[+video] Sarah loves fixing puzzle...

One of the activities that keeps Sarah busy while I was busy as well is fixing the puzzle.

My mischievous darling...

Sarah's vocabulary increased by the days, and not just that, but seemed that she learns to structure sentences quite well too. She seemed to understand a lot.... and I mean, A LOT! The words she uses fits to the situation quite well and she even replies to my questions quite correctly. I am so proud of my little one who is turning 2 in a few weeks time... :)

This Chinese New Year, she wishes with the correct pronunciation : "Happy New Year" or "Gong Xi Fa Chai". However, if you'd like to hear her say all those... you have to wait till her mood is right. Else, i'm sorry to say that you might have to wait till another year! Hehehe!

Sarah's a real talkative girl... she speaks almost non-stop and she sings non-stop too. Sometimes I just laughed watching her talk and sing to herself.

She's such a darling... a very mischievous darling!

CNY 2010...

Happy Chinese New Year & Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Hehehe.... can't deny that my wishes came a lil late but better late than never, kan?

It's the 5th day of CNY... Sarah's having her afternoon nap (finally!)... and I have now some time to update me blog! :)

Sooooooooooooooooooooo many things to share yet don't know where to begin. Anyway, perhaps, I'll start off now by putting up some pix of what took place during this CNY....

On the eve of CNY....

Ee-por from Selayang made these dresses for the little girls - Sarah & Reanne. They both wore the same dress on the eve of CNY when we had the reunion dinner at another ee-por's place.

Big bro Ivan wouldn't miss the fun in taking photos as well. ;o)

The 3 cousins had fun together... with their ah ku's pet dog, Jo-Jo. So "ho-miah" this dog... got new year baju some more! kekeke...

This year, CNY eve was also ee-por's birthday. A double celebration for birthday as we celebrated cousin Reanne's 2nd birthday as well! :)

On the day of CNY... & Valentine's day....

Here's Sarah wearing a Korean dress - given by gwamma. She looked so so adorable, does't she? But well, it was pretty tough to take a good shot of her on that dress as she couldnt stand or sit still for even a second!

We had lunch at Pizza Hut... just the 3 of us. CNY lunch cum Valentine's Day... We ordered the Golden Fortune Cheesy Crown Pizza... felt totally cheated as it really didn't taste as good as I/we thought. It didnt look a bit like the picture below.... sigh!

On the night of 1st day of CNY, we went to Uncle Philip's house for makan-makan. While the adults watch TV and fei-lo-ship, the kids played fireworks and "pop-pop" at the porch.

I had the opportunity to take pix and video of Sarah's 1st experience playing with fireworks.

She enjoyed it a lot!

And then the kids - Sarah & the Seah sisters spent some time posing in front of my camera... just for fun. Sarah... as you can see from the pix above, had fun really! :)

CNY in Melaka....

We spent CNY in Melaka on 2nd to the 4th day. Sarah had splendid time with kor-kor Paul. They somehow clicked together perfectly. On the other hand, Sarah feels pretty jealous over mei-mei Priscilla. Sarah's quite a bully towards this little one, especially when mummy here carries or plays with her.

Well, we really had a feast on all 3 days!
1st day - steamboat dinner in Uncle Robert's house

2nd day - lunch in Sushi King and dinner in McQuek's satay celup

3rd day - lunch at home with mummy's yummy home-cooked-food. We had pongteh, mixed vege, sambal udang, fried sotong balls and bak-kut-teh soup. Yummy-licious!

Hi! I'm BaCK! :p

Yo yo yo! Am back into this blogging world!!!!!

But hope to be back for good... sigh... am still struggling to find time to blog... not just for the sake of blogging, but more for the sake of keeping a journal of my little girl's milestones as well as my personal life's journey, especially when it has really taken a turn ever since I took the courage to change the course of my career.

After my exams, though I am sorta "free" from my course books till the next semester which will begin after the CNY break, I'm still short of time. Have not been taking many pix of my little girl too... have not been faithfully keeping track of her progress... and I feel so bad about that... sob sob! When there IS time, I'll just do nothing but relax. Maybe a little too tired to think of anything... Additional to all these, before and after my exams, I wasn't feeling well and had to take medication to fight against flu and sorethroat. And to top all that, for the very first time in my life (i think! :p), my body reacted to an antibiotic that caused my face to itch and my face got all reddish. My skin started peeling as well! What can I say? "Ah-doi!"

OK-lah.... just a short post for now.... to announce that I'm BaCK! kekekeke.... see you all again soon... with more updates about my life! :)

[UM] Exams!!!! Pray for me, ya?!

Hi!

Havent heard from me for some days/weeks ya?! You know why?

Been more than just busy.... and yes, my exams are coming... it's TOMORROW!!!!

So guys, gals.... PRAY FOR ME YA?! I really need the prayers. Pray for wisdom as I answer the papers tomorrow... and next Saturday!

2 papers tomorrow - Basic in Child Development (10am-12nn) and Philosophy on Early Childhood Education (2.30-4.30pm)

Another 2 papers next week - Basic in Language Arts (10am-12nn) and Art for Children (2.30-4.30pm)

Thank You Jesus for Your hands are always always always on me and I shall do well in these exams, in Jesus' name, I pray - AMEN! :)

[Article] Teaching Kids To Share

Article by Dr. Albert Liau

Encourage your kids to share, but do not force them to.

A common concern that I’ve encountered with parents is that one of their children doesn’t want to share with his or her siblings. Mums are often unsure if they should insist on sharing because this could give the little ones an impression of favouritism. At the same time, they don’t want their children to develop an “everything is mine” kind of attitude.

Understanding the developmental stages to sharing

Around one to two years old, young children develop the language skills to mark their identity as a person. A child pointing to a soft toy and saying “Mine” or pulling a toy from another child is how he marks the possessions that make up his identity. This is an essential development that lays part of the foundation to forging his identity as an individual.

Language for social interaction with others will develop later, when children are about two to four years old. Let me just stress that being possessive is definitely not a sign that your child has the traits of a selfish person.

At this age, a child has yet to grasp the difference between ownership and possession. When you ask your child to lend a toy to another for five minutes, you might as well be asking him to do so for five years for all they know. Your child cannot tell the difference between lending and giving, and may not even understand the concept of time yet.

Some parents may confuse empathy with sharing. They can’t understand why sometimes the child “shares” and sometimes he doesn’t. When a child offers his favourite toy to a sibling who is crying, he may not be sharing but rather empathising with the distress of the other. He’s probably trying to provide comfort by offering his toy. Actions like this are to be encouraged as the ability to empathise is also one of the building blocks of emotional intelligence.

How do you get your kids to share?

The concept of sharing is an important lesson to teach children while they are still young. Keep in mind though that children won’t really share until they are three or four years old. Even then, the little ones won’t understand why sharing is important until they are at least four.

Always model behaviour you want your children to pick up. If you want them to share, then practise it in your daily life. You could also make it a point to show how to share. For example, pretend to lend a leaflet to your spouse. Explain to the child that you are sharing a book with daddy and that he will return it to you when he finishes reading it.

Another way to introduce the concept of sharing is to ask the child whether you could borrow his toy for a while. Pretend to play with the toy for a minute or two, and when you return it, praise the child for being kind enough to lend it to you. Even when the lending is done reluctantly, always give words of encouragement.

Encourage your kids to share, but do not force them to, or do their sharing for them. Do not simply take your child’s toy and pass it to another child without asking him for permission. After all, the toy belongs to him and you wouldn’t want him to take other people’s things without asking for permission either.

Parents should avoid violating a child’s feeling of ownership. A sense of entitlement is important to him and he will understandably be protective of his things. Rather, they should strive to cultivate the values of stewardship, respect for others and kindness. This will be a guiding force to steer the concept of ownership in a positive direction.

What parents can do

• Create a sharing environment. Make sharing a common practice in your home. Whether it’s between family members or even guests, make it seem like a natural practice for your family. For example, some families buy separate dinners for their maids when dining out. Children are keen observers and may get the wrong message that we should not share with certain people.
• Let them handle it. Don’t interject immediately when your kids are unwilling to share with each other. Give them room to talk, reason it out first and even reach a compromise. This way, they can experience first hand why they should share. Only when things get out of hand should you step in.
• An example of how you could help your children reach a compromise would be to gently convince one child to lend a toy to his brother or sister, but make it absolutely clear to him that it would only be for five minutes. Assure your child that once those five minutes are up, he’ll get his toy back. Likewise, make it clear to his sibling that he or she can only have the toy for those five minutes.
• Give them chances to cooperate. Working together will naturally build a stronger bond between siblings. This will encourage a sense of trust between them and make them more likely to share.

Things to watch out for:

• A clear sign that your child is not inclined towards sharing is when they get excessively angry whenever things do not go their way. Try to curb this sort of “mine” attitude.
• Watch out for when a child starts to exert control over his or her siblings. This sort of behaviour shows that they are inclined to get things their way, regardless of other people’s feelings.

Blessed New Year 2010!

A decade has passed after the big millenium celebration!

Wow!!! It's 2010 already!

Time really flies, ya?!

Here's wishing everyone a GREAT New Year!

I cant express how sincere this wish is :).... can you guys feel it? huh? huh? huh? kekekkeke!
Well, all I hoped and prayed for each and every one this year is to have a G-R-E-A-T-T-T-T year ahead! It's time for us to rise up and walk this walk of faith - in God and in our own personal walk - with our family, our friends, our career, our businesses, our health, etc..... the list is infinite! As we grow older, the list gets longer.... our responsibilities and roles increased, but let us look upon the Lord and lift them up before Him.

I've always believed that in all things I do and everything I go through, as I offer them with a pure and sincere heart to the Lord, and live this life to the fullest, great things are truly ahead of me.

Can you see them already? The great things that are ahead? Can you see my grin??? :) I'm smiling from ear to ear.... cuz I'm just feeling and believing God for a great year ahead. I'm sharing this with all of you so that you can follow these steps of faith... believing of the good things, and they will come. When? Ah-dono.... But just believe and they will come! Amen?! :)

Blessed Christmas 2009!

This year, the mood was a lil more relaxing for me... maybe because I wasn't rushing for any projects in my work like I used to, except of course my course assignments. Hehe... The other thing is, hubby and I used to do a lot of things together, esp when we have only one car to go around with. We used to do our Christmas shopping together after work, but this time round, we spread our shopping time from weekends (when we DO do our shopping together in malls) and anything not gotten, I had the liberty to do Christmas shopping on my own during lunch time or after work. On Christmas eve, I even went to a nearby salon to get my hair cut after work as well. I guess in a way, I have become pretty much independent compared to previous years. :)

I really must say THANK YOU to my in laws for all the support given to me when I had to do a lot of things on my own without Sarah near me, and of course, they've been there to take care of the little one for me while I needed some time on my own. I really can't express how grateful I am.

As for Christmas.... well, let these pictures do the talking about what took place this season of the year.

At home....

Sarah and cousins, kor-kor Ivan & cheh-cheh Reanne posing in front of Christmas tree. Christmas tree was decorated by my brother-in-law, CK... with the "help" of the 3 kids! :)

Ivan, Reanne & Sarah posing in front of the camera with their red santa hat!

At work....

We had Christmas party after the Principal's meeting at the head office. First, we sang some Christmas carols and then, played some games, gifts exchange, and finally the makan makan time.

You won't believe what I got during the gift exchange.... *doh!*

From an education company some more! *double doh!*

I honestly don't know what to do with these books.... maybe give away as presents for next year! LOL! :D

At church....

This was Christmas caroling night on the 3rd Saturday of the "caroling season" for our church.

(More pix to be posted later... as they are still in hubby's camera... not transferred yet! :p)

Christmas service was at J1 on Christmas eve. It was such a joyous occasion indeed. Everyone during this time of the year was like "Santa Claus" - giving away presents here and there and everywhere.... hehehehe...

The youth presented a cool, cute and interesting performance with our very own Mr Mark (bottom right of below pix) being the host for the night. It was called "Christmas Superstar"! It was like a talent show - you know... American Idol kinda stuff... and every contestant will perform their best to win the hearts of the judges, who are the congregation ourselves! :)

Now you may asked... "Perform what?" Well, in Christmas Superstar, our contestants were supposed to give what they believe is best to be given to Christ for His birthday gift!

And so... our very first contestant... Mr Talented with the white hood. Mr Talented and his dance crew performed their dance in the hope to give Christ his talents for Christmas.

Secondly, we have Mr Trillionaire! As you can imagine from his humongous belly, he definitely fed himself with lots of goodies!... err... goodies? :p So, will Christ be happy with us giving Him only our wealth?

Thirdly, we have Ms Popular presenting her popular dance... hmm... giving her popularity to Christ for Christmas! How's that?! ;o)

And... finally, we have Mr Sincere giving his heart to Christ as a gift... oh yes, he sincerely gave his heart to Christ... and sang a beautiful song to show his sincerity. Check out who's behind the keyboard! LOL!

So...... now, you be the judge!

Who's the winner of Christmas Superstar? Huh? Huh? :)

And after a long night out till midnight, Sarah KO-ed on the way back till we reached home... :)

With friends....

We had the privilege of meeting up with Danielle, Jin and lil Max for Christmas Day lunch at McD. Of course, the reason we were at McD was so that our 2 little ones can play in the little playground together.

Oops, sorry... no pix of the two daddies! :p

There were of course plenty of gifts and plenty of food that comes along in this celebration, but too bad, not a single photo taken. Haha... anyway guys & gals,

We celebrated Christmas for a reason....

"Jesus is the reason for this Season!"

and so... don't ever "X" away "Christ" when you write your Christmas wishes!

Here's wishing you...

"A very Blessed Christmas to U!"

"God bless U!"

[+video] Threading activity

I had the privilege to bring home the thread and beads from school to do my observation with my lil nephew. All the kids at home seemed to enjoy doing threading. It's something new for them and I'm thrilled to watch them do the threading, and for Sarah... at such a young age! It was meant for children aged 3 above to get their fine motor skills "sharpened", but I see Sarah enjoyed this activity a lot, and she's developing pretty well too. Once, when I came home from school, she asked me for the ball-ball (the beads), which I had to apologize to her for not bringing back that night... :)

Do enjoy this video of Sarah doing the threading. If you have toddlers at home, I do encourage you parents to get a hold of threading activity like this. There's a lot of different types of threading activities that you can find in shops that sells educational toys. Go! Try it! It's really fun! And.... don't forget your video camera! :)

[+video] Fun with balloons....

After this incident, she wanted to sit and burst another balloon. Seemed to her that this is a really fun game. Am really speechless. So anyone who wants to burst balloons with fun and laughter, don't forget to call Sarah along! :p

Daddy, Sarah & Alvin!

Mines Shopping Complex in Seri Kembangan has totally taken a leap in their business (I believe!) as they draw many people in ever since they change management. Well, no doubt after the facelift (almost like a total make-over!), Mines look so much more "high-class" now and thus attracting more and more people almost everyday. At present, you can see Alvin & Chipmunks Christmas deco at their center stage. It's lovely! FYI, coming up soon to theaters... Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Here's daddy & Sarah with the big Christmas tree & Alvin on the tree! :)

Jusco Christmas Tree Bear

This is sooooo cute! I like this tree a lot! It's soooo cute that even Sarah was so happy looking at it and wanted to grab a bear. I wanted to take a pix of Sarah with it but unfortunately she was moving quite a bit...

[+video] Sleep Standing....

She was soooooooooo exhausted after service one Sunday.... check this out!

Hehehe... You guys might think of us as cruel parents... hahaha! But we really cant help laughing away while taking these videos! :D Here's another one...

This is basically her final standing position while sleeping before we head out for lunch that day. Her body was already slanting from her original standing position after a few minutes of dozing. :)

T.G.T.H!

Exhausted!!! Sleepy!!!

You know why? I've been up since 3+ am this morning to complete my assignment which is due to be submitted this Saturday. Yeah, yeah... talk about being last minute expert here. :p

Two nights ago, or rather yesterday in the wee hours in the morning only that I was able to lay my head to rest at 4am... woke up then at 5.30 to get ready to carpool with my colleagues for training in Shah Alam. Of course we didn't want to get caught in the jam so we left our area by 6.30am. I was basically there for teachers' training for three days in a row. I reached home on 1st day at 8.45pm (terrible jam due to rain!), 2nd day at 7.40pm and last night at 8.10pm. No, I did not miss a single bit of the traffic jam along federal highway. Gone were the days when I had to travel every day in the jam... really a waste of time. Nothing seemed to improve. Sigh...

OK OK... so back to this... I'm so very exhausted and sleepy right now... but I have to get ready soon to go to work... Thank God I'm at least 80% done in my assignment and tomorrow is a holiday for Selangor 'cuz it's Sultan of Selangor's birthday! Yippie!!! I'll probably able to catch some sleep that I lost later tonight or tomorrow! And for that, I'm giving you a BIG BIG SMILE! :D

T.G.T.H! Thank God Tomorrow's a Holiday! :D

Today....

It's been a really tiring Saturday for me... but check out what I'm doing... blogging! LOL! :D

Have not been reading my blogger pals blogs too, so... had to spend some time reading about other people's life... hehehe.... so KPC (keh-poh-chi) huh?!! :p

Anyway, just to sum up a little about today. As usual, I went for my Saturday classes... but this time, I'm totally KO both physically & mentally. Recently I get dizzy quite frequently as well as bags under my eyes are forming. I might be experiencing vertigo.... I guess I'm really in need of some good physical rest. Today I am mentally tired as well as I think I used a little bit more brains this time during class... Hahaha! The situation is this... my assignments deadlines are nearing and I'm a little stress about it. To be honest, I've not really put much thoughts into any of the assignments given. However, today at class, ideas kept coming as the lectures were going on. I had to keep jotting down notes after notes of ideas and proposals for my assignments. After this, I need to perform some experiments & observations for my nephew (THE SUBJECT for my case study :)) and put them all into the right format later on. I've also to complete my "book" in these 2 weeks. Gotta buy all the materials and get them done soon!

I've one assignment to submit next week and then another few the following week so, i'm gonna be busier than a busy bee these few weeks! :-s Oh, but I must say THANK GOD, one of the assignment's deadline is postponed to the 1st wk of January! Hoo-ray!!! :D

And so.... after class today, hubby and I went to J1 for caroling... not knowing that I became the guitarist for the night! Apparently, our official guitarist has gone to Greece to attend a last minute call for work /:) Well, I've not played the guitar for a long time (for a whole stretch of one hour, that is!), but I did it anyway. Thank God! My fingers were a little sore right now, but nevertheless, I enjoyed the night. We've never sung at public places before, so this is truly a great experience. Most importantly is to be a blessing wherever we go! Amen? :)

OK-la.... so there you go - a summary of what took place today. So, I'm now going to respond to... *yawn*.... the call of my cozy bed! Nite nite, everyone!

[blog from hp] Asleep in the car...

Isn't she adorable? Daddy went into tesco for awhile while mummy taking care of Sarah n she's fast asleep!

I couldn't resist taking this picture and blog... :)

[Article] Rewarding Good Behaviour

Article by Dr. Albert Liau

Good behaviour can be generally defined as acting in a way that is socially, culturally or, in the case of children, developmentally appropriate. As a responsible parent, it is your duty to teach your child what is acceptable behaviour at an early age.

When your child exhibits bad behaviour, you should first investigate if there is a reason for it, such as being bullied in school. Perhaps your child is sad or anxious due to a troubling issue like the death of a pet, or a tense family relationship at home. If you discover that mere disobedience was the cause, then an appropriate punishment may be appropriate.

While punishing bad behaviour does work, rewards can be a powerful tool for reinforcing good behaviour. Young children learn by association, and just as they learn to avoid bad behaviour due to its association to punishment, associating good behaviour to a desirable reward can be a great motivator.

There are a few types of rewards available to parents – praise, activity rewards and material rewards. As a rule, praise and activity rewards should be used more often than material rewards to avoid spoiling children. Parents should also refrain from using money or sweets as a reward.

More than a simple reward/punishment system, I strongly advise parents to strike a balance between rewarding behaviour and teaching children to develop a sense of self-satisfaction for a job well done, or for good behaviour. Children should not be reliant only on external motivators, like the promise of a reward, to behave well.

Here are some expert tips on rewarding good behaviour:

• Show the desired behaviour and be a role model. Rewards are going to be ineffective if parents are not modelling the desired behaviour.
• Praise and encouragement is often the best reward for young kids. There are many ways to do this aside from saying it verbally. A kiss or a hug, a smile, a thumbs-up, a high-five, or even a wink all communicate your approval and can make your child feel good. You can make even an older child can feel good by including an encouraging note in his lunch box.
• You can devise a simple reward system in the form of marking stars on a wall calendar every time your child does something good. When he has accumulated enough stars for the week, you can give him an activity reward such as a visit to the playground or extra time in the bathtub.
• Choose a specific behaviour you want to change. When teaching your child good behaviour, be as specific as possible to help him understand what you expect from him.
• When applying a reward/punishment system, be firm and keep your word. Being soft in the way you enforce the rules may encourage him to test your resolve.
• Be consistent to avoid confusion. Communicate to all family members and caregivers your action plan so that they will also demonstrate the same actions when rewarding a particular behaviour.
• Bad behaviour is sometimes a call for your attention, which is a reward in itself.

On Time Management...

Been trying to juggle my time with a whole list of responsibilities and roles that I currently hold... well, what can I say except that I am really in need of a very important skill right now... TIME MANAGEMENT SKILL! :p

Theoretically speaking, it is not difficult to handle many things at a go, being a multitasker I'd say. But this time, it's not just about being a multitasker, but about being the person I need to be (as a wife, mummy, daughter, employee, student, etc) and strive to carry out my responsibilities with the best of my ability.... OK OK... enough said! Practically speaking, it is really not easy. Sometimes I could just stare blankly at the white wall and think of nothing but rest. I just needed that.

I've so much to do and learn in my new workplace (not a complaint but a fact) and I currently enjoy going for my classes in uni. There are also so many assignments given... assignments that I've no complaints, cuz I'm really enjoying each one of it. The only BIG BUT about all these is.... I'm just afraid I couldnt complete it due to time. At times I had to stay back in the office just to do some of my assignments as being at home, my role is totally switched to MUMMY!

One thing I know I cannot compromise is my role as a mummy (and wife). Therefore, the times that I have left everyday after work is so essential to be given to my family. Every evening when I come home, I will make sure I'll spend quality time with little Sarah. Sometimes I do need to stay back at work for a little while more before heading for home, but after that, it's Sarah's time. I did for a couple of times brought work home. First attempt to do it with Sarah being present with me, but failed to distract her with other paper and pencil. She just wanted her hands on mine! But anyway, I only had one choice then... wait for her to sleep (apparently I slept too!). So i woke up earlier in the morning to complete my work.

So, other than work, it's the studies that I have to juggle with. Books to read and study and research to be done.

At present, these are my assignments (in brief):

1. Create a book for a child (for ages between 0-8yo)

2. Propose an ideal kindergarten - design the environment of my childhood centre.

3. Plan activities which encourage children using their senses.

4. 16 practical observations to be done with my little nephew (I've not started any yet!)

5. A lot other art assignments that are done on weekly basis (will post some pix of them later! :))

OK-la... so there you are... the summary of my life right now. Seriously need time management skill to handle each and every "assignments" given to me (in school, at work & at home)

Pray for me ok? Thank u! Sieh sieh! Terima kasih! Nandri!

Good friends....

One born on 15th Feb, another born on 15th March. They grow up so well together that now they become best of friends... we all believed so!

They would influence each other into liking the same things and speaking the same words. Of course, being egocentric at this age, there'll be snatching of toys from each other and jealousy towards each other's own little world. The good part about it is they are learning things quickly this way and are both developing very very well in many aspects.

Well, not forgetting, big brother Ivan too, will not miss out on doing things together and playing together. Being the big brother, his "responsibility" is pretty BIG - to take care of the little sisters and be a good role model for the other two to follow. Hehehe... Of course we cant expect a perfect role model from this little boy, but he's growing well too.

We pray that all of them will influence each other to do good things - like the very famous quote says: See No Evil; Hear No Evil; Speak No Evil! We, parents, have BIGGER responsibility to ensure that our little ones grow in a positive environment in all aspects of their growth.

[+video] Chit chat with Sarah before bedtime...

Just some of my everyday/night conversations with my lil one... :)