Looking at my young cousins, the memory of them as toddlers like KK are still vivid in my mind but this year, I suddenly see a whole room of adults and not kids playing card games together. The faces still look the same (almost) but the size has grown tremendously. I looked around, and it seems the only kids around were my 2 boys and another 2 more cousins.
Even XX is no longer the 'goondo, blur sotong' baby he was. Our XX can now understand simple instructions like 'sit down', 'give' and 'take' and give instructions by pointing to the direction he wants to go, things he wants to take. Though he cannot speak much, he communicates his interest, amusement, excitment and displeasure through his body language. He's especially alert to sound of the door opening cos this means someone is going out (and why isn't he?) XX is also learning to feed himself nowadays and likes to play with the spoon and bowl. He can also walk around quite alot unassisted and stand up on his own from the floor. One thing hasn't changed though, his irritating habit of scratching you with his nails!
As for KK, he has grown taller but is still as boney. His language and literacy skills has improved, especially in Chinese. He can now recognise simple words and writing is no longer a chore. But there are some behavioural challenges with him recently. Every time we give him some instructions (like brush his teeth, have his meals, stop watching tv and go to bed), we will have to repeat ourselves many times or he will ignore it until we lose our temper. Otherwise there will be alot of excuses (like stomachache) or delaying tactics. At his age and with a younger brother, we expected him to show more maturity and understanding but sometimes I wonder if that's too much to expect. KK can be polite and obedient when he's in a good mood but he's yet to learn responsibility and respect for others. That's why compared to XX, KK is getting a lot more scolding from us. 
It is considered inauspicious to get a scolding on Chinese New Year's day, but for KK, that was really tough.
