Once, there were two brothers who loved to dance. They loved dancing everywhere and they loved dancing all the time. Whenever they heard music, their feet would start movin’ and their bodies would start groovin’.

But most of all, they loved dancing together because dancing together was magic.

Sort of.

If you happen to be their mom or you’re squinting or something. Watching them dance together makes me all squishy inside and suddenly I don’t feel so bad about adding one more boy to the mix because it turns out that boys are all kinds of sweet too. Right up until someone bumps into someone else and one of them falls over and starts yelling the house down and then I think “3 BOYS??!! WHAT WAS I THINKING???” Yeah, that happens a lot, that last part.

We’re starting to see a very stark difference in the way Kirsten and Truett relate to baby Finn. They both adore him to bits but Truett’s interactions with him are all crazy fun and unrestrained mayhem – they have a testosterone-charged, male bonding kind of understanding.

Kirsten, on the other hand, has developed a nurturing touch with Finn, that maternal instinct, if you can call it that. She goes equally crazy playing with Tru but when it comes to baby Finn, it’s like she’s turns into this big protective momma bear.

She seems to have decided that Finn is her baby and she babies him like a real baby mommy.

Amazingly, he just lets her do whatever she does to him without protesting.

“I need to sleep near Finn Finn so I can share my duck with him.”

“Sigh, ok, I will teach you how to play, but you only get 5 minutes.”

“Finn FInn, put your hand here, so cool right?”

“Quick mom, you need to take a picture of me and my baby.”

“Stay…STILL!! Jie jie…must…carry…you…*grunt*…too…heavy…”

At the end of every year, I sit down and do this post, to remember the very best parts of the year gone by. Even if the year wasn’t stellar or filled with moments I’d rather not relive, it’s cathartic to sort of acknowledge the not-so-good parts, feeling glad that perhaps the worst is over.

But mostly to find and celebrate the good parts.

2013 has been one of the good ones.

As far as years go, it was overwhelming. Present throughout the year was a feeling that I was barely catching up with everything I wanted to do. All the balls I had up in the air each felt like they were threatening to fall just out of my reach the moment I took my glance off it and onto something else. Sometimes I think maybe we should slow down and take our feet off the pedal just a little but the husband and I have a condition of being chronically restless and a smidge masochistic so we’re constantly flinging up new balls into the air just because.

But on the bright side, I dare say that we’ve gotten a lot done this year. A lot to celebrate and thankful for.

Adjusting to 3 kids has been exciting but it’s also been the year we’ve had the most fun with the three of them. There’s never been more adventures in the park or giant bear hugs (especially from baby Finn, who spends his day randomly doling out tummy squeezes to his siblings) or pre-bedtime tumbles or synchronised battle cries as they charged around the house, roaring in unison. Good times.

Ok, enough words. My 2013 in pictures.

1. Is this the raddest baby of the year or what? My heart can’t even, urgh, he’s too cute is what. 

2. So Bali was breathtaking and loads of fun, if not for the lizards and occasional uhm, FROG.

3. Truett turned 5?!! and I made an angry birds cake for his party – achievement unlocked. 

4. Sydney and Melbourne were awesome as always. 

5. My baby girl turned 4 in style. This girl is the beat of my heart. 

6. And then there was that time I tried to change a dollar coin with a stranger and she thought I was begging for money. There will be no pictures for that. 

7. New York, oh, New York, how you’ve stolen my heart. I’ll be back for you. 

8. Disney! Disney does not require words. 

9. We also witnessed the evolution of The Hair.  

From this:

To this:

To this:

And finally to this:

10. Of all the great things that happened this year, watching my babies loving on each other is the very best one of all.

However your year went, I hope the year ahead is better than ever. See you guys in the new year!

Is it really December already? Decembers make me happy and panicky all at the same time. Every December, I feel like the year has gone by too fast (this year more than ever) and there’s so much I haven’t done and my babies are growing up at superspeed and I try to make everything slow down a little to catch my breath + more of the usual hand-flailing panic.

But then there’s Christmas to make everything seem happier, so that’s good. My tree is up, the lights are right where they should be and carols are a-playing.

It’s going to be a good December.

On babies growing up too fast, several things about my baby right at this moment.

//Mister Finn loves a good tickle, both in the giving and receiving. Yesterday, while Truett was distracted, this little tickle monster made a ninja-stealth move towards his brother, lifted up his shirt and started tickling his bare belly. And then they both tumbled around and giggled like it was the funniest tickle in the history of tickles. Boy-bonding is so weird.

//He’s mastered the hair swipe I’ve been trying to teach him for as long as he’s had hair. The first thing he does up from a nap is to peer at me through his messy hair and I’ll say “good morning, sunshine” while he sweeps his hair off from his face and flashes me an out-of-bed smile. He’s such a heartthrob, this one.

//He’s really into making faces. He’s got a face for all varieties of situations. The gorilla face for when he’s displeased, the dinosaur face for when the displeasure turns into something more severe, the thinking face for moments of deep contemplation, and the fish face for whenever. The fish face is an extremely versatile one.

//And finally, here’s how to treat a mouse according to baby Finn.

#1, hold him by the face and look deep into his eyes like he means the world to you.

#2, proceed to eat off his nose. Nose eating is a huge sign of affection around here.

So first of all, baby Finn has been entirely stuck to me since we got back from the trip. He’s been like “I can’t believe I let you out of my sight for a minute and you disappeared for three weeks. That’s never happening again, understand?”

He used to adore me before we left but nothing like this. These days, he wants me all the time. No, he needs me all the time. He attaches himself to my person all day like a little siamese twin. I’m like his sunshine, rainbows, oxygen and favourite blankie all rolled into one.

Me? I’m enjoying every moment of it. On the pro-con list of having a baby, being their entire universe definitely makes it to the top of the pro column.

Two, spontaneous weekend outings are the best. We were out for a birthday party on Sunday and right after, we decided to detour to gardens by the bay for a little park time because nobody wanted to go home. And because PARK TIME!!!

They had the best time playing with grass. And each other. But mostly grass. Did you know that grass had so many uses? I didn’t. You can pluck it, pat it, point at it, step on it, use it to tickle your brother, pass it around, toss it in the air and pretend it’s snow, stuff it in your baby’s ear to make him squirm, the possibilities are endless.

Third, this took place right before we chopped off The Hair and looking at these pictures make me realise how much I MISS MY BABY’S HAIR. It’s giving me sudden sharp pangs of regret but I look at his new do and I guess I sort of like it too. It’s just me being resistant to change.

Point #four, the end.

One of the things I had in mind to do this year was to go to bed early. Earlier. And by earlier, I mean before the clock strikes midnight and Cinderella turns back into well, still Cinderella, but the version with the rags instead of the glittery dress.

Not that I look any different before and after the strike of midnight (hello, PJs) – it just seems like a respectable time to go to bed for a 31-year-old. But then the hours between 10pm and midnight is the only time I get to sit down with a cup of Milo to wrap up some work, write a little, (re)watch an episode of Breaking Bad (I can’t believe I just discovered the show! I’m up to season 5 and it’s shot right up to my list of top 3 favorite dramas of all time), and before I know it, it’s 2.45 in the middle of the night.

Thankfully, the new helper has been really good with Finn, so when he wakes up at 6.30, I give him a morning kiss (or a few), then shuffle out like a zombie to hand him over to Aunty Nan (the helper), before collapsing back into bed for a couple more hours.

And the best part of my morning routine these days?

I usually wake up to monster hugs by a pair of tiny little hands. Truett’s hands, to be precise. He’s in a phase where he has to smother me with hugs and kisses before he leaves for school in the morning with daddy so he sneaks up on my bed and tries to snuggle me to death. Once I’m awake, he’ll kiss me all over my face and say “ok bye mom, gotta go to school now!”

Even though I’m admittedly not a fan of mornings in general, it’s absolutely the best way to wake up.

It’s crazy. I often think about how awesome it it so be a mom but what’s more awesome? Being this kid’s mom. It’s awfully biased of me but I feel that way about all my kids.

For the record, morning-snuggles phase is welcome to stay as long as it likes.

It’s looking like baby Finn has a favorite in the family. And that person is…

I think it’s a special brotherly thing. Tru adores him to bits and he’ll spend time coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas to make him laugh.

In fact, the first word that baby Finn learnt to say is “kor kor“. Not “mama”, who’s the awesome source of all his delicious milk. But “kor kor“, the beloved big brother. Every time Tru comes back from school, the little guy will kick his legs in a frenzy and go “kor kor kor kor kor…”

I managed to catch one of their interactions on video yesterday. I might be biased here but it’s really, really sweet.