babee tales

2011-10-16T17:04:00.001+08:00

My darling Sam is going to be 7 months real soon and she is a real sweetheart. She is babbling quite a bit and sometimes I can just make out the word mama :) pleases me to no end. She is always licking her lips and pursing her lips, looking exactly like tweety bird, so cute and lovable, I can't help but reach into the cot to pick her up. She loves peering at her sister and brother and tries to join in the fun. She is eager to crawl and tries to raise her butt in a crawling motion. Her hair that used to be all unkempt, is finally starting to grow out and this pretty little gal is looking more feminine. Life as a mum of three is tiring, yet I have no regrets at all.

That said, I think it is important to spend time as a couple. Last night, we left all 3 kids at mum's place and had a relaxing date night. We went shopping, curled up in bed watching TV and I finally had a good night's uninterrupted sleep. Definitely rejuvanating and you feel closer as a couple, a feeling that is so easy to forget when you get caught up in the daily need to balance kids and work.

2011-10-13T19:44:00.000+08:00

Learning to let go is never easy, especially for a hands-on mum like me, but it is something I am learning to do with my firstborn. Normally, when we arrive at our abacus class, I will park the car and nat and I will walk up a short flight of stairs to her classroom on the second level. Recently though, she has been asking me to let her walk up on her own. I still park my car and stand at the side watching her. When she gets to the second level, she waves to me. Then she proceeds into her classroom. As she is rather short, I can't quite see her entering, I only see the door opening. The paranoid nature in me is always tempted to go up and check whether she has truly entered the centre, but I resist the temptation.

This afternoon, I arrived to pick her up 5 minutes late and lo and behold, she had trotted out of the classroom and was waiting for me downstairs. Freaked me out for a minute, I explained to her that it was much safer for her to wait for me in class. I guess moments like this will continue to surface as she grows older. After all, one can't be by your kids' side 24/7. The trick is to teach them what to do when they are on their own, for example, in this case, to always wait at the staircase and highlight how to be safe on the road.

2011-09-25T07:02:00.000+08:00

An evening at the Hort Park, something I have been meaning to do for a long time now. Lying on the green grass, kicking a ball, playing with bubbles and watching the world go by. The kids are thrilled and so are we. Next stop, we are going to attempt the Southern Ridges, with all 3 kids. Wish us luck!

2011-09-18T21:03:00.010+08:00

Blogs are nice because you can always read back on older posts and reminisce. I just did that and I'm amazed how much my baby girl nat has grown. As always, daddy and his girls share a special bond. Check out the 2 pictures, the top one is daddy and nat and the second one is daddy and sam.While Gary is a lot busier at work, I am glad for the moments he carves out just to spend time with the kids and me.

2011-09-13T09:08:00.001+08:00

Happy 6 months, baby sam. Time seems to have just flown past. Baby sam who came into our world so fast and furiously has completed our family and is truly a joy. Nat as a baby is cute but a bit of ms grumps, Lucas is mr foodie and Sam is a sweetie, always ready to give you her signature smile. Her eyes are very expressive and twinkle when she is in a good mood. She adores her big sister who likes to try different ways to amuse her. Big bro is mostly bo chup but in the right mood he will bestow a peck on her forehead. My fave moment of the day is at night just before sam falls asleep cradled on my chest. Even after 3 kids I still enjoy watching them sleep, and hearing that little sigh of contentment as they snuggle to get comfy. Priceless!

2011-09-01T19:43:00.002+08:00

Meet my little milkmaid, the only one of my kids who knows how to massage the breast so as to increase her own milkflow. It's really cute and amazing to watch her do it. She also suckles so strongly recently, that when I let her suckle on my arm, I end up with "love bites" from my little baby.

2011-08-30T06:47:00.000+08:00

I love being a mum of 3 kids. You enjoy such different experiences with each and every one.

For Nat, I must admit that she is really precocious for her age. Often, I find myself having adult conversations with her and yet at other times, she is still that little baby who yearns for your love and praises. It's hard maintaining a fine balance sometimes, over-praise her and she gets too proud and complacent. I find that recently, she has been rather angsty, displaying angry and rude behaviour at times, resulting in me being very stern to her. Yet, at the back of my mind, I know that for this little girl of mine, the reasoning approach may work better, especially as she grows and matures.

My baby boy, Lucas is going to be 3 in a week's time. How fast time has flown. His latest craze is the Diego cartoon and he loves everything relating to this character. He is at such a cute age, as his character starts to emerge and his vocabulary starts to grow. Like his sister, he loves role playing and he was so thrilled when my mum rolled up a towel into a cape and placed it on his back. He ran around the house declaring he is Superboy. He is super cute when he is angry, just like yesterday, when little Sam attempted to nibble his hair. He demanded "Mei Mei, why are you biting my hair?" and little Sam was oblivious to his anger and continued showering him with saliva. When he is upset, he will sit in a little corner and pout.

Baby Sam is 5 months old and brings great joy to all of us. Her wild maned hair is finally beginning to settle down and give her another one to two months, she could even start to look more feminine. She loves rolling all over our big bed and is also attempting to get on all fours and imitate a crawling motion. She still loves it when we chat with her and your heart melts when you look into her big adoring eyes. She likes to listen to music and on nights when she has difficulty sleeping, I will dance her to sleep playing music from my iphone. Breastfeeding her has been quite a breeze and I have made it past the 5 month mark, and going strong. Come 6 months, we will start her on semi-solids, that should be fun!

2011-07-28T19:57:00.001+08:00

Nat, the artist, loves to doodle around on pieces of A4 paper that we leave on the document tray. It is positioned at a height that is just right for the kids to help themselves to it and I have trained them not to take more than they need for a drawing session.

Here's her latest piece of artwork. I asked her to explain to me what she had drawn, so here goes:

"The orange and green house belongs to mummy, and it's green because I want it to be green. The purple lady in the picture is mummy and the green man is daddy. They are getting married, mummy has long hair and a ring on her finger (wah, check out that huge rock on my finger.) Didi and me are sleeping in the red tent with a black flag (uh, I think the tent is red in commemoration of national day, since she has been pointing out the national day flags hung up along the roadside.) The blue castle has a hole, so the rain dribbled inside. The blue house has pictures hung on the wall. And the picture right at the end shows Didi and nat packing to go Australia for a holiday. (why Australia? because I told her that we may go there for a holiday at the end of the year)". There you have it, my baby sure has a vivid imagination!

2011-07-22T08:47:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, with a brood of 3 kids, one needs to do a lot of juggling and balancing. Making sure the kids are well fed, clothed and entertained is truly a full time job. The day passes by in a flash as you try to spend quality time with each of them. But being human, the brain sometimes fails. I forgot about Sam's pediatrician appointment yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from the clinic asking if we were coming down soon for the appointment and that was in the middle of sending Nat to abacus class. Of course, we couldn't make it. While it is something small, and appointments can be easily rescheduled, I felt a deep sense of guilt. Sigh, better start getting a notebook to pen down my kids' various appointments, since the memory seems to be going.

2011-07-10T18:24:00.002+08:00

It's been a long time since my last blog entry. Lots of interesting things do pile up along the way, which I tell myself to blog about, but with 3 kids in tow, it's really not easy to do that. Some updates:

My house is finally beginning to look less messy. We recently rejuvenated the living room, with a spanking new bookshelf and a ceiling fan. What a great improvement. The area below the bookshelf has become a reading corner of sorts and every night, the kids gather at the carpet to read books, play with jigsaws and blocks. With this arrangement, the kids choose the books they want to read, as the children's books are all strategically placed on the lower shelves. Gary is pretty pleased too, as he gets to arrange his proud collection of wine on the upper shelves.

Natalie has started on abacus lessons recently. I thought it would be good to get her some understanding in Maths and Numbers, which have never been my strongest suit. So far, seems good, she kind of enjoys the lessons and we spend about 10-15 minutes on abacus homework every other day. This little girl of mine loves to role-play. One of her favourite activities is to play the role of a princess, and she will dance and waltz around the house. Along the way, for lack of anyone else, her baby brother gamely plays the role of a handsome prince. It's quite fun to watch the duo together.

Lucas is still my little baby boy, but he has learnt from his sister's naughty ways. When you are stern with him over bad behaviour, he will cross his arms and say "I'm angry, I don't care about you." Very cute at this stage, haha, and sometimes I can't help laughing but of course, we always tell him that this is very rude behaviour and he always apologises after. He loves building blocks and I have recently added more blocks to his small collection. He loves building high with tunnels in the middle and can be quite focused.

Baby Sam is flipping, flipping, flipping. And she loves clutching on to her pacifier, putting it in her mouth, then taking it out repeatedly. She is a real sweetheart and never forgets to give daddy a smile when he comes home from work.

It's real chaotic with 3 kids, especially when we brought all 3 to the wet market this morning. However, as I always say, the rewards surely outweigh all the tiredness and frustration, and all we need is a kiss from nat, a hug from luke or a chuckle from sam for all the tiredness to melt away.

2011-07-04T19:16:00.000+08:00

One of the things that change when you become a parent is how you think about the future. For Wei that means squirreling away for all manner of reasons from education to travel, and doing copious amounts of research on good classes from tennis to abacus to swimming, interesting activity lessons, and assorted thigamajigs/widgets/gizmos that may prove useful when the kids get older.

I'd like to think I plan a bit more pleasurably, and for the longer term :)

An interesting quest that I've been on is birthyear wines. Starting with Nat I have accumulated a number of top-notch 2007 wines that will bear significant ageing and will taste superb at her 21st birthday celebration. It was not a particularly exciting vintage in Bordeaux, so I went for German Rieslings and some Burgundy. This practice became full-blown with Lucas when I invested in a range of 2008 Bordeaux First Growths which have reaped significant gains. So I hope Lucas likes red wine! The 2011 vintage has yet to be harvested but I am already thinking of what to buy for Sam. She looks like she will like sweet wines, so I might go with Sauternes if it turns out to be a great vintage, or alternatively Tokaj or Trockenbeerenauslese. We shall see.

Just don't forget to include Daddy when it comes to finally drinking up!

2011-06-23T21:02:00.001+08:00

How do you know your baby girl has grown up?

1. She finds herself a best friend, the little girl from next door. They look for one another the moment they wake up and every day nat asks if she can have her friend over to play. They both love princesses and dress-up and she yearns to have a sleepover next door.

2. I used to have a great fear that nat would comment loudly on how fat someone is, especially since she has done so before. This can be really embarrassing when the person is within hearing distance. The last time she did it, I told her to just whisper it to me, because if the person heard what she said he/she would be very sad and angry. Just yesterday, we were in a lift together with a fat auntie. Interestingly, after we go out of the lift, she whispered to me " I think that auntie could be having a baby or is she fat?" Haha, thank god she remembered what I said and voice her thoughts out loud in the lift.

3. She voluntarily takes a cloth to clean the floor when her brother accidentally pees on the floor, without any prompting from me. She really is mummy's little helper.

2011-06-15T07:11:00.000+08:00

What have we been up to these holidays? Seems like not much, but every day, I am totally wiped out and fall asleep 5 minutes into lying on the bed, it never ceases to amaze gary how fast i sleep.

So far, we have been to Sentosa (for our staycation), Zoo (had fun participating in the face painting), numerous trips to the library (do you know they have really good DVDs for loan?). I also signed up Luke for Sky Gym at Turf City. He had a blast, although the kids have been going to play gyms, these real gyms with trampolines and equipments are a new experience for him. Not something I am likely to sign up for in the long run but not too bad as holiday enrichment. As for nat, we tried out something new these holidays, signed up for a cartoon drawing class at the community centre. Cheap and good! Next week, she is going for some plasticine modelling and cookery thingey. Something to keep her amused.

Lucas has entered full fledge into his terrible twos. He screams whenever he does not get his way. Recently, I have introduced the time-out corner to him. When he screams, I immediate whisk him to the corner to face the sofa until he stops crying. I can't say for sure whether it is working just yet, let's hope so. I don't want my baby boy to grow up to be a brat!

For nat, I have observed that she has a very competitive streak in her. She wants to win in everything and if she doesn't, she loses her temper. When I teach her Mandarin, she will get angry if I repeat to her words she already knows but sometimes even when you correct her wrong pronounciation, she will lose her temper. Again, this is something I am trying to influence.

With the 2 older siblings at home all the time, I haven't spent that much time with Sam. Hopefully, when the kids go back to school, I'll get back into my routine of walks and talks with my baby girl.
As I was lamenting to my good friend, it is scary how your children are so heavily influenced by you. If you choose to respond in a certain way, they could grow up with undesirable traits, so you must always be conscious of how they are growing and changing.

Haha, no wonder that I am wiped out at the end of the day. It sure is hard being mum to a brood of 3. Hard but no regrets :)

2011-06-08T07:40:00.001+08:00

Do my girls really look alike? I searched through my archives to look for pictures taken at a similar age. This is the closest I could find. I can't vouch for their similarity in features, but they both sure can pout. Unfortunately, haha, I think that comes from me.

2011-06-04T22:13:00.000+08:00

We recently had a short stay at Rasa Sentosa, a quick getaway and a needed family bonding and break time for all. With mei mei being so young, logistics is a big issue - she hasn't got a passport yet and I'm still breastfeeding her. So, Sentosa seemed to be a good option. It turned out quite nice and the kids enjoyed themselves immensely. Lugging 2 maids in tow, Gary and I even managed to stow away for some spa and couple time, nice! Here's a rare shot of the darling trio that I managed to get during the holiday.

Some updates on the kids:

Nat
Her reading abilities have certainly improved tremendously, something I am very proud of. Often, when the rest of us are wiped out and having an afternoon nap, this baby girl will curl up in bed, legs under the duvet covers and start reading for hours. Recently, she has also been asking me words that she doesn't know. Sigh, believe me, it's quite hard to explain what "peasant" and "shack" mean to a 4-year old (I think the words came from this story she was listening to on the ipad about a peasant fisherman asking a magic golden fish for wealth). She loves doing art and craft and was thrilled when we brought her to make a sock puppet during our stay at Sentosa. Every holiday, there is a storytelling event there, with interactive segments where the children can do art and craft. Last time round, we caught the story on the Gingerbread Man, this time round, we caught Jack and the Beanstalk. Here's a picture of Nat and "Jack" and the "Giantess".

Lucas

He's my little darling, as his speech abilities have become better, it is easier to communicate with him and understand his wants.

Yet, he is also getting increasingly naughty, throwing tantrums, fighting with his big sister and plopping down and refusing to walk whenever he is tired. Well, this is the terrible twos stage after all. It's so interesting watching him to talk to himself and rationalising things out. When we were swimming at the hotel pool, he showed fear in walking to the deeper end of the children's pool, although he could still stand. So he would venture off from the shallow end, walk towards the deeper end, walk mid-way through, mumble to himself "It's not all right, too far, too deep" and walk right back to the shallow end. I had a fine chuckle watching him repeat this numerous times.

Although he is often bullied by his big sister, he really adores her. He still loves doing jigsaws and currently it's the only activity that can keep him occupied for at least half an hour.

Samantha

My youngest sweet little baby. I am so enjoying the experience of managing a newborn. As I was telling Gary, after having 3 kids, we have finally got the hang of it. When Sam cries, we generally knows what she wants. And unlike in the past when we would be so worried when she refuses to suckle, we are more relaxed now, knowing that she will do so when she is hungry. Sam loves "dancing" with daddy, who enjoys rocking her to sleep whenever he is free. We just bought a CD with lovely songs such as this and Sam falls asleep in daddy's arms with the songs playing in the background. Good exercise for Gary too, haha!

Her biggest fan is her sister who can't help hovering around, wanting to pick up meimei or planting kisses on her face. Even her rough big brother becomes a gentle giant when he is around her.

2011-05-25T19:39:00.000+08:00

And so recently, Sam has decided to go on a "bottle" strike, outright rejection of the bottle. She would rather be hungry and wait till I am available to latch her. This is a new experience for me. In the past, when people talked about "nipple confusion", I used to scoff. After all, both nat and luke never had this problem, bottle or breast, they were fine with either. Sam was fine with it for a while too, until this week. My pd advised not to force the bottle on her, just go with the flow, as she gets older, she will probably be more receptive to the bottle again, so that's what I will do.

Today, Sam had her injection, at just over 2 months, she is weighing in at 5.45kg. After her injection, she has been rather clingy, feeling a bit insecure, so I have been cuddling her a bit more than usual. Anyway, I'm looking forward to next week. It's the start of the school holidays, and I have some exciting plans for the kids.

2011-05-20T10:20:00.001+08:00

I have become rather "domesticated" of late. By this I mean I like to go to the wet market for fresh food, love to browse the supermarket and a recent obsession, sewing. Yes, me, who has almost always nearly failed home economics in secondary school. Yet, there you have it, I have been bent over these few nights, labouring over the sewing machine, churning out pouches and pillow cases for my kids. It all started when I saw these lovely bags to keep diapers and stuff being sold on the web. I thought to myself, so expensive, I could do it myself and it would be way cheaper. So, I ventured to surf the net for some instructions, made my merry little way to Spotlight and Plaza Singapura, lugged my mum's sewing machine home and I was on my way. I have got the hang of it already, after one week. The finished product is not the most professional looking one, with seams showing and stuff but hey, that needs more practice. Meanwhile, here's one of the pouches I churned out yesterday. Applause, anyone?

2011-05-18T14:38:00.000+08:00

We have settled nicely into a routine. Some days the kids will be at my mum's place, some days we will be at ours. In the mornings, I will either be exercising or bringing sam to botanics for a walk. Once a week, I will have one-on-one time with one of the older kids. I find it's really nice to do this, although quite tiring. While spending time with just one kid, you can actually focus your attention fully on them.

Last week, Luke and I went shopping at Takashimaya. He was quite the happy little man, chatting and singing incessantly in the car. Usually, when nat is in the car, all you can hear is her voice and just a few occasional chirps from Luke. As we window shopped in the different shops, he had fun amusing himself in front of the mirrors, and we even stopped to have a cup of bubble tea. Luke is definitely growing up, his attention span is better these days and he can easily spend half an hour in the room piecing his jigsaws together.

I met his teachers last week and was happy when they told me that he is one of the most polite kids in his class. They also showed me some of his "creative" drawings and I was amused to see that they have progressed from just scrawling to faces with eyes and nose. Even for nat, the teachers praised her for being helpful and ever ready to participate in class activities. Interestingly, when I was young, I used to view such parent-teacher meetings as sessions for teachers to complain about me. Yet, now as I stand on this side of the fence, I appreciate the meetings as an opportunity to catch up with the teachers and see how the kids are doing in school.

Happy 2 months old, Sam. At this grand age of 2 months, Sam is becoming more interactive. She loves to coo and smile, especially at night, in the comfort of the air-conditioned room. Gary fancies she keeps her brightest smile for him, haha, but I think it's more like her enjoying the air-con in the room. Her full head of hair is constantly drawing attention when we go out. She is the apple of her big sis and bro's eyes and they love to fuss around her.

While 3 kids is really a logistical nightmare at times, I feel blessed to have them in my life.

2011-05-07T07:52:00.001+08:00

With every one of my children, I make it a point to spend some alone time with them when they are young, bringing them for strolls at the park. Did it for nat and later lucas and now doing the same with sam. It's very therapeutic, talking softly to the baby as I sling him/her close to me. We chat about everything (actually, it's just me talking, haha), about the plants, the old people doing taiji, about their siblings. Usually, halfway through, sam falls asleep. I thought that by the third kid, I would be bored of this but interestingly, it's like a new experience for me all over again. I love it!

2011-05-07T07:35:00.000+08:00

Since today is Polling day, I thought it would be appropriate to have a blog entry on it. Just the other day, nat and I had a conversation about the elections, it went something like this:

Nat: There is no school on Monday because Saturday got voting.
Me: Voting? What do you know about voting?
Nat: It's when they give you a little card, and there are 2 boxes and you decide if you like "pop" or others.

Haha, not a bad summary of the elections from a 4-year old. It did take me a while to decipher that her pronunciation of pop referred to PAP.

2011-05-03T16:33:00.000+08:00

When Samantha is screaming blue murder and nothing can settle her, I’m proud to say that one of those things which only a Daddy is qualified to do is the Superman Hold^TM. This provides instant relief – whether because Sam becomes perplexed at the sensation of zero gravity as she zips through the air, or because it’s a complete reversal in posture from how she’s normally carried, nobody really knows – but it does the job of shushing an irate infant like no other.

As for her siblings, one of the new activities which the kids have taken to recently is Let’s Crush Daddy Together^TM, which is something they invented while watching reruns of Tom & Jerry – quite simply pile up on Daddy and use him as a bed. Now this is all very well when they are small and cute and weigh next to nothing, but it is no joke shouldering a combined 30 kilos even on a very ample torso/pectorals.

More trademarked adventures to be added from time to time…

2011-04-26T09:53:00.001+08:00

Baby sam's first trip to Botanic Gardens was a success. She basically slept through most of the way, waking up to soak in the surroundings occasionally and then back to slumberland again. She is definitely getting more interactive and her eyes can follow you as you move from left to right and back again. At the park, we met a group of tourists that were quite impressed with my brood of 3, who are all aged 4 and below. I must say, it is definitely chaotic and physically and mentally tiring, especially during moments when you have to keep an eye on all 3 at once. Towards the end of the walk, the 2 older kids were tired and wanted to sit on the stroller but baby sam was already sleeping in it. In the end, I had to carry sam on one hand and push nat on the stroller using the other while Gary carried Luke, certainly not an easy feat. Never mind, hopefully it will help me in my weight loss endeavour anyway.

2011-04-23T07:23:00.000+08:00

Having been cooped at home with me during confinement, the kids were let loose yesterday at their favourite place, the Botanic Gardens. Nat and Luke have both progressed well, from not being able to cycle on their trikes to being able to cycle quite long distances. Only hassle is that it is quite a chore storing 2 trikes (nat's one is especially heavy) and one big stroller in our car. But well, as long as the kids enjoy it, why not? After all, without the clumsiness of being pregnant, I can help Gary with the lifting in and out of the car.

After Botanics, it was really hot, so we went to the mall to enjoy some air-con breeze. The kids were super hyper yesterday, while I was in a sports shop looking for a cap, they decided to entertain themselves dancing in front of the mirror. Haha, they built up quite a bunch of amused audience. Gary was wondering where the kids picked up their cool dance moves from? Yesterday evening, when they were watching TV, I realised that they had picked it up from this show called Boogie Beebies. What a cute pair they are, except when they are fighting over toys!

2011-04-22T23:56:00.001+08:00

I have just succeeded in getting baby sam to sleep after 2 hrs. Phew! After a week of caring for her without the confinement lady, I am still trying to get the hang of her habits, her likes and dislikes and her little quirks. Meanwhile, I thought I had better pen down some tips for getting a fussy baby to sleep, lest I forget.

1. There are a few positions she likes to be carried in. Preference is for the "Hang me over your shoulder" hold. Not sure why she likes this, but most times, this hold gets her to calm down quite fast. Next, is the "Superman" hold, somewhat like Superman flying in the sky. Interestingly, I just saw a baby documentary that mentioned that a lot of babies like this hold, and here I was thinking my daughter is weird for liking this seemingly uncomfortable position. The last is the conventional "cradling" position. This only works when she is generally calm and almost falling asleep.

2. Music is an important factor in getting baby sam to sleep. Lullabies are good, namely rock-a-bye-baby. I think I must have sung it like 100 times in the 2 hrs it took me to get her to sleep. When songs fail, saying "Shh, shh, shh" in a rhythmic fashion also helps. Just like nat, sam also falls asleep to the french boy choir "Le Choriste".The music should be accompanied by gentle tapping on the back.

3. Breast is best. This option may not always work.When she is in the mood, suckling at the breast calms her down and she falls asleep just seconds after suckling. When she is not in the mood, suckling at the breast just pisses her off and she ends up bawling after delatching from the breast for the umpteenth time. I guess it doesn't help that sometimes, when the breast is full of milk, it ends up spraying all over her face, making her even more upset.

4. Try not to let her fall asleep in the late evening, after 6pm. I find that if she has little naps after 6pm, it's really hard to get her to sleep at 8pm. If she is kept awake, she generally falls asleep quite easily by 8pm. But, of course, it's not easy to prevent a sleepy baby from falling asleep, especially one who has learnt to nod off amidst the screaming from her siblings at play.

5. Dance lessons are essential. Sometimes, as I dance around with baby sam in my arms, I feel like I have just taken up ballroom dancing, the waltz in particular. Again, this motion calms her down and her loud cries turn to soft whimpers, as I waltz from the living room to the bedroom and back again.

2011-04-22T06:45:00.002+08:00

As we settle into the routine of life at home with 3 kids, I realise that life is really not the same anymore. In the past, Gary and I used to take off for a couple dinner on Fridays. We can no longer do that as we cannot leave 3 kids alone with our maid. Same applies during the weekend. If we do want to go our on our own, we have to pack up the whole brood and leave them at my mum's place.

This week, I accompanied Lucas on his school excursion to Jacob Ballas. It was nice spending some one-on-one with with my little boy. We had a good time strolling around the park and I was pleased to be able to see Lucas interacting with his classmates. He has certainly changed, since the first few days of school when he just clung on to me. Now, he is totally comfy with his teachers in class and loves to draw and sing.

The next day, I wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Nat as well, so baby girl and I made a trip to Vivocity. We walked around, looked at toys and books, and had a leisurely lunch. After she nibbled a few bites of lunch, she scurried off to the boardwalk near the cafe to explore. In the past, I would not have allowed Nat to be away from me even for a few feet, but I knew that as she got older, I would have to learn to trust her more and let go. So, we made some ground rules, she could explore as long as she did not go near the railing beside the boardwalk (to prevent people from falling into the sea). A few times, she looked like she was attempting to go there and nearly gave me a heart attack haha but each time she looked back at me, gave a little wave and remembered what she promised me. Basking in my full attention, Nat certainly behaved better and was happily skipping all over the place.

Once a week, I will try to spend a morning or afternoon with one of the older kids. This allows for more quality interaction with each one of them.

2011-04-18T14:29:00.000+08:00

Happy one month, baby sam! One month ago, you came into our lives in a fast and furious fashion, and life has never been the same again.

1. You complete our family. At the back of our mind, daddy and I had always wanted 3 kids, although we were planning to have you just a wee bit later. But nevertheless, your appearance is welcomed by all in the family.

2. I had all but forgotten what it is like to care for a newborn but you have no qualms about reminding me that you are an attention-seeking individual, just like mummy. Your loud bawling at 3am in the morning is enough to make me bolt out of bed in a jiffy.

3. Like your big sister, you have a way of smiling just as you fall asleep, that is enough to melt everyone's heart, especially daddy. I sense that you will wrap your o'le softie daddy around your little fingers, just like your big sis.

4. You sleep best facing down, on your tummy. But this paranoid mummy checks on you like a million times throughout the day, to make sure all is well and good.

5. Your siblings love you. Big sister nat wants to carry you every day, while Kor Kor lucas loves to caress your head ever so gently.

6. Your first outing was to Robinson's with daddy and me, last Friday to pick out some clothes for you. You behaved relatively well and I am so proud of you.

7. You surprise me with your strength. At the grand o'le age of one month old, your favourite position is upright and you constantly try to lift your head to check out what's happening around you.

8. Mummy enjoys spending one-on-one time with you when your siblings are in school. It's just you and me, baby girl.

2011-04-16T07:18:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, was a night of many firsts. The first time we were sleeping with Sam in our room, since the confinement lady left. The first time we left the kids to fall asleep on their own, instead of lying with them till they fell asleep. The first time Sam slept in the secure sleeper, placed between Gary and me. I think I slept a total of about 2-3 hrs, but I feel good this morning. I could easily have outsourced Sam's night time feeds to my maid but I have always believed in taking on this aspect on my own. It's all about sensing the baby, finding out what she wants, what makes her comfy, what irritates her, and all these can only be discovered when you keep her close to you. Sam woke up at about 1am, I latched her, then 3am, I gave her the bottle and nursed her a little, and finally she awoke again at 6am. Sitting there, nursing her in the darkness of the bedroom and listening to her rhythmic breathing and occasional grunts, I felt sleepy but blessed. Some time in the night, she did a poop as well, and I half considered changing her diapers in the dark but decided against it as it could prove to be a messy affair. Moving on to the secure sleeper, we first got introduced to it with nat, when one of Gary's colleague loaned it to us. I liked it, as did nat. With lucas, this stingy mum decided to rent the sleeper from one of the toy rental companies. Bad move, lucas had a habit of big time pooping at night and before we knew it, there were big poop stains on the sleeper mattress. Of course, we had to pay the penalty, which amounted to the cost of the sleeper. Sigh ... This time round, I bought the sleeper on a discount. After researching, I had found, to my delight, that there is a resale value for this item and I can easily sell it once Sam outgrows it. Overall, she seems to have slept well in it last night and I enjoy having her close and easily petting her to sleep, something that I can't do when she is placed inside the cot. I am sure Gary thinks I am secretly masochistic to have chosen the exact same night to ease our two older kids to sleep on their own. As expected, there was a lot of screaming and playing when we closed the door and Gary and I had to make several trips into the bedroom with stern voices calling for them to sleep. After a while, Lucas fell asleep and without anyone to chit chat with her, my baby girl also fell asleep. Success! Finally! What an eventful first night.

2011-04-13T09:35:00.007+08:00

Wednesday, 13 April 2011 The joy of being a milkmaid. I am blessed to have "the perfect boobs for breastfeeding", as declared by one lactation consultant who sailed in early one morning after I had just delivered Sam. At that moment, I thought she was just making polite conversation. But now I totally agree, I have become a milkmaid. I pump and breastfeed at all times of the day. I empty my breasts and 2 hours later, it's hard as a rock again. In one night, I can pump about 1litre of breastmilk. I even have a chest freezer just to store my bags and bags of breastmilk. Being near Sam makes me have a letdown reflex and I have stocked up on boxes and boxes of disposable breastpads. Poor baby even gets milk sprayed on her when she is latching, so I have taken to pumping some milk out first before letting her latch directly. I must say, breastfeeding is definitely easier for me this third time round (although it didn't start off too well in the beginning, when Sam gnawed on my breasts just a bit too violently and Gary was totally scandalised by the bloody breastmilk that resulted). Let's hope I can persist and go all the way to breastfeed Sam for at least 6 months to 1 year. Wish me luck!

2011-04-11T08:49:00.003+08:00

Monday, 11 April 2011 Time flies so fast, baby Sam is almost one month old already. While her loud cries are enough to make you bolt out of bed, she really is a sweet baby. She has a curly mop of black/brown hair and loves looking at the musical mobile above her cot. Her siblings adore her. Nat draws pictures for her baby Sam every few days and delivers it to her cot and the confinement lady will dutifully hang up her drawings for Sam to look at. Sometimes, it is a picture of a rainbow, sometimes a family picture (with mummy holding baby Sam in her arms) and sometimes it is just so abstract, I have absolutely no idea what it is. Lucas loves to peer at Sam through the gaps at the cot and when he has an opportunity, he will gently stroke her hair and tell Sam, I'm Kor Kor. It's lovely to see them interact with one another. Just the other day, I was about to go to bed and I found a drawing under my pillow. It said Mummy, I looked under Gary's pillow and there was one for Daddy too. Nat is really into drawing these days and she loves hiding her drawings around the house for me to find and appreciate. Even Lucas enjoys drawing these days and he is finally able to draw smiling faces instead of just scrawling all over the paper. Another week of confinement and I'm looking forward to going out with my 3 babies! Not gonna be easy to manage, but we will adapt, we always do.

2011-04-06T10:58:00.006+08:00

Wednesday, 6 April 2011 I love cuddling my newborn, letting her suckle till she falls asleep and continuing to hold her in my arms and just staring at her sleeping. Even after 3 kids, I still love this feeling. I send pics of the babies to Gary every so often, to remind him what and whom we are working hard for.

2011-04-03T18:16:00.006+08:00

Sunday, 3 April 2011 Caring for baby sam reminds me so much of my experiences with baby nat. The cute little rompers that hang on their scrawny little frames, the loud bawling, the innocent looking eyes that stare up at you when you are carrying them in your arms. I didn't realise how much I miss it. Check out the pics, the top one is of baby nat and the bottom one is of baby sam, dressed in the favourite duckling rompers that I absolutely adore.

This time round, although my breastfeeding experience was off to a slightly rock start (with engorgement initially), my milk supply has stabilised and increased such that I am even able to store a few packets a day. It's interesting how your mood and emotions are so affected by your milk supply. When you can't produce enough milk for your baby, you begin to feel guilty. Yet, when the milk supply sets in, your mood improves as well. I just can't figure out if this is just hormones at work or if there is a scientific rationale behind it.

2011-03-30T08:59:00.002+08:00

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 Lots of interesting urban myths relating to pregnancy and confinement. There is the drinking young coconut juice thingey that I mentioned in my previous entry. Recently, was introduced to another one. Bathing newborn babies in stout helps to remove toxins and gives them nice and smooth skin. The confinement lady has been bathing baby sam in a can of stout mixed with warm water every morning. Positive effects yet to be proven, haha. But why not? Here's a pic of sam, looking contented after her stout bath.

2011-03-27T20:59:00.004+08:00

Sunday, 27 March 2011

I never started out wanting to have 3 kids. In fact, when we first got married, Gary was the one who wanted more kids. However, when nat came into our lives, then lucas, I fell in love with them. And now, I feel myself falling in love, all over again with my baby girl, Sam.

2011-03-26T17:15:00.013+08:00

Saturday, 26 March 2011

Baby Sam is the first of my 3 kids not to have to undergo phototherapy for jaudice (fingers crossed). Although she has some mild jaundice, it is definitely not as serious as with Nat and Luke, when I had to rent the phototherapy machine home. Hmm ... well someone did tell me that drinking young coconuts a week or so before delivery could help reduce jaundice, and I did manage to drink 3-4 coconuts before Sam was born. But ... I'm still doubtful that that's the reason. We have to continue monitoring her jaundice level and give her some morning sun.

As you can see, she is not a fan of suntanning and bawls at the top of her lungs.

While baby sam is asleep, I try to spend some time entertaining my 2 older kids.

We have been doing a lot of art and craft projects out at the balcony. They include rock painting (it's very fun), glue collages, moulding and painting clay ladybugs, etc. Nat draws inspiration from this new kids' show Mister Maker that we catch on TV. Then she excitedly comes to me to describe the new art and craft project she would like to make. Lucas just joins in whatever his sister does.

These two love each other to bits, but are also constantly fighting over toys and other possessions, sigh!

2011-03-24T15:22:00.002+08:00

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Nat is my firstborn, the baby that I shared all my first experiences with. Lucas is my secondborn, a boy, and that made him different and special in his own way. Sam is my third child, probably our last and I want to relive all the joys of caring for a newborn with her. Here is Sam, giving a half-smile, something which never fails to melt my heart!

2011-03-22T16:18:00.004+08:00

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Today was the day we had planned to induce. Yet, baby Sam is already 4 days old. It's been chaotic since we came home from the hospital on Saturday. The older 2 have been throwing tantrums and having fights and screaming, showing signs of insecurity. Baby Sam has been asking for milk feeds on the hour and surprisingly, my milk supply has not set in as fast as it had for Nat and Luke. It is only today, that the milk supply has shown signs of increasing.

We brought baby to the doc today, slight jaundice, no need for any phototherapy just yet, so we will be monitoring her jaundice level. Her skin is kind of dry, so peeling quite a bit, trying to relieve that with some baby oil.

Today, I also left the 2 older kids at mum's place after school. Really needed some rest, instead of stopping fights all day. Managed to get some decent sleep finally.

Well, with 3 kids in the house, everyone takes time to adjust. The first week after delivery is always hard, especially when your hormones are going a bit haywire as well. But, things will settle down as they always do. And one just needs to remember, these 3 kids are and will always be a blessing in my life.

2011-03-20T16:00:00.009+08:00

Sunday, 20 March 2011 The best laid plans of mice and men, oft go awry. How true this quote holds. At 38 weeks, I was all ready for mei mei to make her appearance. She didn't. At 39 weeks, I was convinced, this is it, time to induce her after the gynae check-up. She didn't agree. I stopped expecting and went about my daily activities, quite convinced that she would stay in the tummy in comfort till 40 weeks, which my gynae and I agreed would be the date we would induce. Gary, the kids and I managed to attend the kids' school carnival, a birthday party at a farm, meet up with some baby friends and even explore a new playground. Mei mei decided then that it was time to make her grand appearance and not wait till next week. It is interesting that even after having 2 kids beforehand, I really do not know what contractions feel like. Both kids had been induced and delivered in a controlled environment, with full epidural. To me, contractions seemed merely to be just a tightening in the tummy area, causing mild discomfort. The day before mei mei was born, I had totally no inkling that she was ready. In fact, I had quite an active day, doing grocery shopping, checking out sofas with mum and rounding off the day with a trip to the playground with the kids. At night, I felt kind of wiped out and had an early night after tucking the kids into bed. When Gary came home a bit later, I was awakened. It was around this time that I felt regular contractions about 15 min apart. It was mildly painful but bearable, and I figured it would be like that for the rest of the night. I could possibly visit my gynae in the morning to see if things were moving along. Two hours later, I was still awake. Hmm ... this time the pain seemed to be increasing slightly. I do think my threshold for pain is quite high, though. So even with the increased pain, I thought to myself, maybe I'll just watch some TV throughout the night, no point waking up Gary or my gynae due to some false alarm. Ten minutes later, I decided ... uh ... this pain seems a bit too much to bear, maybe we should induce her tonight, don't think I want to bear with this pain all night. So off I went to wake up Gary, who had only just fallen asleep. In the wee hours of the morning, we sped off to the hospital. On the way, we called my gynae who sounded surprisingly fresh and chirpy at that time. I guess she is used to such late night calls. By the time we reached the hospital, I knew I had made the right decision. The contractions were like 5 min apart and when the pain came, it took my breath away. My first thought was quick quick, get me the epidural. In the midst of contractions, the nurse kept asking me about my last known weight. Gary said I sure took a long time to answer her simple question. Ha! Let's see him try answering any simple questions in between intense pain. Anyway, the nurse said she had to check for dilation before calling for epidural and so she did. Thereafter, she told me sympathetically, uh, you are fully dilated, so no time for epidural. I was crestfallen! She then offered me the option of gas, I grabbed it, whatever works man. Unlike epidural, I realise that the gas does not really alleivate any pain. What it does though is to dull your mind (so you cannot lucidly scold yourself for not checking in earlier with ample time for epidural) and also gives you something to focus on when the pain sets in. By this point, the contractions pain was really at its peak. Even when the nurses had to poke in the IV needle in my hand for the drip a few times as they could not locate the vein (I always have this problem), I could barely feel this as I was just focused on breathing in the gas for the pain. My only thought was that my doc is on her way and this is going to end and true enough, she arrived a few minutes later. Since I was fully dilated, I could start pushing baby. It's very important to have an encouraging doc and for both of you to have a good rapport. Her voice gave me great relief as she told me when to push harder and when to stop and also to stop breathing into the gas so quickly like some mad woman. Interestingly, in the midst of all this, Gary had merrily gone off to fill up some admission forms and they had to track him down and rush him back to the delivery suite. My doc was saying, shall we wait a bit for Gary to come back, haha, and in my mind I was like ... No ... let's get on with it! But he did make it back, to see the whole delivery process as he has always done for Nat and Lucas. And finally, my fiesty little sweetheart, Samantha, makes her grand appearance into our world, delivered at a record time of one hour. I was kept in the delivery suite for a few hours more as there was some heavy bleeding thereafter but when that cleared up, I could go back to the normal room, just in time for breakfast. Interestingly, without the side effects of epidural, I actually started to feel quite normal by this time and sent Gary off to get me some breakfast.

2011-03-11T08:12:00.004+08:00

Friday, 11 March 2011

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post and the bun is still baking in the oven. It's making me kind of cranky! Doesn't help that Nat and Luke have been taking turns to throw tantrums and cry at the drop of a pin. Oh well, grant me patience!

On a happy note, today is the last day of school for the kids before the March hols begin. Here are pics of them dressed up in their favourite clothes for "Wear Your Favourite Clothes To School" day!

2011-02-28T05:49:00.003+08:00

Monday, 28 February 2011

I am ready, so ready to meet my baby girl. It's been a rough ride, from feelings of nausea, to tiredness, insomnia, mood swings and the final stages of waddling like a duck. But it's worth it and I look forward to holding her in my arms.

2011-02-14T05:05:00.004+08:00

Monday, 14 February 2011

My firstborn has been throwing terrible tantrums for the last few weeks. She screams, cries and stamps her little feet when she does not get her way. She attempts to jump up and down on me and my very pregnant belly, while I try to reason with her. Just last week, when we were at the doctor to get some medicine for her cough, she cried so loudly, the doctor let us skip the long queue, haha, just to get rid of us quickly. I wonder whether her recent behaviour has anything to do with mei mei's impending arrival. Or if she is just going through a phase?

Yet, in so many ways, she is still my funny little girl. Last weekend, we brought the kids to the zoo. I told nat that there may be a lion dance at the zoo, just like at the bird park (where she was totally freaked out over the lion dance performance). This girl has always had some kind of phobia against puppet-like things. In all seriousness, she told me "Mummy, I love you very much, but please do not say such things." Haha, I did a double-take and chuckled to myself. I use that very same phrase on her all the time, telling her that I love her very much but please can she be a good little girl. Better watch what I say next time, this girl has the memory of an elephant.

2011-02-08T20:15:00.004+08:00

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Some of the things that have made me feel warm and fuzzy recently:

1. Seeing the twinkle in my little boy's eyes when I pick him up from school, that smile and happiness that I see in his eyes is worth the hassle of fighting through the early morning traffic jam just to get them to school.

2. Having my little boy hug me tightly at 3am in the morning as he falls asleep after his milk feed. Feeling his heartbeat and knowing he feels safe and secure enough to fall asleep.

3. When my little boy's teacher tells me he is settling well in school, in terms of participating in activities and socialising with friends. It's just something small and insignificant, but hearing it makes me burst with pride anywayz.

4. Seeing my baby girl smile as she slowly begins to make out words in early readers on her own.

5. Hearing the words "I love you, mummy" from my baby girl, who alternates between wanting to be called baby girl one minute and big sister the next minute.

Of course, there are a long list of complains, mainly due to this being the last month of pregnancy, such as intense backaches, stretching of the skin, clumsiness and waddling, and frequent trips (and i mean super frequent) to the loo. But well, let's just focus on the joys for now, shall we?

2011-02-05T08:09:00.003+08:00

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Happy Birthday, baby girl! We love you as much as we did the day you were born.

2011-02-04T21:00:00.005+08:00

Friday, 4 February 2011

Happy Lunar New Year from my babies :) Time just flies, I can't believe Nat is going to be 4 this year and Lucas, 3. Come CNY 2012, I will have another mei mei to add to the growing brood. Wow, I just can't believe I have 3 kids before the age of 35!

2011-02-01T17:40:00.003+08:00

Wei and I celebrated Natalie's birthday today at St James with all her classmates, a spiffy cake, birthday song (with candles blown out in advance by an overly eager brother), and goodie bags for all the kids. Jolly good fun.

4 years old - and still brighter, faster, and more precocious than I would have ever imagined. And full of unexpected surprises - sometimes delightful, sometimes not - but never a dull moment.

My birthday wishes to Nat:

Happy Birthday To A Daughter
Who couldn't be loved more.
You are loved for

The little girl you are,
The special woman you will be,
And the precious daughter you will always be

2011-01-23T06:14:00.007+08:00

Sunday, 23 January 2011

With the pending delivery date of mei mei (who has yet to be named) coming along fast and furious, I have been feeling the full effects of being 7-mths preggy. Big, huge tummy, tiredness and fatigue, backaches, the works! Yet, I am also hoping to spend as much time with my 2 babies before their little sibling is born.

Yesterday, Gary and I awoke early, and interestingly so did Lucas. Nat was still sleeping, so we decided to bring didi out for some one-on-one time. Trotted off to the market and MacRitchie thereafter. He had a great time enjoying our full attention and so did we, reminiscing on what it felt like to have just one baby to handle. We spent quite a while staring out at the canoeists rowing at the reservoir and Luke had fun playing with his own shadow.

By the time we got home, Nat was awake and Luke needed his nap. So this time round, we brought Nat out on her own instead. She has been hankering to go to the playgym for a while so off we headed to Go-Go Bambini at Dempsey. Nat is of an age where we can safely let her loose in the gym to have fun while we sit at the cafe sipping a cuppa. Little Miss attention seeker will run to the cafe to find us every once in a while, to tell us what fine adventures she has been up to. Again, I felt good that we could devote our full attention to her, something that is quite impossible when you are out with 2 kids all the time.

That evening, we headed to Botanic Gardens for a picnic. Weather was great, the place was not super crowded yet ambience was nice as there were quite a few families at the large green open field. While I couldn't really run and jump with the kids, I enjoyed sitting there, watching the bright, dazzling smiles on their faces.

I always tell Gary, looking at my pics 2 yrs ago and now, there is a distinct difference, i.e tiredness. It is not always easy handling the physical and emotional pressures from the kids and I really do feel it.But moments like these are what makes everything worth it.

2011-01-15T06:42:00.004+08:00

Saturday, 15 January 2011

Did I mention that we have been trying to get back into the groove of exercise? Nature walks at Hort Park and Botanic Gardens are tops on the list. Looks like it's a hit with the brood!

Nat is still keeping up with her tennis lessons, and this time, we've moved on to learning service/smash. Cool!

2011-01-15T06:27:00.003+08:00

Saturday, 15 January 2011

These are pictures of my little boy, of 2 years 4 months, that I managed to capture this week, during his first days at pre-nursery. It's the second time I am going through this, but it is never easy to let go. Suddenly, you realise that they are not babies anymore, no longer the newborns that you swaddle back from the hospital, no longer the little tots trying to crawl or take their first tentative steps, no longer the little people who constantly look aroud for you for reassurance during parent accompanied playgroup time. Like other anxious parents, you hide at strategic areas of the school, spying on your big boy as he troops out with his teacher to the playground or the loo, holding on to his little partner's hand and looking a bit blur. You wipe away the little tear in your eye and decide it's time to let go, after all, when school is over, he will still be your little baby, for many more years yet. What the heck, I'll go grab a latte instead.

2011-01-12T14:54:00.004+08:00

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

My little boy's favourite part of the school day is not the singing, not the arts and crafts or even storytime.

He kind of enjoys the regular trips to the little toilets and I am sure his toilet training will soon be expedited once he gets into the routine in school. Here he is, looking a little bit apprehensive as he queues up for his turn in the loo.

Not too sure about outdoor and waterplay yet, but for now, he certainly loves snack time. Lucas is surely his Daddy's boy, a real foodie.

2011-01-10T20:10:00.006+08:00

Monday, 10 January 2011

First day of pre-nursery for my baby boy. It's always a bittersweet feeling, nice because he is embarking on a new milestone in his life, sad because my baby is growing up so fast, makes you wish that time could stop at the time when he was a little baby you cuddle tightly in your arms. Nevertheless, these are beautiful memories to look back on and I am glad that Gary always makes it a point to join us for the first day. Poor baby was so tired he fell asleep on the drive home.

2011-01-08T05:52:00.002+08:00

Saturday, 8 January 2011

I've been a lazy mum, over the holidays, have slackened on teaching my babies their alphabets and phonics. But it's the start of a new year, and I have taken up the task again with a new passion and dedication.

For Luke, it's starfall every day. We go through the alphabets in starfall and as a reward, he gets to play with other programmes in the website, like the gingerbread man, pumpkin and snowman (which are more interactive than the alphabet section).

For nat, she has progressed from alphabets to phonics. One particular website that I have found very useful is www.readingeggs.com. I first started off using it as a trial with her. Basically, the programme is divided into different lessons/games focusing on different letters and words. It is very interactive and nat can play independently most times without my help. She will run through 2-3 lessons each time and she has learnt to holler loudly when she needs me to help with some of the more difficult games. She has been actually playing this game for about 3 months.

The reward: Yesterday night, I was watching CSI on tv when she trotted into the room. Usually when this happens, I will pause the tv as some scenes in CSI are not so suitable for kids. Nat looked at the screen, which happened to pause at a subtitle, which read as "Hey, Flack!". She turned to me and said "Hey, Black". Oh well, missed the F but I was pleased because she has learnt to blend new words, which she has not seen before together and this is the first step to being able to read independently. Most times, when we read familiar stories at home, I can't really judge if she is blending the words or if she has just memorised the whole story.

As for Mandarin, I've yet to kickstart my home programme on that, hopefully by Chinese New Year. Wish me luck!

2011-01-04T20:28:00.008+08:00

Tuesday, 4 January 2011

Best wishes for the new year! Here's what I wish for in the year ahead.

For happiness, joy and freedom for them to enjoy themselves as kids.

For silbling love

For my second-born to remain the sweet and affectionate boy he is

For my babies to remain in my arms forever

For a happy and strengthened relationship as a couple

2010-12-26T03:55:00.012+08:00

Sunday, 26 December 2010

Nat's 3rd Christmas celebration and Didi's 2nd. As they are older now, it's more fun, with the lead-up to Christmas, mall hopping for Christmas concerts, lugging out the Christmas tree, tucking into turkey and ham (we just realised Lucas loves turkey) and finally ... lots and lots of pressies! Every day, nat has been asking me if it is Christmas yet, and every day she counts the number of presents under the tree, alloting certain wrappers as her pressies and some for her brothers (by her standards, usually, the bigger ones are hers and the smaller ones are for her baby brother).

I've never met a little girl with quite so many make-up sets at this grand old age of 3, haha, so far it's 5 sets and still counting. With all the pressies, she actually has quite a comprehensive range, with necklace, ring, bracelet, lipstick, eyeshadow, high-heels and even a dressing table. Kind of ironic I think, considering her mum doesn't like to wear any make-up at all. Imagine our amusement on Christmas morning, when Nat uncovered a pair of high heel shoes (I think it came as part of a dressing table set), and clackity-clackked towards our room, feeling mighty pleased with herself. She even managed to dig up a pair for didi, who gamely decided he did not mind a pair of heels as well :O The heels did not last long on him, though, he was more interested in his remote control jeep and play-dough.

Ah, what one would give to be young again :)

Check out nat the party girl, she loves to dance! And that little space there is her personal dancing stage, where she gives frequent concerts to her adoring audience (uh that's me I think!)

2010-12-19T06:27:00.006+08:00

Sunday, 19 Dec 2010

Who can resist these little impish faces? :P I've been spending a lot of time with them, sometimes we hit shopping malls, other times we head towards the park or play gyms. Every night, both take turns to come look for me at night. Didi usually potters to my room about 1am, saying make milk and tugging at my hand to sleep with him for a while. Nat will come over nearer 3am and whisper softly in my ear if I could come over and sleep with her for a little while. Actually, it's really no issue to get up, I think my body is kind of adapted to sleeping for a few hours each time, and I generally still function quite well in the morning. Sigh, after all, kids grow up so quickly, they probably won't want o'le mummy's company when they sleep, when they get older. Haha!

Interesting conversation I had with Nat recently:

Nat: Auntie is a good cooker.

Me: How about Mummy?

Nat: Mummy is not a good cooker.

Me (Protesting): Why not?

Nat: Because she always watch TV.

Oops, better hit the kitchen more ... hehe ... going to try out this delicious looking beef stew recipe I found on the internet later. Wish me luck! If it turns out nice, I will post some pics. If not, don't ask, hehe!

Afternote: The beef stew was a success, but did not manage to capture nice, sharp pics on my iphone, so no pics to show :)

2010-12-04T06:17:00.005+08:00

Saturday, 4 Dec 2010

Last week, I signed nat and luke up for a holiday programme at the enrichment centre near my house. Luke had been attending this centre in the last term and seemed to enjoy the class. I had observed some of the activities in the class and was pleased with the way they were conducting the activities.

For the holiday programme, they had different themes each week, and I signed the kids up for the FARM theme. Luke was in a parent-accompanied class, while Nat was in a non-parent accompanied class. Nat, who doesn't like break from routines, seemed reluctant to go at first (she kept insisting this was didi's school and she wanted to go to her own school), however, during the class, she looked like she enjoyed herself. I sometimes wonder whether she realises that she will be going to another class in Nursery next year with different teachers, how will she react?

Anyway, Friday marked the last day of the holiday programme, with a visit to a cow and vegetable farm. It was certainly exciting for the kids to come up close and personal with the cows and even to feed and milk them.

Nat was intrigued but scared, didi bravely marched on, with little fear of the cows. The vegetable garden tour was relatively hot, and nat complained incessantly about the heat and sweat and ants and mud and ... However, taking the advice of the uncle farmer, I just told her to bear with it and to try and enjoy nature instead. She did listen, although, towards the end, she insisted we go back to the bus with air-condition. At the vegetable, she also got her hands dirty digging in soil and planting her very own plant cutting (I can't for the life of me remember the name of the plant).

Overall, it was quite an enjoyable outing, although I was truly wiped out by the end of the session. A nice lunch with Gary perked me up though and we were off shopping thereafter without the kids! Nice ... haha!

2010-11-28T15:57:00.005+08:00

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!

2010-11-28T07:26:00.004+08:00

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.

2010-11-22T07:33:00.010+08:00

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.

2010-11-17T16:07:00.004+08:00

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.

2010-11-03T14:35:00.004+08:00

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.

2010-10-17T05:45:00.008+08:00

Sunday, 17 October 2010

We had a picnic at Botanic Gardens 2 evenings in a row. There are actually 2 nice picnic spots for recommendation. One area is in the main garden, the slopey greens that face the symphony stage. This is the more popular of the two and after your rough and tumble on the slopes, you can adjourn to the pond to feed fish. Yesterday, as we arrived at the Gardens a bit late, we headed for the new gardens instead (I think it is nearer the Cluny Road end). We laid our mat down facing the lake and had our dinner/picnic. It's actually quite peaceful, this place. It is definitely less crowded and one can look at the swans and mandarin ducks while having dinner. Also, as it is not situated on a slope, so you can let the kids wander around quite a bit further.

See the difference between the pair? Nat was inclined to chomp on a spoonful of rice fed by me before running off to explore. Lucas was more content sipping on his lotus root soup (he is a soup kind of person, just like me) and finish his meal before exploring.

As the sky got dark, we headed home after posing for a nice pic.

These 2 have learnt how to pose for pics nicely, under my tutelage. On the way to the car, we saw some bats and I told nat about how vampires can sometimes disguise as bats. She was totally in awe and went on to make up her own story in the car, that had me in chuckles. Anyway, to cut a long story short, her version of a vampire does not feed on little kids and is in fact quite pretty and friendly. It's preferred mode of travelling is via a "hunted" (haunted) tunnel. Haha, this girl is reaching a stage when she likes to role play and tell stories, I do enjoy listening to her interesting tales.

2010-10-16T05:04:00.004+08:00

Saturday, 16 October 2010

Do toddlers dream? I think they do. Just the other day, nat came to my room saying that she did not want to go fishing. Recently, we had been telling her we would be bringing her to the Bottle Tree Park for some longkang fishing. However, due to the rain, we never quite made it. The memory of our conversation must have stuck in her mind, resulting in the dream. I asked her why she did not want to go fishing? She replied that a seaweed had hugged her and refused to let go, there was a lot of drama involved, about the seaweed being dripping wet and hugging her tightly. It was actually quite funny.

Then, just yesterday, she was playing with the iPad and listening to the story about a Little Red Hen. In the story, the hen and friends were having breakfast. Nat came to me in all seriousness and said "Could I have this for breakfast, like the Little Red Hen?" I looked at the picture, expecting some exotic food. To my surprise, the hen was just having cereals with milk. Oh well, you can guess what Nat will be having for breakfast this morning.

We rounded up yesterday with a picnic at Botanic Gardens. Glad that the children have reached that age when it's really a lot easier to bring them out. Here they are, feeding themselves fried rice and enjoying the natural surroundings. I end off today's entry with my usual phrase, this pair can be the sweetest siblings in the world and in the next moment, will be hitting one another over the heads. Sigh, my babies.

2010-10-13T18:34:00.002+08:00

Wednesday, 13 October 2010

Amazingly, nat has progressed from the Baby Ballet class to the next level. Hurray ... She still enjoys it quite a bit so I'll let her continue this for a while more. Check out her progress, the teacher is trying to teach them to move to the rhythm.

2010-10-01T15:31:00.005+08:00

Friday, 1 October 2010

My little man and his fave expressions!

2010-09-30T21:39:00.014+08:00

Thursday, 30 September 2010

Interesting week with the kids. Nat's school had a celebration, where they invited the parents to a mini-concert put up by the pre-nursery kids. Although the performance by each class lasted all of 1-2 min only, I thought it was a nice effort. Helps in building up the confidence of the kids and the parents enjoyed watching their little ones perform. Thereafter, there were some scavenger hunt and art and craft activities.

Check out nat's boat, it actually sails, I'm impressed! We rounded off the day with a mini class party and I enjoyed catching up with her classmate's parents, whom I had not seen for a while. We were just reminiscing on how time seems to fly by, wasn't it not too long ago that we were all hanging around the school compound in the first week of school, spying earnestly on our kids to see if they were crying. Now, they have all settled happily in the class.

Didi Lucas has also been enjoying himself. One of his favourite activities is chit chatting with Mummy. Every day, he chatters away, telling me about the characters in his Dora storybooks or pointing outside at the birds in the garden. I also love the way he struggles to keep his eyes open as he keeps peeking, to make sure that you are lying beside him, just before he falls asleep. He loves having Mandarin lessons with Mummy and always declares ever so loudly, that he is reading Chinese, although his accent is really terrible. Frankly, we are still stuck at ren (person) and kou (mouth) at this stage, got to get the accent right before we move on, haha!

In the mornings, we spend some time at the playground, where he never fails to mesmerise the old aunties there, doing their morning exercise. The friendly dude will always say hi, and exclaim loudly "so wet" if he finds the playground equipment still wet from early morning dew or rain the night before. He loves to amuse Mummy with his happy face and angry face act, but this boy is also a terror when he is throwing a tantrum. Throughout the day, he and nat are constantly screaming and yelling, as they terrorise one another. Yet, they still enjoy playing together.

2010-09-26T16:56:00.005+08:00

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Haven't been updating my blog as often as I should, will try to be more diligent about it. The kids are growing up so quickly, it's really chaotic bringing them out now. Gone are the nice relaxing strolls down Orchard Road. Super active lucas will be clambering out of the stroller as quickly as you put him in. As for nat, she has a bad habit of taking off her shoes when she is in her stroller. The next moment, she decides to jump off the stroller, she forgets that she is barefooted, and off she trots. Gary and I spent countless moments chasing after her with her shoes. Both kids are extremely talkative as well. We hear incessant chattering from the back of the car all the time. But it's nice to see the siblings interacting. From time to time, nat will give her baby brother a big hug and lucas is ever ready to shower his sis with love and kisses.

It's interesting to watch as the kids move into different phases and milestones. One thing Gary and I agree is that this stage in their lives is one of the most enjoyable for them and for us, and we will enjoy it together with them as best as we can :)

2010-09-23T15:55:00.002+08:00

Thursday, 23 September 2010

With my maid on overseas leave, I have been home with the kids, mostly 24/7. I must say it's not been as stressful as I initially thought and in fact there are beautiful moments that I really enjoy.

1. Time to spend one-on-one with both kids respectively. When nat is in school, I spend the whole morning with lucas. Some mornings are spent at enrichment class where he always has a good time. In fact, today the topic was on turtles and luke was totally intrigued by the turtles crawling in the tank. He is speaking a lot more and surprises me every day with words he knows. I also spend more time with nat in the afternoon, after our nap, we have time to do phonics and Chinese lessons. Normally, after work, I am so wiped out that I often forget about her lessons.

2. After a few nights, I have got the hang of their sleep time routine. Although they do not sleep like clockwork at 8:30pm, I no longer feel so irritated. We spend a longer time poring over books and switch off the light and chit chat till one of them or mummy falls asleep first. I am so proud of my kids, they can actually sleep by themselves in the room and do not need me there to accompany them the whole night.

3. With longer hours spent at my mum's place, I have more time to chit chat with her, something I have always enjoyed doing since young.

Well, we are almost halfway through the first week, looking forward to the weekend when Gary will be at home to help me. As usual, we will probably do something really active, to tire both him and the kids out, haha!

2010-09-21T08:19:00.003+08:00

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Bedroom adventures with the kids. Last night, I had such a hard time putting the kids to bed.

8pm: I thought that was a decent time for bed, so made their bottles of milk and shooed them off to bed. Did some light reading with them till 8:30pm.

8:30pm: Lights off! But the kids were still too hyped up, kept talking and talking even though I told them sternly that it was time for bed.

9:00pm: They were still not asleep but I figured that if I got out of the room and closed the door, they would soon get tired and fall asleep on their own, haha, so naive.

9:10pm: Lucas trots out of the room declaring that he needs the potty, nat follows close behind him. Only one potty to share between the two of them, how? Nat used the portable potty while I held Lucas on the toilet bowl. Nat has issues using the toilet bowl when she is reading her Archie comic, because she needs her hands free to hold the book and can't steady herself on the toilet bowl.

9:30pm: We are finally done with the toileting needs. This time round, I separate the 2, nat sleeps in her own room, while Lucas sleeps in my room. Both pretend to sleep on their beds, the moment I get out of the room, I hear the little pitter patter of footsteps and they are sneaking out of their individual rooms. They catch me having a biscuit for supper and demand a piece each. Haha, these two really make me laugh :) I admit I was a little sheepish at being caught by them while being greedy.

10:00pm: Lucas insists on going back to the room to sleep with his sister. He ends up falling asleep on nat's bed, I chit chat with nat for a bit before she falls asleep as well. Phew! What a night.

My best memories for the night was when we were lying in the dark in bed and both babies smothered me with big wet kisses. Such beautiful memories and experiences make all the frustration worth it.

2010-09-19T07:17:00.003+08:00

Sunday, 19 September 2010

And so today, marks the first day we are home alone with the 2 kids. My maid has gone off for her overseas home leave yesterday night. How will we survive? Haha, I think the real test is during the weekdays when it's just me and the kids, when Gary's off to work. I do wonder whether I have got so used to depending on my maid and if I can cope alone. Stay tuned!

2010-09-01T20:47:00.006+08:00

Wednesday, 1 September 2010

Time flies, I can't believe baby boy will be 2 years old next week. He is a handful, a pocket dynamo and half the time, he is clambering out of the playpen and giving me heart attacks. But, he is still my sweetheart and I love him so. Check out the cool slide I rented just for his birthday. He is quite the little poser now.

2010-08-31T21:21:00.005+08:00

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Last weekend, we went a good friend's wedding. I'm not really one for weddings, would usually give it a miss rather than turn up, haha, but I would definitely not miss this friend's wedding. We have been friends since we were 13 years old and we are now 33 :) Can you imagine? While we may not see each other all the time, the bonds of friendship are strong. And it is especially meaningful to see and feel the happiness exude from her on her special day.

Nat was the flower girl at the church ceremony. Earlier in the week, during rehearsals, my baby had given me grief by throwing a tantrum, refusing to practice the march-in. However, on the day itself, it must have been the whole wedding atmosphere and excitement, she actually came through and played her part beautifully. I guess the beautiful bouquet of flowers that my friend had ordered for the flower girls played a part in enticing her. After the ceremony, she even turned to me and said "I want to get married!" Haha, ok, baby girl, all in good time. I am sure that when the time comes, and we actually read this blog again, we will both have a good laugh.

2010-08-27T14:55:00.003+08:00

Friday, 27 August 2010

It's been a while since I have updated on nat's swimming. Over the past year, she has made quite good progress and can swim a short distance on her own. It always feels me with pride when I see her swimming during her lessons. Makes all the hours spent at the pool with her well worth it.

This week, she also started taking the school bus to school. It's been very tiring, braving the early morning traffic daily to fetch her to and from school, and going to work thereafter. I hung on for more than half a year, but finally decided to throw in the towel and let her have a go on the school bus. Seems to have worked out well, for now, she was whiney and I was guilty on the first day, but thereafter, she seems to be fine. As parents, sometimes it is so hard to let go, after all, I keep thinking that she is only 3 years old, isn't it too soon? Guilt, guilt! Not easy emotions to live with.

Parenting is never easy, but the frustrations are also accompanied by the joy we experience with our children.

2010-08-21T16:05:00.008+08:00

Saturday, 21 August 2010

My baby boy has learnt the skill of melting my heart :)

All he needs to do is scrunch up his face, like such, and say "mummy", whatever he wants, I'm sold!

He has also learnt how to gain sympathy from willing volunteers like myself, he comes to you and pretends his eyes are painful, and wants you to blow! Do that, and he is one contented little boy! He may be at the height of his tantrums at this age, but he is also at the height of his cuteness :)

Tell me, who can resist the rosy cheeks and impish smile?

2010-08-18T09:36:00.007+08:00

Wednesday, 18 August 2010

It's been almost a term since nat started her tennis lessons. Overall, she's found it quite enjoyable. The coach gets along very well with her and she has developed a "mean" backhand. Sometimes, when I look at nat, I see a lot of myself. My mum started me on tennis young too (although, not at age 3.5 haha) and I have really enjoyed the game since. Never really did like it much on a competitive level, but socially, it's quite fun. I have fond memories of when I "challenged" my Caucasian teacher to a tennis match in JC and lost miserably, even with the whole class coming to cheer me on. But hey, what the heck, it was all in good fun! I hope you continue to enjoy the game, baby nat!

2010-08-11T14:44:00.010+08:00

Wednesday, 11 August 2010

It has been a while since I blogged. Blogging is all about inspiration, some days, you just can't conjure up the energy to be enthusiastic about daily happenings in life. On other days, it flows in a continuous stream.

The kids are developing fast. Didi is officially in his terrible twos, throwing numerous tantrums a day, screaming, hitting his sister, climbing onto the kitchen counter top by stepping on the kitchen shelves and saying hi from that high vantage point (yes, we nearly had a heart attack!), coming to you with a sorrowful look and tear-stained face. Yet, he is the same boy who will come to you daily, put his face on your lap and say "wuv", the same boy who plucked some bougainvillas from the neighbours next door and gives it to mummy, and the same boy who says "sweet miss" (instead of sweet dreams) every night at bed time.

Nat is no longer a little baby, sometimes I feel she is so grown up. She is totally obsessed with lipsticks and nail polish (the irony is that mummy does not wear make-up much), princesses and barbie dolls. She loves reading (although I still think she is memorising most books) and interestingly, she will pick up my thick small-print novels and pretend to read it for hours. One day, I fell asleep with her doing that and when I woke up half an hour later, she was still "poring" over the book. Recently, I had slackened in my enthusiasm to teach her Mandarin and she came up to me indignantly the other day and said "Mummy, you have not been teaching me Chinese." Haha, who's the mum here? Anyway, I was glad to note that she has picked up some Mandarin from my earlier lessons with her. When we were in Orchard Road the other day, she pointed to a signage on a building and said "That's zhong1 xin1 (I can't seem to write any chinese characters here) and the other one says da4." At that moment, I was really proud of nat, she is actually absorbing what I teach her, instead of just purely memorising it. She kind of likes drawing as well and the picture above, which she vandalised my swing with is her version of a traffic light.

Some days, I think I am reaching a mini "mid-life" crisis here. Some days, I really adore my kids and just love them to bits. On other days, particularly when they are screaming the house down, I look at them and resent the fact that I am so totally bogged down with the responsibilities of parenting. But as always, the negative feelings pass and I end up feeling guilty for having such thoughts. Oh well, who said parenting is easy?

2010-08-01T06:22:00.004+08:00

Sunday, 1 August 2010

Haven't been sleeping great recently, so what is one to do when one is wide awake at 4:30am in the morning? Watch cable, haha! And there is much to learn from cable TV.

My 2 favourite shows running at those wee hours of the morning, are Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Take Home Nanny. Ok, ok, so they aren't the most inspiring or educational shows, but hey it keeps me entertained.

Diners. Drive-ins and Dives features a guy who goes around America searching for interesting and unique food, from pubs, to drive-ins to diners, just about anywhere. Luckily though, watching him devour chunks of tantalising steak, hamburgers and seafood doesn't make me fat, since I'm not big on this kind of food, anyway. Phew!

As for Take Home Nanny, it's about how a professional nanny advises troubled families on how to tame the naughty behaviour of their children. While I realise this is a reality show, some of the tips from the show is quite good, especially since I have been feeling increasingly frustrated with my baby boy as he enters the Terrible Twos.

Some tips to share:
1. Parents to keep calm and talk to the children in a calm and level voice. Sometimes when the kids behave badly, you are so ready to scream and yell at them, but control your emotions.

2. Consistency - When reinforcing a rule or behaviour, consistency is key. If the children realise they can get away with whining and crying, they will.

3. Choices - Sometimes, children want to feel in control. It's perfectly normal behaviour. One option is provide them with limited choices e.g what to wear. Instead of opening the whole wardrobe to them, give them a choice of this or that. They get to assert control within limits.

4. Never let children get away with bad manners. You need to reinforce the idea that as parents, they need to respect you and will and should not get away with rude remarks or hitting.

5. For older kids, it is good to set up a "work-station" for them, a small quiet area where they can have their own space to do homework or light reading.

I guess, that's all I can remember for now, so long, till the next episode, if I happen to wake up early again.

2010-07-18T15:03:00.007+08:00

Sunday, 18 July 2010

I have not been updating my blog regularly, not too sure why, uninspired, tired, bored? Life goes on day after day. While walking around Funan mall today, I just remembered how Gary and I used to come to this mall a lot, before we were married, just to check out the new tech stuff on the market. Life seemed a lot more carefree then, no kids, no responsibilities, it was just about having fun. Fast forward, it's just been less than a decade, still the same place but there we were, with our two kids. No more checking out the cool tech stuff at our own leisurely pace, with nat running all over the place and lucas doing the same. They are at this age, when they are superbly mobile and perpetually fighting. Just take your eye away for a second and the duo will be off in a flash.

It's great being parents, but I guess sometimes, one just needs to take a breather. After all, no matter how frustrated you feel now, it all melts away when your baby plants a baby fresh kiss on your face, after you fell asleep on the couch, watching Little Einstein with them for like the hundredth time.

2010-07-10T05:30:00.002+08:00

Saturday, 10 July 2010

Just the other evening, we caught sight of a beautiful rainbow in the sky. Every stared in awe at it, then nat turned to me and said " Mummy, why is there a rainbow?". Uh-oh! I was like totally blank for a minute, I know the answer right, or do I? Something about light and water and uh light ... haha ... at the moment, the only answer I could think of was "Uh, baby, did you know you can find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?" Phew, it worked and she was distracted.

Later, I googled to find an explanation for how a rainbow is formed. Basically, sunlight shines onto water droplets in the sky, forming a beautiful spectrum of colours through refraction. Hehe, for the record, when I did explain to nat, I kind of left out the word refraction. Hey, give this poor mum a break, it's the end of the work week and I am tired ... and I sure ain't got an explanation of the word "refraction".

2010-07-08T21:01:00.006+08:00

Thursday, 8 July 2010

A little treasure that I found in my archives. What a difference 3 years make!

2010-07-07T05:14:00.002+08:00

Wednesday, 7 July 2010

I have been missing in action for a bit, busy running around doing stuff, every day I am so wiped out that I totally knock off in bed.

Some updates on the kids: They are officially best of friends and enemies as well. One moment they are hugging and loving each other, another moment, Lucas comes along and whacks Nat on the head while Nat responds by shoving him away. This goes on till one of us comes along to break up the fight. Leave them alone in the backseat, and you will see Lucas struggling out of his car seat to poke Nat while Nat screams at him. Gary gets very kan cheong when he sees this, as for me, I am already used to it, told him to take it easy, just leave them be.

Time passes so quickly. The other day, I was kinda feeling broody moody, and thinking back on the times when I was much younger and used to sleep with Mum during bedtime. We watched TV, read and chatted till we fell asleep. At that moment, it seemed like growing up took forever. Yet, looking back now, that time has just flown by and I do miss it. It's kinda different now, being someone's wife, and mum to two. No more being mummy's gal, no more squeezing onto her bed, no more long walks at the park together (although I still try to do this once in a while). While I do enjoy motherhood, I realise the responsibility is great and I do miss being on the other side of the spectrum.

Didi Lucas is growing increasingly talkative. He can finally say his own name, after much "tuition" from his big sister. Just like his sister, he loves to dance and sway to music. This boy is growing more and more like his dad. When he first wakes up, he will look around and continue lazing in bed. Then, he will gather his towel (just like nat), take a sniff at it and trot out of the room. Next destination, my loungy chair. Again, he will clamber on, relax and chill out on the chair, and even prop his legs up on the swivel chair beside him. Super relaxed, man, he sure knows how to enjoy life!

2010-06-23T06:37:00.005+08:00

There are just some things that only Daddies do, like play Chicken Invaders (nat scoffs when I ask her if mummy can play), catch a butterfly (he really is quite an expert), teach them to fly a kite (mine never lifts off the ground, keeps nose-diving), go down the water slides at the theme park (ok, so I am a scaredy cat), do the airplane with them (comprises some acrobatic moves that includes balancing them on your feet, it never fails to get them squealing). Of course, there is so much more, and the kids know it. You just have to look at how excited they get when gary comes home from work and everyone stops what they are doing to rush out to the front door to give daddy a big hug.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-14T20:53:00.004+08:00

Monday, 14 June 2010

For those dear friends who are feeling blue, here's my little rapper girl nat, with an old 80's song, to cheer you up and chase away those Monday blues. It sure perked me up :)

2010-06-13T18:44:00.011+08:00

Sunday, 13 June 2010

The week-long intensive tennis camp for nat ended on Friday. Both of us enjoyed it and what made it even nicer was that Gary managed to take Friday morning off to attend the last day of the camp with her. I had been sending him pics on the iphone all week, but even he agrees that it is different being there with her.

It's been a good holiday programme, nat definitely has ball sense and enjoys the game. I've picked up some coaching tips and games to play on the courts. We will definitely be playing tennis more often and will probably sign her up for another holiday programme in December. I am so proud of my little girl, she has focused well during the lesson and can hit a mean backstroke. While sitting by the sidelines watching her, I reminisced on the times when my mum taught me tennis, at a young age too. Doesn't seem like that long ago in my mind, but it's actually been more than 2 decades.

In the weekend, we went to the zoo and caught Dora and Diego on stage. Along the way, nat also got herself a little butterfly tatoo, which she was positively mesmerised with. The zoo was totally crowded, I couldn't believe the long queue of cars still incoming as we made our way out. It was a super hot and humid day and we were wiped just after an hour or so at the zoo. Check out didi's cool star wars storm trooper shirt, courtesy of daddy the star wars fan (You do realise that our kids are named after actors/actresses/characters in the show. Hmm ... does Yoda have a nice ring to it or Anakin, maybe? I personally like Leia)

Oh yes, while shopping at the mall yesterday, we chanced upon a Barbie fashion show thingey and stood around watching heavily made-up Barbie look-alike kids dancing on stage. That took like all of 3 minutes, before I got bored and herded the brood back to the car. When we got home, nat told me in all seriousness ,that she wanted to be Barbie and even showed me a few nifty moves that she had learnt from watching the dancers on stage. Then she went on to sing "I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world ..." Oh man, she's too young to be into this. So, instead of encouraging her fascination with Barbie, I distracted her with a baseball bat and ball instead. Phew ... she took the bait!

2010-06-08T22:40:00.008+08:00

Tuesday, 8 June 2010

Since Monday, baby girl and I have been spending the mornings on the tennis courts at a week-long tennis camp for tots. Not too many tots in the class, so nat has almost exclusive attention most of the time. I'm really glad to see her enjoying herself during class and pleased that she loves the game as much as me. Every morning, she will ask if she is going for baby tennis and when I tell her we are, she gets very excited.

I don't think I have the time to bring her for regular lessons when school starts, but I thought it was a great idea to join the camp during the June and December holidays. The coach is great and she gets along really well with him. I sit in during the class and give her encouragement. Whenever she hits a nice shot, she will look at me for support. This little miss is really a bundle of energy, just looking at her running and jumping all over the tennis courts makes me tired. Check out the cool forehand, backhand and volley.

It's been exhausting for me though, having to go to work in the afternoon, while nat sleeps off the morning excitement. But just seeing the smile on her face makes everything worth it.

2010-06-06T20:36:00.010+08:00

Sunday, 6 June 2010

Today's post is mainly devoted to nat and didi's fave preschool band in the world - The Wiggles. When I first saw how happy the kids were when they were watching and dancing along with the very first Wiggles DVD I bought, I told myself that I would bring them to the concert if it ever came to Singapore. And to Singapore they came. On Saturday, we found ourselves at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, together with an army of other fervent 2-5 year old fans. It was a very different kind of concert, so interactive, so full of energy that even the parents felt like getting up to dance as well. Kids were not confined to their seats but allowed to roam towards the aisles to dance and jive.

When the characters first came out, I could actually hear nat screaming in excitement (listen out for her screams in the video), it was quite funny. Although we paid an arm and a leg to get front row seat tickets to the concert, no regrets.

My kids, including Lucas, thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Throughout the concert, nat was right at the front, either staring in awe at her favourite Wiggles character or dancing the night away. You can see for yourselves, from the videos, she is that little dynamo bopping up and down. Didi lucas is a bit young to roam, but he too had fun bouncing on our legs. He was so fascinated with all the lights and sounds, he kept repeating the word Wiggles. It's interesting how 4 grown men can get preschoolers so excited, sometimes I wonder if it's the energetic songs, the multi-colours or just their funny personality.

Of course, being the crazed fans they are, my kids we went home with plenty of Wiggles paraphernalia.

The next day, the dynamic duo woke up, refreshed and ready to take on the world. So off we went to the Marina Barrage to fly kites. Weather was ok, although it got a bit hot towards the afternoon.

One of the greatest joys in life is to see the siblings enjoying themselves together and having fun. Haven't been feeling too happy recently and it is scenes like these that lifts up your spirits.

That night, nat was still obsessed with The Wiggles, so she entertained us with the groovy dance moves she learnt.

2010-06-03T06:42:00.013+08:00

Thursday, 3 June 2010

It's been a relatively nice week. I managed to steal some time away to have a quick lunch with gary near his office earlier in the week. The lunchtime crowd in the CBD is amazing, the hustle and bustle, the noise, the long queues everywhere you look. Frankly, I am glad I don't have to brave through that every day, it would surely give me a perpetual headache.

Yesterday, gary also managed to take half a day off and bring our brood to the Singapore Art Museum. There is a Children's play area known as the Art Garden. I love it, it's so nice and creative and cheery. Note that this one's not free though. Basically, you explore the four different levels, which have varying themes.

First level is meant for small kids, as there is a height restriction. It's got some bunny theme and the kids are free to hop around the artificial grass and throw the green beanbags around. Little Miss busied herself building a castle.

At the second level, she did some colouring and craft. There was a big jiejie sitting beside her who did the colouring very nicely. Nat just scrawled and made a mess before attempting to cut up her art work into shreds.

Level 3, one of my favourites, for its sheer creativity. It is called the Enchanted Jungle or something like that. Some talented artist must have spent a long time drawing the murals in this room. There are all kinds of animals, hidden in the jungle, just waiting to be uncovered. Monkeys, tapirs, tigers, birds. panda bears ... and in line with the Singapore theme ... the Merlion. Here is nat, attempting to climb up the tree, we had to grab her before she actually did. There is also a table at the corner for kids to colour butterflies and when completed, you can even hang your butterfly in the Enchanted Forest. Didi, who was sleeping through the first 2 levels, woke up just in time, to colour his very own butterfly, and he was mighty proud of it.

Level 4, another favourite, truly a digital wonderland for kids. The firefly garden above is designed to be interactive. When you attempt to catch the butterflies, they fly just out of reach. The waterfall splashes to make beautiful patterns when you sit in its path. Stand perfectly still in the garden and a tree will sprout out from the area you are standing. It's truly amazing! Nat is also at an age when she adores big jiejies. She was following a little girl all around the room and quite willingly did everything the jiejie asked. Didi stood in awe at the firefly garden but got distracted by a nearby exhibit, the flower garden. As you walk through the garden, the flowers disappear but reappear as you walk away from the spot, forming a trail behind you.

We spent about 2 hrs at the museum, after which we had a nice cool drink at the cafe before returning home. What a fun but exhausting day. We all slept early and everyone, including didi lucas slept through the night. Gary still thinks I chiong too much and longs for his "nice and relaxing" off-day. Haha, dream on, baby!

2010-06-01T22:08:00.004+08:00

Tuesday, 1 June 2010

This is the first week of the school hols. I'm planning to bring the kids to interesting attractions or places at least once a week. Today, we went to the zoo. Although we have been to the zoo so many times, it amazes me how we always find something new to marvel at. The star attraction for the kids was the giraffe feeding session. Both were so thrilled to feed carrots to the tall, graceful animals with their long curling tongue.

When we got back to my mum's place, they were still a bundle of energy, so we hung out in the garden, playing kiddy tennis and golf. I love it that my mum has a big garden for the kids to run around in, it's so therapeutic just sitting there watching them, whacking the ball around the garden, checking out the nearby drain, spraying water from the hose or even snooping around the crevices looking for creepy crawlies.

2010-05-30T22:22:00.006+08:00

Sunday, 30 May 2010

It's been a month or so since I started teaching nat Mandarin more intensively. For nat, when she is in the mood, she can pick up the words or phrases quite fast. If she is not in the mood, don't bother. At this stage, I am teaching her sanzijing, I find that comics are a great way of getting the kids interested in the language. She looks at each picture curiously and urges me to tell her the story, so I usually ask her to remember the poem before telling the story.

Also bought didi a new toy, a ladybug ride-on, which he loves to bits. It is quite good for building up his leg muscles and I'm glad to see that he seems sturdier now.

Something interesting we discovered about the little miss over the weekend, is that she has a good memory. She has been playing with my iphone for quite a while now and her fave app is a storybook app that reads out stories. One of the stories she loves listening to is The Princess and the Pea. This weekend, she suddenly decided to do a recital for us, and we were totally amazed that she can recite it to us, verbatim. It's quite funny, she has even got the accent down pat :) haha! Turn up the volume because she gets a bit shy halfway through and it becomes a whisper. Oh yes, watch out for the ending, it's hilarious.

2010-05-27T20:21:00.004+08:00

Thursday, 27 May 2010

Yesterday was the last day of school and it surely was a "dotty" day. The children were encouraged to dress up in anything dotty.

And here's what the little miss turned up to school in.

Didi Lucas was in school as well for his swim class, he loves exploring the school grounds, hopefully it means we will have no separation anxiety problems when he starts school here next year. Sigh ... how fast my babies grow up.

2010-05-23T21:07:00.009+08:00

Sunday, 23 May 2010

I have recently been spending a lot of time focusing on nat's mandarin. I am glad to say that the effort has paid off somewhat and she is definitely more comfortable listening and talking in mandarin. One day, I will write a longer post about it. For today, just wanted to share this interesting anecdote.

Over the weekend, I bought this book from Popular. It teaches good morals and values through chinese idioms and phrases. Nat is at an age when she is easily influenced and I think it is a good time to start teaching her such values. What I like about this book is that it is in the form of comic strips and nat adores comics. So we go though a few values a day. We don't actually memorise the idioms, instead, we just enjoy the comic together.

One particular comic strip she likes comes from this value. The comic strip shows a mum mopping the floor, she requests for help from her daughter, who keeps telling her that she will do it later. Nat can totally relate to this because these days, whenever I ask her anything, like how was her day at school, her answer will be ... later. She would rather be snacking or listening to nursery rhymes on the car radio. If you can see the picture, the comic strip mum dramatically faints in exhaustion, which sets nat off, chuckling away. I think I have repeated this story to her like 20 times since Saturday. Today, she gave the story a new twist. She told me that she had a new story and requested for me to go through the comic strip with her again. We started off with the mum requesting for help. Then when it came to the girl's answer, she actually said ok, instead of later. Maybe it has finally dawned on her that, as the chinese idiom reads, When requested to do something by our parents, do it quickly without lethargy . Good job, baby girl, keep it up!

2010-05-21T22:23:00.006+08:00

Friday, 21 May 2010

My little man, all of 20 months old, in summary.

1. Fave phrase: Oh No!

2. Fave food: Vitagen

3. Fave cartoon character: Little Einstein, Leo (affectionately called leo-leo)

4. Fave move: Running at full speed and banging against the sofa, then exclaiming Oh No

5. Mummy's fave: Getting a big affectionate kiss from him

6. Fave person: Nat Nat

7. Fave male: Dah-ddy

8. Fave sport: Swimming

9. Fave animal: Birds

10. Fave pose: Covering his eyes when he sees scary things (like dinosaurs) and burrowing his head in the pillow when mummy is angry, after he has done something naughty

11. Best assets: His eyes, twinkly and expressive

2010-05-19T21:37:00.002+08:00

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

It's been more than a month since nat started ballet lessons. My heart fills with pride when I see her improving and being so focused during the lesson. Today, they learnt how to do "splits". Not easy, will post a video of her her when she finally manages to do it. Meanwhile, here's her superman pose. Enjoy!

She is also reaching a stage where she is asking about everything and anything. The other day, she saw a pool of water droplets outside the car window. I think the air-con within the car was too cold and causing condensation on the window. She turned around and asked me in all seriousness, what's that? Uh, I was silent for a while, kind of forgot all that science stuff. Sigh, looks like it's time to revise some of the o'le general knowledge, don't want to teach baby girl the wrong stuff.

2010-05-16T20:53:00.006+08:00

Sunday, 16 May 2010

Whoever came up with the concept of Children's Season at the Museum should give themselves a pat on the back. This is a great programme for kids - child-friendly with lots of fun activities. I remember I first brought my baby nat in 2008, before didi was born. She totally loved it - so kudos to the person who came up with the idea of changing a museum to a place of fun instead of a boring and dreary place.

The idea is, for a limited time period, the organisers transform certain areas of the museum to creative play areas where the kids can enjoy and learn. This year, they focus on using soft sculptures and fabric shapes on a flannel felt board. The kids remove the felt characters from different parts of the flannel and create their own stories.

Nat was particularly taken by the moose with funny hands and legs.

Didi, the typical male preferred the cool looking felt car. There were other activities too.

They had an area set up where the children could make their very own tribal mask. Nat liked this activity as she loves colouring with markers and her mask was particularly bright and cheery.

Didi was a little too young for this activity, so he trooped off with daddy. The pair had fun playing with the shadows cast by the interesting swinging lights. I initially had some reservations about coming to the museum on a weekend, but I did want Gary to join us for this activity. In the past, I usually went on weekdays and he never managed to see the kids enjoying themselves here. It was a good decision, we were early and it was not too crowded. I think this Children's Season run throughs from May to June, so I guess I will be back with the kids soon, probably could arrange to have playdates with friends here as well.

2010-05-16T07:31:00.008+08:00

Sunday, 16 May 2010

Had a Parent's Teacher Meeting with nat's teachers, haha, first time experience. That's what I like about this school, they do try their to involve the parents in activities. The teacher had some pics of the kids enjoying their classes in school. They shared with me that as one of the older kids in class, nat is generally quite independent and sociable. She loves story and playground time and is not fearful of Mandarin as she used to be. She has a good memory and can repeat word for word the songs, poems and prayers that they teach in school. Haha something new to me, she can't quite catch a ball. Hmm, let's work on that, little miss.

This weekend, with the kids thankfully feeling better, we were back to nature. And everyone enjoyed it! Botanic Gardens, Hort Park ... all in one day. No wonder gary was wiped out at the end of the day. Haha, he was getting used to the lazy weekends we had been having for the last 2 weeks.

2010-05-12T20:58:00.007+08:00

Wednesday, 12 May 2010

Just some pics and video on how we spent the day.

Little man having fun during swim class.

Little miss mummy slings her baby Sally.

Learning phonics @ starfall website

Had an interesting conversation with nat this evening. I was showing the kids this nursery rhymes website, when she suddenly said "I think that's Mona Lisa." I looked at her in amazement and asked her how she knew. Very knowingly and conspiratorially, she said "Because she has long hair." Then she burst out in giggles. I said it before, and I say it again. Kids say the darnest things.

2010-05-09T18:15:00.006+08:00

Sunday, 9 May 2010

Didi lucas is a lot more active than nat @ 19 months. He loves to climb everything, up and down the sofa, lounge chair, bed. Once I even watched as he tried to haul himself onto his high chair. One does have to keep an eye on him at all times. Here is a video I managed to capture of him playing with our towel rack and attempting to do pull-ups. Haha ... funny little man.

Here's another video of nat singing. Ever since she started ballet classes, she loves to prance around singing and dancing, and she does enjoy an appreciative audience that claps after her performance.

Oh yes, I was introduced to this activity by a friend, clay dough. Basically, the dough can be bought from Popular, it comes in an original pack of white clay. It is a bit like plasticine, except it feels a little moist when you first knead at it. Using the dough, nat and I made a cooking pot, pau, pizza and a varity of other food items. Thereafter, we left it to dry at the balcony. When it is dried, the clay hardens. Next step, painting. I like this activity because it is kinda like two activities in one, and nat looks forward to the painting. Every so often, she will run to the balcony to look at her clay items and check if it is dry. One thing though, nat hasn't really learnt the art of differentiating paints, she just mixes all the paint together, so the colour ends up a rather yucky brown. Check it out! Well, it's alright, I still appreciate my baby girl's work of art, I think!

2010-05-09T17:59:00.005+08:00

Sunday, 9 May 2010

Today is Mother's Day, a day to thank my mum :) Really appreciate all the things she has done for me, all the support she has given me, especially always being there for me and the kids. It's interesting, I used to be kinda scared of my mum when I was young, as she was rather strict with me. Yet, as I grew older, I feel as if our relationship has evolved and we have definitely grown closer. Some days, I even miss the times when I was in JC/University and we used to go shopping/lunch/walks nearly every day. Nevertheless, these days, even if I don't see my mum, I do try to call her and chit chat with her at least once a day, just to see what she is up to.

Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you, Gary for a wonderful and delicious Mother's Day home-cooked meal of Rock Melon and Parma Ham and Sakura Ebi Pasta. You are the best!

Something interesting to update! Didi lucas has a new bed. He seemed to be getting too tall and long for his cot so we decided to upgrade him to a new bed. Initially, I had wanted to buy something similar to the one we had bought for nat from Spotlight. However, they told me they don't sell it anymore. Well, if you are not intending to spend thousands of dollars on those cool kids' beds from Europe (that come with slides/ladders), the next best bet is Ikea. So one weekday night, Gary and I trooped down there and got a nice blue toddler bed for didi, only 99 bucks. Think he will need some time to get used to getting on and off the bed, so we will be more watchful of him these few days. Already, this adventurous little man enjoys climbing up and down the bed. Well, practice makes perfect! We do place pillows and mats on the floor at night though, just in case he attempts to roll off while we are sleeping. Interestingly, nat has not much interest in the new bed, she associates things that are blue with boys and much prefers her pink Dora bed.

2010-05-08T17:11:00.005+08:00

Saturday, 8 May 2010

Nat has the dreaded chicken pox, so we have all been stuck at home this week. Here's a list of how we have managed to entertain ourselves:

1. DVDs
Dora and Little Einstein are staples. I have seen some of the episodes so many times that I can even memorise what happens next. I have also picked up some Spanish, since Dora speaks a mix of Spanish and English.

2. Mandarin and English
I spent about 30 minutes each day doing Mandarin lessons with Nat. She is rather receptive, surprisingly. So far, we have covered the Mandarin strokes heng2, shu4, pie3, na4, dian3. We have also learnt da4 xi1 gua1 , da4 xiang4 and xiao3 cao3 mei2 and xiao3 lao2 shu3. We have progressed slowly but surely in our san1 zi4 jing1. Overall, it's been quite a success. For didi lucas, I have re-organised my flashcards collection and am running through the various flashcards with him on a daily basis.

3. Painting

From painting on paper, we have gone on to painting the balcony floor and even painting the leaves on my precious plants. All for the sake of exploration and creativity.

4. Reading
I have recently discovered these phonics readers from Scholastic and bought the Dora range. The stories are short, colourful and interesting. Give it a try, nat and lucas both love for me to read it to them and we can go through quite a few books at one go. Thereafter, they will take the book from me and pretend to read it on their own.

5. Treasure Hunt

On cold rainy days, when the living room is dark, nat snooped around and found 2 torchlights. My 2 babies became explorers, hunting for hidden treasure. I had a blast watching them. When I tried to switch on the light, nat firmly told me that they were on a mission, and please could I not disturb them.

2010-05-01T13:06:00.007+08:00

Saturday, 1 May 2010

My son adores his big sister. For such an active little dude, he can actually keep still and hold his big sister's hand for five whole minutes.

Yesterday, I brought didi lucas for a trial tots tennis class. Besides Julia Gabriel, which focuses more on the singing/music & movement aspect, I wanted to expose him to various sports, and help him to better focus his attention. My baby boy had a wild time. He is so different from his big sis. Once the class started, he just trooped in, cast a glance at me for reassurance and he was off to play! I could see that he enjoyed the class, running up and down, poking his nose into the tennis balls and other equipments at the side of the tennis courts, jumping around with the other tots in the class. The coach was chasing him all around the courts and rescuing him as he attempted to climb over the net. At the end of the class, the coach suggested I wait another few months, let him grow up a bit, and he would probably be able to take instructions better. Will probably sign him up for the class next term. It was no surprise, after the class, he fell asleep the minute he was buckled into his car seat.

2010-04-29T20:36:00.008+08:00

Thursday, 29 April 2010

We had a school excursion yesterday to one of the vegetable farms at Choa Chu Kang. Interesting visit, we saw some fresh and green looking vegetables and even got to bring some home. It was pretty hot though, and soon nat was grouching away, wanting to be carried. I think for her, the highlight of the day was when she got to "harvest" a radish. They actually let her pull it out from the ground. I managed to capture her doing that in full glory :) although she does look a little grumpy in the photograph.

Her other fave moment is probably having a cool crysanthemum drink at the end of the visit. I enjoyed it, got to catch up with nat's classmates parents as well as her teachers. And you know what this forgetful mum did? She promptly forgot that the next day (which is today), nat had no school as there was another excursion for kids from other sessions. We reached the school, realised that she didn't have class today and decided to spend the morning at Borders instead. She badgered me for a Dunkin Donut, Oreos flavour, which she thoroughly enjoyed, although she got her mouth all dirty.

Here's a video of didi Lucas I did not manage to upload in the Bintan entry. He is really his dad's son. Both like to lounge topless by the pool/beach, fiddling with the iPhone. Like father, like son!

2010-04-26T21:01:00.016+08:00

Monday, 26 April 2010

We are back, from Bintan! A short trip from Fri-Sun, but rejuvenating for Gary and me and the kids enjoyed themselves.

We had wondered whether it was a good idea to bring our maid, which we did in the end, and thank goodness we did. We were able to sneak off for some couple time, lounging by the adult pool, sipping a cold drink, ah ... that's the life!

It's nice that the kids are getting to an age when they can play together, and have fun! Lucas is constantly running after his sister, poking his nose into what she is doing.

Beach holidays are great because you essentially do nothing! Start off the morning with a leisurely breakfast, then it's beach time. We strolled by the beach and made sand cakes. Interestingly, both kids are scared of the waves so they preferred to chill away from the waves. We had the opportunity to see hermit crabs during low tide ... it was fun ... nat was scared and squealed when they crawled towards her ... lucas, the fearless, tried to swallow it whole, mud and all! We even managed to see some fish in the clear blue sea water. Gary and I tried to have a stroll along the beach, but nat has this intense jealously when she sees us holding hands and she declared she was angry. Sigh ... oh well ... there goes the romantic walk by the beach.

Next stop, swimming pool. The pools at Banyan Tree are nicer for adults, but for the kids, we headed to the Angsana resort just beside it. The pool is heated and they have a kids' wading pool that is just the right height, even for Lucas. Both our water babies loved it and nat was constantly asking us to bring her to the pool.

After the swim tired them out, we whisked them back to the room for 3-hour naps :) This is when Gary and I sneak off to explore and chill. Angsana resort also has a kids' club, a playroom with toys where the kids can hang out, with free water and cookies. It's nice that nat is at an age when she is starting to socialise. She even made friends and was playing puppets with them.

Mosquitoes were a big issue, for gary that is, haha! When you are in a resort like this, mosquitoes are just part and parcel of the environment. My man was constantly catching and killing mosquitoes, despite the fact that we slept in a bed with a mosquito net. The first night, I woke up to find him "on guard", daring any mosquito to cross his path and be smashed to death. Nat became his official assistant and was constantly telling daddy where the mosquitoes were headed. Oh yes, like gary, she too is a mosquito magnet.

Food-wise, I was not too impressed. Surprisingly, the italian food was good and our brood slurped up the spaghetti with relish. From our table at the restaurant, I could see that they had specially set up table for two on the rocks for some romantic couple. I told Gary I wouldn't like to have dinner there, firstly I wouldn't be able to see the food, secondly, would be too freaked out over the swashing waves pounding on the rocks. Haha, I'm not one for romance ... of this kind.

It was a short holiday, but well worth it. Looking forward to the next one, soon?