Gabriel's First Report Card (Melody Kindyland, Bukit Jambul)

We received Gabriel's report card for N1, 1st semester. Observations were down-to-earth and best describes his character. Below are his grades. Gabriel, mummy and daddy are very proud of you and we love you.

Social & Emotional Development

• Is helpful [A]
• Willing to share [B+]
• Is polite [A]
• Follows rules and instructions [B+]
• Personal hygiene [A]
• Social development [B+]
• Emotional development [B+]

Cognitive Development

• Able to concentrate [B+]
• Is curious [B+]
• Is creative [A]

Interest Areas

• Interest in art & craft [A]
• Interest in music & movement [A]
• Interest in construction play [A]

Story-Telling Sessions

• Listening skills [A]
• Aesthetic [A]

English Language

• Oral vocabulary / expression [A]
• Able to recognize alphabet / words [A]
• Pre-writing skills e.g. pattern writing [B+]
• Able to trace alphabet [B]

Bahasa Malaysia

• Able to recognize alphabet / words [A]

Numeracy

• Rote-counting e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4... [B]
• Numeral recognition [B]
• Counting with understanding [B]

GRADING SYSTEM:

A+: Excellent
A: Good
B+: Satisfactory
B: Improving
C+: Improvement Required
C: Poor

I Love School!

Here are some photos of Gabriel with his Melody school bag. He was a good model, following instructions how to pose. After each shot, he would come running to see the digital preview. He loves to go to school now. For N1 students (age 3-4), Melody only allows students to take home their books on Fridays. At home, Gabriel often looks for his books to read, especially at the beginning of the week. So when he can't find his bag, he would start to whine. So, mummy called the school headmistress last week to allow Gabriel to bring his books home everyday. Mummy got to know that some parents complained about bringing too many bags everyday, so the school decided not to let N1 kids take their books home. Now Gabriel whines no more for his books!

Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro
Exposure: Manual f/5.6, 1/60s, ISO400
Strobe: Sigma EF-500 DG Super as slave at 1/4 power and f/5.6 with diffuser, triggered by built-in flash at -1 FEC. Placement to the left and above subject at 45º angle.

I'm a Hubber!

Ever heard of HubPages.com? Well, it's a place where you can publish your views, ideas, tips - just about anything under the sun. I stumbled upon HubPages while searching about how people make money on the internet. I find that it is pretty easy to use - you can use 'capsules' to insert text, photos or videos in your hub. The ranking system will give you an idea on how popular or useful is your hub and will drive you nuts to think of what will make people interested in your hub. My first hub is about how to setup a Rice Cooker with Timer. Hope you find it useful and be my fan!

Ying's Birthday

Celebrated Ying's birthday on 28-Mar-08 with Gabriel after dinner at home. Bought 2 slices of cake from a bread boutique at Giant Bayan Baru - Blueberry Cheese and Chocolate. Ying was also surprised with a gift.

Earlier in the morning, as Mummy was getting Gabriel ready for school, he was being fussy. But when Mummy said that it was her birthday, Gabriel suddenly changed his mood and became quiet. They sang the Birthday Song together and at the line "Happy Birthday to...", Gabriel filled in with "Mummy" and at the last line "Happy Birthday to YOU!", Gabriel pointed at Mummy. Mummy was very touched and related the story to me through Google Talk in the morning.

Happy Birthday, dear Ying/Mummy! Lots of love from Niq/Gabriel

Gabriel at 28months

Ying and I can quite safely say we are out of the rough. Still apprehensive of what holds for Gabriel's development beyond 2years.

After 3months going to daycare at Melody kindyland Bukit Jambul, he now has grown fond of it. The first month was fine. But long school breaks for Chui Li and Yeo's wedding at KL and Chinese New Year sort of broke the routines. Coupled with flu and cough, he became very irritable and insecure. He threw his worst tantrums during these periods. We developed a fear of sending him to school and afraid of triggering his temper tantrums.

He is very talkative now. Grandma says, "We used to talk and he listens, now he talks and we listen." He's able to have simple conversations on the telephone. He can relate to us the things that go on in school, his teachers and friends. He can remember names well. He also understands nicknames. He told us that Sharon calls him “Ah-Briel”. Then mummy asked him, “Do you call Sharon Ah-Ron?” He would laugh and say, “So funny!”

Gabriel is no more afraid to get a haircut. Gone are the days of crying and arching on the chair. His pacifier – a hairy-salty-slippery lollypop. He could also stay still for us to cut his fingernails. We used to have to wait for him to go into deep sleep before cutting his nails.

Gabriel can sing songs with a bit of tune, but will tend to skip some words. He could sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, “Little Boy Blue”, “Finger Song” and his school’s song before meals. Sometimes he would request us to sing for him. He loves story books with colorful pictures. His favorites are the Ladybird Phonics series. Although the books were meant for kids aged 4-5years, he could remember the stories and fill in the blanks as we read to him.

When interacting with other children, he is rather timid with older kids, but will bully the younger ones – cousin Julian is one of them. Julian will follow Gabriel wherever he goes and will want to play whatever Gabriel picks up. Then Gabriel would push Julian’s hands away, or say a firm “Don’t!” Still need to inculcate in him the virtue of sharing.

Grandma's Project

Mom came up to Penang on 20-Mar-08 for Easter. She brought some vegetables, not so much for cooking, but to amuse Gabriel with some cute carvings.

Up, up, up, To the Top

Ying had a marvelous idea to step out of our mundane routines - to make a trip up Penang Hill on 24-Feb-08. We had to wait for about 15 minutes for the next train up. We were practically packed into the train like sardines. It was cool at the peak but pity the view was hazy.

There used to be a villa with a garden with nice flowers. The villa is now turned into a fine dining restaurant, which only admits patrons, not for sightseeing. A waiter stands guard at the entrance where you can browse the menu or watch a video. Not for those who have aversion to price - with similar altitudes to the restaurant's locality.

Had a muffin snack near the playground. Nearby, there is a mosque and a Hindu temple. There is a hawkers' centre where we had "mee goreng" - pretty good. Gabriel went window shopping, trying out some toys. One shopkeeper chased Gabriel away saying "cukup!, cukup!". Hmmm who says Malaysians are hospitable.

Those who are more adventurous can follow the trails to the lookout. Or join a 4X4 club and drive up to the top. Besides that, for the casual visitor, a bore would be an overstatement. Anyway, a Swiss made funicular train saves the day...





More photos at Picasa Web Albums

Chinese New Year 2008

Chinese New Year is a time to get together with family and friends. This year we have additions to our family. First of all my nephew Julian, 8 months, and Yeo, who got married to Chui Li in December 2007. A very warm welcome to Julian and Yeo!

My Sport Car

Gabriel's favorite toy is his green "Sport Car". His car can move around, has flashing lights and plays hot music (Taxi Driver). His toys usually don't last long due to rough handling. But his sport car lasted exceptionally long. It recently took a beating from Gabriel's over-imaginative play. As a result, it lost 2 wheels, the rear screen, and 2 doors. It was too much for Gabriel to bear. The photos will tell it all...

Lake Lovers

Gabriel has been able to express emotions at about 22months. When he was having fever, Ying sang a sad song and he started to shed tears. He's also able to express dissatisfaction. When he's unable to get what he wants, he would say a very firm "bad!", and then put on a sulky face and say "sad" with his head bowed down. His mummy is most happy when given a kiss as a sign of love. He would kiss eye's closed with lots of "feelings"! This picture was taken at Taiping Lake Gardens. We stopped by on the way back to Ipoh for the Raya holidays. More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/cheahyuniq/TaipingLakeGardens

Alien Abduction

I was a victim of "Alien Abduction" on 15-Oct-2007 after the Raya holidays. It started with high fever. Then, as a reaction to their presence in my body, blisters started to form all over my body. The alien lifeform was identified as Varicella zoster. War was declared. Counter-attack was undertaken in the form of a biological weapon: Acycloguanosine, which causes chain termination in the alien DNA. I was quarantined from all human contact for 2 weeks.

Gabriel's Development at 18 months

Time flies. Our Little Gabriel has reached 18 months old. We were eagerly waiting for him to reach 18 months old as people say kids will be able to play longer and sit still longer. However, this is not what we observed. He is more active, energetic and curious compared to previous months.

He's now more difficult to control as we can’t carry him if he doesn’t want to. He would lift his hands up and slip through our grip when we try to carry him. He is strong!

He is very cute now and always tries to speak new words. Whenever he learns up a word, he will speak it frequently. His favorite word is “car”. His favorite toy is also the “car”. Besides “car”, he is also able to speak words like berry (strawberry), nana (banana), up, teat (pacifier), cup, pen, ba (bus), A, M, O, foot, book, go, ket (basket), ball, baba, mi, po, gung, ma, pa, yiyi (aunty), bak bak (uncle), bi (Baby), and etc.

Sometimes he is shy when he meets strangers. He will start blinking his eyes and look down. Ha! Ha!

Sometimes he will keep saying “ Huh? Huh? Huh??” and he will look at you very innocent! This makes us laugh!!!

Gabriel boy, you are so cute and we love you! - Mi and PaPa

Berry Nice Time

Gabriel loves to eat strawberries. He calls them, simply, "berry". There is no stopping him when he sets his eyes upon them in the supermarket or in the refrigerator. So we took Gabriel to Cameron Highlands on 30-Apr-07 to have an experience plucking strawberries right from the plants. He plucked and ate to his heart's content. He had a berry nice time!




Photo Album

Walk with Mommy

Gabriel started to walk at 13months. He’s seen here walking with mommy at the lakeside – first time outdoors. Still curious about his new shoes. We had to hold his hands as he was still wobbly.

Down but not out

Gabriel fell sick for the first time on 21-Sep-06, just one day short of 10months old. He was down with flu and fever. He cried at 1:00am. Mom gave him the pacifier but he just spat it out. Mom realized that he has difficulty sucking the pacifier because he can't breathe properly. Poor Gabriel! It is like being stoppered all up. I took leave in the afternoon after getting to know from Ying that he has fever. Upon reaching home, Gabriel greeted me with the usual enthusiasm. He felt a little warm but was still running around (legs as well as his nose) in his walker. His appetite was normal too. He is still hyperactive as before. Anyway, mom and I took him to a clinic for medication. Mom asked Gabriel to tell the doctor, "Doctor, doctor, make my nose walk, not run".

Gabriel at 9 Months

Achievements:
1. Crawl on 4 limbs
2. Sit up straight
3. Can say papa and mama
4. Growth of upper center incisor

Words he recognizes:
1. Flower
2. Clock
3. Washing Machine
4. Fridge
5. Feather (of dream catcher)
6. Bird
7. Rabbit
8. Cat
9. Dog
10. Switch
11. Balloon
12. Egg
13. Apple

Great and Grand

Gabriel met his Great-Grandma for the 2nd time on 1-Sep-06 (1st was at full moon celebration). When asked to sit with Gabriel for a photo, Grandma hesitated. After some persuasion, she straightened her blouse and hair neatly and sat with Gabriel. Gabriel is still quite sensitive to strangers and would burst into tears at the slightest strange feeling. We would be very careful with visitors advising them not to directly talk to him or carry him. But with Grandma there was a natural bond. Grandma was able to connect with Gabriel effortlessly. I am happy that Gabriel could meet Grandma as she is the lone surviving of the great and grand generation in my family.

Gabriel's Baptism

Gabriel was baptised 19-Mar-06 at Church of the Risen Christ, Air Itam by Rev. Fr. Augustine Wong. Bart and Angie are now uncle-auntie-cum godparents.

Bridge No.2

Travelling back to Ipoh on New Year's Eve, I was caught in a crawl on the Penang Bridge. Nothing much to do sitting in the car, I started to gaze at the horizon when I spotted a bridge that looked like the Penang Bridge. This bridge is located near the mainland port. Has anyone been on that bridge? One fine day I'll try to get on that bridge and take a photo of the Penang Bridge from there. :-)

Gabriel's 1st Christmas

Gabriel is 1 month old 22-Dec-05. His full moon was celebrated on Christmas eve at East Ocean Restaurant with family and friends. Mom had told him about the occasion the night before, "Little Gabriel, tomorrow you are going to a party, you must be a good boy, you must show off!". A good show it was. He stayed awake delighting the guests and then fell asleep as we ate - such an angel.