Low Look-alike Meter

See! Even the computer thinks so too... :P

Jump for Joy!

Since Joash loves to jump almost violently on us (esp on poor Daddy's stomach *ouch*) I rented a jumperoo from Rent-A-Toy Singapore for a month at $41.80. Here's how much he loves it... Such uncanny resemblance to a danseur (in case you don't know: a male ballet dancer)? *laughs*

Ask, and it will be given...

James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

I was very puzzled as to why Joash did not seem to eat much these days. The recipe was the same but his reaction was not. He would take the first few bites enthusiastically only to start refusing to open his mouth very soon. I wanted to chalk it up to mood swings but something tells me it was more than meets the eye. I tried solving the mystery on my own for a couple of days but to no avail.

I then prayed throughout the day that God would reveal to me what the problem was. As I was feeding him his apples+mango puree during lunch, I noticed that he enjoyed it very much. It dawned upon me that the texture of the puree was very smooth, just like the texture of the cereal made during the first week Joash started solids. (it is recommended to make it diluted initially and gradually thickening the gruel over time) There were also occasions when I accidentally added too much milk/water into the concoction, resulting in much smoother texture than intended. Those times coincided with Joash's good appetite.

Armed with this new revelation, I made his dinner thinner than usual and... Bingo! Joash tasted the mixture gingerly at the beginning and when he realised that it was made to his preference, he proceeded to dig in heartily. Thank God for His fabulous wisdom!

Saying "No"

Joash can shake his head to say "no"!

I was feeding him his cereal mixed with carrots and broccoli tonight. Half way through, I started talking to him but he protested by giving a cry. So I stopped chatting with him and concentrated on feeding him as quickly as he could swallow (I almost couldn't catch up!) Then, as usual, he gave the signal that he had enough by leaning backward instead of forward. To be sure, I asked him, "Do you still want some more?" Very deliberately, Joash shook his head. You can imagine the stunned look on my face!

Nodding Off

One of those days when Joash skipped his second afternoon nap (jus wanna play dun wanna sleep lah...) he finally got so tired that he dozed off even before we fed him his dinner... right at the highchair!!! You wouldn't want to miss this classic moment... *giggles*

Spiritual Leadership

Over the past two weeks, Joash and I had been down with the flu virus for the second time since his birth. It has been really tough taking care of him while I am unwell especially when he is a lot more fussy and I need to do more things (like sucking out his mucus to clear his blocked nose, washing his hand now and then to clean off his germ-filled saliva, putting medicine into his milk, putting babyvicks on his soles and clothes etc...) How I even managed to complete my chores and cooking was purely by the grace of our merciful God. And how are all these related to spiritual leadership? Don't worry, I'm getting there...

Since it was unwise for us to go out in our weakened state and we would not want to infect other people and babies, I had to refrain from going to church for 2 Sundays. Joshua decided to also stay home too to take care of Joash and let me rest on those Sundays. Did that mean we were not spiritually feed? Not so, cos Joshua downloaded a sermon for mothers to listen with me. And do you know that for the past few months, Joshua has been praying a blessing over Joash and I before he goes to work everyday?

In my single days, I had spent many hours praying for a husband who will take up the spiritual leadership in the family. In my opinion, God has fulfilled my desire as Joshua had demonstrated a mark of true spiritual leadership. He had obeyed God's command to love his wife and children in his effort to give me rest on weekends while I was ill. He keeps the family in prayer and leads us in the feeding on God's Word. Of course, he still has room to grow and so do I in my journey towards being a godly wife. It is very encouraging nonetheless.

That aside, I am developing a serious case of cabin fever. I hope that we can both fully recover soon so that we can go out once again.

Amazement

This afternoon, I was ironing my husband's shirt, keeping an eye on Joash as he played by himself on the floor. He was happily rolling and squirming around and all of a sudden, he maneuvered from a prone position to a sitting position!!! My jaws nearly dropped in amazement at his agility. Praise God for yet another milestone reached! Good thing I've already lowered the playpen from the mid level to the bottom level or else he might eventually climb out of it and hurt himself...

A day in the life of Joash

I've read the blogs of many mothers who write down their daily schedule. However, I don't really have a fixed one per se cos I prefer some flexibility in my planning that allows for changes according to my energy level, busyness and, yes, mood. I apply the Babywise routine which is sleep, milk and activity. Each cycle will last for about three hours. There would probably be about 4 such cycles in one day. Some people ask me: "What then do you do during the 'activity' part?" On days when I stay at home and have no need to go out to run errands, this is what happens...

Prayer Time with Joash

Reading Time: "The Big Picture Story Bible" and others

Dancing to music
(Check out the video to see how much he enjoys it!)

When I have housework or cooking to do, I'll "deposit" Joash at one of the 5 stations to play by himself. Once he is bored with it, I'll simply shift him to the next one till he is tired and wants to nap. Here are the 5 stations:

Station 1: Bouncer

Station 2: Musical toys section

Station 3: Walker

Station 4: Playpen

Station 5: Floor

And if he misses me very much and simply wants my presence, I'll put him on the highchair in the kitchen with his cooled teether to chew on while I describe to him what I'm doing such as cooking or hanging up the laundry.

On fussy days when he refuses to let me out of his sight, I'll piggyback him in the baby carrier as I go about doing my chores. Well, that's about it, folks! :)

Joash's Private Pool

Last week, Joshua and I found a $9.90 plastic swimming pool for kids. Who could resist such a bargain? We bought it and finally used it today to give Joash his very first pool experience. Here are the nice water pics.

Yeah! I'm all ready for the pool!

Daddy is keeping me safe while I play with water!

Too bad he was too afraid to float in the water... I hope one day he'll be relaxed enough to enjoy swimming. Some day...

Stealth Mission

Here's a candid photo of Joash giving a shot at crawling. For some unfathomable reasons, Joash only attempts to crawl when he thinks that no one is watching. Whenever I start to get closer to take a picture of him when I spot him crawling, he'll notice my presence, drop onto his tummy and flail his limbs around to "welcome" me. So I had to sneak up on him to get this photo taken.

I also realised that all those times that I left him alone while he drank his milk, he had mastered some new kungfu moves... Check out his shadow kick! Wahoo!

幸福小女人

Just now, I had an epiphanic moment... Joash was drinking his milk on his own as usual while I was altering the hems of my husband's trousers. (They were way too long) The beautiful strains of soothing music from the children's praise CD filled the room. I was praying for my husband as I sewed and it suddenly struck me. I feel so blissful!!!

Many would balk at the monotony of ironing, doing laundry, sweeping, mopping, washing, cooking, cleaning and taking care of baby (making milk, putting him to bed for naps, bathing him, feeding him, playing various games with him, dancing with him, singing to him, reading to him, praying with him and the list goes on...) but I find them enjoyable and even therapeutic at times. God has truly made me a homemaker and even if I were to be bored with things, I can always go out to run errands or visit my friends who are also homemakers though some are going back to work.

I really thank God for the joy He has placed in me even when the work can be tiring and Joash may be very fussy. God, I love you so much!!! May He find delight in me too as I seek to obey Him daily.

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

My First Mothers' Day

Yippee!!! I'm finally a mother and enjoying every bit of it! It seems so surreal... especially today. When the worship leader during service asked all the mothers to stand and be blessed by the congregation, it suddenly hit me that I should stand up too. And when I went to the church booth to collect the mothers' day gift, I was collecting for myself rather than for my own mother which had been the case for the past decade that I had been a Christian!

Joshua and I wanted our children to grow up in the habit of honoring us parents according to the biblical command. Thus, one of the simple ways is to make an effort to celebrate important occasions. Here's Joshua teaching Joash to write a love note to me. *beaming with delight*

Joshua even bought a bouquet of flowers for Joash to present to me! Sooooo SWEET of him! I'm the most fortunate woman on earth... *swoon*

Joash: Mummy, this is for you. Happy Mothers' Day!!!

I wish you mothers out there: Have a blessed Mothers' Day and may God empower us all to be the mother He designed us to be!

Sitting up on his own

Come! Let me show you the book my Granny gave me...

My very first soccer ball... Ole Ole Ole Ole...

At 6 months, Joash is sitting up quite steadily without support. To celebrate this milestone, I opened up a gift someone gave Joash months ago. It's one of those stacking toys which I think would be more meaningful for a baby to play with if he is able to sit up his own so as to take the rings out of the pole by himself and eventually learns to stack them back up properly.

There's one added bonus to this. Even though it is tougher as Joash grows older to change his clothes due to his increased strength and activity (which can be easily overcome by occupying him with a toy) it can be said to be easier too since now he is capable of cooperating by sitting upright while I put his arms through the armhole. Heh heh...

My Mom said that I skipped crawling altogether and went straight from sitting up to walking at one year old. I'm not so sure Joash will do that though since I already caught him several times on all fours and he can even push himself backwards using his arms. The room already has not enough floor-space for him to roll around... :P

Bedtime Prayer

Two weeks ago, Joash started crying when I put him to bed almost every night. I tried all sorts of methods to help him sleep (rocking him, feeding him, switching on the air-con for him, giving him the pacifier etc...) but nothing worked. In the end, he had to cry for nearly an hour before sleeping. I became deeply concerned...

One night, while I was praying to God to grant me the wisdom to find out what's wrong, God brought to my mind that the issue may be spiritual. I then decided to pray with Joash before bedtime. I asked God to sent angels to protect my precious boy as he slept. I asked God to help Joash sense His loving presence. No prize for guessing the result correctly. Ever since that night, Joash calmly goes to sleep whenever I put him to bed, just like before! Now, prayer is a part of the daily bedtime routine. It is marvelous to see how God answers our prayers according to His will. May I continue to rely on His wisdom to bring up my children. Glory be to God!

Phillipians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Singapore Top Model

Maybe it's because I've been really "trigger-happy" since Joash was born that he is so camera friendly. He is very used to looking at the little black box and will often pose for his pictures to be taken. Since we have a few nice photos of him, I thought to compile them into a mini fashion show. Enjoy!