Michael finally understands what his name is when we ask him… and it’s “MUG.” Yep, not Mike (which is so NOT allowed), not Michael (his legal and real name), but MUG… so he goes around looking at his own photos, saying “MUG” “MUG”…. almost like the McMug from HK!
Love from Shanghai, until next time!
It’s almost official – well until we pay and Ian approves the school… Michael will be enrolled to the pre-nursery at end August (he’ll be 22 months by then) for 3 mornings a week. It’s a Montessori school and we’re really excited (and anxious)… With the downturn of economy, Michael has conveniently obtained a place to attend the school quite quickly (normally the “waiting list” is long and takes a couple of semesters!). We are off to a second site visit (this time w/ the boss who’s got the checkbook!) and Michael should be set!
We forgot also to mention in his last pediatrician’s visit, Michael is now 80 cm tall and 11.4 kg (or 25 pounds!) and he is growing a lot every day (7 teeth on top and 8 at the bottom!)! We are very much enjoying his newly learned skills (be it eating more independently or doing his puzzles by himself!) and it is such a joy to be around Michael. Just wish there are more weekends and fewer weekdays.
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| Michael’s album – 17 months |
Until next time, much love from Shanghai.
Ian always says “Home is where you make it.” Although HK should be home for me, it feels less like it now that we are in Shanghai. Michael is way past due his 12-month vaccination (he’s 16 months now) and his Mom is getting paranoid that he might contract some disease ”soon.” So off we go on a one-week journey for all the errands in HK.
Before the trip, we had do a bit of preparation:
1. Michael had to learn all the familiar faces (esp. Poh Poh, Gung Gung, Aunties & Uncles)
2. Michael’s packing (which occupied at least 50% of Mom’s suitcase!)
3. Michael’s food (which was pre-ordered for grocery shopping from the best Auntie Sam) and then later prepared by nanny Jenny who came with us.
When we were there, it was meeting one friend after the other. What you notice is how fast time goes when you have a child. The kids (Michael’s friends) just grew so fast. They were last crawling everywhere in Bali and now it was all walking and doing mis-chiefs! Isabelle (Mama’s good friends’ daughter) is now 3 and can really boss around Michael (which we delightedly predicted when Michael was a baby). It was just so sweet to see all these kids grow and blossom into little beings!
Of course Michael missed his Dada alot. When he came out of bath, he would say “Da” to try to find his Dad and in the morning, he pointed to the PC (Sam’s mac) where his Dad skyped him the night before. Funny how a 16-month old can remember so much (and yet we all know that they actually don’t remember very much till 6).
We had loads of fun with Michael’s Poh Poh and Gung Gung too… I don’t remember spending so much “free” time with my parents! Must be the effect of “grandchildren!!”
After we got back, I got seriously punished with too much travelling (for work) and getting sick! Although we had a great time in HK, nothing is better than your own home and bed!
Some photos upload on facebook (will be sending more when I have time!)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81569&id=625711049&l=b2953
With love from Shanghai, till next time.
Every parent in the world thinks their child is the smartest, most clever and most advanced, when they are compared to other children the same age. We are no exception! We were lucky to have had two great visitors (Michael’s Aussie Granddad and Ian’s university mate!) during the Chinese New Year (year of Ox this year) in the last couple weeks. We couldn’t help but make our little “smartest boy” perform these tasks:
- show and point different parts of body
- words that Michael can say (like “fflloower”, “BAll”, “da”, “Mama”, “Pop”, “Mi (for Michael)”…etc.)
- what a good helper Michael is (putting toys away, feeding himself (when he feels like it!), and washing himself in the bath)
- what an athlete Michael is (kick a ball, throw a tennis ball, run (sort of) and climb up the couch (achieved mastery skills in the span of 2 weeks)
- what a cheerleader Michael can be when it comes to bowling (must watch the Video in the below link!)
- the list goes on…
But one day, I received an email (as I do every week) from BabyCenter (possibly the best baby advisory website) about the milestone of a 15-month old toddler. According to the website, (this is when Ian would say “Stacey believes EVERYTHING she reads” which I sort of do!) I realized that Michael was “on track” with where he should be. Of course, being the frenetic Mama that I am, I still “discovered” (or shall I say “justified”) many areas where Michael was more “advanced” at his age. Then I realized that no matter what I read, Michael to me (and every child to their mom or dad) is the smartest, most clever and most advanced child I have seen. Furthermore, it was even more important that he is healthy and happy with what he has everyday (too little time with his mom & dad, but plenty of great playing time w/ Nanny Jenny, and awesome weekends where Mom & Dad let him do EVERYTHING!)
For our clever child this month, check out the latest photo/video album:
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| Michael’s album – 15.5 months |
Love from Shanghai – proudest parents of Michael.
P.s. Weather is finally warming a little – we got plenty of play time outdoor!
With Christmas and New year behind us, we begin to adapt to the life in Shanghai, with rountines and our favorite places / things to do (which keeps changing at this point). Michael is also fully developed into a “toddler” (read: difficult with a mind of his own!) Then, Dr. Karp came to the rescue once again. Before Michael was born, a few friends introduced us to watch “The Happiest Baby On the Block” DVD and the concepts in the DVD were just so logical and simple. We followed them quite literally and Michael was an easy baby. Some of the things that were encouraged are:
1. Swaddling til 3 months
2. Side (put baby on the side and they’ll immediately calm).
3. Shushing (yep, loud shush to calm a crying baby!) In fact, white noise is highly encouraged (Michael had a radio that played static while he was asleep!)
4. Swinging (of course, this is when our Swing came into play for nap times!)
5. Sucking (I didn’t believe in it but Ian would have liked to let Michael have a dummy!)
Then, we came across his second book about the “The Happiest Toddler on the Block” and being the bookworm, I got reading about it right away! Once again, he proves to be a “savior”! Some concepts work like wonders:
- firstly, toddlers (from age of 1 – 4) are little cavemen (or cavewomen!). Their brains are hardly developed and their right brains take over when they’re tired / unsettled / don’t get what they want! When you think you’re reasoning with a “crying” toddler, they can hardly hear you!
- fast food rule - when the little one is about to have a tantrum, you have to repeat the order, just like when you’re in a “Drive Through”, the waitress always repeats the order befor asking you to pay. The little one needs to know that you have heard them and that you don’t launch into what he/she should do before he calms. For example, when Michael wants to listen to his wiggles CD (for the tenth time at 6 p.m. at night), the first thing we want to do is to say no… but instead, we should say “Wiggles Wiggles, Michael wants Wiggles” (Simple and repetitive language – just repeat the order like it’d have been done at a “Drive Thru”). Once he seems a little calm, you then explain that it’s almost bed time and wiggles need to sleep (and so does he)! Of course, I don’t explain / write it as well as Dr. Karp, but this is the essence. And it works wonders!
- other rules, such as positive “time in”, “feed the meter”, “patience practice” and the essential ” time out”.
You’d have to read the book to really appreciate all the terms and concepts. However, both Ian and I are having a lot of fun practicing with Michael (although not successful every time). We are amazed every day of how quickly our little boy goes (and how badly he can behave), so we are just so glad Dr. Karp is once again working his magic!
Chinese New Year is coming up (Jan 27, 2009 is the day) and we are getting ready for our guests (Ian’s dad and a good friend of Ian’s)… we plan to do all the touristie things that even we haven’t done!
Until then, much love from Shanghai with photos (apology for the lack of it!)
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| Michael’s album – 15 months |
Over Christmas, I was lucky to have a week off hanging out with Michael and running a few errands (none completed, of course!) This was our first Christmas in Shanghai and it felt nothing like it. The shops were only moderately decorated and most people didn’t really talk about it (in fact, Christmas & Boxing Days are working days in China). The only thing that resembled Christmas was the weather (at least for the norther hemisphere!) It was cold (freezing)… But like Ian said, Christmas is what we make of it as a family. So Christmas turned out really cozy and warm!
On Christmas day, Michael didn’t really know what to do with all the presents. Our tree is only half decorated (bottom half is bare since Michael just picked the ornaments off when they’re his reachable height!) and most of the gifts were wrapped in “toys r us” wrapping paper. Michael was very facinated with our Christmas lights in the evening and we spotted a few other Christmas trees out of the windows of the neighbors!
Michael and I were busy during this week. He is always onto something and his latest fascination is:
- climbing up and down the nursing chair
- learning to use his spoon & folk (still prefer the hands and fingers though)
- listening to the wiggles CD too many times (his mama doesn’t let him watch the DVD too often, but listening to the music was alright…)
- walking and running and walking… (can’t do enough of it).
It is truly amazing to see the growth our little boy is going through. Last week he was still having difficulty to learn how to use his “straw” cup and suddenly he just picked up the skill. Ian and I look at Michael everyday wondering what happened to the little baby!
Although we were away from all the friends and family, Internet had made everything much closer. So Michael did say “Merry Christmas” to both sets of his grandparents (although he thinks all of them are 2-dimensional, he keeps checking the back of the laptop screen for them!) plus all uncles & aunts.
As you may have noticed, the website address has also been changed to http://www.apprenticelacy.com (We have got our own website!) Also, some photos from our Christmas week:
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| Michael’s album – 14 months old |
Meanwhile, love from Shanghai.
p.s. after a long week of running around, I am going back to work for a rest… cheers!
Sometimes women think they can control every little detail in their household … even if it’s done remotely. Well, I have to admit, I am one of those women. Recently, I had to be away for a week on business and Ian had “full responsibility” for parental duties. He did a fantastic job (Michael was in one-piece when I got back and there was only one little bruise, which was more attributed by our new helper). However I had to “add value” by “remote parenting”. This included:
- Calling every 8-hours around the clock to “check on things” (I did also want to speak to both Ian and Michael as I missed them heaps!);
- Sending emails about meals for next week; and
- Promising to come home soonest and “save” Michael’s newly cut hair (which had a few loose ends)
All I can say is that pictures speak a thousand words (refer below) and that both Ian and I (me definitely) ought to stay in Banking. For the next 6 weeks (and possibly beyond if his parents keep cutting his hair!) our little boy possibly won’t be the cutest baby in the world. Gosh, we just hope that there is some cream that can help his hair grow faster!
I should learn a lesson here. My lesson is to stay out of things every once in awhile. Ian was doing a great job and I wasn’t “adding value” by calling every 8 hours. On top of that, we are not going to be cheapskates anymore and will pay for Michael’s haircut from now on!
Hope all is well and love from Shanghai – which is a little cold!
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| Michael in Shanghai |
All we can say is that how did our little baby suddenly turn into a toddle in a blink of an eye? Michael was just lying on the bed at around 4 months and we were wondering when in the world he’d turn around and lift his head up. Then all of a sudden, he was wobbling up and down our home and peeking in ever drawer he could open! His runrate of bumping is one little bump every other day and it serously increases when he is with only Mom & Dad!
After a month of Nanna’s spoiling, Michael is finally on his own during the week with our new Nanny (Jenny). Our first Nanny (May) has also returned to Hong Kong and has since found a job with an Italian family out in Stanley. We wish her well and thank her for all the care & love for Michael during his first year!
Michael is now starting his new rountine. Besides still being a “Gina Ford” toddler, he now goes to the Playroom every morning before lunch and out to the grass in the afternoon. We hope to catch as much outdoor time before the weather turns really cold.
Ian and I are doing well. We are busy at work but are generally enjoying the cooler weather.
Until next time, love from Shanghai.
p.s. I found an alternative to webshots photos! Check out below (will tidy them up in next few days.):
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| Michael in Shanghai |
Michael’s first birthday was really not so exciting by normal people’s standards. There was no big birthday party and we were too far away from any of Michael’s “friends”. Instead, he had Mom, Dad and Nanna. But a day he had! He woke up with a lot of presents to open! What a shock to his system! This is a boy who had a limited number of toys, but was so thrilled to keep looking at all the new gadgets! Then we went down for a swim which Michael loved. After a nap, we cut a nanna-made birthday cake. Nanna was barred from putting icing on the cake (and hence it looked boring!) but boy did Michael enjoy his first bite of sugar! He must have gotten his sweet tooth from his dad, Poppa and Gung gung!
We then went over to Puxi (the other side of Shanghai) for a coffee with Ian’s friend and had a late night back to our home. It was a big day for Michael but he seemed as though he had a great time.
Since coming to Shanghai, Michael had been having so much fun crawling / walking around the apartment. He even took his first steps without help in front of his nanna. Due to transition period with our new helper Jenny, Michael had 3 people (Nanna, Jenny and May) playing with him every day and on Saturday, he even gets his M&D! Talking about being pampered!
Michael is growing so fast that it’s so hard to catch up on writing the blog (esp when Mom still hasn’t got the whole web hosting thing sorted!)! He is now able to point to his head, ear, nose (almost!) when asked. And he knows how to clap, jump and say “ouch”… Need I to say again how much fun we are having hanging out with Michael again?!
Still no webshots and therefore some photos for your enjoyment in the below link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57315&l=52c50&id=625711049
Until next time I can blog or when I get my act together… all is well and we’re so lucky to have Nanna around!
Love from Shanghai.
