Josiah and his Avocado

Josiah dislikes avocado (just like his daddy) so he spits it all out in a very cute fashion! I wonder who taught babies to be so smart as to do this?!

Josiah - 6 months old

Josiah is now 6 months old and we have started him on solids 1 week ago! He's eating really well now and enjoys his food! Janelle simply LOVES to feed him too!

At 6 months of age, Josiah is 67cm long and 7.3kg. He has been turning over both ways (ie. front-to-back and vice versa) and can roll all round the living room now! Recently, he has also learned to "crawl" (or rather, wriggle) backwards, which is pretty amusing. He can also sit up more steadily now, though still not completely stable.

He can babble "daa daaa deee" so it sounds like "daddy" - to Royston's ultimate delight! He has also been putting everything in his mouth and chewing on things, but still has no teeth yet. 

Josiah is still ever-so-cheerful and good-natured and charms everyone - especially us!

Why 5-years-old is such a charming age

This conversation took place when 5-year-old Janelle found out that I had to stay home to take care of the 3 of them, while Royston went out with a friend to another friend's house at 8pm for a time of fun and fellowship.

Janelle: "Mummy, you can go out too. You can leave us at home and go out."

Me: "Then who will take care of you all and put you all to bed??"

Janelle (earnestly): "Me! I will put mei-mei and di-di to bed. I will help mei-mei brush her teeth, and when she's gone to the toilet I'll clean her bottom for her. Then I'll put on her nappy and read her a story and we'll go to bed."

Me: "Really?? Then how about di-di?"

Janelle: "Yes I'll put di-di to bed too!"

*pause*

"But if he's hungry, I'll feed him cow's milk!"

Me: ???!!?!?!

Janelle (still thinking out loud): "Oh, but I don't know how to switch on the alarm."

(because we turn on the house alarm every night before we go to bed)

Awwww....I thought that was awfully sweet of Janelle to make such an offer. I was honestly very tempted to take up the offer so that I could go out! And she was serious about taking care of her siblings so that she could free me to go out!! Gosh, such a child-like simplistic view of life. Perhaps that's what I need 

Big School Updates

And so it has been 3 weeks since Janelle has started school. 

We are all settling nicely into routine, and both Janelle and myself have made several new friends! Janelle's new friends are her classmates, while my new friends are her classmates' mummies as we see each other twice a day when we drop them off at school and pick them up after school. Janelle is enjoying her new school, new environment, and new friends. We are very thankful for the smooth transition!

On Mondays and Fridays, Janine goes with me to school to send/pick Janelle. It is very heartwarming to see how Janine gives such sweet cuddles and kisses to Janelle when it's time to say goodbye, and rushes to the classroom door the moment it opens to be the first to receive Janelle when school has ended! Janine will stand right in front of the classroom door, waiting for her jie-jie to come out and give her excited smiles and a big cuddle. Awww....so sweet! 

One recent funny episode that happened was this conversation between Janelle and myself, after I discovered she came home from school with a 50-cent coin:

Me: Where did you get this coin from??

Janelle (smiling): Isabel gave it to me! :)

Me: You'll need to return this to Isabel tomorrow because it is not right for you to take money from other people....(blah blah blah...I went on to explain why it is not right to take money from others)

Janelle (innocently): But the canteen gave this coin to Isabel!

Well, it turns out that Isabel bought something worth $1 from the canteen and she paid using a $2-coin, so she got back two 50-cent coins for change and decided she did not need two similar coins so she gave one to Janelle! And Janelle's logic was that it was the canteen who gave Isabel the coins so by right, the coin does not belong to Isabel but to the canteen!

It was a futile attempt explaining to Janelle why the coin should be returned to Isabel and not to the canteen! Yet it was really hilarious to see the innocent minds of 5-year-olds 

Chinese New Year 2011

This is the time of the year where we all start to miss home and our family and friends! It is very quiet over here for CNY - no celebrations and no holiday. It is back to work / school as usual for everyone. 

We had a sumptuous reunion dinner celebration at the Ngas' residence last night, but it was a mixture of emotions as we watched the news where people in Cairns were fearing for their lives as they awaited the arrival of Cyclone Yasi (the biggest cyclone to hit Australia ever) which struck at midnight. Though destruction was widespread, thankfully there seems to be no news of any casualties. I believe it is the intervention of prayer that preserved the lives of the people! Praise God for that!

Whilst we can imagine our families all gathering at different one's houses in Singapore and feasting, over here it is a school/work day as per normal. All I could do to create some CNY atmosphere was to give our children an ang pow each and dress them up in red. Then after the girls went off to school, I made Josiah take some silly pictures with ang pows and oranges. Of course all he did was to put everything in his mouth - ang pow included! Hmmm wonder what it tastes like?!

Janelle's First Day at Big School

Janelle started Kindergarten in Kellyville Public School today! She was happy to wear her new school uniform and pose for the camera 

Just before I said goodbye to her at school, the teacher handed Janelle a flower and asked Janelle to give it to me as a "goodbye present". Attached to the flower was a little card with a note, and also a piece of cotton ball, tissue (for wiping tears), and a Tetley teabag! This was what was written on the note:

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Here is a little gift for you as you leave your child with us on the first day of school.

As you hold the cotton ball in your hand, the softness will help you to remember the gentle spirit of your child. After you've gone home and dried your tears, make yourself a hot cup of tea. Put up your feet and relax. Remember that together we can work for your child to be the best that they can be.

All the very best to your family from Mr Bowman and the P&C Committee at Kellyville Public School.

We would also like to invite you to attend the first Parents & Citizens Meeting on the 8th of February at 7:30pm.

Kindergarten 2011

I thought this was a very sweet gift from the school to the parents! Many of the children starting kindergarten came to school today with their whole family - both mum and dad, grandpa, grandma, and siblings included! It is indeed a big thing to see your child off to big school! 

Thus begins a new chapter in Janelle's life (and mine)....

School Readiness

Everyone has been asking me whether is Janelle ready for school, and how she feels about starting kindergarten next Tuesday, etc. In fact, way before Janelle reached schooling age, we have been hearing about school readiness programmes, and about certain markers to see whether your child is ready for school, and so on. Suffice to say, there are tonnes of information and assistance to get your child ready for school. But I think what no one prepared us for is the school readiness programme for the parents of the child! 

As a mother of a child who is starting big school, I feel extremely unprepared for my daughter to start school! It is not just the physical preparation (eg. school uniforms, packing of daily lunches, school bag, etc) that bothers me, but rather it is the emotional aspect of it all that is getting to me. 

It is this sudden realisation that my baby whom I nursed in my arms is now so big that she is actually starting school! She will always be the baby in my eyes, and I simply cannot imagine her "leaving the nest" and starting school 5 days a week! The thought of it just opens a floodgate of tears. I think I must be crazy. I never hear of parents being so upset that their child is starting school! 

The best part about it all is, Janelle remains totally nonchalant about starting big school! Whenever we ask her how she feels about starting school, she just shrugs it off - no excitement, no fear, no nothing! And on the other hand, it is me (the mum) who's worried sick (but pretending to be nonchalant in front of her) and trying to come to terms with this sense of loss that I feel. Such irony! I think the correct question people should be asking is, "How are you feeling about Janelle starting school?" rather than "How does Janelle feel about starting school?"!

I guess this is all part of the growth process. It is a matter of time that babies grow up and eventually become adults. Whilst we may experience "growing pains", we can only take heart that growth is for the betterment of the child! I can only entrust my child into God's loving hands, knowing that even as she takes this first step of flying away from the nest, she is always under the shelter of His wings