Sunday, 28 November 2010

This is Nat's first family portrait that actually looks like one. See if you can recognise all the members of the immediate family, everyone is quite obvious, I think, except didi Lucas, who looks more like an alien blob. I told her so and she said she drew a flower beside him to make up for it, haha, funny girl. Her brother just adores her so.

Today, nat had her tennis lessons again in the morning. This is a much better time for us, instead of her previous lessons, which were in the middle of a weekend afternoon, when everyone of us much preferred to be having a nap. Didi also has the freedom to run and play around in the large sports hall. Check out my tennisbaby's moves!

Sunday, 28 November 2010

Check out my 2 favourite men and little miss red riding hood!

With the start of the Christmas celebrations, last week was a hectic week of bringing the kids to catch the free concerts at the mall. We started off with Dora, and went on to Barney, Hi-5 and Thomas. We did catch a bit of Yo Gabba Gabba at Taka but that was more coincidental and was not meant to be a purposeful trip there. I think we have about covered most of the characters that the kids adore, except for Diego maybe. So we will probably take a breather next week. Last year, we also went to Sentosa for some storytelling session which the kids enjoyed, so I may plan another trip there as well.

Yesterday, we also made our way to Loewen Gardens at Dempsey. Was intending to got to Botanic Gardens but the weather got hot, so I thought why not head on to Loewen where the kids could enjoy themselves at the mini playground with trampolines and slides. What a good idea that was, the kids were really happy, while Gary and I sat down to sip coffee. Was also telling Gary that I was learning to let go of my baby girl and give her some independence. Tempted as I was to follow her around the playground, watching out for her, I knew she was old enough to take care of herself, within constraints and so I let her run off for about ten minutes each time before taking a peek, just to make sure everything was alright. Read somewhere that there is a Farmer's Market at this place next week, will probably check it out. I love Farmer's Markets, reminds me of the markets we visited in Australia during our trips.

It's so nice that I have regained my energy, so different from the first trimester when I was so moody and listless. Only thing is our little mei mei is finally starting to grow in the tummy, and it seems to have ballooned in the past month. Gary was just saying, before you know it, you'll reach that stage when you start waddling like a duck, haha, so mean. Yet, he remains amazed at how I can bound out of bed in a split second when the kids cry at night. Haha, call it the miracle of motherhood.

Monday, 22 November 2010

It's been a "chiong" weekend for us. One of those that always makes Gary shake his head and wonder why we are rushing about, but yet he will gamely join us anyway.

On Friday, we brought Didi Lucas to buy his school uniform. It's always an "emotional" time when you see your little baby in his school uniform for the first time. He gamely let us try on the sizes for him and even gamely posed for us with a big smile. Sigh ... my baby is growing up.

In the evening, Daddy joined us at Raffles City to watch a Dora Christmas concert at the shopping mall. It is something I have been doing every Christmas season, bringing them around to the various malls to watch the free concerts. There are really too many to cover everything, so I usually limit to about 3 of their favourite characters, like Dora, Barney and Hi-5. Gary looked utterly bored and Dora running around the stage gave me a headache, haha, but the kids were fascinated with the show, their eyes focused on the stage all the time. Anyway, since it was the first day that the show was on, it was not as crowded so that was nice. On weekends, these shows are usually so jam packed that there is hardly any standing room.

On Saturday, we brought to kids to Botanic Gardens. I was just lamenting to Gary that we haven't really been going outdoors very much these days as compared to the past, when we would enthusiastically trudge to Hort Park every week for 2-hr walks. It could be age, it could be the fact that everyone is always taking turns to get sick but I guess it's something we got to work back into our routine. This time round, we attempted to bring Nat's bike and Didi's bug for them to ride. In the past, bringing the bike to the park always ended up as a chore as Nat would hop off the bike after one minute and we would spend the rest of the trip lugging it up and down the park. This time round, she stayed on it for most of the journey and even Luke slowly but surely inched along on his slow moving little bug that worked purely on leg power.

On Sunday, Nat had her tennis lessons again. I am so proud of her, she has picked up the basic strokes of tennis very quickly and enjoys her lessons weekly. She needs constant encouragement from us and during the lessons, Gary and I, together with Didi will be there, rooting for her and entertaining her when it is not her turn at the courts. Gary has asked me before if Nat is too young for us to get her so serious about tennis. But my feel is that as long as she is enjoying it, why not? It allows her to pick up a sport, that she may well continue into primary and secondary school. It instils focus and discipline in her. Even if she decides later that it is not her cup of tea, it is still a good sport to enjoy socially. So as long as she enjoys her lessons, we will probably continue with it.

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

It's been a while since I last blogged, not too sure why I seem to have lost the inspiration to blog in the last few months. Nevertheless, I will try to get back into the groove. Anyway, for those who don't already know, we do have a 3rd bun baking in the oven :) due sometime in March next year. While it was not exactly planned, after the initial fatigue, depression and insanity from the first trimester, we are looking forward to the new addition to our family. My clairvoyant firstborn had earlier already predicted that she would have a baby sister, way before we even told her about the baby. Luke, influenced by his big sister, seems ready to be a kor kor. It's scary, for Gary and I, being parents to 3 kids. Sometimes I freak out just thinking about it. Yet, other times, I truly enjoy the experiences and joy that the kids bring into our family.

Luke is just over 2 years old and starting to show his personality. While he can still be the sweet, affectionate little guy when he is in the mood, I feel that he has been overly-indulged by my maid and he often throws wild tantrums, whenever she is around. This really pisses me off. I know it's just a phase that he is going through and undeniably, there is always the "jealousy" of the maid taking over my role as a mum (a common problem for working mums). I've had stern talks with my maid over this matter and have also started the kids on a night routine, where they sleep together on their own. Tantrums are still an everyday affair but hopefully, the new routines and rules we set up will help minimise them in the long run. I guess with Luke starting school next year and the new baby coming along, tantrums will continue for a while but I strongly believe that we do need to instil some discipline in the kids, even from this young age and that tantrums are not just something that they will grow out of on their own.

Potty training is still ongoing for the little dude and I fear that he will still be in diapers when he goes off to school next year. Well, all kids progress at their own pace, I know he will get off the diapers when he is ready to do so. Take your time, little man.

Natalie has matured a lot over the past year. From the crying toddler who cried all the way through the first month of school, she has grown to love going to school and socialising with all her friends. Her favourite play activity in school is "playing in the kitchen corner" and she loves singing and dancing. Little Miss Chatterbox has received a reputation on the schoolbus for being very chatty and she tells me that sometimes the boys tell her not to be so noisy. Haha, the little girl takes such feedback in stride. Thanks to my mum, she is quite a bit vainer than me and her new obsession these days is to put "shining" on her fingernails (some kid's nail art thing that my mum got from the market). She loves reading and she will listen intently whenever you read to her, thereafter, she will grab the book and march off to her little corner and re-read the whole book. I don't think she can read yet, but she sure can memorise the words. Luckily her love for books has rubbed off on her brother and both love to rock on their chairs with a good book in their hands. Otherwise, they will be tapping away at their iPad (which Nat has staked claim to) and iTouch (the smaller screen is for Lucas).

Looking in the mirror, I see myself definitely looking more tired but at the end of the day, I know the kids are worth all the effort and love we put in.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Nat and Lucas have been enjoying themselves over the weekend. On Sunday, we headed on down to the Hort Park. There was a carnival of sorts being held there and the kids had fun munching on cupcakes, playing in the bouncy castle, and Nat's absolute fave part of the carnival was the face-painting station, where she got flowers painted on her face. Luke was too squirmy in the seat, so we got him a cute little crawly caterpillar on his hand instead.

Then today, Nat's school had an excursion to a dog training school. I've always been scared of dogs since I was young, and it was a good friend's nice big dog, Piper that cured me of my fear at the ripe old age of 20. So, I have always exposed the kids to dogs since young so that they won't have this fear. Seems to have worked, there were like more than 20 dogs at the school and nat showed no fear, gamely patting them, playing with them and watching them swim. It was a nice outing, something different, and it's nice that I am able to accompany her for such outings. When they get older, they still go on excursions, but parents are no longer allowed to tag along, so I am gonna enjoy this while it lasts.