Saturday, 29 August 2009

This morning, our whole family trooped to the zoo. Hadn't been making good use of the zoo pass, so I decided we would try to go at least once a month (more, if possible). We arrived almost on the dot, as the zoo opened at 8:30am. While gary was getting some coffee to perk himself up, I spotted a wagon for rent at the counter. Had seen it in the past but no interest as didi lucas was too young to sit comfortably in the wagon. This time, decided to rent it so the kids could have an interesting ride. I was totally scandalised to discover that it was $15 for rental. Ridiculous pricing ... sigh ... but what the heck, just this once. Imagine my shock when I returned the wagon at 11:30am and saw the whole fleet all rented out, there were in fact people waiting for returns so they could rent it :O

The kids loved the wagon. As we pulled it along, they saw the usual animals. What is interesting though, at the age of almost one, didi lucas can now relate to the animals better (as compared to a few months ago when he would just sleep through our zoo visits). He stared in awe at the giraffes and orang utans and when he saw the cheetah enclosure, he proudly declared "mao", a chinese term for cat which he had learned recently. Not wrong, haha, except this is one fierce cat.

We stopped at the kids waterplay area. As according to my plan, we were one of the first people there. Our kids had most of the play area to themselves. No rowdy big kids running around tripping over my kids, just yet. Nat, as usual, was raring to go and as soon as we changed her, she darted off like an arrow, with daddy chasing after her. Didi lucas followed shortly, and I brought him to the various fountain areas. He too is a water baby, and had no problem adapting to it. He had lots of fun, screaming and chuckling and chasing nat nat. Towards 11am, it got kind of hot and crowded so off we went. Even the rest of the exhibits were getting crowded, so we just stopped briefly at the baboons, before heading out. After all, with a zoo pass, we can come back anytime, especially during weekdays when it is a lot less crowded.

What a great day! The outdoors is the best place for kids, sunshine, fresh air, what more could one ask for? Hmm ... which park shall we go later?

Thursday, 27 August 2009

The night was still, the room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Then "THUD"! I literally jumped out of bed, that could only be one sound, didi lucas had fallen off the bed. These days, he sleeps between us and for the past week, it seemed quite alright and he didn't seem to move around too much. However, yesterday, I really do not know how he managed to roll to the foot of the bed and onto the floor. He was lying face down and was crying miserably :( I quickly examined him, he seemed fine, did not even cry too much, just some comfort from mummy and he was back to slumber. We monitored him for a day and he seems perfectly normal. Tonight, the bed guard goes onto our bed. Sigh, should have done that right from the start.

My little man has invented another game to play with mummy. When he has had his fill of milk, he will offer me his milk bottle and insist I drink it. I usually pretend to suck the bottle vigorously, and this gets him really happy and excited. Haha, oh well, anything to brighten up my kids' day.

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

Today, nat, didi and me watched a new cartoon, Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea. I had heard a lot about it, and had caught some parts of the music soundtrack, and had been meaning to watch it, just to see what's the big fuss about. After watching it, I decided it's like a cute version of the Little Mermaid. Basically Ponyo is this little fish that befriends a little boy and decides she wants to be human. As the soundtrack played and little Ponyo and the little boy ran circles round the screen, my 2 kids were totally transfixed. I think I've watched the soundtrack trailer like 10 times today.

What I found interesting though, was that during certain segments of the story, when Ponyo's father (a character who looks kind of fierce, with dishevelled hair) tries to "capture" her, nat gets really upset and cries uncontrollably. She tells me to stop the scary uncle from hurting Ponyo. When I tell her let's switch off the TV since it makes her upset, she refuses. It's interesting that at such a young age, they can "feel" for others and get worried when others get hurt.

My darling little man is fast reaching his 1-year old birthday. Time seems to have just flown by. Even his sleeping habits have changed. He does not like to sleep in the cot anymore. He sleeps through the night when he is on the bed with gary and me. I kind of like it though, the closeness to him, waking up in the night and seeing him sleeping so sweetly. Train him to be independent, you might say, but I think for now, I'll still like to keep my little man at my side.

22 August 2009

Another day at the park, this time, it's the Hort Park. That big green field is such a perfect place for kids to run about. The grass is not pokey so the shoes are quickly taken off and before I know it, the kids are off in all directions. Even didi lucas has great confidence to stray further and when he falls, he gets right up to walk again.

Saturday, 22 August 2009

Playgrounds are great for kids to run around and use up  all their pent up energy. These days, on mornings when I don't work, we have taken to visiting the playground in the early mornings. Fresh air, uncrowded, the kids love it. How do I know this? Well, just had a conversation with little miss precocious this morning, and asked her if she was happy and having fun? Her answer? This is cool! There you have it.

This week, our learning theme is centred on spiders! It's amazing what you can gain from a bit of research on the Internet. We re-read Eric Carle's A Very Busy Spider. This is a good book, even didi lucas stops and listens. Some days, he is even able to point out the spider to me. As for nat, she has always enjoyed reading and listening to stories. After reading, we took a piece of paper and did crayon rubbings. As the picture of the web is intentionally raised in the book, the rubbings revealed a beautiful spider web. Nat was amazed and wanted to do it again. Other spider activities we did included sorting out cuttings of spiders (with 8 legs) and insects. It's actually quite age appropriate, although she can't really count the number of legs, she can visually recognise a spider. Then as I read her the story again, she identified the different animals in the story and laid them out in a row. Seems like a lot of activities, doesn't it? But actually, it took us merely half an hour, which is about the time she starts to lose interest, haha. I think it's important to get kids to learn how to focus on an activity. For pre-schoolers, it doesn't have to be too long, though.

Children have amazing memories! Just the other day, someone offered nat an ugly looking teapot. I didn't really want to lug the teapot home so when she was distracted, I quickly hid it away. That day, after we got home, she asked "Where's my teapot?". Oh oh ... I told her it was broken. The next time, she asked me again, "Where's my teapot?". Before I could answer, she said woefully "Someone broke it!" Aww ... poor thing ... maybe I should have lugged the teapot home, after all.

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

This evening, didi lucas woke up from his sleep crying loudly. Normally, I would just hand him over to the maid and get her to pacify him to sleep. But tonite, I thought to myself, this is my duty as his mummy. And so I rocked my wailing little man back and forth, whispered and sang to him and finally he fell back into slumber. It's not so difficult after all. No more outsourcing for me.

When kids come along, responsibilities become greater. These 2 years, I have felt quite a lot of stress from all directions. Life was so much easier when we were younger, just study and have fun! In those days, I was more carefree. When things got me down, I just tossed it to the back of my mind and carried on. Yet, as I grow older, I brood a lot more and it's a lot harder to just toss worries aside.

Sometimes you make decisions and wonder if it is the right decision. I guess there is no right or wrong, at the end of the day, you just follow your heart.

Monday, 17 August 2009

Kids say the darnest things. At night, as I tucked nat into bed, she kissed me, she kissed her doll, then she said 'Sweet dreams'! I wonder where she learnt that from?

As he reaches the milestone of 1-year, didi is no longer the docile little baby. He too has a fiesty personality (although less than nat, I think). He is physically much stronger than nat at that age and it takes much effort to handle him when he is struggling. He loves to walk and walk and walk, although he is not resistant to crawling when he is tired. These days, he is ever so picky. When his milk is not made just right (sometimes mummy puts in too much water), he gets really pissed and refuses to drink the milk. Many a time, I have had to trudge back to the kitchen at 3am, just to adjust the milk to His Majesty's liking :) He has also got into the habit of waking up at that timing to play and it takes more than half an hour of entertainment before he will go back to bed.

Tiring as it all may be, I am sure we will look back at these memories fondly when the kids are all grown up. For now, who else but our kids would be "capable" of waking up daddy from his beauty sleep, without him losing his temper? :)

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Today, nat was still having her afternoon nap but lucas had already woken up. He was full of energy and refused to be cooped up in the house. So, mummy decided to bring didi for a walk at the playground. My little man loves the outdoors, immediately he quietened down. Along the way, I pointed out the little crawling ants to him, which made him really curious. When we reached the playground, he clambered onto the platform and had lots of fun "driving", looking into the mirror and just having fun chuckling aloud.

As I sat there watching him, I realised that I haven't done this as much as I would have liked to. Most times, when we go to the playground together with nat, she will want you to play with her, leaving didi lucas with the maid. While I love nat lots, I do feel sad that didi can't get the same attention from us, sometimes. That evening, as I sat there with my little man, I was happy. I watched his little smile, the ultimate determination as he attempted to climb the stairs, the twinkle in his eye when he sees himself in the mirror.

Who says you cannot love both your kids equally? Because, I do!

Sunday, 9 August 2009

The men in my life! The high forehead and deep frowns are enough to stop you in your tracks ...

... yet their lovely smiles can always melt your heart.

Sunday, 9 August 2009

I've always loved the game of tennis since my mum introduced it to me when I was a mere tot :) So, the other day, when I chanced upon a tennis school called Tots Tennis, I decided to let nat have a go at it at their trial class. While my baby is definitely not going to be rallying with me any time soon, I'm glad she did enjoy the tots tennis class. Got her first taste of holding a tennis racket, running around the tennis courts, chasing sponge tennis balls all over the court. It's a great introduction to the game! I have a gut feel that she will like this game, when she gets older. Meanwhile, I think she is actually more interested in picking up tennis balls on the court. Ball picker, anyone?

Saturday, 8 August 2009

Botanic Gardens is one of the nicest place to bring kids because of the wide open space and beautiful greenery. It has a calming effect on everyone and the best time to go is in the evening, just before the sun sets. Beautiful sculptures, balmy breeze, yelpy dogs and even pet rabbits, bubbles and balls. What more could one ask for? It's free!

Friday, 7 August 2009

Been feeling troubled these few days, things happen which get you down. Yet, these are faces who will always lift your spirits up and keep you going.

*Note: Black and white theme to match my mood!

Wednesday, 5 August 2009

Last weekend, we brought the kids to the Central Fire Station. Every Saturday, they have an open house, when the public can venture into the premises and explore. It's quite interesting to see the bright red fire engines, powerful water hose and hydraulic lift platform up close. Nat even got the opportunity to go on it with daddy. Didi and I were below watching them, and I asked Lucas where his sister was. I was suitably impressed when he pointed upwards. (although in hindsight, I think he was just pointing at the moving machines, but indulge me a little, ok?)

We also dropped by East Coast, strolled along the beach a little and had breakfast there. Interesting to break our routine of always hitting the shopping malls.

Nat has been doing geometric shaped puzzles recently, keeps her focused and busy for quite a bit. Am moving away from just focusing on alphabets all the time, to include some Chinese as well as concentration/puzzle-like games.

Saturday, 1 August 2009

Sometimes, your kids' smallest achievements make you burst with pride. This is how I felt yesterday, during nat's first "unaccompanied" swimming class. The coach had mentioned to me that she was ready to join this class. At first, I was a bit apprehensive as she can't really swim on her own, without me holding her. However, my worries were unfounded, and she had a whale of a time (no pun intended) haha!

The class is very small, only nat and 2 other little boys. All 3 kids were very eager and excited. I liked it that the coach used different methods to interest the kids, teaching them the correct swimming strokes and breathing techniques along the way.

My distracted baby girl seemed particularly fond of the little boy sitting beside her in class, and kept wanting to hold his hands. On his part, he was totally uninterested and more focused on waiting for his turn to swim. It was fun watching her.

I am now convinced about the merits of having kids learn swimming early, and will probably start Lucas on it pretty soon.

After swimming, we went to ION Orchard to meet gary. Too crowded, left after a while. Will probably check it out some time later, when it is not so crowded! Nat was intrigued by these colourful sculptures located just outside the mall.