Babies Are Love

Staycation at Sentosa

2011-11-30T05:28:00.000-08:00

Last month, to celebrate me turning 29, the hubs decided to bring us for a 3D2N staycation at Sentosa. Checked out a few hotels and finally booked a one bedroom villa at Amara.

Joshie as usual was besotted with the cake and sang a birthday song to me. After that, we used our forks and dug into the birthday cake just like that. Hehe, no need to cut since it's just amongst the three of us.

The bedroom and the living room are separated by a mini pool. That night, my little cheeky slept in a portable playpen provided by the hotel. No complains at all from him even though he can't fully stretch his long body.

The next day, we explored Sentosa, LOL. Walked up to Imbiah Lookout. Visited the insect and butterfly farm. Saw lots of Halloween decorations since Halloween was just a week away. That day, Josh learnt a new word - skeleton :) Hubby then decided to go on the Luge with Josh. Here is a picture of both of them with their helmets.

The best picture I could take of them going downhill. It wasn't very fast and the little cheeky enjoyed it.

In the evening, we relaxed in our mini pool before dinner.

Good time spent together as a family. However, we were disappointed with the hotel. The service and facilities were not what we would expect, from the price we paid. The main swimming pool was unimpressive, lousy spread of buffet breakfast, poor housekeeping and lots of mosquitoes swarming around!!! We will not go back there again.

Short holiday at Rasa Sayang Penang

2011-11-11T05:04:00.000-08:00

The hubs has been wanting to stay at the newly refurbished Rasa Sayang hotel in Penang but we have always ended up at some other hotel, mainly because of the price. However, last September, I bravely went ahead and booked a room in the Rasa Wing (more expensive than the Garden wing). I told myself that we've not had a holiday this year so it's ok to spend a bit more =) hahahaha.........

There are additional perks for Rasa Wing guests; namely that we have our own lobby, fast check-in and out, all-day drinks (coffee, tea and soft drinks) and titbits at the lounge, high tea and pre-dinner drinks. Oh, and we have our own Rasa pool too, but children are not allowed.

Here's Joshie and daddy at the Garden wing pool. Cooling and shady. Mummy was lounging on the chair =)

A picture just before sunset. Joshie took this for us, with some guidance from daddy.

Our walk amongst the lush greenery.

Joshie and daddy sliding down the mega slide at the kids adventure zone. The adventure zone is situated at their sister hotel, Golden Sands which is just a mere 5-10 minute walk away.

Week 30

2011-11-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Preggo mummy with little Joshie at the waterfalls just before Halia Restaurant @ Botanical Gardens.

So far, weight gain is around 7-7.5kg. I hope not to exceed 12 kg by full term, which was how much I gained with Joshie. Feeling occasional aches in my lower back and bum bum thanks to the extra weight. Prenatal massage really helps a lot and I try to go once a week.

Baby #2 has been actively moving, especially when I lie down to sleep around 11ish every night. Hope he doesn't keep me up at that hour after he is born. =P

Child talk

2011-11-03T07:11:00.001-07:00

We were having dinner at Bakerzin. I was still eating while Joshie had just finished his pasta. He turned towards me and said "mummy, I am waiting for you to hurry up."

After that, we headed to the car park and I was quite deep in thought. I knew he was asking me something but my mind was still not concentrating. He then said very loudly, "mummy, you are not clever like my papa."

Our first trick or treat

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween is not widely celebrated by the Asians, thus the hubs and I have never ever participated in the event. However, since we mingle with Westerners here, we were invited to join them in their "trick or treat". Bought Joshie a pirate costume from the newly opened H&M and also some sweets and chocolates for the kids.

Our little son posing in his pirate costume. Happily holding on to his pumpkin bucket.

Meeting his friends at the playground. From left to right, Gaspar the skeleton, Marci the soldier, Claire the witch and Joshie the pirate.

The group before we started. Eight houses to visit in total =)

Was fun but really hot, especially for the kids in costumes. Josh had his whole bucket filled with sweets. I only allowed him to eat two that night and another two the next day. After that, the bucket of sweets have been kept on top of our refrigerator. He asks for them but I firmly told him no. Maybe I'd give him a couple this weekend =)

Trial lesson at Aqua Ducks

2011-10-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

It was a parent-child class. The coach sang songs to dispel their fear and she used a little bucket to slowly wet their face and eyes. Everything was done gradually. She encouraged them but did not push them real hard.

Encouraging the kids to lie down and relax in the water.

It was a very quick class, only 30 minutes in total. Joshie was crying a bit initially as he didn't want the coach to hold him, only daddy. We bribed him with M&Ms again =(. Luckily he was willing to try again and didn't fuss much when the coach put his head underwater for a second or two. He was offered a slot with kids his age and he is starting his first lesson really soon =)

How he overcame his fear

2011-10-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

My little boy had no problem swimming in the baby pool in our condo. However, each time we drag him into the big pool, he'd scream, cry and cling to either on of us like a little koala bear. All heads would turn towards us and we would cringe in embarassment as the little cheeky hollers away. Even though we kept reassuring that we won't let go, he wouldn't want to listen and would just bawl.

Hubby and I decided that we need to brainwash him and explain to him properly that there's nothing to be afraid of. But that didn't really work too. He'd come out of the big pool and run towards the baby pool. I was about to give up and thought of trying again when he was a little older. However, in the midst of this, I received an email from Aqua Ducks, a swim school, offering Joshie a trial lesson. They would assess him and decide if he can fit into their programme. We have been put on the waitlist for a long time already and I was happy that our turn finally came. BUT, I don't think they'd accept him if he starts to holler away at the swimming pool.

So, we tried again. Brainwash him. Told him he's a big boy and there's nothing to be afraid of. Bribed him with M&Ms too. And the good thing was, his two close friends have already started swimming lesson and can swim in the big pool quite independently. I purposely brought him to the poolside to watch his friends swim and asked him if he wanted to be like them.

So into the pool he went again, during the recent Deepavali holiday. We tricked him and said that his friends are watching from upstairs. He believed and so went into the pool with little fuss. Had his arm floats on and kickboard in his hands. Daddy held on to his kickboard to give him confidence and so he started kicking. With each kick, came words of encouragement and praise from both the hubs and I. Soon he was enjoying himself and didn't even realise that daddy had let go of the kickboard. He was kicking on his own, with his arm floats and kick board. And before we knew it, daddy could move away and he was all OK. He was excited and didn't ask to go to the small pool anymore.

And then, his friend came to join him in the big pool. When he saw that his friend was swimming with just the swim jacket on, he let go of the kickboard too. I could hardly believe my eyes. Of course he was very pleased with himself and asked his friend to look at him too =) I guess peer pressure really works, even at such a young age eh?

My little boy looks so small in the big pool. The hubs and I are real glad that he has overcome his fear =)

His 3yo party in KL

2011-10-25T04:15:00.000-07:00

I've been really lazy to write, so these pictures will have to do. Blame it on my lack of enthusiasm to blog or just blame it on the pregnancy hormones....=)

We had his party at the clubhouse in the gated community where we live. One very obvious difference that I noted was the punctuality of our guests. In Singapore, our first guests arrived a few minutes before the time noted on the invite. Within the next 20-30 minutes or so, about 80% of our guests had arrived. However, in KL, there was absolutely no guests present at the time stated. Our family even started and finished eating and still there was no one. I think our first guest only arrived 20 minutes later =)

Anyway, this was what we did while waiting for our guests to arrive.

Take a picture with my dear son in the playroom. As I am usually alone with him, I rarely get to snap a picture of the two of us. So here goes. A picture of Joshie and his 24 week preggars mommy.

And a family picture of the 3 of us which is also rare =)

We hired a balloonist cum clown and gave him the responsibility of entertaining the kids for 1 hour. So the adults got to chit chat =) It was also a good time for the hubs and I to catch up with friends whom we have not seen for a long time.

A group picture of the kids and us before the cake cutting ceremony. Most of the kids were our ex-students when the hubs and I taught Sunday School for 3 years before we moved down to Singapore. =)

Joshie had a blast opening his presents the next day. Thank you to all who came and made my boy v happy =)

His 3yo party in Singapore

2011-10-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some snapshots from the party day.

Children listening attentively to the clown. He was really good, kept the children entertained, even the adults were laughing at his antics.

Surprise of the day. The clown brought a pet rabbit, Peanut Butter for the kids to pat. Needless to say, they were all thrilled.

Dora and Diego cupcakes. His current craze.

Blowing off his candles, surrounded by his little friends.

Good boy. Helping to clean up at the end of the party =)

Another bite from Gaspar

2011-10-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Two rambunctious boys.........

Play play play.....

And then play turns ugly.........

And Joshie got bitten by Gaspar. This time, it was quite bad. There was blood oozing out of the wound. Of course, my poor boy was crying.

Well son, that's part and parcel of life.

Busy busy busy

2011-10-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Have been really busy for the past 2 weeks since we came back from M'sia. Fired the maid the night we arrived home and since then, I've been doing more housework. Hubby's really helpful. He has been cleaning the floor and helping with the laundry.

My dear Josh has been keeping me tired and busy. For nearly a week, he refused to sleep alone in his room and has been crying for either daddy/mummy to sleep with him. He'd wake up at night and come over to our room too. When we finally settled that problem, he came down with a fever and flu. So I had to wake up every 2 hours to check on him.

Things are finally falling into place now. Josh is his usual self again. I guess he got too much attention from his grandparents so he was a bit difficult to manage when we came home. However, after a few visits to the "naughty corner", he has been a lot better. Back to his usual cheeky, lovable self.

Now, yours truly is suffering from stomach discomfort and lower back pain. The pregnancy hormones do no good to my digestion and I've been suffering from constipation. That led to bloating which resulted in abdominal pain. And the extra housework has led to back pain. Have been too pampered so now with a bit more to do, my back cannot take it. The hubs has ordered me not to do anything and said he will take care of all the chores.

Oh well, life is not a bed of roses all the time. However, I am really thankful for a co-operative and understanding hubs, an obedient toddler and my part-time helper who comes in every Sunday to give the house a good wash!!!! And let's keep our fingers crossed that my Myanmar maid will pass all her tests and come in by the end of this month as expected. Till then, I'll take things easy and not fret over little mishaps.

Happy Birthday dearest son

2011-09-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

You are now 3 years old. Time really flies and you are growing up so quickly. Slow down, son. We miss the baby in you although you are still baby-ish in most ways since we "manja' you a lot, especially mummy =)

Soon, you will be a big brother. I know it won't be easy on you as you have always had 100% of attention from us and your grandparents. So far, you have been really good, kissing mummy's tummy and saying "I love didi". I hope and pray that you and your brother will get along really well, apart from the usual sibling squabbles.

We pray that you will always be happy and healthy. We love you lots. May God always bless you and keep you safe.

He says.......

2011-09-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Mummy, girls are pretty and boys are handsome.

We going home? Thank you mummy, thank you for bringing us to Taka.

Thank you for bathing me mummy.

Can you buy that for me? It's not pensive? (he meant expensive)

Mummy, I want people to buy 'pomputer' (he meant computer) for me. Can you tell them?

Where is my daddy, mummy? I can take aeroplane to find my daddy?

A day out at sea

2011-09-06T05:50:00.001-07:00

So one fine Sunday, we went out to sea =) We were invited by a friend of hubby to go on his yacht. We thought that we were just going on a spin and I had no idea that we were going to spend the next 7-8 hours or so onboard the yacht. Thus, we were ill-prepared. No appropriate swimming clothes and only Joshie had a change of clothing.

Joshie and mummy on the top deck as the yacht ventured out into the sea. Cool sea breeze.....it was cold coz it was still drizzling a little.

Joshie standing with the older boys as they tried to fish. I was a bit paranoid that my son might fall into the sea.

Joshie and daddy having a blast on the jet ski. Daddy then brought him to the beach where he had plenty of fun. Did not want to go back to the yacht for his lunch.

After his late lunch, he watched Toy Story dvd and ended up dozing on the couch. He did not nap very long, only about 40 minutes as he was awoken by the older boys screaming when the jet ski fell into the sea. The jet ski was lifted up onto the yacht as we had moved on to another island where the water was not so choppy.

I think he was still tired and thus did not want to play outdoors anymore. Daddy offered to bring him on the jet ski again but he declined. So the two younger kids ended up watching tv for the rest of the evening.

It was nearly 6pm when we headed back to Sentosa.

Here is a picture of Joshie driving us home =P.....just kidding!

His first performance

2011-08-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

Last month, Joshie's enrichment teachers prepared the kids for a mini performance. The performance was part of the school's aim for the kids to build up their confidence to perform in front of an audience. It was only a 20 minute performance and I must say, the kids did a very good job. I was impressed especially when the ang moh kids sang Chinese songs so well.

This was the scene that greeted us when we entered the room. The kids were hiding behind the trees. To our amazement, the teachers controlled them so well. They did not rush out to mum and dad and did not make much noise too.

The kids singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Throughout the whole 20 minutes, they sang a few songs, both Mandarin and English songs, together with the actions. They were also required to introduce themselves to the audience. Joshie was a bit shy when he was required to speak up but when it came to singing, he was all comfortable and performed very well. Good job, dear son. Mummy and daddy are proud of you =)

Nasty words

2011-08-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

I dislike certain words/phrases that come out of my son's mouth.

"I don't like anyone/ so and so"

"I want to chop him/beat him!"

"I want to call police to catch him and put him into jail"

"I don't like him/her. Mummy, I want you to kill him/her"

The last phrase really shocked me.

I think he picked up these words/phrases from his friends as we don't say such things at home. Moreover, I do screen whatever he watches so I guess it's peer influence. However, it just dawned on me that it could due to be books too. I've just recalled the story about the little mermaid which my mom recently read to him. In that story, the mermaid's sisters had asked the little mermaid to kill the prince and make sure that his blood falls on his feet so that her life will be spared.

I know that at the tender age of 34 months, he does not yet know the severity of the words that he utters. It is my duty as his mother to teach him, correct him and guide him along the right path. But sometimes, I am totally at a lost. Don't know whether I reacted appropriately when he mentions those nasty words. I guess I just have to trust in God and believe that He will always guide me in parenting my kids.

A visit to the Singapore Flyer

2011-08-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

It's a tourist attraction which I have visited twice, and TWICE when I am pregnant. I was the one who suggested that we bring Joshie and ask his best friend's family to come along too. It was rather unfortunate that we chose to go on the day of the National Day Parade rehearsal. The roads were blocked and we couldn't park at the nearby carpark. Instead, we had to park at Marina Square which was 15 minutes walk away. Thank God we brought their strollers, I can't imagine walking along the busy road with 2 active boys.

As we were early, (we reached by 9am), we managed to get our own private capsule.

Here's a picture of me and the 2 boys before they got all rowdy again.

Inside the capsule.

The view.

Joshie watches as Gaspar monkeyed around. Thank God we had our own capsule as the boys were really noisy. Jumping, singing and dancing away.

I think the admission ticket was around $20 per adult and free for kids below 3 year. Good view of Singapore and the boys had fun trying to spot objects such as car, fire engine, etc etc.

God's protection on my 2 Js

2011-08-12T05:50:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, it was raining heavily in the morning. We were watching tv as we usually skip church when it pours. It is quite a distance to walk from the roadside where our car is parked to church and there is no sheltered drop-off area. The church is working on that though.

The wind was so strong (coupled with the fact that we live on the 25th floor) that our foldable clothes line fell and blocked the doorway which separates the kitchen and laundry area. Hubby put it back properly and we continued watching tv.

Before long, it happened again. This time, my curious son who was no longer engrossed in his toys went to check out what had happened and came back to tell us that "something dropped". The minute he finished talking, we heard a loud smashing sound and saw bits and pieces of glass all over our kitchen floor. The wind had blown our kitchen door shut and the impact of the door hitting the clothes line had caused the glass to be broken. Our kitchen door has a wooden rim with see-through glass in the middle. I was so shocked and realised the severity of the situation had Joshie not ran out in time. I quickly hugged my little son tight and whispered a grateful prayer to God. Hubby asked me to bring Joshie into our room while he and the maid tidied up. It was a mess as there was glass everywhere.

When we were in the room, it dawned on me also that had the door slammed a little later, hubby might have walked into the kitchen to pick up the clothes line and the broken glass would have hit him directly on the face. Either way, it might have been either hubby or Joshie injured. And we would have to rush either one to the hospital. It was really God's perfect timing and protection that both my Js are safe and sound. I thank Him daily for always watching over me and my loved ones. I can't always be there for them but I can always count on Him.

First bite

2011-08-02T05:51:00.000-07:00

Well, well, what happens when 2 rambunctious boys play together? Especially when both are supposed to take turns playing with a certain toy.

Look what happened to Joshie's left arm.

He got bitten by his best friend Gaspar. The boys were supposed to be taking turns playing on a mini manual motorbike. Gaspar refused to give up the toy to Joshua after going for a few rounds. Joshua kept chasing him and tried to hold back the motorbike with his hands. Before I knew it, Gaspar turned around and bit Joshua.

So did he cry?

Nope. He just stared at the mark for a while. I think he was kinda shocked. After that he was quite 'manja' and clingy to mummy till we left the playground. The next day, both boys played happily again =)

These 2 friends are so unpredictable. One minute they'll be playing happily, hugging each other and the next minute, they fight! But they patch up really quickly too. Guess kids tend to forget and forgive easily.

Here's a picture of the two good friends.

Supermarket outing

2011-07-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

As part of the lesson plan to explore various places within the neighbourhood, the teachers brought the kids to Fair Price supermarket. They put 2 kids in each stroller and pushed them around.

Kids looking on as teacher explains the various items in the dairy section. They also had the opportunity to meet the different people working in the supermarket.

It was definitely an enriching experience. Kudos to LeapSchoolHouse for making learning so fun.

Fun activities in school

2011-07-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

This is what happens after school.........

Instead of walking down the stairs properly, these little monkeys MUST glide down using the handrail. And when they finally reach the bottom, they want to do it again! Still so energetic after school. They have so much fun in school and yet it is never enough, the fun must continue till their batteries go flat! So what do they do in school?

Learning their numbers in a fun and creative way. Teacher holds up a number and they are supposed to feed baby monkey the correct amount of bananas. Very effective way of learning.

Science experiment........watching the raisins dance in carbonated water.

Role-playing. Doctor giving a jab to his patient who grimaces in pain :P
So far, Joshie has attended LeapSchoolHouse for seven months and both the hubs and I are happy with the school. The kids are happy there and the teachers are stern but motherly at the same time. Not much pressure and there is a flurry of interesting activities for them everyday.

Our 4th anniversary

2011-07-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite pictures taken on our wedding night, 7/7/2007 at Renaissance KL.

As usual, we did not really celebrate! Wished each other and hubby was thoughtful enough to surprise me at lunch time with my favourite kuih :) Oh, and instead of fruits, we polished off a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream for dessert. Bliss!

Thank you hubby for always being by my side through thick and thin. I love you =)

Our sonshine

2011-07-06T06:13:00.000-07:00

Cheeky and full of mischief, this little boy brightens up our life with his antics and his speech.

Some of the recent things he said, which I want to jot down and read a few years down the road.

Mummy, don't worry. I will clean up. Later ok?

Quick, I need to wee-wee. Later my urine come out.

Mummy, why you not sleeping? (and he said this a few minutes after HE woke me up from my nap).

Be good ok? Later you go to jail.......

Don't disturb me ok? I have do to things.

Lavish party pack

2011-07-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when party packs consists of balloons, whistles, party hats, face masks and candy. Kids nowadays are very very lucky. And I am seeing an increasing trend of lavish party packs. For Joshie's 2nd birthday last year, I gave out a very simple party pack comprising a box of raisins, a pack of Japanese animal biscuits, stickers and IKEA finger puppets. I guess this year I gotta be a bit more generous.

Two weeks ago, Joshie's schoolmate celebrated her 4th birthday in school. Besides the birthday cake and a wide array of pastries catered from Delifrance, her parents spent a lot on her friends. Each of them had a helium balloon.

And this was what came out from the party pack. A small box of color pencils, cloth face mask, cute stationary, a tub of playdough (not in picture), playdough shapes cutter, a whistle, a bottle of bubbles solution (also not in picture) and an apron.

Needless to say, Joshie was very very excited. The items in the party pack are all very useful and I think every kid was happy =) I'd better start sourcing for Joshie's party pack contents soon since his birthday is just 2 months away.

That afternoon, my boy took his nap with his helium balloon.

Pregnancy #2

2011-07-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Tested on 7 May using a Guardian test stick. Turned out positive and I was shocked. I know I have missed my period but I didn't have any symptoms. With Joshie, I had sore and swollen breasts. So decided to buy Clearblue Digital and the result was "pregnant 2-3 weeks". =)

Baby #2 is planned. Needless to say, we were delighted. Joshie wasn't planned by us, but he was God's best surprise and he definitely falls into God's plan. However, I started having brown spotting at week 6, followed by off and on red bleeding for the next few weeks. Thus, I spent most of my 1st trimester at home, lying down a lot and not daring to move much. By God's grace, he sustained the pregnancy and I am now in my 2nd trimester.

Only problem now is that my placenta is still low. However, I choose to leave everything in God's hands and not to worry too much. After all, He is in control and we cannot change anything by worrying.

Double celebration

2011-06-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

A belated post again. Cobwebs are growing on my blog and I better start to clean them, LOL!

Here's a picture of six very enthusiastic little bakers. An optional school programme whereby parents have to fork out $20 for the kids to attend the baking session held at another school. Normal price for a baking session would be $50 so that was very very worth it.

My son was the only child who refused to wear the hat.

Hard at work. Flattening the dough with a rolling pin.

According to teacher, they made the cookies from scratch. From mixing the butter, sugar, adding in the flour, rolling ad shaping the dough. My boy was one very excited baker.

And here's the end results.

Joshie's first Father's Day present for his beloved daddy!!!!

And the hubs also celebrated his birthday that weekend! Ordered a chocolate banana from Awfully Chocolate which was superb. We polished it off in 12 hours!!! Haha.........

As usual Joshie blew off the candle.

Maid stories

2011-06-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Our maid has left us for good. She received a call from her aunt that her mom and daughter are in the ICU after meeting with a road accident. She was so distraught and was wailing away. We quickly did the necessary arrangements and booked a one way air ticket for her even though she has not paid back her loan. She has only worked for 5 months and still owe us 2.5 months of her salary.

We kept in touch with her through email and finally a few days later she told us that she would not be coming back. Actually I expected that, especially since I found out that her daughter is suffering from a serious head injury. The hubs and I pitied her and even wanted to give her a small cash token to help her out during this difficult period. Without insurance, the hospitalisation costs for both her mom and daughter are going to cost a bomb.

Throughout this whole period since she left us, some friends and relatives have expressed their concern that we might have been conned. A close friend of ours had recently been cheated when his maid went back with an outstanding loan, citing that her son has a hole in the heart and thus was in ICU. I asked the agent to investigate but was unsuccessful as she has shifted to another city. Out of curiosity, I decided to add her on Facebook, partly to keep in touch and partly also to see if I can gather more information on her current situation. But I couldn't find her on Facebook and thus decided to google her name. I got a shock when I was directed to an Au Pair website and discovered that she had applied to be an Au Pair nanny in Denmark, just three days before she told us about the accident. It was also stated that she would be available for work on 1 August 2011. Her contract with us doesn't expire till December 2012.

So if you were in my shoes, what would you think?

The accident was just an excuse to go home..........

Perhaps she already got a job in Denmark and had to tell this SAD STORY so that we will release her........

That was what went through my mind and lots of people agreed with me. I questioned her but she denied it. She explained that her cousin applied on her behalf and she had no intention whatsoever to go to such a faraway place.

I seriously don't know whether to believe her. If the accident was not true, she is a damn good actress. She was wailing like crazy and her eyes were really red and swollen. Moreover, I don't think she is capable to lie and act it out. She is a nice person, even though she is exceptionally blur when it comes to work.

And if we really got cheated, then the hubs and I are just too naive, green and innocent! Maybe we should be more cautious and avoid being so nice to our helpers in future.

He says.......

2011-06-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

When he is not asleep, he yaks non stop. Asks a lot of questions. Favourite question is "what this, mom?" and "why?"

Amongst some of the hilarious things that he has said are:

Mummy, why you never put the toilet paper properly? I so angry with you (puts hands on hips and glares at me)

Mummy, you cannot sing so loudly ok? Later people wake up ok? Later police come and catch you ok?

Joshie talks

2011-06-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

Overhead today after his bath.

Joshie: Ah ma (grandma), I don't want you to dry me. You so old!!! I want mummy to dry me.

Ah ma: -speechless-

Whilst changing clothes.

Joshie: Mummy, see my kuku......so small. Not big!

Toys from London

2011-06-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

The hubs went to London for work and bought some toys for his little cheeky. The cheeky missed his daddy and even complained that daddy did not call. Upon hearing this, the hubs was so touched that he walked to the store to buy some toys for his beloved son.

Busy checking out his toys.

Playing with the bubble gun that daddy bought. He was so thrilled and requested to play with the gun repeatedly. However, after two weeks, his excitement waned and the gun is now sitting in the bathroom, gathering dust.

Jurong Bird Park

2011-05-25T01:49:00.001-07:00

A very backdated post as usual. I have been really busy and tired of late, thus the slowdown in blogging.

After 2 years of residing in Singapore, we finally brought Joshie to Jurong Bird Park. He's been to the zoo twice, but not the bird park.

We had to pay an admission fee of $18 each (for hubby and I). It's still free for Joshie till he turns 3, I think. It was quite a gloomy morning as it was drizzling.

Here's hubby and Joshie with the penguins. We also had the opportunity to watch the penguins being fed small fishes. My little boy was very excited and for the next few days he kept on telling me "mummy, penguin eat fish."

Walked around a bit and managed to take pictures with some parrots in the enclosure. There was a bird each on our hands, with the exception of Joshie. Own camera not allowed and we didn't want to fork out money to buy our pictures so no photos of us with the parrots.

Wandered further and came across this lovely pink birds with long legs......the flamingoes!! They were a pretty sight.

Went in to the theatre for the King of the Skies show. Saw different types of eagles. They were really huge!!!! But I'd say nothing fascinating about the show, if you are not an eagle lover. Joshie quite bored in-between when no new eagles came out.

Also brought Joshie to watch Birds of the Skies show which was much more captivating as there were some performances, dancing and singing. The hubs and I were pretty much bored by that time and didn't bother fishing out the camera.

We left soon after the show. Walked around a bit to look at some other birds and we were out of the bird park before noon. I'd think the zoo is a much better place for 2.5 year olds.

Getting cheekier by the day

2011-05-08T05:49:00.001-07:00

As the days pass, my little son gets cheekier. Full of funny expressions and speech which makes the hubs and I really tickled. Good stress reliever for the hubs who faces a lot of pressure at work.

This is the "I don't want to eat already" look........

He found a box of raisins while rummaging through my bag. Happily climbed onto our bed to eat, even though he knows he's not supposed to do that. This is the look that I got when I "confronted" him!!!

Hogging the bag of Twisties all by himself during a school picnic. See the look of pleasure on his face? How much he enjoys junk food!!! And look at the amount of junk food served to the children. Each one had a huge bag!!! This is the ONLY main reason I am unhappy with the school and thinking of switching him to another school.

Sticking out his tongue at Rion when she tried to take a glimpse at his iPad.

Some of the cute things that he says lately are:

Mummy, what this? Tell me, tell me.

Why you kissing me?

Clever boy!!!!! (praising himself every now and then)

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all mommies...........-big grin-

I received my first Mother's Day card from Joshie last Friday. He rushed out of the school door eagerly and passed me the card without wishing me anything! As usual, he proceeded to rummage my bag for food. Teacher Winnie then came up to him and asked "Joshie, have you wished mummy yet" to which he sheepishly replied "Happy Mother's Day".

The cheeky posing with his card. He kept telling me that he liked painting the card.

There's a little booklet of mother's day coupons that came with the card.

One of the coupons that I am entitled to redeem. I know Joshie will be delighted to help with the dishes. His idea of fun play since it involves water. But I'd think it means more headache for me......hahahaha. There were also other coupons like "one kiss", "one hug", "one dance", "read a book together", "breakfast in bed" etc etc.

Babysitting Rion

2011-05-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

My Japanese friend, Motomi has just shifted to another condo nearby as the prices here have gone exorbitantly high. On moving day, I offered to babysit her daughter so that she can handle everything without disturbance from a toddler. Poor lady, she settled everything as her hubby couldn't take leave on that day.

Rion came over slightly before noon as the movers were supposed to arrive at 1pm.

The two kids having fried rice for lunch. Rion has a huge appetite.

After lunch, I bathed Joshie while Rion played by herself in the room. Then I put Joshie down for his nap while my helper played Rion.

Luckily Joshie napped even though he knew that Rion was playing in the next room. Rion was pretty bored playing all by herself. She kept on going into Joshie's room to look at him as pictured below.

By 4pm, she was really restless, even though Joshie had already woken up. She was also missing her mom and kept on asking for mummy. I tried explaining to her but it was really tough communicating with her as she doesn't understand English. Luckily I managed to amuse and entertain her till her mummy came around 5ish.

That was my first experience babysitting a toddler for such a long period of time, 5 hours in total. Actually I was real glad when Motomi appeared at the door :)

His Mandarin class

2011-04-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hubby and the extended family (especially my in-laws) have been voicing out a lot of concerns concerning my 2.5 yo's inability to converse with Mandarin. So I have actually been looking for Mandarin classes at various schools since last year. However, the classes that suit us (location and timing) are always packed and I'm real fed up of being put on the waiting list. I finally managed to get him a place at Julia Gabriel and the hubs accompanied him there. But we did not enrol him there as hubby felt that the fees are too exorbitant (SGD40 for a 1 hour class which in actual fact is only 45-50 minutes due to 10-15 minutes of free play).

Thus, when Lexuan, a Chinese Language School opened its doors at the mall opposite our condominium, I enrolled Joshie there. Three trial classes for $110. Comes to nearly $40 a class but it's a 90 minute lesson. He started his first lesson last week. It's a parent-accompanied class.

Only student in class. Since they are newly opened, they are still busy advertising for more students.

Joshie and his teacher.

Actually I was quite horrified to see the way Joshie behaved in class. I have not accompanied him for classes since Jan this year and thus, I do not know how he behaves in school. Last year, he used to stick to me and would obediently listen to teacher. However, this time, he was only quiet for the first 10-15 minutes. After that, he didn't want to sit still. He was walking, running and dancing around the room. Pulled the paper wall deco off the wall too. Didn't really listen to teacher and when she asked him to repeat a chinese word, he would say "ju ju" cheekily. Even stuck out his tongue at her. Gosh!!!

Cheekiness aside, I seriously don't think my son would enjoy this class. I don't agree with the teacher's method of teaching. She is too strict and doesn't give my son freedom of choice. She expects my son to sit still on the chair for the whole 90 minutes. Only sang 1 song throughout the entire class and there were no actions to accompany the song. A lot of flash cards. No interesting activities or craft. I know my son. He wouldn't enjoy this method of teaching. That's why he was restless and wouldn't concentrate.

Thus, we are not going back there anymore. Just gonna wait till January 2012 when I enrol him into LeapSchoolHouse for a 5-day week, whereby Tues and Thurs lessons are purely in Mandarin. Joshie enjoys the teaching method there and I have seen how much he has learnt through his thrice weekly English sessions there.

One of the most stressful moments for a mom.........

2011-04-30T06:29:00.000-07:00

............is when her child is sick. Agree?

Well, a couple of weeks ago, my little boy was sick. Started with runny nose and cough, followed by fever. I was already planning to bring him to see the paed the next day when his fever hovered around 38.5 - 39C. However, we ended up in the A&E of the hospital that very evening because he had a febrile seizure. It was the most frightening moment of my life, watching my precious son's eyeballs rolling backwards and arms twitching. I got even more worried when his lips turned blue due to the lack of oxygen. Truthfully I don't know how long it lasted, although I'd think it was less than 5 minutes. So off we went to the hospital as soon as his seizure ended.

Joshie being examined by the doctor on duty. He was given the oxygen mask as well. His fever was 39.6C!!!!! That's not the highest temperature he's had though.

Called paed on duty to examine him. According to the paed, the possibility of another seizure within the next 24 hours is high, so he wanted Joshie to be admitted. Blood and urine test done upon admission. In the picture above, the nurse was checking his blood pressure while the cheeky was engrossed with his iPad.

Fever still spiked the next day. So doctor advised to stay another night. I requested for a baby cot. The night before, we were both sleeping on the same bed and I sprained my neck as a result of that. Unfortunately fever continued to spike, and he had to be given Voltaren for the 3rd time since admission.

On the morning of Day 3, doctor discovered white dots at his throat. Diagnosed as tonsillitis. So that's the cause of the high fever!!!! Cheeky being fed more medicine. It was scary seeing the amount of meds given to him during his hospital stay. Every 4 hourly he had to take 3-4 different types of medicine. Doctor advised to stay another 2 days. Went home to bring cheeky more toys as I didn't want him to face the iPad the whole day.

Day 4. Mummy requested for discharge. Temperature has been normal so doctor agreed =) Cheeky was delighted too. He was so so so bored of the hospital.

Took him a week plus to recover fully. No more fever since day 3 but throat was still red so I had to watch what he ate. Anyway, I am real glad this is over. I'll hafta be really careful the next time he has a fever as the possibility of another febrile seizure is there. According to paed, he will only outgrow this at the age of 6-7 years old.

I had a good laugh

2011-04-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Poor boy was trying very hard to blow the balloon......

And bad mummy had a good laugh.......hahahahahaha. You will soon be able to blow a balloon, my dear boy.

His new playmate

2011-04-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

So Oscar has gone back to Australia for more than a month already. And I am quite amazed that Joshie seems to understand that Oscar is no longer in Singapore and he can't play with him anymore. My mom and MIL were a tad worried about the cheeky losing a close friend. However, I have assured them that he is fine and has found another close friend as his playmate.

This is his new playmate, Gaspar who lives in the same condo =) They even go to school together thrice a week. According to teacher, they are very close. They love to sit next to each other and dance/sing together. BUT they also fight....haha. Pinching, shoving and hitting.

The boys drumming.

Their make-believe train. Their train brings them to many places..........Ca-li-li-li-fornia and Hong Kong disney are the two main places.

Fun outing. Both were singing in the stroller when we brought them to Sentosa beach recently.

Kids are really so adaptable. Say goodbye to old friends and hello to new friends easily huh?

Random pictures of the little boy at school

2011-04-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

Sorting according to colours.

Story time. Children are so engrossed with the story.

Teacher Winnie teaching the kids how to introduce themselves.

Game time.

Finally visited Universal Studios

2011-04-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

We finally visited Universal Studios at Sentosa last month when hubby's best friend was in town. I tell you, it was 2 days of continuous fun for our cheeky boy, Lion King followed by Universal Studios the following day. However, the downside was that he was too tired to enjoy Universal Studios to the max, having slept close to midnight and still waking up at 7am the next morning.

Us at the entrance =)

And mummy with cheeky before his first roller coaster ride. He met the height requirement and we just decided to let him try. Before we lined up, we brought him aside, showed him the actual ride and asked him if he would like to go on it. Not knowing anything, he said yes, I think he was kinda excited seeing the roller coaster go so fast.

So I sat with him and I held his hands firmly. This mummy was a bit paranoid that he might get "blown off" since he's so small.......hahahaha. He was quiet throughout the ride. When the roller coaster finally slowed down, he told me "finish" and I asked him if he wanted another ride to which he replied "no"!!!

The weather was really hot and we left at 2ish pm. Hubby covered most of the rides while I took care of cheeky. The park is small, so can definitely cover all in less than a day.

Joshua @ 2.5 year old

2011-04-07T00:03:00.001-07:00

He turned 2.5 years old 2 weeks ago and I forgot to update my blog. Have been really lazy lately and prefer to curl up on my bed with a Jodi Picoult novel. The hubs has also been bugging me to blog but well, I'm just not in the mood.

OK, back to Joshie. He's grown a lot (physically i mean). We were at the doctor's recently and thus, he was weighed and measured for his height. At 2.5 years old, he's 16kg and 99cm tall. Really tall for his age, thanks to mummy n daddy for the "tall" genes =)

He's been to school for 3 months already and he's loving it although he sometimes tells me "mummy, not going school" in the morning. However, he speaks excitedly about school and gives me a brief outline of what they do in school. No regrets sending him to school as I feel that he has learnt a lot. He has learnt to identify numbers and many letters from the alphabet. Moreover, his speech has improved by leaps and bounds. He speaks in proper sentences quite often and his vocabulary is amazing. Kudos to the teachers at LeapSchoolHouse =)

About a month ago, I taught him how to use the scissors. Previously I tried teaching him before, using the PlayDoh scissors to cut playdough but he wasn't interested. Preferred to use the plastic knife again. However, this time he was really keen and picked it up really fast. He was really excited and started to snip bits and pieces of paper onto the floor.

And look what happened one day when ah ma (grandmother in the Hokkien dialect) was taking care of him but also talking to me at the same time. The cheeky snipped off some of his hair. Luckily it wasn't obvious and it did not make him ugly.

Another thing that I just discovered. He seems to have quite good control of the marker, although his grip is wrong. I have been teaching him to draw horizontal and vertical lines and also circles. He can do all that quite well. I happened to turn away to check an SMS on my phone and when I turned back, he had already drawn this (picture below). I asked him what it was and he replied "Teacher Winnie". So I guess that's the outline of his teacher's hair.

Oh, and the day before, he drew a dinosaur (picture below). Told me it was a dinosaur and proceeded to draw the eyes and nose as well.

He's still a shy boy who would keep quiet in the company of strangers. I have been trying to get him to greet uncle/auntie and to say his "please" and "thank you" but he doesn't always follow. When he doesn't open his mouth in the company of others, he'd tell me "Joshie shy" when we have walked away.

The hubs and I are enjoying all his cheeky antics. He's now so cute at this age and he always makes us laugh. The hubs especially appreciates and loves all his antics after a hard and stressful day at work. He can be really manja to us too, being an only child.

The Lion King musical

2011-04-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, hubby's best friend came down to Singapore with his wife for a short holiday. One of their pre-planned itinerary was to watch the Lion King musical. We had already decided to tag along and even bought a ticket for Joshua as well even though the musical is recommended for children 7 years and above. My only worry was that the cheeky might not sit through the 2 hour musical, especially since it'll be during his bedtime.

Here is a picture of cheeky with Uncle Kim Hock in the theatre, before the musical commenced. He brought along his Lion King storybook. And daddy bought him the Zazu soft toy.

The musical started at 8pm and there was a 15 minute break in between before it ended at 10:30pm. The costumes were spectacular and we enjoyed the singing and dancing. Joshie was so excited and I was amazed that recognized the characters. He kept on pointing towards the stage and telling me what was going on (his version, which was quite accurate most of the time since I've already read him the story). What amazed us was that the little cheeky sat through the entire musical without any fuss. He was sleepy and a bit restless after the interval but he still sat through. Uncle Kim Hock even said that Joshie enjoyed the musical the most. =) Haha.....so the money spent on his ticket was so worth it!!!

Disney on Ice

2011-04-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

OK, this is the best photo that I managed to take. It was a good camera, so please blame it on my photography skills. My husband is going to nod his head in agreement, right hubby?

Two Saturdays ago, I brought Joshie to watch Disney on Ice at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Went with two of his friends, Haley and Rion. Besides Mickey and Friends, the kids also saw The Little Mermaid, Lion King and Tinkerbell. However, all three of them were most excited to see Mickey and Friends, mainly because they didn't know the other characters well enough. Oh, and we were glad that we bought Category 1 tickets, otherwise the kids would be sitting too far back to enjoy the show.

After the musical, we headed to the taxi stand but the queue was just too long. Called for a cab but couldn't get through. So we walked with the kids to the nearest MRT station.

Two wobbly toddlers trying to steady themselves in the moving train.

Rion who only slept at midnight the night before was tired, hungry and cranky. Thus she was crying and Motomi had to carry her. We were shocked that nobody stood up to offer her a seat!!!!

My chatty toddler (part 2)

2011-03-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

What happens when he is naughty and I've just raised my voice at him.....

Joshie : Mummy, don't angry.........shows me a sad face

Mummy : Then you'd better listen to mummy. Be an obedient boy.

Joshie : Sorry mummy......

Mummy : Ok, good boy!

Joshie : Hugs (then he hugs)....kiss (and he kisses)

My chatty toddler

2011-03-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

As I was driving home from the market today, I heard this conversation between my helper, M and Joshie who were both sitting at the back seat.

Joshie : Daddy love you, Joshie......

M : How much does daddy love you, Josh?

Joshie : Too much

M : How much do you love daddy?

Joshie : 1

And earlier on in the market....

M : How much do you love mummy?

Joshie : 20 cents

(He learned this from a classmate who answered "16 dollars" when their teacher asked how much he loves her)

And during the weekend, he was singing this.

J : Hot dog hot dog hot diggety dog, the mouse ran up the clock......

Mummy : No Josh, you are mixing up two songs. If you want to sing the Mickey Mouse theme song, it should be "Hot dog hot dog hot diggety dog, now we've got ears it's time for cheers" or if you want to sing Hickory Dickory Dock, it should be "Hickory Dickory Dock, the mouse ran up the clock"....

J : I dunno........then giggles cheekily

My 2.5 year old is a real chatty boy. It's really difficult to read him a story too as he would always interrupt and tell me his own version of the story. His teacher has also commented that she needs to ask him to tone down during lesson time too. However, since he is shy by nature, he'd keep his mouth shut when he is amongst strangers or unfamiliar friends/relatives until he warms up to them.

Ah ma's visit

2011-03-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

The MIL came two Thursdays ago. And she's going back tomorrow. So what did we do when she was around? Stayed at home mostly during the weekdays as she wanted to teach our new helper how to cook.

During the 1st weekend that she was around, we brought her to the Jacob Ballas children garden. This garden is part of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Entrance is free if you are accompanying a child who is 12 years and below. If not, there is a fee, but am not sure how much. This garden provides a unique and fun place for children to learn about plants. Besides, there's a treehouse playground, sand play area and water fountain.

Here's a picture of Joshie with ah ma in front of a fake durian tree.

The hubby and I got the opportunity to jog around while ah ma watched Joshie at the fountain area. After our exercise, we went to Lei Garden at Orchard Plaza for brunch. The dim sum was delicious =)

In the evening, after Joshie's afternoon nap, we headed over to Marina Bay Sands. Did some window shopping at The Shoppes and Joshie had a little run outside before we headed for dinner.
Cheeky posing with ah ma.

Certain phrases picked up from school

2011-03-12T05:08:00.000-08:00

Since he started school in January, he'd been really chatty. Picked things up really fast. Anyway, here's a few of his recent verbal expressions:

Are you ready, mummy?

Not again!

Thank you everybody.

Is it funny?........then he giggles

It's playdough time/ It's colouring time etc etc

Let's go/let's eat/let's pour etc etc

Oh my God

Besides, he's speaking in full sentences most of the time. Has correctly used prepositions and tenses too. Hmnn, I think his Mandarin would also improve by leaps and bounds when he starts his classes very soon (i hope)!

Oscar's farewell

2011-03-12T04:51:00.000-08:00

Joshie's dear friend, Oscar has gone back to Australia for good. They relocated back more than a week ago. Since then, Joshie has asked for Oscar a couple of times, but usually he'd answer his own question by saying "no more oscar......Oscar go back Australia".

We were sad to lose a friend but I guess farewells are part and parcel of life, especially when your friends are expats. We attended two farewells for Oscar, and the week before their departure date, the boys played with each other nearly everyday.

This was at the playground at Spruce cafe, located near Tanglin. The two boys were playing in the playground while waiting for the rest to arrive.

Hubs with both boys. He was entertaining them while we waited for our food to arrive. No pictures of the food as we were real busy keeping up to the boys' demands. I shared a banana pancake with Joshie which was delicious. Very big portion, and Joshie loved the cookie bits that were sprinkled on the pancake.

Oscar's mom also organized a farewell playdate for her son. It was held at the fountain area of City Sq Mall. Here's a picture of both boys in their swimmies, munching on homemade cookies while waiting for the others to arrive.

They had a blast at the fountain, running around and shrieking happily.

To Elke and Oscar, we wish you the very best. Do call us when you come back to Singapore for a visit.........We miss you.

Central Fire Station @ Hill Street

2011-03-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago, Elke and I brought the boys to visit the Central Fire Station. We were not sure what to expect. We were thinking that maybe the boys would get a chance to sit in a fire engine and maybe try on some helmets. But we were in for a surprise. There was a flurry of activities for the boys.

We saw firemen preparing to attend to an emergency call. This was "real" and not a show put on for visitors.

An opportunity to ride on the cherry picker. Since the boys were very young, we were only lifted up to the 2nd-3rd level of a standard building. The boys were also strapped as the gaps were really huge. We saw some older children being lifted up much higher.

The boys were given the chance to try on the firemen helmet before trying their hands on the hose. However, both boys refused, maybe because the helmet was a tad heavy for them. My son enjoyed this a lot =)

Pretending to drive the fire engine

Joshie and friends playing in the puddle. He was really filthy and dirty. Even got his pants wet. Mummy had to close one eye lar.......

The central fire station is opened for public visits on Saturdays between 9-11am. I am not sure if this is a one-off and regular thing. It was really a good, educational visit for the kids. An eye-opener for adults too.

My recent goal.....

2011-03-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

.......is to teach my son how to ride the bicycle.

We did not buy him a tricycle as we figured he'd outgrow it very soon. I know it's much easier to push the handle from behind with his feet at the pedals, so that he'd get the hang of it. I have heard moms telling me that it's much easier for them to learn that way. However, to save cost, we bought him a big bicycle, which should last him till he is 6 yo.

Went to Carrefour to have a look but the bikes don't look good. Rough finishing and doesn't look stable. Headed to Toys R Us and hubby OK-ed this bicycle. SGD139!!! Children's things ain't cheap huh?

The cheeky knows how to move his feet in a cycling motion. However, he moves it backwards, instead of forward. So, my aim now is to get him to cycle forward, so that the bicycle will move forward, instead of staying stationary. Problem is, this boy can be too independent at times. He doesn't want mummy around helping him. That's my obstacle.

E&O Hotel

2011-03-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

My bedridden grandma lives in Penang, and we try to visit her twice a year. Of course once would be during Chinese New Year. Each time we go to Penang, we'd stay in a hotel as her house is too small to accomodate all three of us. Furthermore, there's no air-cond and I bet my high-class son would have trouble sleeping.

During the recent Chinese New Year, we actually planned to stay in Shangri-la hotel but due to our last minute booking, there was no room for us. Hubs then decided that he wanted to try staying at E&O hotel. So on the third day of CNY, we drove straight to this luxurious hotel after visiting grandma.

Our suite.

The view from our suite.

Cheeky goofing around.

This was taken in the morning after/during breakfast. As usual, Joshie stuffed himself silly with all the sugary breakfast cereals which I don't normally buy at home - Koko Krunch, Honey Stars, etc etc........ He followed hubby out for a walk after the hubs had finished but he still wanted to hold on to his cereal bowl. Sat down here and enjoyed the cool breeze while eating.

No baby pool in the hotel. Not very child friendly........but nevertheless, the little boy had a great time at the pool.

Beautiful wedding in Penang

2011-02-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

We attended a good friend's wedding in Penang about two weeks before Chinese New Year. The wedding was held at the newly refurbished Lone Pine Hotel, which is also the sister hotel of E&O.

This is the view of the wedding venue from our hotel room. Each room has a seaside view. We took this picture on the morning of the wedding day.

The wedding ceremony. And guess what? We were the latest.....shame on us. We only arrived towards the end of the ceremony. We thought the ceremony would start at 5pm. Thus, I went for my massage at 3:30pm and left the hubs and cheeky sleeping in the room. The hubs woke up at 4:30pm and walked to the window to draw the curtains. He was shocked when he saw the crowd gathered downstairs. Rushed to the spa to inform me and all 3 of us got ready as fast as we could. It was my fastest record! Got ready in less than 15 minutes for a wedding!!!!!

A picture taken with the handsome groom and his beautiful bride. Congratulations our dear friends. May God watch over you and bless you as you start your marriage life together =)

During the tea ceremony, cheeky roamed the beach on his own! Took off his shoes and walked barefooted. Beautiful sunset in the background.

After the tea ceremony, the guests headed to their respective tables for dinner. Look at our first dish - the Hot & Cold combination. Served in a tiffin carrier! Unique huh? The rest of the food was good too. Only downside was that the weather was hot. I didn't feel it that much as I was wearing a halter dress but the hubs was sweating and he wasn't even wearing a suit. Actually the seaside is quite breezy but the side flaps of the canopy blocked the wind from coming through.

We had a good time catching up with all our friends. We haven't seen some of them in ages, since graduation maybe. Weddings are always a good time for reunions huh?

The next day, cheeky woke up bright and early (before 8am) despite sleeping past 10pm the night before. We took the opportunity to go for a swim after breakfast before heading to the airport for our flight back to Singapore. It was a lil vacation for the cheeky who enjoyed himself thoroughly. As for the hubs, it was a good weekend getaway from his hectic work-life.

Cheeky at the kiddie table =) Stuffing himself silly with all the sugary cereal.

Swimming

2011-02-26T05:46:00.000-08:00

The cheeky loves playing with water, no doubt about that. However, he gets annoyed when I shower his head with water during his hair wash. And when we are at the pool, he can react in two different ways; depending on which friend is at the pool with him. If he is playing with his old time friends like Oscar and Rion, he seems apprehensive and hardly goes down the slide. He'd just goof around with them. He wouldn't even follow Oscar down the slide.

BUT, if his new friend Gaspar is at the pool, I see a different Joshie. Gaspar is his classmate and he is 6 months older than Joshie. In his company, Joshie tries to behave like a big boy and he likes to imitate everything Gaspar does. He would go down the slide together (pictured below) and wouldn't even cry or run to me if Gaspar bullies him.

Funny huh?

Anyway, here's his new Minnie Mouse hooded towel which daddy bought from Hong Kong. No more Mickey so he had to make do with Minnie instead. Joshie loves his towel a lot.

Week 4 of Term 1

2011-02-24T06:12:00.000-08:00

This is really backdated, lazy mummy.

An excerpt from the email by the teacher: This week, the children explored another aspect of the theme 'All About Me'. They were introduced to the different types of feelings and played this game where they had to display different facial expressions to depict different types of feelings. The children were also taught the colours, pink and brown and they had an exciting time making chocolate milkshake in class (to teach the colour brown). The children were also introduced to the letter 'Cc' and its sound and played the game 'Smashing Cans' to reinforce that C is for Cans.

Woohoo.......Joshie managed to smash all the cans!!!

Getting his footprint.

I don't know what they were doing here, presumably playing a game.

Craft time.

Oh, this was probably my son's favourite lesson time. Making chocolate milkshake, in line with learning the colour brown!!

Delicious lunch at Overseas Restaurant

2011-02-24T05:37:00.001-08:00

When I read from the newspapers that Overseas Restaurant had opened a branch in Singapore, I knew we had to visit that restaurant very soon. It's my PILs favourite dining place in KL and both the hubs and I love the food there too. My hubby especially loves their siew yoke and char siew.

Without further ado, I called up to book a table for the coming weekend. It's located at Shaw Towers, which is quite deserted during the weekends. Here's what we had:

Siew yoke. The first dish to arrive and we gobbled it up really quickly. Even Joshie enjoyed it. He put a whole piece into his mouth, savouring every bite.

Some beancurd dish. Actually, this was ordered for Joshie as I thought he wouldn't eat the meat. This is quite a normal dish, but very tasty too. The fish paste had a nice, springy texture.

Char siew =) So so so delicious. Hubby complained that the meat was not fatty enough but I prefer it this way.

Braised eggplant in claypot.

Their signature prawn dish. Joshie also loved this a lot. Somehow, I think the sauce in KL is slightly thicker and darker but this was nevertheless delicious.

We will definitely go back again!!! Real yummy food.

His antics

2011-02-21T05:16:00.000-08:00

Joshie is really talkative now, and sometimes it's quite amusing to listen to him.

Scenario 1:

Early one morning, he lined up the soft toys in a row. Took a torch light from the drawer and started shining it on the first toy, saying "Joshie check pig, open mouth....ahhhh". That's the standard routine that is performed on him before he enters school. There'll be an admin staff checking their temperature and throat for any signs of HFMD.

Scenario 2:

Recently, he likes to take our helper's pocket bible and pretend to read from it. It's even funnier when he stands on a stool to read, it's like a makeshift stage for him. This is the conversation that went on between Joshie and our helper.

Helper: Josh, you like to read the bible so much, you want to be a pastor?

Joshua : Joshie wanna eat pasta............cheeky smile

Joshua at 2 years 4 months

2011-02-15T05:03:00.000-08:00

He's already a big boy and with his height, people often think that he is 3 plus. In our eyes, he's still our cute little boy whom we adore so much....hehe =)

He started speaking in full sentences after attending school. He's also able to link certain scenarios. For eg, when hubby told him that he'd be going on an aeroplane the next day, he answered that he'd need to take the cab first.

I'm really glad and thankful that he's settling down very well in school. Although he is 5 months younger than his next youngest friend, he's coping well and is able to follow the lessons. Again, I am grateful for the 3.5hour break that I have thrice weekly =) There was no more crying from week 4 onwards and I pray that he'd continue to enjoy school.

At times, this cheeky boy can really melt our hearts with his thoughtfulness. For instance, he'd offer daddy his food when he realises daddy isn't eating. Sometimes, he would come up to me when I cry out "ouch" and asks "mummy, are you ok?" I can also expect him to say "mummy, be careful" when I am standing on the chair, reaching for something on the highest shelf of my wardrobe.

In terms of crankiness and tantrums, he is quite controllable most of the time. We can just threaten him with the naughty corner and it wouldn't be that difficult for him to obey us. However, when we are in the company of the grandparents, a lot more patience and stress is involved.

ELC button board

2011-02-15T04:43:00.000-08:00

Good way to introduce kids to colours and also try to test if they are colour blind (in my case, cause my hubby and dad are colour blind).

I introduced this activity board to Joshie when he was just 2 years old. Not keen at that time. However, recently he's quite enthusiastic and would try to match the buttons to the correct colour.

I find that ELC has a good range of toys for kids. The quality's good too. BUT the price is also really good!

Happy CNY!

2011-02-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

We are back in Singapore again today. Was in KL+Ipoh+Penang for a stretch of two whole weeks. Good holiday although we had some sleepless nights due to the fireworks. The fireworks at our place were really loud this year, and Joshie was rudely jolted up from his sleep. Of course he screamed and we had to take turns rushing to his bed to console him.

That aside, we had a real good time pigging out. It was mostly SLEEP+EAT! When we were in Penang, I never felt hungry at all. Gorged on the wide buffet spread at E&O Hotel for breakfast and thereafter to the hawkers centre for lunch + tea before having a proper chinese dinner.

There were lots of visitings and our schedule for the 1st day of CNY was really packed. Church in the morning followed by house visitings. By the time we reached home, it was over 6pm. The following days were better though. Joshie met a lot of relatives and friends and it took him quite a while to warm up. But after that, he'd play happily and refuse to go back.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I am sure all of you had a good CNY celebration as well. Would like to wish all my readers a happy CNY and may the year of the rabbit bring you health, wealth and happiness!

Week 3 of Term 1

2011-01-27T04:46:00.000-08:00

This week, the children learned about their five senses and their uses. They also learnt that their five senses are very important and that they need every single one of them everyday.

They were also introduced to the letter Bb and its sound.

Also introduced to the colours purple and orange. Interesting activity was to squeeze juice from an orange. My little boy enjoyed himself. According to teacher, he finished the whole cup of juice even though he said it was sour =P

Art and craft time. Pasting little pieces of orange coloured paper onto the picture of an orange.

Bb for bubbles..............................

No idea what they were doing here. Guess they must have been playing a game.

Joshie didn't cry on Monday and Wednesday. However, I had to walk him to his classroom and slowly sneak out. On Friday, he cried at the doorstep of school. I wonder why. But teacher said he was ok after I left and was actively participating in all the activities.

Oh, he wet his pants twice on Monday. Thus, on Wednesday and Friday, he kept on asking to go to the toilet nearly every 30 minutes.

An Ipad!

2011-01-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

See how happy the boy is with the Ipad on his lap?

Kids nowadays are really so blessed. It's a family Ipad but the cheeky is using it most of the time. Most of the apps that we downloaded are his. But I have to say that the apps are really very educational. However, I make sure that he does not use it for more than 1 hour on normal days as I am worried about his eyesight.

Week 2 of Term 1

2011-01-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

The kiddos were introduced to the letter Aa and its sound on week 2. They were asked to locate the magnetic letter Aa from the whiteboard.

More learning on body parts as well, as pictured below. Good teaching on teamwork too.

Their masterpiece.

Furthermore, they were taught the colours green and yellow. Played the game "Green Musical Chairs". Can you see that my boy is the only one who sat on a blue chair?

Art and craft time. Pasting little green pieces of paper on the picture of an apple.

Joshie was much better during week 2. Cried less and I didn't have trouble putting on his school uniform in the morning.

Random pictures of Joshie

2011-01-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

On the tyre swing with Oscar.

Preparing to slide down with Haley.

Run, run, run. He can sprint really fast for a 2 year old.

Playing with the drum set at Parco, Millenia Walk.

I-phone bonding moment with daddy dearest

An embarassing moment

2011-01-20T05:12:00.000-08:00

We were queuing up at the cashier's at Parkson when my little son walked up to the manequin and touched its crotch. He then turned and said "mummy, kukubird where?"

I told him it's just a manequin and that managed to pacify him. I think the rest of the shoppers were amused when this mummy took out her Iphone and took a picture. I saw the man behind us smiling away.

On another note, Joshie's speech has been improving a lot. He's been talking in sentences and he has also added tons of words to his vocab. However, his recognition of words is deteriorating. Last time, he could recognise more than 15 words from the flashcards but recently, he only reads less than 5. His attention span on flashcards is getting shorter and it's really difficult to get him to concentrate. He's getting more playful. I guess that's how boys are.

A new one to replace the old

2011-01-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

This is a backdated post.

Sometime towards the end of last year, our Toyomi fan just stopped functioning. Hubby would give the fan a good slap, and then it would move again..........but to our dismay, would stop and not function again. Our dear son was really helpful, he took a screw driver out and said he was going to fix the fan (pictured above). As he fiddled with the screw driver, he kept mumbling "no more battery", "mummy, go buy battery".

This gave my dear hubby the chance to fulfill his dream of owning a Dyson product! =) He has been eyeing Dyson's vacuum cleaner and air multiplier. Without further ado, he walked to the mall opposite our home and lugged back the Dyson air multiplier to replace our non-functioning Toyomi fan. There were 2 sizes available and he bought the bigger one since it's to be placed in the living room. It ain't cheap, you can use that money to buy an air-cond instead.

Unlike the usual conventional fan, there are no blades. So, it's very safe especially if you have a curious toddler at home. I've been wanting to buy the plastic netting for the fan ever since I saw Joshie trying to stick his fingers through the gap. A further plus is that it's much easier to clean. And last but not least, it cools the room at a more efficient rate compared to the old fan.

But what does Joshie think of his daddy's huge household investment?

He reckons it's also another toy for him. One which he can throw his ball through. Pick up the ball and throw it again. Continuously till I said stop!

Mushroom cut to usher in the rabbit year

2011-01-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

His hair was getting really untidy, especially near the ear area. Thus, I packed him into the taxi sometime last week after he woke up from his afternoon nap. Headed to Liang Court on River Valley Road to visit his hairstylist.

The stylist asked if I wanted her to cut the same style as before. Asked her what other style does she recommend and she suggested the mushroom cut. Said now is the ideal age for mushroom cut. Looks cute now.

So mushroom cut that's it. Sat the cheeky down onto my lap and she started snipping. Had to pacify him with a lollipop when hair started falling onto his skin!!!! He just hates hair on his skin. But lollipop and Nemo managed to placate him and before I knew it, it was finished.

I was a little shocked when I saw his new look. And also regretted too, coz the old cut was more stylo. =) Just take a look at my picture, don't you agree with me?

But over the next few days, I appreciated his new look. I think he looks cuter now, with his new hairstyle =) Moreover, the fringe is now a bit longer and doesn't look so severe anymore. Hmnn, so maybe it was the right choice after all!

Car bed

2011-01-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

Joshie has been sleeping on a mattress on a floor since he started climbing out of his baby cot. That was 9 months ago. Ever since I found out that he's allergic to dust mites, I've wanted to buy him a bed frame. But because we were always out of the country, we kept procrastinating our furniture shopping. However, our procrastination came to an end when we had to start clearing the store room for our new helper. Bought a cabinet for the living room, an open shelf for the kitchen and last but not least, a bed frame for my little son.

After doing some research, we finally settled for a car bed frame. Bought it from one of the shops at The Furniture Mall on Beach Road. Cost us $600 and we spent another sum of money on a Getha latex mattress.

This is how Joshie's room looks like now.

Also bought him a cardboard book shelf from the mall opposite my home. Doesn't it look nice?

Week 1 of Term 1

2011-01-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

Theme for Term 1 is All About Me. According to the teacher, the kids were introduced to different parts of their body. To reinforce the learning, they played the game "Simon says point to your body parts". They were also taught the colour red and blue.

As we only came back from KL on Monday, Joshie missed the first lesson and only joined his classmates for 2 lessons during Week 1. Although he cried when I dropped him off, teacher said he coped well in class and mingled around as well.

The class is small, only 5 kiddos, so teacher can have enough time for each student. In the picture below, the kids were doing some art and craft.

Joshie at school

2011-01-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

I enrolled Joshie for the Leap Kids Program at LeapSchoolHouse. The program is conducted thrice weekly (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 9 to 12:30pm.

As we only came back to Singapore on Monday, he missed the first lesson. I've been drilling into his head that he is now a big boy and has to go to school on his own. He nodded his head and also repeated after me that he will be brave and won't cry. Since Wednesday was his first day, the teacher asked me to bring him into the classroom first. When we were there, I pointed out to him that all the other kids are on their own, without mummy or daddy. I think he got a bit worried and stuck to me like a leech. Wanted to sit on me all the time. Slowly, I managed to get him to play with some blocks and then took the opportunity to slip out of the room. I peeped through and saw him looking for me. Walked towards the door and started crying already. I then left him with the teachers and did my own stuff. When I picked him up at 12:30pm, he was ok. I was quite worried that he'd be crying throughout the whole 3 plus hours. But according to teacher, he only cried for 5-10 minutes and began participating in classroom activities.

On Friday, he dilly dallied the whole morning before school. Made excuses when I wanted to dress him up for school. Told me he wants to wear his Thomas pyjamas...........After much coaxing, I managed to get him dressed. He was ok on the way to school. However, when we got off the lift at the 9th floor, he dragged his feet and told me he wanted to go to toilet. So I brought him even though he has just peed like 15 minutes ago. Went to school and he immediately bawled when he saw the teachers. Told me he wanted to go to toilet again.......brought him there again.........and then back to school. Carried him into classroom and he was still bawling. So I decided to just pass him to teacher. Walked out of classroom and the next minute, he stopped crying.

So what should I do next Monday? Just pass him to teacher and leave! Hope he will not cry anymore........

Hello 2011

2011-01-04T05:32:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Joshie sitting by the lake at Singapore Botanics Garden. One of my resolution for the year is to do more outdoor activities with Joshie. Less tv but more outdoor activites where he can run around and release his pent up energy. :)

Two major changes for us this year:

1) First, we've employed a live-in Filipino helper. She came yesterday and today, I've been training and teaching her how to do her chores. Her attitude seems ok but she's pretty slow. And a bit blur. Doesn't seem to really understand what I say. Think I need to learn to talk slower and maybe write down everything that she needs to know.

2) Joshie goes to drop-off school. He's starting tomorrow at LeapSchoolHouse. The programme is thrice a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9 to 12:30pm. I am a bit anxious that he'd cry. Pray that he adapts well and enjoys going to school.

I seriously wonder what else is in store for us this year. Hopefully I make full use of the extra ME time that I get!

Goodbye 2010

2011-01-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

I know, it's already the 4th day of the new year and I still haven't said goodbye properly to good old 2010. Just a short post for me to recap 2010.

2010 was a year of traveling for us. We did not intend to travel to so many countries but somehow, we have. Mainly because the hubs and I discovered that the little cheeky is quite a good traveller. We first brought him to Hong Kong when he was just 15 months old. It wasn't easy, BUT it was much easier than I had imagined. From a boy who wouldn't even sit in the stroller, he surprised me by taking his nap in the stroller without any fuss. We then became more adventurous and planned a family trip to Australia. Little did we know that before we even booked our tickets to Aust, the hubs had to go to Japan for work. So cheeky and I tagged along. We came back in good shape (not over-exhausted like how some other moms describe their holiday with their tots) and continued to visit Australia and Bali before the year came to an end.

2010 was also a year where I got to discipline and train my toddler better. Although some moms have told me that it's easier to train babies, I choose to concur. I only managed to sleep train Joshie when he was a baby. Other things - FAILED!!!! He wouldn't sit in the stroller nor the playpen; thus I had no time for myself. I remember rushing through housework like a mad woman. Potty training also failed; no matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn't poo in the potty. But 2010 saw my toddler transitioning from a baby cot to a single bed with little fuss, sitting in the stroller while I shop, playing independently and being potty trained (no diapers during the day). I am now a much more sane mom! Hahaha........more ME time and less stress. I have even gone for a pedicure and a massage with Joshie.

2010 was also a year of numerous visits to the doctor! My little boy came down with a cold practically every month. I was just so fed up feeding him medicine. Well, we finally discovered the root of the problem in September - his allergy to dust mites; and since then, we've managed to control the occurence of a cold to a certain extent.

2010 was also a year where the hubs was away from us very often. His business trips are very frequent although he might not be away for long - maybe 3-4 days on average. Except for his longest trip to B, which was 10 days. I used to get stressed up in the beginning because coincidentally, the cheeky would fall sick each time the hubs is not around. My worst nightmare was him waking up every 45 minutes on average throughout the whole night, with a fever that hovers around 39C plus, even with panadol. I even brought him to A&E!!! Sickness aside, cheeky also seems to know that daddy's not around. He'd be cranky and at times, would cry for daddy. Thank God he's much better now, he seems to understand that daddy's only away for a short while and would be back. It helps that he can now talk to daddy on the phone.

Ok, that's all for 2010 I guess. Happy New Year, folks!

Bali - Day 4

2010-12-15T06:04:00.000-08:00

A very backdated post. Was running through my list of posts when I saw this unpublished one.

On Day 4, we woke up bright and early and got ready to go to Ubud. We left the hotel at 8am after a really quick and simple breakfast. The driver informed us that the journey to Ubud would take roughly 2 hours.

Bali traffic is quite bad, although not as bad as Jakarta. The journey seemed really long for me, mainly because I had to entertain my very cheeky son. Moreover, I was also having gastric at the same time =(. Really bad timing to fall sick.

The driver suggested that we stop by the batik factory and souvenir shop. As I was planning to look for a batik sundress, we agreed to take a look.

Balinese batik painting in the background.

Following that, we stopped by "Rumah Orang Bali" (a typical Balinese house) before heading to the temple. I can't really remember what was the name of this temple. We had to cover the lower part of our bodies before entering the temple. Also, women who are menstruating are not allowed to enter as they are deemed "unclean".

Stopped for lunch and the scenery of the paddy fields was breathtaking. Village life seems so serene as compared to the hustle and bustle of city life.

This was where we had lunch. I highly recommend this place. Bebek Bengil, which translates to Dirty Ducks.

We had two plates of their famous crispy duck. The meat was really tasty. Tender and crispy. Joshie loved it too.

After lunch, we headed to the Monkey Forest. Bought a comb of bananas to feed the monkeys. I was quite amused to see the monkey peeling the banana carefully before gobbling it up. There were monkeys everywhere. I got followed by a monkey because I was carrying the bananas in my hand. To save myself, I quickly threw the bananas to hubby.........=P Let him handle the monkeys. He's much braver than I am.

The driver also brought us to view the hilly paddy fields as pictured below.

After that, we left Ubud for Kuta. Went to Hard Rock to get myself a t-shirt =) Then walked along the beach. The weather was really hot and I felt that the sun was biting my skin!!!

That's all for Day 4.

Bali - Day 3

2010-12-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

Won't blog in detail about day 3. Else will be too boring and might put my readers to sleep =)

Joshie and I stayed in the hotel practically the whole day. The highlight of the day was the spa! Hehe, yes even Joshie had his fair share of enjoyment and relaxation. The spa, Jiwa Spa at Conrad Hotel also caters to children. We signed up for the "Mum and Me" package. Mum gets a footbath and a 1 hour massage while the kiddo gets a footbath, 30 minute massage, chocolate bath and snacks which comprises chocolate milk & cookies.

Here are the pictures:

The cheeky modeling in his spa attire.

Footbath

Massage time. I had to ask the masseurs to place the beds right next to each other because my son refused to lie down on his own.

He also had his chocolate bath. And after that, they fed and entertained him while I relaxed. Even managed to take a catnap! =)

We walked around the hotel before heading to the restaurant for our lunch and then back to the room for our afternoon nap. Life is bliss eh?

Bali - Day 2

2010-12-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

I had already planned to do some shopping so right after breakfast, I got the driver to bring us to Seminyak whilst the hubs attended his conference. It wouldn't be sensible to bring Joshie along to Kuta and Legian which is packed filled with people so I had to settle for Seminyak. Already did my own research before going to Bali.

I had two streets in mind - Jl Raya Seminyak and Jl Oberoi. The latter has more expensive shops so I only ended up buying 3 tops from the former. It was really hot and sunny. Both Joshie and I were already sweating like crazy and I was tired. It was not fun carrying a toddler on my hips while tackling the broken pavement along the road. It was only 11am when I told the driver I've had enough and would like to go back to the hotel to rest. He suggested that I visit Seminyak Square before heading home as it's just down the road. So we went there but I didn't buy any clothes, ended up buying ice-cream for the both of us.

Reached the hotel slightly after noon. Had our lunch and the cheeky took his nap without much fuss. After he had woken up, I brought him to the pool.

Crystal clear water with a breathtaking scenery.

His signature smile.

After playing for a while, we headed to the kids club. He had his face painted and it ain't free. Cost me IDR40,000 for face painting and tattoo. And the lady was really very slow. Kept referring to the book too. In the end, the enthusiastic boy got fed up and ran around. Didn't finish the face painting.

After taking a shower, we headed to Bumbu Bali with hubby. That's us in the restaurant, right in front of the kitchen.

The food was really superb. The seafood satay was succulent, juicy and tasty. Vegetables appetising. Beef curry was also flavourful and the meat was tender. Too bad Joshie didn't enjoy the food. He ended up eating biscuits!!!!

That's the end of Day 2.

Bali - Day 1

2010-12-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

The hubs had to attend a conference in Bali last week. So the cheeky and I packed our bags and followed too =) Hehe, I've never been to Bali before so better grab this opportunity.

By the time we arrived at Conrad hotel in Tanjung Benoa (near Nusa Dua), it was already evening. After checking in, we quickly got into the car and headed over to Jimbaran. I know the best place to watch the sun setting is Tanah Lot but it's way too far for us. Moreover, there's nothing much to do there other than watching the sunset. Thought of heading over to Cafe Menega for our dinner as I've read good reviews from the internet. However, the driver recommended Jimbaran Bay Seafood (JBS), which according to him was nearer too. Without thinking much, I agreed as I was worried that we'd miss the sunset. It was already close to 6pm then.

The spectacular scenery. This cafe's not too crowded and the beach is clean too.

Joshie was so excited when he saw the sand and immediately took off his shoes =)

A family picture

Bought this grilled sweet corn from one of the beach vendors. I actually read about grilled sambal sweet corn in Bali before but since we were sharing it with Joshie, I told the hubs to buy a non-spicy one. It turned out to be sweet.........and it was really delicious too!

Our dinner - grilled prawns, fish and clams and deep fried calamari. It was a set dinner and it came with chicken soup and sambal kangkung too. So how was the food?????? Not nice! Disappointing in fact. I was regretting my decision to listen to the driver! Should have gone to Cafe Menega! And it wasn't cheap too. Costs us IDR800k +++++.

So did we patronize Cafe Menega? If yes, how was the food? Stay tuned.

The things he likes

2010-11-29T21:31:00.000-08:00

At 2 years and 2 months old, I can easily name my toddler's likes.

1) He likes music! He sings and dances without fail everyday. He can sing quite a number of songs; Rain rain go away, ABC, Jesus Loves Me, Old Macdonald has a farm, Twinkle twinkle little star, Jingle bells, some Barney songs but I can't remember the titles, Hello & goodbye songs from Kindermusik & LeapSchoolHouse, and the Mickey Mouse theme song. As for dancing, his signature move is to bend his upper body forward a bit and shake/twist his bum-bum.

2) Loves to eat, especially ice-cream and biscuits. Sometimes I use "ice-cream" to bribe him when I want him to stay at the playroom at Amore Fitness.

3) Likes to help. He would extend a helping hand without being asked.........cleaning up his toys, pouring water from the bath tub after his bath, preparing his milk, sweeping the floor, pouring his urine/poo from his potty into the toilet bowl, putting the clothes into the washing machine etc etc.......Of course sometimes I end up taking much longer to finish my work but I shouldn't complain right? Hehe, good to cultivate this habit in him from young.

4) Likes the idiot box A LOT. I foresee that his liking for the television will continue into adulthood. After all, he's a chip of the old block!

5) Likes to imagine things. He creates his own imaginary scene; such as pretending to eat. He would also pretend to feed us and we must open our mouths to eat and then chew the imaginary food. Otherwise, he'd be really upset!

His dislikes? Well, I'd leave that for another post and another day =)

Our dinner at Cedele

2010-11-29T05:58:00.000-08:00

The hubs is away again. Since I had to go out to settle some issues relating to the employment of our Filipino helper, I decided that we should just have dinner outside as well. Moreover, I didn't really have time to prepare dinner as well.

I always try to eat healthily since I do not pack food for Joshie anymore. He wouldn't eat my homecooked food when we are out!!!! Thus, no more fast food for us. Hehe, good for us in a way too =)

Since we were at Takashimaya, I decided to head over to Cedele. This restaurant embraces a "eat well and be well" lifestyle. Their menu comprises of all-day breakfast, soups, salads, pastas and western main course. You can go to their website to read more about them.

Here's what we had:

Red pepper & tomato soup with free-flow bread. They have an assortment of healthy bread to choose from. The long pieces of bread are garlic focacia and the smaller pieces are sunflower seed bread.

Seabass and shrimps tango salad. The seabass and shrimps were grilled and they tasted so succulent and juicy.

Both of us gobbled down almost everything. Didn't finish the bread though. Greedy me sliced too much bread =P This restaurant also has a bakery, with a wide variety of bread, muffins, cakes and cupcakes.

Neglected blog

2010-11-28T04:59:00.000-08:00

Have been really busy of late. Actually, for the past one month. Since we came back from our Australia trip, time seemed to have flew really fast. So what have I been busy with?

1) Busy nursing a runny nose - I suspect I am allergic to something. This is because my nose is runny off and on. My cold doesn't get worse, it's actually quite mild but very irritating at times. Went to see the ENT, had the skin allergy test done but since I was taking antihistamines few days before I went to see him, the test didn't work! =( The ENT should have asked whether I've been taking any antihistamines before performing the test right? So I paid $400 plus and walked out of the clinic without solving my problem!!!!!!!

2) School registration for Joshua - I know, I know, he just turned 2! So why am I talking about school now? Few months ago, hubby and I found out that if we wanted to send Joshie to a local government school, we'd only be able to apply 2 months before the commencement of Primary 1. Singaporean parents would start applying for schools for their children the year they turn 5. However, since we are not citizens nor PRs, we have to wait till the local children are allocated to the schools and then only apply to schools which still have empty slots. Risky right? Thus, we decided on international school. Hubby's colleague recommended UWC but the waiting list was just too long so the final option for us was St Joseph International, after ruling out Chinese International School. So we went to the school and paid a registration fees of $1,070 for him to commence K1 in 2013.

3) Maid hunt - With the hubs travelling so often, we are hiring a maid. At least there'll be another adult in the house. Have been looking at Filipino maids from two agencies and finally chose one. Salary is $350 plus a foreign levy of nearly $200. She gets one day off every month. Had to do some online test as we are first time employers and tomorrow, I'll be meeting the agent to do some paperwork. Hopefully, this maid will be ok and not give us any problems.

4) Planning for our impromptu holiday - This one is really unplanned. The hubs will be in Bali for a conference so the little cheeky and I are tagging along. Hehe, I have never been to Bali so this is a good chance.

OK, gonna settle some maid-related stuff now. Will blog after our holiday =)

Farm tour

2010-11-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of our Sunshine Coast holiday was the farm tour. Joshie was really excited and quickly took his afternoon nap when we told him that he'd be feeding the animals after his nap.

We saw the chickens at the car park area right after stepping out of our studio.

The cheeky approaching the chickens. The farmer was carrying a big bowl of fruits for them and they quickly followed him down to the barn. It was amazing to see their little beaks pecking so quickly at the food.

Right opposite the chicken barn were the alpacas. Three of them, one beige, one brown and a black one. The brown one was pregnant and the farmer commented that she has been a bit moody recently. Not sure if it's because her labour's approaching. Alpacas carry their babies for 11-15 months and they have control over when they want to give birth. We were told to stay away from her, cause she has the habit of spitting at people or the other two alpacas after eating. True enough, we saw her spitting at the black alpacas.

The ponies. Joshie tried to feed them a green apple but he chickened out when their mouths approached his hand.

A ride on the tractor. The farmer gladly obliged when Joshie said he wanted a ride.

Finally, he was brave enough to feed the cows!!!! Bravo, little boy!

Jacaranda Creek Farmstay

2010-11-14T05:21:00.000-08:00

A different but beautiful experience. When I was looking for accomodation in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, I decided to check out farmstay out of curiosity. However, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was paying a deposit for Jacaranda Creek Farmstay. Ditched the idea of staying at Sheraton Hotel and bravely went through my decision, hoping that the photos on their website represent a true picture of what we will be experiencing.

Thankfully, it was within our expectations. Or should I say more. The scenery was breathtaking, as can be seen from the picture below. Blue skies, lush greenery, clean fresh air.

This is the view from the main building. Besides a tennis court, they also have a solar heated swimming pool for guests.

The main building. The owners stay on site. There are 3 homestead rooms and a studio.

The entrance to our studio. It's in a separate complex. There are 2 self-contained studios in this complex and a common dining & living area.

This is where the hubs and I slept =)

Joshie sleeps in the living room on the sofa bed.

We really enjoyed our farmstay experience. And the farmer was a really good cook! There was cereal, fruits, yoghurt and toast everyday. And she would cook a different hot breakfast everyday. We had a variety of home-baked muffins, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, hardboiled eggs, pancakes, baked tomatoes throughout our 3 day stay there.

Oh, and another good and memorable experience, especially for Joshie was the farm tour. Will blog about that in my next post. Stay tuned.

Carlton Garden in Melbourne

2010-11-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

When we were in Melbourne for a short holiday last week, we did not go to any tourist spots. Reason being, the hubs and I have already been to the popular ones (Great Ocean Road, Mornington Peninsula etc etc) when we were studying there seven years ago. Moreover, Joshie is only 2. So we ate ate and ate. Did some shopping, walked around the city and also catch up with some friends. But the whole trip was mainly about eating!

However, we did spare some time to go back to Carlton Gardens. The hubs used to stay at the walk-up apartments opposite this park. This was also one of the places that the hubs (then boyfriend) and I went during our initial dates. =)

Here are some pictures taken at Carlton Gardens.

Clean, broad pathway. Lush greeneries on both sides.

Cheeky running after the birds.

Cheeky and I on the green grass.

Daddy and cheeky sharing a quiet moment together =)

He was so tired after running around in Carlton Gardens that he fell asleep in the car. Didn't even wake up when we carried him out of the seat, which he usually does!

Food, glorious food!

2010-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

We came back from our holiday on Monday. Since then, I've been trying to go on a diet as we were on a eating spree in Australia. We just ate everyday, didn't even go to any tourist spots in Melbourne. The hubs and I studied in Melbourne for 3 years so we were back there to meet up with friends and also to eat whatever we have missed over the past 7 years.

Here are some pictures to make you drool.......

Marinara pizza from Papa Ginos at Lygon Street.

Sizzling beef from Shark Fin House, Chinatown.

Lobster noodles also from Shark Fin House.

A variety of desserts from Brunetti.

Of course our little cheeky also ate a lot. He put on quite a lot of weight till his jeans were tight........ We were having our dinner and he was so uncomfortable that he took of his jeans. =) After dinner, we had to coax him to wear his pants again. In this picture, he was giving us a cheeky smile while the hubs was trying to pull up his pants.

Going away

2010-10-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

We will be flying off tomorrow.....going on a holiday for 10 long days =)

Feeling excited and can't wait to eat all the good food that I've missed.

It has been seven long years since my graduation and I haven't gone back to visit.

Hehehe......

Will blog about my trip when I am back.

Attending the wedding of daddy's best friend

2010-10-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we were back in KL to attend hubby's best friend's wedding. It was a very tiring affair, especially for hubby who had to travel to Ipoh twice! Nevertheless, it was also a very heartwarming moment, especially when we saw the two of them walking into the ballroom happily together as a married couple. Reminds me of my own wedding just three years ago! Anyway, here are some pictures that we took.

Joshie was so captivated with the fishes.

A picture with the bride in her beautiful red dress, bought by the groom.

Joshie slept at about 8:30pm, all the way till the dinner ended. I was surprised that he slept, but maybe he was tired coz he was coughing the night before and hence, did not have a good sleep.

Hubby and I with the newlyweds.

Self Check @ Tanglin Marketplace

2010-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

Last week was the first time I used the Self-Check machine. Actually, I have noticed this machine for several months already but always headed to the cashier counters as I couldn't be bothered. Haha........might as well let the cashier scan the products and proceed to payment while I entertain my cheeky son.

However, last Monday, all the counters were fully occupied. There were like 2-3 people lining up at each counter, BUT they all had a trolley full of stuff. And I only wanted to buy milk and cream cheese. So, I tried lar.......... It was quite easy, just scan the milk and cream cheese and ta-da, the total price appeared on the screen. Swiped my card and I was done! Easy =)

Turning a year older

2010-10-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 2*th birthday today. As usual, birthdays aren't a big thing in our family, so it was just another day, except that we'd go out for dinner.

After Joshie's school, I decided to give myself a treat and headed to Pretticure for a pedicure. I like this place because all their equipments are sterilised. More hygienic compared to some other places which I have been to.

My dear son was very co-operative. As pictured above, he sat on a stool next to me and watched tv. Of course he was very curious as it was his first time watching mummy's nails being done. He even stretched out his legs and wanted the aunty to put colour on his nails......hahahahaha.

After that, we went to Sushi Tei for lunch. My son was being very cheeky. While waiting for our food to arrive, I asked him to show me three different expressions which he learnt recently.

"Joshie, cheeky smile"

"Funny face"

"Pray"
We had dinner at another Japanese restaurant with the hubs. Can't remember the name, but it's very close to Orchard Road. Food was good and we'll go back again.....hehe. Will take pictures next time =)

His 2nd term at LeapSchoolHouse

2010-10-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

The theme for this term was Fairytale. The lessons were mainly based on these three storybooks; Green Eggs & Ham by Dr Seuss, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Bill Martin, Jr & Eric Carle and The Bamboo Princess by Kyoko Iwasaki.

Pictured below are some of his work from school.

The children were given a paper plate and 2 printouts of green egg and ham. They were supposed to paste the green egg and ham on the paper plate. Also given crayons for them to add on more food.

Joshie had to smear glue on the mountain before adding sand (yes, real sand from East Coast beach). He had a real fun time doing this activity.

The bamboo trees were printed out with dotted lines. The kids had to use a marker to join the lines and then paste the bamboo princess in the tree.

Ice-cream lover

2010-10-15T06:43:00.001-07:00

Joshie's been quite reluctant to stay in the kids room when I go to the gym recently. I think he's fed-up of the minimal toys that they have there, even though the room is quite big. Even though I brought his own Elmo DVDs (which are his current favourites), he didn't want me to leave him behind. So I had to resort to bribery....."Joshie, mummy needs to exercise. If you stay here, mummy will buy you an ice-cream after our lunch ok?"

And it worked.........I managed to exercise, so he got his reward.

Licking the mini Cornetto ice-cream which I bought from Fair Price. He insisted that mummy eat too, so there goes my diet. Luckily it's just a mini one.

Yummy........

Cheeky smile with chocolate all over his mouth.

Royce Gym at Liang Court

2010-10-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

A wonderful play area for children, more of a toyland than a gym, I reckon. Lots of toys to choose from, although I'd say the range of toys that they have are more suited to kids who are below 5 years old. The whole area is very safe, soft and padded so there's not much worry about your kid hurting him/herself.

I knew about Royce Gym since beginning of this year. However, we only signed up recently as I felt that they are quite pricey. You have to be a member in order to bring your child in. Membership fees is $50 and has to be renewed every year. Moreover, you have to pay $12 for an hour of play each time you bring your child in.

Anyway, here are some snapshots of Royce Gym.

A little playhouse.

Big choo-choo train. There's a slide in the train.

Lots of toys to choose from.

Joshie was pretending to call his daddy dearest on the telephone.

What I like about the gym. There's an air purifier in every nook and corner. Moreover, the gym closes at 12:30pm every day for half an hour of clean up. Good place to bring the kids to although a little pricey.

Dim sum with the kiddos

2010-10-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Had a crazy lunch outing last Monday................four mummies together with their four toddlers! Was quite chaotic, but nevertheless, we had a good time too........think the kids enjoyed themselves the most!

We went out for dim sum at Lei Garden @ Orchard Shopping Centre. The kids were making so much noise as they were hungry. And I was desperately asking for the menu and ordering the dim sums. Hehe, I think the waitresses were a bit dazed when the four noisy kids walked into the restaurant the moment they opened for business at 11:30am sharp!!! Managed to get all the kids buckled in their high chair, ordered food and still trying to calm and entertain 4 hungry toddlers when the head waitress walked over to me and asked if we could get them to lower down their noise volume. Oops, I apologized and then told her to be quick with our order since they are all hungry.

Some of the dim sums that we had. From left, siu mai, har kow and the Lei Garden special (some minced pork dumplings with vege). We also ordered their new item; chicken & yam spring rolls (sorry no picture taken as that was the first dish that arrived, so we quickly stuffed the spring rolls into 4 hungry little mouths) which were delicious. Also had fried rice, century egg & minced pork porridge, shrimp chee cheong fun, siu loong pao and egg tarts.

And this was our dessert - mango pudding. Melt in your mouth, with bits and pieces of sweet mango flesh. Joshie loved it a lot, he kept telling me, "Joshie like it".

My boy enjoying his egg tart.

Four mummies with four kiddos..............and four nationalities; hahaha.......Malaysian Chinese, Japanese, Australian and Japanese-Taiwanese.

The bill came up to $130. It's quite pricey but everything that we ordered was delicious, except for the chee cheong fun.

My very own cheeky monkey

2010-10-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

See my little cheeky swinging happily. I was really surprised that his arms are that strong........he was holding on for nearly one minute before he called for help from mummy. And after a little rest, he wanted to swing again.

All this time, he has been swinging from very low bars. I guess that wasn't thrilling enough for him and he has always asked me to carry him so that he can swing from the higher bars. He's getting more adventurous as he grows older.

Updates on potty training

2010-10-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

He is not wearing diapers at home anymore and there's been very minimal accidents. But the problem is, he is half-naked. Otherwise, he'll conveniently pee/poo in his pants. So next month onwards, I'll try to let him wear pants at home and keep reminding him to pee/poo. Also must teach him to pull down his pants whenever he needs to relieve himself.

Not much problem getting him to poo in the potty like before. I used to bribe him with vitamins, hehe....told him he could have a vitamin after doing his big business and that was very attractive to him. He loves his Pureen Kids colostrum chewies. Oh, and this morning, I had a good laugh. Right after he did his business, he stood up, looked into the potty and said "snake, ssss sssss..." Yes, indeed his poop looked like brown snakes! Haha, pardon me for describing my son's poop, I know it's very disgusting. Thousand apologies =P

I am now confident enough to let him go diaperless when we go for short outings. Of course it means more 'work' for me as I need to constantly bring him to the washroom, maybe every 90 minutes and get him to pee. But it's slowly working out for us, so I have no complains. =)

However, we'll be going on a 10 day holiday end of this month and I am not sure how this potty training will end up. From experience, when we went back to KL for a week plus, he seemed to 'forget' everything again and had a few accidents. Thus, for now, I'll just let things be and observe again when we come back next month =)

Still in birthday mood

2010-10-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

After having two birthday parties and one birthday dinner, my little cheeky seems to think that birthdays last forever. In his little innocent mind, he remembers the candles that he blew on his beautiful birthday cakes and the presents that he has received.

He would mention "birthday cake", "Joshie blow candles", "Happy Da Joshie" (which means Happy birthday Joshie, he can only pronounce the word birthday on its own), "uncle give presents" throughout the day. I keep telling him that birthday is only once a year and he needs to wait another year for his birthday! =)

Few days ago, we were playing with PlayDoh. He asked me to help him flatten the playdough and then he stuck a plastic knife vertically into his imaginary cake! He then asked me to sing the birthday song and after that, pretended to blow the 'candle'.

Some random pictures of my 2 year old

2010-10-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

Joshie clutching onto his beautifully sculptured Elmo balloon. He got it from the mall opposite our condo on Children's Day.

Joshie and Rion in the shopping cart at FairPrice while the mummies did their grocery shopping.

He brought the newspaper to me, pointed to the Burger King ice-cream and told me, "Mummy, Joshie like 'ah-krim'."

Gym time

2010-10-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

No, not gym time for Joshie, but it's for Joshie's mummy =) After being a lazy bump for 2 whole years (except for the 3 month period when I joined a small gym), I am now a member of a gym again! I made quite a quick decision, just happened to walk in one fine day to enquire and after telling them I'd think it over, I signed up and became their member the very next day!

Entrance of the gym is towards the left. On the right, is the spa. And no, my gym package does not entitle me to use their spa. I need to purchase a spa membership, which I didn't lar. Already paid so much for gym membership already.

A snapshot of what's inside. There's also 2 exercise studios.

Anyway, this is what made me sign up so quickly. The kid's room. There'll be a staff who will take care of Joshie while I exercise. I was initially worried that Joshie would cry. But then there's another plus point too. Since the gym is so near to our house (it's located at City Square Mall which is right opposite our condo), I can leave Joshie with hubby during the weekends or even weekday nights, if he's not comfortable being in the kids room. So looks like I will be able to exercise twice a week, which is better than nothing!

So far, I have been to the gym three times, and left Joshie at the playroom twice. No crying at all, even though I have to go in together with him and slowly sneak out when he's engrossed watching tv. But I have been brainwashing him before we leave house, saying that mummy needs to exercise and he has to stay with aunty in the kids room. Also told him he's already a big boy, so "no cry-cry". He seems to understand and I was told that sometimes he repeats "mummy go cise (exercise)" to himself =) Hehe, success!

Oh, and regarding their spa. I have been there twice so far. Was given a free 45 minute body massage and $50 voucher upon signing up at the gym. Their massages were really good. Nevertheless, I am annoyed with the staff there. They practically sit me down and force me to sign up for their packages. Not cheap. Think the smallest package is $500 and it goes up all the way to $10k. I know it's their job to try to secure more sales but I have been to lots of other spas and have never encountered such "stress" when I decline to sign up. I shared my woes with my friend who also goes there for a massage and to my surprise, she also faced the same issue with me, even though she and her husband have purchased a $1,000 body massage package. According to her, they (Ms T in particular) continue to bug her to buy facial packages or to top up their existing package. My friend plans to bring this issue up to top management if they continue to pester her persistently again. As for me, I'll just stay far far away from the spa =)

Of Penang and its food

2010-10-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

After Ipoh, our next stop was Penang. We were to attend my high school friend's wedding dinner and at the same time, we wanted to visit my maternal grandma. Joshie's great-grandmother!

We drove down after lunch the next day as my mum also wanted to follow us. Arrived in Penang around 2ish and after dropping by at my grandma's house, we went to the market to buy some yummy kuih to fill our tummies =) Joshie loved the kuih, and kept on asking for more. By the way, I am a real "kuih person". And I can get really pernickety when it comes to kuih. I guess I have been too spoilt with the good nyonya kuih in Penang since I was a little girl.

We gobbled up everything and dropped my mum at grandma's house again before heading to the G hotel at Gurney Drive to check in. Josh and I headed to the reception first while hubby parked the car. The receptionist asked for the check-in slip. But we had just realised two nights ago that we had forgotten to bring the slip. However, our past experiences with other hotels assured us that it'd be ok. We just need to give them our name, photo ID and credit card to verify. Moreover, we have paid in full!!!!! We booked through Asia Web Direct and full payment was required, not just a deposit. Close to a thousand ringgit just for 2 nights. Should be no problem right? So, I just apologised and told her we had forgotten to bring the slip and it's in Singapore. Even showed her the confirmation email on my Iphone. Imagine my surprise when she told me she can't proceed with the check-in because I did not bring the slip! She just stood there and stared at me, as though expecting me to magically produce the confirmation slip. I was quite annoyed with her and asked her to check with her superiors regarding my case. She walked away and soon came back, telling me I can go to the Business Centre to print out the confirmation slip again. So both Joshie and I went in and after some trouble with the printer, managed to print the slip again. And hubby made sure they did not charge us for the cost of printing. Hubby, who travels so frequently said he has never encountered this with any hotel before. So anyway, we got our room and were annoyed with their service again when we needed to remind them a few times to deliver the baby cot to our room. And when the cot came, there was only a mattress in there. No pillow or blanket at all. If this were a lower class hotel, we'd understand but G hotel's supposed to be 5 star. And the rates aint cheap too! So, we called to enquire again and they came back with a pillow and a bed sheet as the blanket!

Ok, enough ranting about G hotel. Let's focus on food instead. That very night, we had dinner at Restoran Bali Hai, which is along Gurney Drive. My mom and uncle came over to have dinner with us. We had steamed pomfret, baked cheesy prawns, claypot tofu and stir fried broccoli with scallops. The food was really good. Actually, most of Penang's food are really delicious! For the next two days, we feasted on apom balik, curry puffs, kuih, char kway teow and Penang prawn mee. Since Joshie's already 2, I was more relaxed about what he ate and he also walloped everything together with us.

Here's Joshie enjoying one of Penang's delicacies.

Even has to lick the bowl. Bowl licking good!

What was he eating????

Something that will melt in your mouth.....=)

And a dirty Joshie post tau sar pheah. There were crumbs all over his face and hair. A very happy and satisfied boy.

And here's a picture of me and my high school friends at the wedding dinner which was held at City Bayview Hotel. The little cheeky had a gala time running around, playing with older kids and shouting at the top of his voice! =)

Main Convent class of 1999.

My two year old son

2010-09-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

This is a backdated post.

My dear son turned 2 on the 23rd of September. I still can't believe that he's no longer a baby now. He's already a big boy, one who wants independence most of the time. He knows very well what he wants and would show his frustration when his demands and wants are not met.

He can now speak in short sentences. When he wants to refer to himself, he doesn't use the pronoun "I", instead he will say Joshie. For example, "Joshie drink water". His vocabulary is also increasing by leaps and bounds and it's really interesting to discover the new words that he utters each day.

He still loves singing and dancing. Just a couple of hours ago, he was singing the ABC song on the top of his voice. Missing alphabets here and there but it was a good attempt! And he loves to shake his bum-bum when he hears music.

And he caught me by surprise few days ago when I heard him counting from 1 to 13. I know he could count till ten several weeks ago but didn't know he could go beyond. Most times when we walk up/down the stairs, I'd stop after 10 and start counting from 1 again in Chinese.

I started potty training him nearly two months ago. When we are at home, he's diaperless and pantless too! Haha...........he seems to think it's ok to pee or poo in his pants so I strip him half naked so that he will go to the potty to do his business. He doesn't need me to remind him to relieve himself, he'll do it on his own. He'd also try to be helpful and pour the potty contents into the toilet bowl and then flush. Of course that also means extra work for mummy who has to clean the floor due to droplets of urine.

Joshie is indeed a good helper. Not only is he keen on helping us clean the floor, he wants to do the dishes too. He'd push his stool to the basin, and try to wash his bowl. Sometimes, when there's nothing cooking on the stove, I allow him to do so.

Tantrums wise, he's still controllable. However, I realise that it's more difficult to calm him down when there are other people around, namely family or friends. It's easier for me to handle him when it's just both of us. He is also more obedient when he's only with mummy. Why is that so? Can someone please tell me why?

Hmnn, can't remember what else I wanna write already. Will update when new thoughts come into my mind.

Anyway, to our dear Joshie, mummy and daddy would like to wish you a blessed 2nd birthday. May God bless you with good health and wisdom and may you always be a blessing to people around you. We love you very much.

Birthday dinner with maternal grandparents

2010-09-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

Since we were heading down to Ipoh, my parents did not come down to KL to celebrate their beloved grandson's birthday. On his actual birthday, we drove up to Ipoh. Feasted on some delicious hawker food for lunch at old town. My favourite coffee shop (the one with lots of mirrors, don't know the name) was closed so we ate next door. Had Ipoh Hor Fun and popiah. Joshie enjoyed his food too =)

For dinner, we headed to Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant which is located near Tesco. My father had pre-booked a private room and Joshie was running around the room happily.

Cheeky trying to pull the strings of my spaghetti-strapped outfit. He was giggling away and pulled even harder when I said "no".

Sorry, no pictures of the food. I really salute all you mummies out there who can snap pictures of the food when you have to entertain a demanding child. I think Joshie'd throw a tantrum if I were to take pictures of the food instead of giving him food! He gets all excited whenever food comes.

Overall, the food was just average only. Nothing to shout about.

Here's a picture of Joshie & I with my good friend Seow Yin and her bf! I invited them to join us for the dinner too as my visits to Ipoh are always short. So must make full use of the time I have.

And a family picture with my parents and brother.

Joshie's KL party

2010-09-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Lucky boy..............we threw him another party in KL just so that the grandparents can celebrate for him =) It was held at our Sierramas West clubhouse, 4 days shy of his actual 2nd birthday. The weather was perfect, not too hot and a bit windy, although we feared that it would actually rain. But thank God it didn't and I'm sure everyone, especially the kids had a blast.

A picture of my 2 year old toddler. I know I always say this, but let me say it again. TIME REALLY FLIES!!!!!! It seemed not too long ago that I was cradling a newborn in my arms and now, he's all grown up! Running and jumping around, independently feeding himself and behaving like a big boy. Although I wish he'd grow up faster so that I can have me ME time, I still miss the little baby that he was........hmnn, I am so muddle headed right?

OK, back to the party. Food was from Mangkuk Ayam Catering by Chef Peter Pang. Just google him in case you guys are interested. Think we paid RM28 per pax. All the guests commented that the food was delicious =) We had fried beehoon, fried rice, beef lasagna, kung poh sotong, curry chicken, some prawn dish, some roast meat....haha, I can't really remember what we ate. There was ais kacang, an assortment of cakes, mini tartlets and fruits for dessert though. Furthermore, FIL also bought spring rolls and two types of kuih to feed everyone!

I also hired an entertainer for the kids. He was really good with the balloon twisting and the kids kept crowding around him. I don't think he had a chance to eat, poor fella. If you are interested to hire him for your child's party, do get his details from me =) Besides balloon twisting, he also sang some songs and played simple games with the kids.

Here's a picture of all the kiddos in the playroom.

The playroom at our clubhouse was really good. There was a playhouse and other smaller items like tunnels, train tracks, and playgym equipment which are child friendly.

Oh, and this is the highlight of the evening. The birthday cake! An expensive one! It was hubby's idea to splurge on the cake =) Nice huh? Sesame Street themed cake, surrounded by Mickey & Friends cupcakes. Initially, I ordered a Winnie the Pooh cake, but since Joshie's recent love for Elmo, I decided to switch the theme. Unfortunately, the cake didn't taste that good, it was a marble butter cake. Tasted rather bland, or maybe it's supposed to be kid friendly? Not too sure about that but Joshie enjoyed it =)

Here's Joshie admiring his cake. He managed to blow off one candle and ah ma had to help him with the other one.

He received lots and lots of presents. Hubby says our house is too small to accomodate all his toys! =) Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for the presents. So far, we've opened 1/3 of his presents for him to play with and he really likes them. And with the amount of presents that we have received, it's a miracle that there's not a single duplicate present. You guys are smart!!!!! Haha......

We are back

2010-09-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

It took us 5 hours from KL to Singapore. Wasted 40 minutes because we left hubby's work bag at home and had to turn back home to get it when dad-in-law called. Then, it was raining and there was an accident. Furthermore, when we reached Singapore, it was after-office hours, so the traffic was heavy. Joshie was a bit cranky and I had to give him food or let him watch Elmo on our portable DVD just to placate him!

Tiring but good trip. We were in KL for five days before driving down to Ipoh to visit my parents and thereafter to Penang to visit my grandma and also to attend my high school friend's wedding. Spent a lot of time on the road! And the weather was hot. But we enjoyed the company of our parents and of course Joshie was doted on by his grandparents.

Will blog more on our trip next time. Busy uploading the pictures now. =)