Photos: Little Helper Lydia

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Auntie MayLee is scooping the bean filling for the Angku Kuih ("tortoise cake") from the pot to a plate while Lydia observes.

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Auntie MayLee is showing Lydia an unopened syringe (this is used to administer oral liquid medicines to Lydia when she is sick).

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Lydia is reaching for a syringe in auntie MayLee's hand.

Note: All of these pictures were taken on June 4, 2008 in the kitchen of our home.

My

June 11, 2008

“My”

Witnessing a child’s language development is one of the joys of being a parent. For the last month to six weeks, Lydia has been frequently and emphatically using the word “my”, and some of her sentences employing that word have caused us to laugh and smile. Below are a few examples.

“Where’s my tiger?”
(Lydia is referring to her beloved Tigger the Tiger soft toy. Even though SiowFong and I occasionally call the tiger by its name, Tigger, Lydia has never said Tigger, instead preferring tiger. Last year, she would use the Chinese word “lofu” (which means tiger), but she has not said that term this year.)

“I want my mommy!”

“That’s my mommy!”
(Lydia often announces this afternoon statement to her peers at day care when she sees SiowFong arriving to pick her up.)

“That’s my daddy!”

“My hair is hiding.”
(When Lydia has been asked why she does not have any gray hair compared to other family members who do, this is her standard answer. “Hiding” is not a word that we taught her. SiowFong thinks that one of the day care staff taught her this word.)

The preschool years are appropriately termed the wonder years. The Bible states that each of us is “wonderfully and fearfully” in God’s image. As SiowFong and I see how parts of Lydia’s personality, intellect, and behavior are unfolding as she grows, we are learning about the multidimensional meaning of the word “wonder”.

Photos: Opening Gifts

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Lydia is giving something to auntie MayLee.

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Lydia is scrutizing the toddler-sized umbrella, a gift from her auntie MayLee.

Note: SiowFong took both of these pictures on May 31, 2008 in the library of our home while using the videocamera to record these moments also.

Photo note: Because the size of the digital sensor of the camcorder is much smaller than on a digital SLR camera (thus resulting in a much smaller image file) and because no flash was used for these images, the pictures are a little grainy.

Photos: Lydia and Auntie MayLee 2

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Lydia, who was sitting on auntie MayLee's lap while MayLee was using the computer, is standing up because she saw something that interested her.

Kitchen

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Auntie MayLee and Lydia are sharing a laugh as auntie MayLee reads to Lydia a children's book written by John Grogan that is entitled Bad Dog, Marley!, one of auntie MayLee's presents to Lydia.

Living room

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Lydia is pointing to an illustration in the book after auntie MayLee asks her something about that image.

Living room

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Auntie MayLee, on whom Lydia just placed a hairband, and Lydia are laughing again.

Living room

Note: All of these photos were taken on June 3, 2008 in our home.

Photos: Potty Success !

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For fifteen to twenty minutes, Lydia patiently sat on her potty until she expelled her poop poop there.

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Lydia is reacting after receiving praise from Pour Pour (Ma Wee), Auntie MayLee, mom, and dad as she successfully used the potty for the first time to empty her bowels. Later Lydia remarked, "I poop poop in the potty."

Note: Both of these pictures were taken on June 4, 2008 between 9:13 AM and 9:14 AM in the living room of our home.

The Gospel Alphabet, Part 2 of 2

June 8, 2008

The Gospel Alphabet, Part 2 of 2

A prerequisite for knowing God personally is learning about the nature of God, the state of humanity, the problem of sin that afflicts every person who was ever born, and the identity of Jesus Christ. Although the church can provide some of this education to children, Christian parents should do most of this at home. To that end, the Bible, which is God’s Word to people, is the authoritative, indispensable reference, and memorizing select Bible verses is one method of learning about God. Below is part two of the Gospel Alphabet compiled by Samaritan’s Purse:


N: NOW is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2b)

O: OPEN my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18)

P: PEACE I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Q: QUICKEN me according to Thy Word. (Psalm 199:154b)

R: REST in the Lord and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:7a)

S: SEEK and you will find. (Matthew 7:7b)

T: THE blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7b)

U: UNTO you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

V: VERILY, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)

W: WHAT will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36)

X: EXCEPT a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3b)

Y: YOU are not your own. . .For you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a)

Z: ZEALOUS for good works. (Titus 2:14c)

(Source: Samaritan’s Purse. “The Gospel Alphabet”)

Photos: Tea Time with Papa

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Lydia loves that toy tea set that my coworker, Marianna, gave to her a few weeks ago since she has played it with it nearly every day since she received it a few weeks ago. Lydia is pouring some tea for dad.

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While Lydia is examining her teapot, dad is drinking some tea in the photo mug from Kodak Gallery that mom gave to dad as an advance Father's Day gift today.

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Dad is holding Lydia's lavendar teacup so that Lydia can drink some tea.

Note: SiowFong took all of these pictures on June 7, 2008 in the upper landing area of our home.

Photos: Lydia and Auntie MayLee 1

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Double laughter

Lydia and auntie MayLee are laughing as auntie MayLee is feeding Lydia her morning bottle of water, which occurred just after Lydia finished her bottle of organic whole cow's milk.

June 4, 2008

Living room

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Auntie MayLee and Lydia are gazing at the rhododendron plant in the backyard from the dining room's window.

Lydia is sitting on a 30-inch barstool in order to be able to see outside the window, so auntie MayLee is next to Lydia and constantly monitoring her to make sure that Lydia does not fall off from the stool.

June 7, 2008

Dining room

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Auntie MayLee and Lydia have spotted a squirrel or a bumblebee near the rhododendron plant.

Nelly Wee, one of Lydia's cousins who lives in Singapore, gave Lydia this jean dress, which auntie MayLee brought to the states for Lydia.

June 7, 2008

Dining room

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Auntie MayLee is teaching Lydia some hand movements.

Auntie MayLee, who exercises every morning before work, has also been showing Lydia how to do some calisthenics and flexibility exercises at our home.

June 7, 2008

Living room

Note: These pictures were taken in our home.

Parental Support and Extended Family

June 7, 2008

Parental Support and Extended Family

The presence of Ma Wee and MayLee at our home in the last seven days has made our jobs as parents much easier this past week. With the adult to child ratio doubled from 2:1 to 4:1, one of us can spend time with Lydia while the other three are doing other things. Today was an example. While MayLee was baking and Ma Wee was cooking, SiowFong or I spent time with Lydia with the other person was cleaning in preparation for our guests, the Chews and Peng. In addition, since Ma Wee and MayLee are different from SiowFong and me, Lydia benefits from their unique interactions with her. Finally, with Ma Wee and MayLee in our home, Lydia’s watching of DVDs (both home and the “Let Your Music Shine” ones) has diminished significantly as she prefers spending time with us, particularly auntie MayLee. The increase in frequency of Lydia’s laughs testifies to the impact that Ma Wee and MayLee have had on her in just seven days.

Ray, Anna, Gabriel, and Kristian Pagtalunan is one family that immediately comes to my mind whenever I think about the subject of parental support and the benefits of living close to one’s extended families. (Ray, his siblings, and his parents are my family # 2 even though I am not related to them because I spent so much of my free time with them during my childhood, college, and postgraduate years.) Ray’s mother, mom # 2, takes care of Gabriel and Kristian, both of whom are preschoolers, from Mondays through Fridays while Ray and Anna work. Two or three evenings a week, after Ray and Anna leave work, they eat at mom # 2’s home. Finally, since Ray’s other siblings, Roberto (a brother), Will (a brother), and Maria (a sister), are single adults, they still live at home with mom # 2, so Gabriel and Kristian benefit from frequent interactions with their two paternal uncles and their paternal aunt. When Roberto or Will have a regular day off from work, which occurs once every two weeks for each of them, they regularly take Gabriel and Kristian to special places outside the home, such as the zoo, local parks, and other locations suitable for young children. Finally, Gabriel and Kristian see Anna’s family once a week as they live in the area also. In short, Gabriel’s life and Kristian’s life have been greatly enriched by the presence and involvement of their extended families, and Ray and Anna have some relief from their parenting responsibilities because of their local loved ones.