Papa wants to sleep

Polly still wakes up every 2-3 hours, and sometimes cries when she's still awake after nursing and placed in her own cot. I hope to wean her down to 1-2 feeds at night (so we get more sleep), but that's sometime later this holidays. Meanwhile, she gets on Papa's poor nerves every now and then. Last night was hilarious in its own way. I had been for a long time gently trying to coax and comfort the wailing Polly going "mum-mum, mum-mum, mama, mama....", and saying in a soothing but firm voice "time to sleep Polly"--to no success. Then, out of the darkness--"Lie down, Polly!"--a scramble for her pillow, and peaceful sleep for all... till the next feed.

Seaweed Sisters

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You might never have guessed just by looking at these pics that they were taken right before bath and bed time. Pepe and Polly were a frightful mess, and still in high spirits, listening to a spirited Christmas carol (sung by the Toronto Children's Choir) and munching on plain roasted seaweed, and requesting several times for more. I happily obliged to indulge as this was the first time in a few days Polly was SO enthusiastic about food.

Pepe and Polly November 2008

(Ikea at Alexandra, one morning with mama)
Pepe said:
- (Papa asked if she would like to go hunting for ice-cream with him) I don't want to eat ice-cream because if I eat more ice-cream I will get fatter. Hahahahaha...
- (in response to sweet potato) ooh.. I'm bursting with delightness!
- (looking at meimei's bottom during bath time) eeyugh, smelly backsidey! (to laughter from meimei)
- Look at che che, mei mei, this is how you should eat
- Oh, what a sweet mama you are



Pepe loves:
- playing doll house, camping, picnic, playing with "friends" (stuffed toys)
- reading still (finished the whole of a children's retelling of Pilgrim's Progress today in three sittings)
- drawing, painting ("I'm proud of the picture I painted.")
- having us tell her new stories (Papa's Percy the Dragon series was and is still a great hit)
- helping mama to mix stuff for baking
- food in general, and I've finally gotten her to like soya bean milk, raw carrots and even the occasional raw cucumber!--ok, with a bit of soy dipping sauce)
- snuggling up
- nursing no longer (she officially weaned herself this week--without a single tear; she sort of forgot how to nurse and said she was a big girl now)

Polly likes:
- Che-che Pepe (and spoonfeeding her soup repeatedly during bathtime, and hearing "um, delicious.")
- playing cooking
- reading several of her favourite books (Night Cars, Policeman Small and Papa Small, Cleo the Cat, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?, This is not my kitten, and lift-the-flap books)
- strawberries, oranges, apples, Cheerios, breadsticks, some cheese, juice, raisins, chwee kueh (steamed rice cake?), seaweed (plain roasted, or the Pu Tien variety), chicken (there are days she seems to eat nothing much else besides finger chicken--roasted, boiled, fried...); spoonfeeding herself a very little bit of food quite successfully
- watching video (she gets so little of this--about 10-15 min a day of Postman Pat, or Peter Rabbit, or Curious George--we don't even have a tv at home and plan to keep it that way)--today she was exhibiting many appropriate emotions while watching Postman Pat, and totally rapt.
- trying on shoes, mainly her sister's
- carrying handbags and totes, putting on hats
- going out, especially to the playground
- nursing ("mum-mum"--her second word after "Mama")


Polly dislikes:
- being spoonfed (especially porridge, or egg--she could be just too tired of this; I hear she still finishes her bowl of porridge at lunch at grandma's when I'm not around; it could be the milk that fills her tummy when I'm with her)
- quite a lot of the meals I prepare for her these days (I think they're pretty good; she may be just really choosy or maybe more fussy because of... teething? She's getting quite challenging at mealtimes, but I'm trying not to be too pushy, and hoping and praying that this is just a passing phase)

Prayer 101 with Pepe at Bedtime

(all part of the usual bedtime routine--this is Papa telling an attentive Pepe a Percy story)

This evening I was reading to Pepe from a children's Bible about Jesus' promises in Matthew-- about how God feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies of the field, and how much more He would provide for us who are infinitely more valuable than sparrows and lilies. I then talked about prayer, about how God our Heavenly Father gives us good things, and how we only need have to ask in faith. To qualify a little, to show how God always answers prayer, but not always in the positive, I asked Pepe whether she thought God would give her a truck full of candy if she asked Him for that. She said "yes." I tried to explain that God would answer "no" if what she asked for was not good for her. To reinforce the point and to better ensure a proper understanding, I asked Pepe what she wanted to ask God for. I was half expecting a request for some toy, and was pleasantly surprised when she replied, "a clean heart." I don't remember having mentioned a clean heart the whole day. (Found out later it was probably due to a recent Sunday School lesson on King Solomon--thank God for Sunday School!) Pepe then clasped her hands and wanted to pray. For a moment I thought that she might be ready to ask the Lord Jesus into her heart. I tried to explain a little and suggested that we pray for God to help her understand what she was asking for. That's when she said something like "then God will give me everything I want, " and wanted to watch a video ("because I am video girl hehe..").

I postponed that prayer to bedtime. Although Pepe might have a less than accurate understanding of prayer at present, we continue to hope and pray that one day soon she will truly ask for a clean heart. And we know that the God who always answers prayer will give the good to those who ask for it (Matthew 7:7). [Polly picked up on clasping her hands to pray about two months ago, at about 1 year]

Back to the Bay Area with Pepe, with Polly with us for the first time!

Just some pictures that capture some memories of our 2-week holiday in California in the first two weeks of June this year. We certainly helped fatten up quite a few squirrels at the Grinnell reserve in the UCBerkeley campus this time, with squirrel feeding being one of Pepe's highlights this trip. We were so blessed to live a few minutes walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART as well as campus. We put up at Shaoyun and Estelle's place at Spruce Street, where, memorably, there was this warning sign on the front of the building that would probably alarm typical Singaporeans and which we impressed on to young minds by referring to the apartment as "the house with the poisonous paint".

I was able to go walk, eat and shop in Berkeley with the two girls while Loy was teaching his summer classes. This is one of the first shots I took of Polly--at Telegraph. Pepe was sound asleep in our trusty MacLaren. This trip we discovered just what a "gai gai girl" (trans. "going-out girl", or girl who loves to go out, e.g. shopping) Polly is. She took a keen interest in observing the strange and wonderful world around her, and missed little.

I love this picture of Polly with the fragrant eucalytus trees in the background (Grinnell reserve). That mark on her right cheek is dried mucus, which we had no lack of and became fast friends with during this trip. It started with Polly running a fever the morning of the flight from Singapore. Pepe then showed signs of flu, and two days into the trip, it was clear that both girls had cough, cold and fever that wouldn't go away till the Monterey trip over the weekend that marked the halfway point of our holiday. Needless to say, they were more fussy than usual, but it did help that we were on holiday and I wasn't going to let this dampen our spirits. Many, many thanks to those who prayed for the girls during this time and regularly checked on how they were doing--especially to Grandma Saundra. The girls didn't have insurance (parental oversight!) and we didn't want to worry grandparents back home. Praise the Lord they started to mend with Triaminic (recommended by Papi Leroy) and other over-the-counter medication, after we had tried a few.


I finally checked out the Health Museum for kids, and we had a good time playing with the play food (one of Pepe's primary privations when she's on holiday with us--her toys and "friends" at home!), looking at a skeleton up close, and learning some basic science (yes) along the way.

I was impressed by the oven which had crackling sounds and little fire lights, and Pepe was also awed by the first Mr. Skeleton she's ever seen so close.