Baby Loves Disco

Joshua and Oscar went to their first ever disco last Saturday. The event was held at DXO, Esplanade Mall and tickets had to be purchased before hand.

Managed to get hubby to take a nice pic of Elke and I with our boys. This was at the entrance, before we headed into the disco.

This is what it's like inside the disco. Kiddos and parents shaking their booties to the beat of the music. Food was also provided. Soft drinks were free flow. There were also sculptured balloons given to the kids.

Joshie and Oscar joining the crowd. They were a bit dazed and was just staring at the disco lights and everyone else dancing around them. They were also a bit too young in following instructions and was practically motionless when the kids were instructed to lift up their hands, move sideways, strike a pose etc etc........Being the more sociable of the two, Oscar warmed up faster. Joshie only danced a bit and was more of an observer.

After two hours there, the hubs and I left with Joshie. We then headed to Melt at Mandarin Oriental for our buffet dinner! Quite pricey, at SGD70 per pax but the food was superb! The seafood was fresh and they had a wide variety of dishes. Practically every mouthful was so satisfying. Joshie had some bagel, california roll, bolognese pasta, grilled dory fish and mashed potatoes. For dessert, he had waffles with maple syrup and some of my chestnut pie. As for me, I ate a lot. Too lengthy to write what I ate =P Sorry, no pics of the food as I was busy eating and making sure my cheeky son had enough food on his plate before he fusses.......haha.

Good helper

Not only can he sweep/mop the floor, clean the table surfaces and wipe the windows, he can also help mummy to wash clothes!

Can't wait for him to grow up and do more housework! Hahahahahaha.........

Our new favourite eating place

As hubby was having slight indigestion from our Sunday lunch at Shin Yeh restaurant, we decided to have a light dinner. Will blog about Shin Yeh some other time. It's a Taiwanese restaurant located at Liang Court and the food is really good. However, the mooncakes were a big disappointment =(

Actually thought of going to Bakerzin to have some soup and entree. However, as we were coming down from the escalator, we saw Old Town White Coffee. Decided to try out the food. We have tried the outlets in KL and they were pretty good from my memory. Might not be as good as what you get at the famous hawker stalls, but the food was pretty decent.

So in we went and ordered some food. Sorry no pictures as I was busy with cheeky.

Ordered a Ipoh Hor Fun, kaya toast and egg toast. The three of us ate a bit of everything. And we all (cheeky included) agreed that it was good! Really good! We hardly get to eat good hawker food in Singapore. Actually we've given up on the hawker food here after a few disappointed tries. So the food at Old Town White Coffee was superb for us! And we vowed to visit this place more often.

And we did. A week later, we headed there after church. This time, we ordered kaya toast, Hainanese chicken chop and curry potato toast. Again, the food was good! EXCEPT that the service is quite bad. Took a while for our food to come and the waitress was pretty rude when I went hunting for a teaspoon to feed Joshie. But, we'll go back again......close one eyelar......since the food is good. Hehe........

Here's Joshie enjoying the Ipoh Hor Fun. He was adamant on using the chopsticks.......just like an adult! My son is growing up too fast!

Random pictures of Joshie & friends

His best buddy, Oscar Watmore! The boys always play rough with each other but will also give each other hugs n kisses.

His 1st girlfriend, Rion Futatsuka! He's always so careful and nice with her.

His 2nd girlfriend, Haley Jones. He's not as gentle with her......see how he snatched her packet of biscuits, tsk tsk......but he loves playing with her too.

Stories from the bathroom

Joshie has recently started to lie on his back when he is in his little bath tub. He seems to enjoy it when the bottom part of his head is submerged into water. It's a form of relaxation for him.

"Aaahhhhh........this is life, mummy! Feels like I'm in a spa."

I know, i know......his bath tub is way too small for his long body. But I use less water when I fill up this little tub, as compared to our big one =) I can save water and money. Furthermore cheeky is not complaining, he loves his little bath tub.

Besides bathing time, cheeky has also been visiting the bathroom very frequently. I have started potty training him right after he turned 22 months old. I still find it difficult to make him sit on the potty to poo, he'd rather stand and poo! But at least he's willing to poo out of his diaper, so I shouldn't be complaining. He'd run to the bathroom by himself when he needs to pee, no need for mummy to remind him all the time. However, I have to let him walk around half-naked at home. Somehow, if he wears pants, he thinks he's on diaper and wouldn't bother going to the bathroom to relieve himself. Step by step, I guess.

There were a couple of times when he was diaperless when we were out. For just a few hours. However, I'd bring him to the toilet outside to pee and he'd obey. So far so good. Hope he will improve and soon be fully potty trained.

Rude kids at the playground

I was reading Sasha's post today regarding a "cili padi" in her son's class. Some kids can be really rude and annoying. Not even scared when an adult reprimands him/her. Reading her post brought me back to an incident which happened about a month ago at the playground in our apartment.

Joshie had wanted to slide down. He was already climbing up when he saw two kids (a boy n girl, siblings I think) sitting up there. You knowlar, the small space up there before the kids slide down, don't know what's the proper term for it. I don't think they had the intention of sliding down soon, looks like they had set up camp and would be sitting there for quite some time. As usual, he looked at me. I went over and told my son this, "Joshie, say 'excuse me' to koko and jie jie. Ask them nicely if they can please share the slide with you." My son can say 'excuse me' (although not very clear) and 'please share'. I didn't want to help him as I wanted him to learn to speak up for himself.

So we were standing there for a while...........Joshie still standing on the steps, obviously waiting for mummy to tell them to please share with him. And mummy was observing what would happen. Would Joshie just give up and climb down the steps? Or would the kids be nice enough to make way for him?

While I was standing there, glancing between my son and the two kids, the boy suddenly spat at me. I tried to avoid but his dirty saliva fell on my legs. I tell you, my blood began to boil!!!!!!!! I certainly didn't expect the boy to spit at me. I glared at him and told him very loudly, "do you know you are very rude? Are you going to apologize to me?" He just stared back at me but when he saw my angry face, he looked elsewhere. I immediately turned to Joshie and told him that what koko did was really rude and he is NOT to follow. Carried Joshie and started walking to the toilet to wash my legs. At the same time, I was glancing at the two kids' father who pretended to be oblivious of what was happening in front of his eyes. Maybe, he might not have seen his son spitting at me, but I am quite sure he heard my loud voice reprimanding his son. I wonder if he will scold/discipline his boy or just ignore what had happened.

Second incident.

There's this other boy at the playground who would suddenly just pick a victim and go around scolding him/her. Joshie has been his victim before. For no reason, the boy would come up to Joshie and scold, scold scold. This boy also brings quite a lot of toys to the playground, ie his scooter, ball, cars etc etc and would leave them lying around. So sometimes, when Joshie or other kids go near his toys, he'd push them away and scold them too. His dad has intervened many many times, scolding him and even inviting the other kids to play. When the dad is there, he keeps quiet if Joshie touches any of the toys offered by his dad. But once the dad walks away, he would grab the toy back and scold, scold, scold. Not a good example when I am constantly trying to teach my son to share huh? Again, I have to repeatedly tell Joshie that the boy is not being nice, not sharing with others and he is NOT to follow!!!

The end!

Joshie's first eye check-up

Joshie enjoying his ride at the Curve during our recent 3-day trip back to KL.

I've been wanting to bring Joshie for an eye check-up ever since he turned 1. Reason is to check for any eye squint. I had squint since I was a child and only went for surgery to realign my eye mucles in 2006. I still go back to the orthoptist for yearly check ups to ensure that I am still using both eyes to see. Since eye squint can be inherited, it is imperative that Joshie be checked before he turns 3, so as to enable us to train his brain to always use 2 eyes to see. Otherwise, surgery will be needed.

OK, back to the eye-check. The doctor, KC Chu is based at a clinic along Jalan Ipoh. She's very patient with kids. She brought out some toys to capture Joshie's attention and her checks were all very quick. Besides checking for squint, she also checked for any signs of shortsightedness since hubby and I both wear glasses. Joshie was very co-operative and answered most of her questions.

End result? Thank God he doesn't have squint. His eyes are fine. But since children's eyes are still developing, he needs to be checked every year till he turns 7.

Allergy to dust mites

I bumped into a mother with her 2 year old son when I was at the ENT clinic for my nosebleed last Tuesday. We chatted a bit and I found out that her son's being having frequent runny nose due to allergy. It then struck me that my little boy could be having an allergy too. Cheeky has been having runny nose and cough every month, since March this year. I was worried as he had been very healthy before that, only falling sick once every 4 months on average. Spoke to the specialist and he suggested that I observe him for a while more and bring him in for an allergy test if his condition doesn't improve.

Three days later, I had to visit the ENT again as my nose was bleeding again. =( Since hubby was at work, I had to drag the cheeky along. I bribed him with a packet of his favourite biscuits so that he'd sit quietly while the doctor checked my nose. Btw, I was diagnosed with sinus infection which led to nosebleed! Doctor prescribed me with 12 days of oral antibiotics and also cauterized the bleeding area to prevent further bleeds.

After I was done, I impulsively decided to do the allergy test. And I am glad I did! If not, I'd not have known that he's allergic to dust mites. Must be his mattress. He's been sleeping on a single bed mattress since he climbed out of his cot in March this year. It's a new one, only a year old, but I guess it's not anti dust mite, like his crib mattress. By the way, he was very co-operative and did not struggle or scream when his skin was pricked with the allergens. The doctor and nurses were very surprised and praised him sky-high =)

We were given an anti-dust mite spray for his mattress and pillows. However, after reading the label, I decided not to use it first due to the chemical content. We just vacuumed his mattress and pillows and also bought an anti dust mite mattress protector. Hopefully, this will help. Here's an extract about dust mites allergy which I found from MayoClinic.com

Dust mite allergy is an immune system reaction to a certain dust mite protein. This reaction triggers inflammation in the lining of the nasal passages (allergic rhinitis), causing sneezing, runny nose and other signs and symptoms associated with hay fever.

Dust mite allergy symptoms caused by inflammation of nasal passages include:

• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Itchy, red or watery eyes
• Nasal congestion
• Itchy nose, roof of mouth or throat
• Postnasal drip
• Cough
• Facial pressure and pain
• Frequent awakening
• Swollen, blue-colored skin under your eyes
• In a child, frequent upward rubbing of the nose

Our Saturday

Where did Joshie go today???

To the ZOO!

Daddy's bringing us to zoo today

Zoo today, zoo today

Daddy's bringing us to zoo today

We can stay all day

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

How about you, you, you?

You can come too, too, too

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

Hehe, Joshie had a great time at the zoo today, especially since it was a combined outing with Oscar & family! The boys were so excited and were making so much noise in the car, singing and chattering away. It was so nice to see them enjoying each other's company.

This picture was taken at the zoo entrance. Joshie kept saying "moo moo moo".

Aww......isn't that so sweet of Oscar? He's very generous with his hugs.

Joshie saying "hi" to the ostrich.

A picture of me with the 2 boys. Gosh, they can really drain out our energy.

Our weekend

I just realised I haven't blogged about our weekends for quite a while already. Lazy mummy...........hehe.

We went to East Coast beach last weekend. Was supposed to cycle but we reached quite late and furthermore, part of the cycling track was blocked for the Youth Olympic Games. Thus, hubby decided that we should just walk around and enjoy the cool sea breeze.

Joshie was happily playing with the sand and was quite captivated with the sand castles that other families were building. He went quite near to have a look and hubby was quite worried that he'd destroy their castle. So to distract him, I brought him to the shoreline to watch the water gushing in. He was a bit confused and worried at first but when he saw other kids happily playing in the water, he walked forward just as the tide brought the water in. Of course he got wet! And this smart mummy did not bring any spare pants. So the little cheeky was walking around in his diaper and a T-shirt after that.

I think we should indulge in more outdoor activities, rather than spending time in the shopping malls during weekend. Healthier and more cost-savings too. Hmnn, perhaps we should visit the Botanic Gardens next weekend........hopefully the weather allows us to do so =)

Joshie at the mall

Last week, we were just strolling around in the mall after Joshie's class. We came across two coin-operated cars and the little cheeky immediately climbed onto one. He acted as though he was really driving and turned the steering to the left and right. Even shook his head to the beat of the music. As usual, he wants to switch cars but there was a girl occupying the other car.

Joshie went towards the girl and told her "sit". He then went back to his car, patted the seat while still maintaining eye contact with her and said "sit". I was quite amused and was wondering if the girl understood him. And if she did, would she accede to his request.

After a while, she stood up and before she could get down, Joshie climbed up and sat in the car.

The two kids in their respective cars.

Monkey see monkey do. The girl rested one leg on the steering and Joshie followed.

Now even worse. Both legs on the steering wheel!

Joshie's work at school

Or rather, mummy's.

Watermelons decorated with playdoh. The children were each given a picture of a watermelon and some green playdoh. They were required to roll the playdoh to form thin strips and to press them down on the lines of the watermelon. Joshie's is the middle one. He didn't like the thin strips and made circles instead =P

This is the inside of the watermelon. The children had to scrunch up black pieces of paper to resemble seeds and stick it on the red flesh.

Snorkeler. They were instructed to paste the pipe cleaner on the mask and tear little tiny papers to resemble bubbles.

Naughty minds think alike

A picture of Joshie and his playmate, Oscar. They were watching Elmo when this picture was taken.

Two days ago, both boys decided to open the car door when the vehicle was still in motion. Uh-oh!!!!!! Trouble! They were in separate cars but somehow, their naughty minds are connected! Hahaha...........they probably don't know the consequences of their actions, so both mummies are to be blame. Thank God nothing serious happened.

Okay, so what happened? We were already in the car park when I realised that the interior lights of the car were switched on. I don't know the correct term but it's the lights that indicates that one of the car doors is opened. Luckily I was already parking the car and so I got down and checked Joshie's door. Yes, the cheeky had already opened the door. Thank God I was driving very slowly in the car park, so nothing happened. I told myself again and again that I always have to REMEMBER to LOCK the car doors. I thought nothing about this incident until I saw Elke's facebook status two hours later.

Her status said that she nearly lost Oscar out of the taxi. Quickly texted her and found out that that little boy had also opened the taxi door. Luckily Elke was wearing a seat belt and was holding Oscar when the taxi turned a corner and the door flung open! She reacted really quickly! Reached out to shut the door and thank God no one was hurt. She shudders to think that if she had not been belted in, she would have been thrown out of the taxi together with Oscar. Was a horrifying experience for her and the more she thought about it, the sicker she felt.

Actually, both Elke and I have always remembered to keep the doors lock. Except for last Thursday!!!! Excuses? I dropped my CashCard while driving out of Tanglin Shopping Centre and opened the car door to get it. After that, I conveniently forgot to lock. As for her, she was busy chatting with a friend till she forgot about the door. Both mothers forgot and both sons reached out their little hands to open the door!

It's a huge reminder to us as mothers. Always always remember all these safety details. No point regretting after something has happened. Must always be extra cautious and mindful with the little ones around! Thank you God for watching over us!

Conversations with Joshie

Scenario 1:

(points to mummy's tummy)

Joshie : Mummy fat-fat

Scenario 2:

(we were having dinner at Sushi Tei)

Joshie : Mummy, mummy, tissue.........

Mummy : I don't have tissue, Joshie!

Joshie then raises his hand and waves to the waitress.......

Joshie : Uuh me (excuse me), tissue?

Scenario 3:

(he was seated in his high chair when he accidentally dropped his water bottle)

Joshie : Water, water, come here!

Is he too young to go to school at 2 yrs 3 months?

All this while, I thought that kids only start nursery the year they turn 4. So I was rather surprised when I checked out a few kindergartens two weeks ago and found out that N2 (Nursery 2) begins the year they turn 3. Which is next year for Joshie. Since he is born towards the end of the year, he'll only be slightly over 2 when the school term begins next year.

After a little read-up on the internet, I've narrowed down to these few kindergartens and will be viewing them soon:

1) Barker Road Methodist Church Kindergarten

2) Paya Lebar Methodist Church Kindergarten; and

3) Calvary Baptist Church Kindergarten.

However, I don't think Joshie stands a chance of getting into Kindy #1 as we are #30 on the waiting list. So that leaves Kindy #2 and #3.

But now, I am having second thoughts about sending him to school so early. N2 runs 5 days a week and each session lasts for 3 hours! I am actually more keen on sending him to school only 2-3 days at a start. The current playschool that he attends has thrice a week sessions for 3-4 year olds and I am more comfortable with that. The only thing is that local kindergartens are much cheaper than all this high-end schools. Hmnn, so how? What do you peeps think?