Life is Colourful :)

Josiah is now 17 months old and nearly 18 months old (ie. 1.5 years old). Life has truly been much more colourful, interesting, and fun with him around. I remember that when I was expecting Josiah in the early stages of pregnancy, I wished that I was having a boy (NOT because of the traditional thinking of how boys carry on the family name, etc) just so that I can experience how different motherhood is when you have a boy. God is gracious and answered my heart's desire!

If there is one word to describe how motherhood has been for me ever since Josiah came along, it would be COLOURFUL. It's as though this boy sees the world through a different set of lenses as compared to girls! The same toy given to a boy would yield a different play response. For example, my girls treat their Barbie dolls like princesses - combing their hair, dolling them up, doing imaginary play, etc. On the other hand, Josiah plays with his sisters' Barbie dolls by grabbing the doll's feet, turning the poor doll upside down, and using Barbie's long silky tresses to sweep the floor or wipe the tables!
In the eyes of Josiah, every item and piece of furniture is meant to be climbed on. He has climbed on top of most tables in the house and loves standing on them. His toys are stepped on in a bid to climb out of his playpen (a.k.a. cage), and the stairs are climbed several times a day. Whenever I'm at the supermarket paying at the counter, the cashier would always exclaim that "your baby is climbing out of the trolley!". It is so normal for Josiah to climb out of the shopping trolley (despite being buckled in) that I would be surprised if he does not attempt to do so.

Whilst Janelle at 6 years of age is still hesitant to turn on the bath tap, Josiah at 1 year old had already learnt how to turn on the water faucet and finds great delight in doing so. He also has a fascination with all types of switches, knobs, doors and drawers around the house. Because of this, his chubby little fingers always get caught in door hinges (yes, ouch!) and drawers. Currently, he has got one big toenail with a deep blue bruise, and one fingernail already three-quarters off the skin (after getting slammed upon on two consecutive days).
Just a few days' ago I found him holding on to a green marker, with his tongue and fingers all green! Apparently he had uncapped the watermelon-scented marker, and decided to give it a taste to see if it indeed tasted like watermelon! The list could go on and on about all the interesting and colourful things that Josiah does!

I am extremely thankful for this boisterous little boy, who can be so loud and impatient, yet on the other hand, be so humourous and cheerful. His sisters absolutely adore him, despite him messing up their play-stuff and destroying their art work. They love playing with him and vice versa, and their play times are always filled with so much fun and laughter :)

Back to Reality

After 7 weeks of holidaying - mostly in Singapore, Hong Kong & China (6 days), and Malacca (3 days) - we are now finally back home in Sydney! It took us a while to settle back into routine, and the greatest challenge for me was to get used to doing everything on my own after being pampered on for nearly 2 months!

Thankfully we have all settled back in nice and well, and the girls are thoroughly enjoying their time at PHCS. The greatest thrill for them is to be able to see Daddy in school, and for Daddy to take a peek at them during their class time. Yet on the other hand, the greatest challenge is for me to leave home 30 minutes earlier than before to take the 20 minute drive to the school. Now that we're into Week 4 of the school term, we have all gotten used to whatever thrills or challenges in this new season of life.

Janelle has adapted smoothly to the change in school, and has made some new friends. She has also just started piano lessons this year. Janine enjoys Prep and has been finishing up all the lunch and morning tea that I pack for her, making me very proud! Josiah is as active as ever and now understands everything that we say, just that he cannot speak as well as he comprehends. He always keeps himself very busy toddling around the house and checking out everything with great curiousity. The 3 Js have lots of fun together every day - playing and fighting together!

We are looking forward to lots of relatives visiting us this year as the cost of air tickets to fly from Singapore to Sydney has dropped significantly and many family members have already bought their tickets to come and visit us!

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Goodbyes

In less than 2 days' time, we will be flying off to Singapore for 7 weeks!! Previously, I would be really excited to go back to Singapore. But this time round, I actually feel sad to be away from "home" for so long - 7 weeks! 

After more than 3 years of living in Sydney, we have pretty much settled in to the lifestyle here, made several close friends, and enjoyed the fruit of the land. It is truly with mixed feelings that I pack my bags to go off for 7 weeks. 

Both Janelle and Janine have to miss 2 weeks of school, and on top of that, they will never go back to their schools as both of them will be at Pacific Hills Christian School next year. Tomorrow (Thursday) marks the last day of school for both of them. 

Janelle has been at Kellyville Public School for 1 year and has settled in so nicely and made close friends. I myself have made good friends who are parents of Janelle's classmates. I will really miss the fun-loving and close community in this school!

Janine has been at Kidzville (her childcare centre) for 3 whole years! Considering that she has not even turned 4 yet, that's three-quarters of her life spent at Kidzville! The staff and teachers have been absolutely amazing - showering her with such love and care that I just have to salute them! 

I guess the hard part about saying goodbye is the fact that both girls are leaving good environments where close relationships have been forged. But I believe that they're moving on to an even better environment in PHCS! We just have to embrace this new season in life with open arms :)

Here are the thank-you cards that the girls made for their teachers:

Update from Josiah

Hi my name is Josiah and I'm turning 14 months old. Since I started walking a couple of weeks ago, I now absolutely love walking around and exploring my surroundings. Mummy reckons that I clock up a few kilometres each day just walking around the house! It is no wonder that I am not putting on much weight. And no surprises that I am really quite slight in stature since I take after my mummy's size!

My favourite toys are balls, balloons, wheels, and anything round. I love playing with older children and adults, and "separation anxiety" is not in my vocabulary. On the contrary, I amfriendly towards new people (perhaps a little too friendly for my mummy's liking). I eat anything and everything (including sand, toys and other stuff that I can get my mouth to), and I can eat as much as, if not more, than my 6-year-old sister. 

To my mummy's dismay, I dislike shopping! But then again, I am a little man and which man likes shopping anyway? Whenever I am unhappy about something, I show my displeasure byblowing bubbles with my mouth. I have a very big voice and can shout out loud too.

If there were three words to describe me, it would be cheerful, cheeky and charming. Often you would see me with a big cheeky grin on my face, and I have a hearty and delightful laughter that gets triggered off at the slightest thing. I am cheeky and love to play. My idea of play includes crumpling up my sisters' beautiful drawings, chewing on my sisters' colour pencils and markers, and pulling my sisters' long tresses. I am not sure how such a cheeky boy like me can appear charming to others, but it does seem that everyone who meets me is charmed by me. 

Here is a picture of me taken at Collaroy beach yesterday - showing off my big pearlies.

One year on...

Josiah is now 1 year old and as the saying goes "time waits for no man", I truly feel that time has indeed whizzed us by! Yet looking back at the past year since Josiah was born, I see that we have so much to give thanks for and so many changes have actually taken place!

1) Sleep

No more musical beds. For some time (perhaps some months?), we have been blessed with the luxury of SLEEP! Sleep has returned - somewhat miraculously - to our family! We have all 3 kids in bed and sleeping through the night most of the time. Occasionally we do find one of the girls in bed with us by morning, but at least it's not too common an occurrence anymore! 

2) Maturing

Josiah has grown so much in the past few months and matured so much in terms of his mannerisms and actions. A few weeks short of his first birthday, he decided he was a big boy and weaned himself off breastmilk just like that - no warning, nothing! Thankfully he is taking well to formula milk now. He still cannot talk much but he can point to what he wants! Balls, round objects (like oranges, mandarins, etc), balloons and huge teddy bears are his ultimate delight! He is still a fantastic eater and sleeper, which we are extremely thankful for 

3) Schools

This will be the last year that Janelle will be in Kellyville Public School, and also the last year that Janine will be in Kidzville (after spending 3 years there!). From next year onwards, both girls will be starting school in Pacific Hills Christian School - with Janine starting Preparatory and Janelle starting Year 1. I do feel sad that both girls are moving on but I suppose the fact that both girls are so nonchalant and unaffected by the impending move alleviates the sadness! Also, we are looking forward to a wonderful school 'career' in Pacific Hills as it is a truly fantastic school! 

4) Siblings

It is such a delight to see how well the 3 Js get along with each other and I must say this is truly an answered prayer. Janelle and Janine play so well together that they can entertain themselves the whole day at home just role-playing mums and dads, chit-chatting, playing pretend games, etc. Whenever Janine is home with me on Mondays and Fridays, she cannot wait to pick jie-jie up from school just so she can play with her. Josiah is at an age where he is taking an interest in what his sisters do and attempts to play with them too! Janine never allows Josiah to escape without smothering him with kisses and cuddles, and loves to play with Josiah. Janelle is the ever-caring older sister to Josiah and always helps to keep a watchful eye on him, ensuring that he does not end up eating uncapped markers, colour pencils, etc, that are left lying around. With two adoring sisters to an adorable boy, we can only give thanks to God for these blessings in our lives!

Most Beautiful

Conversation with 3-year-old Janine after she overheard me telling her sister Janelle that she is beautiful.

Janine (pouting): "What about me?? Am I beautiful??"

Me: "Of course! You are most beautiful to me! Both jie-jie and you are beautiful!"

Janine (smiling): "Jie-jie is most beautiful, and I am most beautiful, but not Joie! Because Joie is most beautiful to Aunty Alice!!"

Such profound yet true words from my little girl! It is true that my girls will always remain most beautiful in my eyes - as will Joie be most beautiful in Alice's eyes. Seems like beauty does indeed lie in the eye of the beholder! 

In the same way, I am reminded that we as children of God are highly favoured, greatly loved, and beautifully and wonderfully made! Our Father in heaven looks down on us - His children - with great love and favour. How blessed are we!  

Josiah - 11 months old

Gosh where has the time gone?? Josiah is already 11 months old and in fact, we'll be having an early 1st birthday celebration for him this Sunday as his Grandpa would still be here in Sydney to celebrate with us!

Josiah is getting cuter and cuter (in our biased opinion as parents) and he has changed so much in the past 2 months! He has learnt to clap his hands, raise his arms to praise the Lord, play peek-a-boo, tease and play with us, etc. I think in terms of the social aspect, a baby really expresses so much more from 9 months onwards. It is absolutely delightful to see how excited Josiah gets at the sight of his 2 sisters, and equally delightful to see how Janelle and Janine simply love playing with Josiah and showering him with cuddles and kisses. 

Josiah has also started showing his discontentment by crying and whinging when he is caged up - whether in his playpen, high chair, or car seat. Gone are those days of him being an unprotesting and quiet baby!

Today, Josiah has learnt how to stand without any support and he was so excited about it that he actually stood up and clapped his hands as though applauding his own effort! Such an amusing sight to behold :) 

It is really interesting to see how different boys and girls are. Right from a young age, Josiah was already fascinated by wheels, balls, and cars. Basically anything that is round attracts his attention! And I must say he is a good climber. He climbs on top of everything and anything. He's already mastered climbing up our staircase, much to my horror! And when we discipline him by scolding him or smacking his thigh, he actually turns to us and gives us a BIG GRIN and laughs as though it's a joke! Is this a "boy-thing"?? The same treatment given to any of my 2 girls would have yielded a repentant cry and inconsolable sobbing, but to Josiah he just laughs as though it's funny. Hmm...

That aside, Josiah has 3 teeth that have sprouted out. See if you can spot the single upper tooth that makes him look like a little "Ah-Beng". I'm admiring this one-toothed smile of his as the other upper tooth is emerging soon!