Letter to Matt

Dear Matt,

You turn 3 months old tomorrow. Rightfully, I should have reached the end of my maternity leave and go back to work soon. If I had not shorten my unpaid maternity leave to 2 months, we would have been able to spend more time together.

During your 1st month, you spent most of the time sleeping and was taken care by the confinement lady. The only time we spent together was when you latch on. However, unlike your bro who can latch on for the min 20 mins each side, you are less patient and will refuse to nurse once the flow slows down.

During the 2nd month, I had to focus on your bro as kaka has to go back on home leave for 2 wks. During the last 2 wks, your bro developed jealousy over you and sticks to me like glue. Thus to help him adjust during this period, I had to spend more time with him.

In the 3rd month, Mummy is back at work but whenever possible, I will try to latch you on but I wished you will latch on for a longer period. Now that you are more alert as compared to your new born days, you are so fun to be with. All of a sudden, I felt that I have not spent enough time with you. This thought developed after you cried when I walked away from you. I have not realized that over time, you have come to recognise me.

After sleeping with your kaka for the past week as your bro is having a cough, you are back to sleep in our room. As I write this post, I can't help but steal glances at you sleeping so soundly in your cot.

Matt, I really wish I have more time to spend with you. The same way I had spent time with your bro when he was your age. Every night, I would latch him on to sleep. Every morning, I would be the one he wakes up with. For you, I can only steal whatever time I have to be with you. I can easily make the decision to let you sleep with kaka but I insist on taking care of you at night no matter how tired I am. When your bro is not stuck to me, I would tango with you. During my lunch break, after feeding your bro, I would have a "chat" with you.

Matt, I know I may not have the time to be with you but my love for you is not any lesser. You are forever in my thoughts even when I am out for meeting. I look at your pixs I have in my handphone when I am alone in the cab.

I love you, Baby Matt.

xxxooo,

Mummy

Matt can roll-over!

Barely 3 months old but Matt is able to roll-over from his front to his back! And I was there to witness it.

I was in the room with J and M was lying on his tummy in his cot. Naughty J reached into the cot to tickle M's feet and I turned to chide him. When I turn back, I was in time to see M flip. I thought I was hallucinating but I clearly recall M's position when J was tickling him!

Everytime I look at M, I can't help laughing. When I bring him out, I can overhear passerby commenting that he is so cute. When strangers asked how old he is, I am prepared for the surprise on their faces. He definitely looks bigger than a 3 months old. Once, there was this aunty who had to approach me the 2nd time to confirm that she heard me correctly. He weighs 7.5kg and is heavier than some other babies who are older than him!

Look at his chubby cheeks which needs to be taped up to prevent sagging. Also, I love his lotus roots arm that has 4 chunky sections!

He sure is one yummy baby!

Happy Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day twice. First, we celebrated it at home on Sat with my FIL over a scrumptious dinner of chilli crab and curry fish head. S was home with her kids and again, J went ballistic playing with his cousins, D & E. He wouldn't even let them eat their dinner and insisted on playing through it. I think D & E had enough of him for a while.

Then on Sunday, we celebrated it with my Dad over dinner at Hotel Intercontinental. As K had to work that day, we started dinner late. During dinner, J insisted on eating on his own. As he did not take his nap that day, halfway through, he actually fell asleep and his face almost went into his bowl of noodles. Fortunately I caught his head in time and we all had a good laugh over it.

When we got home, J presented to K his Father's Day present. A picture of "Bob the Builder" which he self-colored; along with a cheeky poem which I search off the Net. It was signed off with J & M's thumbprint.
Many argued that Father's Day and Mother's Day are over-rated and commercialized. I feel otherwise. In our busy daily lives, at times we take our parents for granted. The efforts they put in raising their kids is far by more worthy than just 1 celebration a year. Do we need to dine out or buy fancy gifts? Well, if you can afford it, why not? If you can't, I think all parents will be contented with any gestures that shows appreciation.

For the parents, we can use festival like these remind ourselves of our roles. K, in our hectic lives, let's not forget to be good parents for our kids, ok? Here's a poem for you. Happy Father's Day.

Walk a little slower, Daddy,
Said a little child so small.
I'm following in your footsteps
And I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they are hard to see;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.

Home-cooked food

I nearly cried when I ate dinner tonight. My mum cooked all of my favourite dishes. Every dish tasted heavenly.

When I was expecting M, I was sensitive to the smell of cooking oil thus mum did not cook dinner when I visited her every weekend. It was towards the last 2 wks that I managed to taste some of her cooking. After delivery, I was on confinement food for a whole month. The month after that, I was down sick and thus missed the opportunity to visit her. Thus the reason why I had not tasted her cooking for so long.

When I was younger, it was Grandma who did the cooking. I remembered that one Saturday when Mum cooked for us (G and Glad was living with us then) and it was such a big deal. She cooked western food and made mash potatoes. This was in the period where such dishes was a luxury. That moment etched forever in my mind because I was so impressed by my mum's ability to make mash potatoes. Haha.

It was after Grandma passed on did Mum started cooking regularly. The reason why I love my mum's cooking is because it is simple. My mum like to cook food using its original flavour. In this way, you can taste the freshness of the ingredients.

Tofu in spicy meat sauce. - I only eat tofu with egg so this dish goes well with me. Mum has a few variations of how this dish can be cooked and spicy meat sauce is just one of it.

Stir-fry vegetables - My mum is very conscious about her health so she does not over-cook her vegetables so that as much nutrients are preserved. This is a simple dish of stir-fry vegetables.

Steam fish with preserved vegetables (kiam chye) - Living near the wet market means we have access to fresh fish daily. I don't know what fish this is but it is always soft and moist.

Claypot chicken wing with chinese mushroom - I love mushroom. She just add some sliced ginger, garlic cloves and dark soya sauce and simmer the chicken wings and mushrooms in a claypot. The meat is so tender that you can simply suck it off the bones.

Wanton soup - These wantons was given by a relative. Mum used ikan bilis to make the soup base and throw the wanton and vegetables in. The sweetness of the ikan bilis flavour the soup and yet it is light in taste. Even J drank a big bowl of it.

The Purple Dinosaur

Never in my life did I ever imagine (no pun intended) that I will be attending a Barney concert. But when the advertisment for the show came on and R sms me if I were interested, I duely did what a mother of a 2 yrs old would - I bought the tickets.


After a month's wait, the day finally arrived. The plan was to take the train to City Hall and then walk to Suntec but the dark clouds threaten to break anytime. J insisted that we take the train but we ended up on a cab.

When we reach the event hall, I resisted the temptation to buy J a goody bag that cost S$33. Afterall, he is going through a "Bob the Builder' phase now and Barney is just another dinosaur.

Soon, R arrived with her son Ryan. Ryan shares the same birthday as J. These 2 fellas have not seen each other for quite a while.

When the show started, J was dazed with the lightning and sounds but he soon realized what was going on. Did he dance and sing to the songs? Of course.....not. He is an introvert, what do you expect?

Did he enjoy it? In J's own words, "Yes".

The doctor is in the house

"Mummy, sit down. Put leg up. I check for Mummy" (J asking me to lay down on the sofa and put my legs up.)

"J, am I sick?"

"Yes! Give medicine to Mummy. Check ear" (J checking my temperature with his toy thermometer)

J plays doctor when he is in the mood. He would ask me to lay down; put on his stethescope and give me a check up. He does a pretty thorough job with checking of my temperature and listening to my lungs. He would then feed me the medicine the way we feed him, via a syringe.

The only item he would not play with is the spectacle in the doctor's kit but he was in a good mood today and gamely put it on and even allowed me to take a picture.