Monday, 10 November 2008

Joys

Recently I noticed that as a parent I am able to find joy in the simplest of act or places. I have listed down a few of the routine things that will always bring a smile to my face. I sincerely hope that they have the same effect on you as they do on me.

Shower:
Whenever I see Ani showering Isaac I will automatically smile to myself. In fact the mere thought of him sitting down on his Ikea stool playing with water while Ani fusses over him is enough to put this silly grin on me now. Somehow seeing this little man sitting down naked and playing with water has this effect on me. Sometimes when he made eye contact with me he will smile and want to crawl towards me. That will be my cue to leave. It has been a while since I shower with him and truth be told I do miss it.

Body:
For some unexplainable reason I will always smile when I see his naked body. I like to watch him struggle and crawl around when Ani tries to put some clothes on him after his shower. Maybe it is his plus size that makes me happy and proud. So many others have ‘molested’ and squeezed his thighs, arms and of course pinched his chubby cheeks.


Eating:
Watching Isaac eats brings enormous joy to the Mrs and I. We like to watch the greedy side of him whenever we eat. He will move his mouth as if he is chewing on the same food (what I termed eating air). These days he will even try and reach out for the food as if to tell us he wants a piece of the pie too, literally. When we put food in his mouth the way his chubby cheeks move will usually make us laugh. He is ever ready to open his mouth to whatever we place in front of him. For the record, Isaac has passed the 10kg mark already in case you’re wondering.


Feeding:
Honestly I have only tried feeding him his porridge once. Usually it will be Ani that does it because it can get rather messy both for the one eating and the one feeding. However I still enjoy feeding him his milk. It gives me a sense of achievement when I managed to make him finish his 240ml of milk before going to sleep. Sometimes he will turn and fuss about and it can be a struggle but when he finishes the last drop I will have this immense pride.

Carrying:
It started a couple of months back, Isaac was on his walker and he charged towards me when I got home from work. He then reached out his arms, a signal for me to carry him. That was definitely one of the defining moments for me as a dad. Ever since then I will be happy whenever he reaches out to me, be it in his walker, in his play pan and especially in another person’s arms.

Smiling:
I’m sure those of you who have been following Isaac’s growth will now be quite accustomed to his infamous smile. Actually be it the cheeky (mischievous) or the genuine happy-to-see-you smile I am thrilled to see my boy smile. Sometimes when he wakes up he will flash you this smile that will warm your heart and make you wish he stays that way forever.


Sleeping:
Putting Isaac to sleep can be a real challenge sometimes. He will struggle and want to continue playing. At various stage of his growing up there is a different method of putting him to sleep. When he was much younger and sleeping in the cot in our room, I will give him his pacifier and place one finger in each of his hands. This is to prevent him from rubbing his face and accidentally removing his pacifier. These days I will put him on the bed with all the lights off (this is important) and place him right next to my chest. He will play with my t-shirt with both his hands for a while before eventually drifting off to sleep. Watching him sleep makes me happy. It is partly due to the fact that we can all rest now but mainly it has this calming effect on me.


The above are just the joy that I managed to derive from the routine of caring for and playing with Isaac. With the Twins’ coming I can only hope that this amount of joy will be tripled.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Dylan

Yes yes... your joy will definately triple in a few month's time!

I think my boy is a few weeks younger than Issac and he is on the smaller side. I call him our 'minature piglet'. He is like Issac, welcoming all kinds of food into his mouth.

circusbugs

Lionel n Rachel said...

makes u feel blessed ya, to have issac? i too, loves the way my gal stretches out to me when she was still in her walker or in another person's arm, happy to see me & wanting me to carry her. That smile on her face is enuff to melt my heart. And now dat she is bigger, i love to see her running towards me, smiling happily, arms out-stretch. For this, i will squat down, hug her in my arms & swing her round. She loves it.

As for u, dylan, i foresee u doing tis action 3 times; one after another, each time u see ur kids. Or maybe, an even bigger action, like issac on ur back & u carrying the twins in each of ur arms.

Nicole said...

Wow, 10kg! I'm impressed!!!!

Cleo have literally stop gaining weight, still stuck at 9.2kg(at most) but to us, she;s still big and chubby. Haha...

Like Isaac, Cleo is one big greedy pig. Will demand that we feed her. Then will 'chew' the food with her two little teeth, she behaved as if she have full set of teeth. Haha

Isaac is really one very big boy. I so very the heart him. He's one of those super cute boy that I don't mind having. Heee

The Bimbo said...

He looks so cute sleeping. I'm not a mummy but I can understand how proud you feel when you reaches out for you. So sweet.

Bobo

mummy yio said...

Wow, so many photos of Issac :) Issac looks grown up now ya? hehe, as a FTWM... I know how it feels when your child 'wants' you when he sees you. For me, everyday when i pick my gal up from the nanny's place. The thing that drives all my tiredness away is when i call her name and she stops all that she is doing, turns and give me that 'so happy to see you 'smile...

Oh and congrats on knowing the gender of the twins :)

Angie said...

every little thing our little ones do bring smiles to our faces, isnt it! (except when they drive you up the walls when they turn cranky)

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Circusbugs,

I certainly hope the joy will be 3 times more but I also know that we will all be 3 times more tired. Hahaha

So your boy is born this year then. Don't worry about the size cause they will all eventually catch up. More importantly they are healthy now.

Since he loves to eat who knows he may get stronger and bigger in no time.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Yvonne,

Ya I feel blessed that Isaac has been a very good boy so far and everyone loves him to bits.

I can totally picture what you described except I'm not sure if I will do the swing him around. He is getting heavier. Hahaha

Actually I think I need to hit the gym so that I can carry all 3 of them at the same time. Think it will be fun.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nicole,

Oh I didn't realise that Cleo is hovering around 9.2kg mark. Isaac has only just passed the 10kg mark 2 days ago. Now not many people can carry him for long especially when he likes to move about.

Ya, Isaac also moves his mouth as if he has a full set of teeth and ready to tear into whatever we offer him.

Isaac is indeed growing and too fast if you ask me. I can't help but wonder maybe all you readers are a little biased towards Isaac since you all watched him grow so can't help but to find him cute.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Bobo,

He looks quite fat in the sleeping picture right?! He was so tired that he simply fell asleep in the Mrs's arms and she was just holding him and sitting on the couch watching TV.

The highlights these days when I reached home is to see his smile while he 'runs' towards me in his walker with his outreached arms.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Amy,

These are actually the not so nice pictures of Isaac. I did mention sometime back that I should start posting the not so nice ones. Now all you readers can see the real him, not always cute.

Funny thing you mentioned. After work naturally I will feel tired but look forward to seeing him and the Mrs. Once home I will forget how tired I am simply by playing with him. However after about an hour or two I will become more tired then having to work. Hahahaha

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Angie,

Spot on there! Whatever they do will bring a smile to our faces. I'm not sure about you but sometimes the Mrs and I like to irritate him and see the funny expressions on his face.

Guess this is our payback to him for driving us up the wall sometimes. Hahaha

Nicole said...

Yeah,Cleo still stuck at 9.2kg or so. *sigh* and when I tell others that she have slim down, they gave me a ' you must be crazy' kinda look. Guess to them, Cleo is still a big chunk of meat. Haha!

Biased?? Hmm...personally, I seldom find kids cute and even if I did, it's mostly girls. Seldom boys. Probably because Isaac resembles Cleo in some ways and he's really cute. *cross my heart*

Anonymous said...

wah how u carry huh 10kg? my girl is 3.5yrs old now and only 13kg wor... POWER pack little boy you have.
i did smile at all your entries... and start to think about my own little girls... yes all the simplest things really does bring a smile to your face and brighten up your day. no matter how tired you are... they will melt ur heart and throw all worries out of the window when they smile at you.

enjoy parenthood everyone! :)

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nicole,

Unlike Cleo when Isaac slims down people around do generally agree but it does not mean that they do not find him to be a plus size baby.

I understand what you meant about Isaac and Cleo have similarities. They are pretty similar in some ways and perhaps that is also why the Mrs is such a fan of Cleo.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cecilia,

Seriously?! Tricia at 3.5years is weighing in at 13kg? Hmmmm..... but Isaac is not that big surely because I know for a fact some of you readers' boys are actually bigger.

I'm glad you are able to reflect on your own experience and bring a smile to your face.

I hope years from now I can also recall all these moments when I'm down or when they drove me up the wall. Hahaha

Anonymous said...

Dylan, ya lor only 13kg now... she takes ONE hour to eat her meals... BAD habit of "storing" the food in her mouth and forgets to chew until we remind her. she sits at the dinning table with us for meals but still dont undestand why she will forget to chew and/or takes VERY long to chew. But Dr. B say her height/weight is normal.. small size like mummy haha...

Anonymous said...

Hi Dylan,

Indeed, it's these routine stuff that puts on a smile and bond parent-child together. I remembered when I was bed-ridden in my 2nd preg and advised against carrying my older boy; these were the things I missed so much doing with/for him.

It's good to find contentment with little things like such :).

And am sure ur joy will more than tripled when the twins arrive (aaaaa, and so do ur efforts!).

Have fun!
JS.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cecilia,

I think many kids have the bad habit of "storing" food in their mouth while eating and like Tricia they will take an hour or more to finish their meals. Honestly this is something that we are worried will happen with Isaac too. So far he has been great but in the future who knows right?

Is Tricia seeing Dr Belinda at Mt E too?

Actually so long as the PD says Tricia is healthy and height and weight are all normal.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi JS,

Ya I agree it is through these routine stuffs that we bond with the children. This is also why the Mrs feels so bad because she cannot do most of these things with Isaac. She can only play with him on the bed for now but I think that is good enough because he enjoys himself every time.

I know the joy will triple but I'm sure the headache and tiredness will also triple. Hahahaha

Anonymous said...

hmm but i notice it happens more for girls i think... maybe because girls like to daydream MORE than boys? haha

yup both my girls see Dr. Belinda... A doctor who doesn't like to give medicine to kids! haahaa

Anonymous said...

eh he's very ermm fat leh, what u feed him? hehee.. he has chinese eyes!

so cute, can molest all day... ahahaha.. my nephew at this age, when he eat, so messy it's disgusting..

i also wan one!!!!!!
hehe

bet u guess who's here..
mrs chew

Nicole said...

Isaac grow any teeth already?? I can't seems to locate any...

It seems that Cleo looks very promising at first, with two teeth and after few months, still only with two teeth! Haha

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cecilia,

Not sure if it happens more to girls but my Sis was like that when she was a kid.

In any case no matter happen to boys or girls more we have equal chance to experience it. Fingers crossed!!

So maybe next time we will bump into each other when we are at Dr B's clinic then you must make yourself known ya since I do not know how you look like.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Jolin,

Welcome back from HK!!! The Mrs wanted to go so much and we had to postpone our trip twice now due to this pregnancy.

He is not that fat lah. He really only eats, porridge, puree, bread and milk.

Er..... by Chinese eyes, you mean he has single eye lids?! His eyes not considered small right?

Yes, he can be rather messy sometimes when it comes to eating.

From the remarks that you also want one, I will naturally know it is you.

Hope your HK trip brings you good luck!!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nicole,

Yes Isaac has 2 teeth (lower front) now. He got them about a month back and it is still 2 only.

See, another similarity with Cleo. Maybe she is waiting for Isaac to catch up before she grows more teeth. Hahaha

Anonymous said...

i dun think so leh, i feel as fit as a fiddle, can run 20km also not prob.. ok i am lying.. ahaha..

but usually won't get any symptons right? i mean ask ur wife!!!

haha,

mrschew

Anonymous said...

wah Dylan u no heart lah... my FB got my face wor...
anyway hor i can tell u honestly i am a very blur person.. u walk in front of me i think i will still need at least 10 mins to digest where i "seen" you before... haha

Anonymous said...

er, not that his eyes are small, they'r silted at the bottom up.. haha, very cute..

mrschew

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Jolin,

Actually I don’t need to ask the Mrs to know there will not be any symptoms now. It has been only a few days.

But I do wish you luck!!!!!

Silted at the bottom up..... hmm.... not sure if I know what you mean. Have to go examine Isaac later and consult the Mrs at the same time.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cecilia,

Sorry about that but I have a very good reason - I am really not active in FB. I merely use it to upload and share Isaac's pictures.

Since I invited all you readers to look me up there I did get a few "friends" invitations but I did not pay particular attention to who look like what.

Like you I am pretty bad with faces so I don't think I will recognise you all on the streets.

Anonymous said...

Wow.....seems to me all parents will feel so blessed that our kids yearn for us!
That's why both my hubby and I agree that our kids (3 gals) complete our life!

Now life is so exciting and wonderful with them around! Have fun with them for life...and Yes, ur joys will be triple when the twins arrive!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Linda,

It is an amazing feeling when our kids reached out to us isn't it?

I'm not so sure about the exciting part. I'll have to come back to you in a few months time on that. Hahahaha

Anonymous said...

Like my 2nd nephew lah, we call them "spider eyes" when he stares at you if you'r scolding him ya, my 2nd nep kinda look damn fierce.. haha..but so so adorable..

mrs chew

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Jolin,

I think I understand better what you mean now.

I will observe and see if Isaac looks fierce when I next scold him.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dylan,

Isaac is soooooo cute. The pics that u posted here are soooo cute & natural, i dun think they're "not so nice" at all. I esp like the 1 u used as ur profile pic in FB. =)

I'm impressed with Isaac's weight & appetite. My boy @ 2.5yo only weighs 14.5kg (& i thot he's heavy), & he definitely drink lesser milk than Isaac. hehe...

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nana,

From your comment I can tell you are surely a fan of Isaac. Hahahaha Because the Mrs and I find that these pictures posted here are really too natural already so not so nice.

Isaac is drinking more milk then Caleb because he is eating less solid food I believe. Speaking of which Isaac is somehow not too keen on his porridge these days. So we make it up by giving him more milk.