Ethan and Hannah love it when their “Ipoh Ah Ma” comes to visit.  She’s a fantastic storyteller, a great singer and sometimes even a budding *magician*!

But one of the rare highlights of her visits, at least for Ethan, would have to be Ah Ma’s cellphone.  It’s not a fancy-schmancy cellphone, but what intrigues Ethan about it is the fact that the alarm on Ah Ma’s cellphone TALKS!

Every night, Ethan would request that Ah Ma set the alarm on her cellphone to a certain time, say for example 7:17a.m. And the next morning, Ethan would be awoken by the alarm saying: “It’s time to wake up, it’s 7:17a.m.” repeatedly.  If he wakes up before the alarm goes off, he would stay in bed and eagerly wait for the alarm to *wake* him up.

Ain’t that cool?

We took the kids to watch The Smurfs at the cinema last Friday, and boy, were they excited!  Hannah sat through the entire movie without getting restless or sleepy, and both kids happily sang the very distinct Smurfs tune together with the Smurfs in the show.

After the show, I explained to Ethan how the individual Smurfs got their respective names.

Me: Ethan, do you know that the Smurfs are all named after their individual character?  For example, Brainy Smurf is brainy, Clumsy Smurf is clumsy and Narrator Smurf loves to narrate a story.
Ethan: Oh, okay…and what about the girl Smurf: “Smur-fet-tee”? (He was reading and pronouncing Smurfette the way it was spelt)
Me: The girl Smurf’s name is pronounced as Smurf-fet, Ethan.
Ethan:  SMURF-fet.  (pauses) So that means she is FAT!

We’re all used to hearing the Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe chant, albeit some in different versions from the rest.  Do you wanna know how my kids do it?

Here’s Ethan giving a demo:

And here’s Hannah proving yet again that the power of sibling influence is really strong…

Just for the record, here’s what they were saying:

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
Catch a tiger by the toe
If it wiggles, let it go!
Mmm mmm mmm…Buffalo..
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, MOE!

When it’s time for their showers, my kids sometimes like to choose whom their “showerer” will be; whether it’s Daddy or Mommy.

I’ve finally figured out a surefire way in order to get Daddy to do the showering.

Here’s how…

I’ve trained them to say this to Daddy:

“Daddy, please shower for me today…because you are the BEST Daddy in the whole world!”

Cheesy, I know, but it works every time

Lately I had been training and teaching Ethan to think and make decisions for himself.  The right decisions - that would lead to the right actions, which would in turn lead to independence.  I would ask him questions like, “What is more important, Ethan: watching TV or taking a shower?”  and he would cleverly reply, “Taking a shower!”

Me: What is more important: cleaning up your toys or playing on the computer?
Ethan: Cleaning up, Mommy!

And he would also form questions like this by himself.

One day, he asked Daddy..

Ethan: Daddy, Daddy…I wanna ask you a question.
Daddy: Yes, Ethan?
What is more important, Daddy: watching TV or taking your bath?
Daddy: Taking my bath..
Ethan: So next time, you need to bathe first and THEN watch football!! (grins happily)

Errrr….ooops.

Whenever Daddy travels away on a business trip, we all miss him dearly.  But on the flipside, the kids and I really look forward to spending some top-notch quality time with Ah Ma and Ah Kong from Ipoh.  You see, my parents will try their very best to come and accompany Ethan, Hannah and me in Penang during Pete’s absence, and I am eternally grateful for the “extra hands” they lend

The kids enjoy the story-telling sessions and the undivided attention they get from Ah Ma and Ah Kong, and likewise, I would say the reverse is also true.

Sometimes, if the timing is right, we will also take a drive down to my hometown in Ipoh for a short holiday.  The kids enjoy their time spent with their grandparents and they get to do a myriad of activities in Ipoh too.

Well, we recently had this golden opportunity again, and even though Ethan kept asking if we had arrived yet, all the way from Penang to Ipoh (Hannah was fast asleep, naturally!), both the kids were overjoyed when we finally reached our destination…would have reached earlier had I not been delayed by a police roadblock, where I was flagged aside and asked to show my driver’s licence…not for speeding, rather it was a random check that was being conducted.

Anyway, I digress…

We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Ipoh…so what did the kids do to occupy their time?

Look how simple it is to keep kids entertained (albeit for only a short period of time).  The Ipoh City Council is using the parking coupon payment method, where we need to scratch out the date and time on a coupon and then display it in the car when we park.  Ethan and Hannah then used these used coupons to further scratch out the rest of the numbers, using coins.

Look how engrossed they were…

The kids enjoyed taking their baths with a scoop container too!  With the weather being so hot, a cool bath definitely helped to lift their spirits and upped their energy levels.  There was no problem whatsoever when I announced it was time for their baths.

In Ethan’s words, he said, “Wow Mommy…it’s SO cooling, I love it!”

Ethan’s favorite computer game in Ipoh is Solitaire.  I was incredibly amazed at how fast he picked it up and soon was able to play on his own.  He was so impressed when he completed his first game ever…announcing to everyone, “Look!  I made mountains with it!!  I win!”

We all have been there and done that now, haven’t we?  Maybe it’s time to introduce FreeCell to him

While walking around in Kinta City, we came across a height and weight machine, and Ethan remembered that I had asked him to remind me to measure his height and weight.  And of course, if Ethan gets on it, so will Hannah…

I’m happy with their height and weight, especially since their BMI readings showed that both Ethan and Hannah were in the healthy zone.

Lastly, of course, any vacation is incomplete without the presence of good food.  Although this time round I did not get to eat the usual Ipoh fare, the kids did enjoy the yummy food.

Hannah discovered a love and appetite for wan ton mee, especially the one Ah Kong ordered from the hawker that rides past the back lane of the house.  Great tasting food that comes straight to your door, who could ask for more?  I was surprised she could eat half a plate all by herself, including the wantons!

At the special buffet lunch at Excelsior Hotel, Ethan and Hannah had fun *making* and *creating* their own signature dishes…and tasting them too, of course!  They were excited because I told them it would be just like in MasterChef!!

Here’s Ethan tasting his version of koay teow soup:

Hannah eating her own creation of “ABCD” (I had told her it was “ABC” but she added the “D” in herself!):

…and Ethan wanted a go at making his version of ABC too…but he ended up drinking “strawberry soup” instead!

We all sure had a good time in Ipoh  Thank you Ah Ma and Ah Kong for the excellent hospitality!  We look forward to more visits and enjoyable times soon!

]]> http://duhbulats.giddytigers.com/2011/08/20/memories-are-made-of-these/feed/ http://duhbulats.giddytigers.com/2011/08/18/bubbles-bubbles-everywhere/ http://duhbulats.giddytigers.com/2011/08/18/bubbles-bubbles-everywhere/#comments Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:24:44 +0000 joyce http://duhbulats.giddytigers.com/?p=4628

A few days ago, I decided to inject a moment of surprising fun by taking the kids downstairs to the swimming pool area for a bubbly fun time!  Of course, I could only do that at that time because my Mom and Dad were here for a visit from Ipoh, and I knew they would also appreciate the session…plus there would be more hands to look after the 2 extra active kids!

Ethan and Hannah took to it immediately, and it was a good thing I brought 2 separate bottles of bubble water, one for each of them.  Ethan had done it before at our swimming pool area, but it was a first for Hannah.

Ethan was a complete pro and managed to blow beautiful big bubbles in abundance and with tremendous ease.

Hannah, however, appeared to be using all her might and strength to  make bubbles.  She managed to, a few times, and we all laughed together at how funny she sometimes looked (and sounded).

Ah Ma and Ah Kong were the designated bubble bottle holders (and sometimes “demonstrators”) and the kids would then dip their bubble-making sticks into the bubble solution to make bubbles.

It was definitely a fun and enjoyable activity, which I am sure the kids will enjoy again and again and again.

A week or two ago, when I noticed Hannah’s fringe/bangs growing longer, I decided to clip them up with some hair clips.  She has a pair of pretty pink and white lamb hair clips, given by Ah Ma from Ipoh, so I took them out for her to use.

Hannah calls them her”Mary had a little lamb” clips.  My little princess will also ask to “see mirror” after I have clipped her hair up.

She didn’t really take to them a few months ago, but now she loves them (well, depends on her mood, really)!  The clips will sometimes slip off and fall, and I will need to readjust them back again.

She just got a haircut last week, and she hasn’t asked for the clips yet though, but she soon will…

Lately Hannah has begun speaking out for herself if she does not want something or if she does not agree with something.  In particular, she uses the word “Noke!”

It sounds like “No” with an emphasized “k” sound.  We figured she must have picked it up when she heard the word “Nope!” uttered and misheard it as “Noke!”

We know it is just a phase she’s going through, and she’ll outgrow it soon.  When she says it, we’ll just repeat after her but in the correct pronunciation, for example:

Mommy: Hannah, do you still want your cereal?
Hannah: Noke!
Mommy: No?  You don’t want it anymore?
Hannah: Noke!

Of course, at times, you’ll have Ethan saying things like, “What’s NOKE Hannah?  There’s no such thing as NOKE… what’s she saying Mommy?”

She’s still adorable even though her pronunciation’s a bit off