Leaving on a Jet Plane

We are heading to Taiwan! The kids are running and climbing the playground, as usual.

Lil Shauna was so tired in the taxi while on our way here but is super energetic now. I hope they will expel all the remaining energy and have a good night sleep later on. We will be in Taiwan at 5.40am! My only worry now is that the Taiwan guide that we have booked failed to appear in the airport tomorrow. He hasn't replied to my last email that I sent him yday. So my stalker mode took over - I just sent him another email and also msg him over FB. *evil grin* 

Another different thing althogether.. one of Lil Shauna's milk teeth is wobbly! Looks like her 1st very milk tooth is going to drop soon. After she realises that, she kept tugging her shaky tooth and using her tongue to poke it. She is frightful yet proud and told me that she will tell everybody about it when she comes back to Taiwan. Hehe.

May God give us a safe trip and a fantastic one. Yeah!

Mummy Lim

Going Night Shift

I must be too distracted by the holidays. I suddenly realised, when ah yee reminded me, that Daddy Lim is going on night shift right after our holiday and that is only 1 week away! I know he is going on night shift, but in my mind, that is still a long time away. I am not ready for him to go on night shift yet. I haven't prepared myself to be tortured alone by the kids in the night! Then again, I don't think I would ever be ready for that. Lol.

It will be a scary 2 months. The last time Daddy Lim went on night shift was at least a few years back. Hmm.. I think try should scrap night shift altogether. Poor me, poor kids. It wouldn't be easy for Daddy Lim too. 

When his night shift hasn't even start, I am already looking forward to the end of it. I must remind the kids to be nice to me.

Mummy Lim

Looking Forward

This morning, while Daddy Lim and I were getting ready for work, the alarm went off (we usually snoozed the alarm 10x before we finally got off the bed) and woke Lil Shauna up. She was sleeping in our room last night.

Half-awake, her first question was, "is it time yet (to go to Taiwan)?". We had to assure her that it wasn't and we are only flying off to Taiwan tonight. 

See, I am not the only one feeling overly excited. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Going Taiwan!

I know that we are going to Taiwan for 8 days. I know that we will be taking a night flight there and coming back in the afternoon. I also remember that we are going there on a Saturday and coming back the following Saturday. I planned the itinerary accordingly and Daddy Lim took leave accordingly as well. I kept thinking that we still have time to pack and do last minute shopping on Saturday before we fly off. I was considering buying a larger hard-case luggage if the existing one is too small. I thought that I would decide after I started packing and I even planned to send Lil Shauna to her Maths enrichment class on Friday evening.

On Monday, I started to print out the air tickets, hotel vouchers and stuff. Then I was relating to Daddy Lim the trip details and I suddenly realized that we are actually flying off on Friday night! Which mean, I actually do not have a lot of time left. There is no Saturday left to do last minute packing or shopping. Then I checked and saw that our itinerary was planned to start on Saturday morning as well. Strange, what was I thinking about? 

On Friday, we would have to get off work, fetch the kids, get everybody ready, take our bags and go to the airport. Luckily it is a 12.55am flight and we need to be at the airport only at almost 11pm on Friday night. We would have ample of time.

I spent my last 2 days’ lunches looking for addresses, possible places to visits and how to get there. We have 1 day of free & easy and pockets of free time here and there. We have been talking about the trip and we are all getting excited, including the kids, who are counting down. I started packing our bags on Tuesday night and continued yday and tonight. The bags are 80% ready. Interestingly, we didn't have that much to bring, a medium size and a cabin size luggage and the cabin size one is half filled. As usual, we would be bringing some more worn pieces that would be left in Taiwan. We would have space for shopping! I have also brought along an additional foldable bag. Though we do not have that much time to shop and my kids aren’t shopping kids, I am determine to buy back some stuff. My colleagues have asked me to help to buy mask and laopo bin, recommending some really famous ones. My SIL had shared how Taiwan is a shoes paradise and I am determine to bring back some pairs too. Lil Shauna would be thrilled. She loves shoes. Oh, not forgetting the handbags. I remembered that I had some good buys when I went to Taiwan many moons back. Daddy Lim had checked out the Chicken Wing shoes outlet in Taiwan. Looks like I am not the only determine one.

Taiwan better don't disappoint me. Taiwan, Taiwan, here we come. Woohoo! I am all smiles.

Mummy Lim

Singlish ah?!

I have seen great improvements in Lil Shauna since she started her phonics class. I supposed she would also progress naturally without those classes but I saw the apparent improvements largely since I had to do homework with her and coach her on spelling, allowing me to follow closely on her development. The phonics classes basically caught her in a more systematic way. I saw how she started with sounding the first sound to the last sound to the middle sound. Then started blending and could now read independently. She could actually read much earlier but is definitely much confident now. Now, she would attempt to read simple story books on her own, could read instructions while doing homework and read aloud random signs that she saw on the street. I am such a proud parent.

Her current phonics class is starting her on comprehension, close passages and compositions. To do comprehension and composition, she has to learn how to write full sentences and punctuation, which isn’t a simple thing for a 5-year old. The simple English rules that we took for granted, like how we start a sentence or a person’s name with a capital letter, adding a comma or end a sentence with a full-stop, etc., are alien to her and she constantly asked me why does she had to do those. I have no answers. Why huh?

Last night, I was working on a composition with her. It is one of those pictures aided ones and you write a complete story by describing the pictures. What I did was to encourage her to describe the pictures (form the story), then for each picture, to say the sentences out loud before penning them down. And I am seriously alarmed at how her sentences came out in Singlish! It is the parents’ fault. Oops.

Though we speak English to the kids, it is largely Singlish and how one talks is how one writes. As adults, we could probably easily switch from speaking Singlish to speaking and writing proper English. Unfortunately, that “switch” hasn't been fully developed in this 5-year old. Didi speaks just as bad English, if not worse. If you haven’t realized, Singlish is very much a direct translation from Mandarin and making matters worse, our spoken Mandarin is again a direct translation from dialect. Oh gosh, how bad is that!

I just told Daddy Lim this morning that we have to learn how to speak properly to the kids. It is going to be a challenge. Speaking in Singlish is like a 2nd nature so we have to be constantly on our guard. I hope it isn’t too late to start.

Mummy Lim

My Little Gym

Last Sunday, Lil Isaac attended the last lesson of My Little Gym. We signed him up for 7 lessons. He started with the parent and child classes for 2 lessons before he was switched to the independent classes for the remaining 5.

He always took a long time to warm up for the independent classes. Other than 1 time that he ran into the class freely and without mummy, he was sticky for the rest and even cried when he was urged to join the rest of the class while mummy sat by the wall to watch. I could escape from the class only when he had warmed up but he would peep and make sure that I was still outside the class waiting for him. Last Sunday, it was family week, where the family was invited to watch the kids “performed”.

Lil Isaac started crying as well when he joined his class in the activity. He was the only one who cried and mummy’s heart melted when the teacher comforted him and led him away while he was still sobbing. It is interesting how he would be upset and cry yet understood his role and participated while sobbing away, just like during the school graduation concert.

Things went well when he started to warm up and he had a great time hanging and swinging on the bar, walking on the high beam, rolling and jumping. He, along with the rest of the kids, received their medal at the end of the class.

They look so cute standing n the podium and waving to the crowd.

We will be stopping his gym class bcos they are really costly, about S$50 per lesson. Secondly, Lil Isaac will be starting phonics on Sundays, right after church with jie jie. It clashes with his gym class and I couldn’t find a more suitable time for him to do his gym classes. We may start him again a few terms later, when he starts to ask for them again. Maybe then, we could find more suitable timing.

Mummy Lim

Post Geneva Trip

The kids were happy to see me. Daddy Lim was even happier bcos he now relingushed the baby sitter role. He complained that he hadn't been playing game for the past few nights, but Popo baotok him and said that it wasn't true. Lol. Popo was tired too as Lil Isaac was really difficult the first few nights when he was having the run. He didn't sleep well and woke up many times and asked to go to the toilet.

I did enjoy my peace without the kids during the 4 days and it is now back to reality. I wasn't suffering from jet lag but was generally tired. I wonder how did my boss jumps from the plane to work without looking like he just flew half the earth. I thought I looked like crap even this morning.

The kids adjusted well to me too, almost immediately, asking mummy to do this and that even on Friday night. I am grateful enough that the kids weren't difficult and killed somebody when I wasn't around. Today, all routines and classes fall back in place. 

Ah yee said that I can now rest assured when I travel for business. I have greater plans in mind. I am looking forward to holidaying with Daddy Lim and without the kids one day. Muahahaha.

Mummy Lim

Geneva Trip Final Day

I had no meeting to attend on Day 4 and was due to fly home in the evening. I had bfast with 2 other colleagues. The bfast was normal but it cost 39 CHF (SGD 51)! I would never have had that if I had to pay for it on my own. Though it is reimbursable, I still thought that it was a waste of $.

After bfast, I went sightseeing with one of the colleagues, who was taking the same flight home with me. She brought me to the old town and I got to see Geneva lake. We strolled by the lake and took plenty of pictures. It was heavenly. The weather was cold and nice and it was so relaxing, none of the fast pace that we usually experience in Singapore.

There were plenty of ducks and swans in the lake. I wonder if they were cold. Lol.

Can you see the little dots that filled the lake? Those are the ducks and swans. The kids would have loved feeding them.

Then, we went shopping but didn't buy much. The stuff are really expensive in Geneva and we stand to lose even more with the weaker SGD. Most of the stuff we saw are probably available in Sgp as well. Most important, our luggages are already bursting at the seams and there seem little possibility of squeezing in more.

I was so proud when one of the sales of a shop asked me where I got my jacket. She said that it looks good and more importantly I looked good in it. Muahahaha. So, Zara didn't fail me even though it was a last minute buy.

Geneva is full of old buildings. We saw this church but didn't go in. We have no idea where is the entrance and were too lazy to find.

We see proud dog owners with their dog everywhere. Dogs are part of their life and allowed everywhere, buses, trains, restaurants, shopping malls. 

We headed back to the hotel at 5pm, freshen up a little and headed to the airport. I was so excited to go home. There were 4 of us on the same flight back home but I was the only one in economy, which wasn't that bad as I could travel in peace and need not worrying about drooling as I slept. Lol.

The flight from Zurich to Sgp was pretty smooth. The plane was shaky at times but definitely better than my trip to Zurich. I was so tired that I fell asleep shortly after I boarded the plane. I didn't take dinner as I didn't even know that they were serving dinner. Then again, I wasn't hungry. I thought I would sleep well since I had so on my way to Zurich. Unfortunately, I didn't really even when I had 2 seats to myself but still managed to catch some sleep. I caught 2.5 movies! All in all, I caught almost 6 movies. How I wish they actually show korean drama or running man on the plane!

I am now still on the plane, flying over KL. I should be home in like 40mins and I am so looking forward. When I opened the window shade, these greeted me.

They look much prettier in reality. Yeah, I miss Daddy Lim and the kids! Home sweet home. I am so looking forward to our Taiwan trip, the real holiday. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

Geneva Trip Day 2 & 3

Day 2 and 3 were spent in the office. We had long days. The bus fetched us at 7.30am, we had bfast in the office and the meeting started at 8am until 6pm. The meeting room faces mountains! Really nice mountains. And fields too!

I tried really hard to arrange to connect with the kids via skype and I kept missing them. I finally got them at 7pm Sgp time and I was so glad. The kids look glad to see me too. Lol. Daddy Lim said that they kept talking about me in the night.

We left for dinner and activity at 6.30pm. We made our own dinner and then had what we made. The cooking took a long time and the eating took even longer. 

My team was supposed to make desserts, we mixed the ingredients and did the decoration.

The chefs then helped to put the different parts together due to lack if time. The end product looked so good, they must has used magic. The cake was good but a little too sweet.

We ended the event at 10.30pm. By the time we were back in the hotel, it was already 11pm. I collapsed in bed shortly and soon it was morning.

Day 3 was a full day meeting as well. We left the office at 6pm for dinner and had plenty of singing and dancing at a private restaurant. It was really great fun. The Westerners were really crazy. They were wild! I was so surprised of their craziness and the amount of wine that had in front of the big boss. I had a good time sipping wine and dancing to music too. 

The bus picked us up from the restaurant at 12midnight and it is now 1am, I am at the lobby with a bunch of HR colleagues having a last drink before bed. Yawnz, I am so tired and there are still packing to do. Haha.

Mummy Lim 

Geneva Trip Day 1

I was alone in the transit and had the luxury to walk the DFS and was even tempted to buy a perfume. Lol. Then, I had a mocha, read a book that I grabbed from the library earlier and waited for my flight. I saw the 2 other colleagues who will be joining me in Geneva, but we were all seated separately, with one a row behind me.

I had thought that it would be a horrible flight and I was mainly wrong, other than the very bad turbulence (in my perspectives) towards the end. I watched the Superman show and was dozing off towards the end and decided that it was too boring and not worth my effort trying to keep awake. It was 2+am. I felt asleep with the new travel pillow that I just bought and it was amazingly comfortable. Suddenly, I realised how bad it is when we fly with kids. Not only do we tried to squeeze into one corner of the seat to make more space for them, the inability to move for fear of disturbing them was bad. Even though it was a 13 hours flight, I sat and slouched in a most comfortable position. I stretched and walked the aisles whenever I woke up and it was good. I managed to sleep about 6 hours, and caught a total

of 3 shows. One of them was "Oblivion" by Tom Cruise, something about invasion. 

I didn't finish the show bcos we met with bad turbulence towards the end of the show and the plane was shaking very badly. Watching a show about end of the world didn't help calm me a lot. In fact, my heart was thumping so badly. Much worse was that I was sitting with a guy who panicked more than me over the turbulence. I was hoping to find comfort in him but saw him grabbed the seat when I looked over and he told me that he hated the turbulence. Win already. I prayed very hard and thought about Daddy Lim and the kids a lot. My mind went wild and thought that maybe something was wrong with the plane and that we were going down. It was that scary and I was so glad when we made it through. For the rest of the flight (about 40mins), I was at the edge of my seat and my heart jumped at the plane's every shake and rattle. I couldn't be more glad to land.

When I alighted, I saw many people running and rushing for their connecting flight, including my colleague. I didn't quite know where to go or even what time it was in Zurich, I just rushed with the rest. Then realized that I even have time for a coffee. The connecting flight to Geneva was 35 mins and bad too. The plane was shaking most of the time, but the air stewardess reacted as if this was the norm. Again, I was so thankful to land and decided that I had enough turbulence for the day. 

I arrived at Geneva at 8.35am, which actually is 3.35pm, Sgp time. Our hotel was 10mins away from the airport and it was cold bcos the wind was really strong. I checked in to the hotel and was pleasantly surprised to find that the room was ready. This is the view from my hotel room.

I had 3 hours rest while waiting for my 2 other colleagues to fly in and had lunch together. I channel surfed all 68 of them and found less than 5 in English. There were more Dubai channels than English. It was fortunate that I had a book in hand and I am already halfway through 3 hours later.

I was also hoping to skype with the kids but the timing wouldn't allow. The kids didn't go to Centris bcos Lil Isaac was still down though much better, and Daddy Lim was still at work. I wat'sapped Daddy Lim pretty much but couldn't get the kids. I wonder if they missed me. I had to leave the hotel and asked Daddy Lim to help me hug and kiss the kids.

We went for lunch in the city and had fantastic Italian food. The food was simple, but absolutely delicious. Then we walked the city and went to buy chocolates. There were plenty of chocolates everywhere. 

And cheese too.

One of the colleagues wanted to head back and we did. It was 4pm (11pm Sgp) and I was so tired. I dated another one of the colleagues to do something together. I had wanted to fight the jet lag and decided that I don't want to go back to the hotel room to doze off. We ended up taking the city bus to the museum and found that it was close on Monday but it was such an adventure. We then had coffee in a cosy cafe.

There were plenty of such cafés in Geneva. The French and Swiss people are either drinking coffee or wine the whole day.

The day ended with dinner in the hotel and I was dead tired then. My eyes were so heavy and I was so glad to be done with dinner. I went back to the room, showered and slept. It was not the best sleep. I woke up an checked my hp constantly, fearing that I overslept. I was told that the bus to the office doesn't wait and I best not be late. It is now 3am (10am Sgp time) and I am awake! I must go back to sleep. Haha.

Staying alone in the hotel room was fine too. I remembered how jittery I was during my first business trip and being alone in the hotel. Haha. But, I enjoyed sleeping a in big bed on my own with 3 big pillows. Muahaha.

Mummy Lim

On the Way

I am on my way to the airport. It was a freakish day. Lil Isaac woke up with a mild fever. He was alright, just warm to the touch, then the diarrhea started and throughout the whole day, he had diarrhea 7 times.

We had promised the kids to go USS today and Lil Isaac asked to go too despite being sick. Since we usually stroller the kids around in the park, we thought it would be fine. Lil Isaac didn't look that sick too. We reached the park only at 3.30pm. It wasn't the best day to go to USS. It was hot and there was a bigger crowd than usual. 

Towards the evening, his fever came back and he grew lethargic even after I gave him fever medicine. We left the park and eventually decided to bring him to the doctor. We were really worried about crowded clinic but was lucky to not meet long queue. The doctor said that the poor boy is down with stomach flu.

We rushed, bathed the kids and then I showered, stuffed a few more stuff into the bag, hug and kiss Daddy Lim and the kids and started running out of the house for a cab. The kids were more engrossed in the iPad then worried about mummy leaving for Switzerland.  I was perspiring like a pig by the time I reached the taxi stand and almost wanted to call a cab when I finally got one.

Just when I was feeling great about getting a cab, Daddy Lim and Popo took turns to call me, telling me that Lil Isaac's fever came up. He was measuring 38.8 degrees. -.o" I am so glad that we brought him to the doctor. 

May God's protection be on each and individual one of us. This trip is so stressful.

Mummy Lim

Ready

My luggage is packed. I realised how easy is it to pack for one. I got everything done in about an hour and ended up with a small trolley luggage even when it is winter clothes.

So fast. I am leaving tomorrow. I can't breathe.. Arggghhhhh..

Mummy Lim

What to do without a Smart Phone?

I get a chance to take the bus and then the MRT home from the Science Park office today. No, this post isn't about how bad the ride was. But it was bad and I am even more sure now that I wouldn't be able to survive traveling to and from work via the public transport and during peak hour. You who do, are really great. I remind myself to be grateful for a workplace so near my home and a fantastic hubby who is willing to ferry me.

So, I boarded this bus that was really crowded. It was jerky and my bag weighs a ton with the gigantic work laptop. I had no extra hand to even hold my phone as it wouldn't look pretty falling in the bus or on somebody else. I wouldn't risk crushing somebody. So, I tried looking out of the window and at the scenery and at others on the bus to distract me. It wasn't long before I grew bored and was longing for my precious iPhone. I took out my iPhone to play my candy crush, check fb and blog the moment the bus was less crowded.

Then I changed to the train. I was so lucky that it wasn't too crowded. At least nobody's shoulder stuck to my back. The crowd got off at Jurong East MRT. And when I looked at the other passengers left on the train, everybody (or at least 95%) was on their smart phone, including me. Oh gosh, this technology is helping or harming us? What will happen in our children's time? Hmmm..

Mummy Lim

Geneva Trip

Time flies. In the 1st week with the Company, my boss asked if I am ok to attend a global HR meeting in Geneva in mid November. I said yes, since this is very much a no choice travel. Now, I am due to fly on coming Sunday and will only be back on Friday evening.

I had been really fortunate such that I need not travel for business ever since Lil Isaac came along. Or we should say that Lil Isaac is the lucky one? Daddy Lim went on a couple of business trips but short ones and we survived well in his absence. Our holidays are always with the kids. We felt too guilty to even attempt to think about leaving them behind. Even my last business trip to Phuket, we managed to turn it into a holiday and brought them along.

We toyed with the idea of bringing the kids along for this Geneva trip too. We decided not to eventually bcos it is a 13 hours flight to Geneva, it is winter now and there are no theme parks there. We hardly think that the kids will enjoy sightseeing. We are also not confident of Daddy Lim handling the kids single-handedly for 2 days while I am in my meeting. I think I would be worried sick. So, it will be safer for them to remain in Singapore. Popo will be able to handle them. Daddy Lim will just have to work a little harder to tuck them into bed for 5 nights. Yday, Popo was even toying with the idea of havingstayover at my brother’s place on Wednesday and Thursday night.

My colleagues were surprised that I am not extending the trip for sightseeing despite this being my virgin trip to Switzerland. They are all telling me how great the scenery is. I will have some free time on the first day and last day and I think I am happy to just use this time to explore. I do want to go home to my family as soon as possible.

I have been trying to prepare the kids for my absence. I repeatedly told them that mummy is flying off for 5 days. Lil Shauna understood what I was talking about and appeared fine. She said that she would miss me and asked me what present she could give me upon my return. So, so sweet. I am more worried about the sticky boy. He appears clueless now. Daddy Lim said that he constantly asked for me when I was in my 2-day meeting in Phuket. That was despite him seeing me every now and thenduring those 2 days. Now, we are talking about 5 long days. Last night, I heard him telling Popo that mummy is going Switzerland for 5 days. I hope he wouldn't miss me too much. I was thinking of skyping with them while I am in Geneva. I am still trying to find a way to do so in view of the time difference. Geneva is 6 hours behind.

Daddy Lim is worried that the kids would drive him crazy. But I think he would do fine. I heard that the kids are always very well-behaved when mummy is not around. Yes, I must be the problem. LOL.

As for me, I am in emotion turmoil. I realized that I was short tempered these few days and wondered if it is bcos of the trip. I don't want to leave Daddy Lim and the kids, I want to stay home and am feeling the separation anxiety already. There are like 1,001 things that I am worrying about. I also wonder how it would feel to be alone for 5 days. It had been like years, many years since that happened.

Well, we will all survive. Soon, I will be back and I will share my story with you.
And Daddy Lim will be getting back at me… he is going on 2 months night shift starting 1 December. Ouch!

Mummy Lim

Fill in the Blanks

Lil Shauna had to do this for her phonics homework. She was given helping words. The sentence goes:

Tom wants to visit the ( ) to ride the ( ).

I asked her what does Tom wanted to ride and she replied "unicorn"! Errr???!!! She finally settled for "pony" since unicorn is not in the list of helping words. Then I asked her where would she go to ride a pony. She replied, "rainbow" and her second choice was "sky". I was wide-eyed and she said that horses fly in the sky and rainbow in Dora! 

I told her that "farm" is the answer and she said, "I didn't know that, I have never been to a farm."

Hmmm.. 

Mummy Lim

Graduation Concert

So quickly and a year has passed. The kids were having their Graduation Ceremony this evening. 

I rushed home to help them prepare and make-up.

This is the 3rd year that I am attending. Last year, Lil Shauna performed on the stage and we brought Lil Isaac to watch. I was so busy trying to keep him entertained, walking the hall while waiting for jiejie to come on stage. This year, both of them went on stage so Daddy Lim, Popo and myself sit leisurely while waiting for them to come on stage.

Having attended the concert for 3 consecutive years, I already knew what happened when. Their concert has been improving in terms of variety. However, the number of students had increased over the years and there were way too many items. The concert ended at almost 10pm! Some of the items were pretty messing and I even got bored waiting for my kids' turn. I bet I wasn't the only one.

This year, they filmed graduating students sharing what they wanted to be when they grow up. I think Lil Shauna would do that next year and I wonder if she would declare on video that she wanted to be a farmer. Haha, yes, that is her ambition for now.

Lil Shauna did brilliant on stage, as per all her past performances. She was even chosen to make a short introductory speech in Chinese before her item this year. I was so proud of her. Lil Isaac's first item went great too. He was way too cute.

The siblings had a chance to go on stage together this year. They are both in the Chinese enrichment class and the students in the enrichment class performed 2 Chinese songs. When they went going up the stage, I saw that Lil Isaac was crying and I had thought he was scared. I tried to make eye contact and encouraged him only to realise that he was tugging at his pants badly and seemed to need the toilet. Then again, he didn't dare to move away from his allocated position and looked so miserable. I managed to rescue him midway and he was already starting to wet his pants. Poor boy! 

That episode left him pretty miserable and I think he didn't quite enjoy the rest of the concert. He had to perform in the finale with the rest of the school and he merely stood on the stage tugging at his wet pants. Lil Shauna was the total opposite and flashed great smiles as she dance to the finale.

Overall, it was pretty good and I could see the mega efforts both by the teachers and students. Next year will be Lil Shauna's last time. Sob, they are growing up so quickly!

Mummy Lim

Two Very Different Kids

We have 2 very different kids since birth, apart from the gender.

Pregnancy

We had a hard time conceiving Lil Shauna. It was a difficult pregnancy and many scares along the way. I also had pregnancy complications and ending up delivering Lil Shauna at 34 + 5 weeks. She was only 1.89kg at birth and had to stay 2 weeks in the NICU and an additional week in the nursery to gain weight before she could come home. Maybe bcos we had experience and it was easier to conceive Lil Isaac. Pregnancy with Lil Isaac was smooth sailing and I had none of the earlier complications. Lil Isaac was too comfortable and was induced at 40 + 1 weeks. He was a whooping 3.15kg at birth and was discharged with mummy on the 3rd day.

First Step

Although Lil Shauna was pre-matured, she caught up with her peers and achieved the milestones fairly early. She took her 1ststep at 11 months. On the other hand, Lil Isaac, who is a full-term baby took his first independent step only at 14 months.

Speech
I would think that Lil Shauna is way ahead of her peers in her speech. She spoke clearly even when she was younger. I remembered her singing the entire A, B, C song when she was only 19 months. Now, she’s in a phonics class with kids who are 6 & 7 years old when she’s only 5. I still remember that she knows most of her alphabets (both upper and lower case) and even some of the sound when I first enrolled her in the phonics class at 3 years old. Lil Isaac is the total opposite. He doesn't speak clearly even until now such that his worried parents had to send him to a specialist to make sure that he isn’t lagging behind in terms of his speech development. We are still struggling to teach him his upper case alphabets. I last counted yesterday and we are still short of 4 (E, H, N, P) and we don't even have to mention about the lower case or sound. We would enroll him for the phonics class very soon.

Personality

Lil Shauna has always been a sweet little girl but she can get very, very stubborn at times. She has always been very shy and didn't like extra attention (from people other than pappy and mummy). That seems to have changed a little in recent time and I see that she approaches other kids at the playground and initiates to make friends.  She is also asking to help order food and make payment. Lil Isaac is again the opposite. He is warm and very much ok to strangers, adults or kids alike. He isn’t at the stage of making friends yet but has no problem talking to adults.

Knocks and Bumps

Lil Shauna is delicate. She is made of paper. She tears at the slightest bumps and cries pitifully at knocks or cuts. Lil Isaac is made of steel. He bumps his head and bruises his legs so very often but is never bothered by the hard falls. The next moment, he is into one of his dangerous stunts that make mummy’s heart stops. On Lil Isaac, I have seen the biggest bumps and bruises. Sigh..

Sleeping
Lil Shauna stops napping when she was about 3 years old and doesn't at all need a nap now despite having a long and tiring day. She also sleeps through the night and sleeps fairly fixed in a certain part of the bed. She isn’t a soft toy person and sleeps without a pillow, preferring to hug only a bolster at times. She wraps herself in a blanket and enjoys having the fan blowing in her face. She loves to have a massage or back rub/ tickle before she turns in and asks for one every night. She lies in silent before dozing off to dreamland. Lil Isaac still needs that occasional nap now especially when he had a long day. He stillwakes up in the middle of the night (and can be multiple times in the night) when he realizes that he is sleeping without an adult figure besides him. He flips all over the bed, needs his nono and loves to prop his head on a pillow. He hates the blanket and kicks away one every time despite covering him only after he had fallen asleep. He asks for massage or tickle too but doesn't last more than 10 sec before he said that he has enough. He talks and moves non-stop and is silent the next moment bcos he has fallen asleep.

Eating

Lil Shauna eats a wide variety of food, from meat to vegetable to fruits. She likes fruit and takes a variety of them. Lil Isaac is extremely picky and loves pasta and noodles. He can eat plain pasta/ noodles, hates vegetable and only takes banana.

They are so very different. However, we also see how Lil Isaac has the same expression and exclamation as jiejie bcos he parrots her. They fight more often than play peacefully together. I see more sibling rivalry than love. Lil Shauna has declared a long time ago that she doesn't need a brother. I still hope that they would grow up close, just like ah yee and me. Regardless, they are so very precious to us and may they grow up healthy and loving God.

Mummy Lim