Monday, 28 July 2008

It's been a while since we took some nice pics of nat, so I'm glad we managed to capture some good pics over the weekend. This weekend, we brought nat to the zoo. Visits to the zoo seem more fruitful these days, as she can actually "appreciate" the animals better, a far cry from her first visit when she was 6-7 months old.

We also brought her to Botanic Gardens and later met our good frens at Dempsey. Again, I'm juz really glad that my good frens all like nat and don't find her too bratty :) There was some kind of carnival/flea market going on, with free popcorn and bubbles, so nat had quite a good time running around. She could even sit down at the kids table for 15 minutes doing some colouring ... haha although you'll notice, everyone else was colouring within the lines while nat was just scrawling away ... my creative little baby.

Nat's favourite word of the week is STOP, something she kept repeating over the weekend. When you do something she doesn't like, immediately she yells stop, so commanding hor ... tsk tsk. Her favourite food is surprisingly Japanese soba, just like her daddy. We had Japanese food for dinner on Saturday and surprisingly, she enjoyed slurping away at the soba. It's odd, because to me, soba/udon are rather tasteless.

Anywayz, in a flash, I'm already at 32 weeks. I'm looking forward to the arrival of #2, also a bit sick of feeling fat and clumsy. Let's pray that #2's arrival into this world will be as easy and unstressed as nat. Nothing dramatic, please ...!

Wednesday, 23 July 2007

Babies get high on sugar, myth or fact? I used to think it was a myth ... that is ... till yesterday. Brought nat along to meet a good friend for dinner. We had Japanese steamboat and nat ate heartily, I would if I were her, after all we were having wagyu beef. After that, we went nearby for ice-cream, where nat enjoyed feeding herself.

Her sugar high came almost immediately after we were done with the ice-cream. As usual, with nothing else to entertain her, she struggled to get out of the high chair, so we allowed her to wander around the ice-cream shop. When the rock music in the shop started to play, we were very amused to see her dancing to the music. Initially, I thought it was a spur of the moment thingey, but she continued her dancing for at least 10 minutes. My friend and I sat there looking on, thinking it was really hilarious! Pity I did not manage to catch her dancing on video.

Even after we got home, she was very hyper, running around the house and chuckling away. Mind you, this was about 10pm already. She finally feel asleep after a while but woke up from time to time crying ... sigh ...

My advice: Feeding babies ice-cream is alright once in a while, just don't overdo it and definitely not late at night. Tsk tsk ... the things you gotta learn on the job. Check out the pic below, nat has 2 cups of ice-cream and 2 scoops in her little hands!

Tuesday, 22 July 2008

Yesterday, I took a leisurely walk to Rail Mall together with nat. Was quite a nice walk, wind blowing ... just after the rain. As I walked along, I was just thinking how rare this would be in future, to bring my 2 babies for a walk together. After all, with #2 still in the tummy, it's still managable. Once he is born, I don't think I'll be able to manage two young babies alone. So better enjoy more of these nice walks with nat while I still can. She loves it when I sing to her. Also, these walks help to pacify and calm her down. I realise that when Nat is cooped up in the house too long, she gets fidgety and whiney. It's quite important to bring the kids outdoors even if it's just for a short walk around the neighbourhood, breathe in some fresh air and take in the interesting sights and sounds all around!

It's a real hassle ... but once you get out of the door ... you'll start to enjoy it.

Monday, 21 July 2008

My little sweetheart has been progressing along very well. Physically, she's eating well, enjoys chomping away at her organic biscuits and loves porridge and macaroni. She walks and runs around everywhere, depending on her whims and fancy. She understands most things that I tell her and listens intently when I read to her storybooks. She can even say "apple" with a slang haha must be that American website that I keep showing her on the PC. Last night, before she tromped off to bed, she voluntarily ran towards Gary and me and gave us a goodnight kiss each ... so affectionate hor!

Here are some pics of her, apologies, have been a bit slow in uploading the pics these days.

Thursday, 10 July 2008

It's finally the 3rd trimester! It is definitely a time of anticipation as we await #2's arrival. However, it is also a time when the hormones rage uncontrollably and I get tired a lot more easily. Little things at work get me down and most days I fall asleep by 9 or 10pm. Only problem is that the early sleeping hours forces me to wake up by 3am, and I often wonder what to do with myself. The little one is very active and is always kicking me at all hours of the day.

At the same time, I also try to spend as much time with nat as possible. She's reached a stage where she is constantly testing boundaries to see what she can get away with. Overall, she's a real sweetheart and she loves it when I read to her every night.

Recently, we bought a DVD from the musical The Sound of Music. I love this musical and my mum always sang the songs with me when I was a little girl. Initially we thought that nat may not like it as it is not in the form of a cartoon. Surprisingly, she loves it. Her favourite songs are My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi and The Lonely Goatherd.

Having nat is one of my biggest blessings in life. Everyday I look forward to going home after work. While I may be too tired to play with her for long, it's nice to just sit there and watch her pottering around the house. Am sitting back and enjoying this maternal bliss for now :) Meanwhile, do bear with me if I'm grouchy, it's not me, it's the hormones.

Sunday, 6 July 2008

It's been a while since we went to Sentosa. I remember when we were younger, gary and i used to drive to Sentosa to hang out at the beach. Chilling in the sun, sipping a cool iced drink, dressed in bikini and board shorts ... ah that's the life! I did tell him that when we had kids next time, we must bring them here as well.

So this morning, we brought nat to sentosa. We drove to the part of the beach where people love to bring their dogs, knowing that would make nat very happy. True enough ... she loves walking along the waves, looking at the many doggies swimming in the sea ... playing with the sand and picking up silly knick knacks along the beach.

We left when the sun got too hot. I think it's age, but somehow I don't really like to bake in the sun anymore, something I really did not mind too much when I was younger.

Anywayz, enjoy the pics. As usual, nat made a new doggie friend. Her name is Freyer and she's from Norway. Her friendly owner tells us that she's a superb swimmer as these dogs are bred for duck hunting overseas. Interesting huh!

I especially love the pics of nat with her daddy, shows just what a hands-on daddy he is! It's no wonder my little girl loves to play with her daddy and when the two are playing together, she always ends up in giggles.

We also showed her the big Merlion in Sentosa. Now, she cannot stop "growling" like a lion whenever we say the word Lion. Haha ... she's really a cutie pie.

Also have a video of nat dancing to a tune being played on the computer. This particular tune never fails to make her get up and groove hahaha!

Wednesday, 2 July 2008

It's 4am and I've been up since 3am. Wonder whether it's because of #2, he really has some powerful kicks! Are baby boys really bigger in size? In the past month, I've been really quite conscious of my food intake and have been taking walks every night, but still gained 2 kg in 4 weeks. Sounds scary, huh! Oh well, will just have to work harder to lose the excess weight after baby is born. Just had my check up and baby's growing well. He's 1.2kg now, almost doubled in weight in just one month.

Having 2 kids is really not easy. I was just telling Gary that I sometimes miss those days when we were younger, without any responsibilities, where we could just take off and go for nice relaxing holidays any time. For now though, I've got to manage the brood, which includes making sure I spend enough time with nat ; Managing the maid issues, my maid will be going off in a few months' time and within these few months, I've got to source for a new maid, which let me assure you is no easy task ; Debating whether to continue working. It is definitely easy to make the decision not to work, who does not want a relaxing tai tai life but the lure of financial independence is also very attractive.

Haha, with so many things on my mind, it's no wonder that I'm up at 3am every night.

By the way, nat is a big bully. When she plays with other little kids, she will snatch their toys and grab their food. But I guess it's a phase they all go through. While some of her playmates cower away in fear, others stand up to her, and that's when she backs off. It's good training though, she's got to learn not to be so spoilt. In hindsight, maybe having a little brother will teach her to be more caring and sharing. She's still my sweet little baby and I love all the moments that I have with her.

Anywayz, gary just downloaded some photos of nat from his hp. We had a good laugh, forgotten about these pics already. Enjoy!

Monday, 23 June 2008

I thought I would quickly blog about this lest I forget. Nat has a favourite pet phrase.

On Saturday, we were having a spring cleaning of our house, something I've been meaning to do for a while. Home is starting to look like a pig sty and our guest room was becoming a storeroom, where we chucked boxes and plastic bags of all shapes and sizes. I'm glad to share that after a whole day of packing, the house is a lot neater.

Anyway, when Nat came into the room in the middle of packing, she went "Wah ..." . Later, when she saw the mess of plastic bags that I lugged out of the storeroom and piled up in the living room to be thrown, she went "Wah ..." yet again!

Sigh, my little girl is picking up Singlish at such a young age. Haha ... must be my fault, it's one of my pet phrases as well.

Monday, 23 June 2008

Nat is a fearless little girl. When we bring her to the supermarket, she happily walks off on her own, the intrepid explorer and doesn't even look back to see if we are following behind. Most times, I'll let her explore on her own, until I find that she is getting into some mischief.

Over the weekend, we brought her to Botanic Gardens. There was an outdoor concert on at the amphitheatre known as Opera in the Park. She did not seem to enjoy the opera all that much (tsk, tsk no arty flair in her) but she sure did enjoy walking around. Daddy seemed to be enjoying the concert a lot more, snapping photos of Nat. The lighting of the park in the evening is really quite conducive for nice photographs.

She also loves dogs. This weekend, she met a new doggie fren, a Westie called Cameron. It's one of the gentlest dogs I have ever seen and Cameron and Nat had a good time entertaining one another while Gary and I had coffee with friends.

Natalie's physical development has reached the stage where she is very comfortable on her feet - she now darts around the house. Her strengthening limbs also mean she is more into climbing - she gets up and down the sofas and beds all on her own.

Interestingly, at 16 months she is also developing character or personality traits, some endearing, some funny, others exasperating.

As the omniscient Daddy figure I am offering valuable tips for those who are interested in getting to know Nat better.

She has this coquettish (i.e. coy, bordering on flirtatious) smile that she reserves for folks she wants to impress, e.g. Mommy's friends. She certainly never throws these our way! To be sure you are in her good books, you need to get one of these.

She likes to repeat certain words/phrases read to her from the mountainous stack of flashcards that Mommy has made. In fact, she does a fine job generally of echoing words, but here's a little secret I'll share - you need to offer the right bribes. In fact, once you do so, you won't be able to get her to stop.

She is getting over her usual dislike of strangers but still likes to be warmed up to first. This is hereditary (and not from me). You need to approach her with something more distracting than the prospect of a big bad stranger in mind - that means some adored creature like a cat or bird or fish or some cool object.

She has a penchant for throwing unruly tantrums at bedtime. This is also hereditary. So do not be offended if she is cross past 9pm. After all, even her adult version has the same predilection.

The Wife and I will attempt to offer more photographic and videographic evidence in the days ahead.

Thursday, 19 June 2008

Did I forget to mention? Nat had a haircut last week and she now looks like someone put a ricebowl on her head and trimmed her hair. Very cute, when I have the time, I'll put up a picture of her in the blog.

I was just lamenting to a friend, the 20s seem to pass by quite slowly. Yet, the 30s seem to zoom right past. It seems like just yesterday that Nat was a little baby and now she's already 16 months old. In 3 months, she will have a little brother. In fact, I was just telling Gary that it doesn't seem so long ago that we were preparing for our wedding. Life seems so different now, I feel a lot more responsibilities on my shoulders but it's not all bad. Nat is a joy (when she is not whiney) and I'm sure #2 will be to. At this phase in her life, she is already testing boundaries, throwing tantrums to see what she can get away with. Most times, I try to talk to her calmly although sometimes I do give in to her tantrums. Gary's the o'le softie though ... and nat knows it.

I am also very blessed to have a mum that is always there for me, helping to take care of nat and just giving me all the support I need :)

Monday, 16 June 2008

Do all little girls naturally like to be pretty. At the grand age of 16 months, nat is learning to be "vain". I once lent her my hairband to play with, and she popped it right onto her head and walked around parading to everyone how pretty she is.

I also bought her a little baby bear dressed in a pretty little frock yesterday. Immediately she took out the little ribbon on bear bear's ears and placed it on her own hair, haha, that really got me laughing.

I really enjoy the time spent with my little baby and I hope that when #2 come along, I will be able to still give nat the full attention and devotion she has from me now.

Thursday, 12 June 2008

I'm quite curious. What is it about Flash Cards? Why do we have to flash it at lightning speed? Theoretically, wouldn't the kids absorb better if one slowly flashes the card and explains each card one by one? It baffles me, but I really don't have much time these days to do research into it.

Anyway, flash cards have become one of nat's favourite activities for the day. Every evening, when we reach home, I'll ask her to fetch the DIY cards which I've done up for her. I've managed to accumulate about 100 cards (about 10 themes). Interestingly, she actually enjoys it and when I'm done flashing the cards, she'll make me do it all over again.

There are 2 particular pet topics for her i.e Insects (don't know wat it is about spiders, cockroaches and beetles that turns her on, yuck!) and Things you wear (she gets really excited and keeps repeating the word "wear" when I get to this topic)

I'll try to add on 2-3 themes each week. Like when we had a trip to the zoo, i came back and did a topic on the zoo. At the end of the day, not sure if she's really learning anything but well, as long as she enjoys herself, I'm happy.

As nat reaches 16 months old, she's also getting a very feisty personality. She has no qualms about showing her temper when she doesn't get what she wants, and recently she has got into a habit of hitting other kids. I don't think she really means it, I think she's just trying to hug them but she can't really control so she ends up looking like she's trying to hit them instead. I'm wondering what to do? I do think I need to discipline her a little, my greatest fear in life is that she ends up being one of those brats that goes around being rude and rowdy, and worst of all, their parents actually think they are being cute. But I also do think that scolding is not the solution as she is really too young to understand.

Anywayz, I'll trudge along and see how it goes.

Monday, 2 June 2008

It's been another hectic weekend, but we had fun. On Saturday, we brought nat to the new HortPark at Alexandra. If you are a serious walker, you'll head towards the direction of the Alexandra Arches. The energetic trio (gary, me and nat in her pram) made it all the way from Alexandra up to Mount Faber and back, all in 1.5 hours. Not too bad, considering our trio comprised of a sleepy gary, a preggy me and nat in her pram. It's quite a child-friendly place and you can basically push the pram all the way through. Be prepared for a good and sweaty workout though, after all, the whole trek is about 5.6km. Thinking that I would be all tired out, gary was looking forward to a nice lazy Sat nap. Haha, not me! We left nat at home and went shopping again. It was no wonder that gary fell asleep really fast that night.

The next day, gary suggested bringing nat back to the HortPark to check out the other side, which is basically a big floral garden with lots of green areas and playgrounds for kids to run wild. It's also a photographer's paradise. Nat enjoyed herself exploring the area, playing with the many doggies at the park. She also made friends with a cute little pair of twins ... nat really loves playing with other kids ... especially those slightly older than her. Oh well, pretty soon, she will have a sibling to play with, although I wonder whether jealousy will set in.

Sunday, 25 May 2008

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

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

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

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

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

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

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

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

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

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

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

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

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

Sunday, 11 May 2008

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday, 11 May 2008

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

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

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

Thursday, 8 May 2008

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

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

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

Thursday, 8 May 2008

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

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

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

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

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

Sunday, 4 May 2008

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

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

Friday, 2 May 2008

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

Monday, 28 April 2008

Nothing too interesting to update this weekend, spent most of the weekend at home because hormones were running wild again and making me both physically fatigued and moody. Managed to capture this cute little scene of baby nat getting "all ready for school with her little schoolbag" ... she's really a little sweetheart, isn't she?

Tuesday, 22 April 2008

There's this french boy choir that I really love listening to ... listened to it when nat was in my tummy, listened to it when nat was a few months old. Today, I took out the DVD again and watched it together with nat. I think she really does have memories of the songs in her subconscious mind, because she was totally entranced by it.

Monday, 21 April 2008

Down with a bad cough today, so I decided not to go to work and spread the germs around. It's been an eventful weekend. Gary says our weekend schedule is always so "on-the-ball", running here and there from dawn to dusk. Maybe it's just that I wanna squeeze in as much time with both my babies (the big baby, gary and the small one, nat).

This weekend, we brought nat to a Kindermusik class, near my place. I kinda like the environment there, mainly because of the small size (only 3 babies in the class) and it helped that it was in a non air-con environment. I've always been particular about 2 things, when scouting for interesting places for nat a) lots of space for her to run around b) non air-con environment (strong believer in the merits of fresh air). Nat enjoyed herself thoroughly, and I may consider bringing her for another class.

These days, I've also been scouting around for a school for nat. Her Julia Gabriel classes will come to an end June and I've decided not to continue there. Instead, I'm considering other options like Shichida (some right brain stimulation thingey), Montessori (it's an approach to teaching kids that will nurture them to be independent individuals). Over the last week, have been researching a lot, still kind of undecided what to do. Before I start sounding like a kiasu parent, stressing nat out with lots of classes, actually I'm not. It's just that I think it would be good for her to be exposed to some activities, instead of staying at home all day. For example, I truly believe that her 2 terms at Julia Gabriel have helped her immensely in terms of confidence in walking, and also her social skills when interacting with other kids.

Over the weekend, we also brought nat to Bras Basah. Heard that there are a lot of second hand books there at cheap cheap prices. I did manage to buy a small stack of interesting books for nat. Books are in decent condition and nat seems to enjoy it. I've decided to be a more diligent mummy and have started to read to nat every day. Surprisingly, she can stay quite focused and I'm pleased with that.

Finally, this weekend I also introduced nat a new activity, recommended by a friend. Bought her a bucket of sidewalk chalk from Crayola and taught her to scrawl out on the balcony. It's a much better option than paint, if you have a balcony or sidewalk for the kids to draw. The beauty is that after the session, you just have to wait for the rain to wash the chalk away. No cleaning up needed. Phew, this kept nat occupied for an hour!

Thursday, 17 April 2008

I know that I've not been posting any photos or videos recently. Haven't taken many nice photos la ... was all armed and ready to take some pics during the picnic on Sunday at Botanic, but the time was better spent flicking those little black crawlies off the mat instead. Anyway, here are some pics and videos of my little cutie.

This beanie hat used to belong to my bear,
one night, in a moment of boredom, i did this!

This is what nat does when you tell her
that there is a lizard coming.


This is just to show how much of a
pocket dynamo she was at MyGYM,
a bundle of energy and more energy!

Wednesday, 16 April 2008

Nat, the pocket dynamo ... she is so full of energy. Yesterday, nat had a date with cutie jamie at MyGYM at Great World City. It's a nice place, lots of space and equipment for babies. Not so great for mummies, spent the whole hour running after nat as she moved from one toy to the next. After a while, I was totally wiped out and just grabbed nat, refusing to let her run around. Of course, you can be sure my feisty little girl put up a mighty struggle, sigh, poor mummy, back to running after her. Especially, when there were some slightly older kids running around, I was so scared they would trample her.

Looking at nat, I think she's a survivor. It's in her personality. Everytime she falls down while running around, she'll just make a squeak of a sound in protest, before moving on and continuing where she left off. Was just telling a friend how scary a thought it is, that how you bring up your baby, things you teach them, things you let them get away with, will have a long lasting impact into their adult life. Think of how your own parents brought you up, and you'll know what I mean. While the child's innate personality plays a major role, I think parents as influencers also play a big part in the child's eventual strength of character.

I love nat lots and often ask gary how it is possible to love a second child as much? Well, I guess, we'll know when #2 comes along. Maybe I'll write a blog entry then.

Monday, 14 April 2008

It's been a while since I last updated the blog. Can be attributed to anything, getting lazy, moody, hormones running wild, stressed at work. At times, that desire to just stay at home with nat surfaces so strongly, I wonder whether I should just do it. But most days, I just trudge on.

Nat has really grown into a sweet little girl. Whereas in the past, she would cry the moment a stranger even approached her, all will she do now is to give you a frown, big improvement you know :) although one hopes there will come a day when that frown will become a big smile instead.

Nat's favourite quirks:
Fave drink: diluted ribena
Fave snack: raisins and haw flakes (haha not too much though)
Fave game: hide and seek with mummy
Fear of: lizards and cutting hair
Fave action: pointing at the person when she is angry

I realise now that she is beginning to understand the concept of punishment and anger. She recently dropped the digital camera on the floor and gary scolded her and gave her a smack on her palm. In the past, when we scolded her, she thought it was a game and would smack us back. This time round, she looked at gary, gave her famous pout and had the loudest wail we have ever heard before. Of course, after scolding her and telling her what she did wrong, we did what all baby textbooks advised, i.e told her what she had done was wrong but reassured her that we all still love her. Wonder if it really works? :)

On Sunday, I had grand plans to bring nat to Botanic Gardens for a picnic, you know, a leisurely day at the park, where the kids would run around, kicking a ball, and the parents would lie back on the mat, enjoying the morning sun? Tell you a secret, doesn't work in Singapore.

1. Morning sun in Singapore is actually quite hot, gets you sweating.
2. The park is wet and muddy, so after nat steps on the grass, she's really quite a mess.
3. There are little black things crawling around called ants.
4. Babies have moods, nat did not feel like running around, kicking a ball, all she really wanted was to be carried.
5. Too many people in the park.

The result: One frazzled set of parents i/e gary and me, with mud on their clothes (thanks to nat), a cranky baby, a picnic mat that could barely fit gary and me (my oversight) and not too successful a picnic.

Haha, well, it's alright, there are other occasions, and maybe we'll have more fun next time.

Sunday, 30 March 2008

It's been quite a hectic weekend, entertaining baby nat :) Seeing all the fun her little friends, jamie and zofie had during their painting sessions, this lazy mummy finally decided to take the paint out and let nat have a go at it. She had a great time, made the floor all yellow and purple and enjoyed her playtime bath therefter. Quite an interesting activity for children over 1 year old but be prepared to whisk them to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Another new discovery over the weekend, nat's current fave drink is Ribena. Didn't really want her to drink something so sweet but I did want to give her something else to try besides shoving water and milk to her all the time, so I came to a compromise ... extremely diluted Ribena. The interesting thing is that nat loves it. She guzzles it down by the mouthful and if one dares to move the cup away before she's done, she'll scream in protest. This weekend, I also tried my hand at a new recipe, potato cheese patties. Nat's ok with it, but she does not seem all too appreciative of my efforts labouring over the kitchen stove, tsk tsk.

Nat has also been growing up quite fast in terms of both height and weight. Problem is at her height now, she's fast reaching the table height and half the time, as she runs around the house, I'm freaking out that she will knock her head on the edges. So this mummy came up with an ingenious albeit silly looking idea ... have a look ... and don't laugh. I was just telling gary its no use investing in heaps of table guards as she'll quickly outgrow this height in a jiffy. Sorry teddies, you'll just have to bear with it for a while, till nat gets taller (bear with it haha get it ...!!!)

Do enjoy this video of nat at her class in Julia Gabriel. In this new term, my baby seems to have become a lot more confident and definitely more vocal. Interestingly, so have some of the other girls in class. Not the boys, though. Hmm ... interesting huh!

Oh yes, one final thing to report. Nat's first clear word is ... baby! Today, I was just telling her "I love you, baby!" Guess I must have repeated it many times because suddenly she said <baby> loud and clear. Both gary and I heard it and were stunned for a moment. We've been trying to get her to repeat it since but she ain't buying it ... my little girl has a mind of her own and she'll speak only when she wants to ... haha :)

Sunday, 23 March 2008

Although I have never really been such a great musician, music has always been an integral part of my life, since the days when my mum started singing to me nursery rhymes and songs and sent me for organ classes. These are experiences that I value now that I am all grown up.

In the same way, I hope to impart my love for music to nat. From her infant days, we always have music playing in the house and I can see nat really enjoys listening to nursery rhymes and songs. Have some cute videos of her to share ... as well as some other interesting pics like nat's signature pointy finger when she wants something and her sweet smile.