When I got home from work yesterday, it was Twin2 who opened the door for me. Immediately, I noticed something strange with his right ear. It was huge and it protruded outwards. Kinda like Mickey Mouse’s ear. I don’t recall either one of his ears ever looking like that.

I asked the maid about it and she told me that Twin2’s ear was like that ever since he and Twin1 got back from play school at midday. Midday! That meant his ear’s been swollen for, like, 8 hours already!

Overcome by maternal panic, I quickly herded the twins into the car to see the nearby GP. The doctor told me Twin2’s ear got bitten by some insect (she even pointed out the exact area of the bite) and that his ear swelled as an allergic reaction. She gave some antihistamine syrup for the itch and a steroid cream to help bring down the swelling.

Twin2’s ear is still a bit red and slightly swollen this morning but it’s almost back to normal. Click here to see how his ear looks like in its normal state.

What I find funny about the whole thing is what Dr B told me. She said that it’s very minor and probably doesn’t bother Twin2 because he’s going about his usual routine without even scratching his ear… and it’s more like the medicine is for me to feel better rather than him! :D

As I mentioned in a previous post, the twins’ verbal development continues to astound me. I often wonder if they’re gifted. But, as usual, I always remind myself that maybe I’m just biased because I’m their mother.

At 2 years 4 months, they can now talk in full sentences, they can answer questions, they correct you when you’re ‘wrong’ (Twin2: Ini bukan car Abah, ini car Mama - This is not Abah’s car, this is Mama’s car), they even make up their own lyrics to nursery rhyme melodies!

I can listen for hours listening to the two of them chatter endlessly as they play with each other, whether they’re building their own version of the Petronas Twin Towers, or pretending to cook an egg, or indulging in their latest favourite activity: pretending to sing over and cut a birthday cake.

And you know what? Inasmuch as I feel proud of the rapidity of the development of their verbal skills, I sorely miss the special words that they coined themselves when they were just starting to talk. Stuff like beh for ball, zaza for write (even if it usually referred to writing on the walls of my house!), ageg for frog, egg for yellow. Twin2, who had difficulty with the letters L and R, used to say iyu for lorry, sney-yowh for snail and wey-yowh for whale.

Egg. Now that makes for an interesting story. The twins used to say egg whenever they meant ‘yellow’… because they had a plastic toy egg that was yellow. They somehow tied the idea of ‘yellow’ with ‘egg’, thereby confusing the two words with each other. I tried many times to correct them whenever they’d say that something’s ‘egg‘ in colour. But then they’d insist so vehemently that it’s egg, so in the end, I just let them ‘win’ the argument.

I don’t recall the exact time when they stopped saying ‘egg‘ and started pronouncing ‘yellow’ properly. But I do remember the time when I asked Twin2 where the ‘ageg‘ is and he answered me ‘Fwog takde‘ (there is no frog). He looked at me in such a way that I felt almost embarrassed for saying ageg instead of frog. Fancy that! ;)

Right now, the only remaining ’special’ words that they use are nyam-nyam for eat and yayay for anything that they find dirty or disgusting, such as their soiled nappies (’Yiih!! Nappy yayay!‘).

Generally, I discourage the use of baby talk with my children. I diligently do what experts recommend — correcting them gently by repeating what they say, but replacing the baby talk with the proper words. However, I couldn’t help but allow them to continue using some of their ’special’ words because… well, I just find it so adorable!

It also makes for great conversation once they’re older. Take the case of my 3 older kids, who never tire of asking me what they used to say when they were toddlers. MyEldest used to say babu for ball (his first word!), cong-conut for coconut, epa-plane for aeroplane, sfly and sflower for fly and flower, kompinter for computer. OnlyGirl used to say min instead of moon, ibat instead of ubat, bikan instead of bukan. RoundBoy, who started talking when he was 1 year 8 months old, used to say neysh instead of nails, nak nak for tak nak (I don’t want), just like the twins, and ask for yoyo instead of susu (milk), just like his older sister.

Now that they’re bigger, I correct every little grammatical mistake they make. And I don’t hesitate to use ‘big’ words when I talk to them. I think it’s a great way for them to pick up new vocabulary. Furthermore, whenever we watch something on TV, I take the time to explain the meanings of complex words, even if they don’t ask me to. And, of course, I read a lot and encourage them to do the same by setting aside special times for reading (even if it means forcibly turning off the TV, after they’ve spent an entire Saturday morning in front of the boob tube!) and getting them lots of new reading materials from time to time — books, in-flight magazines, print-outs from the internet, newspaper cuttings. The result? An English vocabulary that amazes even native English speakers.

But for now, I revel in whatever little time I have left with the twins’ cute lisps and pronunciation slips!

I found this little gem on Businessweek’s website that really got me thinking:

Risa Wexler, Media Director/Team Leader of Pfizer, working mom, wrote:

I was racing around like a lunatic trying to get out of the house one morning saying, “I have to make the bus! I have to make the bus!” And my son said to me, “Mommy, what happens if you miss the bus?” I stopped dead in my tracks and said, “I take the next one. Show me what you wanted me to see.”

Sometimes, we lose track of the really important things in life. Sometimes, we forget that some things can be delayed. There are days when we can afford to forget about the pile of dishes in the sink for an hour or two… or work on that project paper later in the night when the kids are asleep… or shut down the computer for an entire weekend, just so we can spend time with the people who matter the most — our family.

Which is why, in my office, in a spot that I never miss, I’ve posted a huge printout of a quotation that serves as a constant reminder to me on my priorities in life: “You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once.”

I am recording this for posterity.

At 2 years and 3 months, the twins can:

• identify the major colours;
• identify common animals and some of the not-so-common ones, like the flamingo;
• identify fruits;
• identify shapes and state the shape of objects;
• understand the concept of numbers and counting;
• count up to 10 in English, Malay, Spanish and Arabic;
• count objects;
• have a vocabulary that includes words like tusks, beak, clouds, stripes, crane (for construction, not the bird), and excavator
• sing nursery rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, “Baa-Baa Black Sheep” and “Row Your Boat”

One time, I showed them a photo of a swan that I took in Amsterdam. That same night, we went to a neighbour’s house and Twin1 excitedly exclaimed ‘Swan!’, pointing at a small ceramic swan inside the display cabinet. I never expected them to be able to associate the photo of the real thing with its ceramic equivalent.

That’s not an isolated case. A couple of months ago, they saw a CD with an illustration of the Petronas Twin Towers. Later that week, we were driving past the real thing and the twins excitedly pointed out to me “Twin Towers.” I was surprised how they recognised the actual building based on a simple line illustration of the world-famous landmark.

I’m their mother and tend to be biased, so I dare say that the twins’ recent development has been quite phenomenal ;)

But kidding aside, people often ask me how I raise my children — if there’s a special nutritional supplement that I give them, or a certain book that I use, or a special commercial method that I follow. And I always answer “no”.

Tips on Boosting Children’s Intelligence

Many articles state genetics and the environment to be the main factors that determine a child’s intelligence. Genetics is something that we don’t have much control over. We can, however, provide an environment that will — hopefully — nurture, stimulate and boost our children’s intelligence.

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