MILESTONE: Jayden: Turning 4.. 22nd December 2014

Dear Jayden,

I know that having a birthday and Turning 4 is a big deal, especially because it only comes round once a year! Tonight you layed in bed and was very excitedly anticipating your Big day tomorrow.. Up till about around 10pm.. It was to the point where I had to tell you off and threaten you to Go To Sleep that you acquiesced...

This past year has simply flown by, and I can't believe how fast you, my little boy is growing up and maturing. When we ask you how old you were, you held 3 fingers up and proudly announced that you were '3 years old!' with a big smile.. Well that's going to have to change from tomorrow onwards. We particularly cherish some memories.. of you asking daddy if he was '4 years old'.. of you getting so angry and panicked and sad when mummy tells you not to grow up.. Of you so proudly welcoming your sister into our little family, (and also getting very angry at people asking if they can take her home away from you)... Of your developing sense of humour - you laughing at the most unexpected things, declaring 'that's so funny mummy!!'..

Most of all we've seen you grow both taller and wiser. You have such a big heart and a fierce love for your family, and we are so so proud to be your mummy and daddy, and thank God every day for you. We pray that you will continue to grow in the year ahead - physically, mentally and spiritually. Oh, and enjoy Kindy!!!

I know there are many years of challenges and life ahead, but for now..
Happy Birthday my little man!!! We hope you enjoy tomorrow.

Love,
Mummy and Daddy

MILESTONE: Kayla: First solid food.. Thursday, 18th December 2014

#singaporetrip2014

Won't say much, but will let the video talking.
We decided to start her on solids today, and in the video my mum is feeding her applesauce.
Josh, this is for you..

MILESTONE: Kayla: Rolling over! Sunday, 14th December 2014

#Singaporetrip2014

And no.. I missed it!! 

It was around 9.30am in the morning and I was getting the kids ready for church. I laid her down on the bed and went to get her bath ready. As I filled the tub with water I could hear her crying and making all sorts of noises (do babies shout?) so I went back into the room to investigate and found her lying on her stomach!! 

I tried putting her on her back and videoing her after for a good 2 minutes in hopes that she would repeat it to no avail!

Good news is I managed to get shots of her immediately after the event. Naturally after cheering her on  and saying loads of things like 'YAY!!!' and 'good girl!!!' I think she looks mighty pleased with herself here, at 5 months 11 days in Singapore just after turning over by herself for the first time!

'Where's dat Mozzie??!!!'

Recently, Jayden has taken quite a liking to swatting bugs. Coincidentally it's nearing summer so there are an increasing number around lately. Today after spotting one we saw him perform a flying kungfu type move by jumping off a chair and swatting the air with my trusty fly swatter, all the while yelling 'where's dat mozzie!!! I'm gonna GETCHA!!!' 

Reminds me so much of myself. I've been known to do that very same move. Once it was nearly 2am and I couldn't sleep because of this pesky mozzie which kept on biting my ankles and feet. Let me tell you, aside from stepping on Lego, this is the absolute WORST thing - itchy ankles!!! I finally had it, turned on the light, jumped up and grabbed my swatter, all the while muttering 'I'm gonna kill that mozzie.. Where's dat mozzie.. I'm gonna get him...' The itching drove me mad!!! Well I spotted that stupid mozzie on the ceiling, so I did the most logical thing.. stood on my bed, stepped (accidentally) on Josh and SMACK!!! Ahh the satisfaction.

I don't know how Jayden was awake at 2am to hear me mutter.. I don't even think he was born yet. But when Josh saw him oh did it bring back the memory of waking up to his slightly deranged wife who in order to get to a mozzie, stepped on him and woke him up... 

All I can say is.. Oooh Yeeaah!! Let those mozzies come!!! 

Bath time for Kayla

At 2.5 months old, she is starting to respond to you when you talk to her.. She actually gurgles back sometimes. She especially loves it when you sing to her. But what she loves most... Is bath time. 

Yes, my baby girl enjoys her bath. Every time we put her in the water it is smiles, happy gurgles and pure, unadulterated baby joy all around, you can literally see her facial expression, and it is the exact same one that I wear whenever I go for a massage or a facial. Yes, pure bliss. Enough said, I will let the pictures do the talking..

The various outfits of my baby girl from birth to nearly 3 months..

Kayla is now nearly 3 months old, and I've recently started dressing her up.. I've come to realise that dressing Kayla is nearly equal to playing dress up with a doll. Make that a real living doll which pees and poos. This is totally uncharted territory for me as i am really not into dress up - my ideal outfit is a black singlet and old denim shorts. So I've tried taking pictures of Kayla's various outfits (what I've tried to mesh together anyway).

This is her in her first ever outfit... She was about a month and a half old before I started to dress her.. She basically lived in onesies up till then, mainly because she was in this tight flexed position which made wearing tights impossible.

This is her in her first dress..

Her in a onesie... Ok snowsuit.. How small is she..

We had a wedding on September 6th and this is what she wore... an Ella dress with a headband. She was already grumpy when I put the dress on, but lost it completely when I tried to put the headband.. It was hilarious

When my sister in law came to visit she bought Kayla a gorgeous sweater and pants from seed. Granted she can't yet fit the pants, but the sweater is just right. She wore this on Fathers Day Sept 14 to church. 

Since then, she has worn a number of different outfits, including this one from her brother's wardrobe.

On a side note, she had a professional photoshoot at 5weeks old. What a cutie. On one hand I cannot believe I did this, but on the other am so glad I did. 

My mum has left...

My mum left after 3 weeks of being with us. I will admit I sunk into some depression after I saw her plane take off. It definitely did not help that Kayla cried the ENTIRE way to the shops, AT the shops, and on the way home, non stop after the airport. Did I mention that I live a good half hour away from the airport?

It made me appreciate my mum more. When she was here she picked up Kayla every chance she got, changed her nappies, cooked for me, did dishes, took us shopping (a lot of shopping!!) , spoilt all of us, played with Jayden and generally just made life that much easier.

Thanks Ma! You are the best mother and grandmother, and my role model to model my parenting and life upon. You are always there for us and Jayden, Darren and Kayla are very blessed to have you as their grandma. We love you very much. Come back and visit soon, and we will also see you in Singapore! 

What a Beautiful Day

Jayden has had an ear infection this week. It gets a lot worse at night, to the point where he is woken up from sleep and clutches his ear and just moans and cries. As a parent it is so hard watching him go through that much pain, and Josh even sacrificed sleep and too him to the hospital in the middle of the night, getting home at 2am.

So anyway, after a week of cold, cold and more cold (even my carpet was freezing cold), that front finally passed and it has been pretty nice weather these past few days. It was awesomely sunny today, and he (and I) were going stir crazy cooped up at home, so I decided to take us to the park.

'We're going on a bear hunt

We're gonna catch a big one!

I not scared! I'm not scared!

What a beautiful day'

And what a beautiful day it was. These pictures are captured by my trusty iPhone and unedited so the quality isn't that great.. But I guess it will have to do.

On a side note, Kayla is still jaundiced, and she is now a month old. It is worrying, so she is going in for a blood test tomorrow. So I thought it would be good for some 'phototherapy' ie exposure to some sun. In case people are disapproving, it was cold and the sun was not scorching, and I only put her in this position for less than 10 minutes... 

Letters to my Darlings

Dear Kayla,
You are about 20 days old today. The midwife has just left, and now you weigh about 3.42kg.. nearly up to your brother's birth weight of 3.49kg (but not quite yet, still very very little).

I have to say, you are vastly different from your brother at this stage of his life. He was a hungry baby that seemed to wake up routinely every 2-3 hours, throughout both day and night, for the first 3-6 months of his life. You, on the other hand, have gotten into a routine whereby you sleep at 3-4 hours a stretch at night, but stay awake in the mornings between 8/9am up till 1/2pm.. then you pretty much sleep the other 21++ hours away.

Your day routine is as follows (like today):
9am - 1.30pm -  You wake up and feed sporadically (every 1/2 hours) until you get full.
1.30pm - 5pm - Nap
5pm/6pm - 7pm/8pm - Wake up and feed as much as you can
8/9pm - 12am - Sleep
12am - 12.30am - Feed and nappy change
12.30am - 3.30/4am - Sleep
3.30am - 4.00am - Feed and Nappy Change
4.00am - 7am - Sleep
7am - 7.30am - Feed and Nappy Change
7.30am - 9am - Sleep

Such a placid, sweet and serene baby. So amazing. Mummy and Daddy still cannot believe that you are ours, and we love you to the moon and back. Your big brother loves giving you multiple kisses and cuddles, and the occasional head knock (yes we tell him off). Anyway we love seeing you growing bit by bit.. the midwife even commented on how much you've grown and that your starting to get chubby arms! =)

Love,
Mummy



Dear Jayden,

You are exactly 3 and a half years old now (well, yesterday).

I have to say, you are coping so very well with the addition of Kayla. You swell up with pride everytime someone mentions that you are a 'kor kor' or a big brother now or that you have a little sister. You also tell me how when Kayla gets bigger you will teach her to fire a nerf gun, and play with your lego, and even build paper aeroplanes and fly them together, and it makes me want to reach out and give you a big hug and never ever let you go. I know it cant be easy not being the centre of attention anymore, but you make me so proud about how you react and how you love her.

You tell me multiple times a day how you love Kayla, and stop me when im feeding her or whenever you can to give her hugs, cuddles and kisses. Sometimes its annoying but you know what - I love seeing you love her. You are growing and maturing into this fully amazing kid with such a good sense of humour that I can actually hold a conversation with. It never ceases to amaze me how much you KNOW, and how much you REMEMBER.

Which brings me to my next (unrelated) point, never EVER grow up. When I jokingly tell you that you can never grow up and must always be my baby, you start frowning and very panicky/angrily tell me "NO I want to grow up mummy!!" So you can drink coke. So you can have coffee with Ah Ye when you get older. So you can call me "Mum" instead of "Mummy". Such wisdom in your words. Soon you will grow up and I think i will be clutching at your baby clothes and crying. But i know you need to.

You're amazing and it is such a privilege to be your mum.
I love you.

Love,
Mummy (Yes still Mummy, not Mum).
(Mummy FOREVER not mum).

The Birth

Wow was I spot on... Anyway since I last blogged 2 weeks ago, we are happy and excited to announce the arrival of our dearest baby girl, Kayla Annie Pak (Chinese name still undecided as of yet), born on 3rd July 2014, weighing 2.81kg and 47cm long. 

Josh chose the name Kayla - it's a name he has loved for a long time - I mean if Jayden was a girl that's what his name was going to be. I chose the name Annie, after my dear grandmother (her great-grandmother) who practical raised me, and whom we will see in Singapore very soon! 

The night before, I had gone for a late night dessert outing to San Churros with my sisters, especially with Sam who had flown in for the birth, and actually got pulled over by the cops on my way home to do a breathalyser!! Yes at 39weeks pregnant!! 

Here is the full story of the birth..

Anyway, later that night, around 3-4am I woke up feeling the contractions starting. I rolled over and told Josh, who then promptly mumbled something and went back to sleep. Half an hour later, they were still coming, pain scale was prolly 2-3/10, but I thought I'd better properly wake Josh up. he proceeded to flip out, his first words being 'why didn't you tell me before!!!', before leaping out of bed, sending a bunch of emails, and packing. 

My response? Well I think I was still in denial.. I very calmly told him that I didn't think the baby was coming today and he should just go to work. Famous last words right?? 

He laughed at me and said fine, to call him if anything changed..

I even rang the midwife who told me that if the contractions didn't stop or the pain got more unbearable, I should ring them back immediately. 

Come 9.30am and the pain was now 5-6/10, so I rang my midwife who told me she would meet me at the hospital, so I packed my bag and made arrangements for Jayden and my mother-in-law drove me to the hospital at 10.45am. There the midwife said I was on the cusp (what does that even mean!!!!) and was undecided about sending me back home.. Well I gotta tell you the pain was about 7/10 so I opted to just stay there and she would check on me back at 4pm. She also loaded me up with paracetamol which she said would take the edge off, but if I were truly in labour it would not stop the pain, and contractions. 

Well despite the pain, I was still in denial, and really didn't want to bother Josh at work, so my mil stayed with me and we watched the tennis (go krygios!!!) together. And guess what the meds did not work, by 3pm I was 4cm dilated and the contractions were coming fast and strong. Finally accepting that the kid was coming I got transferred to the delivery room (which was really nice) and with a sigh of acceptance told Josh to come on down to the hospital.

After he came I had my epidural (aka magic heavenly sent needle) and I was able to rest for a few hours before the pushing started, which, I could feel without the pain. Heavenly I tell you!! And, finally, at precisely 7.55pm she came into the world.

The first night, I held her from 1am to 5am nonstop because she kept crying when I put her down. Welcome to the world my precious daughter.

This birth was so much better than my first, and it was so much easier, despite still having a second degree tear. I was able to be discharged at 11am the next day to the comfort of my home. 

This was her birth story. 

Deja Vu

I've sort of been in denial about when Baby Girl will arrive. I must admit, I love my current state of maternity life.. Which involves having a long nap in the afternoon (when Jayden sleeps which is normally 3 out of 4 afternoons) and going to bed at 8pm and lots of TV and relaxation.

I am not looking forward to having a newborn again, not even kidding, just imagine the next 3-6 months being equal to 1 long day, a day that never ends, with just brief rests in between.

The week before Jayden arrived we had a massive week of rain and storms.. Resulting in my roof leaking and Josh having to get up there and fix the patches. 

Well, the same thing happened last night! A severe weather warning was issued for the rest of the week and big gale force winds are predicted. We woke up to the roof leaking (in the same spot), and Josh had to take a day off to fix it. That's our floor at the moment, full of buckets, and towels.

Thank God for a handy and fit husband. 

Guess I'd better get my hospital bag packed.

Quick Update

It is now approaching mid June, and yes I have not blogged for awhile, but in my defense I have been busy.

Since my last post:
1. I have officially finished Sem 1, 2014 and the first half of 3rd year physiotherapy, completing Acute Care and Rehab modules (Whoo Hoo!!)

2. I am now 36weeks+2days pregnant. Little one is due anytime after this sunday... (but preferably on 7/7/2014).

3. I am on 'maternity' leave/ uni holidays now, which will last till october where I will undergo another 5 weeks of pain sciences (another subject).

4. We have (finally!) decided on a tentative name for our little girl. #whyisitsohardtoagree

So what have I been doing with myself?
Lets just say that the Nesting Instinct has kicked in, big time. In between my time with Jayden, I have been desperately trying to clean, arrange, rearrange every room in my house. I mean, every tiny little thing. I am no where near done and it is so frustrating when I think about the amount of work that needs to be done.

Its hard because other than Mondays and Fridays where he goes to childcare, Jayden is with me 24/7, and it is just impossible to get ANYTHING done when he is around. In fact as I am typing this my house looks like a tiny Jayden-size bomb has exploded and I am trying to curb my frustration in.

Anyway I hope to get the whole house done soon, and will post up piccies!!
Also, try asking a pregnant, hormonal woman to get rid of Jayden's old clothes.. a monumental task seeing that his things have been piling up since his birth and I now have 4 large 60L storage boxes bursting to the brim with his used clothes I need to sort... and give away...

Josh's Barber Shop

It's safe to say that after my last hair cutting fiasco, that haircuts in this household have been delegated to Josh.

I think I must have the most amazing, capable, trustworthy, handy husband around. Next to him, I'm like, useless. Not only is he kind and patient with Jayden, he is good at everything he tries - be it sports, to making a potato gun, to housework and cooking.. And now haircuts. Even on his own head.

This is how we've set up: a good movie Ice-Age, a seat in the bath tub and Jayden completely starkers, facing the screen..

The aftershot... (Yes josh shaved his own head yesterday).

'Smile Daddy!!!'

And another, just because Josh wouldn't crack a smile.

Basketball at the park with Dad

I actually bought the basketball from Kmart when Jayden was about.. 8-9months old. Early I know but in my defence, it was on special for something ridiculous. It was too big for him then but it was so cute to watch his little hands and feet try and roll the ball.  

On Thursday night he had a sleepover at Mums, as we went to the Stamford Grand for another precious Anniversary Night, so we were somewhat missing our little munchkin. (Yes it was only 1 NIGHT!! But after hearing about how he miserably howled at his grandmother "I lost my mummy tonight" and talking to him on the phone for 2 minutes, where he proceeded to tell me how much he loved me, it was heartwrenching!!)
So on Friday Josh took the day off, and we decided to pick him up from Emali early to just spend sometime with him. We took him to the park behind our house to play some basketball.

His hand-eye coordination is getting better. Now he can effectively bounce the ball but often neglects to use his left hand.

Here's him sitting on Daddy's ball, which is significantly bigger than his own bright orange basketball.

When he tries to make a shot he just throws the ball into the air and runs away, hoping it doesn't hit him on the head on the way down. Its hilarious to watch. I must say, it is so good seeing Daddy play. He's not too shabby himself.

Baby Pak

So... keeping up with my updating my little flailing blog.. we had a morphology scan on Valentines Day (around 20 weeks pregnant).. I was hoping to find out the sex of our baby but with our experience with Jayden the last time (he was too overly active - we had to wait till he was born) I didnt have much hope.

Like Jayden, this one kept on turning.. and moving.. and tossing around.. the scan was quite a detailed one, and the sonographer had to take a whole heap of photographs of the baby. Well, surprise surprise, baby moved so much that one point the poor frustrated sonographer exclaimed "My goodness, will this baby stop moving!!" 

Ah well, lets just say I was mortified and yet secretly proud of Baby.

Towards the end of the scan (around the 1 and half hour mark - yes because it took thaaat long for sufficient pictures to be taken) I asked the anticipated question... "Do we know the sex?" With that this long-suffering lady embarked on another 15minute search 'down there',  only to conclude that she thought it was a girl but couldnt be sure. So, she got her supervisor in to take a closer look. Her supervisor after peering at the image, then goes "Congratulations, I'm 90% sure its a girl."

Stunned silence. 

"A baby girl?!! What will I do with a baby girl?? I dont have any fashion sense, can't braid my own hair, and from what I've heard about girls, they are harder to raise.." Well, and its no secret that Josh wanted another boy. His reaction was about the same as mine ' stunned silence followed by "well this is INTERESTING..." ha ha..

Well, so.. we are 90% sure that we are have a Baby Girl. Here she is - my gorgeous child anyway, and we will look forward to this adventure together.   

To my baby princess.. 

I know Daddy and myself weren't really expecting to have a girl, and we still don't really know what to expect, as long as you are happy and healthy, we will be happy. You certainly kick and move alot, not much more than your brother!  The difference was to me, that when that nice lady was poking and prodding you, you didnt react as fervently/indignantly as he did. But you waited, and was patient. Only after about 6-8 hard prods did you react and kick out, and even then it felt different, more like "okay i dont like this, please stop!!" instead of "STOP poking me!!" Well right now Mummy is at 24 weeks - only about 3 more months to go before we see you face-to-face, but this we can tell you now - we love you already.

Love,

Mummy and Daddy

Happy (really belated) Birthday to my Baby Boy!!!!

I know this post is really late, but before I could blink summer holidays were over, uni started in February and it was intensive - literally 9am -5pm, 5 days a week, and a whole lot of study after hours for pre-clinicals, which is why I have not had the time to blog. Well, its now midway into my first clinical placement - I've finally raised my eyes and looked away from my study-worries and now I cant believe its nearly April!!!

So here goes...

Happy Birthday to my darling baby boy..
You have seriously grown so much!! Mummy and Daddy have had the awesome privilege of being able to witness you grow physically and mentally. You are maturing into such a sensitive, caring little boy. Yes I said 'little' and 'baby' because no matter how much you protest and tell me that "I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a big boy now mummy', you will always be my first-born baby.

I love how you laugh, and play with your play-dough and paints. I love how gentle you are with the babies around you, and how you profess your love for your coming baby. I love how you love rough-housing around with Daddy and how cheeky you are, especially when it comes to throwing your soft toys at Daddy's face and anticipating his reaction and running away.. I love your smile and how you always greet me with "HIIIII MUMMY!!!" when you come home from Emali or Ah Ma's house.

I secretly love how you come into our bed in the earliest times each morning and snuggle with us (dont tell Daddy). I also secretly love your independence, strong will and how you assert yourself.

You are amazing, and we love everything about you.
Here's to another wonder-filled year ahead.

Love,
Mum and Dad

So anyway, this year was special because we were able to celebrate his actual birthday in Singapore with my family.. and my mum planned a party and ordered a cake.. here it is..




When we returned to Adelaide, I organised a small party for his friends sometime in February.. This was the waterbomb game.. I what a good sport he was, even when a whole bucket of water was poured on him ha ha (I was half-expecting tears).  

Daddy waterbombing (mummy)


and then showing Jayden how to do it.


Mummy throwing back..

Time for Cake: (Yes I made the cake (from a box), yes the other one cannot compare (hah):


I think he was happy.. and so were we. Thank you to all his friends for coming and helping him celebrate.. it was amazing - you guys all are.

Here's to this year ahead!!

'Can I hear your heart Mummy?'

Jayden has been having trouble sleeping lately. Every single night without fail, he just has to 'go to the toilet' at least twice after we have turned his lights out. Afterwhich, he lies in his bed and begs for his mummy or daddy to 'come sleep with me for a little bit only' then screams when we try to dismantle ourselves from his frantic toddler grip.

It is incredibly frustrating. Especially when I have to juggle housework, uni work not to mention pregnancy tiredness. Sometimes I just end up screaming. At him. 'GO TO SLEEP NOW!!! I MEAN IT!!!!!' x1000000.. You get the picture... And it's not pretty.

Tonight was no different. I caught Jayden out of his bed and in the corridor about 15 mins after we put him down, and was just about ready to unleash the mummy fury, when he looked at me, smiled and said,

 'Can I hear your heart mummy?'

My heart melted.

I nodded, and he lit up.

i then allowed him to take my hand and lead me to his room.

Looking deep into his eyes, I was struck by how much my baby has grown.

I embraced his still-yet-not-so chubby hands and wrapped him in my embrace, placing his ear on my chest.

'Can you hear my heart?'

He nodded and smiled.

Happy Australia Day!!!!!

I love Australia Day. 

It's the only public holiday that is legitimately celebrated by having a Barbie on what is usually a stinking hot day outdoors. I made a cob, and there was potato salad, fruit, sausages, rissoles, patties... and lots of lamb. 

This year we decided to have a small family BBQ lunch at our place, with a couple of Jayden's close friends, just because a BBQ is made even better with friends, a sandpit and a wading pool.

The boys had to be hosed down after..

The aftermath.

We ate our fill then lazed around watching tv. 

Truly one of the most relaxing days of 2014 yet.

Playing with play-doh

Jayden has started to get really interested in playing with play-doh lately. I have observed that he can spend hours just sitting by himself and playing with it.. Which is a huge win for me, because not only is he doing something educational/gaining fine motor skills, it leaves me free to watch tv.. I mean tidy/cook lunch. 

So at the toy library today he immediately walks in, takes one look around, and spots the play doh toys.. Which we borrowed. 

It even came with a recipe for playdoh!! 

Which of course, we had to try..

The result??

Hours of fun for one very happy kid!! And a whole ton of home play-doh!! Be warned - this may get very messy!! At one point, he actually looked down at the floor and exclaimed 'LOOK AT ALL THIS MESS MUMMY!!' (Yes we run a tight ship around here) and Josh was horrified when I sent him a picture of the mess, but it was so much fun and in the end everything got tidied up again before he got home (though he did feel the need to re-vacuum the floor)..

We are definitely doing this again soon!