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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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!)

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 :)

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!

Sunday, 28 November 2010

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

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

Sunday, 28 November 2010

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

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

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

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

Monday, 22 November 2010

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Friday, 1 October 2010

My little man and his fave expressions!