Happy 2nd Birthday Boys :)

It's been a really long while since I updated the blog :(.

Just wanted to wish the boys a Happy 2nd Birthday :). They just turned 2 yesterday, but I was not there with them :(. I am still in Melbourne now. Missing home already...

We Are Brothers

Alright, here are the latest pictures of the twins :).

They are 13 months old when the pictures were taken. Even though they are identical twins, their facial features are sufficiently different now to tell them apart. Other than that, their characters are also different. More about that another day.

First Steps...

The wife, daughter & I took a short break and visited Western Australia recently -- I just got back on 28th Sep 2006.

The twins look like they've grown, even though I haven't seen them for just 8 days! What more, while we've been gone... the 2 boys have taken their first steps & started walking! :O It's quite amazing seeing them progress bit by bit. Little unsteady steps at first of course :). Twin 1 takes tinier, smaller steps & tends to lunge at you once he gets close -- expecting you to be there to support him. Whereas, Twin 2 even walks backwards! I don't know what he's trying to do, but he certainly looked like he enjoyed teasing me by walking forwards and then going backwards again just when I was expecting him to reach my outstreched arms. Cheeky little tyke :P.

First Day in New Job

Today is my first day at a new job.

It's been a good 6 years at my previous company. During this time, I think I have grown tremendously & benefitted greatly from those whom I got to know there, not to mention the experiences gained.

But it is time to move on and start a new chapter in my career -- this time, venturing into a pre-sales role for a product company. Hoping to put my delivery experience to good use in a different area :).

First tooth...

Well, it finally hapenned :). Twin 1 has 2 teeth sprouting up & twin 2 has one for the time being. But still not _that_ much hair :P. But they certainly are getting bigger. I am having some problems carrying them with one arm during feeding time -- having to sit down & adjust their position occasionally.

Other than that, twin 1 has been pretty active. He succeeded in falling off the bed several times (thankfully, onto another mattress) & the shock was enough to send him wailing his lungs out. In less dramatic situations, he managed to crawl off the low mattress onto the floor many times too.

Twin 2 on the other hand seems to exhibit a more 'quiet' character & not as active. It is quite apparent that both of them have different personalities, despite being identical twins. We will see how they grow over time :).

Happy Birthday Girl...

My daughter just celebrated her 5th birthday 2 days back. Time really flies by so quickly. It seemed just a moment ago that she was just crawling around, learned her first words, started her first steps.

Now, she is reading simple story books all by herself, helping around the house, rocking her baby brothers to sleep, writing simple words, reading some Chinese characters (which I still am unable to), drawing kiddie pictures.

Soon, she will start entering primary school & that would begin the next major phase of her progress & growth as an individual. Along with that growth, she will start to lose some of her naivete & innocennce. And I shall miss her terribly :(.

But one thing is for sure... I have to learn to let he go, and let her grow... I don't know yet how I will do that or how I will cope with that. It is just something that I have to do. I would need to learn to change my role in her life, from protector, provider to one with a stronger guiding component, a teacher, a friend. The journey is probably going to be bumpy and uneasy... but there's no running away from that.

I Want Me Thumbs

The boys are doing OK. The elder one being bigger than the younger one now.

As part of their growth progress, they discovered their thumbs in the last few weeks and it has been their addiction since :(. Without fail, they would suck at their thumbs each time they want to go to sleep. Doesn't help if you keep pulling them out, cause they will just stick them back in.

Oh, they do enjoy some variety at times -- sticking in other fingers too, so that they get their fair share of saliva & attention. Sometimes, 2 or more at a time.

I sure hope that they will not keep this bad habit, as I have been told that it is a difficult one to break later in their lives. We did try giving them pacifiers, but they just spat the pacifiers right out. Somehow, the boys prefer their homegrown thumbs and fellow appendages.