his point.

The phrase then grew: "Go home now."
Ah, the concept of time has begun to creep into his mind.
"10 more minutes," I bargained.
"NOW!" the little boy knitted his brows in fury.

Just the beginning of this week, on one of the usual post-dinner evening strolls, Jo told his grandpa this: "I want to go home."
My parents-in-law were surprised.
However, the icing on the cake was this: Jo furrowed his brow in mock despair while saying it in a pained voice, as if he had been tolerating something intolerable and he's unable to tolerate it anymore yet he feels a bit sorry about having to make this request...! Dramatic!

The next day, during the evening stroll, Jo again told his grandpa that he wanted to go home.
"You go home yourself," my father-in-law jested.
"I want to go home myself," Jo immediately replied.
Apparently, my father-in-law was shocked by Jo's response that he knew that "yourself" and "myself" are different and could articulate the words.

I think I read somewhere that kids only start speaking in sentences at around the age of 2.5 years. Well, I'm truly minding what I say in front of this little precocious fella now.

No Diaper!

Jo is 23 months and 5 days old today.

The little fella started to prefer big boy pants over his diaper just 1 week ago, and he's doing fab without it! Praise God!

We started placing a small green plastic pot with a long handle (it's called the 'kong' in Hokkien) at a fixed place for him to get to when he wants to pee, and he's been doing just that - holding it in and running towards the pot with a frantic look on his face, saying, 'Shee shee!' to either his granny or mummy. He'll then grab the pot and place it at the source of his urgency, to further emphasize the point. He still hasn't learnt to push the pants aside though, so we still have to go to his rescue. Fortunately, there has been no accidents so far.

He made some significant progress recently by refusing to wear his diaper for his 2-hour nap. My MIL and I were a bit worried so she decided to change the pants to diaper after he falls fast asleep. O boy, you should have seen his reaction when he woke up, stood up and noticed the swap! 'Pants! Diaper - no! Change,' he said very angrily, looking very insulted and cheated. The next day, he refused to change out of his pants as well, so we took the risk and viola, he sure kept himself dry thoughout!

On the same day that Jo rejected his diapers, my night-time sleep got screwed up. He would wake in the middle of the night asking to pee. Twice. However, just last night, he lasted 10 hours straight without waking up, AND without wetting his diapers!!! Yahoo!!! We think it's amazing progress!!!

God is good.

Turning 2

I'm spending most of my free time planning for Jo's 2nd birthday these days. The experts have recommended inviting just 2 kids for a 2 year old; Jo has demonstrated how uncomfortable he can be in a strange environment with too many adults and kids during our past 2 cell group sessions. I don't quite want to have him screaming and crying his head off during his 2nd birthday so I'm settling on just a short birthday playgroup with 2 kiddo friends and their parents, my in-laws, and his great-grandmother-in-law.

As for the theme, it'll probably be Sesame Street. I'll save the planes and helicopters for the next birthday when, hopefully, his daddy will be around.

The food list for adults and kids is settled; all that's left is the birthday cake. I think I'll just be getting a simple and light sponge cake with icing and hundreds-and-thousands and sesame street figurines on it. How does that sound? Not too bad, I suppose. Was toying with the idea of individual cupcakes as well, with a candle for each, so that each of the kids can blow out their own flame. I'm just anticipating that the other 2 boys may be upset about not getting to blow out the candle.

Gotta get Jo started on making the invites and goody bags today.