Under Attack by Isaac boy

video taken on 19th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 mths plus

I've been trying to take videos of Isaac crawling. He's very fast nowadays, covering large distances in a very short space of time, and scaling large obstacles like the sofa, and me, and hubbs. Yes, he literally climbs all over us!

This video is one of Isaac "attacking" me when he sees me with the camera... he likes to play with the camera case, and the camera too. Somehow, even when I switch off the camera, he knows that at the part of the camera lens - the shutter is movable and so he moves the shutter so that he can touch the lens!? urrghhh leaving his fingerprints all over the lens... sob sob...

hahaha well, that's my Isaac boy for you. Enjoy!

Isaac and his nonsense

picture taken on 13th April 2008 Isaac @ 8 mths & a week

This is Isaac giving me an intent look before proceeding to pull the tissue paper out of the box, piece by piece... urrgghhh... he thinks it's fun. sighz.

Our little one is starting to show his character.True colours, I hear some of you sniggering. Yes, yes, the whole works. And he appears to have a fiery temper, with a generous bout of bullish stubborness.

All of which hubbs proudly proclaim - Isaac inherited from me.

Sighz.

But Isaac's also very - wait, SUPER active, and we can see the makings of a very mischievious one... which... all obviously he got from hubbs, right? (Must share the blame mah... ;p).

It's our worst fears come true! What if Isaac inherits the worst of hubbs and I?! (We couldn't really decide which was worst - a son that inherits my temper, or a daughter that inherits it. Hubbs says daughter more jialat. I tend to agree. But then see Isaac now like that... sighz...)

We can only pray that the rest of Isaac would inherit the better of the genes between the both of us. Erm... like... hope and pray that...

1. he can study well like me (well, not that I'm like a scholar or anything, but better like me at least than like hubbs' right!? better of two worsts you know ;p) ...
   
2. his aptitude for the Chinese language is like hubbs
   
3. his aptitude for the English language is like me
   
4. forgiving nature - like hubbs
5. meticulous - like me
   
6. physicals like hubbs - the bottomless pit - can eat and eat and eat and never get fat. plus very fit, agile, sporty...
7. articulate - like me! :) nuff said.
   

Well, our biggest consolation is that Isaac's very smiley! :) He got that from us both! hehehe... thus, in similar fashion, we pray that he'd

1. be friendly & likable and have tonnes of friends, like us
   
2. have good EQ and good "ren2 yuan2", like us
   
3. that he'd enjoy reading, like us
4. that he'd enjoy sports & the outdoors, like us
5. in general, be a nice person, like us
6. oh and he must be a kind boy, that's important. Like us. *beams*
   

But, of course, no matter how Isaac, and the rest of our kids turn out, we'd still love them unconditionally. We can only hope, pray, and do our best to nurture them in the way we want them to be. And we're lucky to have one another to try to prevent the kids from picking up the 'wrong stuff' from the other parent.

As for Isaac's temper and stubborness (aka ti-ki-ness)... well, in mitigation, I have this to say - at least now I'm not so bad, right!? mellowed down tremendously already! So... Isaac temper will get better in time! :) ... er... We'd just have to tahan the next 25 years at least, that's all! ;p

Isaac @ 8 months with E.T.

ET pix again! Late again! hehehe... these pix were taken a month ago, when Isaac was about 8 mths old. Speaking of which, in the excitement of me breaking my arm and all - we forgot to take Isaac with E.T on the 6th again! Will probably take him with E.T. this Saturday.
Isaac seems to be growing taller, but he doesn't really seem to be putting on much width wise. My mother-in-law often laments in teochew, that Isaac's face "has disappeared" - as in, his face is much sharper and more defined now, than when it was all padded up with his baby fat.

My father, on the other hand, happily informs me constantly that "Isaac looks very slim and trim now." hahaha... which I am inclined to agree with more.

I feel, that this just reflects how different our two families are. Hubbs' family are all very skinny. Blessed with skinny genes, they eat gigantic portions at meal times, all kinds of fatty meat, skin and innards, fried stuff , loads of carbo, etc etc - but yet remain skinny people. My family, generally have FAT genes. We eat like birds - very little or no carbo, steamed, soup or boiled stuff, skinless, fatless, small portions, exercise - and we juuuust manage to stay within the healthy weight zone, bordering on being overweight. Generally, coz it doesn't include my sister - who is blessed with ultra skinny genes. But then, even my sister watches her diet closely and exercises too. So, there.

When hubbs wasn't hubbs and was just The Boyfriend came over to my place for dinner the first time - he almost dieded. He could like finished up all the food! The amount of rice and food that he eats is the same as what my dad+mum+bro-in-law+sister+me eats!!! hahaha it's how much he eats but also how little my family eats... After awhile my mum realised that The Boyfriend was devouring every scrap of food available to him, and started to cook more when he comes for dinner. hubbs get a whole extra cup of rice cooked when he comes for dinner. hahahaha...

Frankly speaking, I'm hoping Isaac will tend towards his Papa's skinny genes, than my FAT genes. You can imagined how pissed I was when, at two/three months with Isaac increasing his weight at an exponential rate, hubbs told me:"Don't worry, he won't be fat next time one lah - he has my genes." To which I exploded:" YOU MEAN TO SAY HE HAS NONE OF MY GENES?!?!" Angry Mama personified!!!

pictures taken on 13th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 mths & a week

pam's arm update

Hi guys! no pictures with this post coz I had't uploaded any pix this past weekend coz my home pc's like konked out on us - sadness. Ah well, the PC Doctor's coming on tomorrow to take a look at it.

hehehe thanks for all the messages and smses asking after my broken arm. It's doing really well. I've this fibreglass cast that covers from my right palm, wrist, elbow up till like 7 cm below my arm pit. It's really hard so that's cool. Coz I can like swing my arm into the door frame and not hurt myself!

Plus I can still carry Isaac with my left arm, so, I was telling hubbs that I still can defend my baby if anyone wants to take him from me coz I can swing my fibreglass arm into the bugger and knock the living daylights outta him! HAHAHA. yes, I'm the new Marvel hero - Fibreglass Arm Girl! (FAG?!?! geez, let's try again!) ermmm... I'm the Wonder Arm Mummy! WAM! Offend me, and I'd WAM you!!! kekeke...

Well, think I mentioned that hubbs now has to bathe me *giggle* very ticklish *giggle* amongst other stuff, hooking my bra and like tieing my hair. But I try to do a lot of things on my own ok... With my trusty left arm & hand, I can

• wear and take off my top (provided it's not too tight)
• wear and take off my bottom
• go toilet and do everything necessary all on my own (hubbs heaves BIG SIGH of relieve)
• brush my teeth
• wash my face
• eat with fork/spoon - am training on the chopsticks skill
• pretty efficient at typing and using the mousepad
• carry Isaac
• steer the stroller in any direction required
• very efficient in smsing

Not too bad, yah?!?!?! hehehe...

I'm also trying to exercise and train my right hand to be stronger. On the day I fell, last Sunday 4th May, I could hardly move my right hand fingers, coz of the pain and that my arm was very weak. So everyday I move my fingers, open, close, open, close, open, close... Doctor says must exercise, if not it'd become very stiff.

There's been a lot of improvement since. Now, my arm doesn't hurt when I move my fingers. And everyday, in addition to exercising, I let my right hand carry something. As of yesterday, I could support the weight of two handphones, without straining at all. Also, yesterday, I managed to type out a few words on the phone too!

hehehe... See! I'm doing aye okay! So don't need to worry too much about me :p (though I'm basking in all the attention HAHAHA) oh! and this past weekend I got hubbs to take pix of me breastfeeding Isaac in my WAM condition. hahaha... so... pix coming up! ;p stay tuned! :)

Isaac bathing vid

video taken on 13th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 mths plus

Isaac bathing video! kekeke... he loves playing with water... :)

Update: It is a fracture! But specialist doctor says the bone is in place, so not so bad. Just need to cast it in order to let it heal properly. Officially, I'm on MC till 23rd May, but I intend to go into office at least a few times a week, if not full time.

I'm still taking care of Isaac at night, and breastfeeding him. We tried leaving him at hubbs' parents' place on Monday night but Isaac cried and cried and refused to sleep. My father in law called hubbs at 12mn to tell us that Isaac was crying non-stop - so in the end we drove down at like 12plus at night, and slept over at my in laws. So now we've gone back to bringing Isaac home every night

It's been tough on hubbs. He has to take care of me now, and he has to handle most things for Isaac now, when we're at home. Thank heavens that hubb has always been very hands on and has no problem doing all this stuff. Just makes him busier, that's all.

Ah well... we hope I get well faster, coz this is causing us a lot of inconvenience!!! sighz! I'd rather this had happened when I was younger, and not a mother yet... And while hubbs was bathing and dressing me, he also said:"This is why it's important to stay healthy in old age." Sighz... how true...

Isaac is 9 months old today!!!

Isaac is 9 months old today!!! These few pictures are not his usual smiley ones though. I decided we shall have some non-smiley pix for once - so next time Isaac knows that he'd given us some trying times too. hehehe...

even the 1st and 3rd pix are not his usual smile... and this 2nd one has him, just not smiling!
this here below is isaac rubbing his eyes when he's sleepy. it kinda reminds me of how I used to rub my eyes when I was young. When Isaac's sleepy or frustrated, he rubs his ears too. haha now, I dun think I did that when I was young...
sleepy and frustrated Isaac look... kekeke...
all above pictures taken on 13th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 months plus

Got some current news for you guys... guess what??? I just fell down on Sunday, at the park. Broke my fall with a straight arm, and something in my elbow went creeaaak. So after 5 hours at AH's A&E - I now have my arm in a cast. X-ray didn't show any dislocation nor any obvious fracture, but can see that's somethings not right. So anyway, I've to see a specialist to see what's really the matter... will update you! :)

Milk Trial - update

Sorries for MIA-ing for such a long time! Been super busy at work! (though someone insists that its not so busy now... :p) So shall compensate with writing a bit more now! :) something which I haven't had the luxury of doing in a long while!
It's been quite a long while since I've talked about milk. Well, I'm proud to say that Isaac is currently still 100% breastfed by his mummy dearest. So, that's like approaching 9 months this coming 6th May. Well of course, Isaac now eats porridge and cereal etc. So he isn't just drinking milk alone. But still, he's on 100% breast milk - have not supplemented him with formula as yet. Well that was the good news. Unfortunately, this silly bugger, has recently (after the Good Friday Easter Sunday weekend), refused to take milk through the bottle! As in, in the day time when I am at work, Isaac refuses to drink breast milk that my mother-in-law tries to feed him through the bottle. Sighz. He only wants to latch on ... to me... when I am with him. Well, I must admit that it feels good to be 'wanted'. But yet, we're worried that he isn't getting enough milk. He is, afterall, still a baby. He needs milk!
pictures above taken on 6th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 months

So he's been eating porridge in the day. He used to take porridge twice in the day, and nce of cereal (Frisocreme - which has milk powder in it). But recently, he's taken to refusing the cereal as well, and so he takes porridge three times a day.

Worried me has been popping my multi-vites and calcium pills more diligently these days to ensure that I am providing him with quality milk ;p And coz his demand for milk has dropped, so has my supply, and thus I don't even need to pump in office now - I just make Isaac drink right before I go to work - and that can last me till I come home from work and let him drink.

In fact, come to think of it, Isaac hardly drank the frozen milk that I'd painstakingly stockpiled for him. I think in this past 9 months - he probably drank like 10% of the milk that I have frozen. The rest have all been given away. At last count, my milk has been drunk by at least 7 other babies, other than Isaac. Well, at least it wasn't totally wasted.

Well, I hope to breastfeed Isaac to 1 year old. But having interrupted sleep for 9 months is taking its toll on me. Isaac still wakes up at least twice a night to drink - and now that he is refusing the bottle in the day, I don't have the heart to wean him off night feeds either. So we're thinking of starting him on formula... we'd have to start sometime... plus, I'm not sure I want to breastfeed through pregnancy either - if and when we eventually want to get pregnant.

ah well... we'd see how it goes :)

Baptism of Isaac & Natalie

Isaac finally got baptised at the ripe old age of 8 months old - on 6th April 2008.

Well, the reason why we waited so long was coz, initially, we wanted to wait for Natalie to be born, so they can get baptised together. Natalie was born 3 months after Isaac. But after that, my sister (Natalie's mummy) had confinement, then it was Christmas, then CNY, then we were all busy. and only in April did we finally settle down to get the kids baptised.
Here's us and Isaac with Isaac's Godma Pamela & Godpa-to-be Kok Pin :) We can't wait for Isaac's God-sibling to arrive! Yay! Another baby! kekeke...
The Boy Who Laughs was certainly not laughing much during his baptism - he was King Cranky throughout! Sighz! Father John-Paul says he can join the choir! :p See how tall Father JP is! He makes hubbs look short, and makes me look so petite! nice! kekeke...
And here's my sister and her three princesses - Rebecca, Isabelle & Natalie - whom I'm carrying! and guess what?! Hubbs and I are Natalie's Godparents! :) We've found that it's not been easy finding close friends who are Catholics to be our kids' Godparents. And in good catholic tradition (well, as far as I know!), when we are left with no more close friends who are catholic to call upon to be godparents - we ask relatives to be.

Well, lucky us - I've found us the perfect Godma for our next kid! No... still not pregnant ... yet... though Godma #2 is bugging me to start creating her Godkid already... she wants a girl... kekeke... so does hubbs... well, so do I. But, we'd see what God blesses us next with - his choice! :) Natalie my Goddaughter! :) We've a daughter already! hehehe... pictures above taken on 6th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 months; Natalie @ 5 months

Isaac at work

Being an 8th month old is not easy.

There are important things to do like crawling, climbing, whining, groaning, sleeping, eating and general investigation to do (putting everything you see into the mouth for further analysis).
Nowadays, have to keep track of blogs too. Make sure it's interesting and the like, ya know. With such cheong hey blog writers around... a lot of work to do man! *shack* !!!

pictures above taken on 6th April 2008
Isaac @ 8 months

Good Papa

Here's the good papa changing Isaac's diaper, wearing back his long pants for him.
I can't recall if I've mentioned it before - that hubbs' is quite good with taking care of Isaac. He's very involved and does almost everything he cans. He changes diapers, he bathes Isaac, he bottle feeds Isaac - in fact, the only thing he can't do, is to breast feed him! kekeke...
I have attempted to get Isaac to suckle hubbs - but he wasn't interested. Think dun have the smell (of milk) to antice him, plus hubbs nipple is like totally FLAT - so a bit hard for Isaac to latch on lah. So, lucky hubbs, doesn't have to endure the sore and bleeding nipples stage that I went through when I first started breastfeeding.
Oh and lucky hubbs doesn't need to wake up in the middle of the night to be a milk bar to Isaac. hummphh. I don't think I have slept straight, uninterrupted, for more than 3 hours since I have given birth to Isaac. Sighz. Just last night, our dear Isaac woke up at every hour!!! *groan* If he goes on like that, I sure peng san, I tell you.

above pictures taken on 5th April 2008
Isaac @ one day to 8 months

Ah well, as Confucius says: the price of motherhood, never comes cheap. (not sure when he said that ;p think he was confused. hahahhahaa... sorry brain's mushed already. all coz of the little boy that wouldn't sleeeeep!!!! urrghhh!!! ;p)

Isaac standing with help

As early as March 2008 - when Isaac was about 7 months old, he could pull himself to a standing position. Here're some pix of him standing in the cot.
It's kinda like his favourite position there, coz when he stands like that, he's looking straight at the computer screen. Hehehe... yes, I put him there to buy myself some minutes on the net, or to upload photos onto this blog...
Here he is grinning away. Wait till he gets impatient, then he'd start to whine and groan and make all sorts of noises to make us carry him. Sometimes, all he wants is to sit on our laps while we surf the net :) yes yes... starting young huh!

pictures above taken on 21st March 2008
Isaac @ 7 and a half months

video taken on 17th March 2008
Isaac @ 7 mths & 11 days

Isaac goes swimming!

We finally brought Isaac swimming! We kept wanting to bring him swimming once he hit 6 months, but we were busy and all...
Isaac loves the water. He loves bathing, and would protest loudly whenever we take him out of the bathtub now. We would even constantly pour water on his head (while bathing) so that the water runs down his face (and eyes and nose and mouth) - but it doesn't bother him in the least!
As you can see from the second picture above, Isaac is very relaxed in the water and can lie back on the water and 'float' on his own with some support from me.
Even when I take him out of his float, and let him move about the water like in these pix, he is fine. We hope this means that he would learn to swim easily.
When in his float, Isaac comfortably leans forwards so that he can touch the water. And he simply uses his hands to 'beat' the water. Just like he does when he's bathing! :)
Though we did notice, that he isn't "as happy" as when he is bathing. So we figured that he probably was a little scared, but still took the water fine.
We figured it must have been that during my pregnancy, I swam at least 3 times a week - that's why Isaac likes the water so much! :)

Here's our Isaac boy in his swimsuit! Dashing, ain't he?! :)

all pictures above taken on 23rd March 2008
Isaac @ 7 and a half months