Jeremy the 6 year old

Jeremy celebrated his 6th birthday with relative quietness and privacy. Much of the celebrations happened in the pre-school premise. I must say he has developed rapidly over the past one year in terms of physical and mental well being.

Here are some of the expected developments for a 6 year old:

• Six-year-olds have longer attention spans and continue to prefer structured activities to more open-ended experiences. They enjoy taking on new roles and responsibilities, but still require much direction from adults and frequently ask questions to ensure that they are completing tasks the right way.
  BRAIN : I must say Jeremy does have longer attention span. He can watched and complete a movie without disruption (if he likes the show). However, he does not necessarily ask questions to ensure he is 'completing tasks' the right way. An example, is that he does not always follow the coach's instructions during swimming lessons!
• The language skills of six-year-olds become increasingly sophisticated throughout the year. Their vocabularies rapidly increase, and their language moves beyond communication to provide a foundation for learning, including the development of independent reading skills. In general, their pronunciation of words is clear and they use complex grammatical forms accurately.
  BRAIN : Jeremy seems to be good in language skills. English is strong in him and based on the teacher's feedback, he has demonstrated strong affiliation for the Mandarin language, although he mentioned that he would not speak in Mandarin at home as its for school only ! What a reason to give !. I really hope he can pick up dialect as well like Hokkien so that he can appreciate his heritage better in future. That would be one of my 2013 resolution!
  
• In first grade, children transform into true readers. They apply their knowledge of how print works and practice strategies to decode unfamiliar words. They learn to read aloud with fluency, accuracy and understanding. They read a variety of texts for pleasure (e.g., stories, informational texts, poems) and draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies to understand and enjoy texts. Children this age write stories, notes and descriptions. Most are able to develop an idea beyond a sentence and will add some details to help describe or explain things in their world. They enjoy sharing their writing with others.
  BRAIN : Reading again is not a problem for him. Jeremy seems to have developed interest in reading books to acquire knowledge. We were initially concerned with his reading skills at the beginning of the year, but thanks to my in-laws whom have actually put him on a 'grilling' program and since then reading skills have improved tremendously.
• In mathematics, six-year-olds can typically count up to "200" and count backwards from "20." They understand the concept of "odd" and "even" numbers and can represent numbers on a number line or with written words. They use increasingly more sophisticated strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems. They also count the sides of shapes to identify them and can combine shapes to create a new one. Six-year-olds can also give and follow directions for moving around a room or on a map.
  BRAIN : An Achilles Heel for little Jeremy. Despite putting him in Kumon classes, he seems easily distracted when dealing with math. An area to watch indeed.
  
• Scientific discovery for children this age is affected by their tendency to straddle the world between make-believe and reality. Six-year-olds might continue to give animals human characteristics, such as suggesting what a worm might be thinking, or that a butterfly has eye lashes. Gentle encouragement to look closely at worms and butterflies will help children to describe more objectively what they observe. Science experiences for this age group should continue to immerse children in first-hand investigation of the world around them, so they can continue to build a reservoir of experiences from which they can begin to draw as their thinking becomes more sophisticated.
  BRAIN : He has developed curiosity in this area. He enjoys listening to grandpa on how rainbow is formed, how onions and trees can grow or how caterpillars can develop into beautiful butterflies.
• Six-year-olds continue to enjoy moving in a variety of ways. Although far from proficient in motor skills, this does little to dampen their enthusiasm for trying out new activities and sports. They are able to run in various pathways and directions and can manipulate their bodies by jumping and landing, rolling and transferring their weight from feet to hands to feet. Their hand- and foot-eye coordination is still developing, so skills like throwing, catching, kicking and striking are still emerging. With the right equipment, however, and a skillful partner, their motor skills continue to improve. Note: During this period of development, children's actual skill levels will vary based on their amount of physical activity. Sedentary children will not mature as quickly as those who participate in activities like dance lessons, team sports or backyard play.
  BRAIN : Swimming is the flavour of the year for Jeremy. Since full training a couple of months back. Now he can float and swim fairly well save for some improvement in strokes. 
  
  An investment in Bukit Kiara is indeed worth the money.
  
  

My Daughter was 2 years old 26 days ago

The Hello Kitty cake. Hello Kitty has been an obsession for Lil Alicia in the past six months.

Standing tall over the birthday cake

With the aid from the brother, Alicia attempts to blow the candle

Alicia laughing awaaay

Managing a 4 year old

Well, its the age of the pre-schooler, its also an age of discovery for him as he gets to converse more with parents and exposed to other kids in the kindergarden. Its also definitely, an age when he experiments with defiance and testing the boundaries of discipline. Hence, parenting in my mind has moved to the next phase when the once baby boy hits 4 year old.Having said, I found this in the net which I thought was useful and hit right in the nail on how we dealt with Baby (Oops no longer baby!!) J

Here are 5 quick tips to help you improve deal with 4 year old behavior.

1) Always acknowledge what your child is saying. If you try to distract your child from whatever is on their mind without first acknowledging them, they will see right through you. But if you first repeat what they are saying, you'll "enter their world" and calm them down before any fights begin.

2) When your child is acting in a way that you do not like, make sure you tell him or her what you DO want, rather than telling them what you don't want. In other words, speak in positive terms. "I want you to come over here" is better than "stop going over there". Or "keep your hands to yourself" is better than "stop hitting your little sister". This goes for pretty much anything you communicate to your child.

3) Stay calm when you discipline your child. If you show your anger and frustration, your 4 year old will know he or she has pushed your hot buttons. You'll have more success with discipline if you keep your cool. You can be unemotional when implementing punishment.

4) Never apologize when implementing punishment. If you stay unemotional and act with calmness, you simply follow up on a threatened punishment with a simple explanation of what your child did (after being asked to behave differently) and you explain that the punishment is because of the behavior/action. No apologies necessary here.

5) Feel comfortable following through. If you make a threat such as, "If you don't get over here right now I'm not taking you to Grandma's tomorrow", then you better be prepared to actually follow through. Therefore, maybe you need to consider what is a realistic punishment and what is not. Keep a short list of realistic punishments on the tip of your tongue, and make sure at least one of these can be used when you are not at home. Get your children in the habit of understanding that you are someone who acts, not just talks.

Anyway, here are some memorable pictures to complement the new milestone in growing up and of course parenting:


Celebrating Jeremy's 4 year old birthday at home. This time cake is baked at home.


Trying to be photogenic. One of many new expressions in recent times


Enjoying his birthday party in school with Buzz Lightyear cake and baby sis as company as well


Another pose. Already know how to pose for camera.


Taken in a public beach along Telok Bahang Penang

Jeremy's 3rd Birthday Pictures

Some pictures taken at the party held at the playschool:



Jeremy is seen blowing the candle as he always does. At least this time it was his birthday so action is justified !



This is a sample of the cupcake ordered by Pinky from Mama Min. These cupcakes were distributed to Jeremy's classmates at the playschool

Pictures taken at home - the actual birthday



Jeremy got his birthday wish ie a Lightning McQueen birthday cake.



Jeremy is seen here attempting to cut the birthday cake, of course with the help of mommy.

Jeremy's 3rd Birthday

Just as when I wanted to update the blog. Baby Centre UK 'dropped' me a message in my Lotus Notes and it is worded as follows:

"Congratulations — your little one is now three! More fun is in store for you now that he's no longer a baby. He's probably already holding his own in conversations, running and jumping like an athlete and he will soon write his full name. He's developing more sophisticated social skills and knows how to take turns or join in with others. Before you know it, He'll be cracking jokes, (usually the same joke several times a day for days on end), remembering entire songs and even reading. Although He'll soon be saying goodbye to toddlerhood, rest assured that life won't be boring with him around."

Yes, Jeremy is indeed no longer a baby. He certainly can hold his own in conversations. He has the ability to ask challenging logical question and likewise able to respond to questions posed to him. He also demonstrated simple likes and dislikes. He continues to adore Mickey Mouse cartoons and love Little Einstein and Nemo. On the contrary, he seems to manifest a distaste for 'The Incredibles', 'Mulan' and 'Banana in Pyjamas'. On food, he continues to build his passion for pizzas but ice cream seems to have dropped off from his favourite list, something I do not expect for kiddies.

Jumping like an athlete and writing his full name perhaps is still a distance away. As mentioned before, jumping seems to be a difficult task for Jeremy. While alphabets are easy stuff for him, writing the alphabets what more full name perhaps is something we are prepared to wait awhile.

Cracking jokes however can be considered a hallmark for Jeremy. It was only a day or two ago when he accompanied mommy to the gynae for the monthly pregnancy checkup, when he spoke at the top of his voice pointing to a boy in the distance : " Wah, botak head !" and laughed ! The boy actually heard the remark, and walked closer and responded : "I like botak head what".

Well, at three year old, it is indeed a milestone as Jeremy moves out from toddlerhood to the world of yet another exciting phase - The Age of the Preschoolers.

Anyway, the diary of what happened during his birthday today and detailed as follows:

1. Woke up at 930am
2. At 10, went to the Siamese buddhist temple in PJ to pray.
3. At 11, birthday cake cutting session. This year, mommy ordered a Lightning McQueen cake for lil Jeremy
4. At 12, had his lunch and followed mommy and daddy to do grocery shopping
5. 3-6, afternoon nap
6. 7-9, accompanied mommy and daddy to Porto Romano for dinner. Dinner of course includes Jeremy's favourite food - PIZZA

Pictures will be uploaded shortly

Jeremy - 24-25 months

Some best of 24-25 months

The first three pictures are from his 2 year old birthday celebrations. This time is a private party - only 3 of us.







The next two pics focus on the birthday cake - Thomas the Tank theme





This pic was taken when we were at the Legend Water Chalet



The last 2 pics show how how Baby J has grown up........

Jeremy turns the BIG TWO today - Hurrah!!!

Jeremy is no more an infant or baby - you can't even put him in that category anymore given the tantrums he throws, the constant jabbering and the antics he's up to these days!. The era of the terrible twos have finally arrived. We will post the pictures later in the week. No parties this year - just some peace and quiet between the 3 of us here. See you guys when we get back.

*Backdated Post* - Jeremy's birthday bash on 16 June 2007

Jeremy's birthday bash turned out better than expected and he enjoyed himself immensely with the other kids. It was truly a kids' party with the adults joining in the fun.

The day started with me frantically decorating my home with the streamers and balloons which came by van from Balloons Bouquet. I ordered decorative balloons as well as a special balloons for each child. For some of the girls, I got them My little Pony balloons as well as a Barney Balloon cos it was a favourite for one particular toddler. For the boys, I got a Pirates of the Caribbean balloon and a Winnie the Pooh balloon for a baby who was about the same age as Jeremy. I got Jeremy an Elmo balloon and he absolutely loved it. For the goodie bags, the girls got their fairy wings, tiaras and wands together with some party packs while the boys got their pirate hats, hook and eye patch. It was pretty fun to see some of them dress up during the party! I ordered the cake from Mama Min with an Elmo's World theme. Foodwise, I ordered 100 satay sticks, char kuay teow, Pai Tee (or Top Hats), Roti Jala, Lobak,and Joo Hoo Char. I almost wanted to order popiah but luckily I didn't since there was so much leftovers after that! I got the kids Ribena while we all had orange juice.

I'll let the pictures below do the talking :)

Happy 1st Birthday Jeremy, Yang Shan!

Today is Jeremy's 1st birthday and it started with a visit to the Petaling Jaya Kwan Yin Temple to offer prayers and request for blessings for Jeremy. I brought along the red eggs that my mother-in-law made in the wee hours of the morning together with the some fruits to offer to Kwan Yin at the altar. Thereafter, it was back home to do the ceremonial cake cutting and singing together with my in-laws and my parents. I got him a rasberry cheesecake from Secret Recipe with all the baby Looney Toons characters. He obviusly didn't know how to blow the candle and I had to do it on his behalf but he did try to cut the cake himself *lol*. We took a lot of pictures and by then he was getting very hungry. He had his porridge and then it was off to dreamland. He slept for a total of 3 hours in the afternoon (while I went to secretly test drive a new car in Shah Alam - which we may potentially buy middle of next year) and is now playing with his new Barney toy which was a gift from his grandparents. Tonite we will be going to dinner with all his grandparents and aunty (my sis) at Crystal Crown Hotel in PJ. Too bad his uncle (my brother-in-law) can't make it as he is still in Singapore working and at the same time jagaing his kedai.

Anyway, here are a couple of shots taken from today. There will definitely be more coming from this Saturday's Party! I guess I will let the newest party animal in town do the talking then *lol*



Jeremy in his Everton FC Jersey due to Brain's obsession with a particular Englich Football Club which is languishing in the league standings.

Birthdays are like baths... you have one once a year whether you need it or not!

As last Friday was my birthday, Brain took me out to dinner to Cilantro, at Micasa Hotel, a chic award wining restaurant noted for their French-Japanese cuisine. I got off work earlier than usual to beat the horrendous KL traffic which was getting worse by the minute. The fact that it was the school holidays and was raining cats and dogs didn't help. Anyway, while we were stuck in the congestion, I got a call from my colleague who said that a disgruntled client had just called (at 6.30pm!) to say that she didn't receive an important e-mail from me. I told my colleague that I have sent it out the previous evening straight right after my call with her. My colleague called the client back to explain the situation but she was just not happy and was literally jumping up and down saying that she needed the information for a Monday morning presentation!. Unfortunately, my colleague didn't know how to defuse the situation and told me to anticipate a complaint on Monday by one mighty unhappy client . I was like - thanks for ruining the rest of my Friday! Firstly, I must say that the client is just plain UNREASONABLE. Why:
a) To know that she has a tight deadline to prepare for an internal presentation on Monday on her part and needed that vital information, she had to call me on Thursday after 5.30pm to get it. If she needed the information urgently she should have started her preparation as early as a week ago instead of asking me for the information at the very last minute.

b) To call me at 6.30pm on a Friday to inform that she has not received my e-mail is also a
mistake. She should have called during the day. What an idiot!

c) I did send the e-mail out and am just wondering whether she checked her mail box!

After the call from my colleague, I had half a mind to go back to office to reforward the e-mail to the client. Brain was taking it easy and told me to just forget it and get it to her only on Monday and besides we were still stuck in traffic and it would be difficult to turn back. Obviously, Brain does not know the extent of the repercussions that I'm about to face on Monday! Got to the restaurant and started to look at their menu but still worrying at the back of my mind about the stupid e-mail. Brain was giving me the look that says "stop worrying and start ordering" ! I ordered the salad and the seabass, skipped the dessert and the wine. Becos I looked so worried and fidgety, Brain just gave up and said that we will go back to office after the dinner. Finally, I relaxed and started to enjoy the food and ambience. Well, anyway, it's not first time that I've been to Cilantro but I must say that the food is definitely top notch insofar as fining dining is concerned. After dinner, we were relieved to know that the congestion and rain has subsided tremendously and there was hardly any traffic all the way back to office. I sent the e-mail out again and didn't get any nasty call on Monday! Truth to be told, she is one of the many difficult clients I have and this wouldn't be the first time that things like that happen!

Planning for a 1st birthday party

Brain has been nudging (more like nagging) me constantly to update my blog so that it doesn't end up being a... you know R.I.P.

Anyway, I have being rather busy at work (aren't we all?) with deadlines looming till the end of our financial year i.e June 30th. Closing off books at the year end is a rather tedious process.

On the home front, we have OPERATION BIRTHDAY BASH happening in 3 weeks time. Been doing the list (and checking it twice) plus all the elaborate planning for the last 2 weekends. Now the time has come to put the plan in motion. It's a hard task especially as the plans centres around an ideal birthday party but the reality is, whatever plans that maybe, they can still fall thru before the party. Todate, invitations have been sent out and everyone has RSVPed except for 2 people.

It's going to be a Theme party! I have placed an order for a themed birthday cake and am getting balloons from Balloons Bouquet for the occasion. I haven't gotten any party supplies/wares yet although I was extremely tempted to order from Party Pieces, you know Kate Middleton's( Prince William's ex-girlfriend) online family business cos' the partyware accessories are to die for especially since they go so well with a Theme party. But then again, the overseas delivery charges are just inexplicably expensive - 30 pounds or nearly RM210 bucks! and why would I want to support the coffers of Ms Middleton when she has been so well-provided for by HRH Prince William! Tsk Tsk. I'll just have to keep looking around for the next 2 weeks or so.

Foodwise, I have come up with a mouth-watering menu and have gotten 1 caterer to take care of some of the food items whilst I need to hunt for another ever so -wiling caterer who will whip up the rest.

I have also been thinking of getting goodie bags and thank you cards for the kids/toddlers who will be gracing the party. So still a long way to go.....

As for Jeremy's development, he's 11 months old and is 80 cms in height. Yeah- he's pretty tall fella now. He loves cruising and anything with wheels. He's still on 2 solids and 3 bottles of milk a day. Has had 2 colds in April and has travelled with us to Cameron Highlands and Kuantan for short hols. He can vocalise the p and m sound i.e pah pah pah and mah mah mah or mum mum mum. He can wave, clap his hands and put his two hands together to pray to the Buddha at the altar. He can recognise the names of many objects i.e fans, lights, banana, mickey mouse, donald duck, paddington bear etc. We are now trying to teach him about his body parts i.e nose, eyes, ears, legs, hands etc.

As for the meaning of his name (milkmaid tagged me on this) , Jeremy Soo Hoo Yang Shan, I have written about this (this is a really old post) way back when I started my blog under the title "Behind the name". So check it out!