My precious 3 year old

It is one of life's most wondrous joys to discover your children's gifts and talents. I think I've figured out one of Lolo's gift. Lolo is the middle child, the one who's supposed to have the middle child syndrome, be insecure, attention-seeking, etc. but God made my middle child really special. She takes the initiative to pick the cup up when the older sister spills her cup of milk, runs to get the diaper, diaper cream, change mat, wet wipe AND clothes for baby when I'm about to take Baby's diaper off.

I made a roster for the two sisters to take turns to get cups of water for each other every night, and Lolo said, " Yay! Because I like to serve!"

She has such a servant heart that I'm so extremely proud of. Maybe I should humble myself and learn from her.

Funny things the kids say

Lolo ( carrying a handbag): Do you know why God made 2 hands?
Mommy: Why?
Lolo: So that we have 1 hand to carry the bag, and the other to hold Mommy's hand!

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After reading the Bible about how the birds of the air don't have to buy groceries, Chris came up with some of her own illustrations.

Chris: You don't see the bird going to the supermarket and pushing a trolley and buying bird seeds! And you don't see the frog going to the supermarket to buy water to pour into his pond!

How wise can a 3 year old get?

( During a discussion about Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit)

Daddy: Are you afraid of Mummy and Daddy when you do something wrong?
Chris: Yes.
Lolo: No.
Daddy ( surprised): Why not?
Lolo: Because Jesus is with me.

( During a discussion about whether the kids prefer to have one large scoop of kiwi or two small scoops when there was a dispute about fairness by the kids)

Mommy: Daddy gave you one large scoop of kiwi, that's why he gave Lolo 2 small scoops at the end. So 1 large scoop = 2 small scoops. So do you prefer 1 large scoop or 2 small scoops?
Chris: 1 large scoop.
Lolo: 2 large scoops!

What makes a home?

It's been a really long week, with the girls taking turns to come down with the dreaded hand foot mouth disease. We had to send them away to parents' and parent-in- laws' houses in the day to keep them from kissing Baby and passing it on to him. So I haven't been able to care for them in their sickness. Thankfully, dh has been caring for them, and he has become their hero.

After being at grandma's house all day, Lolo said to Daddy, " I want to go home." Daddy asked, " Do you miss home?" Lolo laughed, despite the pain she was feeling from the ulcers in her mouth, and said, " The home doesn't have eyes, and hands, and legs, right?" She was missing mommy and her beloved brother and sister, and we were 'home' to her.

What makes a home? The people living in it whom one loves.

Missing Dad

Have been missing Daddy very much lately. When Nate was born, people said he looked like Dad. It is really comforting to know that my son who would not meet his grandfather on this earth actually resembles him.

Was trying to calm a very fussy Nate in the middle of the night and no position seemed to please him. Then I suddenly remembered how Daddy would put Lauren to sleep and would tell me, " I just keep patting her bum and she would go to sleep." I tried that, and Nate calmed down immediately.

I know Daddy would be carrying Nate all the time and spoiling him rotten if he was here. He would cuddle him and put him to sleep and relieve me of time I could spend with the girls. Daddy loves babies.

Death and separation is such a painful thing I don't think anyone ever stops feeling the pain while we live. But what glorious hope I have that I will see Daddy again in heaven, and we would never be separated again for eternity. I look forward to the day I see Daddy again. In the meantime, I will tell Nate about him and try to impart the values that Daddy had imparted in me.

Memorable conversations with the children

Lolo says the funniest things sometimes, and this is one of them:

Lolo: "Mommy, I want that... that... I want what Jie Jie has."
Mommy: You want the computer? ( a kiddy one)
Lolo: Yes, the cucumber.

Chris amazes me with her words of wisdom sometimes:

Mommy ( talking to mom-in-law): The government should give stay-at-home moms more incentives because we are the ones who are producing more children. Those who go to work don't want to have children.

Chris ( pipes in after listening to our conversation) : That's because they can't take care of their own children.

Baby Nathaniel Arrived- 3 weeks early!

Today is Sept 28, and baby Nathaniel was due to come out yesterday. Instead, he decided he couldn't wait to see the world, and came out 3 weeks ago on Sept 5. This worked out well for me, because it meant I could start eating ice-cream and whatever I had to abstain from 3 weeks earlier. Also, the gestational diabetes I had was a blessing in disguise, because when Baby came out, the 6kg I gained from the pregnancy was lost pretty quickly, and I'm now back to my pre-pregnancy weight! :)

The labour was short, about 4 hours from the beginning to the end. After being kicked out of my bed by Lolo, I went to her bed but I couldn't sleep. I kept feeling like I 'had to go'. Thought my constipation was finally clearing up. But after a few fruitless trips to the bathroom, it suddenly dawned upon me that the regularity of the feeling could mean contractions. That was about 5am. I woke dh up, and told him I had contractions. He dismissed it as Braxton Hicks as it was just the beginning of the month, but woke up anyway. While we were contemplating whether to go to the hospital or not, he noticed blood on my nightgown. We both decided we should head to the hospital.

Baby shot out after 1 push, and the rest is history.

The past month has been challenging, to say the least. Week 1 was sheer torture and pain ( was tougher even than the labor) with leaky and sore boobs and breastfeeding. Week 2 was better with Baby having mastered latching on to the boobs and sleeping lots. Week 3 was sheer exhaustion from sleeping a max of 2 hours at each time with Baby feeding round the clock.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I want more kids after #3 at this point in tim, but I'm exceedingly thankful for the 3 children God has blessed me with. Seeing Baby's expressions and seeing him grow everyday is like seeing a miracle unfolding in front of my eyes, and somehow the pain and exhaustion pale in comparison to the joy of watching a life grow. The gals' responses have been so great, and that really adds to the sense of bliss. Chris says, " My baby is the cutest in the world." Lolo goes around telling everyone, " This is MY baby, not YOURS!"