Mickey craze continues

Yesterday I bought Dennis a new pair of "Crocs" (wannabe), which has Mickey and Minnie buttons. He absolutely loves the shoes; a smile broke out the moment he laid eyes on them.

He even asked to put them on when he was having his dinner. This is unusual becuase my son is a kampung boy (village boy) who hates wearing shoes and will remove them the moment he sinks into a chair. But he asked us to put the Mickey "Crocs" for him while he was sitting on his high chair, eating dinner. And he continued to wear them in the house for the rest of the evening. Even when evil cousin Alex forcefully removed them for him, he went to put them on again! (yes, he knows how to put on sandals on his own now!)

I'm once again reminded of the power that Mickey Mouse has over my child.... shudders.....

Complicating a simple life!

There is a reason why I named my blog A Simple Life. I like my life as it is now. It's uncomplicated and things seem to have fallen into place since the initial chaos after Dennis entered into our lives. I have a job that allows me to expand my professional attainments but at the same time, leaves me with ample time to spend with my son. It makes motherhood very fulfilling for me.

But life as they say, gets a bit boring when everything is so predictable! I think subconsciously I've decided to sabotage this peaceful episode of my life. First I got myself pregnant. As happy as I am to be a mother again, I am fearful of the prospect of having to handle 2 kids. Not to mention 2 BOYS! But I've told myself that it's a decision that Keat and I have made and we have no choice but to face it with gusto.

So fearful am I that I am willing to quit my job after delivery to help me get used to the life as a mother of 2. Keat and I have spoken about this and he's suppportive of my idea.

But last week I did the unthinkable. I tendered my resignation letter and signed on the dotted line of a Letter of Offer for a NEW JOB! Yes, just as I'm about to enter a new chapter of uncertainty, I've decided to rock the boat further. I'm going to start a new job this coming March, at the beginning of my third trimester, when I'm going to be heavily pregnant, possibly cranky, moody and extremely tired.

If you think I'm crazy, well, I've got news for you. This is not the first time I've done this- 2 years ago, I started a new job when I was about 7 months into my pregnancy. Only this time it might be more scary because I will be joining this new company all by myself, I won't have my former boss to look after me like the last time. Plus, I'll be holding a more senior position and hence will be shouldering more responsibilities.

For both pregnancies, I've initially planned to take a break after delivery but this never happened. Jobs seem to like come knocking on my door when I'm pregnant. I actually took days to mull over the decision. But I suppose, at the end of the day, all of us are motivated by dollars and cents, and the carrot that the new company dangled in front of me is quite irresistable. I'm just afraid that such a good opportunity may not come by again...if I let it slip away this time.

Well, since I've made this crazy decision, I'll have to learn to face up to it. I am bracing myself for a pretty rough year ahead until, once again, the dust finally settles and everyone gets used to the motion of the new daily routines. Be it as it may, I think I'll continue to be haunted by the guilt of not being able to spend as much time with my son(s) as I do now. It's a heavy price I'm paying and I hope it will not be for a long term.

PS: I swear I'll make sure that for the 3rd child, I'll take a break after I deliver - my much deserved break!!!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Dennis has a new found love and it's none other than the age-old, well-loved, adorable mouse called Mickey. Yes, believe me, that mouse has dethroned me. In the presence of Mickey Mouse, mummy is nobody. He doesn't even bother to turn his head or beg mummy to stay when I bid farewell to leave for work.

What is the big deal with this mouse, anyways? He's got a weird voice, big ears, oversized head and he never changes its clothes. But my son absolutely adores him. He's charmed by Mickey's funny walk and dance, the meer mention of meeska-mooska-mickey-mouse will end all tantrums and dry up tears. I guess there is indeed something magical about this mouse.

The moment Dennis wakes up, he will look for his dad's mickey mouse "back scratcher" which is hung on the wall as an ornament. Then he will walk around with it and whirl it around like his magic wand.

It's amazing how kids can get so mesmerised with these characters and worship them higher than their parents, to the point of despicability. In any case, Keat and I are pretty glad that it's Mickey Mouse that he likes and not that ugly purple monster or worst still, those confused, "middle-sex" Teletubbies (can't stand them!! What are they anyways!)

I think it's just a matter of time before Disneyland beckons. Disney has very cunningly slipped in the advertisement for HK Disneyland in the Mickey Mouse DVDs, promising a wonderful time and a chance to meet with the favourite mouse. So in time Dennis is going to understand that ad and ask mummy and daddy to bring him to that enchanted place. Hopefully, An Luan ee ee will still be Hong Kong then, so we can save a bunch on accomodation. Apart from education fund, I think we should also start one for Disneyland too.

It's a BOY!

The gynae has confirmed it - it's going to be a boy again. I found out last week during my 14th week checkup. There is no mistaken - that little dot is his little pecker not the umbilical cord. I won't deny that I was hoping to get a girl this time, not becuase I don't like having boys but it would have been nice to have a pair. Then it wouldn' t matter so much whether or not to have a third one. But at that moment when I was lying in my gynae's office, staring at the 2 testicles on the screen - which erased all hope that the little dot could be an umbilical cord - I knew a third one is already in the card....just maybe not so soon.

For those who have not been informed, or whom I've forgotten to inform, yes,I'm expecting again. I'm in my 15th week now which means I've past the horrible first trimester. Actually, I was quite blessed because my symptoms weren't so bad. I didn't throw up, and only experienced a bit of nausea and some indigestion. I couldn't eat as much and as a result only put on 500g in the first 3 months.

Baby is due 1 June. But if this baby is like his big rother, who was too eager to see the world (delivered 3 weeks early) than he will be a May baby.

Am I excited about being preggie again? Well, it's definitely not as fun as the first time because this time around I get less attention, hubby is less sympathetic and it's more tiring becuase I have Dennis to look after. I get less rest because Dennis demands for my attention.

At the same time I'm also wary about all the changes that are going to take place. I'm not sure how well Dennis is going to adjust to the new baby. I hope he doesn't get too jealous and starts bullying his little brother. I've been trying to explain to him the concept of mummy-is-having-a-baby-in-her-tummy, but I don't think he quite comprehends it. I'm worried about how I'm going to be able handle breastfeeding with Dennis still being so needy and the list goes on.....

Whatever it is I think it will all be worth it. I'm excited about the fact that my family is going to grow and that Dennis will have a little brother to play with soon!

Milestones

It's an amazing experience watching my son grow with each passing day. From a tiny little baby weighing only 2.2kg (ya, ya, I know, Keat & I are such horrible parents), Dennis has grown to the fine toddler that he is now. He might not be the biggest boy around still but he's a very active and happy kid, who spreads his infectious joy to everyone around him. He loves the outdoor and enjoys being yeh yeh's little "helper" in the garden. He loves watering the plants so much we have bought him his own miniature watering can,but he still prefers what yeh yeh uses.

Over the past few months, my baby has achieved several milestones and I'm proud to report them:

1) Dennis has learned to drink from the cup with very very minimal spillage. I don't know when and where he acquired the skill because I don't train him that diligently. So I was very impressed when my maid announced that he could already drink from the cup. Maybe, she's been doing all the hard work.

2) He can also spit after brushing his teeth. This, I've trained him for a while (maybe 6 months) .... on and off.... and one day he just stopped swallowing the water and let it drip out. It was a very fulfilling moment indeed! The training process was tedious but Dennis made it easier by coining a term for spitting. He calls it "duh". Before he learned how to spit, he would swallow the water and say "duh" - thinking the water would drip out as he said "duh". Thankfully, after many many goofy demonstrations by mummy, he finally could "duh" properly. Nowadays, when I say "duh" he knows what to do.

After the few successful attempts, Dennis, being the curious, playful kid that he is, decided to experiment "duh" in other scenarios. E.g. when he's drinking water, he will "duh" on the floor or in a cup (which he will then drink up again, and finish off with a satisfying "aaahh"). One day, Keat made an awful discovery that Dennis has been "duh-ing" in the cup which he's been using for his midnight drink. Oops...mummy forgot to mention but that's becuase mummy didn't know that daddy uses that cup. =)

3) Dennis wore his shoe on his own! Ok, I would be lying if I said he knows how to wear his shoes now. It was just one isolated incident when he was desperate to go out to the garden and decided to put on the shoes on his own. And he did! We were surprised to find him wearing one of his Crocs (wannabe) sandals. Like I said, it's only a one-off thingy and it's never happened since.

Just like most parents, I want so much for my son to pick up all these skills quickly. I want him to be independent, so he doesn't have to rely on me so much. At the same time, I don't want him to grow up so fast because I want him to remain as my baby! Zhen mao dun! (what a conundrum!) I'm very sure I'm the only one who feels this way. So make every moment that you spend with your kids special because you can never have it back again. Believe me, one day, you will look back at those days and wish you could relive those moments again - including those potty training days!!!

Duet

Watch Dennis do a duet with me in this video. He is Miss Muffet who's frightened by a spider.

Hokkien kia (Hokkien child)

Dennis can't really say many words. But oddly, the few words that he often uses all sound like Hokkien (a Chinese dialect). I say it's odd because he's constantly bombarded by Cantonese and English, and I must confess I hardly ever speak to him in Hokkien. Yet his first words are Hokkien words. For example, when something ends/finishes he will say "bo, bo" which is "no more" in Hokkien. Or if he doesn't want something, he will shake his head profusely and say "mai mai" which is "don't want" in Hokkien. (He often does that when he disagress with a TV channel that you're watching and wants you to switch to one that he favours. Demanding little boy, ain't he?)

Well, the saving grace is his other favourite word is "ye ye" which is grandpa in cantonese. Everytime he sees his grandpa, he will call out "yeye". Smart boy, because that wins him a lot of brownie points, which he usually uses to redeem for extended cartoon hours.

To my dismay, he's still not calling me "mummy" yet. Before, he used to call me "mama", but I haven't heard that for a while either. Well, well, I guess I'll just have to wait.