Second step towards child labour

Hahaha.....this one is unintentional. But it made me realise that my son is growing so so so fast and now has the ability to copy most of the things mummy does. First he copied me cleaning the table/floor/window as depicted in the pictures below. And then few days ago, he copied the way I washed my hair and scrubbed my body. Sometimes, when I am too sweaty and hot, I shower myself too when I give him his bedtime bath.

"Mummy, I can also help you wipe the table after our meals."

"Oops, my biscuit crumbs are on the floor. Let me help mummy clean the floor......."

"Ohh.......windows also have to wipe? Come mummy, I can also help you........."

Developing an interest in books

In the recent month, my little boy has developed an interest in books. He would sit on the bed and flip open the pages of his books, over and over again. The books can keep him occupied for a good 30 minutes. He has never, and i mean never, sat at one spot for such a long time. He is always on the move, satisfying his curious mind and itchy fingers.

And in the past 1 week, he has been coming up to either his daddy or me, take our hand and pull us towards his books. He'll take one of our fingers and point to a picture or sometimes word in the book and we'd read to him. But we seldom get to finish reading the particular page as he would be in a hurry to flip to the next one. Stop him and he'd let out a cry of protest.

I hope his interest in books continues through his childhood, teenage and adult years.

Kindermusik

Signed him up for only three sessions out of eight this semester as we will be back in KL for 3 weeks. Overall, I feel that the class is pretty good. Will blog more about the classes later as I am feeling sleepy now. Nowadays I can't go online during the day as my little cheeky demands his mummy's attention all the time. He would come to my chair and hug my legs with a pathetic look on his face. Sometimes he would reach out for my hand and try to drag me to his play area. Actually, I also feel kinda guilty if I don't spend time with him. After all, children grow up so fast and before I know it, he would be so busy with school, friends and other activites that I wouldn't see much of him. So better enjoy his company while I can.

Will let the pictures do the talking.

First, he was happily banging on the drums as the whole class (actually the mummies) sang Hickory, Dickory Dock.

Then, he decided that it's more fun to turn the drums upside down. He pretended that the overturned drums were now his pots/bowls and the drumsticks were the spoons/ladle. Happily stirring away. See the other girl joining in the fun.

Will he be a good boy? (part 2)

Yes, Joshie was a good boy. He entertained himself with some toys and also "tried out" the gym equipments. And the trainers there were very helpful too and played with him.

So is mummy going to sign up as member of that gym?

The answer is...................

NO!

Yeah, the gym is good. They measure your weight, height, BMI, percentage of body fat and other statistics which I have forgotten; they will even draw up an exercise plan for you and review the plan every 3 months. Also advise you on what you should not eat. BUT...........the fees are too expensive. It's beyond my budget and moreover, I am not 100% sure that Joshie will always let me exercise in peace. So, better not sign up and waste money.

I figured the first step to a slimmer body is not signing up as a member of any gym. I should get my butt of the chair now and spend quality time with my yoga mat, fitball or hula hoop instead!

Will he be a good boy???

Do you think this boy has ever sat still? Nope..........he's always on the move, satisfying his curious mind. As I am typing this now, I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be a good boy later.

So where are we heading to?

Well, after a few months of contemplation, I have decided to try out a ladies-only gym. This gym allows moms to bring their child along as there's a small play corner for them. But I have a HUGE feeling that my little cheeky will not be interested in the toys! Old stuff! BORING! His eyes would be on the gym equipment. New stuff = Interesting+captivating!

I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I called up the gym to book an appointment. And right now, as I am typing this, I have already made up my mind that I will still go. No backing out. Well, never try never know. So wish me luck!

Cycling at East Coast Park

Since the weather was good, not raining but not too hot, we decided to bring Joshie to East Coast Park to breathe in some fresh air. Actually my neighbour recommended the Polliwoggs indoor playground but as hubby & I were down with flu, we decided not to infect other kids, but to indulge in other activites, such as cycling. I am quite paranoid when Joshie rides with me so hubby took the responsibility instead. Although I have never had any bicycle-related accidents, I am just too worried when Joshie rides with me and end up being very wobbly on the bicycle.

It was a very good outing. Hubby and I managed to burn some calories and we all enjoyed the cool sea breeze. Must do this more often.

Popeye's Potato

Easy peasy to make and very delicious.
First, wash and scrub the potatoes. Prick them all over with a fork and bake them in an oven preheated to 200C for 50-60 minutes, depending on your oven. Meanwhile, steam/boil a handful of spinach. Then drain them and chop into small pieces so that your baby/toddler won't choke on the leaves. Mix with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese.
When the potatoes are done, scoop the flesh out and mash them with a bit of milk. Combine with the spinach-cream cheese mixture and fill the potato skins. Top with some cheese and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Joshie enjoying his lunch. He finished the whole potato. Few days later, I substituted the spinach-cream cheese filling with chopped tomatoes and he loved it too.

First step towards child labour

How to make bread/biscuit crumbs:

Firstly, put the biscuits into a Ziploc bag. Seal tightly. Demonstrate to your child by using a spoon to "smash" the biscuits. He will most likely follow suit, as pictured above.

Voila, you have your crumbs.

First the dining chair, then the table

Getting onto the chair is not enough, now he has to get onto the table and check out the "interesting" items.

Even though I have scolded him, he still does it. And this time, I even beat his little bum-bum. That explains the crying.

Joshie's dinner

Plain rice with beef soup (he ate the carrots and radish), stir fried red spinach and steamed pomfret. Seems to prefer rice than porridge but my only worry is that he doesn't seem to chew his food properly. Everything comes out in his poo, in bits and pieces. Gross.

Pampering my BIG baby

Made a batch of soft-baked cookies with chocolate bits and pecan nuts for my BIG baby. Cannot always cook and bake for the little cheeky only right? Little cheeky's daddy should not be neglected as well. =)

I used to bake these cookies very often during our uni days in Melbourne. I have misplaced the recipe but as I baked it so so so often, I sort of remembered vaguely the ingredients and the quantity as well. However, it did not taste as good as before, so I am trying to figure out what went wrong. Anyone got any good recipes for soft-baked cookies? Hubby prefers soft-baked cookies.

Getting the hang of it

For the past 2 days, Joshie seems to understand how to "play" his Fisher Price shape sorter. Actually, he was more interested in putting the shapes in one by one, directly into the red bucket rather than through the yellow lid. I took the opportunity and guided him through and this time, he did not resist. Last time, he would get upset and just quit playing when I taught him how to push a particular shape through the correct hole.

I don't think he understands the rule of the game yet, but at least he is now trying to fit the shapes in through the hole, rather than throwing every shape into the red bucket. In this picture, he was trying to fit the green triangle through the triangle hole. I slowly guided him and he was really happy when the shape went through.

"Yay, every shape is in, Mummy. Please clap ckap for me."

A day at the zoo

Tiring but fun! Hehe........we left the house at 8:15am today and drove approximately 30 minutes to the Singapore Zoo. Rented a wagon for Joshie to sit in and thankfully, he sat in the wagon without making a fuss. Walked around a bit before we proceeded to Ah Meng Restaurant for a Jungle Wildlife Buffet Breakfast. The orang utans came out to say hello and we had the opportunity to take a picture with them =)

A family picture with the orang utans.

Joshie pointing at the pygmy hippo who was swimming together with the fishes.

And he was brave enough to touch a python.

Patting the guinea pig softly on the head.

And a picture with the rhinos.

We spent half a day the zoo. Saw a lot of other animals too; white tiger, otters, zebras, monkeys, lions, jaguar, leopard, bears, polar bears, ostrich etc etc. Also watched a show by the sealion and got wet as we were standing in front =) Joshie was too excited and skipped his morning nap although he was yawning a couple of times. Therefore we decided to leave at 1pm even though we have not seen the elephants and the Australian outback animals. Nevermind, we'll make sure Joshie sees them next time!

Another milestone........which also means Mummy has to watch him even more closely

He can now climb up the chair...........he has been trying to for several days but failed. Couple of days ago, he succeeded and has since been climbing chairs........oh no, oh no, oh no!!!!!!!!
I started making sure that the chairs are pushed close against the table to deter him from climbing but hubby said he could pull the chairs out. So how? Just have to watch him closely, I guess. Again, I am so thankful that the house is small.


Happily sitting on the chair and lifting his hands up & down. Of late, he likes to lift his arms up and down, and at the same time saying "ack, dow" (up, down).

Second hair cut

His fringe was poking into his eyes, so off we went again for a hair cut at Plaza Singapura. This time, he sat by himself although we had to placate him with raisins when the lady started cutting his hair.

Joshie & his daddy

To Joshie, daddy=fun. After facing mummy for a whole long day, he needs a break from mummy! Haha..........He would be very happy the minute his daddy walks into the house and would be chattering away, calling "da".

This is a picture of both father & son at Ichiban Boshi. Hubby was feeding his little cheeky porridge.

Favourite songs

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream"

Current favourite song is The Wheels on the Bus. He is able to do the action (although not perfectly correct) of the wheels going round & round, the doors open & shut and the horns go beep beep beep.

Another recent favourite is Row Your Boat. He was sitting in the basket when I sang the song and proceeded to move his body as though on a boat. He would sometimes say "row".

He also likes "Eensy Weensy Spider" and "The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rocks".

Joshie seems very interested in music. Thus, I have signed him up for a trial class at Kindermusik. Since he just completed his gym classes last Monday, he is currently "activity-less" so I decided to let him try music.

Daredevil

My boy, he doesn't seem to fear falling down. His latest stunt is to try to climb onto our Ikea drawers from our bed. I purposely left quite a huge gap to deter him from reaching over to mess up our stuff but that did not work.

He grabbed hold of mummy's handphone and put it to his ear, as though talking on the phone to an imaginary caller.

Can pose for a picture somemore.......see where his little feet are.......at the sloping edge of mummy's pillow.

Surprisingly, he knows how to "reverse" when he has had enough. He would put his right hand on the wall for support and slowly lower his butt on my pillow.