Journey with Baby

March Hols

2010-03-19T22:54:00.004+08:00

May end up with quarterly updates on this blog, given the busy schedule of a teacher.

The March hols was fantastic. This was our schedule:

Mon - Finally managed to send Jed to school. Spoke to his relief teacher (a young petite girl who is at most in her early twenties) and she said he interacts with other kids at the playground, can count and knows most of his alphabets. She also said he is generally a good boy. Good to hear that. Thank God. Did not stay in his school for long as I went to my own school to do some work.

At around six, we went to Changi Village as Lyndon had devotion with his BB boys there. We walked for awhile and Jed enjoyed looking at the boats and spotting aeroplanes at close range. Jed and I then went to my parents' place for delicious popiah. He had a good time entertaining us with song and dance there.

Tue - Went to Science Centre with some colleagues. Thinking of setting up a Maths gallery in school. Jed was quite happy at the gift shop, Maths and sound exhibits. He was quite amused by a sound show that we watched. The adults and Eden enjoyed our lunch at Sakura, which was well worth our $12 + GST. Only Jed was disinterested in the food, perhaps due to his recent illness.

Sadly, our plans for the evening had to be changed. I had intended to bring Jed to a concert in school, but he was still not well and neither was Lyndon. So, we ended up at the doctor's clinic. We discovered that Lyndon was running a fever and that Jed probably had an infection in his lungs. It was amazing that Jed was still so active despite the illness. I'm glad he got better.

Wed - Jed was better this morning and we brought him to a free holiday camp at the Little Gym. It lasted an hour and a half. Besides the usual gym routine, there was snack time and a pasting activity. I think Jed had a good time despite saying that he did not like gym class anymore that same morning. We then proceeded to Ion for lunch with Kevin, who recommended a nice popcorn outlet. I bought a small tub of green apple flavoured popcorn and loved it. Amos thought the popcorn was mouldy though.

In the evening, we went kite-flying with colleagues. It was part of David's farewell. He is so popular that so many farewell events were organised by different groups of people. We wish him well and that he will continue to touch lives. The kite-flying was fun and Lyndon, Jed and I managed to get the kite flying a few times. We ended off the session with dinner at the Riverboat and the food and company were gorgeous. :) Jed and Lyndon went home earlier since Lyndon had cell group.

Thu - Kids Kampong was our stop on Thursday. We had fun fishing. We caught six fishes and the operators decided to give us a few more free fishes as our catch seemed rather small and unattractive. Jed also had fun feeding the different animals. We proceeded to have a sumptuous lunch at Ikea, which was just around the corner.

Fri - Jed had swim class while I had to work. I thought I could finish in half a day, but ended up leaving school at around six. When I reached home, Jed was so pleased that his toy train was found (it had gone missing in my school and mysteriously surfaced on my desk today). He exclaimed, "Yay! Jed's train is found. It got lost in Mama's school and somebody found it!" Besides that, I totally enjoyed myself playing and watching the story of Moses on TV with him. At the point when the Israelites were released from Egypt, Jed was so happy that he marched around the table several times.

Praise God for the good break and time spent with Jed. We will be going to visit a fire station tomorrow. Looking forward to that. :)

I did manage to accomplish quite a lot of work whilst Jed napped and slept this week. I cannot believe that only one school term has passed. I seem to have aged so much. The work is enjoyable and challenging, but exhausting. I seem to always think that I can do better. I pray for strength, joy, favour, wisdom and patience, both at work and at home.

I also continue to pray that Jed will grow in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. May we have wisdom to raise him up to be a God-fearing man. Amen.

New Year

2010-01-08T22:05:00.003+08:00

Jed started school on Monday (4 Jan) and he probably has not adapted fully. On the first two days, he wailed for Papa. On the third day, he cried intermittently and yesterday, when Grandma picked him up, he sobbed miserably. I am quite sad that I am unable to send him to school and pick him up after school. Hearing about how upset he is makes me feel even sadder. Thankfully, Lyndon brings him swimming every Friday, so he only attends school for four days a week.

Dear Lord, please help Jeddy cope with school. May he find favour with his teachers and peers and may he be open to learning new things. Help him to respect authority and to obey You.

Jed's mummy isn't doing all that well. There is currently a ton of work waiting for me to do. I probably should be trying to do that work now instead of griping, but I am so drained after a week. I want to excel in the job. In the past week, however, I have felt helpless and incompetent. I know it is still too early, but I feel I am not getting the rapport with my charges. Being a sensitive person, I have already been hurt by a youngster's comment.

Even worse, I was impatient with Jeddy while feeding him, knowing full well that his behaviour at dinner was due to fatigue.

Dear Lord, please help me in all my responsibilities. I want to glorify You in all I do and many times, I have failed. Please grant me strength, love and patience as I fulfill all my roles.

Moments with Jed

2009-12-23T23:25:00.003+08:00

Moment #1

(I was preparing Jed's lunch.)

Jed: Mama, are you cooking something special for Jed?

Me: Yes! I'm making yummy pasta for Jeddy.

Jed: Thank you Mama.

(Jed was eating the pasta.)

Jed: Mama, what is Jed eating?

Mama: Pasta and salmon. (Neglects to mention broccoli, mushroom, tomato and garlic)

Jed: Mama, what else?

Moment #2

It was our third night in Malaysia. Jed slept in between my aunt and me on the first two nights. This night, my aunt decided to sleep on the sofa and I slept on her side, leaving my original side empty. In the middle of the night, we heard a voice saying, "Mama, where are you?" The three ladies in the room sat up immediately and found Jed missing! Later, we found him looking rather distressed outside the toilet. He had actually climbed off the bed to look for me as he could not find me where he thought I would be!

Moment #3

This also took place in Malaysia. Jed was crying for a small matter. I told everyone in the room to leave him alone as I did not want to give attention to a tantrum. Alice, my aunt and I continued with our tasks, being aware that Jed's cries alternated between loud and soft and that he was sneaking glances in my direction to see how I was reacting. Finally, he couldn't bear our behaviour, so he walked to me and announced, "Mama, Jed is crying!" I explained to him that I would have attended to him if he had properly made his request known. Hopefully, this would deter him from crying to get anyone's attention.

Moment #4

Jed and I went to his school to get his uniform and to settle administrative matters. I had prepared him earlier by saying that we were going to his school to see his principal. After I had done the necessary and was about to leave the school, Jed asked, "Mama, are we going to Jed's school?" He did not realise that we were already at his school as we had previously referred to his school as a playground. (There is an outdoor playground there which we bring him to frequently.)

Children are so enjoyable! :)

Jed's Birthday

2009-11-11T14:51:00.002+08:00

Praise God for the fantastic weather on Jed's birthday. We carried out the BBQ at Labrador as planned and I think all the children enjoyed themselves. We really thank the Lord for His favour. It was raining all week and the forecasted weather on 7 Nov was a 60% certainty of a storm.

Jed was quite happy singing his own birthday song. He also did a dance jig when everyone else sang the birthday song. I'm glad he seemed happy. :) I also had a fun time decorating his cakes. :)

Jesus Loves Me

2009-11-02T21:48:00.002+08:00

Jeddy has been spouting out lyrics of songs and to date, he knows:

1) Twinkle, Twinkle

2) I'm a Little Teapot

3) ABC

4) Deep and Wide

5) Happy birthday

and so on.

He also knows parts of other songs such as "He's Able".

Yesterday, he sang the whole of "Jesus Loves Me". Although it was a somewhat tuneless rendition, my heart melted upon hearing him sing it as it tells me he is assimilating the things we teach about God. I'm sure our Father is even more pleased to hear the innocent voices sing love songs to Him.

Blessed

2009-10-13T23:46:00.003+08:00

Praise God! In particular, I would like to thank God that:

1) We (Lester and I) got into the finals of a songwriting competition! I found out about the competition a few days before the deadline. A nice tune popped into my head during Jed's swimming lesson. I asked God for the lyrics and poof! The song was ready in a short time. Lester agreed to sing and record the song for me although he was rushing to meet some friends. Praise God! May the lyrics encourage those in need, although without the mention of God, the song seems incomplete.

2) I scored 100/100 on my nonparametric test (The range was 40 to 100). Thank God.

3) I can watch Jeddy grow. Spending time with him brings joy. I believe God also delights in spending time with us. I pray for wisdom, love and godliness as God uses Lyndon and me to raise Jed.

Approval Addiction

2009-10-13T23:16:00.003+08:00

I took out an old book "Approval Addiction" by Joyce Meyer to read. It reminded me of the need to seek approval from Jesus rather than from people.

I am generally rather concerned about whether I say or do the right things and how people would view me. I used to ask Lyndon if I had said anything wrong during our meetings with people. Now, when I feel this question coming to my mind, I would speak to Jesus instead and thank Him for loving me for who I am. I also ask Him for wisdom to say the right things in all circumstances.

I have to take deliberate steps to focus on Jesus and the needs of the people around me, rather than to focus on myself. I also need to be conscious of my thoughts and to meditate on things of excellence.

Being constantly aware of Jesus is liberating. Spending time with Him also brings about peace and joy that surpass all understanding.

Update on Test Result

2009-10-05T12:10:00.001+08:00

Just a short update on my previous post:

Praise God! I got 93/100 on the sampling test.

Memory Verses

2009-09-17T23:07:00.004+08:00

Jeddy has memorised parts of 2 Bible verses. I think knowing the Word is more important than knowing ABC's or 123's as the Word will equip him fully for life.

Me: I am the ...

Jeddy (with enthusiasm): way, (the) truth and the life!

Me: John Chapter 14 verse

Jeddy: 6

Me: I will be ..

Jeddy: glad

Me: and

Jeddy: rejoice (sometimes says "jump" as he was taught to jump at this part)

Me: in You! Psalm Chapter 9 Verse 2

Jeddy: Chapter 9 verse 2

Wisdom from God

2009-09-17T22:39:00.004+08:00

^{Have been reading Proverbs recently and am amazed at how the Lord had prepared advice for every situation. The words of wisdom are so practical.

The following passage also encouraged me a few days ago:

I Corinthians Chapter 1
26} For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

(New King James Version)

Jesus became the wisdom from God for us! We can have wisdom in any circumstance we are in - in our studies, at our workplace, in our relationships etc. Today, as I sat for a test in school, I asked for Jesus' wisdom. At first, when I looked at the paper, I did not even know what the questions were asking for. I kept trusting God for wisdom and managed to finish the paper way before time. While I started out praying fervently, I ended by thanking God. The experience felt so divine. Will update when I receive my results. Whatever my grade, I know that God had provided.

I also heard a testimony about how a teacher had a dream that her whole class would score A* in Maths in the PSLE. The dream was indeed realised and the teacher knew the feat was not due to her effort. She gloried in the Lord as she recognised how the Lord had given her the dream and provided the results.

Am continuing to trust God for wisdom with Jeddy. He has been very good-natured and obedient and I've had lots of joy being with him. I pray against the Terrible Twos and may the Lord teach Lyndon and me how to be wise parents.

New Module!

2009-08-21T23:52:00.002+08:00

In an earlier post, I wrote about how 2 modules were taken out of this semester's schedule and how I was at a fix as I had to take a difficult module meant to be one of the qualifying exams for PhD students.

I was willing to give it a go but after the first two lessons, I was still clueless about everything that was taught. Making it worse was the fact that we had to submit tutorials every week. I spent hours just trying to research on the basics and it was really too time consuming.

Finally, I wrote to the programme coordinator to explain my predicament and to request for a new module. At first, the reply was that nothing could be done. I just had to work hard for a "bad grade". So I continued to mug and asked the Lord for wisdom to understand the materials. Praise God that He gives abundantly and the coordinator wrote again. This time, he said he had spoken to the head and his colleagues and they decided to offer a new module. This was after the "Add module" period was closed. Hallelujah! I was so happy that even Jed could feel my euphoria and he also smiled from ear to ear. The new module was what I had intended to take had it not been removed from the schedule.

Isn't God good?

I still need prayers as the workload is rather heavy. Each module comprises weekly tutorials and readings and I barely know anyone in the Nonparametric module since all my friends decided to read the new module.

Toilet Learning / Training

2009-08-21T23:47:00.003+08:00

We've not been actively toilet training Jed, but have been helping him be aware of the need to go to the toilet. He managed to stay dry from 9am to 7+pm without diapers on Tue! :) Praise God. However, I've still been helping him a lot with reminders etc. so the next step will be to help him be more independent.

I Cast All My Cares Upon Him

2009-07-21T22:32:00.003+08:00

School is starting soon. I was completely shocked when I saw next semester's schedule. Originally, Sampling and Stats Consulting were being offered next sem. Suddenly, these have been replaced with Time Series.

Time Series is taught by a visiting professor and from experience, this means the module will be beyond comprehension to me. The other module I could take is Advanced Probability. This is a compulsory module for PhD students and the last time I tried to sit in this class, I barely understood anything. To make things worse, our "shifu" has relocated to Shanghai and I will not be able to consult him this coming sem.

I cast all my cares upon Him. He has given me unmerited grades before and I trust Him to do the impossible again. I pray I'll still be able to spend ample time with Jed.

Past Tense

2009-07-21T22:26:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, Jed pointed to a new tube of toothpaste and said, "Daddy bought it."

While we were playing with his shape sorter, he took out an arrow and said, "Arrow. Daddy taught me."

I was surprised that he could use the past tense. Praise God again.

New Phrases

2009-07-17T23:37:00.003+08:00

Some new phrases said by Jeddy:

1) Hallelujah Amen

2) So many ants!

3) To market buy fat pig

4) Merlion over there (said when he saw buildings in Shenton Way from the car)

5) Bowling pins ...... Roll ball ..... Kor Kor Ethan (Jed bowled with him a few weeks ago)

6) Happy birthday Yipo ..... blow candles

Praise God that I can witness Jed's growth. It's amazing and enjoyable.

More Prayers

2009-07-17T23:30:00.005+08:00

Jeddy recently prayed this: Dear Jesus, Bless Mama. Amen.

I asked if he would like to pray for Daddy too, and he went, "Thank you Papa. Amen."

He then said, "Pray (for) Popo, Kor Kor Aidan, Kor Kor Dylan, Kor Kor Ryan, Kor Kor Amos, Aunt Jen (which sounded like ah ten)."

Other people he usually prays for are Yipo, Kong Kong, Grandma and Grandpa.

New Request

2009-07-10T23:47:00.003+08:00

Jed requested to sleep in Grandma's room for the first time in the last 20 months! We were amused but allowed it. Now that he is comfortably asleep in Grandma's room, I have a rather strange feeling. My son is exerting his independence! Lyndon reminded me that this is the first time we are sleeping without Jed in the same room (apart from 2 nights when he was in hospital for jaundice treatment)!

Making Friends

2009-07-06T15:09:00.002+08:00

Our Mr Jed was on a bus with me when a young mother and her little girl (2 years old) came and sat next to us. Mr Jed shyly took the girl's hand and held it. The girl's mother asked her if she liked holding hands and she said "yes", so they both continued holding hands for the next minute!

Incident at Lunch

2009-07-06T15:05:00.002+08:00

On Fri (3 Jul), we were having lunch at a food court when a little girl (about 2+ years old) walked up to Jed and touched his cheeks. She then proceeded to hand him a styrofoam cup that she had been chewing on! Jed looked into the cup and said, "No more" when he saw it was empty. The girl promptly went back to her seat, filled up the cup with Ribena, walked back to Jed and placed the cup at his lips!

More Firsts

2009-07-06T15:03:00.001+08:00

Jed's first cable car ride: 4 July 09

Jed first touched a snake and had it placed around his neck on: 3 July 09

Sharing

2009-06-23T22:42:00.003+08:00

Praise God that Jed has progressed in terms of socialising:

1) While he used to grab other children by their clothes / pull their hair etc., he now does not.

2) When he sees other children crying, he sometimes taps them on their shoulders and says, "It's ok." When we read books and come across characters who are upset, he taps on the characters and says the same.

3) He is able to greet people when he meets them.

However, I still find it difficult to teach him how to share. We do highlight the importance of sharing while reading stories and he will answer our questions on sharing in the desirable manner during such times. His knowledge is not applied in practical situations though. He still hesitates when it comes to sharing his books or toys. (He does share his snacks readily.) If you are reading this and love Jed, please pray along with us that he will learn to share.

The advancements stated at the top of the post were only possible because of prayer and dependence on God. We really trust in the power of prayer.

My Brother's Dog Chewed Up My Book!

2009-06-09T22:45:00.003+08:00

Jingle chewed up the front cover of my "Shepherding a Child's Heart" while I was cutting fish in the kitchen! I was quite upset but since he was a dog, I let him off. I now know that "My dog chewed my homework" is a possible excuse for students.

Anyway, on the book's content, I agree on dealing with the heart rather than with merely the behaviour. However, I think positive reinforcement still works as God also rewards His people for "good behaviour" (E.g. we have long lives when we honour our parents). Of course, we hope that our children will not perform well to receive the reward, but will learn what is pleasing and desirable by observing what is rewarded.

I have yet to discuss in details with Lyndon on issues on discipline but will continue to pray for wisdom and discernment in this area. Parenting is not easy and we totally rely on Him to guide us.

Lyndon the Chef

2009-06-09T22:42:00.002+08:00

Lyndon whipped up a wonderful meal (in my opinion) on 7 June for the family.

The Menu:

Pasta

Mushroom Soup

Chicken with Cheese and Mushrooms

Sausages and Cabbage soaked in Beer

The last dish mentioned was my favourite. Yum yum yummy. :)

Recent Moments with Jed

2009-06-09T22:18:00.006+08:00

In the pool with Baobao

Colourful times with Jed

Cheeky Moments

Jed the Builder

Dad and Jed with hats

Lyndon's birthday - 8 June

2009-06-09T15:10:00.006+08:00

Jed and I enjoyed Lyndon's birthday celebration. :) Hope he did too. :)

Programme:

Wild Wild Wet

Lunch at Mr Chicken Rice

ExplorerKid

Massage while Jed napped

Watch other people bowl

Watch performance by Cyber Trends Cirque

Dinner at Different Tastes

Home

Results

2009-05-29T13:14:00.006+08:00

Praise God! I didn't think I would get any As this time but I did. My results is as follows:

Categorical Data Analysis: A

Survival Analysis: A-

Survey Methodology: A-

Generalised Linear Models: B-

Was taught a lesson yesterday. Lyndon told the life group that my results were going to be released today and I requested that no one asked me how I did as I was afraid I had not done well. God reminded me to put my trust in Him and not to make such faithless statements. Yesterday, I felt anxious suddenly and God encouraged me with Proverbs 3:5,6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Each time I felt anxiety, I said the verse out loud. His peace calmed me.

I know God helped me through my exams. I could not have got such grades with my own strength. Praise God. Thank God also for those who helped to care for Jed whilst I was studying.

Four Years

2009-05-28T00:35:00.004+08:00

Lyndon and I celebrate our 4th anniversary today. I thank God for Lyndon. I pray that he will always have divine health, wisdom, joy, peace, youth and favour and may he continue to be a blessing to many.

NB: He is currently boundless with energy and has an appointment to watch the EPL finals at 0245 with some church friends! Good thing he took the day off to celebrate our anniversary. Hopefully he won't fall asleep later as we're watching Star Trek, which is one of the highlights of the day. :)

Giving Thanks

2009-05-28T00:30:00.003+08:00

Before meals, Jeddy can now say, "Thank You Jesus ...food. Amen" by himself.

Jeddy also knows that Jesus died on the cross for him and that Jesus loves him.

May he grow to love Jesus more and more each day.

Humbled

2009-05-24T22:44:00.003+08:00

Today, Lyndon led worship at the 1130 service for the first time. I was the pianist. I've always perceived Lyndon's gifts to be many, but musicality was not one of them. As such, during our private rehearsals, I got impatient and advised him never to accept another worship leading assignment again.

God humbled me as I witnessed the congregation worshipping Him today despite minor technical glitches. God is bigger than all our flaws. I am so glad that Lyndon focussed on the spiritual rather than let the technicalities bother him.

His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Best Friends

2009-05-24T22:13:00.002+08:00

Version I (3 days ago)

Me: Who's your best friend? Is it XXX?

Jed: No.

Me: Is it XXX?

Jed: No.

Me: Is it Reuben?

Jed: OK.

Version II (2 days ago)

Me: Who's your best friend?

Jed: Mama.

Me: I love you too. :)

Version III (current)

Me: Who's your best friend?

Jed: Kor Kor Aidan.

Reprimanded

2009-05-17T16:16:00.002+08:00

Today, Jed pulled a boy's shirt and an adult (not the boy's mum) sternly reprimanded him even though I was there and was already trying to separate Jed from the boy. I was quite upset at first as I thought that person should just let me discipline my own son. (If I were not there or if I were indifferent to the matter, then her intervention would have made more sense to me.) My assessment of Jed's action was that he wanted to walk through the narrow doorway and the boy was in his way, so he pulled his shirt to make way for himself. It was not an action of malice, although I did warn him to be gentle to others.

Anyway, after having thought about it, I think children will somehow be rebuked by other adults at some point in their lives. I just pray that whatever teaching or guidance Jed receives from others will be of love and not be for their self-gratification. I must also remind myself that when I correct other children, especially my students, it must be filled with love and never be out of anger or frustration.

Visit to the Pediatrician on 11 May (Mon)

2009-05-15T15:11:00.002+08:00

Height: 82 cm

Weight: 11.1 kg

What happened:

1) Stacked 5 blocks when instructed.

2) Put buttons into a glass bottle when instructed. Doc was impressed that no demonstration was needed.

3) Identified a rattle. Doc said that his pronunciation was clear.

4) Had his booster jab and did not show any sign of distress at all.

5) Identified the colour of a toy that Doc used to distract him with. It happened to be purple, which is the first colour Jed says whenever we ask him to identify the colour of an object. Doc was again very impressed. Lyndon and I had a good laugh over that later.

It was a pleasant visit.

First Haircut

2009-05-15T15:07:00.002+08:00

Jeddy had his first haircut on 13 May (Wed) at a salon in Coronation Plaza. He was very calm and still throughout the whole experience and was commended by the owner for being a good boy. Praise God for that cos we have heard how some babies bawl their lungs out when they visit the barber.

Two Syllables

2009-05-09T00:30:00.006+08:00

Jed progressed to two-syllable words suddenly about two weeks ago. In an earlier post, we wrote about how he used to refer to helicopters as "cop". Now, he says "copter". I'm wondering if he'll say "licopter" or "heh-copter" next, or will he go right on to "helicopter"?

Last night, he was practising how to say "butterfly" on his own. He went "butter.......pause for 2 seconds.....fly". It was endearing.

I'm amazed at God's creativity. :)

Liberated!

2009-05-09T00:20:00.005+08:00

My exams officially ended at 2100 on 8 May. That was the very last exam slot for this semester in NUS. We should have sung Majullah Singapura and have a mini closing ceremony. I'm so glad it is all over and I'm looking forward to a 3-month break and lots of time with Jeddy.

On exams, we had to have our temperatures taken on Tue and Wed, as Singapore was still on Orange alert then. On Tue, my temperature was 37.5 and the people on duty wanted to play safe and send me to the isolation room. Upon hearing that I had a runny nose, they also offered me a mask (they were wearing N95's!). Anyway, my temperature dipped to 37.3 later on so I was allowed into the exam room. On hindsight, going to the isolation room was probably a better thing as there was quite a lot of conversation going on in the exam room for a good fifteen minutes and I was sitting right in front.

May God bless me and all my course mates with good results. :)

Happy 18th month, Jeddy

2009-05-07T14:44:00.001+08:00

May the Lord continue to keep you and bless you and make His face shine on you. It's been a joy having you. :)

New Shoes

2009-04-30T23:33:00.005+08:00

We brought Jed to hunt for new shoes for the very first time on Sunday (26 April). Previously, he wore shoes which had been handed down by friends or given by his grandmothers.

Upon arriving at the shoe shop, Jed's face lit up. He picked a few pairs and finally seemed settled on a particular design. We asked the shop assistant to let Jed try on both shoes and when that was accomplished, he marched around the shop, looking very pleased. It was the first time Lyndon made such a quick purchase. He promptly announced to the shop assistant that we were buying the shoes and in a matter of seconds, Jed had new shoes!

Jed was so proud of his new shoes that he lifted up his feet alternately to show them to Grandma. When asked who bought the shoes for him, he replied, "Papa." :)

Any Dispute over the Resemblance?

2009-04-30T23:08:00.002+08:00

Bitten

2009-04-29T01:20:00.009+08:00

Lyndon Writes : In an earlier post, Pearlyn was concerned that Jed was expressing himself by biting other children. (Post : He is in God's hands, 7 Jan 09) On Sunday, 19 April 09, however, Jed was the victim of another toddler biting him.

It happened towards the end of the toddlers' ministry. Jed had toy models of a bendy bus and an ambulance, which Keith Goh had lent to him the week before. Jed planned to return them on Sunday and so brought the toys with him to the toddlers' ministry.

After the structured toddlers' programme concluded, Jed brought out the toys to play. Another male toddler wanted to play with them as well. Jed was already playing with the bendy bus, but since the male toddler wanted the bendy bus, Pearlyn got Jed to let him have the bendy bus while Jed would have the ambulance.

After a while, Jed wanted to swap the ambulance for the bus but the other toddler refused. Jed decided to act on his right as custodian of the toys and started to retrieve the bus by force - that is, he snatched at it. A tussle ensued and all of a sudden, the male toddler sank his teeth into Jed's right hand.

Mayhem broke out. Pearlyn pulled Jed away from the male toddler and other parents and children who witnessed the episode variously cried out, shouted or reacted in some way. Jed himself was shocked into a silence that lasted all of 2 stunned seconds before breaking out into large loud sobs of pain and anger which lasted what seemed to be an eternity for his mother.

The toddler who had bitten Jed just moments ago started to cry too.

All this while, the toddler's care-giver, who was seated next to him, was blissfully oblivious to the commotion and was wondering what all the fuss was about. That state of blissfulness was suddenly shattered when Geraldine's young daugther, Gabrielle announced to all, "That boy bit the baby!" Isaac, Val and Lionel's 20 month old son tried to tell the care-giver what happened. He went "Aunty, Aunty..." but did not yet possess the vocabulary to complete his sentence.

The care-giver exclaimed amidst all the din, "What ? (name) bit Jed, is it?! Is it?..." The toddler was whisked out of the room with Jed still wailing and perhaps an opportunity to teach appropriate social behaviour by apologising was left begging.

Jed eventually calmed down and while the pain no doubt lingered a little longer, he seemed none the worse for wear. In fact, later, when he was asked to show grandpa the bite marks on his hand, he earnestly held out his uninjured left hand and used his bitten right hand to point to his left hand show grandpa his "injury"! That he did it so earnestly was hilarious!

The bite marks stayed on for a few days and probably looked worse than it actually was.

If the parents of the toddler who bit Jed are reading this post- hey, don't worry about it. Jed is ok and we all know that some babies go through a season where biting is used to express their emotions. In Jan 09, we too had to pull Jed away whenever he looked like he was about to bite other kids. It's part of growing up. Please also do not take offence with this post. We love you and your toddler. :)

Outings With Daddy

2009-04-28T22:08:00.011+08:00

Lyndon Writes : Pearlyn's exams begin on 27 April and lasts for 2 weeks. So I've been using some of my leave and day offs to look after Jed while she studies. This also makes it easier for both our parents who continue to be very helpful. Of course, this was a wonderful opportunity for me to spend bonding time with Jed. So we've been having outings to various places.

Hindhede Park - Friday 17 April, 5-7pm

I took Jed to Hindhede park after his nap. Pearlyn and i had brought him there before but our visit to the playground lasted all of 5 mins when a light drizzle became a steady drizzle. Jed and I arrived slightly after 5.30pm and the usual suspects were at the visitor centre carparks - long-tailed macaques and male joggers sitting around the carpark. The macaques were foraging for human food while the male joggers were bonding by having an after exercise smoke. In both cases, they made the carpark unsafe for infants and toddlers.

Jed and I heading quickly to the playground, stopping only to greet the stuffed tigers at the visitor centre. The playground was very well thought out. There were simple swings and obstacles courses to more challenging T-swings (Flying Fox) and climbing features. Certainly a place to bring babies, toddlers and children.

Jed loved the swing and the various ropes obstacle courses but he is too small for many others. There is a certain ruggedness about this playground which would be good when Jed is Older. He also enjoyed the scenery of the lookout point at Hindhede Quarry. My evaluation :

Suitable for : Babies who can walk and older. Must be supervised.

Wet weather : Adequate huts and shelter nearby, but don't expect toilets or vending machines...this is supposed to be a primary rain forest!

Baby facilities : Not observed in male restroom. (Perhaps i missed it as Jed did not need to be changed)

Space in toilet cubicles : Small. (An important consideration when caregiver is alone with baby and urgently needs to go! Baby has to go with caregiver.)

Caution : This is a nature reserve so do expect things to be a bit wild. Don't provoke the macaques and try to avoid the 2nd and 3rd hand smoke.

Labrador Nature Reserve and Labrador Park - Saturday, 18 April, 10am-12noon.

Jed and I dropped P off at NUS and we headed to Labrador Nature Reserve. I wanted to explore the secret tunnels with Jed but it was locked. The Nparks website gave the impression that the guided tours were optional but it appears that the tunnels can only be accessed with the guided tours. Nevertheless, Jed enjoyed the lookout point on the hill with a good view of the sea. We took a walk down the aerial stairway and paused often to observe squirrels and birds. On reaching the playground, Jed headed straight for the maze where we played hide and seek. It was really funny because he was small enough to squeeze between the wooden columns of the maze, thus rendering the structure redundant as a maze.

Suitable for : Babies who can walk and older. Must be supervised.

Wet weather : Some pavilions.

Baby facilities : Not observed in male restroom.

Space in toilet cubicles : Adequate for caregiver and baby. Clean.

Terminal Three : Changi International Airport. Saturday, 18 April, 7pm omwards.

We went to Crystal Jade Restaurant at T3 to celebrate Pearlyn's mom birthday. Jed loves the airport and T3 in particular. Jed sat with us, ate his dinner and and was generally well behaved.

After dinner, we stayed on and Jed had a wonderful time walking and climbing. The luggage weighing scale showed Jed to be around 11.2kg.

Suitable for : Babies (after all, thus is the world's best airport)

Wet weather : It is indoors.

Baby facilities : Yes

Space in toilet cubicles : large and clean.

Caution : Jed checking himself in! Toddlers can get lost amidst the crowd if left unsupervised.

Central Lending Library, Monday 20 April, 10am-12.30pm.

P wanted to study at the library and i wanted to bring Jed, so it worked out real well. The Central Lending Library (CLL) has 13 floors for Jed to explore, a children's section and a roof garden. It helps that Jed likes books too.

It is a pity that some baby books are returned in very poor condition. The cover looks ok, but once the books are opened, we discover that pages are torn, flip-open windows are ripped and pages are missing. It is a disgrace that some library users are not only inconsiderate but that they also fail to declare that they are returning books in unreadable condition.

Back to the CLL, just taking the escalator up 13 floors and stopping at each floor to admire the view is an adventure already. In addition, there are some nice semi-permanent exhibits, which Jed is enjoying in the picture below.

Suitable for : Babies

Wet weather : It is indoors.

Baby facilities : Yes! Great Baby room, but must request the librarian to open the room for you.

Space in toilet cubicles : large and clean.

Caution : That his feet does not get caught in escalator.

Singapore Science Centre, Tuesday, 21 April, 10am-12noon

We go there so often it made sense to take a a family membership even though it is free for Jed (under 3 years old) and the CSC card gets us 10% off the admission price. We took a 2 years membership for 2 Adults and 3 Children for $85.

The Singapore Science Centre is a great place to bring Jed. On weekdays morning, it is generally not so crowded unless our visit coincide with school groups. Jed's lunch and afternoon nap from around 12.30pm means that we have a 2 hr window from 10am (opening time) around noon. This means we can focus on just 2 sections per visit. Today it is the Waterwerks and ecogarden.

Suitable for : Walking Babies,

Wet weather : It has indoors and outdoors exhibits.

Baby facilities : Yes! maternity room as well as changing facilities in both male and female rest rooms.

Space in toilet cubicles : Not observed. (will check and update this space)

Caution : The exhibits meant for older children.

Fly

2009-04-28T00:01:00.004+08:00

Last evening (26 April), the family was having dinner. Mum had swatted a fly and everyone was tasked to look for the carcass. In the midst of the frenzy, Jed calmly said, "There." He pointed to a live fly on a plate. The fly did not die when Mum swatted it!

I was amazed that Jed was participating in the search for the fly and commended his good observation and comprehension skills. The family laughed and Jed, thinking that we were laughing at him, burst into tears. We promptly assured him that he was a clever boy and he was finally appeased.

Learning points:

1) Babies are so fascinating.

2) Let no man despise thy youth.

3) Do not be confined by stigmas.

Free Mochi and Karen Poh's Birthday

2009-04-21T22:22:00.006+08:00

Last Friday, we celebrated Karen's birthday at The Pasta Shop. It was good to meet up with her again.

Jed took some time to warm up. Actually, he had fallen asleep in the car and was quite suddenly awakened by us as we wanted him to have his lunch at the usual time. After he had warmed up, his cheeky side manifested. He started to give playful grins to the waiters and waitresses who entertained him in return. Towards the end of our meal, they served two free mini mochi to Jed! Since Jed is on a low / no - sugar diet, which Daddy stringently reinforces, Karen and I benefitted from Jed's playful streak. You go, Jed. :)

LG : Jed was also quite intrigued by the SPCA 'dogs' at Wheelock Place- patting them, hugging them and of course donating using mommy's coins.

As for sugar - it is more correct to say that we encourage Jed taking food with no or little added salt or sugar, at least till he is slightly older. It may be inevitable that as he grows older, he will be exposed to all sort of cooked and processed food with tons of additives besides sugar and salt. Since he will be exposed sooner or later, we are trying to help him cultivate good eating habits as much as we can.

Seth Asher Bok Jun En

2009-04-15T06:09:00.007+08:00

Lyndon Writes : On the morning of 7 April we received a wonderful text message from Lionel and Hwee Kiang. Seth Bok was born!

Hwee Kiang and Lionel had been at hospital since 4th April Sat and finally late on 6th April, the doctor determined that a C-section was needed. Praise God all went well.

We visited as soon as we could - on the morning of 7 April. After the visit, Jed started to call himself a big baby - with reference to a smaller new born Seth!

Congrats Lionel and Hwee Kiang! We are so happy for you. Pray God will bless and guide you as parents and God will protect and bless Seth.

Jed Doing House Work

2009-04-15T05:52:00.006+08:00

Lyndon Writes : One of Jed's preferred morning activities is to descend on the mop, broom and dust pan left aside along the corridor when house-help Latiffah cleans the bathroom. Jed would proceed to "sweep" every room!

How did Jed learn how to sweep? By watching Latiffah. It drove home the importance of acting, behaving and saying things that we want Jed to pick up. So much of what a child learns is by imitating the adults around him.

May the way we live be as what 2 Cor 10:33-11:1 says, "I don't just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."(NLT)

Stella Tam's Birthday

2009-04-15T05:07:00.010+08:00

Lyndon Writes : One of Pearlyn's long time friend celebrated a milestone birthday on 4th April. Far be it from me to reveal which milestone she was crossing!

Stella invited us for a yummy lunch at the Seafood International Market and Restaurant, located at playground@bigsplash. (http://www.bigsplash.com.sg/).

02 East Coast Parkway, Blk A #01-01 Playground @ Big Splash, Singapore 449874.

The food was good... (see menu)..ok we did not order every item, but we still ate more than we should have. Jed had his own food and was well behaved. Of course, exploring the restaurant was a thrill for him. Thanks Stella for lunch and Happy Birthday!

Interestingly, Aidan was also celebrating his 8th birthday at playground@bigsplash in a mini indoor golf placed called Liliputt. Mom and dad joined the 3 boys in playing. We met them later for dinner.

Singapore Discovery Centre

2009-04-15T04:42:00.004+08:00

Lyndon Writes : On Friday 3rd April, we decided to bring Jed to the Singapore Discovery Centre.

Jed had a two weeks break from swimming lessons and we took the opportunity to bring him to a new place. My dad came along too... so we had 3 generations of Gan guys there.

I was actually somewhat reluctant to bring Jed to SDC because i remembered the place from my only visit years back and was not too impressed. I was wondering if the place was baby friendly. Also I expected to see NSF and NS Reservist personnel there...which of course meant exposing Jed to toxic cigarette smoke. Pearlyn, on the other hand, was sure that Jed would enjoy any place we brought him to.

When we arrived at SDC, my fears were both founded and unfounded. The walkway from the car park to the main entrance were lined with NS personnel smoking like chimneys. However, once cleared those obstacles and got into the centre proper, we were greeted by extremely polite and help staff. A computer hitch meant that it took us a more than 15mins to purchase 3 tickets. Maybe this was an aberration and certainly the staff could have been more efficient. However, there wasn't anyone else queuing behind us and the staff tried their best to engage us while trying to get the tickets processed. So no complaints there.

As it turned out, Jed had a whale of a time running around and touching every exhibit he could get his hands on! Another good place to bring baby (except for the toxic cigarette smoke).

New Toy

2009-04-15T04:20:00.006+08:00

Lyndon Writes : Jed seems to be able to create a toy out of anything! Here he is with a pair of sunglasses Eden gave him.

The above pictures were taken on 2nd April 09. Jed is really so much fun to have around. Actually i said the same thing when he was born, when he was 3, 6, 12, 15 months old and all months in between.

It is strange when we hear some say, "Oh Jed will will so much more fun when he is ____ months old. Then he will be able to do______ ." Strange because Pearlyn and I are enjoying Jed at every age. It is good to look forward to the time when Jed can do this or that. But really, God has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecc 3:11).

Jesus sets the example by enjoying each moment of his earthly existence, in all its ups and downs. And in Jesus, each of our fleeting moments of our life can be enjoyed as well. That was why Paul proclaimed in 2 Cor 1:19-20 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you...was not “Yes” and “No,”but in Him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

In Christ, God has already pronounced a Yes and Amen for our life. Our proper respond should also be a Yes and Amen to God. Then our lives can be enjoyed to the fullest because each moment have been made beautiful in God's time.

Play Date with Eden

2009-04-15T03:34:00.005+08:00

Lyndon Writes : On Mon, 30 Mar, Pearlyn's friend and colleague Celia came over with her daughter Eden for the 1st of 3 play dates with Jed. Celia is based in UK this year and was back for a home visit.

Jed takes time to warm up to new friends and can be a bit reticent. He also needs some coaxing in sharing his favourite toys and books. All things considered, Jed and Eden got on quite well - so i was told by Pearlyn. (Pearlyn will have to add in the details as i was not present)

Two further play dates took place on Mondays, 6 and 13 April. By the last play date, Jed gave a gentle hug and kiss to Eden before Eden went home.

The books tell us that there are innate gender differences between boys and girls. Boys thrive on competition, girls on cooperative activities. I guess arranging such play dates gives Jed and Eden opportunities to play both competitive and non-competitive games.

Prayer

2009-04-10T22:32:00.002+08:00

Today, we had intended to go swimming. When it started pouring, Jed and I prayed that the weather would clear.

Me: Dear

Jed: Dear

Me: Jesus

Jed: Jesus

Me: Please

Jed: Please

Me: stop

Jed: stop

Me: the

Jed: rain.

Me: A-

Jed: men.

Jed actually finished the prayer on his own. Praise Jesus. :)

Pessimism

2009-04-10T22:21:00.004+08:00

About two weeks ago, (2nd April) Evan said that his mum told him Jed could say "Hi" and "Bye" and he asked me if that was true. I said it was and added that Jed could say about thirty over other words. After saying the last part, I felt I should have been more humble. I should have just verified Evan's query instead of elaborating on Jed's achievement.

When I told Lyndon about the conversation, he retorted that I was a pessimist! He promptly exclaimed that Jed could say at least sixty words. He proceeded to do a count and concluded that Jed could say more than sixty words, although some are truncated words. Lyndon shook his head sadly as he confirmed how pessimistic I was!!!!! Talk about difference in characters. Ha.

Lyndon Adds : I started to compile words Jed can say and realised that he has a vocabulary of more than 100 words. Most of his words are monosyllabic for now - e.g. copt for helicopter, but everyday he surprises us with new words.

Singapore Botanic Gardens Again

2009-03-28T03:45:00.003+08:00

Lyndon Writes : I really enjoy spending my day off on Fridays with Jed. Pearlyn has classes on Friday evenings for this semester, so this evening (27 Mar 09), i decided to bring Jed to SBG again. P said Jed had not gone there for sometime because of the recent wet weather. We had glorious sunshine that evening and so off we went, Daddy and Jeddy. SBG wasn't crowded at all. Spent some time praying for Jed as we walked too.

Jed Feeding Himself

2009-03-28T03:31:00.005+08:00

Lyndon Writes : More and more, Jed insists on feeding himself during meal times. He is also quite adamant that he does not want to wear a bib. While we are always prepared for the worse (a really messy baby and eating area), Jed had been surprisingly neat. Whenever he spills food, he would stop eating, say "drop" and pick up the spilt food for us to clean up. Of course, he is still a bit messy, but much less messy than we imagined. Here is a video clip of Jed feeding himself on 23 March 09 during dinner.

Soccer, Not Chosen - a reflection on becoming the Beloved

2009-03-28T03:09:00.006+08:00

Lyndon Writes : On 22 Mar Sunday, a soccer friendly match was arranged between KKMC and Aldersgates MC at the FMSS field. The email said that since AMC was a strong team, we should expect a hard time. Sensing that the organizer would want to field the better players, I emailed to ask if I would get a chance to play. He replied that I should just turn up.

So as soon as Jed woke up from his afternoon nap, I hurried P and Jed and rushed to FMSS just as half time commenced. We were already down 3-0. Not picked for the start of the 2^nd half, we kept Jed entertained and he seemed to have lots of fun kicking a ball around and drawing. P also met some people she knew from the AMC team and chatted with them.

As the game went on, KKMC fell further and further behind. The organizer began sending in all the players who had not played and even some who had played. I was sitting right under him and he did not once indicate he wanted me to go in. Even after it was clear that the result was by then immaterial, I did not even get a 2mins cameo. I was sorely disappointed – not because I thought I was good player but because I was asked to turn up anyway. The organizer even asked people who had played in the 1^st half to go in again, but when they all declined, he still overlooked me.

I was very upset as I had inconvenienced Jed and P just to be there and I was not even given a 2 mins run out at the end of the game. Yet I could not show that I was upset. I guess I should not blame the organizer but blame myself for not picking up good soccer skills when I was a kid. Or perhaps blame my parents for emphasizing academic education to the exclusion extra curricula activities (ECA) as it was called in my time. In those days, ECA was optional and many students were not in any ECA at all.

I left FMSS with old memories of being chosen or not chosen when I was a kid. We grow up in a harsh world. In our world, when one is chosen it means for the others, "Too bad for us, we are not chosen."

(The following section includes wholesale excerpts abridged and adapted from Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri Nouwen. 1992. New York: Crossroad. His writings speak so much for me. I’ve adapted it for my own situation)

When I was not chosen for a soccer team, not chosen to be the leader of the class group, or when I was chosen to represent my school, or to be honoured with special awards, there were always tears alongside smiles and smiles alongside tears. Competition and comparison were always there.

How often I needed the words: "The fact that you are not chosen does not mean that you are not good, only that someone else is a little better."

But even these words were seldom consoling because the feeling of rejection was always there. And when I was chosen and selected as the best, I was always aware of how disappointed others were at not being in my place. It was then that I needed to hear the words: "The fact that you are chosen does not mean that others are not good, only that you are a little better."

But, again, these words did not help very much because I was unable to make the others feel as happy as I. In this world, to be chosen simply means to be set apart in contrast to others. In our extremely competitive society the "chosen ones" are looked at with special attention. Whole magazines and websites are dedicated to "heroes" of sport, film, music, acting, and other ways of excelling. They are the "chosen ones" and their devotees, whether readers, listeners, or viewers, try to extract some vicarious pleasure from knowing them or being close to them.

This created a situation where many of the people who are not “chosen” live with voices that tell them that they are no good, that they are a failure. They hear a voice that keeps saying, "If you want to be loved, you had better prove that you are worth loving. You must show it."

All of us live with the reality of not being chosen for something. We all have to cope with the awful voices of failure when we are not chosen.

But in contrast to the voices of the world, we need to become aware of a different reality. It is a reality that says, “You are ‘my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ ” (from Matthew 3:17 adapted) and “You didn't choose me. I chose you.” (John 15:16)

Jesus heard that voice. He heard that voice when He came out of the Jordan River. It is a very important voice that says, "You are my beloved son; you are my beloved daughter. I love you with an everlasting love. I have molded you together in the depths of the earth. I have knitted you in your mother's womb. I've written your name in the palm of my hand and I hold you safe in the shade of my embrace. I hold you. You belong to Me and I belong to you. You are safe where I am. Don't be afraid. Trust that you are the beloved. That is who you truly are."

We are chosen by God. That means we are seen by God in our preciousness, in our individuality. We are seen as precious in God's eyes.

The life of the beloved starts by trusting that we are chosen in our uniqueness, that we are unique in God's eyes, precious.

When I know that I am chosen, I know that I have been seen as a special person. Someone has noticed me in my uniqueness and has expressed a desire to know me, to come closer to me, to love me. As the Beloved, we are God's chosen ones, I mean that we have been seen by God from all eternity and seen as unique, special, precious beings.

From all eternity, long before you were born and became a part of history, you existed in God's heart. Long before your parents admired you or your friends acknowledged your gifts or your teachers, colleagues, and employers encouraged you, you were already "chosen". The eyes of love had seen you as precious, as of infinite beauty, as of eternal value. When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one, and it chooses without making anyone else feel excluded.

We touch here a great spiritual mystery: To be chosen does not mean that others are rejected. It is very hard to conceive of this in a competitive world such as ours. To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice. Our minds have great difficulty in coming to grips with such a reality. Maybe our minds will never understand it. Perhaps it is only our hearts that can accomplish this. Every time we hear about "chosen people", "chosen talents", or "chosen friends", we almost automatically start thinking about elites and find ourselves not far from feelings of jealousy, anger, or resentment.

As I look within as well as around myself, I am overwhelmed by the dark voices telling me, "You are nothing special; you are just another person among millions; your life is just one more mouth to feed; your needs just one more problem to solve." These voices are increasingly powerful, especially in a time marked by so many broken relationships.

Many children never feel really welcomed in the world. Beneath their nervous smiles, there is often the question: "Am I really wanted?" Some young people even hear their mothers say: "I hadn't really expected you, but once I found out I was pregnant I decided to have you anyway .... You were sort of an accident." Words or attitudes such as these do nothing to make a person feel "chosen". Our world is full of people who question whether it would have been better had they not been born. When we do not feel loved by those who gave us life, we often suffer our whole life long from a low self-esteem that can lead easily to depression, despair, and even suicide.

In the midst of this extremely painful reality, we have to dare to reclaim the truth that we are God's chosen ones, even when our world does not choose us. As long as we allow our parents, siblings, teachers, friends, and lovers to determine whether we are chosen or not, we are caught in the net of a suffocating world that accepts or rejects us according to its own agenda of effectiveness and control.

Often this reclaiming is an arduous task, a lifelong work because the world persists in its efforts to pull us into the darkness of self-doubt, low self-esteem, self-rejection, and depression. And this because it is as insecure, fearful, self-deprecating people that we can most easily be used and manipulated by the powers surrounding us. The great spiritual battle begins -and never ends with the reclaiming of our chosenness. Long before any human being saw us, we are seen by God's loving eyes. Long before anyone heard us cry or laugh, we are heard by our God who is all ears for us. Long before any person spoke to us in this world, we are spoken to by the voice of eternal love. Our preciousness, uniqueness, and individuality are not given to us by those who meet us in clock-time-our brief chronological existence-but by the One who has chosen us with an everlasting love, a love that existed from all eternity and will last through all eternity.

As I thought of all these (yes, I actually did-P kept asking me what I was thinking) I think of our beloved Jed. His name was derived from Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord. (2 Samuel 12:25)

Like all of us, Jed will grow up in a cruel, fallen, evil world. But the greater reality is that he is God’s beloved and as God’s beloved, he had been chosen and loved by God. May he grow to claim his chosenness as the beloved of God!

The afternoon was not all wasted. Jed had a good time at the school field. After that, we brought him to Labrador Park (again) and he had really had a good time. He was thrilled to sit on the branch of a tree and generally loved the wide open spaces and the sea. We enjoyed our time as a family too!

Jed showing his Masterpiece

2009-03-19T01:23:00.005+08:00

Lyndon Writes: Jed loves to paint and we have been letting him paint on the walls of the shower cubicle- with washable poster colours of course.

On Tue 17 Mar, I got him painting just before his morning bath. He was happily painting the walls when he saw Pearlyn standing at the doorway. He voiced "mama" and showed her his masterpiece. I love this short clip of his expressions.

I captured this on my new LG KC910 Renoir mobile phone and inadvertently wiped the sound from this clip when i was editing the clip with software that came in the phone.

M1 wasn't going to bring in the iPhone at this time, so i decided to get a camera phone that i can use to capture Jeddy moments on stills and videos. So far, the LG KC910 has given half decent stills at 8 mega pixels. "Half-decent" because the quality still can't compare to a simple 5MP point and shoot camera. However, since i wanted to have a camera with me 24/7, a camera phone was the next best option.

One good thing about the LG KC910 when compared to it's competitors like the Sony Erricson C905 and the Samsung Pixon is that the KC910 comes with WiFi :). One bad thing is that the software for synching with a computer does not come with a version for Mac OS. Still hope to get the iPhone at a future date.

Go-Go Bambini

2009-03-15T22:29:00.005+08:00

I brought Jed to Go-Go Bambini on Tuesday. Lyn Lee and my aunt brought Ethan and Luke there and I joined in. At first, the tall structures seemed to intimidate Jed and he was quite happy to stay in the nicely-designed ball pit on the ground level. On the same level, there was also a huge keyboard which produces sounds when it is stepped on. Jed was suitably occupied at first.

Feeling that we would not get our money's worth if we just stayed there, I coaxed Jed to try out the upper levels. I had to carry him up at first, but as he got more used to the place, he started walking across a narrow path, crawling through tunnels and climbing up steps, albeit cautiously. I am not sure if he enjoyed himself, but at least he got to try something new.

Jed seems to be increasingly cautious. Today, we (family outing with Lyndon's folks) were at the gallery at Marina Barrage and there was a raised transparent platform to walk on. Before he made each step, he bent down to touch the panels to ensure that he was on flat ground. We took a long time to make it out of that section. =)

We also met the Minister Mentor at the Marina Barrage. I couldn't believe it was him at first as he was operating a buggy himself! We could only confirm that it was him when the crowd gave him an applause at one point. Thereafter, we followed his buggy and I managed to cajole Lyndon into taking a picture of our nation's leader. Poor Mr Lee. He couldn't even enjoy a quiet evening.

Lyndon Writes:

The hubby's take of the last para above is a bit different. When traffic was diverted when we were trying to get to the car park, i remarked that an important person was probably present. Then we spotted 2 buggies, one driven by MM Lee. I straight way pointed him out. The wife's response was one of disbelief and she said, "Just because you see a white haired man, you think it is MM Lee." She only suspended her disbelief when the crowd broke into a spontaneous applause for MM. We had met him in a buggy at the Singapore Botanic Gardens before. I only had my 11-16mm lens with me and was reluctant to take a photo as MM would turn out quite small, but wifey said that she would take his wax figure at Madam Tussuad's so why not take the person in the flesh? I obliged with a few shots.

Yesterday, 14 Mar 09, Pearlyn brought Jed to the airport to pick me. I was meeting a friend there. Jed loves running around and exploring the airport. Another wonderful place to bring a 16 month old!

Sundays and tests!

2009-03-15T22:07:00.005+08:00

I have just decided to keep from studying totally on Sundays. I am always either minding Jed or studying and have not really "rested" for a long time. So for an hour this afternoon, I was reading leisurely whilst Jed was asleep and I feel liberated!

Anyways, I hope I am able to keep up with this and not have to rush to do assignments on subsequent Sundays. I have two more assignments due this semester.

I had a horrible experience with a test last Monday. Every other person in the room looked so confident and some even submitted the paper early and there I was, only able to confidently do 10% of the paper. I will be meeting my lecturer tomorrow to ask him some fundamental questions about the course. I hope I won't appear too foolish. On a more positive note, I would like to thank God for my results on the Survival Analysis test - 28/30 was my score. I pray for continual wisdom and understanding on all my 4 modules.

If I do well, the glory goes entirely to Him. My study load (no. of modules) now is similar to my load as an undergraduate and all 4 modules have higher difficulty levels and demand more personal effort. My self-study time is much less now as I would really like to spend time with Jed when I can. I commit my studies and Jed into His hands and I claim victory in both these aspects. Praise Jesus.

Caleb Lim

2009-03-11T02:50:00.005+08:00

Congrats Jason and Catherine. May Caleb grow up to be like the biblical Caleb - faithful and unwavering in the Lord.

Jed Painting

2009-03-08T01:28:00.003+08:00

Lyndon Writes:

Painting is one of the activities Pearlyn organises for Jed and he likes it. Pearlyn's dad is an artist and he was delighted to see Jed at work. Of course he gave some tips to our budding painter.

Incidentally, Jed turned 16 months on 7 March 09 :)

Breakfast

2009-03-08T01:04:00.004+08:00

Lyndon Writes:

I've been having fun experimenting and cooking Jed's breakfast. All meals are prepared without added sugar, salt and other flavourings.

Jed's seems to like

1) Steamed egg with cereal and fish

Small piece of white fish-finely chopped

Rice / pasta grounded

Egg

Fresh milk

cheese (I've used cheddar, edam, mozzarella etc)

Mix it all in a flat dish, beat the mixture and steam in water with pandan leaves for 15-20 mins.

2) Cheesy French Toast

3) Scrambles eggs with cheese

4) Hard boiled egg mash with cheese (chopped white button mushrooms optional)

5) Macaroni in cheese sauce

6) Cooked pumpkin mashed with hard boiled eggs and cheese

7) Half-boiled eggs

8) Plain bread

9) Oatmeal

I tried mixing "quick cook" oats mashed with banana and a bit of fresh milk. I then baked it in strips or whatever shapes for 15 mins. It becomes a kind of oat bar. Jed likes it when it is not too hard or dry.

I have since discovered that he likes the oatmeal too. It super easy to prepare and very nutritious.

I used dried cranberries in the picture above but Jed also likes it with dried raisins or without the added dried fruits.

Outings

2009-03-01T22:00:00.005+08:00

Lyndon took leave from work on Thu. We brought Jed to the Science Centre where I think Jed really enjoyed himself. Lyndon and I were also impressed by the exhibits. One highlight was the thunderbolt show. The host told everyone to cover his ears as the demonstration was very loud. Jed covered his eyes instead, so Lyndon and I ended up using our hands to cover Jed's ears. The weather prevented us from going to Water Works, but it was just as well since Jed's naptime arrived much too soon.

Lyndon Writes:

The Science Centre is a great place to bring Jed.

1) There are so many interactive exhibits for him to play and learn.

2) It gives great opportunities for parent-child interaction as we explain stuff to Jed and explore with him. When he gets older, he'll have lots of questions i'm sure :)

3) It is free for children under 3yrs old, and only $6 for adults. Taking a membership would make it cheaper... and the car park is free too!

On Friday evening, we went to Labrador Park. I had a nice jog around the park while Lyndon happily explained war details to Jed. The weather was really pleasant and Jed enjoyed having the breeze blow at his face whilst he surveyed the ships afar.

Lyndon Writes :

Jed loves the cool sea breeze blowing at him. Can hardly wait for him to get older so that we can explore the rocky shore line together.

Today marks the end of my short break and two tests and some assignments await. =( May the Lord grant me wisdom as I continue to mug.

Away From Baby

2009-02-26T04:09:00.006+08:00

Lyndon Writes:

I was away from 11-17 Feb on a staff retreat to Sabah. Jed was a bit upset when he saw me leaving the house with my luggage. The trip took us to Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Pom Pom Island Resort.

The last time i was at KK was with Pearlyn and Jed in June 08 and i kept thinking about how nice it would have been if they were with me.

Pom Pom Island Resort was really nice. We were the only guest there at that time - so there were like over 40 staff looking after 7 guests! We arrived around 10.30am and a few hours later, we had a spring low tide of 0.1m so it was too low for a scuba dive but great for looking at the corals reef exposed by the low tide.

In Tawau, we we were well taken care of by Pau's father and fed seafood after seafood delicacies.

The highlight of our stay at Sutera Habour was the meeting with Datuk Edward Ong as he shared his faith journey. The resort was also really nice.

We were brought to see a contender for world's most innovative toilet at Grace Point, park and community hub developed by Edward. When we were brought into the male toilet, we wee greeted by a full length floor to ceiling glass panel showcasing a landscaped garden. That turned out to be the urinal! Sensors placed at the ceiling automatically sends a waterfall cascading down the glass panel each time someone complete his "business".

Good trip but even better to be home with Pearlyn and Jed. :)

Christmas 2008 & Chinese New Year 2009

2009-02-26T03:27:00.003+08:00

Lyndon writes :

Been trying to catch up with postings and i've always wondered how people who blog regularly and frequently find the time to do so. I try to update this blog in the middle of the night when Jed's asleep. Anyway, here are some pictures of Jed's 2nd Christmas on 25 Dec 2008 and 2nd Chinese New Year on 26 Jan 2009. Compared to his 1st Christmas and CNY, what a huge difference a year makes!

T3 again

2009-02-25T21:43:00.003+08:00

We (Mum, Aunt, Lester and I) brought Jed to the airport again this evening. This time, it was a treat for me, after a day of attempting to revise for a survival test (a test on Survival Analysis). Jed also enjoyed himself as usual.

We had dinner at the airport recreation club. The counter staff communicated with Jed and one of them asked him how old he was. With a little coaxing, he stuck out one finger to respond that he was one year old. The onlooking staff members praised Jed on his cleverness and I think he was also delighted with their response. =) Jed took to the sky train ride much better this time (I can't remember when the last time was, but he did not really like the ride then). He grinned cheekily as he observed the moving surroundings.

These days, Jed seems to prefer being carried to walking on his own. Yesterday, at BG, I had to come up with various ways to encourage him to walk. He would stop every few steps to plead with me to carry him. He would even walk the opposite direction sometimes so that I would surrender and eventually carry him. I have not succumbed to his ways. Today, at the airport, he did the same and even tried to lie on the ground. I hope he gets used to walking on his own as I think he needs more exercise to get rid of his round tummy.

Totally unrelated: This morning, Jed and I dropped by Fairfield as I had to collect something. A group of Pri 4 girls came and played with him. They found him cute and chubby and I think he brightened up their recess. =)

More Words

2009-02-24T15:51:00.004+08:00

Here's a record of more words said by Jed:

- Amen

- Apple

- Ark (In response to "What did God tell Noah to build?")

- Ba (His word for bus and butterfly)

- Ball

- Bye

- Car

- Clock

- Cop (His word for helicopter)

- Dog

- Duck

- Elmo

- Hi

- Hold

- Hole

- Mmmm (For mixer and moon)

- Pour

- Star

- Toe

- Turtle

He can also identify letters "B", "C" and "O".

Praise Jesus. :)

Effects of TV

2009-02-23T12:45:00.004+08:00

This is NUS' recess week. I've just spent the last 2 hours doing research on a paper while Mum kindly looked after Jed. To kill more birds with one stone, I've selected the topic "Effects of TV Viewing on Children".

To my horror, I found out from pediatrics journals that TV / computer viewing produced more negative effects than I had thought. Apart from obesity, media viewing is also related to delayed language development. More long-term effects include an earlier onset of smoking and sexual activities. Even educational DVDs were shown to be related to delayed language development in infants from 8-16 months. I must say that the experimental designs seem sound although admittedly, there are confounding variables.

I will stop Jed from watching any TV till he turns two. I feel guilty for exposing him to the videos that Lyndon had earlier posted about, despite their seemingly beneficial contents.

If anyone is interested, I can mail you some papers related to this issue.

Horses

2009-02-22T22:11:00.003+08:00

Yay! Lyndon has spruced up the blog. I think he spent loads of time doing that, so I really must thank him.

Lyndon went on a staff retreat from 11 - 17 Feb, when Jed was experiencing one of his worst flu bouts, so Jed was mainly grounded at home. However, on 15 Feb, my aunt and I brought him to see horses at Pasir Ris Park. Jed got to stroke the horses and was quite intrigued to see other young children riding on the horses. He was also treated to a visit at T3. He loves all sorts of vehicles so he really enjoyed himself watching the planes land and take off.

Oh ya. On 14 Feb, Jed also attended the wedding of my cousin Leon. I was afraid that he might be upset and cranky since he usually slept at nine. However, he proved me wrong when he took interest in the happenings at the wedding. Even the yum seng session intrigued him and he grinned in glee when we toasted the couple. Thank God for his high spirits.

Reuben's 2nd Birthday

2009-02-20T07:12:00.007+08:00

Lyndon Writes:

Jed was invited to Reuben's 2nd birthday on Sunday, 8 Feb, 4.30-6.30pm. Reuben shares the same birthday with Dylan on 9 Feb, but that falls on a Monday this year.

Caryn was returning to work overseas that same afternoon, so Jed said his farewell at home but did not see her off at the airport.

Reuben's second birthday party was held at The Little Gym, Forum The Shopping Mall. Salmon & Lianne has been sending Reuben for weekly gym classes there and he loves the place and the new skills he learns.

The Little Gym's birthday party programme was excellent - part of it was a 45-minute semi-structured programme for kids and parents with games and skills taught, and then the kids were allowed to roam the area and play intermittently. The birthday cake and food followed. (http://www.thelittlegym.com.sg/parties.htm)

Jed enjoyed himself lots and we also learned some new activities to do with him. We will consider the option of sending him there. Happy Birthday Reuben! Thanks Salmon, Lianne & Reuben.

Dylan's Jedi Council

2009-02-19T17:33:00.004+08:00

Lyndon Writes :

On Sat 7 Feb 09, Jed's cousin Dylan Kwok called a Jedi Council gathering to celebrate his 9th birthday. He had a party based on a Star Wars theme. His actual birthday is on 9 Feb but since that was a school day, the party was brought forward.

Dylan had his school friends over and Amos and Jen were running around organising Star Wars themed games for the kids. Being too young to take part in the games, Jed decided to do a little Jedi training...

Your Baby Can Read

2009-02-19T16:18:00.004+08:00

Lyndon Writes :

Pearlyn and I try to limit the time Jed spends in front of any monitor, be it TV, educational shows, music etc. There are a few programmes we allow Jed to watch. One of them is the Your Baby Can Read series, which Jed enjoys :

Jed also likes the songs from Cedarmont Kids ( http://www.cedarmont.com/index2.html ). As can be seen from the video, it helps in his motor-reflex co-ordination :)

Gardening

2009-02-19T16:09:00.003+08:00

Lyndon Writes :

Jed loves gardening. I can't quite recall when he started to want to imitate Grandma or Siti and Latifah watering the plants in the evening. However, as soon as he could walk, he would head to the garden, pick up his little watering can and go through the motions of filling it up from a pail and then earnestly go about watering the plants. His earnest look is best captured in pictures :

Reuben

2009-02-06T23:51:00.002+08:00

Jed and Reuben went on an impromptu play date yesterday. It was the first time Jed really played WITH another toddler. Not only that, I think he enjoyed himself, especially when Reuben and he were playing their version of Peekaboo and when they both stared unblinkingly at the construction site, fascinated by the excavators. Jed also went on a tunnel slide by himself for the first time. Praise God for answering my prayers.

Thank God for arranging this session. I'm sure it was divine! I enjoyed chatting with Lianne while the kids played too. =)

What's Your Name?

2009-02-06T23:41:00.006+08:00

Here are some of Jed's responses when we ask him what his name is, which is by the way a recent development:

1) Jed

2) Jed Jed

3) Jack

4) Tack

I contributed to a little confusion to this matter today. He has a little soft toy named Boobo and every time he hears the name, he bursts into fits of laughter. Today was the same.

The following conversation took place:

Me: Say hi to Boobo.

Jed: (smiles)

Me: What's his name?

Jed: Bo.

Me: What's your name?

Jed: Bobo.

Me: Is your name Boobo?

Jed: (looks at me quizzically)

Me: No, you are Jed. He is Boobo.

Jed: (huh?)

Lyndon Writes -

4th Swimming Lesson on 6th Feb 09

Pearlyn did not feel up to getting into the pool today, so I went in with Jed... only father in a pool of mothers with their babies.

New Words and Social Skills

2009-02-02T22:56:00.004+08:00

Jed said two new words yesterday: home and more. I was super excited cos I have never heard him pronounce the "h" sound before.

At Sunday School, he went around shaking the other children's hands on his own when we sang "Good morning". I was elated!

I still have to remind him to approach other children gently and to wave and shake their hands instead of touch their faces or grab their shirts. He has improved in this respect and I praise God and continue to entrust Jed to Him. :)

Lyndon Writes :

Jed had his 3rd swimming lesson on 30 Jan 2009. He is enjoying the water and the lessons now. At home, he happily mimics some of the games we play at the pool..like the "Tiger, tiger sitting on the wall. Tiger, tiger had a great fall. 1-2-3, splash!" At the pool, he jumps into Pearlyn's arms in the water. At home on the sofa, he finds it funny falling backwards instead when he knows we expect him to fall forward!

Feeding The Hungry

2009-01-24T23:41:00.005+08:00

KKMC "fed the hungry" yesterday (23 Jan). 500 packets of food were distributed to migrant workers around the vicinity of the church. Jed and I were there to help for awhile. The little one surveyed the scene and seemed eager to distribute the food packets. He started to reach for the packets and was happy handing them out to the streaming people. I was glad that he had a chance to contribute to the community, albeit for a short while. May God use him to bless many.

Swim #2

2009-01-24T23:36:00.003+08:00

Jed did well at his 2nd swimming lesson. We had been singing the "swimming" songs at home and doing the actions on land, so he seemed at ease during the lesson. He also went underwater for the first time and survived without even a whimper. Praise the Lord! Another achievement was walking to and fro the floating mat to retrieve a toy. He did not even stumble. Praise the Lord again!

Our prayers worked! He did not even show a bit of anxiety. I was so proud of Jed and God. =)

Lyndon : More Pics

New Skills

2009-01-21T23:58:00.003+08:00

Not too sure when babies / toddlers start to blow, but Jed managed to produce a sound on the recorder two days ago and has been doing it since then.

He is getting better at using the fork too.

He is also able to do the actions to more songs. (He keeps turning round and round when we sing Father Abraham and I'm concerned that he may get dizzy.)

Thank God for Jed. :)

Play Dough

2009-01-21T23:52:00.002+08:00

I was very excited about making play dough with Jed and have been mentioning about the dough to him since Monday. Today, I scheduled the dough making for 4p.m. I was amazed that the recipe actually worked and soon we had a lump of squishy substance. Unfortunately, Jed did not share my excitement. He looked with disgust at the lump that I was enthusiastically moulding and soon started walking around in exploration of every other thing except for the dough. Oh well. I will save the dough for another day. =)

First Swimming Lesson

2009-01-21T23:40:00.003+08:00

Jed attended his first formal swimming lesson last Friday (16 Jan).

He had threatened to fall asleep in the car but I kept making a lot of noise to keep him awake. Thankfully, when we arrived at the pool, he perked up and started scanning the environment.

The instructor seemed very experienced and confident and tried to make everyone comfortable. The lesson style was impressive and creative too. I think it was good that songs were sung as Jed identifies with that. I was surprised, though, to find out that some of the children had already had a semester of experience.

Jed did not appear afraid of the water, but he cried at various points during the lesson as the whole experience was probably unfamiliar to him. Hope he will overcome this anxiety this Friday. (Lyndon has some video clips and pics but he has been too busy, so my posts will be void of these enhancements till he has more free time.) =)

Lyndon : Here are the pics

Recordings

2009-01-19T22:39:00.002+08:00

Jed and I did some recordings today.

Recording 1

Me: How does Jed laugh?

Jed: Ha ha ha ha ha.

Recording 2

Me: Twinkle twinkle little .....

Jed: Star

Recording 1 was replayed many times as Jed seemed very amused by it. =)

Brrrring Brrrring!

2009-01-10T10:13:00.003+08:00

Jed has been fiddling around with my phone.

Yesterday, he sent a blank sms to Peiyi, my friend from secondary school. (Rephrased a little cos too lazy to check the actual messages.)

Jed: blank

Peiyi: Did you send me an sms? Received a blank message from you.

Pearlyn: It was my son. He is fiddling with my phone. Sorry.

Peiyi: Maybe he's trying to date Emery. She is playing with my phone too.

Pearlyn reads the sms to Lyndon aloud. Jed goes heh heh heh.

I think he sent a few more blank sms today.

Jed: blank

Donald: ?

Pearlyn: Sorry. My son was playing with my phone. How are you?

Donald: Hi! Thank your son for me. Cos of him, you sent me an sms!

My phone is now kept out of Jed's reach.

Reflections

2009-01-07T22:08:00.006+08:00

This is a little late, considering that 7 days have passed since the end of 2008. However, as I reflect on the past year, there are many things that I thank God for:

a) Jed and Lyndon have been great companions.

b) Family members and friends have blessed us greatly. We have received several thoughtful gifts for Jed, offers to babysit Jed etc. We rarely have to cook for him or buy clothes/ toys for him.

c) When I took leave from school in August, some colleagues and pupils penned touching words.

d) I made a few new friends in the Master programme who have been helpful and supportive.

e) I totally enjoyed our family trips to Kota Kinabalu and Hong Kong. I am so looking forward to our next trip this year.

f) I used to find that the cell group did not really "suit" me as I preferred a more homogeneous group. This year, I have been blessed by the cell group and can sense that it is growing in a profound way. The cell group leader is SOLID! He really loves his cell group members a lot.

g) My superiors were understanding about the needs of new mothers and that allowed me time to transit from maternity leave back to school easily.

h) I received an undeserved award at the end of the year. I worried about what my colleagues may think, but then realise that it is God's blessing.

i) I met the requirements to continue with my studies.

j) My former pupils (Now J1) are coming to visit tomorrow. Thank God for them. I am actually praying for a chance to share my testimony with them if possible.

k) I met up with two JC friends in Dec, one of whom says he is open to attending church and seeking God.

l) Jed is growing so well.

m) Dad (Lyndon's)'s operations were successful.

There are many more things to write about but time does not permit their being listed.

Praise God for everything.

Lyndon Adds :

2008 was a difficult year for me in some aspects. However, watching Jed grow has brought so much joy to Pearlyn and I. Below are some pictures of time we had we Jed at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009.

Marina Barrage - 26 Dec 2009

Singapore Botanical Gardens - 30 Dec 2008

IMM Playground, 9 Jan 2009

Impressed!

2009-01-07T21:56:00.002+08:00

Ryan shared on an elaborate reward / motivation system used by his teacher. The boys could earn soldiers which they would put on countries and attack other groups when they solved questions or did something desirable. The boys even wrote contracts with their parents - they could earn points when they helped with household chores. I can't really remember all the details, but I am inspired and impressed. =)

Painting

2009-01-07T21:40:00.005+08:00

I took up Jen and Amos' suggestion on painting in the bathroom. To introduce paint to Jed, I drew a heart shape with it on my arm. As his curiosity grew, I led him to the bathroom where the activity was to take place. He saw me whip up a lump of yellow paint and smear it on the wall. That was it! He could no longer contain his excitement and started on his art work promptly. The final piece was quite impressive, considering that he still hesitates when I tell him to scribble on pieces of paper. We also had fun spraying water at the walls and ground so that there would be no trace of our activity!

Oversight!

I did not have the foresight to remove his clothes beforehand, so the task of scrubbing his shorts fell upon my shoulders in a matter of minutes.

He is in God's hands

2009-01-07T21:19:00.003+08:00

Recently, I have been perturbed by a particular behaviour of Jed. While in the company of boys who are slightly older than he is, he sometimes suddenly pulls at their clothes and attempts to bite them. While doing that, he appears upset and has a very determined look on his face. I have been afraid that he may hurt other children and thus try to prevent him from even touching any other child about his height, although not always successfully. I tried to look up the net on such behaviour, but have not found a similar case.

I do not know how to curb this behaviour and as there does not seem to be any apparent trigger, I am unable to preempt it. For a while, I felt helpless. Lyndon and I have decided to commit the matter to God. We dedicate Jed to God every night now and pray that the Lord will direct Jed's steps and guide us to be excellent parents. If you are reading this and you are someone who loves Jed, please pray along with us. Thank you.

I thank God for Jed. At home, he is such a sweet boy and shares his things readily. He also laughs heartily when something funny happens. When school starts next week, I will have difficulty being away from him and not being able to put him to bed on some nights. I pray that I will teach him God's statutes and ways during the time I have with him.

Hong Kong (15-19 Dec)

2008-12-21T14:56:00.002+08:00

Jed seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed our holiday in Hong Kong. His smile stretched from ear to ear and he was very reluctant to sleep throughout the journey as he didn't want to miss any bit of the fun.

This was our brief itinerary:

Day One - Victoria Peak (Madame Tussaud's Museum), Avenue of Stars, Ladies' Market

Day Two - New Town Shopping Plaza (Snoopy World, Musical Fountain), China Ferry Terminal

Day Three - Macau (The Venetian, St Paul's Cathedral, Fisherman's Wharf)

Day Four - Citygate Outlets, Disneyland (Fireworks, Parade)

Day Five - Disneyland (Winnie-the-Pooh, Philharmagic Concert, Jungle Cruise, Sleeping Beauty Christmas Ball, Cinderella's Carousel, It's a Small World (Jed's favourite ride))

Thank God for a smooth journey. The only hiccup was that the airline didn't arrange for us to have the front seats with a bassinet holder on our return flight. Jed had to contend with sleeping on my lap in seat no. 70K. Sigh.

Eventful Day

2008-12-10T22:52:00.002+08:00

Jed had an eventful day today.

6a.m. - Jed was dragged out of bed to go to the airport to see Daddy off.

6.30a.m. - We arrived at the airport and waited for Daddy to check in.

7.20a.m. - Daddy prayed for group and dispersed group for personal farewells.

7.45a.m. - Daddy and group bade farewell. Sob. Jed and Mama will miss Daddy very much.

Jed and Mama went to Starbucks for breakfast. Jed ate a spinach and mushroom quiche for the first time - and enjoyed it immensely.

8.30a.m. - The meal was consumed so we left the airport and headed for Bedok (Mama's parents' place).

9a.m. - Jed had fallen asleep in the car so we stayed at the carpark and waited for Aunty Bird to arrive to take us to Marina Barrage.

9.40a.m. - Aunty Bird arrived and Jed woke up at about the same time.

10a.m. - We arrived at Marina Barrage. It was a beautiful place. Jed was fascinated with the water playground. He seemed to enjoy the gallery too.

11a.m. - Jed fell asleep in the car.

1p.m. - Jed woke up, had lunch and played.

3p.m. - Dajiu, Yipo, Popo and Mama brought Jed to a dog farm. Jingle got to stretch his legs at a training area, but seemed apprehensive of the obstacles.

4.30pm.- Jed went to Ikea and played at the cafe's play area. We met Michele and Claire there by chance.

5p.m.-We went home and Jed had another short nap while Mama cooked his dinner (which comprised macaroni, milk, cheese, ham and broccoli).

7p.m.- Jed tried his dinner, but didn't manage to finish it. Popo and Yipo decided to cook porridge so that he would not be hungry at night.

7.40p.m. - We headed towards home, but stopped at a Japanese restaurant for a quick dinner. Jed ate his porridge whilst the adults ordered garlic fried rice, buta kimuchi fried rice and okinawa soba. The b.k. fried rice was a palatable dish, in Mama's opinion.

9p.m. - Jed finally arrived home after a day of new adventures and slept peacefully by 9.30p.m.

At The Sims

2008-12-09T05:28:00.004+08:00

Lyndon Writes : We had a LifeGroup tea at the Sims on 8 Dec 08 - mainly to welcome back Raveen and Laurencia. About half the group could not make it, but those who went had a great time catching up. Actually, it was the 1st time Raveen and Laurencia met Salmon and Lianne.

While the adults were busy having great coffee courtesy of Salmon the barista for the day, Reuben and Jed were having fun playing together. They were not just play own their own at the same time but reacting to each other. For example, Reuben decided to prune an indoor plant (something he was not supposed to do as we found out later) and Jed was throwing the pruned leaves out. Then Reuben stacked some blocks while Jed was storing them and Jed decided stack the blocks too. They are 9 months apart and at this stage, Reuben is a fair bit more advanced in development but they seem to be getting use to each other and playing together.

Outing

2008-12-05T22:03:00.002+08:00

Jed didn't have his usual morning nap today cos I had some colleagues over to rehearse for our item tomorrow and he was too excited to sleep (we're singing at a wedding). He napped from 1.30-3.30p.m. instead so I had to rearrange his schedule.

At 3.30p.m., I set up a tub of water at the car porch and brought down most of his water toys. He was only entertained for about 15 min, after which he stretched out his hands towards me to be carried.

After drying him up, we decided to head for a playground. We first went to the one at Watten Estate, but it was a disappointment - it was small and filthy. We then hopped on a bus (Jed was angelic on this bus ride) and ended up at Bishan Park. Jed seemed quite happy there. He smiled adorably a number of times, sat on a swing, picked up some twigs and saw some squirrels. I guess fatigue took over and on the bus ride home, he began to show signs of irritation.

I pray that during the flight on our impending trip to HK, he will be comfortable, well-rested and may the peace of God be upon him at all times.

Walking and Talking and Praising God

2008-12-03T22:56:00.004+08:00

Jed started walking confidently on 23 Nov (Sun). My aunt (Yueyue) was here to look after him whilst I studied. She was determined to train him to walk, so she kept moving backwards as he walked towards her. Amazingly, that worked, and since then, he has been walking more than crawling. He also loves to put on shoes. Perhaps he thinks shoes make him look more grown-up. =)

He's also started to say "baobao" whenever he wants us to carry him. He also calls "Papa" endearingly. Lyndon's heart melts whenever he hears that.

He knows the actions to Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu Hallelujah and He's Able (though not exact). Praise the Lord!

Lyndon Writes :

"Jed Can Walk!!" exclaims Lyndon's Dad on 25 Nov.

Lyndon's dad had been in hospital since 15 Nov for gall stones and pancreatitis. On Sat Nov 15, he was very ill and we sent him to A&E @SGH. It was a challenging time for the family but God was good and he eventually got better. In the meantime, Jed had been honing his walking abilities. Jed walked a bit when he visited grandpa in hospital. Now as grandpa watched in amazement, he was walking up and down garndpa's room, bringing things here and there.

Lyndon's dad remarks, "I've only been in hospital for 10 days and Jed starts walking."

Indeed, babies grow so fast. Soon it'll be toddler Jed and not Baby Jed.

On 27 Nov 08, Lyndon's Dad celebrated his 74th Birthday. It was a simple celebration as he was still recovering and was having a slight fever. However, his spirits was high an he did eat the yummy Lana Chocolate cake. Jen, Amos and the boys printed the 2005 edition of Kwok Chronicles for Dad. Lyndon, Pearlyn and Jed customised a cup and saucer with pictures of Dad taken over the last year.

On 3rd Dec 08, Lyndon's parents celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. Again, celebrations were a bit muted as Lyndon's dad was still recovering. Caryn sent a lovely bouquet of flowers. Jen & Amos got a mango mousse from Bakerzin while Pearlyn got an Artic Roll from Island Creamery - Hence the 2 cakes. Pearlyn was absent as she had a stats exam that same evening.

Talking about Pearlyn's exams, I had been taking leave to look after Jed while she studies. This was something i really wanted to do as i won't be seeing Jed for 2 whole week from 10-22 Dec when i'll be at Santi Village and Payakorngdee Village. Would have been great if P and Jed were with me, but they'll be off to HK with P's folks. Anyway, the villages may be challenging to bring Jed, especially as we hear that this is going to be very chilly winter.

During my time on leave with Jed, it was great bringing him for 90mins walks twice a day to the Botanic Gardens. On one of the morning walks, he was looking at a squirrel one moment and sleeping like a baby in daddy's arms the next. That was so cool. Then the bright smile that lights up whenever he goes to the waterfalls or sees a plane fly by. He is starting to get quite happy walking around on his own, picking up twigs and leaves and exploring the world around him. Praise God!

First Bus Ride

2008-11-20T01:30:00.002+08:00

Jed's first bus ride happened on 17 Nov. Since he had always been fascinated by buses, I decided to let him feel how it was like to be on one. He was suitably awed by the experience. He looked curiously at the sleeping boy sitting next to us and kept trying to grab hold of his water bottle. When new people boarded the bus, he looked intently at them. He also decided to touch the fingers of a lady who was using the seat in front of us as a handle. He exchanged cheeky smiles with a lady who seemed enchanted by him. Her response was "so cute, so cute".

He finally understands what it means when we sing, "The people on the bus go up and down."

I am glad to mention that two ladies (who looked in their fifties) offered their seats to Jed and me. I am grateful to them.

Jed's Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

2008-11-17T23:10:00.011+08:00

Lyndon Writes : Jed is lots of fun to be with as he has an ever expanding vocabulary. His verbal communication is still somewhat restrained. He can say "mama", "daddy" when he wants to. One morning last week, he woke up really early, like 4am plus and he lay on the bed between Pearlyn and I and started saying "Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball." Pearlyn, half asleep until then became all excited and alert. "Did you hear that" she exclaimed excitedly and proceeded to have a conversation with Jed. Jed on his part vocalised a few more words and phrases, like "No more" (and he stopped!..oh he added "daddy after that..heh heh). I strongly suspect this baby is deliberately holding back on his vocalisation of words, because he certainly displays signs of understanding words and phrases. My suspicion stems from his use of non-verbal communication.

Jed's non-verbal cues are getting more complex than the simple pointing to what he wants. We taught him a bit of sign language when he was a few months old and he also caught some gestures from various people.

No : Shakes his head

Yes : Put hands on head with slight push as he cannot fully nod yet.

No More : Lifts hand upwards and give twisting motions.

Where : Open palms facing up.

Stop : Put hand forward like traffic police motioning a stop sign.

Thank You : Puts hand to mouth.

Me / I want : Places palms on own chest.

Cannot : Both hand up, palms facing away from body, moving horizontally.

Pray : Clasp both hands.

Praise God/ Hallelujah : Lifts both hands above head.

Goodbye : waves hand.

Come : Motion come with hand.

Please : Bring hands together at upper chest to lower chin area,

His behaviour is also showing increasing awareness and complexity. For example, today Siti the maid was looking after him while we had lunch. When Pearlyn went to take him back after lunch, Jed looked at Siti and signed his "Thank You" gesture. We had been teaching him to say thank you to those who baby sit him and now he was doing it on his own!

This evening, Jed was playing in his "castle" when Pearlyn looked through one of the windows of the castle and called out to him. Jed was aware that Pearlyn was expecting him to crawl to her through that window. So he gave a mischievous grin and went through the outside of the castle and surprised her from another side.

He keeps his toy kitchen knife in his ball pit and then go into the pit to retrieve it when he is playing with the toy food and fruits, which are kept in another box.

We have told him not to touch certain objects like the fan, slippers etc. Now when he approaches these objects, he would sign "cannot" and then proceeds to touch (!) while looking at Pearlyn..then he signs "cannot" again.

He is able to understand the words in the "Your Baby Can Read" series from Starter volume to Volume 3. (http://www.yourbabycanread.com/)

Tanguy and Lynette gave him a book, "All Thing Bright and Beautiful" by Jane Horne and Claire Page. (http://www.makebelieveideas.com/products/187/all-things-bright-and-beautiful/). Jed delights in pointing out the animals in that book.

Lord Jesus, we pray that Jed will be like You, growing in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. (Luke 2:52).

Play Date with Reuben

2008-11-17T11:42:00.006+08:00

On Friday 14 Nov 08, Lyndon Writes : We arranged a play date with Reuben on 14 Nov 08. At around 9.30am Lianne came by with Reuben. Pearlyn and I were a bit concerned that Jed may be shy, or territorial or just do his own thing. However our fears were son dispelled with Jed almost immediately gave Reuben a toy apple. This was part of the set of toy food items that Jen and Amos had carefully kept when their kids outgrew them. Jed loves the set of toys and he loves apples. So we are really glad he is learning to share.

Jed fell asleep towards the end of the play date around 11am. His normal nap time is 10.30am. We brought Reuben to see the sleeping Jed and Reuben waves goodbye to the sleeping Jed as he was about to leave. Lianne later smsed "Reuben had a good time and was still replaying his goodbye to sleeping Jed." Jed had a good time too and it was wonderful for Pearlyn and I to catch up with Lianne and exchange babies stories. Thanks Lianne and Reuben!

Jed and his new toys

2008-11-14T17:56:00.005+08:00

Lyndon Writes : Jed has been enjoying his new toys from his birthday. Up until yesterday, he still had a couple of unopened presents as we wanted spread out the sudden inflow of new toys into his life. His presents have been very thoughtful and we are very grateful to the various givers who took the effort to choose good gifts. Thanks- if you are reading this!

Jed on His Birthday

2008-11-14T17:11:00.005+08:00

7 Nov 2008:

Lyndon Writes : It is quite amazing to see Jed's growth and transformation. On this day last year, he was a little 3.08kg new born. He's not too heavy now, around 9.4-9.5kg but he is so much fun to be with. For example, this is how he spend the morning of his 1st birthday :

First, charm Momsy with a super happy smile! Jed was still having a slight runny nose but he did not seem to be bothered by it.

Then Start the day with exercise in the treadmill!

Then read some books!

Pearlyn invited some colleagues with their kids over for a play date with Jed.

Pearlyn and I had Praying At The Frontline at Church that night so we could not spend the whole day with Jed.

We also received the news that Lyndon's cousin Ivy celebrated her eternal birthday that afternoon. She has been fighting cancer. The good news was that she prayed to trust Christ on 2nd Nov and then received water baptism on 5 Nov.

First (5) Steps

2008-11-10T23:23:00.002+08:00

Jed walked 5 steps on his own yesterday in the toddlers' room in church. I was so excited that I exclaimed, "He's walking on his own!" A few ladies were beside us and they spontaneously cheered for Jed. =)

Today, he tried the feat a few more times, to the delight of Grandma and me. Praise God for this new development, although it means that the caregivers have to be more vigilant and on their toes.

On another note, I'm taking a break from doing a laborious assignment to write this. I'm totally clueless about how I should go about tackling the questions even though I've been at them for a long time. Please pray for me if you're reading this - although I suspect that readership is very scarce.

Our prayer

2008-11-06T23:16:00.004+08:00

Jed shares the same birthday as Billy Graham. We pray that God will use Jed as mightily (if not more) as he has used Billy Graham, who has evangelised millions.

May Jed grow in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and men.

May Jed be joyful in every circumstance.

May Jed be obedient to God and his parents and other figures that God has put in authority.

May Jed be a man after God's heart.

May Jed love the Word of God and may the Word of God be a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path.

May Jed have godly friends and may he in turn be an encouragement to his friends.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Happy birthday to Jed

2008-11-06T22:48:00.006+08:00

Yippee! Jed's birthday will arrive in about an hour's time. We had a nice celebration for him last Saturday. I think he really loved the playground setup and he was quite excited to see the cake too. =) He felt shy during the singing of the birthday song though and turned away. I pray he gets over this stage of shyness - it seems to be manifesting more as he gets older.

Lyndon adds : An amazing 12 months has passed - and Jed most probably won't remember a thing of his 1st year of life. We've tried to keep a week by week photo record of his 1st 52 weeks and thank God, we do have pictures from each week of his 1st year. Below is a picture showing Jed's 1st 12 months, part of a "keynote" presentation we did for his party.

Jed loves his gifts. We are "releasing" them gradually so that he appreciates each one better.

So far, thank you to:

- the Lais for the lovely train set. Jed loves pressing the honey pot and listening to the songs.

- the Boks for the 2 lovely books

- the Chins for the Noah's Ark jigsaw

- Ash and Salome for scouting for the gift we requested for - the Aqua Doodling Pack

- Brian and Jocelyn for the Clippo

- Cheng Han and family for the Clippo too

- the Sims for the beautiful clothes

- Wei Lee and Michele for the creatively wrapped diapers and other useful gifts

- Tanguy and family for the book that comes with the CD with Jed's favourite songs

- Yueyue for the Barney CD and water play area

- Kristin for the cute coinbox

All cash gifts were also greatly appreciated. The money will go into Jed's Education Fund.

I should also mention that we were very satisfied with the food from Revada. Yummy. We really enjoyed feasting on the leftovers the last few days. =) At least I think Lyndon and I did.

Lyndon adds : We have to thank Mdm Lau Kan How for her help with Revada - so Kan How, if you read this- Thanks a Bunch!

The Menu for the buffet :

Cold Selection
Revada Sushi & Nori Maki Rice Roll Platter
Seafood with Caviar Vol Au Vent

Hot Savories
Sautee Authentic Seafood Linguine with Traditional Tomato Sauce & Button Mushroom
Japanese Style Yakitori Chicken with Leek Skewer
Golden Breaded Prawn Fritter with Tartar Sauce
Oven bake chicken pie

Tim Sum
Steam Seafood Siew Mai
Shrimp Meat Hargow
Home Made Vegetable Crystal Bun

Sweets & Pastries
Mini Oreo Cheese Cake & Walnut Brownies Cake
Durian Pengat with Glutinous Rice
Chocolate Fondue

Drinks
Lyndon's Special Ginger Refresher !

Here's some pictures from Jed's 1st Birthday Party - Celebrated on Sat, 1st Nov 08. (Several were from Amos as I was otherwise engaged- Thanks!)

Eden and James will be coming over to play with him tomorrow. I really hope they can make it. It'll be special to have playmates on his actual birthday. =)

Timothy Lai's 1st Birthday

2008-10-25T09:32:00.003+08:00

Lyndon Writes:
Timothy Lai celebrated his 1st birthday on 19 Oct. On Sat 18 Oct, Bern & Vic had a celebration for Tim at their place. Tim's room is nice and spacious with lots of room to play. On weekdays, both Tim and Jamie spend the day there when their parents are at work. Tim is walking very steadily for his age. He is a bright toddler.

Jed is starting to walk too... and i guess that marks the beginning of the transition from baby Jed to toddler Jed. Gosh, when that happens, i'm actually going to miss the baby Jed period.

Jed The Bird Watcher - 1st Visit to the Jurong Bird Park

2008-10-25T07:07:00.005+08:00

Lyndon Writes : Jed seems to be fascinated with things that fly - birds, planes, copters etc. Every morning, Jed will look at birds from his window with daddy. There is a tree in front of the balcony window where several olive-backed sunbirds hang out regularly. Jed likes to look at them. Once, while i was looking at one of the birds, he pointed towards another direction. I followed his finger and realised that he had spotted another olive-backed sunbird across the road at our neighbours tree!
Anyway, Pearlyn suggested bringing Jed to the Jurong Bird Park and we found some time on 17 Oct 2008.

Jed & Daddy- taken by Momsy

2008-10-25T07:02:00.002+08:00

Lyndon Writes:

Here are a couple of pictures Pearlyn took on 11 Oct 2008 that i like. Ok..she actually took it in colour but it was under exposed and that gave me the idea to convert it to black and white. Love them!