coolest kids ever, events

Run, Baby, Run

May 21, 2012

Brought the kids for their first run yesterday. Wait, they’ve obviously ran before and they do it all the time at home but I’m referring to the kind of run with lots of people and cool T-shirts and a proper number tag and medals and all that.

The husband has done several of these sorts of runs but I’ve never been inclined to join him because I generally start to feel faint after running about a hundred metres.

So when we heard about the Cold Storage Kids Run, I didn’t particularly fancy the idea of running with hundreds of other parents in the sweltering heat but he somehow managed to talk me into joining the parent-child 800m Fun Run. It was “for the kids” apparently.

It was so cute that the kids were really excited, especially Truett, who’s in this competitive phase right now. The moment the race started, he took off and sprinted down the track without even looking back.

Good thing the husband was his tag-team partner because Kirsten and I took our own sweet time and did the leisurely walk that pregnant women and small babies are entitled to. Halfway through the race, baby girl started looking all exhausted and miserable but I was so proud that she powered on and shuffled her way to the finish line.

Here’s my little champ looking mighty pleased with his first medal ever. Never mind that it was only for participation and shaped like a fruit. He loved it so much that he couldn’t stop admiring it for the rest of the day, beaming every time he looked at it and showing it off to everyone who who would listen.

I guess I’m still not a fan of running but looking at how much they enjoyed it, we’ll probably be doing this a lot more. The next round, we might even try swapping run partners.

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kids inc, not feeling so supermom

Food Wars

May 18, 2012

Among all the battles I’ve had with the kids, none has been as epic as the one we’ve had with food. And I’m not referring to food fights, although there have been some.

For people that are so small, they seem to have big ideas on nutrition. Most of the time, all they need to do is look at the food before deciding what is allowed into their mouths and what’s not. At first, it all seemed random and arbitrary but after observing their eating patterns for a while, I’ve narrowed down their criteria in determining whether food is edible.

1. Texture

As a rule of thumb, anything that’s crispy is sure to be a hit. Whenever Truett is introduced new food he hasn’t tasted before, he’ll peer at it for a moment and then ask the question: “Is it crispy or not?” If it is, it goes straight into his mouth.

If it isn’t, it will be subjected to the following tests.

2. Color

You’d think that being kids, the brighter the color, the more likely they are to eat it. Unfortunately, the contrary seems to be true. Earthy colors have a higher chance of being eaten, like beige, chocolate and golden brown.

Generally, the brighter the color, the more suspicious they get, with green leading the pack on the list of banned food. Purple, red and orange are approved on a case by case basis, mostly depending on whether they are M&Ms.

3. Temperature

This is pretty much a no brainer, i.e. the colder the better.

In summary, this.

 

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pregnancy

Stomach Staring…Not Creepy At All

May 16, 2012

One of the best parts of the second trimester is this activity I like to call Watching The Baby Move, also known as Let’s See Who Can Stare At My Pregnant Belly The Longest.

I do that a lot these days, because Finn seems to be having a party inside all the time. And also because it’s fun on so many levels – I get to lie down and do absolutely nothing except stare at my stomach. Even when he’s not moving, it’s extremely therapeutic and when he does move, it’s like “woah chill out in there, little guy” but also “that’s unbelievably cool” all at the same time.

Having done this twice before, it still fascinates me whenever the baby kicks or moves or flips a somersault. You know that chest-bursting scene in Alien where the alien thing struggles to pop out of the dude’s chest? Like that, except far less creepy and actually kind of sweet.

Well, ok, the husband says it’s nothing like that scene at all but I’ll qualify that by saying that I’ve never actually watched the full scene, only the first 3 seconds where there’s visible movement in the guy’s abdominal region before I end up closing my eyes and stuffing my fingers in my ears while singing “I Will Survive” loud enough to drown out the sound.

Anyhow, I like to get everyone engaged in this stomach-watching activity because it’s great for family bonding and all that. So every night before bed, I’ll make the husband and kids gather to stare at my belly.

The husband would pretend to be interested while fiddling with his iPad but at least the kids would stare intently, waiting for any sign of movement. But then Finn would get a bout of performance anxiety and refuse to move. 30 seconds in, they’ll be like “this is so boring why is he not moving?” and I’ll be all “you guys need to be patient, just wait for it.” After another 5 seconds, they’ll realize that they have better things to do with their time and run off, which is usually the point Finn starts to move. Then I’ll yell at them to come back because they’re missing out on witnessing a potentially life-changing event. But obviously by the time they get back, the moving would have stopped and Kirsten be all exasperated, like “I come back but baby Finn never move what. BABY FINNNNN!! Are you there? I think he cannot hear me.”

Till this day, they think that I’m making this up so I’m going to make one of those time-lapse videos of me lying down for 24 hours just so I can prove it to them.

Now if only I can find 24 hours to lie down without moving.

It’s totally for research, you guys. Or science. Or art. One of those.

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