Daddy's birthday

As usual, a last minute affair, last minute deciding where to dine and being a Friday, everywhere is really packed.

 

We did not even buy a cake and so rushed that we forgot to take a photo =( so very sad.

 

And so the only photos we have of daddy's birthday are half of the dishes we had at The Soup Restaurant - his choice. Why only photos of half the dishes because the other half took forever to arrive and by then we are almost done with dinner despite several reminders, very bad service!

 Anyway Happy Birthday Daddy!

Gifts

The exact opposite of each other....Zethan can't wait to rip open the X'mas pressies while there is very little interest shown from Zelyn.

 

Thanks everyone for your love and the pressies!

Airplane

Nope, Zelyn have yet to take her first trip in an airplane.

She managed to mouth Ah-Pin over the weekend, all thanks to the HK drama I am currently watching. I was sharing with her or rather showing her Airplane (in the drama) and she picked it up almost immediately. Can you imagine how I am beaming all the way?!

Oh, it reminded me and I am seriously very guilty that this is probably the first video I am posting of Zelyn...hope that it is working!

 

Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

 

We had a very homely Christmas this year.

 

A very last minute decision to have steamboat on Christmas Eve! Chop chop decide at 2ish in the afternoon to have steamboat, mum rake the freezer which was pretty well stocked, only lacking a few items which I grabbed from Fairprice after work.

 

This is also the 1st Christmas in like 10 years I am working FULL DAY on Christmas eve which is like a major spoilsport. The only consolation is that a few colleagues came together and celebrated with some called in food and yes what else besides fastfood like fried chicken and pizza. A very late lunch as Popeyes forgot about our order when it is made a day in advance and had the cheek to argue that they did not have such an order. Of course the order number say it all. So holiday mood on the eve, totally no mood to work at all.

 

And so we had the steamboat, in fact the whole family is around which sound more like Chinese New Year reunion dinner more than anything else. What to do when hardly anyone in the family have any love for Christmassy food of Turkey, roast beef and logcake. We just had to do it the cheena way instead. Regardless what matter most is all came together for the dinner, the company supersede the cuisine anyway.

As usual and as always, it's time to set the new year resolutions, 2014 is just a stone's throw away.

Only Child

Who is more fortunate, the 1st child or the 2nd child? Depends on how you look at it....

Usually the 1st child will have devoted time and attention solely on him/her while the 2nd child hardly have the opportunity for such luxury. Of course being the 2nd child does have their own advantages, I hope. It is indeed always unfair to make comparison between children, trying hard as we can, human nature tend to override the resistance to do so.

2nd child will most probably have more freedom in terms of their milestones and developments, we do tend to be a little relaxed on the disciplinary aspect. Perhaps not all parents do that but I have to admit I do, putting favouritism aside. Nonetheless I am still a strict advocate of discipline and believe that "spare the rod and spoil the child". Judgements stepped in when and what need to be discipline and what could be allowed to slide by. Not all parents abide by this principle but to each their own.

Now most of the time, Zethan will followed us out running errands and it is definitely not difficult to understand why. With Zethan, it's basically grab the water bottle and go while leaving the house with Zelyn will require a fair bit of logistics. To worsen the situation, the daddy is not very much in favour of bringing the girl out especially so if the grandmother is available at home. Sometimes I seriously feel that he or rather we pretty much take things for granted and I do try to avoid being so complacent if possible.

So on very rare occasions when Zethan is out with the grandmother, Zelyn has the luxury of being our 'only child' for the few hours. It is not very frequent we can make it happen but we are glad to embrace the precious moments when chanced upon. Lately we have had the opportunities to do just that. Joining her on her exploration to the outside world, sharing with her on anything & everything under the sun, such a bliss.

We will try to make it a point to spend some time alone with both the children and birthdays might be a great reason to start with.

SSO Babies Prom

SSO Babies Proms 2013/ 2014 season after missing it last year. If I recall correctly, last year's was in conjunction with some anniversary event thus the tickets are mostly sold out by the time it's released for public purchase. We are not friends of SSO and do not have friends who are members thus have to give it miss.

What was surprising for this year though was there are quite a handful of tickets avail when it's released for public purchase and the seats are not that bad after all. Initially we had wanted to get the Friday tickets but since Thursday offer better seats, we went for it.

As usual, plans being to arrive slightly earlier so we could take some photos with the pretty backdrops and you would have guessed it, we arrived at the Esplanade merely 5mins before the concert start thus had to be ushered to our seats. To our pleasant surprise we spotted Cayden & Daddy, Leann & mummy seated just in front of us. We did managed to wave hello to Godma Ophelia and the boys, they are seated further away from us.

Now this year they are very strict about No videography and the staff practically watched everyone like a hawk and we are not even certain if photography is allowed since they checked the bags for cameras and if spotted one, would have to deposit in the locker. The staff would practically make her way across the audience just to reinforce the No videography point and she did really do her job well.

By and large, we enjoyed this year's concert much better especially for Zethan who can understand what is going on. As for the not very musically inclined parents, it was quite an eye opener as well, understanding a little more about the groups of instruments. Zethan is much more willing to participate and had quite a space near to our seats (we are at corner seats). Zelyn on the other hand behave very well, seated on my lap through the 45mins without a whimper though I suspect she hardly understand what is going on. I am just hoping that she is quietly observing what is going on, her first real exposure to music and instruments. We recalled that Zethan was about the same age the first time he attended SSO Babies Prom.

When Uncle Peter invited children to go on stage for the finale, I had to encourage Zethan to give it a try. Pushed him a little with the help of Cayden, the kids went on stage. The 3 children held hands and basically roam or run around till the end of the concert.

See you next year hopefully we can lay hands on the tickets!

Flu

 

Both the children are sick again, this time meimei got it worst than korkor.

 

The flu bug was spread from hub to mum to Zethan to Zelyn. I am crossing my fingers and toes in this instance otherwise it would get recirculated and the vicious cycle is going to take forever to halt. Both my mum and Zelyn got it really bad, phlegmy cough and stuffy nose which have been close to a week, longer for my mum.

 

Honestly the kids caught the bug because of mum but she is not helping at all. I mean how would one expect to recover not visiting a doctor which is fine but not even taking medication. Was it not to be understood and do I have to be the nagging one harping on it everyday?

 

Zethan had occasional cough and did not sound that bad except for one occasion before bedtime, he got into a coughing spasm and vomited subsequently. Which could be a good thing, disperse and dislodge the phlegm as it appear he got better after that episode.

 

Zelyn's cough escalate very badly this morning. From the occasional phlegmy cough in the morning only after she woken to the consistent cough in the early morning which irritate her and she woke in frustration. To make matter worst, her nose is totally blocked with mucus and yes as usual most probably that's the culprit causing the back drip and the cough.

 

I had wanted to make a trip to PD this morning but had to be in the office due to some unspoken rule of do not apply on Monday because of meeting! That is one of my major frustration about this current workplace. Once you took leave on a Monday, it appear that you have crossed some unforgiving boundary regardless of how valid the reasons are. Morale of the story is do not fall sick on Monday, kids should not fall sick on Monday, avoid going away on holiday on Monday!

 

Anyhow we will be making a trip to PD this afternoon and fortunately we managed to secure an appointment thus not having to walk-in and wait forever. Hope that the adult and kids had a speedy recovery otherwise I would be mummified for the week as like this morning, she whine and fuss refused to go back to sleep and demand to be carried and pacified. Despite falling asleep, it was a restless one, tossing and turning in her sleep. Get well soon my little princess!

Shows

Usually when it comes to December, there will always be numerous shows for the festive season. Each of the shopping mall will have a cartoon theme for shoppers' gift redemption as well as a short session show for the children. Not to forget it coincide with the school holidays as well. The next best thing is, it's free!! Okay I am being cheapo here!

 

This year presents many, many shows in the malls. From Carebears to Teletubbies, Thomas & Friends, Little Ponies, Doraemon, Pororo, Hello Kitty, Little Big Club, Despicable me - Minions and the list goes on.....

 

Till date we have or rather the children have covered a handful of shows. Carebears, Teletubbies, Thomas & Friends and Pororo. It is very challenging to catch these shows especially over the weekends as it's packed like sardines. Forget about weekends, even weekdays afternoon can be quite packed too.

 

Teletubbies are so very cute can! In fact I though they looked much better than in the TV program and this is apparently the first time they appeared in Singapore. We caught it at Plaza Singapura because Teletubbies is currently Zelyn's favourite cartoon show and Lala being her favourite character so much as that it's one of her first few words, earlier than daddy and mummy. I could not described how she reacted during the show but somehow she just stared on at the teletubbies, no smiles, no excitement, no clapping of hands. I gathered most probably it is so surreal for teletubbies to be that huge in front of her as opposed to their size in the TV program?! Ironically she started clapping after we walked away from the show and she reacted much excitedly looking at the posters of Teletubbies instead.

The grandmother brought the children to a few sessions of Carebears. Zethan appeared to enjoy it quite abit as he was talking all about it subsequently. He was sharing with me he liked the 4 bears and now he is not scared of the mascots. On a daily basis, he would keep requesting to watch another session again and even memorize the timing of the shows 1pm and 7pm, reminding us over and over again when the time is up. Since the Carebears are at J8 and they have been to a few sessions, we decided to chase for other shows instead. 

Thomas & friends by comparison was not as interesting, at least that what I though. We saw it at City Square Mall on a sunday, planning to catch the 7pm show. To our horror, there was a crowd when we reached and it's not even 6pm! No way are we going to sit there and waited till 7pm. We made the decision to view the show from 2nd storey which I feel offers a better view though it is not being close to the stage. Zethan seem to enjoy the outburst of 'snow' at the end of the show, more than the show itself! 

The latest show we went after was Pororo at Nex yesterday. I had wanted to exchange the photo pass but decide otherwise after looking at the queue and besides we need early dinner. It was a bad decision as we kind of missed the show after dinner and the area was so very crowded that we could not even grasp a proper view of the characters on the stage. Poor daddy had to carry Zethan but only good for a short while as it is very taxing to carry him. As for Zelyn, again she stared at the dancing characters on stage without much expressions.

 

Not many weekends left to catch the shows before they come to an end. Most likely we will try to catch Despicable me - Minions at Suntec City over the weekend though as expected it is not going to be fruitful with the weekend crowd but I guess better than nothing. Just to have some fun for the once a year affair.

 

Jeez, does that sound like star chase during the younger days, chasing after the artistes around the island. Frankly speaking I have not even done that before except to a mini concert at Sparks for Berlinda Carlisle. Oh the memories and the lovely songs she sung (revealing my age here?!). Well the things we do as parents for our kids, cartoon character chase! The unglam side portrayed, standing on tiptoe, holding the Iphone high up in the air, trying best to take a video of the show! The priceless look on their tiny faces, the smile make it all worthwhile. Wasn't I so very glad it only happen once a year!

First Love

My first love will be turning 5 years old in a month's time. Opps, the daddy had to take a back seat being the X love!

 

By and large he is a sweet and loving child. Definitely there are moments of mischief and rebellious behaviour which I chose to attribute it to passing phase (crossing fingers and toe

s hard). Well, kids being kids, it's only naturally for them to misbehave, who is perfect anyway. The daddy and mummy themselves are not that perfect after all or rather not even close to being perfect!

 

The efforts I have put in for the past 2 years managing his expectation and requests have pretty much gone down the drain in matter of like 6 months ever since I returned to the workforce and they are in the main care giving of the grandmother. I remember very well, window shopping used to be a pleasant time out for the whole family. This is because Zethan know jolly well that requests to buy toys will not be tolerated and he will reply himself that presents / toys are only for Christmas and birthdays. So most if not all the time, meltdowns are avoided easily. However it is not the same now. Because of the fact that the grandmother had defy my 'rule' and he could buy toys at his whim and fancy, almost all the shopping trips we made were unpleasant. He will pushed his boundary way over my limit and I had to really refrain from punishing him or telling him off like a mad woman in public. Still most of the time I would stand firm on my decision and brave through his nonsense. Negotiation skill were always put to test. In this respect, I am still cracking my mind on how to bring down the damage to a minimum as I do not think it is possible to reverse the situation totally back to the old days.

 

Okay, be positive, look on the positive side and see more of his goods.

 

Just the other day, he automatically went to set the table on his own accord at dinner time. Mind you it was the full works of setting table right from laying the newspapers on the table, collecting the cutlery from the kitchen and setting them on the table, a pair of fork and spoon placement. Honestly I am really impressed and touched to the point of tears flowing. It was an unexpected action which clearly indicate that he is growing up faster than we had ever imagined, my heart swelled with love and how proud I am of him.

Another incidents of his sweet sibling love. Zelyn had this very bad habit of puking whenever she wail (just like the brother when he is much younger). So it happened like again because I scolded her for running around during bedtime. Zethan came to me and asked "mummy did you make meimei cry and vomit?" I admit and he said "mummy if meimei do not want to sleep, you can pat pat meimei or rub meimei's back so she will sleep okay". At that instance all the frustrations and anger I have in me melted away by his words. Instead it made me guilty. It is simply amazing what they are thinking in their mind at this age.

 

He is also at the stage of picking his own clothes and establishing his fashion statement. The only thing is he would be picking out the same old clothes over and over again, something fresh from the laundry. So it will be of no surprise if he is always in the same few outfits in the photos we take. Now I am also guilty of taking more photos of meimei thus Zethan is having lesser and lesser photos while on the other hand he is turning more camera shy.

 

Plans and preparations for his birthday have been in order. A few more details here and there and we are all ready set to go! Mummy is more excited than him......it's less than a month away! 

Christmas

The month of December spells...holiday mood in the air. All greens....reds...slivers...golds....love soaking in the atmosphere.

 

We had our early Christmas party with the godparents on 1st December. It was supposed to be much early but was postponed and the last minute arrangements were confirmed a day before. Talking about efficiency huh. Anyhow thanks to Godma Ophelia who helped with the preparation of food and hosting us (read - messing up the place).

It was quite a rush dinner especially with so many children around! Oh yes, we are surrounded by 5Cs and no they are not the usual Cash, Car, Condo thingy. Cayden, Caleb, Chace, Christopher and Coen! To top it off, Zelyn is the thorn among the roses, the only lady among the 6 gentlemen. Though it was a short gathering but what matter most being the company and getting into festive mood. Unfortunately Godpa Jason was away for work thus we missed him for this party.

Plans for swimming had to be shelved since weather do not look like it will hold and late into the evening could be a little too cold for them. Enjoyed our steamboat and the very chocolatey reindeer log cake. Everybody chipped in care giving efforts in one way or another. The finale of the night would definitely be exchange of x'mas gifts. All the children received 2 gifts each from the adults while the mummy and daddy did our own gift exchange. The children did not hesitate to tear the wrappers off even though they should be waiting for x'mas eve to unwrap them!

 

Thank you for the gifts and we hope you liked our gifts too!