Sunday, 19 July 2009

We did other learning activities over the last few days. We played a game of toothpicks and straws, which helps improve eye-hand coordination. Stuck some toothpicks into a styrofoam box and got the kids to put small cut pieces of straw bits onto the toothpicks. Easy-peasy activity for nat, although she was very intrigued initially, repeating the capping and removing action many times. By sticking the toothpicks in deeper or shallower, they also appear at different heights, so I was able to show her the differences between tall and short. She grasped the concept very quickly. It just goes to show that when teaching kids, it's very important to let them see visually and feel and experience for themselves.

Another activity which I learnt from the internet is a game of pasting stickers on the dotted lines of shapes. Both nat and didi enjoyed this activity. For nat, she loves stickers and while letting her indulge in her favourite activity, you can teach her about shapes. For didi, he just likes the sticky feeling on his little finger, and patting the stickers on the paper (haha, that is if he doesn't eat it first). When nat got bored outlining the shapes with stickers, she stuck the stickers inside the circle shape instead, forming eyes, ears, mouth, so interesting!

Sunday, 19 July 2009

We woke up bright and early on Saturday wondering what to do with ourselves. I remembered that I had recently read on the internet that there was a new indoor playground opened at East Coast. Since we hadn't been to the east for a while, I suggested going there.

The playground has an interesting name, Polliwogs. I've heard of golliwogs, not polliwogs. But did you know that this is another name for tadpoles, haha, simple trivia. We arrived bright and early just as the place was opening. As with other indoor playgrounds, there was an entry fee, but well worth it, as the kids had a blast. As we were early, it seemed as if the whole place belonged to us, as there was only one other little boy inside with his dad. I have had experiences in the playground where I am defending my kids from boisterous older kids half the time, but yesterday, I could let nat roam freely and even didi was truly excited crawling all around. He even attempted to walk a few baby steps, which totally impressed me. There were ball pools, ball machines which shoot foam balls, a swing and many many slippery slides, bridges and obstacle courses for kids to clamber across. Sigh, as giants in this little wonderland, we had to spend half our time crouching, our poor backs.

We spent about slightly over an hour at the playground and left only when more kids started streaming in. We enjoyed a cold drink on the little sofa lounges for kids (meant for small butts) before heading off for lunch. Our pocket dynamo nat was still full of energy while didi fell asleep after his milk, even before we got out of the playground premises.

In the evening, we headed off to a good friend's place for a bbq dinner, kids and maid in tow. I am glad that nat has grown over the past year to become a sociable and endearing little girl. Even didi was flashing his toothy grin to everyone, enough to melt your heart.

Friday, 17 July 2009

I am so totally inspired by the dedicated mums who homeschool their kids. I chanced upon one of these homeschooling mum blogs and got hooked on the interesting activities she creates for her toddler. From simple every day materials, they can dream up of interesting activities that their kids enjoy and have fun with. I noted down some of the activities I could do with my kids and set about gathering materials to make the games. I kinda enjoyed it.

One of the games I was particularly attracted to is a geoboard. It is so easy to make, and yet offers the kids hours of fun. Get a wood panel (from daiso, cheap cheap $2 only), a handful of pins and a trusty hammer. Hammer the pins into the wood panel and you are done! Using the geoboard, the kids can learn to make different geometric shapes with rubber band. This is my home-made version, nat was particularly thrilled when she managed to change the triangle to a square.

We also did some painting and craft work as well. Sigh, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. I had grand plans of working together with the kids to create a paper plate crab, pretty straightforward, or so I thought. However, once they laid their eyes on the paint, there was no turning back. Paintbrushes were thrown aside and the tiny fingers headed straight for the paint pots. My initial reaction was to stop them and make the activity more structured, then I realised, what the heck, as long as they have fun, why not? So what started out as a craft activity ended up as a finger painting session. My babies enjoyed it immensely and so did I. Cleverly, this activity was strategically conducted just before bath time.

Nat and I also played a number game, another activity which I learnt from the homeschooling blogs. For the past few months, nat has been able to recite the numbers up to 20 but when you actually ask her to count something, she gets messy. Gary thinks that it is because the numbers are just memorised in her head but she can't actually relate the physical quanity of the objects with the numbers. This game is really simple and easy to do and helps them to learn counting. I did number cards 1-6. Then I encouraged her to put little cotton like balls on the card to represent each number. It's quite easy as there are already round ball shapes pre-drawn on the cards. Nat liked the game but got bored after a while, and started telling me how poky the balls were instead.

I know that didi lucas won't be as interested as nat in these activities, but I have included him in anyway. He enjoys it, in his own messy way :) haha. Didi is a lot more active and vocal these days. His attention span is also improving and on good days, I find him and jie jie sprawled on the bed (with supervision) watching Mother Goose nursery rhymes together. I also include him when I read to jie jie and unlike the past, when he gets bored after 5 seconds, he can now last at least a few minutes, to the end of the story.

It's nice to see the kids grow and have fun, run about and laugh in the sun. I will try to continue looking for exciting activities to keep them entertained. It's not easy but it's for the kids, and I enjoy it, so why not?

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Kodak moments ... I love my babies!

Saturday, 11 July 2009

Today, we had trial classes for both kids at The Little Gym, newly opened in Marina. They were having free trials, so this kiasu mum signed up both kids for the class. It was fun, spacious and there were lots of interesting equipment for the kids to explore. The kids had a blast! Luckily, daddy was there, as there were a lot of physical activities like somersaults and tumbles, which I don't think mummy could have done.

Wednesday, 8 July 2009

I really enjoy going to Julia Gabriel with didi lucas. Even though I have been going through the same routine for several terms, first with nat and now with didi, I feel new emotions as I spend time with each of my children. Watching didi crawl up the gym cushions during class, vocalise and listen intently during story time, pick up the rice krispies to eat during snack time ... I felt a sense of pride at his simple achievements.

As for nat, when I brought her for swim class today, she managed to swim a short distance without assistance. The coach also told me that she was ready to join his non-parent accompanied class. Hooray! Again, these are simple achievements but they do make me swell with pride :) My babies are growing up so fast ...


Sigh, I guess my little koala bear will probably not want to snuggle with me in my sling pretty soon, once he is active and mobile. Meanwhile though, let me continue to enjoy such moments with them.

I love to look back at the pics of nat and lucas when they were first born. They will always be the greatest joys in my life.

Some thoughts from Daddy for nat and didi when they grow up :)

'If' by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

'Your secret life' by Harry Ricketts

I can see it all already:
sitting up long after the kiwi
and the cat have gone to bed
to do whatever it is they do
when the screen scrambles to noisy snow.

I'll hear you shut the front door
with a soft click that makes me jump-
just time to fix a welcoming smile
before you bound into the kitchen (perhaps
for a drink) blooming with your secret life.

What shall we say? Will I blurt out
"Do you know what time it is?"
angry with relief that you're home
at last and apparently unharmed
from that film, that party, that lover?

Would that be better or more likely
than a "Had a nice time, sweetheart?"
poured out with an oh-so-casual cup of tea?
"Sorry, Dad." "Yes, Dad." Not now, not soon,
but sometime it will happen.

Sunday, 5 July 2009

With 2 kids needing my attention, I realise that a lot of things slip my mind these days. To remedy this, I've got myself a little yellow notebook, to jot down stuff, things to do, kid's appointments, playdates, important numbers etc. Let's hope it helps.

It's been a great weekend for the kids. They absolutely adore their new playroom. Nat often invites mummy to her playroom and the kids can stay inside for hours. I should have done this a long time ago. Yet to take a nice pic of it though, so stay tuned.

Yesterday, I was just sitting down looking at the kids play and thinking that time seems to have just flown right by. Nat is a sweet little girl. Slowly, she seems to be moving out of the terrible twos phase. Although still spoilt at times, I realise now that the key to managing her is by having a fine balance between reasoning and discipline. Most times, reasoning helps. When she does something naughty, I make her stop whatever she is doing, ask her to look at me, tell her what is wrong, and make her repeat after me that she will not do it again. Sometimes, when this doesn't work though, a little spank may just do the trick.

This weekend, there was a toy sale at Forum Galleria, and nat finally got her very own big girl doll house. She is absolutely thrilled with it. She has reached this stage, where she loves to role play. She will take the little toy dolls out of the house, make them talk to one another, cook, sleep, open and close the door for visitors. I had been holding back this purchase for a while, as I thought that she was too young and would probably lose all the bits and pieces in the doll house. But looks like now is a good time, anywayz, a doll house is a toy all little girls will definitely love.

One of nat's favourite activities is also role playing with nemo, her soft toy clown fish. She would use the towel to wrap up nemo, saying it was cold and she would even clean nemo's poo poo. It's fun watching her, as she lets her imagination run wild. Nat is a very loving and affectionate child. Some days, she will just come up to mummy and say I love you mummy. That's when your heart melts :) these days she even hugs didi and tells him how much she loves him. Didi lucas, who idolises his sis smiles and chuckles when his jiejie tries to kiss him.

Another of nat's favourite activity is singing. These days, she picks up anything and everything and uses it as a mic to sing. We bought her a toy microphone, and she carries it around, singing her favourite song (which seem like a mixture of a few nursery rhymes all meshed together).

As nat is now familiar with the alphabets, I've been trying to teach her blends to form simple words like cat, bat. She seemed bored when we first started, but after a few times, her interest seems to have picked up. Anyway, my feel is that I'll continue teaching her new stuff as long as she enjoys it. If she doesn't, I'll stop. What matters is for my baby to be happy while learning.

As for didi lucas, he is growing up to be a real sweetheart. Whenever I see him, he flashes his gentle loving smile at mummy, and one just can't help but want to carry him. He can say some words (not too clearly, though), like mumm mumm (asking for food), nat nat (when jie jie irritates him) and mama. When he is excited, he makes a "growling" sound, like a little baby cub, something which nat never did. I was just telling gary that it's nice to have a girl and a boy, and to experience the joys of bringing up both genders. Didi's teeth is sprouting up quite nicely, his bottom two have already emerged, while the top two can already be seen.

Nat is now 12.3kg and lucas is 9.3 kg. Didi is quickly catching up with jiejie already in terms of weight. I never thought of myself as the maternal kind, but I am really enjoying being a mum to my 2 babies :) This blog allows me to keep the memories and happiness that I experience with my kids fresh in my minds, now and always.

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

Today marks didi's first day of school at Julia Gabriel Playnest. As I sat in the same room, watching didi play with the toys, memories of nat's first day at Playnest flooded back into my mind. Nat's first tentative steps during class, her unsteady but cute little swaying action as the songs were sung, her fascination with bubbles ... these were all experiences that my baby and I shared, not so long ago.

For lucas, he seemed to enjoy his first day at Playnest too. He was intrigued by all the toys around him, looked a bit pissed during the crafts session where we played with coloured salt, enjoyed his snack time biscuits, drove around in his cool red coupe in the playground and laughed and chuckled during the sing and dance session at the end of the lesson. As for me, I felt happy. Usually at home, it's hard to give full attention to didi lucas. But today, I devoted all my attention on him during class. His smiles were enough of a reward for all my hard work for the day, having to drive nat to swimming in the morning, rushing home and picking up didi lucas for class.

You know, I never thought I could love both kids equally, I thought somehow, I would always favour one over the other. But now with my 2 babies before my eyes, I can confidently say, I love both of them just as much.

In the evening, the kids and I hung out at the playroom, singing, reading and just having fun together. My playroom is almost complete, so stay tuned for the pictures :)

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Kids learn best at their own pace. Earlier, I had bought a Chinese DVD and played it for nat, hoping to make a Chinese scholar out of her. She gave it a glance and quickly moved on to play with her toys. The DVD has been chucked in a corner since. Last weekend, I chanced upon it and played the DVD for her again. This time, she sat through and even asked for more. I was happily surprised. I love looking at nat when she is speaking Mandarin, she has this really interesting expression on her face, check out the video below and you will see what I mean.

My babies never fails to put a smile on my face after a day at work.

Saturday, 27 June 2009

Brought the kids to Sentosa on Friday. We set off bright and early, which was a good decision as the weather was good and it was not crowded. Going to the beach is often a very dramatic affair for us, as we can bring up to 5 bags comprising toys, clothes, wet clothes bag, bubbles bag and a camera bag. However, it is all worth it, seeing the smiles on the kids' faces.

I have also just embarked on a new pet project, to revamp our guest room into a playroom for the kids. This is something I had always wanted to do and was at the back of my mind, although I was too lazy to do anything about it. Our living room had been starting to look dreary, with toys thrown all over the place. Didi lucas is also at this stage where he is crawling everywhere and with all the electronics in the living room and chairs/glass table at the dining area, it certainly wasn't very child friendly. The weekend was devoted to clearing up the guest room and converting it into a playroom. My masterpiece is still in progress, so check back for the pictures which I will post once it's done up. Already, the kids are enjoying playing in that room so I'm glad I decided to get off my butt and do something about it, finally.

Sunday, 21 June 2009

Had a short getaway with friends this weekend. It was just a day or two away from the kids, but I missed them terribly. Am I getting to be an obsessive mummy?

Didi lucas is now very vocal, always screaming to get attention. And today, I just noticed his little teeth. My little man looks so cute with his toothy grin.


Nat was in a good mood today, singing and reading and busy entertaining didi with her funny antics.

It's nice to be home with the kids.

Thursday, 18 June 2009

My little man's first word is "NO"! My maid was relating the story of how nat tried to snatch a toy away from didi lucas and he reacted by turning red and saying "NO" angrily. Later, when I was playing with didi, I also heard him say "NO". So it's official, that's his first word, haha, inspired by his loving sister.

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

We spent gary's birthday at Sentosa. Instead of the usual fine dining, we agreed that the day would be better spent, with the kids and letting them enjoy themselves. They had great fun, running around the palawan beach, although the weather was scorchingly hot. Have a happy birthday, daddy :) you have done a great job ... and thank you for our wonderful kids!

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Nothing too exciting this weekend, been meaning to bring the kids to the park, but it's really too hot! Brought nat to the museum the other day, where she had fun! It's nice that the museum offers kids an interesting play area to explore and enjoy themselves. Then today, at the market, nat took a ride in one of those motorised cars - 10 min for $2! She doesn't seem to know how to steer very well and keeps ending up off track but it was a nice experience for her. Finally, in the late afternoon, we had some time for free play with chalk and washable markers at the balcony. These are the benefits of staying on the first floor, access to the open area at the balcony. She loves hanging out at the balcony, chit chatting with mummy, scrawling with chalk, checking out the plants and watching people go by.

Didi lucas is super active now! When he is awake, he is always on the move, crawling off here and there. I've seen him attempt to stand for a few seconds before he plops onto his butt. Also, spotting signs of his first baby tooth. He can now wave bye bye and he does some baby talk and I sometimes hear him calling ma-ma (although it's probably baby babble).

Somedays, I feel tired just looking at the kids :) Yet, on other days, I feel happy just seeing them laugh and have fun, and I ask myself ... hmm ... another one? :) haha! Well, just passing thoughts!

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

In the past, when I read blogs on how younger siblings naturally adored their older bro/sis, I used to scoff, such things didn't come naturally, or did they? After I witnessed my 2 kids playing together, I have now become a strong supporter of this theory. From the early days, when nat ignored lucas, to a period when she was intensely jealous of him and always biting or hitting him, we have come a long way. These days, nat loves giving big hugs to her baby brother and the duo enjoy playing hide and seek/peekaboo. The other day, my maid was carrying lucas and playing hide and seek around the baby cot with nat. It was such joy to hear nat screaming with glee and didi lucas giggling excitedly with twinking eyes, happy to be playing with his big sister. His eyes always light up when he sees her as she comes a-snooping round his cot to check out what he is doing.

I also love having conversations with my baby girl. We chat about all kind of things.

" Mummy, you cannot sit on my big girl dora bed."
"Why not?"
"Because you are too heavy, it will break, you sleep with me, on the floor."
:O

"Mummy, my foot is itchy, can you scratch it?"
" Which part of the foot?"
"The big toe, can we wash the big toe when we get home?"
:D

Saturday, 6 June 2009

We have gotten lazy! We used to visit the park, swim, go for nightly walks a lot more regularly, as compared to now. So I told gary, we really have got to get back into an exercise routine with the kids. On Friday, I brought the kids to Jacob Ballas/Botanic Gardens for a walk. On Saturday, we went to Sentosa beach. The kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly and so did I. I truly enjoy the "high" one gets after exercising. I always tell gary that I am glad we decided to have kids early. At this age, we are still energetic enough to run around/swim and have fun with them. I would like to bring the kids to the Hort Park soon, that promises to be yet another workout!

Monday, 1 June 2009

An outing with our baby friends over the weekend. I enjoy catching up with them, seeing how the kids have grown. We first met when the babies were 3 months old and now they are 2 going on to 3 years old already. When we meet, we always have to think ahead, to see if the venue can house 3-4 active toddlers, 2-3 babies (going on to toddlerhood) and 1 baby on the way. Detailed planning is a must, to make sure the kids are well entertained. We ended up at Prive@Keppel Bay for breakfast and the Vivocity waterplay area thereafter. nat and lucas were wiped out after the exciting morning and slept through for more than 2 hours. Ah ... some peace and quiet in the house.