5th Day Of Flash Card

Updates on Kyrell's flashcard progress : this is the 5th day today and Kyrell is getting more used to the 'lesson'. After my dinner at my mum, I will carry him and asked him where the flash cards are (walking towards his room), he will point at the box and shout "there!". Then I will close the door, put the mattress down and asked him to sit while I bring the box down. He surprised me by saying "flash card" (not very clear) and "mummy 坐 坐"! SOunds eager huh :p

He is able to sit and focus on my cards while I say out the name. But still, when I do the switch of catergory, he will get up and want to take my cards haha... plus, I can seem to hold the cards well when I bring the cards to the front. I definitely need more practice!

Nap + Health + Dance 21 May 09

For 3 days straight (19-21 May), Kyrell has been refusing to take his late afternoon nap which is usually around 5pm+. He will either day "Mai" or keep mum when my mum asked him whether he wants to sleep. I do not know what to make of this..whether this is a good/bad thing...

Good being --- he gets tired by the time we are home and could fall asleep earlier/easily (lately he has been sleeping at 11pm-12am which is not good for a toddler).
Bad being --- he is interrupting my mum's schedule, she may not be able to prepare & cook dinner and take her break to catch her 430pm Taiwanese show.
Because of him not napping, my mum seems more tired too, that is why I tried to rush back to relieve her and leave her place by 9pm so she can take a breather. Taking care of a toddler is no uphill task, I know how exhausting it is! 谢谢您，妈妈！

Plus, she has been complaining of stomach discomfort lately, I think this might have caused some distress on her.. thinking back, since I have had Kyrell, I have been neglecting my mum's health. I have took for granted that she will always be my supermum, Kyrell's supergranny! I have forgotten that she is 60 yo and requires rest and own time as well...

Speaking of health, I have also received news that my paternal granny is unwell recently. Last sat when hubby was doing breakkie with my cousin Weiyang, he learnt that my grandma, who is staying with Weiyang's family, is having fever. And just today, my father told my mum that my granny's health is deteriorating. I forgot what it is but one of which has got to do with her liver. I must remember to find out more from my cousin and visit her on Sat... btw, my granny has been suffering from Dementia so she has already got some health prob because of that :(

Today is also the final of American Idol season 8, I do not watch it religiously but enough to know who is the last few standing. The final episode lasted about 2 hrs, Kyrell should have slept at around 10pm+ but because the TV was turned on, he couldn't helped but watched too 都是因位妈妈要看，嗨。。

When the artist or contestant were singing and to the beat, Kyrell will dance to it 很开心！ After every few minutes, I will attempt to carry him up on the bed and made him sleep but he will struggle to get off. Once, he tried to get off, I asked him where he wanted to go, he kept mumbling something then I realised he was saying "dance, dance"!! So he wants to dance hehe... I let him. He was turning round and round, waving his hands and stamping his feet, what a sight :)

As predicted by hubby and I, Kris Allen won the title, not that he is any better then Adam but he's clean shaven and boy-next-door image is definitely more appealing to general. The show ended at 12am and Kyrell finally gave in and fall asleep.

ACT 3

Got a call from ACT 3 International today, we are scheduled for a trial class on 6 Jun at 1045am, yippie! I have made a reservation slot for Kyrell in Jan this year but because the class only allow 18 months & above to attend, we can only wait till nearer the date to get a confirmation.

The guy told me that if we are pleased during the trial, we can then proceed to make payment for a term (1 hr x 10 lessons for $250) and the class shall start in July :)

I am so looking forward to it cos I think both of us will enjoy the class so much~!!

http://www.act3international.com.sg/da.htm

2nd Day Flash Card

There is improvement when I showed Kyrell the flash cards last night! He is able to sit down and focus when I showed him each category. Meaning, he will sit and listen to me for each category then when I was about to start another category, he will stand up and tried to take the cards from me hahaha... well, good start, I hope things will get better. At least it will motivate me to do up my own flash cards soon!

Oh yah, I went to get 3 more sets of flash cards yesterday - Flags, Transport and ABC.

哎 哟 - 19 May 09

Wonder why this title?? Cos Kyrell likes to say this word - 哎 哟 !!! Haha.. he used it when he saw something interesting or anything that render use of this word, appropriately :)

Check out the videos of him watching the Animal Planet.

"Pain Pain" - telling me that his thumb is in pain, from his constant sucking and biting :(

Flash Cards

Did I mention that I bought 900 pcs of blank flash cards with the intention of making flash cards for Kyrell??!! Too ambitious! Haha... The cards are still placed in a corner of my living room since Feb!

Since Kyrell is getting older and more vocal by the day, I think I need to do something about the flashing so as to train him to be more FOCUS. Inspired by Kim's demo on Mal, I think I should start some read made cards from Popular bookstore first :)

I bought a few categories - Animals, Fruits, Vegetables, Numbers and Food.
I took out about 10-20 pcs of cards from each category and try it out.
Kim told me that I need to flash them from back to front and at a fast speed. I tried but I think I can still do better!

And how did Kyrell fare? Well, I locked both of us in the room, asked him to sit down but he kept coming to me and wanted to take my cards away from me hehe... can't blame him. When he did sit down, it was only for a few seconds before getting up to come over to me. So I continued flashing the cards even when he is standing in front of me, he will then say out the name of the objects he recognises.

I will try again and again until he gets used to the idea and listens to me.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed the flashing (no puns intended) keke....





PS : Since it is late by the time I bring Kyrell back home, I have decided to do the flashing at my mum's place, after my dinner.

Badminton + Kitchen Set + Jumbo Seafood Dinner

The daddies had another round of badminton @ Paya Lebar Kovan CC this afternoon.
Kim, Jas and I together with our boys had a light meal at the cafe next to the court while we waited for them to finish.

Then we crossed over to Heartland Mall to check out at Cherie Kids. Kim and I had wanted to get some cooking set for our kiddos, we did not see anything we fancy until when we were about to make payment. The kitchen set comes complete with sound and light for the stove and oven and the height is just right for our boys! And it costs only $29.90 WOOHOO!! So all 3 of us grabbed what's left at the store, happily :p

Here's a pix of the set, I will post again after I have assembled, with Kyrell playing hehe..



While at the mall, Kyrell is not at his best behaviour - taking toys out from the rack and kind of telling me to buy them for him. He also insisted to sit in one of the kiddy ride outside Cherie Kids, I did not relent but he climbed up himself anyway. When I want to carry him off, he screamed. He is like this when he is tired, from lack of his afternoon nap. He is usually like that when he's sleepy.. talks alot and loud and cranky. So it was no surprise that he fell asleep when we board the car, on the way to dinner.

Dinner was at Jumbo Seafood at Serangoon Garden Country Club. Jas had a $50 voucher for use of $150 min. purchase. We thought it will be a good deal if split among 3 families and the kids can have rice+veg+soup for their dinner. It was packed when we reached, were told to put on waiting list and estimated to get a table only in 30 mins - 1 hr time.

So we went to the Club's family room to wait. There were sofa, coffee tables and TV in the room, comfortable for us as it was enclosed and air-conditioned. The boys were walking around, eating snacks, pulling mag out of the rack. We adults chatted, watched TV.... when I went to get something from my bag, I heard a loud "thump!" behind me. Turned around to find Kyrell on the floor, with Mal on top of him, face to face. I rushed to him, he looked shocked then started crying for me, saying "Mummy pain pain". Oh dear, I was worried that he had knocked his head against the floor but relieved to find out that it was carpeted so that eliminates the worry. So where does the sound come from? When asked where the pain is? He pointed to his eyes/cheeks and rib cage area. I think when they both fell down, Kyrell might have lift his head up (he did that a few times when he fell, protecting himself from knocking against the floor) and hit his face on Mal's. That must have been where the sound came from. After a short while, he was up and walking and smiling again :)

Manchested United

Got a sms from Kim today, her hubby asked if QT is keen to watch Man U match over at their place at 745pm. Both the guys are Man U fans so of cos hubby is agreeable to it since we have terminated our sports channel, its been a long while since he watch it.

We left around 5pm for our dinner at Brewbakers, Anchorvale CC. Tried it before with Jas+family about a month back, we quite like the ambience and food, not ex as well. Just that we have experieced a very long wait the other time around, I supposed they were extremely short handed from the party event held that day. Well, luckily today was a breeze, we waited about 5-10 mins before our drinks/soup were served.

As usual, I made home cooked food for Kyrell and fed him as soon as we were seated so that I can have mine by the time it is being served. He was well behaved but pretty noisy with his talking. Shortly we reached, another family came in and sat behind us. The couples with their 5-7ish yo girl and their baby sleeping in the pram. Kyrell was going "jie jie" & "baby", trying to talk/play with them *doink*
So we gotta tell him to "Shh" (point finger on mouth) and do not disturb the baby.

After his meal (I was having mine) and feeding him some snack, he started playing with his belly button. Kept digging and digging, tell him to stop and he will cheekily look at us and continue.. haiz. Mid way through my meal, he started asking me to carry him, I cannot so hubby gotta distract him but eventually carried him out of the baby chair to take a walk. He was all happy afterwards.

Then we drove to Kim's house, Kyrell slept on the way but woke up when we reached the car park. We told him that we are going to Uncle Allen's house and he stays in Toa Payoh. Asked him "where does Uncle Allen stay?" and he gingerly replied "toa payoh!!" although his "toa" does not sound quite accurate, more like "pa payoh" hehe...

We also told him that we stay in Hougang, he repeated "hougang" but also not too accurate but that is a good start I guess :)

While at Kim and Allen's house, he shared toys with Mal and tried to play together but more like snatching toys keke... He tried the slide after seeing Mal climbled (from the slide and not the steps wor), I think he almost forgot that this is the time 1st he claimed one and got brave and climbed from the slide, I was worried cos he is still not as strong in his motor skill. What if he felt? He did not but had a few bumps here and there and he was so high with playing that he actually forgot to cry "mummy pain pain" which he is doing very often!

In the end, Man U won the championship for the 3rd consecutive years. Great get-along-soccer-match session at the comfort of a home, Kim and I chatted while the daddies had their own. And the boys, well.. played their own :)
We left around 10pm plus and by the time Kyrell has bathed and drank his milk, he KO immediately! WOOHOO!

Kyrell's meal


Giving me funny face again


Playing with his tummy/belly button!


Look, mummy hehe...I'm digging!


Yum yumm!


His asparagus cookie stick

Hurry Hurry..

Kyrell and I were home alone after returning from my mum's place, I placed him in the play yard and went ahead to do some chores before we both took a bath. He was reluctant after about 5-10 mins of playing by himself. Started crying for me "mummy bao bao"... very pitiful look. Then he started saying "mummy bao bao... hurry hurry"!! I was surprised to hear him say that, well this is not the 1st time he said it, usually its when hubby was carrying him and asked him to say "mummy go pom pom, hurry hurry woh".. he will say it in broken sentence but we do not know if he actually understands the meaning of "hurry". Now we know :)

In The Taxi - 14 May 09

Hubby has been working late for the past few weeks, so its back to me bringing Kyrell back from my mum's - alone. Some friends may know, I will place Kyrell in my Pikkolo carrier (even though he can walk already?!) and take a cab home.

Reason of me still insisting to use the carrier is because my mum stays at the 3rd floor, there is no lift landing at her level, hence it is safer and faster for me to just sling Kyrell down the stairs since he can't climbed stairs yet. Also, I would not want to end up chasing him while near the roadside.

Most time, I will be carrying my big work bag with another or 2 NTUC recycle bag(s) when I need to packet dinner back for hubby or from my day's shopping. It could be as heavy as 10-20 kg of additional load on me! *My back is breaking*

Now that Kyrell is older, he is able to help me spot a taxi, I would asked him if there is any taxi but alot of times, his direction is faced where the vechicles has gone passed, too late but nevertheless, I still appreciate his little help :)
Since he still cannot differentiate the diff between a hired (red light) and available (green or yellow light) taxi, all that he saw, he would shout "taxi" hehe...

Another thing to share, Kyrell is able to give directions to the taxi driver with my prompting. Example, I would ask the uncle to turn right/left or go straight in mandarin, then I will tell Kyrell to repeat after me - "uncle, 转左 / 转右" or "uncle， 直直走". At times, he doesn't want to say it, sometimes just a whisper but last night, he got braved and say it all! Uncle was replying him "ok". My little man helping mummy ^_^

And on our journey back, we will passed by a Sports Hall where there is a gym centre at the 2nd level, there will be men and women jogging on the threadmill, Kyrell always point at it and gets excited... so I told him that 姐 姐/Kor Kor is "跑步".
Last night, he said it when he saw the gym - "姐姐跑步" - a very precised pronounciation.

3 cheers darling! Mucks from mummy!

To think one can learn and acheived so many things in a short journey home

Once Upon A Time...

Last week, my colleague who is planning her wedding, asked me to show her my wedding photos. Because I had planned the whole wedding myself and custom-made my gown.. she wanted to see the end results. I did show her the photos and OMG, I realised that I was prettier (yes?no?) and younger (definitely) then. That was only 4 years ago! :(
I must have aged alot these years... I need to do something about it NOW!

Eh, hubby has aged too..keke...

At my mum's place


Tea Reception


Lunch Reception

Shocking Message about Shaken Baby Syndrome

This is not a new news but I felt its something important to share esp since I have a few friends who is becoming 1st time mum soon.

I think we should get the message across to as many people as possible. Please tell your friends to read this and pass it on. Anyone who has anything to do with babies should be shocked by this; shocked enough to never ever shake a baby, however frustrated you may be. Life is too precious and too easily snuffed out.

May London Marie Sherwood rest in peace.





December 4th, 2007, Jessica Sherwood had to do something no mother should ever have to do.
At 2:29 pm Jessica made a very tough, but the right decision to take her little 3 month old daughter off life support

In memory of little London Marie, i thought id start a little forward..Jessica had a message that i want every one to know.. This is what Jessica said:

'If anyone has kids, make sure that you keep them with you the whole time. Don't give then to anyone that you don't trust. Trust me, I thought that I trusted Josh. But now as of December 4, 2007 at 2:29 AM, she is gone. My one & only baby . & He is going to pay FOREVER, even if he gets out of jail scott free, he will be dead no matter what. & To all my friends that know London , I am very angry & upset that I lost the love of my life, my baby girl. She died on her three month birthday .London had six fractured ribs, both of her legs were fracture, & her brain was so damaged that if she were to live she would be a vegetable. So I did what was right & what was best for her & took her off life support. That's what you call Shaken Baby Sydrome [SBS]'

For those of you who don't know what Shaken Baby Syndrome check out the facts;

-Shaking, jerking and jolting can cause blood vessels in the head to tear or burst. Shaken Baby Syndrome is the shaking of an infant or child by the arms, legs, or shoulders with or without impact of the head. This trauma can result in bleeding and brain injury with no outward signs of abuse. Often frustrated caregivers feel that shaking a baby or small child is a harmless way to make the child stop crying. However, a baby's brain and blood vessels are vulnerable to whiplash motions, such as shaking, jerking, jolting, and impact.The neck muscles of an infant or small child are weak, so the child's head is relatively heavy and the neck cannot support the stress of shaking or impact

-Shaking a very young child, with or without impact of the head, can cause irreversible brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury, seizures, learning disabilities, and even death. It is tragic that healthy, intelligent babies are suffering these disabilities simply because their caregivers don't know about the dangers associated with Shaken Baby Syndrome

An estimated 1,200 to 1,400 cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) occur each year in the United States. Only 1 out of 4 babies dies of Shaken Baby Syndrome. HOWEVER, the other three babies will need ongoing medical attention for the rest of their short lifespans.

London in hospital





London after she passed


*******************************************

Physical Signs/Symptoms:

There are various signs and symptoms of shaken baby syndrome. The consequences of less severe cases may not be brought to the attention of medical professionals and may never be diagnosed. In most severe cases, which usually result in death or severe neurological consequences, the child usually becomes immediately unconscious and suffers rapidly escalating, life-threatening central nervous system dysfunction.

Any of these injuries can lead to severe disability or death. If you suspect a child has been shaken, seek medical attention immediately. This could be the difference between life and death.

Common Symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome:

- Lethargy / decreased muscle tone
- Extreme irritability
- Extreme irritability
- Decreased appetite, poor feeding or vomiting for no apparent reason
- Grab-type bruises on arms or chest are rare
- No smiling or vocalization
- Poor sucking or swallowing
- Rigidity or posturing
- Difficulty breathing
- Seizures
- Head or forehead appears larger than usual or soft-spot on head appears to be bulging
- Inability to lift head
- Inability of eyes to focus or track movement or unequal size of pupils

Information on this page is not intended to replace advice by a health care professional. If you are concerned about your child's health please consult a physician.



Physical Consequences of Shaking

What Happens:

The brain rotates within the skull cavity, injuring or destroying brain tissue.
When shaking occurs, blood vessels feeding the brain can be torn, leading to bleeding around the brain.

Blood pools within the skull, sometimes creating more pressure within the skull and possibly causing additional brain damage.
Retinal (back of the eye) bleeding is very common

Immediate Consequences:

- Breathing may stop or be compromised
- Extreme irritability
- Seizures
- Limp arms and legs or rigidity/posturing
- Decreased level of consciousness
- Vomiting; poor feeding
- Inability to suck or swallow
- Heart may stop
- Death

Long-Term Consequences:

- Learning disabilities
- Physical disabilities
- Visual disabilities or blindness
- Hearing impairment
- Speech disabilities
- Cerebral Palsy
- Seizures
- Behavior disorders
- Cognitive impairment
- Death

Why:

Babies' heads are relatively large and heavy, making up about 25% of their total body weight. Their neck muscles are too weak to support such a disproportionately large head.
Babies' brains are immature and more easily injured by shaking.
Babies' blood vessels around the brain are more susceptible to tearing than older children or adults.

When:

Often, perpetrators shake an infant or child out of frustration or anger. This most often occurs when the baby won't stop crying. Other triggering events include toilet training difficulties and feeding problems.

Kyrell Turned 17 Months Old! - 12 May 09

I am so glad that Kyrell is growing, eating and sleeping well.
He weighs abt 11.5kg and 78cm tall.
He has started walking at 14 months and is doing it quite steadily now, though he still can't run and jump hehe...
Kyrell has uttered his 1st word at around 8-9 months old and is now able to say about 150 words!! Averagely 30 news words per month! I am so proud of him!

The best words ever is hearing him say "Mummy" and "I love you" which he just picked up last month.

He is trying to speak in sentences right now, 2-3 words at the same time.
Example : "Mummy take", "Mummy mum mum please", "Hankie underneath", "Milk milk please...", "Mummy turn", "Mummy open", "Please sit down" repeating after me etc

Here's some of the words he can say :

Family : Dad Dad, Mummy, Ah Mah, Gong Gong, Jiu Jiu, Ah Yi, Kor Kor, Jie Jie, Di Di, Mei Mei, Baby, Nai Nai, Jui Mu, Peh Peh, Auntie, Uncle

Body Parts : Eye, Ear/Er Tuo, Tongue, Toes, Teeth, Hair, Nose

Fruits/Food : Apple, Orange, Banana, Potato, Soup, Egg, Rice, Porridge, Cake, Bread(Bao Bao), Strawberry, Cookie, Milk, Pear

Transport : Car, Taxi, Motobike, Lorry, Van, Bus, Aeroplane, Train

Sesame ST character : Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Oscar
(recognises Telly, Zoe, Grover, Bert but can't pronounce their names)

Animals/Insect : Dog, Cat, Duck, Turtle, Elephant, Bear, Panda, Wombat, Lizard, Ant, Bird, Rabbit, Bee, Ladybird

Action Words : Take, Throw, Put Back, Kick, Open, Close, Sit/Zuo, Walk, Pao Bu (Jogging)

Names : Theodore, Auntie Min Min (Jasmine), Dayna Jiejie, Mal Mal (Malcolm),

Others : Book, Pain, Dinosaur, Cut Nails, Hua/Hu Ji Hua (Flower/Orchid), Orh Orh, Bao Bao, Mum Mum/Eat, Please, Thank you/Xie Xie, Zhi Zhi Zhou (Go Straight), Helmet, Ru Yi You, Keys, School, Bye, Sponge, Spec, Bib, Ok, Toyota, Volvo, Mai (Dont want/No), Tissue, Remote, Plant, Bag, Lollipop, Escalator etc


And he can finished the following sentences :
Mummy : Twinkle twinkle little _____
Kyrell : Star

Mummy : One little pig go _____
Kyrell : Wee wee wee

Mummy : One Two ____
Kyrell : Three!

Mummy : Seven, Eight ____
Kyrell : Nine
Mummy : Ten
Kyrell : Eleven
Mummy : Twelve
Kyrell : Thirteen
Mummy : Fourteen
Kyrell : Fifteen! (still no very clear though)

Watching TV Program


Kirei Kirei baby... esp in times like this.


He likes to turn his musical toy during reading and before he sleeps, will go "mummy/elmo turn" if it stops, then I have to wind it up again!


His animal magnetic book


Before bed, we will 'read' books together and lucky thing, he seems to like it. But, still no patience to wait for me to finish reading the whole story haha..


Kyrell really likes to play with the buckle..

What Is He Doing At My Mum's Place?? - Apr & May 09

On a typical day at my mum, Kyrell will be walking around the house, pulling out drawers/cabinet, reading books, drawing on his magnetic board, throwing his basket of fruits or whichever he has on hand, chewing on his toys, watching Elmo or Wheels on the Bus DVD, playing with Elmo and other toys. And screaming and talking non-stop keke...

He is one "hot" baby for the fact that he perspires ALOT!! Even in air-con room, if the temp is not that cold, his hair would be wet with sweat haha... well you can see it in many of the photos. Here's what he normally do at my mum.

Engrossed with TV Programs and ignoring me- 22 Apr 09




Playing with phone and carrying things around - 30 Apr 09




He is getting more vain, likes to wear his bucket hat and look at the mirror but this is me getting him to pose haha - 05 May 09


Sleeping
06 May 09


11 May 09


Watching his fav Elmo DVD - 06 May 09






Getting ready to go home - 06 May 09




Drawing - 12 May 09


Rummaging my bag when I am home - 12 May 09


Carrying his Elmo bag and watching TV Programs - 12 May 09


Checking out the digi cam holder - 12 May 09


Knocking on Ah Yi's knocking door - 12 May 09


Playing with the mattress - 12 May 09


Busy bee....

Mother's Day - 10 May 09

This year will be my 2nd Mother's Day, last year there was no celebration, just stayed home. This year, we have a mini celebration at my parents place, my bro and family came over. I bought a yum cake, my mum cooked some dishes and my father bought pepper crabs. It was very cosy and fun to do it at the comfort of own home.

Like always, the boys were snatching toys from each other, sometimes there's cry from Kyrell but it was so funny to see them like that. We had a good laugh and videod them down.

Xu En was cranky when he 1st reached, results of no afternoon nap, was crying to go back home! Luckily he managed to calm down after playing at the playground for awhile.. then it was all fun :)

Kyrell wanting to play with Xu En..


But Xu En is not interested...haha


The 2 little darlings~


Kyrell going 1,2,3!!


Yam cake from Polar


The boys...


Happy and Proud Mummies!