A White 12 Dec 12 for us

A friend of mine wrote this on her FB "Every friggin date happens only "once in a lifetime". That is all". When you come to think of it, that is so true. So, what is so special about this particular day anyway.

Honestly, I do not know. I did not even realize it till I open my FB account while having my routine morning double espresso at Jamaica Blue, this nice, cozy cafe just outside our apartment in Beijing.

But 12.12.12 to us, will have some special albeit small meaning. It was the day when we saw the first sight of snow in Beijing, a place that we have come to call home over a month ago.

The weather has been cold since we first arrived and have dropped rather drastically over the last couple of weeks. Over the last couple of days, the day time temperature has already dropped below 0 and breaching negative 7 or 8 consistently over the last few nights. However, we were told that getting snow in Beijing is becoming rarer and rarer, compared to a decade ago. All this probably due to the over development of this huge city, messing up the eco system and the weather. Yet, we secretly harbored the wish and the hope that we could at least see some while we are here. After all, coming from a tropical county like Malaysia where the only two seasons we have is either dry or wet, seeing snow would really be an experience of a lifetime.

Wife called me on my mobile excitedly when she went out to grab her cab, "Hei..you know what? I think it's snowing ...but very little lar.."

"Ok..."I replied, not sounding particularly excited. I must have imagined that she would probably be `fuming' somewhat that I do not share her level of excitement, but then again, my brain was still half asleep, having to wake up at 7:20 and going through my daily routine of frantically getting Ryan ready before the school van arrives. Getting ready now takes a good extra 25 minutes, considering the layer of clothes that he has to wear and putting on his winter glove sometimes could take 5 to 10 minutes!

As we were walking out, I told Ryan "Mommy said got snow". "SNOW?" he asked excitedly. "Yupe. That is what mommy said. Let's see when we go out."

As we walked out of the main lobby, there they were, small tiny fluffy white snow flakes falling gently from above. As it lands on my face, you can a feel a tiny sensation of chill as they quickly melt by our body warmth.

Ryan was ecstatic. I can not blame him as I was getting equally excited too, having seen the first sight of snow in Beijing for this winter. This is part of the adventure and the experience that we were looking for as we uproot ourselves from the comfort our home in KL. 

The snow grew heavier after I got Ryan onto his school bus. As I sat at my regular cafe, by the window, looking out, I can see the snow growing thicker as heavier, and soon the pavements, the streets and the parked cars turning white, covered by a blanket of fresh snow.

When I took Zoewe out for her morning walk after my coffee, she was so baffled at the sight of these white fluffy `things' falling all around her, so much so, that she literally forgot how to shit or pee. She was just so busy sniffing around and slipping on the slippery pavement. I had to walk her two rounds instead of the normal one to make sure that she get her business done!

12.12.12 would be remembered as the day that we had fun in the snow as a family for the Very first time! When Ryan came back from school, we dressed everybody up in the thickest clothing possible and had a great time, running on the snow covered park in the cold chilling wind. 

Ryan was excited, Chenya was confused, Mommy was happy and Daddy....daddy with his uncovered hands, shivering and taking pictures, but contended that I have at my age, have finally had my experience of playing in the snow ....:)

A New Chapter Begins in Beijing

The phone finally rang at approximately 9pm.

“Hello. I am your pet relocation agent. Your Zoewe has arrived. We are now downstairs at your service apartment.” the voice on the other side of the line said.

“OK OK.” We jumped to change and put on some thick clothing and rushed down to the lobby.

After all, we have been worried sick since she was taken from us 2 days ago by the agent in Malaysia to prepare her for her flight to Hong Kong, then to Shenzhen and from there, ultimately to Beijing, her new home for the next two years.

After all the formalities, there she was, finally with us in the living room, clinging on to us. I guessed she was fearful that she could be taken away again.

With her joining us, our family is now complete in Beijing, our new home for the next two years. The thought is only slowly sinking in that we have left Malaysia for our two years adventure in this land of the Dragon.

Events leading up to this week has been rather dramatic and stressful to say the least. With so much to pack  and not knowing what to pack, the discovery of our maid stealing from us and her sacking at the last hour, just before we proceed to process her visa to China, and arranging for my mother in law to step in for the next three months at least to help out in our new home, have certainly been a contributing factor to the additional few strands of white hair.

 

We thought that we would have little to pack. After all, we are only shifting our master bedroom king size mattress, a sofa bed and a single bed over. How much could that be? Right? WRONG!

Wrong for the two reasons. Firstly, we are shifting with two toddlers. Their clothes, winter clothing, toys, milk powder and diapers have already taken up several boxes.

Secondly, we might be shifting for good. Although we are expected to be here for the next two years, there is every possibility that we might either stay longer or move on to our next destination. Hence, if we do not pack those stuff now, what if we do not come back after two years. And we still have to pack the pots, pans, cutlery, pillows etc over, right? I am not going to spent money buying all these and leave them behind when we leave Beijing.

In the end, the final count was a STAGGERING 113 BOXES! But, we were glad that we got that done. The professional movers were a great motivating factor. They were literally behind our back, pushing us almost every minute to decide what to take and what to leave behind.

We were still packing our luggage just 3 hours before we left for the airport and my wife was so stressed out! Being a meticulous lady and a self claimed perfectionist, this move was ANYTHING but perfect and meticulous so to speak. I thought that at one point in time, she almost burst out in tears and that was when a totally random, careless and last minute guy, yours truly, stood in and took charge. I just told her to pack what she can remember, take it as a adventure, part and parcel of an experience and anything that we have forgotten to pack, we would just either have to make do in Beijing or buy them. After all, we are not moving to the Sahara desert or the interior jungles of the Amazon. We did just that!

We were glad that our flight into Beijing was only half full, and hence, we could have the entire row of seats to ourselves. Ryan was his usual irritating self, switching from games to movies to TV shows on board and wanting attention. Chenya, being her first flight was just as curious and refused to sit still for a good 2 hours!

They finally settled in half way through the flight and slept which gave us all, a time to rest and me, to enjoy my beers and wine.

We are fortunate that we still have the service apartment provided by the company till the 24^th Nov and hence, we do not have to worry about going straight into our rented apartment (although fully furnished) with no pillows and no cutlery. We still have the next 2 weeks to wait for our air shipment to arrive and prepare ourselves to shift into our new apartment.

Ryan will be going to his new school on the 12^th Nov which is next week and I will have to work out my new daily routine, but I am excited of the new uncharted path ahead. It’s not going to be rather that easy for a 50 years old man like me, but nothing is impossible and insurmountable. I am not a perfectionist and neither am I meticulous but I guess that those traits are playing to my advantage now.

To get myself right at home and to help everyone settling in into this new chapter of our lives, I do what I do best….I cooked our very first home cooked meal for dinner. A simple meal of Chicken Drumstick marinated with soy sauce and black pepper, fried with shallots, garlic, ginger slices and broccoli....that is the least I could do at this moment in time....

Chenya is ONE TODAY!

Yupe. Chenya turns ONE today!

Time flies. It was like yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting her arrival and then went through the one month of confinement with the confinement lady from hell and now she is ONE.

She is definitely a fast learner, with minimal patience and always know how to get what she wants. She plays guns and not dolls. She climbs and seemingly not afraid of anything at this point in time.

We miss her since we could not celebrate her birthday with her as both of us are now in Atlanta USA. Mommy's company normally has a meeting in USA around July every year and it looks like there is a likely chance that we might miss celebrating her birthday every year .....sigh....

Anyway, just happy that this little princess of ours is turning ONE and we could not wait to get home and cuddle her because we miss her and Ryan so much....

Chenya at 11 months ...going on ONE

Time certainly does fly. Before we realize it, Chenya is now 11 months and turning to one this month. I can still remember blogging about the nightmare confinement lady we had and the trauma she put us through. It was just like yesterday. Children do grow up pretty fast nowadays and before too long, they will be off from the nest doing their own things, leaving behind us, the old folks trying hard to hang on to the wonderful and sweet memories we had with them when they were babies and toddlers, with our ever failing memory...

Chenya at the Loft, Bangsar Village, getting ready to order her food ....

Herein, lies the whole objective of this blog, to pen down as much as I could of the sweet moments I have with them and what I am experiencing now, so that I could always read back should my memory fails me when I grow a little senile in my old age....

So, how has Chenya grown in the past 11 months....

Physically, Chenya is definitely taller than Ryan when Ryan was 11 months old. We got a feeling that Chenya will take after me and would definitely be taller as compared to Ryan who is taking after her mommy who is ....emmmm....(need I state the obvious).

She was crawling all the house when she was barely 8 months old. By 9 months she was already attempting to stand up, the moment she grab hold of any support. By 10 months, she was already taking her first few steps. Today, she can walk unaided for quite a distance and is already climbing or trying to climb sofas and chairs at home without a single indication of fear....

She finally got her first front teeth last month, much later than Ryan. Her favorite toys are pretty much what Ryan is playing, which unfortunately turns out to be guns and swords. We have given her a nick name at home whenever she brandish her kor kor guns at home....Lara Croft!

Our very own Lara Croft ....

Unlike Ryan whose first few words uttered were daddy and mommy, her first few words were `nen nen' (milk) and 'ta ta ta ta' (beat beat) - I am not sure what and who she wants to beat initially, but now, whenever she gets hold of Ryan's swords, she will be 'ta ta ta' ing all over the house. Her grandma managed to teach her to say 'bird bird' when she brought her out to the park last month.

And one more thing, she whistles. Yupe. I was whistling in front of her one day and she was putting her lips together but nothing came out from it. One night a couple of days later, while we were about to sleep, I heard someone attempting to whistle on the bed. I thought it was Ryan but to our to surprise, it was Chenya and when we looked at her, she was giggling cheekily ....

From her character perspective, she definitely has a temper and patience is certainly NOT her virtue. We are still debating as to whom she has picked that up from...

And lastly, we discovered yesterday, that she certainly loves to eat. We were at the Loft Bangsar Village and while we were eating, she was making so much noise that she wanted some too. When we fed her with some bread crumbs, she was so so happy and was laughing out loud everything we gave her a piece. And the love to eat, certainly comes from the mommy .....

Unlike Ryan who is extra friendly, Chenya is the complete opposite. Ryan can be carried by almost anyone and till today, he can initiate and hold a conversation with a complete stranger. On the other hand, Chenya will yell at the top of her lungs if a stranger touches her ....(but then again, she is still a lady ain't she).....

Girlie ! Girlie !

Chenya is almost like a tomboy at this stage. She is more active and curious than Ryan at his age. As I have mentioned before, she is constantly on the move, climbing everything that she can hang on to....

So, mommy afraid that she would turn out to be more tomboyish, started to teach her to act more feminine like.

So, now every time, mommy said "Chenya, girlie, girlie..." ..

.... this is how she would act and pose .....

But don't be easily fooled that she is all feminine and gentle .....

She can easily turned into this as well .....

This is definitely not a lady that you want to fool around with .......hahahahaha

Have a good weekend ahead...my dear friends and readers....and TQ for dropping by ....

You must be kidding me...every TWO HOURS?

I am like a zombie while updating this post this morning. I hardly had a good night rest last night. I have been waking up every 2 hours to prepare milk since 2:30pm.

Being an old man like myself, I need time to get back to sleep once I am awaken in the middle of the night. And last night, every time, when I was just about to doze back to my la la land to continue my pursue of some beautiful bikini clad babes on some gorgeous white fine sandy beaches, I had to wake up again to prepare `nen nen'...(milk)....

I am having a headache and I could hardly keep my eyes opened.

And before you go ...."ooo...baby Chenya still wake up so many times for her night feed meh?" ....

No!...It is not baby Chenya. She slept like a log from 10:30pm all the way till 5pm before she had her one and only feed and that sometimes, she sleeps through.

Yes. You are right. It is my dear prince, RYAN! He used to able to sleep through the night with an occasional one additional feed when Chenya wanted her milk.

Picture of my prince having an early celebration of his 4th birthday at KL Hilton over the weekend.......

But for reason unknown, for the past couple of nights, he has asked for more frequent night feed. And the worst for last night. I literally ran out of clean bottles. He has four bottles, three of which we keep in the bedroom and one in the kitchen.

We gave him 4oz at around 11pm to get him to sleep. He can not sleep without his milk and his bolster. At 2:30am, he got up and wanted another round. I got up (I just managed to doze off at 2am actually) and made him 6oz. He finished it in 10 minutes and passed me back the empty bottle.

I thought that was it and turned over to catch up with my slumber. Just as I was enjoying my dream, he woke up and asked for his second feed. I thought it was close to 6:00am. One look at the alarm clock showed only 4:15am! I got up and made him another 6oz and passed it to him. Just as I pulled my blanket over, Chenya woke up hungry. I thought to myself, this is going to be a long night.

Wifey got up to pick her up from her baby cot while I prepare her bottle of breast milk. Because the breast milk is cold, I had to warm it up and that took 15 minutes, which seemed like forever, when you were sleep deprived. Finally, got that done and as wifey was feeding Chenya, I dozed off. I thought I would have a good 3 hours sleep till morning.

Did I get that? No! Ryan got up AGAIN at 6am and wanted his third round ..and I have used up all the bottles in the room. I had to staggered  downstairs, look for the bottle, prepare the milk and stumbled back upstairs and gave it to him. This time, I made him 7.5oz and he finished it again in 10 minutes. He passed me back the bottle and asked me to pat him to sleep. Arrrrggghhhhh......

I really do not remember what time I went back to sleep. All I remembered is Ryan calling me to wake up at 8am because he has a Science Camp this morning at his day care center....

This is going to be a long day .........I have just finished my first shot of double espresso and I think I need another shot to jump start my engine ....

Sooner or Later ....

Well, this is going to happen sooner or later anyway ....

When I got home from work last week, the moment I opened the door, my MIL (mother in law) who has been staying with us for the last 2 weeks to help watch over our new pinay maid, complained to me that Ryan has whacked his sister with a toy on the head!

I went over to Chenya and discovered a red line on her forehead! Heartache! She was fine but gave me one of her `manja' look. (but then again, she always give me her manja look because she knows she can get away from almost anything with that look...so far that is)

I went over to Ryan, whom by this time was sitting quietly in one corner of our L-shape sofa, with his very guilty 'I am sorry' look.

"Did you hit mei mei?" I roared ....

"Yes ..." barely a whisper..

"I did not hear you. Did you hit mei mei?" I repeated.

"Yes ..." he replied ..and immediately followed with his standard `getting out of trouble' phrase ..."I am sorry ...I am sorry daddy."

"Why? Why did you hit mei mei?" I asked..

He kept quiet .....

"Why? Why did you hit her?" 

Another moment of silence. He looked at me with his guilty and apologetic eyes. But then, what answer was I expecting anyway. "Because I hated her.." or "Because I was naughty.." It then dawned to me that in my anger, I have not been constructive in correcting his mistake. I am asking him questions that I would obviously not get any satisfactory answers....

Without getting an answer to the `Why?" .... I rephrased my questions ....

"Do you know it is painful to hit mei mei ...?"

"Yes....." he replied ...

"Do you want to hit mei mei again?" I asked

"No daddy ...I'm sorry daddy...I am really sorry ..." he answered ...

"Is it right or wrong to hit mei mei then? " I asked ...

"Wrong ...I am sorry." he continued...

With that I gave him a hug and told him that he should be protecting his sister and not hitting her. He is his BIG brother and BIG brother don't hit their sister.

I knew that this is going to happen sooner or later anyway when they played together as they grow up and as long as it accidental and he is constantly reminded that he is the elder brother who has to watch out for his little sister and as long as he continues to demonstrate his love (like he always did), I would take this as part of the excitement, pain and experience of growing up together.

I wonder whether my sisters remembered me whacking them when we were growing up together ....emmmm....

Lara Croft in the making ....

Chenya is one super hyper active girl. She is crawling faster than his brother at his age. She is more agile than her brother at this age. We don't remember Ryan climbing sofas, chairs and TV cabinets when he was 10 months old. We did not have to keep any of the decorative items we so proudly display on our low TV cabinet. But with Chenya, we have to watch over her all the time. You never know where she will be the moment she is put on the floor.

She is inheriting all the toys from her kor kor and obviously there are either cars, aeroplanes, Ultramans, dinosours and guns ! Yupe, plenty of guns!

This is our young Lara Croft this morning. I would not mind if she grows to be kick ass sexy, beautiful, talented, resourceful, intelligent, super rich and equally deadly with her hands and feet, brandishing two guns with ease just like Angelina Jolie is ...Hahahahaha

We were shopping the other day and it suddenly dawned on mommy that Chenya does not really have a set of feminine toy of her own. So, we went ahead and bought a full set of what else ...`masak masak' ....(but I think she still prefers the guns ....slap head !). I think I better child proof Zoewe, our toy poodle before Chenya uses her as target practice or her punching bag.

Clap Clap Clap ....:)

16th April 2012
Chenya is almost nine months old now. She is one cheerful baby and it has been such a joy just playing and looking at her. As compared to Ryan when he was younger, it is definitely easier to handle her. Probably the fact that Chenya is a full term baby as compared to Ryan who was born pre-maturely has something to do with it. It is definitely much easier to feed her.

In fact, she is consuming 6 to 7 oz of breast milk every 3 to 4 hours as compared to Ryan who is still consuming only 6 oz every feed NOW (besides his normal solid meals).

We have already started Chenya on solids 3 months ago and she is taking rice cereals mixed with breast milk and a combination of different fruits and vegetables such as pumpkins, peach, apples and pears.

Making faces is one of her favourite past time and we had such a wonderful time laughing at all the types of faces she made.

And we discovered just a day ago, when she has learnt how to clap and laughed cheekily at the same time whenever she is happy and excited. The feeling is totally out of this world ....simply awesome ...another milestone to be captured and to be remembered by .....

Fever at 38.3

Yupe. That was Chenya's temperature this morning when we took her to her paed. She has been feeling a little unwell for about a week already with a running nose which got worse last 2 nights and a cough, resulting in none of us having a good night rest since her nose was so badly blocked.

Diagnosis is that her nose is blocked and compounded with an infected throat and hence the fever. She has lost 0.2 kg since but apart from that she is still one happy baby, constantly wanting to grab his brother's toys to play.

Ryan is also having a running nose (God, can't really remember the day that he is not having one). Since he was at clinic, we got the paed to have a look at him too.

Final bill for the two of them came to a whopping RM270! Raising children nowadays is a very expensive affair.

At 8 months old, Chenya is very busy babbling her baby language, mimicking our actions and sounds, has started crawling all over the place and since 2 days ago, attempting to stand the moment she can grab hold on something to support herself.

She loves to play with Ryan and absolutely adores him and will smiled and laughed cheekily everything Ryan teases her. Ryan on the other hand, adores her little sister and constantly strokes her face and head and said that he `sayang' his sister except when it comes to sharing his toys ....hahahaha

She is now on solid and absolutely loves peach, pumpkin and pears but apparently has developed an allergy to bananas.

Managed to grab some pictures of her 2 days ago and she is one cute princess..