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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Bad hair day

A picture of Joshie's hair after waking up from his nap. There's a perfect description, "like father, like son".

Feeding fish

This is a very backdated post. Of late, I have been busy and thus have totally forgotten about this picture.


One of Joshie's favourite activity each time we go back to KL - feeding the fishes!

We have a 6-feet deep fish pond in our KL house. Yes, you read me right, 6 feet deep!!!!! When we were in the midst of renovation, there was a "war" between my FIL and us (me, hubby and MIL)! No matter how we opposed, he was adamant that he wanted a 6-feet deep fish pond. We were suggesting 3-4 feet deep but he said NO! He said he has consulted the relevant "fish people" and was told that the deeper the pond, the bigger the fish will grow! So end result is, we lost! Even though it is 3 versus 1!!!!!
Several months ago, the fish pond went through a "facelift"! Haha......FIL changed the tiles which were quite hard to maintain and also fixed glass doors around the pond. Glass doors is for safety reason, so that my little cheeky wouldn't jump/accidentally fall into the pool.
Each time we are back, FIL would bring Joshie to the fish pond. Joshie loves looking at the fishes, and feeding them. I think the fishes would grow really fat if we were to stay in KL long term.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

New header

This mummy commented that she loves my new header. Do you love my new header too? =P

I've always had a plain, boring header before I finally asked this talented mummy to design one for me. Too bad she is taking a break from custom designing at the moment but I was really pleased with her "as-it-is" header. The little car looks so cute and it is a perfect match as Joshie loves cars too =). So if you want a nice, eye-catching header, do contact her!

Of him eating

Started giving him corn on the cob last week. He was staring at the vegetable for a moment before lifting it up from his bowl. Sunk his teeth into the juicy corn!

Happily eating away.


"Yummy, i like it!"

Joshua @ 21 months

In a blink of an eye, another month has passed. The little cheeky is now 3 months shy of his 2nd birthday. Hmnn, that reminds me. Gotta plan for his 2nd birthday party!!!

Brought him to the paed for his influenza jab. He now weighs 13.7 kg and is 89 cm tall. He actually doesn't look like a toddler who is below 2, thanks to the giant genes that he inherited from his mummy and daddy! Many people have also commented that he is very mature in behaviour too.

The above picture was taken at Kiddyland in Tokyo. He had a blast there. He is a really lucky boy. In a span of 6 months, he has been to 2 Disneylands!!! Hong Kong in January and recently to Japan. Both hubby and I only had the chance to step foot into Disneyland when we were in our teens. Some people have commented that it's futile bringing a child overseas as they wouldn't remember anything. Well, we know he probably wouldn't remember but we feel that it's good exposure for him which also plays an important role in nurturing his character. He adapts easily and is quite a good travel companion.

This month, he has begun to learn how to jump properly. Previously, he can't balance himself properly and would fall over most of the time instead of landing on his two little feet. This daredevil also wants to jump off the beds and sofa but I have been warning him repeatedly not to. Luckily he is quite an obedient boy who obeys instructions most of the time.

And as usual, his vocabulary has been increasing. New words which I remember off-hand include Jesus, lion, strawberries, rubbish, raining, squirrel etc. His pronunciation is also getting clearer.

As he grows, separations anxiety seems to "grow" too. He wants mummy all the time. And even though hubby travels very often, he is also very sticky to daddy. He wasn't sleeping well and was cranky during hubby's recent 8 day business trip to Brazil. He'd cry and then console himself by chanting "daddy work daddy work daddy work" repeatedly.

Oh, and his manners have also improved. He'll automatically say "thank you" when given something and "sorry" when he bumps into me/hubby. But of course we'll still need to teach him to say "sorry" when he has done something naughty.

He'll be starting playschool at LeapSchoolHouse this Wednesday. It's a twice weekly 90 minute parent-accompanied programme. I bet he'll be enjoying himself and it's a good place for Mummy to unwind a bit while the teachers do all the work =)

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Japan - Day 11 to 13

We woke up on Day 11 feeling very very lazy. We had spent half of Day 10 just "recuperating" from our "hectic" 2 days in Disneyland and we (especially hubby) were enjoying the idea of just lazing around in our comfortable hotel room! But nevertheless, we got our butts out of bed and decided to head to the Imperial Palace East Garden as planned.

Hubby and Joshie at the entrance. It was really hot. And I wished I had a brolly!


We bought some cold drinks to quench our thirst in the scorching heat. The garden was beautiful but I was in a hurry to get out as I was seriously yearning for air-conditioning! Look at the pretty flowers behind us.
We left quite soon, I think we were only there for half an hour! Headed to Tokyo station to meet hubby's high school friend who is currently working in Yokohama for lunch. Following that, we decided to go to Tokyo Tower. His friend was really hospitable and volunteered to accompany us for the whole day.

After coming down from the tower, we went to Roppongi. Roppongi is famous for its night entertainments but of course we didn't have the chance to experience it! Walked around a bit but the weather was too hot. Oh and here's a picture of us with the Tokyo Tower in the background.


Went back to Ginza (where our hotel is) and walked on the main shopping street. This street is closed for a few hours on weekends!

We left Tokyo on day 13. Here's a picture of Joshie goofing around in the plane with Daddy.

Overall, it has been a fun trip. Not too tiring considering the fact that we lazed around a lot. Joshie was well-behaved, much better that we expected!
Oh, and one funny thing about Japan! It's very difficult to find a dustbin, even along the main street and in shopping malls. We were told that the Japanese actually bring their rubbish home!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Japan - Day 8 to 10

A rainy day greeted us on day 8. Hmnn, not good since we will be going to Disneyland. It was still raining when we entered the theme park. Thank God Joshie was relatively well-behaved, he sat in his stroller without much fuss. We used the rain shield and I am pretty sure it was stuffy but the little boy did not give us much problem.

Even though it was a week day, there was a huge crowd. We had to wait in line for about an average of 15 minutes for each ride.


Here's Joshie and I in front of "it's a small world". The disposable raincoats which I bought from Watson did not do a good job so we splurged on Mickey & Minnie raincoats. Cost us SGD70. Mickey for hubby and Minnie for me. Wanted to buy one for Joshie too but all the small sizes were sold out. Moreover, he can just sit in the stroller.

When Joshie took his afternoon nap in the stroller, hubby and I took turns to go on Space Mountain. Luckily we used our FastPass for this ride. It took us only a mere 5-10 minutes to get onto the ride as compared to a 40 minute waiting time. I had the "privellege" to sit in front and throughout the whole ride, I could literally feel myself flying through the starry starry sky =)


This picture was taken on day 2 at the entrance of Disneyland. As we were guests at the Disneyland Ambassador Hotel, we had the privellege to enter the park 15 minutes before the opening hours. Of course many other visitors had that special privellege too. We saw many "kiasu" visitors rushing into the theme park, they were practically running and here we were, taking a nice family picture.


My little boy with Mummy and Minnie Mouse on our 3rd day. This was taken at the hotel, where we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's restaurant. Besides meeting Mickey & Friends, Joshie met Chip and Dale too, but he wasn't very interested in them.
After having visited 2 Disneylands in a span of 6 months, hubby and I really bored already. So Joshie, no more Disneyland in the very near future! For more photos on Disneyland, do check out my Facebook pictures.








Sunday, June 20, 2010

Japan - Day 6 to 7

Hubby had meetings to attend to on day 6 and 7 so it was just Joshie & I exploring Tokyo. I had initially planned to take the train to either Shibuya or Harajuku to do some shopping but after our not-so-good experience at the stations, I think it'd be tough for me. I forgot whether I had mentioned that we had to carry Joshie in his stroller up and down the stairs a couple of times as there were no elevators or escalators around. Not very stroller friendly.

Therefore, I decided that we should just stay in Ginza. Joshie was up early so I strapped him in his stroller and off we went to Hibiya park. It's not a very huge park but the flowers were very pretty. Colourful and cheery! Kinda reminds me of Carlton Garden in Melbourne!


Oh and this is something which I found really useful in Japan. A child seat in the toilet. Just "dump" your kid (max weight 20kg) in the chair and do your business (big or small =P) in peace. Haha. I was so happy that I could wee-wee in peace. No need to shout at Joshie not to touch this and that!

Basically, we spent day 6 and 7 just walking around Ginza. Didn't do much shopping as Ginza is a "rich city" as mentioned by my Japanese friend. Everywhere you go, you'll see branded names popping out. Chanel, Burberry, Hermes, LV etc etc..............The clothes in the department stores were also pricey so I didn't bother trying! In the end, I only shopped at Uniqlo and Gap. Spent quite a lot of money but the clothes at these two shops were decently priced.
Oh, and I brought Joshie to the Hakuhinkan Toy park. Eight storeys altogether but only the first 5 floors contain toys. We didn't explore beyond the 5th floor but apparently, there are restaurants on the 6th and 7th floor and a theatre on the eighth.
Here are a few pictures of Joshie at the toy park.






Poor Joshie

The little boy who misses his daddy very very much!!!!

Hubby left on a business trip yesterday around noon. Joshie fussed a bit but didn't cry so I thought he would be OK. I was wrong! When I put him down for his afternoon nap, he cried for quite a while. He usually goes to sleep without any fuss, maybe a few cries when he is overtired/overstimulated. But yesterday, it was quite a long, uncontrollable cry. Finally went to sleep and woke up an hour later. I was reading a book in our master bedroom when Joshie walked in. He climbed onto our bed and lay down on hubby's side, sobbing away. And he sobbed himself back to sleep again (pictured above).

Last night, he woke up 3 times throughout the night. Wailed loudly!!!!!!! I had to go in and console him. He couldn't self-soothe himself and was crying very loudly. In the morning, when I went into his room at 7:07am, he had just woken up. He got down from his bed and went to our room saying "daddy, daddy".

This evening, hubby spoke to him on the phone and told him that daddy will be back soon. We really hope Joshie will be fine. Hubby travels a lot, thus Joshie will have to adapt. Anyway, I also can't wait for hubby to be back. The house feels so lonely without him!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Japan - Day 3 to 5

We left busy Tokyo for peaceful Hakone on the morning of day 3. =) Boarded the Romance Car from Shinjuku station and reached Hakone 85 minutes later. Following that, there was a 20 minute bus ride to the ryokan.





This is our room at the ryokan =) Nice eh?


We immediately dipped our bodies in our private onsen. The water was rather hot but Joshie seemed fine and was happily scooping water out (as pictured above).


This picture was taken onboard the ferry at Lake Ashi. This leg-shaped lake is touted as the primary attraction of Hakone, due to the ability to view Mt Fuji from the ferry. However, the mountain is often hidden behind clouds and we were one unfortunate lot who did not have that privellege. Nevertheless, we think we saw the mountain when we were onboard the Hakone Ropeway the next day. Not really sure if it is though. =P
I read that part of Hakone's popularity comes from the chance to ride assorted modes of transport around the line. So since we were already in the region, we decided to give it a go. On our final day there, we boarded the bus to Togendai. From there, we took the Hakone Ropeway to Souzan and thereafter to Owakudani. Owakudani is a volcanic cauldron of steam, bubbling mud and mysterious smell. We walked uphill to where the boiling pits are. Here's a picture of Joshie with daddy.

The gases are poisonous so visitors are advised not to linger for long. Visitors can buy boiled eggs, turned black in the sulphurous water. We didn't buy since the minimum purchase is 5 eggs!
From Owakudani, we took the Hakone Cablecar to Gora and thereafter switched to the train for Hakone Yumoto station. It was evening by the time we arrived in Tokyo and we were dead tired! That concludes our 5th day!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Japan - Day 1 to 2

We had breakfast at the lounge before we boarded the aircraft. Joshie happily stuffed cornflakes and Koko Crunch into his mouth. Daddy was busy making last minute work-related phone calls whilst Mummy was enjoying her breakfast with a cup of TWG chamomile tea =)

It was late evening by the time we arrived at our hotel, The Peninsula @ Ginza. Thank God Joshie was relatively quite well-behaved during the 6 hour flight although he only napped for 30 minutes.


The next day, we were up early (what to do, Joshie is our rooster) and decided to head over to Harajuku. I read that Harajuku is packed during weekends so we might as well make a trip there on a weekday to check out fashionable, trendy clothes. Strolled down Takeshita-Dori but wasn't really in the mood to shop as it was a hot day and I am a real puteri lilin! Hubby bought a pair of Nike shoes though. And besides shopping, we brought Joshie to Kiddyland, a six-storey store which is stuffed with toys for kids of all ages. In the picture above, Joshie was enjoying himself very much on his little ride.

After our lunch at a small, cozy eatery, we headed towards the Meiji-Jingu shrine at Yoyogi Park which is still in the district of Harajuku. The road was very bumpy. It's uneven as it's a stretch filled with tiny, small stones. I pity my stroller wheels =P The shrine was built in memory of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, under whose rule Japan ended its long isolation from the outside world. Unfortunately, like much else in Tokyo, the shrine was destroyed during the WW2 bombing and was rebuilt in 1958.

After that, we decided to head over to Shibuya. Looked at the map and the National Children's Castle caught our eye. It was quite a long walk from the station but it was worth the effort as Joshie loved it. There was a minimal entrance fee for adults.
Joshie had fun doing some art & craft, played at their indoor playground, beat on the drums in the music room.....and even had the opportunity to play masak-masak!


We also went up to the roof top and Joshie & Daddy had a fun ball game together!

Oh, and there were tricycles for the kids to ride on too! Since Joshie doesn't know how to cycle yet, Mummy has to be the "driver"! =) haha...........


That's the end of day 2 of our trip. Stay tuned for more updates!


Back


This is the final picture taken from our Japan trip. In this picture, Joshie had just woken up from his 2 hour nap on the airplane. Hubby and I were so delighted that he took such a long nap. It ain't easy handling a hyperactive child on board.
Overall, it has been a really good trip. Not that tiring as we spent the last two days of our trip just chilling. Stay in the hotel room and go out only when we want to =) I felt so lazy.........hahaha!
Will post up more pictures of our trip later. It's back to reality for me, no more sleep eat play without a care in the world. Gotta get some housework done now!!!!