7 months with Natalie

Yup...long overdue post. Am now in my 7th month and yes we have more or less decided on the name Natalie, a name which the 3 of us agree on (or can pronounce!)...now pondering on the chinese name, anybody any ideas??
Yesterday was also a significant day as we move our little man into his first big boy bed! (so that Natty can have his cot). And so Zac discovers the joys of growing independence....he now dictates when he sleeps! Initially Eugene had to "pretend" to sleep next to him on the mattress next to his bed...didn't quite work out as our dear boy pranced around his "sleeping" dad, pulling out all his books from his bookshelves, examined the cupboards and took down all his posters...after which he finally slept after about an hour and a half. Tonight...we explained to him that daddy doesn't need to pat or sleep with him anymore as he is a big boy...and only babies need to be pat. We also allowed him to bring one friend into bed with him...doggie, and explained that doggie wants to sleep with him on the bed and needs to be pat. He seemed to accept this feeble explanation quite willingly...and tonight he went to sleep on his own!! (we think...cos we just left him in his room and closed the door...don't hear any noises coming out from there so should be all clear!)
So....thank God it seems to be working out...2 more months of changes as we prepare for Natty...

Running commentary

That is how my days with Zac are like...i have a running commentary of everything that is going on around me! Zac...being very excited about his new found and growing vocabulary has decided that he needs to articulate everything that he sees or feels or touches or does! What he can't find the words for...he substitutes it with another word that sounds familiar and makes mummy guess till she gets it right! And i am obliged to repeat what he says as a form of affirmation that i understood what he was trying to say.
So after each day....i have a very dry mouth. But he has forced me to observe and appreciate the insignificant and realise that there are alot of blue taxis out there!

Perth...and a first for Zac

That is Zac waking up from his first airplane trip...we took a red eye flight so thank God that he slept most of the way there...although bed time for him that day was 2am! He was pretty in awe of the air plane in general and was excited to see it up close, we have been prepping him for some time now and he was all prepared to be IN the plane and not in stuck in the airport LOOKING at planes. He had a more enjoyable time on the trip back as he was awake and aware of his surroundings...brought a bag full of toys to keep him occupied. As the plane back was mosty empty he had his own seat too...
Overall the trip was pretty good...we wanted this trip to be the "last-one-before-baby-comes" and spend some time with Zac exploring a new territory together. And we truely thank God for opportunity cos it was really a blessed time with him...learnt so much more about our little boy and realising how much he has grown and the knowledge he has accumulated in his head...both good and bad!
Perth was really serene and peaceful and very child-friendly...many open spaces and beautiful parks which Zac absolutely loved. Brought him to a few tourisy places and introduced him to a few native animals also exposed him to various new experiences. It was particularly interesting to see how he reacted to new situations and especially being in a new country. After a few days he seem to welcome the new experiences with open arms maybe except the "sun-in-eyes" situations! He hated it when the sun shone into his eyes when we were in car, neither did he like to wear his sun glasses. So he whined and whined all the way till we reached our destinations! Not pleasant for all...
It was all good....and again we are grateful for the time and money spent! Now...we have a task at hand...to prep Zac on the impending arrival of his baby sister...

Of runny poop and puke...

Before i recount our trip to Perth....i must jot down the horrendous week we had when Zac had some sort of food poisoning!! This is his first time and i pray that it will remain as that for some time. Seeing him puke uncontrollably and watching the fear he had in his eyes when he saw what came out and how it felt was heart breaking! We had never had such broken sleep since Zac was 2 months old and i have never washed all his sheets and used up all his PJs in this way before!!! Also never changed so many runny poopy nappies in an hour before!!
Ok...feel much better getting it out of my system cos am so thankful that God took it away pretty fast but the memory of it still lingers. Just thanking God that it wasn't any more serious and he JUST managed to recover before we flew off to Perth.

Unwind

Zac is not the only one that enjoys his bath time...me too. Its the only time of the day when i can spend some time with my own thoughts and gather the scattered pieces of my sanity! Sometimes i'm so caught up with my thoughts that i wash my hair twice without realising or i leave the bath with a headful of hair conditioner. These days...am just feeling so drained, must be no. 2 demanding more from me too. By God's grace...
Oh ya...and Zac was right all along...he is going to have a mei mei. We always thought that he only knew how to pronounce mei mei (little sister) and not di di (little brother) , and that's why he was so insistant that he was going to have a mei mei. But now when we are certain that its a girl, he claims that we are having both a mei mei and di di!! Which ever way, we are thankful that mei mei is growing well...already she is getting a lack of attention...am not as attentive to what i consume each day, so was glad that she is thriving well anyway!

Outwit...Outlast...Outplay

The game Zac and i play each day...somehow i think he has mastered it.

Drill master...

We now have a drill sergeant at home....he's head does not even reach pass our waist but his commands and orders are quick and sharp. At times you have no choice but to succumb to his wishes. Yes am talking about my son. Ever since he managed to master a few important words, he has been making his requests known...loud and clear and what he can't find English words for he makes it up with gibberish (which we are expected to understand too cos he gets irritated when we don't!)
Each day...it has been....marmee/dadeee pick up, sit, come, up, call (for when he wants to play with the phone), take out, Zac Zac eat, Zac Zac see, outside etc etc...
Its hard to ignore certain commands as we don't want to be too permissive but its a tough call cos we are trying to encourage him to use his words to ask for what he wants instead of throwing a tantrum or crying!