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Babycenter.com's newsletter on 22-month-olds has this to say,
"But true jumping, where both feet leave the ground at the same time and then land squarely, is a skill that requires excellent balance and may take a few more months to master."
Well, minibeanie has been jumping with 2 feet off the ground for at least 2 weeks already. For some time, that was all he wanted to do. "Tump tump tump!". That's his word for "jump" :D First 1 foot then all of a sudden, he got it. Then again, he has always been ahead in motor skills. Couldn't say the same for his linguistic skills though. He understands us perfectly in Finnish and English (although he has developed some 'selective hearing' of late ;) but actually says a rather limited number of words. Apple, auntie, bath, car, bus, kakka, eyes, ice ("aye"), thank you, truck, bye... Well, all children develop at their own pace, I suppose!
We went to EtonHouse's Open House today. It was nice and I think we've half made up our minds to enrol minibeanie at Eton come Fall.
Firstly, we like the school grounds. It is safe, green, has plenty of open space for children to run around and the class rooms are huge. Each classroom has its own child-sized washroom, play and reading corners, cushions & toys.
A plus point is its international staff. This point goes beyond language, there's also the cultural divide (if the management is Chinese) that I've so often encountered in the normal course of life here. For instance, it's beyond my understanding why the Chinese typically do not turn on their heaters in their restaurants/schools/wherever during their winter.... Yes, they have heaters in their premises but they just don't use them! As a result, I have heard stories of children in full winter gear while IN their classes.
As for the International vs. Chinese syllabus dilemma in Eton, first off, I'd definitely like minibeanie to be exposed to Chinese; after all, he does get plenty of English at home. However, there are a couple of factors in favour of the International syllabus though. A recent change in its curriculum means that Chinese gets equal airtime as English. In practical terms, this means that if the English teacher talks about birds one day, the Chinese teacher will talk about the feathered creatures the next day.
And the second factor is the pupil to adult* ratio. As mentioned in my previous blog, the Chinese division has significantly bigger classes. Now, class size and pupil-adult ratio may not be a big thing when the child is 5 or 6, but for a 2-3 year old toddler who may not be toilet trained, able to dress himself or have 2 left feet on even surfaces, an extra pair of hands and eyes is vital to the child's safety. In Finland, daycares for 2 year olds are 4:1 (someone please confirm?). At Eton, I was given the assurance that the maximum ratio for the International division would be 6:1 and 10:1 for the Chinese division.
Ok, time to hit the sack... we haven't fully committed to a decision but I think I know where it's heading ;) On Wednesday, we'd be leaving for Beijing for the long Dragon Boat Festival holiday!
* teacher + teaching assistant
minibeanie is 1 year, 10 months & 1 day old
microbeanie is 24 weeks in utero
In my earlier post, I said I'd write about my experience at the newest maternity hospital here. Angel Hospital (安琪儿妇产医院) is billed as an ultra modern and luxurious private maternity hospital in Chengdu. It started its operations late last year with a media blitz - billboards on pedestrian sidewalks, bus-stops, back of buses... probably in print and tv medium as well, just that I'm not aware of those.
It felt like entering the lobby of a hotel - marble flooring, a vaulted ceiling surrounded by Corinthian columns and a massive chandelier. A bevy of svelte ladies in smart uniforms greeted me; 1 of them addressed my concern and ushered me to the reception on the second floor. No, not to fill in the official registration papers as I expected but to make a payment to see the doctor. That done, I was ushered into a room where my blood pressure & weight were taken by a junior doctor apparently. This nice lady doctor then ushered me to another room to see the senior obstetrician who answered whatever questions I had and assessed my medical condition. As I had requested for the 4D ultrasound scan, I was brought to a waiting area to wait for my turn at the sonographer's lab. The scan done, I was brought back to the obstetrician's office where she insisted the fetal heartrate be heard using the doppler EVEN though a while ago, the sonographer had seen and heard the heartrate. "I just want to hear it for myself," she said. So for the second time that day, I had the yucky gooey lubricant smeared on my belly :P
As I made my appointment for the next visit, I was vastly surprised that the date and timing were entirely at my disposal.
Is July 4th ok?
- yes, that's alright.
what about 10am?
- You can come in anytime.
huh...?
- we're here for you.
My contact numbers, date of appointment were all scribbled on a piece of paper. No centralized database existed as far as I could see. And definitely no computerized system for scheduling. And there was certainly no patient's reference number or card. It felt like I was buying a McChicken.
The next stop was the urine test. I was given a plastic cup with a lid to pee in. The ladies' room did not disappoint. Swanky, new, all marble EXCEPT that the cubicle didn't have a ledge for the cup. The junior lady doctor then brought me to the lab counter where specimens were deposited. No sticker with my name on the cup.. it was just placed on a printed form which I supposed mentioned my name and stated that I'd paid for the lab test. 20cm away was a similar cup of pale yellow liquid. The possibility of someone committing mischief or making a mistake is kind of high, isn't it?
Finally, as this was my first visit, I was given a tour of the wards. Most were single bed rooms with a nice sofa and plasma tv. The suites had an adjoining room with a bed and a kitchenette with a small dining table. It was luxuriously beautiful and felt more like a hotel than a hospital.
Yet somehow, it missed the mark for me. Despite all the marble and cherubs spouting fountains, I couldn't shake off the feeling that underneath all the glam, there wasn't much substance down there. Sure, they may have great obstetricians with years of experience and have bought the latest technology but do their internal processes work seamlessly to provide the best medical care especially in an emergency? In Information Science, the success of a company depends not on its individual parts but on how well each part is integrated with each other: people, technology, process, culture etc.
Finally, I had a nagging concern: what if there was a medical emergency with the mother or newborn? I didn't see any neonatal wards and there was only one neonatal specialist listed on Angel's prospectus - the great majority were obstetricians/gynecologists while the rest were midwives. Nice plasma tvs but Angel Hospital will not be my first choice to birth in.
Without meaning to sound callous, we're hoping to send minibeanie to a playschool when the baby comes along. Not that I want him out of my hair for a couple of hours each day but I feel a new environment will be stimulating for him socially and intellectually. Ok ok... if I have to be totally honest, I DO cherish a few hours of 'free' time ;P
There have been a few options we're toying with. The first decision will be the International vs. Chinese syllabus. The International route leads basically to the one school which takes in children from age 2 - there isn't much choice we have there ;) Naturally, our options open up considerably with the Chinese route. There is that aforementioned school which has a parallel Chinese division and there are also a host of local options such as the very auspicious sounding "Golden Apple" or a playschool located within the grounds of Sichuan University.
From my discussions with parents, the main differences between the International and Chinese divisions are firstly, the pupil-to-teacher ratio where it's somewhat lower in the former than in the latter. Secondly, the Chinese route follows the syllabus as set forth by the Chinese education ministry. I can't comment on which syllabus is better because I do not have detailed information on both. But going by the pupil-to-teacher ratio as a factor, I'm inclined to prefer the International route.
Unfortunately, the International route is at an international school which almost by default costs an arm and a leg. Friends from Singapore will be familiar with this school, it's EtonHouse. As such, we're looking forward to Eton's Open House on Tuesday where we'll explore the grounds, learn more about its International and Chinese divisions and of course, the impact on our bank balance.
All the logical reasoning aside, both dada and I can't believe that our little one will be heading off to school soon! he's growing up so quickly!! :((
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months & 4 weeks old
microbeanie is 23 weeks 4 days in utero
Friends have asked if the second time round is easier. Hmm. Well, I kind of have a little experience so I suppose that makes it a little 'easier'. Then again, every pregnancy is different. But having to take care of and nurture a toddler entering his "terrible twos" is a another game altogether.
Instead of sitting on my arse in conference call meetings, it is reading-lego-playground duty, sometimes in swift progression ;) But I really shouldn't complain as I'm lucky to have all the help I can get. Our domestic helper who now comes in every weekday for at least half a day brings minibeanie down to the playground to burn all that energy that will otherwise have driven me crazy. And really, although he has his moments, he doesn't really have them all too often and if I can rise above the occasion by adopting a zen attitude, it usually passes without much fuss.
Therefore, I guess there's no simple answer to the question. Just because I've popped one out before, it doesn't make it easier. It's not like baking cookies. And you can't apply "economies of scale" (unless you count the toys & clothes that can be shared); in fact, I think there's dis-economies of scale! There, I think that's my answer :)
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 3 weeks & 2 days old
microbeanie is 22 weeks 5 days in utero
Someone please shoot me if I ever wear one of these!
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 2 weeks & 3 days old
microbeanie is 22 weeks in utero
Today marks the anniversary of the 8.0 earthquake that devastated so many lives in Sichuan. Read the blog's posts on the earthquake here.
According to China Daily, more than 87000 people are dead or missing and by an official estimate, more than 5000 children. I feel so blessed that we escaped unscathed from the quake.... if we have a moment to spare in our busy schedules, let us pause, reflect and pray.
Our weekend trip to Mount Emei was wonderful. We arrived on Saturday at our hotel nearly 2pm. We decided to hit the road for the summit almost immediately because of a natural phenomenon that was supposed to take place between 3 and 4pm - the sea of clouds (云海). And it was just as well because our driver took an hour to bring us to 2700m. From there to the summit of 3079m, it was to be a 1.5 km hike followed by a 2 minute cable car ride to the Golden Summit (金顶).
Dada carried minibeanie on the baby carrier when we began the climb. The air was moist as the entire mountain was enveloped in clouds - we were walking in clouds! Unfortunately, that also meant we couldn't see much beyond. So much for for the 'sea of clouds'. Thankfully though, it was cool because soon we were huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. Excellent cardio workout! I have to add that dada was complaining of sore knees and our friend was feeling faint while the slight expectant lady in the group was still rather sprightly after the hike :D
The cable car ride was nice although it passed in a haze - literally! :D We arrived at the Golden Summit without too much time to spare as the last ride was at 6pm :( Ascending a long flight of steps, we were met by the world's highest golden Buddha, Puxian. It stands at 48m tall with a weight of 660 tons. The 10 head sculptures in 10 directions of Puxian signify the boundless practices and wishes of Puxian. At the summit was also the monastery that was founded as early as 1st century AD. I wish we had time to explore the place a lot more leisurely and read up on its history!!
Quite amazingly, we were the only the only foreigners around. And of course, minibeanie always gets the attention of all the ladies.
Puxian shrouded in clouds on our ascend
Clearer weather on our descent
The mission for next day was Good Tea Hunting. We went tea tasting at the renowned Emei Xueya 峨眉雪芽 (Snow bud of Emei? Transliteration is always a tricky if not hilarious affair ;) and after that, found our way to another company which had a tea plantation in the vicinity. Zhuye Qing's 竹叶青 ("Green bamboo leaves") tea plantation/tea house/museum grounds were beautifully landscaped in the traditional Chinese style. All in, we tasted and bought some great green tea only grown in Sichuan.
There are altogether 6 categories of tea with green tea being the least processed and not in the least fermented. [Green tea, 绿茶, is not to be confused with another category of 'green' tea that is fermented 青茶). Green tea has to be made with 85C water - too hot and its essential oils evaporate thus changing its taste. Green tea shouldn't be steeped unlike black tea as the first and second brew have the most delicate of flavours. Subsequent brews would result in a slightly bitter palate. The type of vessel is also important. One has to use either glass or porcelain with the former preferred as the unfurling and dancing tea leaves are a visual treat by itself.
A couple of months ago, I was so keen to learn about tea that I bought a Chinese book on tea! ... along with a Chinese dictionary ;D I realized that there was a real dearth of knowledge among the English literature on Chinese tea. All the books on tea I found on Amazon were superficial in depth and nothing more than glossy picture books. Perhaps I should research and write a book on Chinese tea :) I wonder if there's interest in this topic...
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 2 weeks & 2 days old
microbeanie is 21weeks 6days in utero
My advice to any would-be parents is, "get away before your whole life changes!" And I was really glad we went to Buenos Aires in my 20th week before minibeanie came along (in fact, it was somewhere above Brazil when I felt the first definitive kick from minibeanie). Two years on, just when we get comfortable with the toddler routine, we feel that our world is about to be rocked again.
[deep breaths]
There's no time like the present so we thought we should make some holiday plans in the next 3 months. First stop. Mount Emei (峨眉山). We'd been pathetically sequestered in Chengdu city for a year, so besides claiming to have seen the pandas, we should add 1 of China's most sacred Buddhist mountains to our list. After all, it's 'merely'* 150km away.
Like many of our trips here, the impetus was a friend visiting. Thus, this weekend, I've arranged for us a driver and his car to be our chauffeur for the 1.5 day trip. Accommodation has been booked in a 5* hotel at the foot of the mountain with hot springs. Unfortunately, I won't be able to partake in the hot springs but I'm hoping that we get some magnificent views at the summit, visit Emei's famous tea plantation (峨眉雪芽) and visit some monasteries, supposedly the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts.
Can't wait!
* no distance is near enough with a toddler!
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 1 week & 5 days old
microbeanie is 21 weeks 2 days in utero
It's official! Numero deux is very much on the way :)
Today, we just did our third ultrasound and the first 4D ultrasound in Chengdu (more on that later). Everything is going ok. So here's presenting ....... microbeanie (no surprise there! :D)
So in keeping with the new chapter, there's also going to be a new look for the blog. Oh yes, if any of you are wondering, it's now 21 weeks and 1 day.
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 1 week & 4 days old
I just had to laugh when I read this blog entry, The worst pregnancy product of all time. Amen to that! In fact, I'd even go so far as to say it's the worst product of all time!
Honestly though, I'd bought into the notion that thongs are sexy but hey, I was in my 20s. Now, 1 baby and more than a couple of years later, those few pieces of lacy red thongs lie in the Siberian reaches of my wardrobe. The reason for their abandonment is pure practicality. I just hate the feeling of having a wedgie between the crack of my butt perpetually. How do g-string-wearers tolerate that?? I'd find my sexy some other way ;)
What are some of your worst purchases? I can think of one - home exercise machines?
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 1 week & 1 day old
I believe it's important to have family traditions. Reunion dinners for Chinese New Year, turkey & gingerbread cookies for Christmas, we all have them. But besides festivals, I realized we've unwittingly created one around the weekend. Pancakes for breakfast! It's the only time all of us get to sit down together for breakfast without the company transport to catch or (in time to come) the school bus to dash for.
So when mummy isn't too tired to get up in the wee hours of the morning with the boys, we sit down for pancakes. (So far, it had been quite a regular affair ;) I experimented with several recipes. I mixed my own with the standard ingredients of milk, egg & flour adjusting for flow consistency, found a crepe recipe and even used a bottle of pancake mix that I lugged back from Australia.
While the D-I-M pancakes were ok, I hadn't nailed the right proportion of liquids to dry ingredients. On the other hand, I felt that the crepes would be better suited for crepes suzette or as french crepes with ham & cheese. (I did make caramelized bananas as filling 1 weekend but sticking to plain ol' jam & honey would feed 3 hungry mouths sooner :D ) Ironically, the most enthusiastic response came from the pancake mix. Since I regard ready mixes not without a certain amount of disdain preferring the old fashion route, I just had to search for a substitute.
I found it in allrecipes.com. More than 2000 reviews that gathered 4.5 out of 5 stars couldn't be too off the mark, I thought. They were right. The recipe gave the best pancakes we'd had for a long time. I agreed with most of the reviewers - do not change a single thing about the recipe, it's perfect as it is. Some who thinned the batter either didn't know that the thick consistency would give it the light-as-air fluffiness or preferred their pancakes thin a la crepes. The only thing I added was 2tbsp of ground flaxseed that upped the nutrients but took away none of the fluff.
This pancake recipe would be a part of our weekend tradition.
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months & 5 days old
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