Sunday, 25 May 2008

It's been a shopping weekend, thanks to the Great Singapore Sale. I'm quite proud of myself, I resisted buying all the cutsie stuff that I saw for both nat and #2. Sigh, they really have too many clothes already. I told Gary to stop me from buying more, and he did! Sob! We shopped from 10am-3pm on Saturday. Impressive huh, for someone who's preggy and with nat in tow.

Here's more ... after that ... at night, we went to Boat Quay for dinner and to view a free Artsfest performance by the river. I think I'm not really an artsy person, didn't really know what was happening. But Gary enjoyed taking pics using his SLR camera. It was a nice 'pak tor' night for both of us, without nat, something we haven't done for quite a while. After that I was still not tired so guess what? We went shopping some more! Walked to Raffles City and shopped till their closing time at 10:30pm. After that, we had an Oreo Milkshake (yummy) before heading home at midnight. Needless to say, we were both knocked out the moment our heads touched the pillow.

On Sunday, we decided to pop by the Singapore Flyer, not to take a ride but just to check out the surroundings. It could be that I was just tired or because the place was not air-conditioned, I didn't really enjoy myself. Or maybe there wasn't enough shopping to satisfy my materialistic impulses, so we didn't really stay long. Nat did like the little man-made rainforest at the lobby area though. For me, it was too hot and I got grouchy. Lucky, daddy was around to entertain nat, while I sat on the bench to rest. Spent the rest of the day sleeping and recharging.

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Following a recommendation from another mummy, I brought Nat to the National Museum. They are having a children's exhibition. My impressions of a museum have changed. It used to be a serious place, where kids are not allowed to shout, run and basically be themselves. However, the children's exhibits at the museum were definitely interactive and nat had a great time running around, touching, exploring and basically enjoying herself. I guess this is what they mean by learning through play. One does not really have to sit down, read a book to learn new skills and knowledge.

Nat's first stop was at a magnetic board, where there were magnets stuck onto bowls, saucers, spoons and other types of cutlery. She enjoyed pulling them off the board and sticking them right back again. And to me, the beauty of it was that I could just sit there and observe her having fun. Our next stop was at an interactive playground, where she played with these hanging metallic pots and pans. Basically, the kids were encouraged to hit the pots and pans with a stick and hear the different sounds they emitted. When she was tired, she adjourned to the corner for a scribbling and scrawling session. What I liked was that they even had some young people on duty there who entertained the kids and taught them how to draw.

I'm glad I decided to bring nat there today. Although sometimes people wonder why I bother to lug nat all over the place alone, it is something that I do not regret. Whether it is to nurture that bonding between us or to see that bright smile on her face, I don't really know. What I do know is that I do get a deep sense of satisfaction at the end of the day, knowing that nat enjoyed herself during her day out with mummy :)

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Nothing very much to update this weekend. Brought nat shopping and she had fun. It was quite a doggie weekend for her, as she made friends with a golden retriever named Elvis and also had fun being chased by a friend's shih tsu. I'm really glad she has not inherited my childhood fear of dogs.

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

I just discovered this nugget of information on a documentary recently ... did you know that a cesarean (c-section) is named after Julius Cesar, because he was thought to have been born that way. I wonder whether its the truth, but interesting, huh? Why this topic? I really don't know but recently I've been thinking about why people opt to do c-section instead of natural birth voluntarily? It's quite freaky thinking of someone cutting you up, while you are still awake isn't it? I'm blessed to have had a natural and painless birth with nat and hope that my little boy will give me just as easy a birth as his sister. Let's cross our fingers.

Recently, he's been kicking me a lot more, since we've reached the 20 week mark. It's a nice feeling, you know. Whenever he kicks, I do talk to him and we sometimes have a mini conversation. This bonding time between the both of us is good. The other day, when I was at Botanic Gardens with nat, I thought to myself, it's the 3 of us here, enjoying the music and relaxing for the day. It's good to keep your baby in your mind, even as you go about your daily activities. I'm also trying to be happy and not let irritating things get me upset or down ... after all, they say a happy baby in the womb is a happy baby out of the womb.

Well, enough ramblings for the day. Looking forward to Daddy coming back soon.

Sunday, 11 May 2008

Thought I would be a bit more diligent these few days in updating the blog, so Daddy who is overseas can have a peek at what his little girl is up to. We spent the morning at the airport, nat got really excited. It's actually a great place for walking toddlers, as there is just so much open space and interesting things for them to look at.

The morning at the airport wiped us out, so nat and i fell asleep at home in the afternoon, a power nap! Later, in the evening, I brought nat to Botanic Gardens. Was thinking of having a quiet walk in the park with my baby, but coincidentally, there was a concert in the park. Armed with our picnic mat, my baby and I plopped down on the grass, soaked in the atmosphere and nat had her dinner, lovingly prepared by her mummy. We had quite a nice time, think we'll come again when Gary is back.

My little girl is really growing up, nat tried to feed herself during dinner. She's actually not too bad, once I scoop the rice firmly onto her spoon, she actually manages to direct it into her mouth quite easily, pity I couldn't capture her doing it on camera.

Check out what I cooked, a nutritious porridge meal
with chicken, fish and vegetables.

My friendly baby, waving bye bye to a stranger
and even giving a flying kiss!

Sunday, 11 May 2008

There is only one word to describe yesterday - wiped out! Yesterday, nat met her baby frens at vivocity. It's interesting, these days when we meet, there are only 2 things that we take into consideration: baby friendly restaurants and big open spaces for the babies to run around. We walked past a few restaurants and the one who managed to dig up 4 baby chairs and sitting room for 8 adults got our business.

After lunch, we all proceeded to the big and open waterplay area at Vivo. It was quite a good day for the outdoors as the weather was not too hot. Nat and her friends really enjoyed themselves. It's more fun now to look at them running around now that all of them can walk and even run. Although, it gets really more tiring.

We ended the day with a short walk around Toys' R Us, Nat's current favourite place. She loves to explore all the toys in this place and gets really upset when we try to drag her away ... can't help it ... Gary and I both need a power nap after this outing.

Thursday, 8 May 2008

So the detailed ultrasound at Mt Alvernia declares I'm a Dad a 2nd time, this time to a boy :) The experience is somewhat different - with Nat the overriding feeling was the fascination of going through everything for the first time, but with No. 2 there is this quiet pride. Different, if equally positive, feelings :)

Fatherhood has been more enjoyable than I expected. Nat is growing to be a well-adjusted, bright, and enthusiastic toddler with an insatiable curiosity. It seems (at least at this early stage) that her brother is going to be a bit larger, heftier, in keeping with his gender - so Wei is going to need a bit more pampering for all that extra weight :)

We're also thinking of ways to make No. 2's impending arrival in September more fun and memorable, so don't hesitate to drop me any interesting ideas!

Thursday, 8 May 2008

Nat is going to have a baby brother :) I've been trying to introduce this new idea to her, but she stares at me blankly ... haha she is still too young to understand I guess. I look forward to every visit to the gynae, as it's a chance to see my baby ... in the initial months, when baby looks more like a little prawn then anything else, it is hard to be too excited. But now, as we approach 5 months, he is looking more and more like a little person. And it's nice to have this little person growing within you, feeling your every heartbeat ... hearing every sound that you make.

This hasn't been as smooth a pregnancy as for nat, i'm more tired, more moody and work stresses me out at times. But one thing I am always grateful for is that I have been blessed with 2 healthy babies, a husband that does his part in helping to take care of the kids and a supportive mum that is always there for me. And these are things that should never be taken for granted.

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Today, me and nat had a leisurely stroll at Botanic Gardens. It wasn't hot, she wasn't too cranky. We had a short walk, then sat down by the lake to admire the scenery, while she munched on her grapes. Ahh ... this is the life ... it's like what my pediatrician told me ... blink an eye and they are 1 year old, blink another time, and they are 3 ... before you know it ... they may not wanna hang out with us old fogies anymore :)

Meanwhile, i'll just treasure these times I have with my baby nat, when she still wants to be cuddled and kissed by mummy.

Sunday, 4 May 2008

My baby nat had some frens over for a playdate yesterday, and boy, did they have lots of fun! It's great to let the babies interact and mix around with others, although, they are still not really at the age where they enjoy playing together, just yet. It's more of snatching toys from one another and walking around exploring the house.

We were just sitting around reminiscing about the times when the babies were still young, in fact, we only first met when the babies were 3 months old and now just look at how they have all grown. It's really amazing! It's like what my fren says in her blog. At times, when nat is cranky and irritating and crying, I feel ready to toss her aside (metopharically speaking) ... but then you remember the times when she is a sweetie pie (most times), her falling asleep on your shoulders, her giving you a big fat kiss on the cheek, her sweet smile ... then you learn to be more patient. After all, she is just a baby and doesn't really mean to be naughty.

Friday, 2 May 2008

Nat, the teaser. Yesterday, we met up with my girl frens for some quick ice-creams treats in the night. Since they hadn't seen baby for a while, I brought her along. She was in a mighty good mood, licking ice-cream off everyone's cone and flashing her million watt smile, something even I hadn't seen before. Pity i did not manage to catch a picture of her. Thank god that Gary was there to "baby-sit" her while we caught up with our girly-talk. He chased her up and down the corridor, making her burst out in fits of giggles. He really is quite a good Daddy.