Blue Paradise

Chloe's Milestones (16mths to 32mths)

2007-11-10T00:36:00.000+08:00

Between 16mths to 20mths - has improved in speech for English, Mandarin and Tagalog. Makes longer sentences like :" I want to go walk walk", learns to feed herself, understand the meaning of "in front", "behind", " beside", "under", "on top", "high", "low"..., love to sing, knows her A,B,C....to G, knows all the colors when she is 18th mth (red, blue, green, purple, pink, black, white, orange, etc.), learns to draw (big head with eyes, nose, eyebrow, neck, mouth), learns to color in more detailed, more active in motor skills, Between 21mths to 32mths- knows her A,B,C till Z, know how to add simple sums (1+1=2, 2+1=3), knows where is her left and right, knows how to dress herself (21th mth), getting more self-conscious, learn to play pretends and love to dress up, starts to be more sociable, loves cakes, drinks and eats without much help, brushes her teeth without help, folds her clothes, loves bubbles and pony rides, have interest in reading newspapers and magazines, recognises her favorite tv shows in magazines and know when it starts, loves to kick and bounce ball, loves massages, learns to share, walks backwards, jumps sideways and hops on either foot, holds a pencil and uses a pair of scissors, joins dotted lines with pen, knows all the basic shapes, expressive vocabulary like " It is delicious. I like it. I like oats and cheese. What is that? I am sure. What happen? No, not like that, I love you so much. Please help me. Thank you. Sorry. etc...", learns to create her own stories and song lyrics. Phew... I think that's all for now. BTW, now that she has a little brother, she starting to behave more like a big sis as in she is protective and loving to her little brother, Bryceton. :-)

We miss you so much, Grandma

2006-10-16T23:33:00.000+08:00

My Grandma passed away on 12th October 2006. It was early morning when she left us. It came a shock to me at first but now...I miss her. Thousands of words cannot describe how much I am missing her. I miss her so much. Sometimes, I can feel that she is still spiritually around us. Her smell, her touch. I have not lost anyone so close to death till now and I am still recurperationg and burying my sorrow. Sometimes tears just flow with fonder memories of my grandma. I didnt believe in "next life" before. But now I hope there is. I hope my grandma will reborn to a family of love and no worries. I hope that my grandfather would be able to find her and bring her happiness. I hope she will be able to recieve all the after-life gifts burnt for her, I hope she will be free from pain... People who is not in my shoes will find my hopes eerie. Till they encounter the lost, they can never understand the pain of losing a kin or someone close. My family are still mending their pain and their lost. Someone so wise, so gentle, so fun, so creative...is on her way to paradise. Grandma, we miss you and will always remember you.

Tender age with a big heart, Chloe is.

2006-09-25T23:27:00.000+08:00

It is late and I am tired. Despite so, I still want to pen this down so that I won't forget. No I will not forget as it has engraved into my memory wall. Chloe, my beloved daughter. I feel that I am the luckiest person in the whole world. Just a simple reason, I have my daughter, Chloe. At the young age of 18months, she has already proven that her sensiblity level is higher than any adult. When my grandmother is well, Chloe will show her affection to her great grandmother by entertaining her with her dance, hold her fragile hand as they stroll in the park, pat her great grandmother's back when she coughs, massage her limbs when they are aching, slow down her "usual-fast track speed" when she strolls with her great grandmother...so many little actions touched me and people around her. At such a young age, Chloe knows how to treat an elderly with tender love and respect. Sometimes so much so that I as a granddaughter, feel that I have not done enough. Now that my grandmother's health is failing and needs to be on bed most of the time, Chloe will without fail still dance in front of her, pat her when she coughs, massage her aching limps and talk to her when she is bored. These little actions really touched my heart. Just now she accidentially hurted my nose. It was so painful that my tears rolled down. She stared at me in shock. Then she came towards me and pat me on my back and baby talk. She gently touched my hand and blabbing along as if she was saying" Don't cry mommy" Then, she grabbed the tissue from her daddy and tried to wipe my tears away. Oh my dear child! Mommy loves you so much!

Updates on Chloe's milestones

2006-06-26T22:25:00.000+08:00

11months-imitates others activities, able to walk a short distance, reads a book(upside-down), able to point to the person when asked by the designation, 12months-celebrated her 1st birthday, starts to walk more steadily, holds a crayon to scribble, says "no more", understands and follows simple instructions, 13months-eats rice instead of porridge, master more the words like "bird", "狗狗", "kick", "go", learns to dance with rhythm, learns to feed herself, tries to lift heavy things, kicks and rolls the ball, knows where are her mouth, eyes, ears, able to pronounce family members' designations, 14months-shakes her head to say "No", nods her head to say "Yes", drinks from cups, runs, has temper tantrums when frustrated, pushes and pulls toys while walking, becomes attached to a soft toy (Eeyore), learns to lift her foot while wearing her pants, learns to throw the ball, shows an angry expression when stranger talks or try to carry her, draws lines without help, learns to sit on a chair/stool, able to identify if the book is upside-down and adjusts it, can point to picture of cat or dog when you say the word, will dump an object in imitation, such as throwing garbage away, tries to wear her shirt and pants 15months-growth of lower 1st primary molars(2nos), drinks from a straw, walks backward, walks up stairs, helps around the simple household chores (handing the pegs to me while I hang the clothes, brings the sun-dried clothes to Daddy for folding), learns to brush her teeth with toothbrush...phew I think that's enough for now.

Chloe; Our Child, Our Pride...

2006-06-19T21:08:00.000+08:00

Chloe is now 15mths plus. Just a blink of an eye, she is a big girl now. Running, climbing, jumping, swimming, laughing, whining, crying, throwing temper... Wow! How did we survive that? Well... with pride and joy. Every minute and second, we are proud of our little girl. However, sometimes when she really really gets on my nerves, I asked myself how much could an one-way ticket to hawaii be...When she knows that she is in trouble, she would try to get away by showing us her bambi eyes and smile. *sigh* Can't really be angry with her for long. Well, just hope that she does not get that as a hint of her "climbing over our heads". Be happy, my child. As far as we could, Daddy and Mommy will walk the journey with you.

Good... Better... Best

2006-02-21T10:17:00.000+08:00

"Compare" is a word I dislike but still use it at times. It is used by everyone, at anytime and at any place. "My ass is round" the other counter-attacked"No! Mine is rounder and it shines!" However, comparison may not be necessary all-times credit to oneself. Some are asking for comforts and sympathy. "I m stupid." "No! I m more stupid and dumb." Hypocritical, it is. I do not like to be engaged in such conversation as it is very mental draining for me. I have to think of things that are better than others to counter attack my "comparer". Sometimes I just let it pass, like an irritating bee buzzing around my ear, while looking for some escape route to avoid my veins on both side of my temples from exploding. I have to constantly remind myself not to compare and whine about things. However if necessary, compare healthily. Accept what you have and one's flaws, and praise one's good. At the moment, if someone starts comparing unhealthily with me or my love ones again, I will have to think of an "award winning" reply to shut their mouth up.

Art Nouveau, I am

2006-01-25T13:53:00.000+08:00

You scored as Art.

You should be an Art major! How bohemian!

Art

100%

Journalism

100%

Theater

92%

Dance

83%

Philosophy

75%

Mathematics

75%

Linguistics

75%

Sociology

75%

English

67%

Anthropology

58%

Engineering

50%

Psychology

42%

Biology

42%

Chemistry

33%

Chloe's Milestones

2006-01-17T14:49:00.000+08:00

Born - lifts her head alittle, turns her head to left & right alittle 2weeks - her umbilical cord falls off 1month - Responds to sound, stares at faces 2months - cooing, lifts her head 3months - grabs a toy ring for awhile, laughs, smiles, lifts her head when on stomach, starts to recongise faces 4months - Crawls backwards, learns to sit up, eats chereals and blended fruits, stranger anxiety, able to carry upright 5months - learns to sit more stably, eats porridge 6months - first word"bah", distinguishes colors, eats biscuits, starts to crawl forward, reaches out for things, grabs things, starts to know how to communicate to people by shouting 7months - blows bubbles, claps, tears papers, learns to use her cheek to feel family members, able to change from crawling position to sitting position 8months - learn to cruise, claps, 3nos of teeth, starts throwing things, more words "car" "papa" "mama" "makmak", points at people and books, stands on her own for 1 second, starts to climb, knows when she is in trouble and tries to pacifiy the angry person, starts to learn how to wiggle away from someone's arm, learns to take simple instructions(give, sayang(love), come, up, turn) 9months - another 2nos of teeth, waves goodbye, taps her fingers to the beats of the music, more words "munmum" "bear", associate some words with the objects/person (bear, donkey, shopping, milk, papa, ahzo{great grandmother}, makmak{grandmother}), points to the place she wants to go, points her finger to her palm, stands on her own for 35 seconds, eats with chopsticks (with assistance) 10months - associates more words with the object/person (mama, gonggong{grandfather}, gege{brother}, learn what is "no"~~~~~ok more updates coming up soon...

New Year Resolution

2006-01-16T00:39:00.000+08:00

Procastination is the thief of time...And that, I must remind myself for my new year resolution.

* Raining Reindeer *

2006-01-10T20:10:00.000+08:00

I have lyricized a "raining song" for Chloe. Well, it just happen that it was a raining day and we were stuck in the car. Rather then staying grumpy of the situation, we sang! ...erh I sang, she clapped. (using the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer's music.) ~~~Here come the rain drops falling, falling straight to our roof top. How do I know they're coming, because I heard the first drop. Oh my baby don't feel sad, the sun will come out someday. Oh look here comes the big sun, shining through the thick blue sky. Here we come..., the big bright sun. Our baby here's out to play. Shining bright and shining high, oh what a great play-day today! Baby is laughing happily, for it's a great sun_ny day! Let's hope it will last long_er, for it is a joy to play! ~~~ *Applause*

First words

2005-12-28T13:32:00.000+08:00

Chloe started to speak few days ago. "PAPA" (her daddy) is the word she speaks often. (U can tell how much she loves her daddy and how jealous I m) Strictly speaking, Chloe's first word is "MAK MAK" (her grandmother) She did that out of desperation actually. It was her lunch time and she was cranky that day. Hmm... she is always cranky during lunch time. Anyway, in the middle of the feeding by her nanny, she saw her saviour....her grandmother. "MAK MAK!" she screamed for her grandmother, adding a few tears and reddening her little nose. As usual her grandmother's heart soften and picked her up from her high chair. Immediately, Chloe breaks into the most perfect smile on her face. The next word Chloe speaks is "MAMA" (me, tadaa!) That again another word of desperation, it is. hint hint...lunch time. The day before, when we were changing Chloe's soiled diaper, her papa said "smelly" and she replied sweetly "OK". Finally, this morning, when her papa was preparing her morning milk, she saw and crawled towards him and said "MUM" (eat). *applause* Keep up the good work Chloe. Soon we will graduate from single syllable to two syllable.

My Dad - My Mentor - My Family

2005-12-21T10:42:00.000+08:00

My dad's doctor must be shaking his head when he examined my dad last week. My dad has high blood pressure. When I say high, it is really HIGH. He is blaming it on his unhealthy diet and lack of exercise. I feel that most "credits" should go to his workload. At the age of 50s and a grandfather, he should move into a semi-retire mode. However, he is still very active in his work. He is a chinese teacher. Working 5 full days and sometimes on saturdays during school terms and practically reporting back to school every weekdays during school holidays. I would say my father is the employee of the year (every year). He will not take a MC, unless he is too sick to get out of bed. Otherwise, he will be working; rain or shine. I salute him for that. He makes it a point to check on his troubled student even if it means going to the student's house late at night. He is a mentor to younger teachers and he is all out to help them even if he has tones and tones of works to finish. I always see him bringing his work back and work till wee hours over the weekends. (Not to mention that he also makes time for his family and does household chores) And those workshops he had to attend. OMG. And those worksheets he had to fill in. Aiyo! Think of the headaches he has when he needs to fill up the worksheets. What make it worst is it has to be in english. My dad's english is...erh...I would say "alot of" room for improvement. It is a struggle to ask him to speak the language and u r talking about writing essays. I helped him to translate some and just to translate for him, I felt dragged already. Why are there soooooo many stuff to fill in? And those meetings! Every now and then, there are meetings for him and the meetings last a few hours. OMG! My meetings on constructing a building don't even take that long! A good and constructive meeting should not take more than 45mins. Don't they know that? (Someone has to tell them. In another workshop, I guess.) We are worried for his health and hope that he could take it easy (and his boss could take it easy on him too). Take care Dad! You still need to bring Mom for a holiday, get back to your painting, do gardening, take Chloe to the zoo, have nice afternoon tea with mom, nice dinner with family, go fishing...dont drain yourself with work before you can do any of these. Love, Ah Shan.

Look... Look... Look... Blink Look...

2005-12-20T12:11:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, we brought Chloe to the airport to welcome her grand-uncle, grand-auntie and her cousins back from Taiwan. Although, it is not the first time Chloe visits the airport, she is still fascinated with the place. So much so, that she was wide awake just by looking around even though it had passed her bedtime. I could say Chloe's people/place-watching habit is rather extreme. She would stare and stare without blinking, just to register the person or the things into her "memory box". Ditto, I am a people-watcher. I just love the idea of having tea in a nice alfresco cafe and do people-watching. Seems like Chloe got this heredity from me. Heehee. Anyway, a curious child is a teacher's delight. The more she takes interest... the more she learns, in one way or another.

Happy Birthday to U!!!

2005-12-19T15:51:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday to u Happy Birthday to u Happy Birthday to Jiamin......... Happpppyyyyyy Birttthhhddaaaaayyyyy tooooo UUUUU!!!!!! One year older, One year wiser, One more pound to ur weight. Oops! Sorry, slip of the tongue... It's ok...it is still our little secret.

Sponges=Children vs Children=Sponges

2005-12-06T14:43:00.000+08:00

Weeks ago, I had a conversation with an expecting relative who also has a 5 year old son. I was checking on her to see if I could be any help during her pregnancy. Some how, our conversation side-tracked from her baby girl to her son. She was telling me about her boy's study progress. From the conversation, I could not help but to notice that she seems to put alot of effort on the boy's english language. So I commented..."Why don't you let your boy learn the chinese three character primer (三字经)?" "What is that?" "Oh...it is like a chinese poetry but written in a phase of 3 words..." Well, few days later, I went to pay her a visit. WAH! Guess what I saw? I saw not only the VCD of the chinese three character primer but also books on them! My gosh! She even bought the series of Hundred Surname (百家姓), chinese poetry, etc! I remembered that she once mentioned that children are like sponges which can absorb easily. But...but ah...this...arh.....I m speechless. What I have to do now is to call my mother and tell her, "Hey mom! I m not so "kiasu" afterall. I bought Chloe the chinese three character primer only. Someone has outrun me!"

Blah... Blah... Blah...

2005-12-06T09:34:00.000+08:00

When u have a baby, concern relatives and friends will normally contribute useful information to make your parenting easlier. However, as new parents, you may have to filter some of the information or tips given. Let me give u an example. Chloe is reaching her 9th month and she is going easy on her speech. She would occassionally express herself with the "Ba, Ah, Ha..." and her latest accomplishment - "Car" (which we secretly hope that she is not asking for an advance 18th birthday present) Then, comments start flying all over..."Oh u should let her listen to more music and talk to her more. My baby starts talking at the age of 6 months." (6 months! Chloe just learn how to crawl forward at that age) "My boy starts to speak not only the main languages but also the dialects at the age of 10 months." (Oh my gosh! Another month to go.) "Let her listen to the radio and news" (That is what she is doing everyday...) AHHHHHHH....ENOUGH!!! I look at Chloe and she stares back at me. Suddenly, she crawls towards me and gives me a hug and a wet kiss. Awww....What the heck! Chloe, take your time. Anyway, you are just 9 months old. You will talk when you are ready.

The joy of having a new family member

2005-12-05T11:00:00.000+08:00

There is a new additional family member on 26th November 2005 in the Lam Family. She is the cutie niece of mine, Kennice Lam. When I held her in my arms, an overwhelming emotion came gushing to me. Suddenly, I found myself travelling back to the day when I first hold my baby girl, Chloe. She was so tiny and fragile mainly because she was born 2 weeks earlier. (Too eager to see her parents... :-p) As a pair of new parents, we were tired, confused, worried, and all the above... JOY. This joy is so genuine that we almost feel like the world is perfect, our lifes are perfect and everything is perfect for us. I can image the joy from Kennice's parents when she was born. Afterall, nothing is more joyous than bringing a life to the world. Awww...I miss my girl already!!!What am I doing here in the office???I should be with Chloe now!!!

Muack that follows on with an Ouch

2005-12-02T17:04:00.000+08:00

Chloe is such a sweetie pie and everyone loves her. The affection is so obvious that every evening when I bring her home from her great-grandmother's house, her cheeks are always damp. Besides the drooling from herself, the other contribution would be the kisses from the family. However, when it comes to her daddy's turn to kiss her, Chloe only let her daddy kiss her in the morning. Why? Because that is the only time her daddy has a clean shave. Stubble free. Hey...she is not born yesterday. She knows what is pain.

Coming up are the Fourth & Fifth...

2005-12-01T20:15:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, due to the itchness and swelling of Chloe's teething (the newcomers - Another upper central incisor & lower lateral incisor), she started to bite her lower lip to ease her discomfort. She bit so hard that the lower lip began to bleed. Her Daddy was completely freak out and rushed to the nearest shopping complex to buy more teethers. We have 3nos of different designed teethers at home already and yet he bought another 5nos more! The salesgirl commented:"WOW! This is the first time I see one baby using so many teethers." My husband replied in a matter of fact:"Well, one for our house, one for her great-grandmother's house, two for her both sides of grandparents' houses and one to bring along when we are having a family outing..." "Wow! your baby travels alot har" Hmm...when she was just 1 week old in her mommy's tummy, she had already travelled to Japan, so these travelling are really no big deal.

My dear friend...I m NOT in depression!!!!!!

2005-11-30T17:24:00.000+08:00

I was telling one of my best friend how much I appreciate our friendship and really want her to be happy. After expressing my emontional side, my friend was like "erh... Are u alright?" That's the problem. When u r not those expressive people, and u suddenly become one, they start to worry. "Is she alright? Is she in depression? She needs a loan? Thinking of suicide?" Hmmm...I need to change...I need to change...

Third Tooth

2005-11-29T14:32:00.000+08:00

Chloe is teething again - her 3rd tooth (upper central incisor). She has been drooling alot and leaving tracks of saliva wherever she goes. Regards to the after effects of teething, so far everything is fine except for some unexpected crankiness, complains and lost of appetite... Ok that's all for her Daddy. Now as for Chloe, she is taking it quite well. :-)

Sweet revenge

2005-11-29T09:49:00.000+08:00

"kids are grandparents' sweet revenge to parents." Let's see how true is this sentence. "Hi, we have cuddled, played, tickled and excites her. Now u can have her back. Good night!" I rest my case.

Deja vu

2005-11-28T12:34:00.000+08:00

My baby girl has picked up a habit of throwing things. Kind of frustrating when u r the one picking up the thrown stuff and I was doing this one weekend..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"..."Chloe, dont throw ur toy! This is the last time I m picking up for u, young lady!"...so on and so on...

RISE AND SHINE!!!!!

2005-11-25T12:23:00.000+08:00

When u are a kid, ur parents are ur alarm clocks. When u are working, ur huge amount of work load is ur alarm clock (maybe u didnt even sleep). When u are just married, a nice and romantic breakfast in bed is ur alarm clock. When u are married with kids, ur kids are ur alarm clocks....Seems like we dont really need the actual thing anymore.

Pat...pat...pat...lap...clap...CLAP!!!

2005-11-23T18:20:00.000+08:00

Last night, while I was patting my baby daughter to sleep, she lifted her little hands and started clapping! I got so excited by the new skill that she has picked up and started clapping with her too. Both of us got so excited by just clapping to each other that we lost track of time and it was already a quarter past 10. Hmmm.....when u are a Mother, little stuff like this excites u while news like countries' politics bores u.

Silence does not always mean consent

2005-11-23T09:15:00.000+08:00

"Silence means consent." Ahhh.... these three words no longer stand what they used to mean. Why say so? I asked someone to give a quotation for a project. Ok, they sounded excited about the potential job and I was comfortable with their service. So the only thing to do then was to wait for their price to come in after discussions. One week gone, no call from them. "They are still rushing for the quotation." Two weeks gone, still no call. "Hmmm, maybe it is year end, busy busy busy." Reaching the third week..."Hello, are u guys still interested in this project?" "Oh! Oh yes! We are waiting for our sub suppliers to come back with the quote...." Ok fine, I waited again. 4th week..."I am getting pissed!" 5th week...I did not call them but guess what? They could not be bother to call me too. People, I would be a big cretin if I say I am still waiting for that quotation. For your information, they have not called me till todate. What are they doing? Playing the silent little lambs or hard-to-get? My gosh! I thought I am the one giving THEM the business! What has the world becoming?

Jam.....Jam.....Jam......

2005-11-08T17:52:00.000+08:00

I m asked to post something here so that this blog can be officially called a blog. However, my mind is congested with sentences....no... words.... no... letters... Brain Jam