Our Sweetie Piyobaby

Ending 2011

2011-12-30T14:43:00.002+08:00

Gosh, time flies and we are approaching end of the year!

First of all, a belated greeting ~ Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope that all had a great time over the festive holidays.

Advanced Happy New Year!! Since I gathered if I don't do it now, it will be another belated greeting!

Everybody seem to be talking about resolutions for 2011 and achievements, everywhere especially so in Facebook.

What have I achieved in year 2011?!!

Seriously I have no idea and all I can think of is shifting into our new home and having to spend more time with Zethan by being a SAHM. Anyhow the goals I have set for myself before I turned into SAHM was not achieved!! Can I say have not even started. Zethan is not toilet trained, not potty trained and not sleeping in his own room! Please don't ask me what have I been busy with.

The only consolation is Zethan is about to identify the sounds of the alphabets all thanks to Leapfrog Letter Factory and till date identify A, B, C, D. He is able to count from 1-10 in particular rote counting. Still a little confused over pysical couting. His speech has improved tremendously even though there are areas that need to be worked on. He is more confident and outspoken among friends. My dear friends reading this post might say that another achievement is Zethan getting so chub chub and putting on weight.

Time to set resolution for 2012?!!

Let me think about it and hope that I can set realistic ones which are achievable!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

HKG 2011 - Day 1

2011-12-12T21:07:00.019+08:00

Terribly delayed post of our short family trip which happened on 24th Sep - 28th Sep and yes I am aware it is Dec now!!!

Fly SQ A380 9.30am flight. Reached HKG late due to delays in landing schedule thus by then transfer to hotel, was close to 4pm! Stayed at The Royal Pacific Towers & Hotel @ TST.

Went for Tai Ping Koon dinner then to Avenue of stars followed by Symphony of Lights (which is nothing impressive). Had supper before returning to hotel for a good rest!

Sep 2011 Part II

2011-10-11T23:58:00.006+08:00

Wow, today marked the one month-sary of our stay in Bishan. Unpacking still happening very randomly at whim and fancy, slow snail pace, sound bad huh?!!

Anyway, amid the crazy packing, on-going supervision of renovation, shopping for the house, we adventurously booked ourselves tickets for Mickey 'Live' Music Festival. What to do, the show is only for that few days and due to hesistating, we did not managed to get good seats (Dress circle 2nd row). Knowing how a big fan of Mickey Zethan is, we just had to adjust some time allowance to make the show happen.

So off we go for the 8 Sep 2011 3pm show at Marina Bay Sands - Grand Theatre. Expecting heavy traffic in the area, we set off early from home but yet with bad signages, bad traffic, full carparks, we went into a mad rush in time for the show. As usual, Zethan refused to be in his own seat almost throughout the show. The distance to the stage was far but views are considerably okay.

It was a show worth paying for as Zethan was glued to the stage through the whole show and even decide to dance along at some point.

Little did we know that just recently they have decided to return for more shows in Nov, geez!

Sep 2011 Part I

2011-10-11T01:24:00.015+08:00

H...E..L..L....O....ooooooo (echo)......

Pardon me but september is really madness for me with tons of to dos on the agenda with limited help and time. Would have to break the sep updates in different parts too.

A quick recap...

2 Sep, fri - went for our completion for Bishan, chop chop, all done in a matter of minutes only! The house is officially ours!

Cheong there to meet up with our contractor and sub contractors all waiting in line for decisions. Settled the window grilles, indecisive with the kitchen cabinets and kitchen door. Had to leave before nightfall as the ex-owner had terminated the utilities and thankfully PUB is able to appoint us a slot to switch them on the next day's morning. Otherwise we would most probably turned into roasted pigs!

The following one week is filled with lots of coordination works be it deliveries of fittings (though not that many), selection of materials, color scheme performed all alone with Z in tow in the absence of the hub who was away for 2 days; the most crucial 2 days in fact! well...

back at home (CCK that is) packing, packing and more packing. The last few nights are like 2am, 3am, 4a, 5am kinda of thing and yet it seem like there are still tons lying around waiting for its fate of being thrown or migrate with us. It certainly is a very tall order for us to be packing with Z around, he simply unpack what we have packed. The only possible time to pack would be after his bedtime which meant we only have a few valuable hours daily to do so. this is also not quite possible untill a few days before the big move when the hub took leave (that when the 2am thingy step in).

Over the weekend or on days when we are expecting deliveries, we brought along a 3 fold mattress for Z to sit on, play on, nap on. Not to forget his toys, Ipad and snacks to keep him entertained, well prepared.

With a very tight timeline, most of the renovations are completed in time for the big move in except for some minor areas which supposedly will be tolerable. On the eve of the move, we packed till 5am in the morning! As scheduled, we moved in on 11 Sep 2011 (sun).

So...so....so...tiring.....

Boring

2011-08-24T01:22:00.002+08:00

Realised that my blog is getting very boring with tons of words and hardly a photo in sight.

Please bear with me as lots of adjustments are taking place from changing of laptop to lack of downloading from iphone and cammy. Iphone is so very user friendly that my PNS (point and shoot) is collecting dust in a corner. the laptop just got a replacement power adaptor when the previous one died on me close to 6 months back. The need to transfer and consolidate photos from ex company laptop to personal laptop, yawnz!

Shall make a mental note to upload more photos! oh and of course to update the blog conscientiously which I should have more time on hand to do so for now **crossing fingers and toes, whistling**

Home

2011-08-24T00:59:00.002+08:00

Some updates on our new home.

Confirmed / purchased

Samsung RT63WBPN
L shaped leather couch
Dining set with 4 chairs
Slumberland Tempsmart 3600 King
Slumberland Signature Super Single
Customised King size Platform storage bedframe
Ariston Oven FZ62C.1 IX

To be confirmed

Samsung 46" LED smart TV 6400
Fujioh FX 900 (Hood)
Hob (induction)??

Need not be purchasing too many fittings and furnishing since it is pratically move-in and most of the furnishing are built in. What a great relieve! Phews

House shopping appear to be very exiciting and interesting but not for my case. Probably it is our 2nd home thus the excitement and creativity juice ran out and shopping with a 2.5 year old toddler is not very funny after all. Imagine testing 10 beds with a toddler jumping and rolling on the 20 bed with you, not a very funny sight I tell you.

To add on to the headache of the kitchen. Besides the decision of hacking the L box and downlights to make way for top hung cabinets or established a new set of cabinets opposite the existing but would have to make do with a narrower kitchen, my greatest nightmare was to discover that citygas is not available in the new home! Another set of balancing between the use of induction stove or LPG. I am pretty sure could not survive with full induction while on the other hand, the thought of fiddling with LPG freaked me out big time.

Argh.....decisions....decisions.....

Major

2011-08-21T23:31:00.011+08:00

Can somebody kick me from behind please? I can't believe it, my last post was in June and it's nearing end august already!

2011 entail a few major changes in our life. As mentioned, we are selling
our nest and found new nest. The next major change in my life; I have officially been pronounced as SAHM (stay at home mum) as of 19 August 2011. Well, it will be a short term thingy as I wish to spend more time with Zethan before enrolling him in a child care centre come Jan 2012 when he turn 3 years old. Seriously speaking, I am guilty of not spending sufficient time with him since birth and I do put the blame on myself for his slow development.

Thus for the next few months, my goals will be to coach him and prepare him for school in the aspects of academic as well as general development. Crossing my fingers but I certainly hope that by then he will be toilet trained and to wean him off co-sleeping with us. Sound like a tall order and major challenge since in the department of toilet training, he is no way near any. He does tell only after he poop quite randomly and he is confused over wet diaper and poo. Perhaps not quite confused but at least associate wet diaper to poo. So you can see that it is going to be a tough fight and please wish me success.

I have been trying to encourage Zethan to speak more freely as he appear to be reserved and 'lazy' in his speech. I am proud and relieved to say that for the last few weeks, he had shown tremendous improvements. Knowing jolly well that it is unfair to compare and he is relatively slower than his peers but if I may say so, I am still quite satisfied with his current progress. I have learnt to ask him questions or providing him with the answers in order to communicate with him. When he try to express himself which could not be comprehend, I will try my very best to ask if he is saying so and so of which he will reply yes or no.

For the next few months or so, intense activities are to be expected. In
order not to get too uptight and overwhelmed with the tons of task to perform, would have to efficiently and effectively prioritise the events especially so for the month of September. The plan shall be:

- shopping for house fittings / furnishing

- Renovation for Bishan

- Packing and preparation for the move

- The Big Move on 11 Sep 2011 (not that it is a good date)

- Settled in Bishan and unpacking (dreading that big time)

- Hong Kong vacation (much anticipated, so very looking forward to!)

Shall blog separately.

Conversation

2011-06-21T16:33:00.003+08:00

Our conversation few days back...

In Daddy's car....was trying to teach him number, rote counting..

Mummy ~ what is your name?

Zethan ~ Z-tan

Mummy ~ well done, good job **applause dramatically**

Zethan ~ tan-ju, tan-ju (thank you, thank you)

Both the daddy and myself roar....whahahaaa

Progress

2011-06-08T22:36:00.002+08:00

Procrastination is my middle name, I am very sure of that, admit and pronounced guilty! LOL

As mentioned previously, badly in need of an update of Zethan's progress but since the last is eons ago, it can be quite a challenge.

In all honesty, toddlers of their age progress and developed so rapidly that there will be lots missed out if updating is not done on a regular basis. To say the least, Zethan belong to the category of the 'slowest' in development as opposed to his peers. Having said that, children develop at different pace and there should be no comparison or minimum comparison. Easier said than done right, naturally we can't help but compared and can act hysterical over the slow development.

A classic example is speech development. Zethan is extremely slow in this department although I am relieved and proud to share that he caught up quite significantly over the last few months. His vocabulary expanded tremendously (at least I felt it is tremendous improvement). The list goes: -

School Bus - Sgool Bus (with a funny slang, love it)
Uncle - On goh
Auntie - Ah T
Robot - Ah Bah!!!
Floor - Four
Wet - Weet
Mickey Mouse - Mimi mouse
Mr Bean - Bee
Push - Push
Milk Milk - milk milk
Rubbish - Barbish
No touch - no touch
Mei Mei - Mei Mei
Di Di - Di Di
Blue - Boo
Red - reat
Juice - Juice (pronounced very accurately)
Daddy - Daddy
Mummy - Mummy
Grandma - Ma
Wait - wait
Poo - Poo
Apple - Apt ple
Yoghurt - Ah good
Bread - Bao

Zethan finally hit 13kg last weighed at home so it's a plus minus thingy. Height have yet to be established since he don't wished to be measured when we are at PD. He is much more cheery these days though still appear shy when people looked at him. All it take is abit of warm up and he will be all good.

He is accepting varieties of food much better than before perhaps attributed by better ability to chew. What is lacking badly is fruits intake as besides apple, he is rejecting most if not all other fruits.One observation which is yet to be confirmed, his body can't take oily food and rejected by throwing up subsequently.

Zethan is super addicted to TV. Once he woke, immediately requested for the TV to be on. Grandma become his TV menu by switching to his favourite cartoon shows at the respective timeslot. Not very encouraging but too late for intervene. He love to pack his toys in bags, lined toys in a row repeatedly (got me in a mad suspicsion of autism), particular in sorting of toys e.g. single unit of mega blocks must be sorted together, same color grouping, recently developed love for dog stuff toys over Mickey Mouse. He will insist on bringing his stuffed toy dog along when we are out, kissed him goodbye / goodnight including the stuffed dogs, hugged goodbye with him then stuffed dogs too.

Definitely a very fun and interesting stage Zethan is in currently and I am enjoying every bit of it to the extent feeling time spent with him is insufficient. Of course there are days when he drive me up the wall but that's what motherhood is all about especially that of toddler's behaviour. One moment all pleased and happy and the very next whiny, feisty. When we are out, he cling on to me like a koala bear, refuse to walk, rejected the daddy, refuse the stroller or if he ever goes into the stroller, he must make sure he is holding on to my hand or even one finger. Once back home, a total different situation, directly opposite. Rejected me big time, the daddy had to bath him, never be out of sight, put him to bed etc.

A long post indeed, once got started, everything start spilling without any full stops and commas apparently. Till the next post, hopefully not very long..

May 2011

2011-06-02T22:33:00.002+08:00

I don't even know how to get myself started after missing in action for eons, 1.5 months to be precise. Let me try my very best to reorganise my thoughts, had better give all the excuses of not blogging a skip in this instance.

May is a very 'hectic' month with the numerous acitivities with the mummies, public holidays, the dramatic General Election (with close to 2 weeks worth of free shows), my very first major dental treatment in donkey years and the housing matters. Phews the list could go on and on but in a nutshell, that's about all.

We had so many gatherings this month with excuses that mummy Ophe will be leaving for the states end of the month (she is having some fun in the states at this moment as I typed, catching up with mummy Sue Lin). So it's almost like gathering every week so much so that the daddy at home raised his eyebrow. We did the various cuisine that Ophe will crave for after she leave for the states, Thai food, Jap food, BKT steamboat etc. We will miss you loads, Ang family!

Not gonna rave too much about the GE but what is notable is being my 1st time voting in 3X years, coupled with the peers' interest in politics, I grew some interest in keeping what with the whats is and whats not. We attended the very 1st rally by NSP at Choa Chu Kang stadium and was fascinated by the crowd despite the continuous rain for the whole evening. The whole area's traffic was almost paralysed, traffic jam everywhere, all carparks closed and so on. Well, all the hoohas and dramas had since settled down and forgottten as usual. So case closed.

Next on the list, my major dental treatment in donkey years. I have had very bad and serious phobia about going to the dentist and of course it is understandable for skipping any dental treatments for ages. No exaggeration here but it is a serious childhood phobia. But the pain is so unbearable that I am very firm in going for a wisdom tooth extraction / surgery. Can you imagine how bad the pain is for me to be so decisive despite the nagging phobia? Checked around for recommendation, surf the net for more information, ring a few clinics but earliest appointment is a day after. Such mixed feeling when I walked into the dental clinic at Mount Elizabeth, trying very hard not to resist the temptation to walk away. And so after the x-ray, consultation by the dentist, made the decision to do the surgery immediately lest I changed my mind again. Throughout the surgery, my eyes are shut real tight and even under local anaesthesia, could still feel the strong tugging at my nerve perhaps which spark off some tinge of pain still! It was all over in about 20 minutes or so, was shown the tooth (out nicely as a whole), rejected the invitation to keep the tooth, half mouth numb, payment and walked out of the clinic. So damn proud of myself for such a great achievement. Sound weird isn't it. Okay thats the saga of my dental treatment. Hopefully at this point, you will not be rolling on the floor, laughing away.

Housing. As mentioned in earlier post, we exercise the OTP for Bishan on May Day with a deposit of $4K and looked forward to the various appointments with HDB lined up for the next few months. Attended the 1st appointment for selling of CCKC which is really very early and nothing major for us as the sellers as the crucial documentation are with the buyers. Officially we should have sold our flat by 6 July 2011. Having said that, we are only due to be the official owners for Bishan in Sept if everything goes well. No major renovation necessary for Bishan except for the kitchen which might require a good 2 weeks. Anyhow as this post is being posted, we are experiencing some issues with our property agent and the buyers for selling of CCKC. Not going to be a spoilsport, don't wish to even go there so no elaboration. I have been on my toes trying to sneak in abit of time here and there to start the packing terror.

Shall dedicate the next post on the developments of Zethan which have been lacking badly ever since don't know when. I am so very glad to have started off this blog then and it is such a emotional experience reading back the blog, the emotions so overwhelming and real it seem just like yesterday! I will make it a point to maintain this blog, promise!

Changes

2011-04-19T23:09:00.003+08:00

since the last post, there have been major changes and new updates...

we have given up the Toh Guan unit after some serious consideration. firstly I have this unforeseen worry which I have not been managed to identify even till this point of time. Secondly, after extensive research done on Zethan's future primary school (e.g. distance to any good school, take up rates for past years v.s application rate, phase 2B, 2C, parent volunteer and the related yada yada), it appear to be clear that it is only wise for us to give up the house. Now you might be wondering why think about primary school now when he is barely 27 months and if my concerns are valid. See, the thing is Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP) for HDB apartments have been revised to 5 years and we will not be able to complete in time before Zethan reaches the schooling age. Thus it is very important to factor in the primary school at this point of time. Seriously it is tough to imagine how stressful it can be to look into potential primary schools and how competitive enrolment can be. Yet the last thing we would want to do is to neglect the importance of a good primary school which is crucial in developing a good foundation for our child. Notice I mentioned Good school instead of Top / SAP achool? Nope, it is not in our intention to relocate close to a branded school for that matter but a good school with good environment, academically inclined etc.

Having considered thoroughly, we made the tough decision not to exercise the option and had our $1K deposit forfeited. Then again what is $1K as opposed to the main concern of schooling issue for our son.

So it's back to our hectic weekends of viewings, shuttling between Bishan, Bukit Merah and Jurong. Lost track of the number of units viewed but nothing seem to catch our attention. With the tight timeline looming in, possibility of higher cash over valuation (COV), the stress got to me big time and I am on the verge of breaking down. Thanks to a group of nice mummies who managed to salvage the 'situation' with kind advices and all.

Last weekend, we viewed a unit in Bishan and it is instantly a love at first sight upon stepping into the unit. So much so that I have very minimum detailing of the unit which is a rare for me since I have always been the one to take note of these details. Reluctantly we went on to view the next unit while my heart is all for this. After a quick discussion, we have decided to make an offer and withdrew cash for deposit since we do not have a cheque on hand. It was a tough fight since the property is so hot and it took us quite a fair bit of time, negotiation, waiting game before we finally managed to secure the place, Yes we went through a tough fight and it was a close shave, nearing losing the unit because of the friendly neighbour next door who wanted to offer $1K above our offer for her mother in law, sister in law or whosoever.

Currently we experiencing some hiccups in term of documentation, timeline issue which hopefully our kind property agent will get it sorted out. Waiting in high anticipation to be able to call this property our Home!

House

2011-03-31T22:24:00.008+08:00

As mentioned in the previous post, we have sold our house and is house hunting intensively due to the time constraint. Seriously if you asked me, house hunting is no fun at all. Time consuming (travel all the way to destination just for viewing of one unit), exhausting and stressful which has been on-going for close to 3 weeks. Last sunday was a bitter sweet day. Zethan's right dorsum puffed up badly and it was after lunch that I noticed. The swelling is very bad but unable to identify any bite marks. It was not painful (he said no when asked if it is painful) and when touched, showed no sign of pain or sharp reflex. That freaked me out big time and being sunday, made me panicky even more. Decided to carry on with our house viewings which landed us in our future house to be. Yes after much consideration and deliberation, we have decided on our next nest! It will be in Toh Guan. Made an offer, issued a cheque for deposit, only for the seller's agent to negotiate the deal. Further negotiation necessary since owner asking for higher COV, another party offering higher COV which put us in a tight spot to counter offer or let it go. Such a tough decision and balancing the pros and cons. Finally the deal was sealed with valuation of $430K and COV $29K. The last few days settled our HLE and was delighted that we are eligible for a HDB loan with amount more than sufficient so the ball is in our court now to exercise the Option to Purchase (OTP)!

Busy

2011-03-26T23:35:00.002+08:00

Busy as a bee, in fact much busier than a bee can be!

explained why this poor blog was badly neglected and collecting cobwebs in all corners possible.

Firstly we sold our flat like finally after being marketed by the 3rd property agent and closed to 8 months of marketing. Even though the Cash Over Valuation is not up to our expectation, we still accept the offer with the flexible terms negotiated and furthermore it is a chinese buyer. Offer was accepted on 1st March 2011 and Option to Purchase exercised on 6th March 2011.

Of course there is not all as the next daunting task is present ~ buying another house. Over the last 3 weeks, we have come to realise that house hunting is definitely no fun and instead is exhausting and the tight time constraints add on to the stress level. Despite the various property measures in place, cov are still alarmingly high and valuation show no signs of coming down which spike instead. To complicate matters, apparently the supply in the resales market is way too low over the demand currently. So we are certainly looking forward to the ideal house pretty soon and we are not going to take any chance here by compromising on our expectation since it should be our shelter for the next 11 years to say the least.

Zethan ended his last lesson at JG on 12 March 2011, the end of Term 1. Initial plan to start him on Zoophonics has been decided to put on hold since we will need the time for scheduled viewings. So the poor guy had been constantly on the move almost every night and weekend attending house viewings which might have bored him to the max. Having said that, it is surely very exciting for him to be involved and decide for the next nest of ours.

Work on my end had been stretched as well since there are additional portfolio but I am glad to have this opportunity to learn a new skill yet contributing to my stress level which is heading for the north intensively.

I got all emotional when the house is sold and is feeling sad oready. Well, no matter what, this is our matrimonial house and we are so totally involved from shortlisting to designing to painting the houses ourselves which burnt many weekends and holidays to holding our customary wedding to the arrival of Zethan. So much fond memories and inclusive of a share fair of 'nightmares'. Wonder if I will cry when the day come for us to vacate the house, im pretty sure I will!

Withdraw

2011-02-21T19:16:00.003+08:00

We have withdraw Zethan from JG effective on Term 2 and have secured a place in Zoophonics with plans to start in April thus having a short break in between.

We joined a new class at a new timeslot for JG this week and vast differences were observed as compared to our previous class. Previous class' parents are much more pro active in terms of participation especially that of the theme of the week but not for this class. Perhaps the children in this class appear to be younger than the previous thus parents are overly protective of their child.

Recall this few incidents where Zethan go around hugging his friend over this particular lesson. Somehow uncertain of the reason why, he turn particular loving and friendly that he went around hugging his friends from behind. The mummies are so protective that I caught them shot a look of disapproval when Zethan does it. The look on their face is clearly shocking and perceive Zethan to be dangerous. Why did I say that? Apparently after the incident, whenever Zethan go near their child, they will switch on their 'beware' mood and move their child away.

Now the problem with me is that I tend to be very observant always and caught sights of these parents displaying the weird looks on their face. Apparently caught another daddy watching Zethan in disgust just because he is always on the move, walking around the classroom during storytime. Seriously speaking I feel disgusted at the behaviour of these parents. I would have thought it is quite normal for a child's refusal to be seated even though all the children are and yes Zethan could be overly active in this aspect.

Of course these are not the main factors for withdrawing out of JG. I mean I am not very much bothered by them and not so that I have to consider withdrawing Zethan. The main reasons are Zethan appear to be very bored and restless with the acitivities in class and we would like to try out other classes as well otherwise no basis of comparison to judge which might benefits him. Having said that we are going to miss JG, the outdoor activities and the teachers. Who knows we might be back sooner than expected.

End of CNY

2011-02-21T18:51:00.002+08:00

The kiddos had a CNY gathering on 13th of Feb at Aunt Ophe's. We had a popiah party and KFC for lunch. Yumz, a fresh new lunch idea from the usual steamboat. The kiddos had a great time with bowling game, forming their very 1st band while the adults had a game of Black Jack, Casino style.

Of course not to forget our buddy in the States, we had a gathering online and was shown around the nice house. We were glad to bring some joy to Aunty Sue Lin whom is nursing a cough. Spent a whopping 5 hours having lotsa fun and the only thing missing is Lo Hei!

Zethan hit the sack in comfort of his car seat and we decide to make our way to River Ang Bao since it is going to be last day. Nothing fantastic but the whole idea is to for Zethan to take a look at the CNY decor and he is so fascinated at the carnival especially that of bumper car. We had to grab hold of him lest he made the dash which resulted in a meltdown.

The last day of CNY was spent by having a simple dinner at Taste of Thailand with mum. Had the usual dishes of Thai sauce fried fish, baby kailan and sweet sour pork with claypot toufu for Zethan.

There goes the festive holiday which is over, sooner and faster than the wait.

Appetite

2011-02-16T22:53:00.002+08:00

Most probably it is due to the aftermath of the serious flu & cough that Zethan's appetite is not doing very well lately. In actual fact, he have not fully recovered from his cough which is weird as there will usually be just 1-2 burst of consistent coughing throughout the day and everything else appear normal after which.

I have decide to stop feeding him medication as apparently the medication did not ease these occasional burst of cough and his cough did not worsen because of the break in medication. Meanwhile I am just monitoring him for any signs of worsening cough for fear of developing phelgm in the lungs and feed him lots of water, hopefully to fight off the cough real soon.

oh, anyway back to the topic of his appetite. I have started him on Pediasure yestersday with the intention to bring back his appetite as well as to make up for the nutrients lost during the period he is unwell which we kept quite a range of food at bay. Previously he had some adverse reaction on the pre mixed pediasure especially the strawbeery flavour. Uncertain if it is coincidental but after he down a bottle of the milk, he puked 3 times through the day and it is the strawberry milk that was removed from his system. As for chocolate pediasure, even though diluted slightly with water, he rejected it totally after taking a few sips.

So this time round we have decided to try him on the vanilla flavour in powder form. So far he has taken 2 feeds yesterday and all appear to be good. No intention to feed constantly but once in a while to boost his appetite thus acting as a form of supplement.

On a side note, Zethan has developed an accquired taste since some months back. He love to munch on raw cucumber and even though it can taste bitter at times, he still love them to bits. Weird huh..

Close shave

2011-02-11T23:43:00.003+08:00

Never in my life have I been so frightened before and throughout the 14 years of driving experience, I have not experienced such strong wind and rain.

It happened in a flash, sudden gush of strong wind and rain coupled with darting twigs and branches. Visibility was closed to zero and it was a matter of slowing down or accelerate to dash through. Luckily I have chose to follow the taxi uncle in the next lane to slow down.

5 seconds later when visibility resume, we witness the tree falling across the 3 lane carriage right in front of our car. Moments later, more trees fell everywhere including one that landed right next to my rear passenger door. I was praying hard and trying not to imagine if there might be one which could land on my roof. Called the police and can do nothing except to sit and wait for help to come.

30mins later when rain lighten, few workers working on the opp road came over to help with electric chainsaw, sawing small parts of the tree and manually dragged to the side of the road. It took a good 10mins before the letf lane is passable, grateful to the foreign workers. But the happiness was not for long as there is another built up less than 2m away. More trees fallen, bigger trees. We had no idea how bad the situation is and there are hardly any help rendered except for an ambulance on the opp road ensuring all drivers are fine.

After having been stuck in the car for more than an hour and not sure how long more it can be, many drivers decide to off their engine and step out of the car. I am not exception as any longer staying in the car, gonna get leg cramps. Can't imagine that I can be out in the open talking to 2 taxi uncles trying to assess how bad the situation is. We got too know from kind motorists on the opp road that the situation is very bad and the whole stretch of road is full of fallen trees. End up the wait is a full 2hrs and amazingly caught no glimpse of any civil defence personnel. All I saw was more foreign workers (look like those involved in road works) with more chainsaws, manually sawing and dragging. 1 TP directing the traffic after clearance and 2 policemen who left after 1hr.

When I am safe and sound at home, started to break down and crying non stop, still in a state of shock apparently. A lot of thoughts went through my mind, all the what ifs. What if I have accelerate, what if the tree fell on my roof, what will happen to me, what will happen to Zethan, what if I am paralysed, what if I became a victim of this rare act of god....so on and on forth. The scenes keep playing repeatedly in my mind which made me felt as though I am reborn, had a close shave from death.

Fatigue

2011-02-10T20:33:00.002+08:00

I am seriously suffering from post festive fatigue for the whole week.

No amount of additional sleep help. Constantly feeling tired and fatigue peak during mid day, so difficult trying to keep awake.

Hope I can get over it real soon as next week will be extremely busy and stressful with the upcoming event. argh..

MIA

2011-01-29T14:51:00.004+08:00

No updates for a long while due to multiple reasons.

we have been taking turns to fall sick with the resistant bug circulating among us. At a point it hit the whole family plus my mum. Currently Zethan and myself are still under the weather and trying to nurse our cough (Zethan's runny nose too) before the festive holiday. Zethan's 2 visits to the PD made him $200 richer and us poorer! Of course monetary aside, prayed hard that he will recover fast as it hurt to see him coughing for such a prolong period of time.

few of the posts waiting in the draft box for our KL trip, Zethan's 2nd bash and his birthday which is a trip to the zoo.

four more days to Lunar New Year and we have yet to kick start our spring cleaning at all. Stress level to the max!

1st Family trip

2011-01-09T23:44:00.023+08:00

Not exactly the 1st family trip literally as we drove to Malacca some months back but this will be the 1st family trip on the airplane to the neighbouring country's capital; Kuala Lumpur.

This trip is supposed to be a all in one celebratory trip of some sort e.g. Our wedding anniversary on 2nd Jan, before Zethan's big Two etc. And of course Zethan's 1st experience on an airplane before he turn two years old.

Bringing out the kiasu characteristic, we took the 1st morning flight out as it is much more cost effective and the ability to start the holiday earlier in the city. That comes with a big price to pay, all having to wake up very early in the morning. I had to wake like 4+am and get all the last minute stuff in order before waking up the daddy at 5am and the lil guy at 5.15am for a quick milkfeed, wipe down and changed. Reached the airport at about 6.15am, checked in was rather quick and fuss free. By the way we took budget airline Jetstar Asia. The experience on board was not too bad only that infant seat belt was not given in advance till the aircraft taxi on the runway. Zethan fell asleep shortly and throughout the short flight, only waking upon arrival.

The nightmare come when we reached KLIA. At the baggage collection, we spot no sight of the stroller thus checked with the airport staff who confirmed there is no stroller totally. It is impossible as I saw it being unloaded off the aircraft (we were seated above the baggage storage). We were advised to lodge a missing baggage report at the office which dampen our mood for the trip. Staff at the lost baggage was not very helpful but not too bad either. I kept on insisting that I saw the stroller being off loaded with my own eyes and the initial check on the walkie talkie confirmed there is no such stroller in sight. With my insistence and clear description on brand, model and color of stroller, suddenly they said to have found the stroller which matched our description. Luckily I recalled taking a photo of it with my niece on my iphone thus showing them to confirm that it is our stroller! phews, what a close shave, can't imagine having to go without stroller for 3 days.

With the delay, we fed Zethan milk in the office before setting off to hire an 'airport limousine' to our hotel, put it plainly, just a very normal taxi, nothing much too luxury about the luxury taxi. We had to pay a freaking RM110 for the nothing fantastic limousine! The journey to Bukit Bintang was pretty smooth lasting about 40mins or so. By the time we checked into Parkroyal, it is about 11+am. Had Zethan bathed before putting him down for a nap since he woke really early this morning. Surprisingly he napped for close to 2 hrs and we had to wake him for his late lunch. Walked to Lot 10 foodcourt and was spoilt for choices with the famous street food available. Zethan had porridge while daddy had beef noodles while I queue for black hokkien mee. After a satisfying lunch or rather tunch, we walked over to Sungei Wang for some shopping. Covered FOS kids, FOS outlets etc and my dear hubby appear to be the biggest winner with his shopping loots! He is just one of the few rare speices who enjoyed shopping. Plan to walk to Pavillion had to change due to the drizzle so we had Kim Garys (hubby all time favorite) and continue shopping in Sungei Wang. I was very much drained due to lack of sleep and the non stop walking around thus decide to call it a night after grabbing A&W for supper. I mean how can we missed A&W right. Torn between ice cream waffle or coney dog. Waffle it is coupled with root beer float, wootz!

Day 2 - woke at about 8am, fed Zethan milk and off we go for our breakfast. The spread is very sumptious and the variety is huge. They even have a section specially for children's breakfast, so neat! We even tabao some corn flakes for Zethan as snack! Went back to room after breakfast and Zethan simply love sitting on the bay window thingy for train watching and pool watching. After having our bath, we took a cab to Mid Valley after lots of negotiating with the taxis which I dislike. Why can't they be like Singapore, fixed meter fares! Reached there in about 15mins and fares cost only about RM13 as opposed to being quoted RM45, madness.

Due to a miscommunication or rather the irritating missed out on details told to him, we missed out meeting each other for close to an hour which pissed me off big time. The perfect time for me to shop as Zethan took his nap ended up in myself sitting there for 30mins! I was so mad that I went shopping on my own ignoring his calls. Gave him a good scolding when we finally meet and went for Nandos (no complains from him as he knows I am mad). It is not as tasty compared to Singapore but worthwhile for the price we are paying (the benefit of currency exchange). Tricked him into walking over to The Gardens as I wanted to visit Gap and Coach. Persuaded him to buy me a large wrislet which cost only about $110 because of the sales. Nothing much at Gap for Zethan. Cabbed back to Pavillion for late dinner at Din Tai Fung, xiao long bao not as nice as singapore's too but attractive price again. Went to Gap and bought 2 pcs of top for Zethan, not much choices available. Just when we are about to stroll back to hotel, it rained. We had to wait for close to 10mins for the rain to lighten, covered stroller with rain cover (which irritate Zethan big time) and walked back.

Day 3 - Breakfast as usual then bath and set off to Berjaya Time Square which is about 5mins walk. Managed to get late checkout to 5pm. Wanted to bring Zethan to the indoor amusement park but upon reaching realised that it is not qute suitable for children their age. My dear hubby simply love BTS and shopped like mad while the poor me found nothing much to shop. Tunch at this chinese restaurant was really bad choice. Bought Secret Recipe to munch at the airport and arrange for transport from BTS which save us quite a sum costing RM80 to pick us from hotel to airport. Made our way back to hotel, dump in the last min loots and try hard to shut the luggage, quite a feat! Running short of time, we quickly checked out and got into the cab waiting for us since 10mins back (well he is early which is good).

Upon reaching the airport, fed Zethan his milk, we had a quick Mac dinner. Check in did not take us very long and we made sure this time we asked in details on the carry on board stroller. No differences, dropped off at the exit door before boarding and had to retrieve the stroller from baggage claim as well, crossed our fingers. The flight back was pretty full and I had to entertain Zethan with snacks and water throughout the flight which is a relief it is only 45mins. Baggage claim went well without a hitch but what hit us was the long long queue at the taxi stand! Took us almost 30mins to fetch a cab and the worst being taxi driver keep coughing from changi airport to cck which might have caused us to fall sick!

In a nutshell, it was a pleasant short trip and quite an experience for us since it is the 1st time we travel with Zethan. Travelling will never be the same again with shopping and all secondary with the little man as priority. We are glad to have made this trip and learning from the experience, prepared us for long haul trip in the near future, hopefully.

2011

2011-01-06T22:45:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year. May all be blessed with good health.

Again it was a greeting arrived late but as they always say, late better than never.

I am not going to set any resolutions for this year because as always it appear to be more of a formality and would never be followed through.

All I can hope for is for the whole family to be happy and healthy, a smooth sailing year.

Anyway we spend the last day of 2010 at home, busy with the last minute packing for our 1st ever family trip. Next post will be on the trip.

Christmas Part II

2011-01-06T22:22:00.004+08:00

On Christmas day, we make a daring decision to soak in the festive ambience in Orchard Road. It wasn't that jam after all, the roads but jammed packed with people.

It was a wet christmas night from drizzle to downpour to drizzle many time over.

Thus we did not manage to take many photos as intended but accomplish an important task of nagging the daddy to buy a christmas present for Zethan. It was decided that Zethan had way too much toys and a handful still wrapped in its orginal packaging, he decide we should make our way to Gap at Wisma Atria since it is currently having sales.

It did not take long to decide what he wanted to get for Zethan, this is it: -

And my christmas present or rather presents to Zethan is: -

Merry Christmas

2010-12-29T16:29:00.003+08:00

A belated greeting to all, that's is.

Christmas eve, we made a trip to visit Sue Lin and Cayden for an exchange of presents before they fly off the next day. It as quite a tough moment to say goodbye as we know we are going to miss each other badly, think the mummies more than the kiddos by the way. We gave each other a hugand I had to run before teary scenes start. All the best wishes to the Chiam family and hope to see you back real soon!

Next up will be our x'mas party at TJ. As it was a potluck party thus we had to go grab some fried beehoon and greens. We are the earliest to arrive there once again which is pretty rare for our family, haha. It was a tough night as Zethan vomitted twice and ran out of extra change of clothing for him. Culprit must be the strawberry Pediasure milk he drank in the afternoon. Had a fantastic party with loads of yummylicious food coupled with great company and roaring good time of games. Zethan is so blessed and well loved to be showered with many presents, in fact he should be the big winner with most presents. Thanks once again to the lovely aunties and uncles for the nice presents.

Next year, Zethan will have another 2 playmates for the party, no longer the only kiddo!

X'mas 2010

2010-12-21T21:18:00.005+08:00

The babes had an early Christmas party on 11 Dec 2010 which was planned way in advance. Planning started way back in end Oct to identify a date since everybody would be really busy over the festive period and the Chiams will be flying to the states on Christmas day so it was crucial to book everyone ahead.

Each family had to be present with 3 gifts for the mummy, daddy and child. It was a potluck party and I had to volunteer the drinks aspect since I will be busy and away for more than a week so it will be a safe choice, do not wish to fail fulfilling. Mind you, the drinks are purchased much much was in advance, like early Nov for fear that the busy schedule will result in procrastination.

Food was great with pasta, nachos with various dips, cheese metlz, salad, some tasty blueberry dessert, and a beautifully roasted turkey thanks to ophe.

After the yummilicious spread of food, we played a few games. Rolling the dices to get a double and tearing off newpaper wrapped present with a pair of mittens (yeah, I am the winner!), pictionary (all clues related to christmas carols) and next the gift exchange. Supposedly we are to snatch each other presents to our preferences, however we are so nice to each other and satisfied with the presents that all else are not neccesary.

Our second christmas party together and definitely hope for many more to come though high possibility 2011 party might have to give it a miss since the Chiams and Angs will be abroad. Nontheless all the best wishes to everyone and hope that 2011 will be a beautiful year for the families.

Retreat

2010-12-15T18:56:00.014+08:00

the yearly affair of year end meeting followed by a short retreat and we are heading to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuzhen which had the exact same itinerary as 2005 thus I was not very excited about the trip.

Left on a sunday morning when the little guy is still in bed which is might as well as it is still very hard to say goodbye, got all emotional with tears filling my eyes!

Had 2 days of meeting in KL and how can I missed the opportunity to take the time for some shopping even though there is nothing fantastic but yet managed to grab Christmas cum birthday gift for the daddy and lots more for the little guy.

Flew to Shanghai on 1st Dec and started our 5d4n packaged tour. The only thing I enjoyed lots will be the nice weather, cool of between 7-15 degrees. Bought more clothings for Zethan from Oshkosh and H & M. For the whole trip, the only things bought myself is so pathetic, a pair of shoe, a knitted top from H&M and some cosmetic from Etude House and Face shop! Enough said, let the photos do the talking.

Courtesy

2010-12-14T23:04:00.003+08:00

Before I forget, had better jot it down.

Not sure since when, Zethan starting saying Xie Xie (Thank You in mandarin). He said it when he want us to carry something from him as well as when he need us to fetch anything for him. However when he ia taught to say Thank You, he will sign instead. This is a major headache for me now as apparently we have used the wrong word when we reinforce the sign langauges to him. We are used to saying "Can you say instead of can you sign" so now he seem to be confused over it.

My mum teach him to say Working when she ask for our whereabout in the morning.

Mum ~ Zethan, where is daddy?
Zethan ~ Parking (when he meant working)

The she taught him to identify himself by pointing to his nose.

Mum ~ Where is Zethan
Zethan ~ Point to his nose (meaning here)

Another hilarious action of Zethan.

Mum ~ where is Ah ma?
Zethan ~ point to his nose (mum taught him by pointing to her own nose which made Zethan imitate her action accordingly! haha)

Mum asked Zethan in my presence

Mum ~ Zethan, where is mummy? Working?
Zethan ~ No (smile and point at me!)

He can indicate his response by answering Yesh and No when asked.

JG

2010-12-14T22:47:00.003+08:00

The last lesson of the term at JG ended with a very early Christmas party and we brought cocktail sausagesto the potluck party.

The day was pretty eventful as it rained as we were leaving the house so imagine having to carry Zethan, umbrella, my bag and his present & food in another carrier!

Although the theme of the week was animals costumes but seriously it is very tough to find one and being the very uncreative mummy, Zethan was only cladded in a simple animal T-shirt, about all.

It is a day where everything single thing seem to go wrong. First of all, Zethan was not very cooperative this day, being rather sticky initially when lesson starts which soon worsen to not listening and not following instructions. Come to snack time, we start to dig in the yummy spread of food. Mi sat Zethan down in a seat and placed my camera on the table top, running off to get some food for him. Upon returning, he is no where at where he is supposed to be, camera still remain but with another child and parent seated. Found him and had to drag him to another table which is a terrible choice. Already bad that he is refusing most of the food, refusal to sit still, the super duper kiasu parent crowd around the child including the helper which add up to 3 cramping the whole table and space. I was so damn pissed that I brought Zethan to the side of the classroom, he stand while I feed!

As you may have guessed it right, Zethan was roaming around the whole classroom during story, music time and art & craft did not interest him a single bit. The timid boy is so scared of the Santarina that made him ran close to me upon the sight of her. The Santarina gave away the presents that parents have prepared and wrapped for their child together with the certificate for completing the term. I was a little upset that they had spelt Zethan's name wrongly, ZATHAN!

Just when I thought that the worst is over and we are all ready to go, the silly milk powder container gave way in my bag spilling its content all over my bag and there goes Zethan's milk feed! argh.

Anyway we will be back for the new term starting 8 Jan 2011 with Teacher Safina but the two chinese teachers will not be back due to some transferring.

23 months

2010-12-13T22:49:00.006+08:00

Overwhelmed with his recent tantrums, I have totally forgotten about Zethan's turning 23 months old yesterday. If not for Aunty Ophe's reminder in Facebook (thank god Zethan and Caleb shared the same birthday thus it's great for the reminders to get both ways), I would not have any clue today.

Yes, although most people claimed that it is perfectly normal for the toddlers to step into their "Terrific TWO" or "Terrible TWO" depending on how lucky you might be, I am still having a tough time trying to cope with it. You would have guessed it right that what is thrown at us are the terrible twos and the challenges can seriously drive one mad.

Zethan does not really scream alot (crossed fingers and toes seriously) but he get on our nerves with his cries when things do not work his way for one reason or another. In particular he does it more to the daddy than to myself which can be a blessing depending on which angle you are looking at. For one I am not pleased as personally I feel that this tantrum throwing antics of his can throw the daddy off balanced which resulted in lots of giving in from the daddy which could be a big concern in the long run. We have not got round to having a discussion on the consistency in discpline methods which look hazardous. Well, will find the right time to get down to it. If caught at wrong timing, major metldowns from the parents will be anticipated.

More improvement in his speech, no signs of string of sentences as yet. He has shown much more interest in repeating after me the various words such as Duck, Quack, mouse, jump, dog (including Gou Gou, mandarin for dog) etc.

He showed his affection much more readily be it a cartoon character he love e.g Mickey or kissing us especially so when he knowwe are angry with him thus he try to reverse the situation by pouting his mouth and go Hmmmm...... He can identify and read our facial expression very well, quite an expert he is. These few days he is unseperable with a stuffed toy dog of his. He will always remember to pick up his companion and leave the house together.

If you might have recalled, we bought him a Ikea chair during Children's day for him to put on and removed his shoes. Well he has developed the habit, sitting on it before leaving the house and upon returning home. He is not taking very well the habit of brushing his teeth in the morning and night which worried me as I have observed plague forming on his lower front teeth.

Recently he has developed a unique palate with a liking for crispy foodstuff. Just earlier over dinner he requested for onions rings over mashed potato, enjoyed it lots. He goes for crispy crust of curry puff, crackers, youtiao for snacking purpose. As for main meals, he would still revert back to porridge, easy for swallowing. It is becoming a challenge trying to get him to chew his food when necessary and not swallowing everything that goes into his mouth. Gagging on food did not teach him a lesson despite constant reminder and nagging to chew.

One more month to the Big Two but I am still 2 minded about having a party or no party as we will be going away for a short trip in Jan 2011 in celebration of our wedding anniversary. Time is running out...party, no party???

Catching up

2010-12-13T22:41:00.003+08:00

this time round, it's the mummy who has got lotsa catching up to do as Zethan's blog is growing cobwebs in every single corner possible.

By and large, December is always a very busy month for me especially the first 2 weeks of the month preparing for year end sales closing and our annual year end meeting with our colleagues in Malaysia.

This year, we are having it much earlier like 2 weeks early thus towards end of November, it's the crazy time of the year again. Leaving on 28 Nov to KL and our retreat to Shanghai commence on 1st Dec. Shall blog seperately.

It certainly does not help when upon returning to realise that my notebook adapter died on me which further aggrevate the lack of updates. In fact I have not got round to getting a new adapter, crossing my fingers and toes it is the adapter which have been put to rest for good and nothing else. So for the time being there will be very minimum photos sighted as most if not all of them are stored in the notebook.

Some updates coming up shortly, hopefully. The last lesson of JG term 4, the Shanghai trip, early X'mas party with his buddies and his 23 months updates!

22 months

2010-11-14T23:34:00.004+08:00

delayed post since I have been under the weather for a few days and yet still nursing a flu and sore throat.

Zethan have shown improvement in the department of speech although he might still be slightly behind his peers but I should think it is good enough at this moment.
yes = Is

star (can identify and coorelate to the shape when he see one)

fish = bloop bloop

Hi

stop = top

He is starting to get more sociable and acceptance or tolerance upon seeing strangers improved drastically, at the very least the hiding away is very much reduced. He might attempt to smile and played with others if one caught him in his very good mood. However interesting, we have noticed that should he be frighten by a stranger or any situation deemed to be scary to him, immediately he would wave and say goodbye.

Gradually he is accepting more variety of food such as rice, spaghetti, chicken and duck etc. He certainly looks like he require more time to polish up his chewing skill but I must say that he is starting off well and looks set for improvement coming along the way.

wrong

2010-11-09T22:21:00.003+08:00

it is just one of the day where all things and everything just feel so very wrong.

apparently almost all seem to be getting on my nerve.

the best thing to do is laze around and watch TV programs, brainless activities.

Better still, hit the sack early!

Long weekend

2010-11-07T23:31:00.007+08:00

Another long weekend as Friday is Deepavali.

went to Tampines 1 to take a walk since we have not been there since the mall open quite a while ago. had our lunch in Ikea which is a mistake as even though we reached at about 3pm, the whole place is packed like mad. The daddy had wanted to get some new work clothes as he had just started in a new environment but it ended up that I bought instead.

Sat was lesson as usual and we did not dressed up in Indian costume. Zethan tend to get pretty sticky and keep demanding to be carried though can distract him rather easily. He can be pretty extreme, either sticky or run wild esp during music time. I appear to be on my own singing and dancing in the class!

A new observation during class, he saw a toy fish puzzle among the rubber blocks on the mat. Picked it up and walked towards the baskets where the toys are kept! Sorting skill, he is practising! After class ended was a nightmare, firstly he refuse to leave the playground despite being the last and then after pacifying, passed waterplay and fuss big time. Threw a big tantrum, lie on the floor, cry & yell hysterically and it did not stop for a good while. Took a lot of effort before calming him down amid the hard stares from parents and teachers. well I have built immunity to all these stares and I am not going to give in to him purely because of fear of embarrassment.

At night, we were invited to movie marathon at Taman Jurong and the lil guy slept for half an hour after midnight and woke! as we had to wait for the daddy who happily suggested mahjong, we left at 3am which meant the lil guy did not sleep, not untill we reached home, had his milk.

Attended Chace's full month party on sun, reached at about 12pm and fed Zethan chicken rice with chicken and xiao bai chai. He was well seated having his lunch thanks to the balloon which keep him occupied. No doubts the balloon followed us home subsequently.

Next, the plan to go Anchorpoint was changed to Suntec and again Singapore Expo. We spent a good 5 hours there and the lil guy is so tough and refuse to nap totally while waiting for the daddy to finish his shopping which by the way took more than 3 hours! Had Texas chicken for dinner and the lil guy was such a handful, refuse to be still, walking around the bench and messing with my hair. Indeed testing my patience tolerance and boundary, argh! passed by Gain City fair and recalled to check out HDD since the one I am holding is full (only 60GB). Decide to buy the Imation 640 GB for $103 so as not having to keep buying one and storing too many units though it is a better idea to have more units of smaller capacity to disperse the risk of depending on one and risk it crashing. Bought another 8GB SD card as spare which cost only $19.

On the journey back, finally the lil guy succumb to fatigue and fall asleep, holding tightly to the balloon and forgo his pacifier instead.

for the past few mornings, Zethan had been acting up with screams and cries especially when the daddy is around. What annoy me is not the tantrum he is throwing but how the daddy is handling it who is obviously not attempting to pacify and calm him down. Need some communication here.

wiser

2010-11-03T22:29:00.013+08:00

prefer to acknowledge that I have turned wiser yesterday embracing one more year of priceless experiences and knowledges (hopefully)!

if I am granted 3 wishes, these shall be the ones: -

I wish upon the star that our family will stayed healthy and happy.

I wish upon the star that Zethan will be well behaved

I wish upon the star that ............(3rd wish must always be kep a secret *winks*)

back to reality! we had a simple celebration yesterday by having Japanese lunch at Iodori. The choice were wide though variety not so. In a nutshell, generous serving of sashimi, nice teppanyaki minus the poor presentation and value for money.

Zethan is such a good boy and supposed he's being so sweet to this mummy by behaving himself throughout the 2hrs lunch without much fuss. Yes we did enjoyed our lunch in bliss, a luxury not experienced for a long while

Next we brought the little guy to Polliwogs and he fell asleep 5 mins before reaching so we allowed him to nap in the car for 30mins since I gathered that if not, we are going to risk a meltdown and he is not going to enjoy himself. Being weekday and Zethan under 2 YO, we just have to pay $8 for unlimited play.

It was challenging following him around in the play scape area since he is so nimble and fast, a vast difference from our last trip when it is much more managable. after a good 45mins, I had to 'drag' him back for a rest and have his milk which brought huge protests!

Then it was daddy's turn as I can hardly catch my breath now! He was thoroughly enjoying himself having a whale of time and fuss when he was brought back for a quick rest and water break. major meltdown which left him yelling on the floor out of which I pay no attention to. took a while for him to calm down before I insisted that daddy bring him for the last round before we go. I am seriously amazed by the endless energy he has!

now whose birthday was it by the way? apparently the little guy had a blast more than the mummy. oh ya, suddeny dawned on me that for my last birthday, we brought him to Polliwogs as well!

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:42:00.003+08:00

no formal party or celebration for Halloween, never in our practise to celebrate anyway.

Zethan slept till 8.30am which is a bliss for us and he did something so uber sweet to me. I was still half asleep when I felt the blanket pulled over my feet and was drowned with sweetness realising that it was Zethan who did that, awww.

In case you might be wondering why am I so meticulously blogging a post on a daily basis is because for the month of Oct is Blogtoberfest which requires blogger to publish a post everyday. well I did not participate formally by registering in the founder's website but thought to do it for fun and try it out. I was pretty surprised myself that I could hold it out and accomplished like 99% of the 'mission' that is only missing out on one day's post. It goes to show that if one set your mind to complete a task, nothing is quite impossible, at least true for me in this case. Initially was very skeptical on where on earth would I be able to find so many topics to blog about each day but I did it! Anyhow since today is the last day of Oct, it mark the end of Blogtoberfest as well. Although posting will no longer be on a daily basis but will try to keep it as updated as possible.

so how did we spend this halloween? suddenly woke in the morning recalling that there is a public holiday in mid of Nov so went to check it out. Was elated to find that 17 Nov 2010 is a PH thus we will be able to make it for the additional show at 2.30pm for SSO Babies Prom. Got all excited and tried to surf the Sistic website for booking of tickets. Now this is the first time I am going to a concert thus hopeless in online booking. after fiddling around for 20mins, decided to try my luck at the Sistic agents.

went to IMM for breakfast @ Cafe Cartel and Zethan does not seem to be keen in french toast and omelete but still down half slide of french toast with some sausages.

The experience at the Sistic counter was not a pleasant one to start with. They displayed a sign on the counter stating that due to technical faults, services are not avail but I waited anyhow. The lady attend to me after a 10 mins wait and she actually asked me to join the long queue at the Redemption counter! So I questioned her what is the differentiation between this Sistic counter and Redemption counter. She replied due to overwhelming response of duno what it is and she mumbled on which I take no notice of by cutting her long story short asking if it is down or avail. It was only then that she told me avail and went on to ask for details of the tickets to be purchased. Selecting seats is another nonsense, initially she leave only 2 options to choose from which is similar to each other being in the far end, just a matter of left or right. When I hesitated and queried again if there is no other options avail (she said no the first time I asked), then she 'released' the better seats which I booked with no questions asked. Not that they are very well located but at least much better than what's offered earlier and closer to the stage, aisle seats.

So yes, we will be going to SSO Babies prom. Have heard so much about it and response is really overwhelming, selling like hot cakes. It did not help that they open sales of tickets to SSO members being public so it is no wonder the intial 4 shows are totally sold out. So glad that there is this additional show and it fall on a PH! will write a review after attending!

JG Week 7

2010-10-30T23:02:00.002+08:00

miss out on last week's class due to work reason. the daddy send us for class today as he is on leave before starting his work in a new company soon. Thinking that with extra help on hand, we would be able to leave for class on time but who knows....rather not go there.

anyway today is one of the rare occasion whereby both mummy and son slept from 10pm last night till 9+am this morning. as usual the sensor in him was activated 5 mins after I woke to wash up. and it was partly due to this reason thath Zethan missed his morning nap and had to attend class without one which worries me big time. crossing my fingers and toes that he will be fine in class which luckily he did except being much more sticky as usual, always demanding to be carried.

we learnt about letter M including Mary mouse, monkey and monkey not to forget Huo Zi (monkey in chinese). as for art & crafts, we did a paper cup monkey of which Zethan is not very keen in. He hardly spread the paint on the paper cup and did not bother to help stick on the face, hands, legs and tails. Though the glitters interest him abit an besides spreading on the monkey, he glittered himself too. For the chinese bit, it was a jack in the box monkey using a plastic container which is largely parents work. However Zethan is rather amused by the end result with the monkey popping once the cover is removed.

Snack time did not interest him much as well with sausages, papaya and this cereal looking snack which is sweet and hard. I was pleased that he brought the plate and cup to be kept away all by himself which received Safina's praise of him having good eye hand coordination. Music and story time is tiring as he cling on to me and had to be carried thoughout the whole session thanks to no morning nap, hardly have time for me to catch up on my breathe! As for outdoor activity, it was playground time and as usual he spent more than 95% of the time playing with balls.

Brought him to Changi Airport for some running around and exploration. He is fascinated with the conveyor belts and the baggages moving around and this weird fella insisted on playing at the playground when it did not interest him in JG and they are exactly the same. Threw his tantrum when I have to get him to change his diaper but was easily distracted. Dinner was bad for Zethan when he had a serious meltdown, reason unknown. He as eating fine untill the point he decide to fuss and cry badly. The daddy did not manage to pacify him or calm him down and clearly was embarassed by the situation yet again. I had to carry him away, brought him to a quite corner where nobody passed by and try to calm him down. It took a while repeatedly telling him to calm down while giving him a hug and it worked! we went back to finish his dinner quick and nice without a whimper.

Oh, Halloween tomorrow, no plans yet and not sure what to do.

Old

2010-10-28T21:42:00.004+08:00

on this day 3x years ago, a premature baby girl (7 months gestation) was borned in KKH according to the lunar calendar.

mum said that she was being induced uncertain of the reason why though and she had to go into labour for more than 24 hours.

so today she insisted that having mee sua with TWO eggs is a must and that is actually what I have for dinner tonight. The mee sua & pork fillet reminded me of my confinement 20 months back....

Here it come

2010-10-27T23:05:00.003+08:00

the true significance of Terrible Twos or some rather say its Terrific Twos...

Testing boundary in public is a very challenging affair not so much to myself but a great deal to the daddy. The first sign showed up earlier this evening.

As it is a known fact that Zethan is a super duper big fan of Mickey Mouse and it is amazing how he can spot one hidden in a corner behind a row of magazines, the smallest figurine in the showcase or even just a quick glance while passing by. So just now we were in the supermarket when he spotted the Kleenex tissue boxes printed with Mickey Mouse. He walked over and exclaimed very loudly Eeeee which is a norm by the way. He insisted on carrying a whole pack of 5 boxes and will not take no as an answer. We walked away while he stood there firmly crying out loud, refuse to budge. Naturally for me, ignorance is the best strategy and walked away oblivious to any stares. Within seconds, the daddy walked back to him and picked him up.

Part II ~ he held my hand and walked into the game arcade. We explore 2 rounds in the tiny confined rowdy space and I told him it's time to go. Meltdown once again, insisted on staying in the arcade. I opened the glass door walking out while he had no choice but to follow suit not before putting up a fight, crying and yelling while walking!

brave myself for more to come!

chores

2010-10-26T22:25:00.006+08:00

as in household chores....

Zethan showed keen interest in helping out with the chores at home even though most if not all the time we does them when he is having his nap esp vaccuming, mopping, cleaning etc. Only during his naptime we do not have to spend double the time on the chores as the other half of the time is spent guarding against him and his disturbances.

Few days back, he dug up the packet of wet wipes from the diaper bag and started pulling them out piece by piece. Don't they just love doing that, uncertain of the reason why. Upon knowing that I am watching him, caught in action, he displayed super duper good behaviour by helping to clean with the wipes pulled out. Clean the floor repeatedly, clean the wall, clean the couch in living room, clean the dining chair etc.

Earlier in the evening, we were keeping his laundry so I sat on the couch folding them. Instead of his usual stunts of messing up the folded laundry, he chose to help and fold the clothes. It was a hilarious sight and I could not help giggling and had to ask him to pause and re-fold to be captured on video. A moment not to be missed!

Wow

2010-10-25T22:15:00.003+08:00

lately Zethan love to go 'WAH' when he see things that fascinate him.

it can be as simple as stepping into the neighbourhood mall which he frequents ever so frequently yet he can go 'wahhh' upon entering the mall. wonder if the passerbys who heard him might think that he is some kind of mountain tortoise!

that is what happen just now. prior to that, i am waiting in the car for him at the foot of our block. he approach my car, flash his cheeky smile and go 'waahhh'....funny aren't he.

so yes, he is going to continue his 'wah' adventure for a good while.

Hort park

2010-10-24T23:03:00.008+08:00

we have been talking about making a trip to Hort park for a walk since many moons ago but somehow it did not happen due to one reason or another. Either the timing is not right (naptime or mealtime) or weather is unbearable, it does not help when myself and Zethan is not very fond of being close to nature (read perspiring like mad).

The last few days were pretty hazy and all are trying to keep acitivities indoor if possible. This afternoon, a heavy downpour not only dispersed the haze as well as kept the temperature low. After marketing and taking advantage that we are at mum's place which is just 5 mins drive to Hort Park, we decided to make a trip there.

Reached there at about 6pm and took a walk in the park which is very pleasant since the temperature is ideal and humidity is just nice. We spent about an hour there till the sky turned dark before we head back. It is rather interesting as we managed to show Zethan millipede which he took a look and went on to say goodbye to it without reservation, a look of disgust in his face. he is fascinated by the fishes in the pond near the entrance, the little flowers seen along the way, water features and best of all, super excited sighting the numerous slides.

Guess the walk is a little too much for the little guy and he attempted a few tries asking to be carried. A mental note, the next trip to bring along stroller / tricycle or buggy to push him around.

Gently

2010-10-23T22:40:00.002+08:00

the whole family had a rush rush sat today, packed with activities adjacent to one another. First I had to be at work for the whole day (9 to 5) and had to miss Zethan's first class photo taking and parents chat at JG. So the daddy had to attend instead and does the multiple fetch and send.

okay, back to topic. We went to a Baby Callie's baby shower after Zethan's class. For once, Zethan was not very pleased when I held the pretty little thing and displayed a tint of jealousy by sticking closely. Zethan did not have had the chance to be up close to an infant in recent times thus I though it will be a good opportunity to test his reaction towards the infant.

So I told Zethan, "can you yang yang (carrass) baby, gently please?". It was so heartwarming to see him cautiously carrassing the baby's mitten and then very gently carrass baby's head & hair. Awww.....

New pattern

2010-10-22T23:20:00.002+08:00

Chut new pattern, yet again, what's new?

sure signs of Terrible Two making its grand entrance, when situation do not goes his way, he layed on the floor and throw tantrum! be it yelling, screaming, kicking.....no rolling yet.

good thing is it only happened at home, not in public thank godness at least not for now. my instinct tells me that it will not be long before he displayed such behaviour in public, braving ourselves with such acts (quietly crossing fingers and toes it will not happen, will be such a blessing).

Haze

2010-10-21T22:28:00.003+08:00

it's the time of the year where by like it or not, the haze is here to harasse us. It is indeed very irritating to be smelling the dry burnt smell everywhere you go. the sky is grey and gloomy somehow quite affecting everybody's mood and health!

started with very mild haze on sat with low PSI but definitely escalating over the last few days and hit a high of PSI 108 this evening. It is an irritant to the respiratory system to adults not to mention young children. So we are sure that outdoor activities will be kept to a minimum lest having to be expose to the dry stale smokey air.

Myself for one is already quite affected by the haze which is giving me a blocked nose followed by scratchy throat. Just this afternoon, was engulfed by sudden wave of nausea and giddiness which is causing great discomfort.

Never ending, year after year thanks to our neighbouring country.

Height

2010-10-20T23:17:00.002+08:00

Zethan is 85cm tall and 11.6kg recorded during the last trip to PD for his MMR. Speaking of which, we have sailed past the 2 weeks incubation period of post jab symptoms of fever or rashes. Phews.

Back to topic, most of the guide as to whether a child needs to pay or not is majority based on height. Say for example, ticket in a cinema ~ 90cm, fares on MRT / Bus ~ 90cm (that's if I am right cos I am clueless here since we don't often take public transport) and the list goes on.

I wonder if the relevant corporation and authority might just think about reviewing into the height limitation that is currently in use at this moment. I mean come on, most children these days are well fed with parents in this mondern era well informed and concerned with their children's diet and food consumption etc. Take a look around and it is not difficult to identify that it is very likely that before even the child turns 2 years old, they would have exceed the stipulated height. In fact Zethan's buddies Cayden and Jon are fast approaching or rather exceeding the height when they are like only 21 months old now. It is ridiculous that young toddlers would have to pay for fares or tickets to get in the cinema.

Of course for profiteering issues, who would have bothered to do any adjustments or review.

Headrest

2010-10-19T22:57:00.004+08:00

Did I mention that I bought a headrest the other day for Zethan to be used when he is in the car seat.

Many a times, I have noticed that should he fall asleep in the car seat, mostly if not all the time, his head will fall in awkward positions throughout the journey, especially so when he is travelling in my car. Although he did not seem to feel the discomfort (since he continue sleeping soundly), it sure make the onlooker feel uncomfortable.

Having heard about very good feedbacks from Ophe and Sue Lin, I decided to get one to try it out which is not very costly in the first place. Coupled with discount offered in Taka, no reason to resist the temptation. Got the penguin headrest which is marketed as limited edition.

Verdict ~ he did not take to it very well which apparently is quite normal in the beginning. Hopefully very soon, it's a matter of can't live without it. Only once did he fall asleep with the headrest on but it is quote out of place and somehow do not feel right.

Sniffles

2010-10-18T00:57:00.002+08:00

got it for 2 consecutive weekend, start on sat and last till sun even another day or two.

while the discomfort get to me, more concerned about Zethan catching it if it is a bug, hopefully not otherwise can be draining.

wonder what's wrong? burnt out? stress? weather? haze?

Read

2010-10-17T23:23:00.003+08:00

I love sundays as it's the only day the whole family can sleep in together, that's it provided Zethan is willing to which hardly happen thus sleeping in become a luxury.

We borrowed a book titled Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? from JG library and I have been reading to him before his nap or bedtime coupled with some little actions tagged with words like "what", "see" etc. The story spoke about the individual animals and what they see which is another animal. As I flipped the page and read about the next animal, I will usually point to the picture of the animal in the book.

This morning something funny happened. I am still in bed and this Zethan decide to wake up very very early like 7-ish, whining and fussing with the daddy. I ignored him while the daddy had to see to him since Zethan is fussing with him instead (what a bliss right, for me). I continued to drift off to sleep and the next moment (not sure how long after), I felt Zethan sitting beside me and holding my hands pointing to the book! I peeped at him while he continue to do so, guess he must be trying to imitate me reading the book to him.

Little actions they do tend to surprise and never failed to amaze us don't they.

JG Week 5

2010-10-16T23:16:00.006+08:00

I ~ Insect, Kun Chong

Class today did not start off well for Zethan. During freeplay, he was 'slapped' by a younger peer I believe unintentionally and good thing is the mum is apologetic about it. Well, I know it is unavoidable but it was a loud slap and somehow feel heartpain about it. That aside, it did affect Zethan as he is moody and clingy, demanding to go outdoor during music and storytime (this did not happen for past 2 lessons). He was observed to be very weary of his surroundings, retreat when people walked close to him.

He was not very keen in art & craft, making of caterpillar (using dough and sticking of pipecleaners on its body), fireflies. Snacks served was biscuits, cheese cubes and papaya. He only took less tha half of a cheese cube, 2 biscuits and dislike the papaya, spat out after keeping in his mouth.

Zethan must have enjoyed himself lots during outdoor activity which is waterplay! He took to it rather instantly and did not mind the splashes, squirting and water being poured on him when the teachers teased him. He is one of the last to leave despite the water trough being emptied and he even attempt to unplug the stopper in the trough.

Books

2010-10-15T22:24:00.003+08:00

decided that Zethan have more than sufficient toys in fact a little too much.

Thus recently I have been inclined towards buying books for him hopefully to cultivate his passion for reading which he is seriously lacking in, at least as of now.

quite naturally been 'sniffling' around for good deals for books. The few most recent collection come from MPH as they are having children's day special at 30% off with purchase of any 3 or more books. It's a good deal which prompt me to buy 4 books at one go.

Last week after class, we went to JG library as well but to my disappointment, we are only allowed to loan one book! so pathetic.

wonder how will the daddy react if I were to suggest going to MPH sales at Singapore Expo tomorrow!

Pee

2010-10-14T23:11:00.001+08:00

out of the sudden, this lil guy developed a weird bad habit.

Whenever his diapers are off, he will PEE!!!

be it before bath, after bath, diapering etc

time for potty training?

can try it out!

21 months

2010-10-13T22:33:00.003+08:00

it seem like just yesterday when we were worrying about his milk feeds, sleep patterns blah blah blah and now he turned 21 months old.

the last 21 months isn't a totally smooth journey with it fair shares of ups and downs. On good days, everything was like a bed of roses while on a rough day, one can go bonkers with the hair pulling events.

Zethan is pretty adventurous with food these days and he will ask for table food despite finishing his own meals. We have relaxed a great deal on his meals especially over the weekend. Gone are the days when we have to lug along his food jar with home cooked food. I have decided that it is pretty okay to have a taste of outside food or junk food for that matter for the weekends since he get to have decent home cooked food over the week.

His development in speech improved slightly with a new found favourite word NO. At times he appear to understand what is meant by NO coupled with shaking of his head otherwise he think it's fun to say NO for the sake of saying it. He pronounced Daddy very clearly especially so when he bid him goodbye at the doorstep for work (protesting ~ simply unfair!)

Thanks to the daddy who chose the easy way out, he is very addicted to Iphone either watching his own videos or MMC which so far remain his all time favourite. While I do not approved of it, I must admit that it does help to pacify him when time is of essence e.g. mealtime, ours that is.

He can take instructions pretty well if he feels like it. Of late he is rather well behaved which I chose to believe it is a passing phase or rather perhaps calm before a brewing storm but I'm enjoying these moments while it last. Just the other day, we were eating out at a food court. As we were early, the place is rather empty. I led him to a table and instruct him to stay at the table while I grab a high chair for him, all the while observing him and keeping him in sight. He did not move an inch till I returned.

His afternoon nap is reducing tremendously with previously accumulative of minimum 3 hrs to current barely 2 hrs affair. This is tough for me since I can't be sure when he will be up thus unable to complete my chores or even start any of my chores when we are alone on sat.

Meanwhile I am still considering if we should place him in child care next year when he turns 2 years old. This is pretty tricky at this point of time as we are in the process of possibly relocating so unable to plan till concrete decisions are made.

Chace

2010-10-12T22:13:00.003+08:00

A post specially dedicated to the Ang Family.

Welcome to parenthood once again and big warm welcome to Chace arriving 12.10.2010 at 9.19am weighing 2.68kg and measure 50cm in 'height'. Cool numbers spotted huh and coincidentally Chace and Caleb Kor Kor share the same birthday 12th only on different month and different year of course. Not to forget my little guy as well who turn 21 months today!

We paid a visit to the Ang Family in Gleneagles earlier (Zethan included)and what a sweetie pie Chace is. Ophe looks good despite the side effects of Hapidural getting to her while Jason is clearly overjoyed!

Weird enough, Zethan is not very keen to look at baby Chace so no chance to take a photo together. However I did take one with Chace, such a precious moment! Photo to be uploaded soon when I lay hands on it (taken with Ophe's camera). Updated with photo!

Once again, congrats to Ophe and Jason on the new addition to the family!

Excitement

2010-10-11T22:53:00.003+08:00

Had an eventful today.

Slipped and fell this morning in the carpark because of some inconsiderate idiot who left a big puddle of engine oil at the entrance of the carpark. What a relief that I am not pregnant or not carrying Zethan otherwise consequence is unthinkable. Break the fall with my knee instead of landing on my bum fearing of hurting the tailbone. My kneecap hurts on & off, hopefully nothing fractured.

In a dilemma to join the dinner gathering with the Jan mummies because of the fall and I am glad I did. We had a very nice pizza dinner at Greenwood Ave and it is really the yummiest pizza I had till date and what a sight, a pizza as big as a manhole. Coolz. The turnout was small but perfect for a nice chat without having to fight against the noise and shout across the table. Chat anything under the sun from property to child bearing to labour and the list is endless.

I had this instinct that Ophe isn't feeling very right and from my observation, can see that she is abit uncomfy with the flushing on her face and restlessness. We were close to ending the day when she excuse herself to the restroom with a strange feeling of discomfort. She returned minutes later announcing that her waterbag leaked though uncertain out of which we confirmed her suspicion! Quickly sent her going and get Jason all prepared to set off to the hospital.

courtesy of Leona

High on excitement, speaking as though I am the one in labour. Having said that, a wave of mother instinct washed over. Oh how very strong that urge to get pregnant and reminisce the feeling all over again!

Weather

2010-10-10T23:39:00.002+08:00

super duper humid & hot for the past few days.

that had hinder us from going for a walk in the park today partially as I am the type that hate to perspire and feel all sticky, yucks!

most of the days we do not sleep in aircon as personally I do not wish for Zethan to be too reliant on aircon otherwise can't get to sleep. The other reason being I have noticed that he appear to have some signs of sinus (just like the daddy), his nose does get a little stuffy after sleeping in aircon. Not torturing him either as usually our room is pretty windy at night, can get cold even with the fan circulating.

Having said that, on days when the heat is unbearable, we will choose to sleep in aircon just like the past few days. While I am at this post now, we are enjoying the aircon too.

JG Week 4

2010-10-09T23:25:00.011+08:00

Based on my observation, Zethan is getting 'seasoned' in his lesson despite today being his 2nd lesson so far or even 1st lesson since last week is a trial.

He shows enthusiasm in participation of the acitivities such as helping to put away toys, helping to place the basket of toys back in place even to the extend of helping to move table to the side after snack time.

I was touched by a moment in class today. Zethan had his Playclub pass created today and he dropped it into the postbox pretty much without much assistance but with instructions. What touched me was when his name was called out by Huang Laoshi, he walked over to collect his pass without hesitation, not even nudging required from me. I am pretty much like 'Wow'. Even though it is too early to tell if he is indeed picking up skills from class, I am indeed amazed without doubts.
Peharps it is due to eating with company, he is rather adventurous with food / snacks served. He had watermelon, biscuits and cocktail sausages today. I am a little reserved about giving him the sausages initially but decided that it does no harm for him to give it a try and we are not going to offer him that frequently so why not. It was so heartwarming to see him putting in the effort to clear his utensils although assistance is needed. One can see that he looked proud and has the look of accomplishment when he left the utensils on the table. Now coming to the downside of him being seasoned in class means that he is back to his roaming self once again. It must have been due to being in a strange environment with too many people around that he is weary of his surrounding. Today he displayed 'complacency' whereby he can explore on his free will thus need some constant reminder and catching back in order not to disrupt the class.
Nonetheless, I was pleased to observe the difference in him and the behaviour exhibited. As to whether it is for better or worst, time will tell.

Haircut 3

2010-10-08T23:57:00.004+08:00

While the mummy went for her $3.80 haircut, Zethan's haircut cost $20!

Zethan's hair grew long very fast and for the last few trips, we have been faithfully going to Junior League Suntec in particular even though it is indeed costly for a toddler.

We love to go there as the hairstylists are very professional and they are very good at handling the children especially the fearful ones. They are very quick as well and pretty efficient in distracting the children, assuring them.

This trip to JL, we decided to change Zethan's hairstyle. Since his hair growth is so fast, we are going all the way for a very short hairstyle, almost close to that of an army boy though slightly longer.

We were very satisfied with the result, he look very boyish and what a handsome fine little man! Pardon me, allow me to praise my little toddler.

Diapers

2010-10-07T22:17:00.002+08:00

I am one of the kind mummy who had this madness thingy on diapers. Seriously one might just freaked out looking at the inventory of diapers I have for Zethan only. It's hard to imagine in future if we have number 2, what will happen.

Zethan is now currently on size XL for most of the brands of diapers. Since infancy, he can never ever wear Drypers because it gave him very bad nappy rash. There was a period of time he can't take Pampers as well which is good news for us, goes to show that he does not have expensive buttock!

Anyhow he have been on Mamy Poko and Huggies for the longest time ever and till this moment, I still swear by both brands. Huggies Dry Comfort for day use diapers and basically it had hardly failed us (in terms of leakage) considering the fact that Zethan pee a great deal. It is very soft to touch and absorbency is great though personally the downside I feel is that it is pretty elongated in shape thus do not look good on him.

For night use, we have been swearing by Mamy Poko ever since he is like few months old till now. Never once are we faced with leakage and mess which certainly no parents are looking forward to in the middle of the night. Who would like to have sleep disturbed to be confronted by a frustrated child. Besides the good absorbency, it fit snugly and look good and Zethan appear to feel very comfortable in it without any restrictions in movement.

Last but not least, for outings, Mamy Poko pull up pants are used which had equally not disappoint us as well. though there is one or two incidents leakage happen, not due to the absorbency issue but we had forgotten to change him after like 8-10 hours.

Back to my inventory of diapers practically everywhere in the house. Last count 8 packs of Huggies Dry Comfort XL, 2 packs of Huggies Dry XXL, 3 packs of Mamy Poko XL, 4 packs of Mamy Poko XXL, 1 pack of Mamy Poko Pull up pants XL, 1 pack of Huggies Pull Ups XXL, 3 packs of Huggies Pull Ups XL (which he outgrown).

Imitate

2010-10-06T19:59:00.004+08:00

Zethan is at this stage whereby he imitate almost every single little thing he watched.

It is indeed scary to think about what the adults might do or behave unconsciously in front of the child.

Just few minutes ago, Zethan demonstrated what I mean which left me dumbfounded.

His chow chow dropped onto the floor and as naturally as he can be, he used his left foot to clasp and pick up the chow chow before reaching with his hands!

The guilty parties ~ both parents and grandma!

Bravo

2010-10-05T23:06:00.003+08:00

My little man is such a brave boy and I am very proud of him **clap clap**

The little man did not whine abit during his MMR vaccination considering the fact that he had his last jab 14 months ago.

He is very late for this Measle, Mump, Rubella vaccine as the recommended is at 15 months (he is exactly one week shy of turning 21 months). Weird enough he always fall sick when he is scheduled for a jab and this MMR is pretty jinx. Supposed to be scheduled Sep but had to be postpone due to his high fever saga.

Nearly had to miss today's appointment as Zethan appear to be coughing since 3 days back though it did not sound very serious or intense, just the occasional 1-2 sound over 3 episodes. Dr Ng gave him a check and his kungs are clear and we decide to go ahead with the jab, might as well get it over and done with. The scheduling part can be frustrating.

Guess the grandma and parents are much more paranoid than Zethan is as we have no idea how he would react to it. We appear to be getting into the motion of preparations for a battle. Armed with tutu & chow chow, MMC playing on the daddy's Iphone, we are all ready for it. Obviously Zethan is very focus on his MMC thus very distracted away from the commotion; grandma holding him & his hands tightly, nurse grabbing his thigh firmly.

The cannula penetrate ~ no reaction, PD pushes the vaccine in ~ starting to feel it and before he can even yell or whine, it was all over, chop chop.

I was so very pleased and proud of him for being so brave. Okay you might be thinking 'chey, no big deal what, my child also'. still I am going to say Zethan, mummy is very proud of you for being so brave. well done darling!

half minded about varicella. Next in line will be 18months booster which can be scheduled one month away.

Fuming

2010-10-04T23:29:00.002+08:00

I am seriously fuming mad, still at this point of time and this time of the day, refuse to speak to him totally.

The him refer to the daddy.

What did he do?

Coming home from dinner while walking back from the carpark, he literally let Zethan run loose in the middle of the service road! Naturally I yell out of urgency. Guess he feel embarassed thus snapping back at me. he said there are no cars and he is all ready to run after him!

Not acceptable regardless of what he said. So why am I still so mad, because I would never ever compromise the safety of my child, NEVER!

Park

2010-10-03T22:59:00.013+08:00

weather look good in the early afternoon making it perfect to head outdoor for a walk, not having to worry about getting 'heatstroke'. Chop chop went around to change Zethan while I rush for a quick shower. Who knows when I am all done, stared out of the window only to have bright shining sun greeting me along with the heat.

We decide to play by ear and dilly dally in the house before the next course of action. Left the house at around 4.30pm and leave the daddy to decide to head for West Coast Park or Bottle Tree Park. Was shocked to see the super crowded carpark at WCP but luckily we managed to get a lot after less than 10 mins wait.

I was very very surprised that Zethan walked cautiously on the sand but did not whine or fuss when sand get into his sandals. I was totally shocked yet happy to know that he is much more flexible and adventurous now. However the playground at WCP wasn't very catered to young toddlers and suit older children better. We spend a short while in the sandy playground before walking to the 'beach'. He is so curious over the drainage grille and love to walk on it, stop and stare right into it. Was it water he saw in the drain or was it his own reflection which caught his attention?

He said cheese, the 1st time!

We reached the seaside seperated by breakwater. He is very cautious and stopped in his track 5 steps away from the edge. When I try to encourage him to move nearer, he refused. Guess the splashing waves is a little to overwhelming for him still though it was considered as great improvement from the last trip to the beach. He is fascinated over the sight of boats / ship and keep pointing to them saying BO. If not running late for dinner, would certainly love to stay longer.

enjoying the sea breeze

It was a nice and pleasant walk in the park to catch some fresh air and greeneries and we totally enjoyed ourselves. Zethan is elated over the sights of dogs which he called out in excitement, tapping his thigh, kites in the sky etc. Shall make it a point to come by at least once every month, picnic sounds fantastic with some snacks and relaxing among the greeneries.

School

2010-10-02T23:49:00.010+08:00

Yes to 'school', here we come for the next 7 weeks till end of the term @ Julia Gabriels, Evan.

I have been in talk with the daddy on why we should expose Zethan to some enrichment class on weekend. Seriously speaking he is usually at home left in the care of grandma and to a large extent not learning much except spending a great deal of time on watching TV program, turning into a TV addict. Of course the child can be learning via other means such as interacting with grandma whom teach bits and pieces of everyday life and media such as educational DVDs. Somehow I feel that it is insufficient and Zethan should goes to school for socialising with other toddlers, interacting, exposure to scheduled school program, developing independence etc.

So I went around to checking with JG on their availability for weekend classes. Trust me but I was told that majority of the timeslot especially that of saturdays' are full. I am not for classes on sunday because sunday apparently should be family day and all are allowed to rest and relax. Then they have rules that say that 'walk-ins' are only allowed after week 2, not to mention the long list of wait list they have to go down on. After the blah blah blah, we managed to register for a trial class today. The reason for a trial class being it's a 2 hours program and 2pm can be tricky for Zethan since it is pretty close to his post lunch naptime so I am not confident and is unsure if he is up to it.

Despite napping for an hour and being woken while changed to leave the house, he is in a cheery mood today. He behaved pretty well throughout the class although 1.5hrs into the class, he showed some signs of tiredness and it doesn't help to have music time before outdoor play. But the 15mins outdoor play perk him up again. It is interesting to note that as compared to the holiday camp in June, his ability to follow instructions improved tremendously with attention span lengthen drastically. He shows enthusiasm in most of the activities even painting the green turtle with great interest, whining a little when paints get on his fingers.

At the end of the lesson and a wee bit of discussion with daddy, we decided to sign up for the class thats if there is a slot. In fact I received a call 2 days back informing that even for 2pm class, it's full and we have been placed on the waitlist. It was a surprise when we are told that there is slot for 2pm - Teacher Safina thus we confirmed the class and daddy made the payment. Thanks daddy!

So it will be 7 weeks of ferrying and attending the 2hrs bilingual Playclub with Zethan, sure looking forward to the fun.

Children's Day

2010-10-01T23:41:00.017+08:00

May all the children in the world including those young at hearts be blessed with a Happy Children's Day!

Just this afternoon, I was giving a talk to some nurses and at the end of the talk, wish them Happy Children's Day. The remark she have left me pondering over them. She said that all of our are still children as we are children to our parents! How very true and many a times we have forgotten about that. Coincidentally, my colleague sent me an email this morning bearing similar message of never to forget about loving our parents.

This is the 1st year we are 'celebrating' children's day with Zethan even though he is approaching 21 months old. Gathered that it does not make much sense to celebrate for him last year when he is so young.

I have been cracking my mind on what to get for Zethan as children's day pressie. It need not be expensive but of course ideally something practical and useful. Toys are definitely out of the question since he have tons of them and grew tired of them easily.

So the pressie we bought for Zethan is a set of child size table with 2 chairs from Ikea. Did not cost much and practical enough to let him get used to the idea of sitting by the table in preparation for school in the near future. I have observed how interested he is over the mini chairs during the JG Holiday camp.

Got it fixed up in 15 minutes when Zethan is away at mum's place. What a pity we came home late after a dinner date with the mummies and family, so Zethan is asleep and did not managed to catch a glimpse of his pressie on children's day!

Speaking of which, a short update of our dinner date with the Cheongs, Chiams and Tans. Went to this nice restaurant at Suntec ~ Gaia. The korean fare they served are really authentic and taste so yummy. Kimchi so so nice, should have taken another helping. Zethan was exceptionally well behaved over dinner today, seated in the highchair throughout dinner only demand to go roaming around when we are done with our dinner.

Oh thanks to Aunty Ophe for the nice home baked cornflakes cookies and Aunty Sue Lin for the Crayola doodling set. Happy Children's Day!

Credit

2010-09-29T22:57:00.002+08:00

Yesterday given due credit to the daddy and it shall be the little guy's turn now.

He is such a sweetie to the daddy as on more than one occasion, he's observed to fetch daddy's boxer shorts from the walk-in wardrobe for him to change into soon after Zethan stepped into the house. should daddy be elsewhere in the house be it kitchen or living room, he will dutifully fetch it to him, awww so sweet (psst ~ but never to the mummy, **fumes**)

since close to a week ago, he started holding his milk bottle FINALLY. while the peers excel in this aspect as early as 6 months, this smartie boy decide to do it only now just when I have given up hope and thought that he is not going to feed himself for good. At a random try which I asked him to hold the bottle himself, he did and finished the whole bottle of milk.

His speech development improved tremendously lately too. When he is in a good mood, you can catch him saying daddy, bye see ya, NO etc. He too attempt to his very best words that are taught randomly which are more like the objects we see day to day e.g. fish (he say ish), duck (he say luck). so they say children learn best via repetition, to repeat over and over again till they registered it, pretty true in fact.

Zethan should be going through another phase of growth spurt for the past 1 week. He takes 3 bottles of 240ml formula milk daily with 2 meals of porridge (2 full bowls of pigeon orange bathtub) and in between demand for table food and snacks. This is really a never before thingy and naturally I am a little skeptical on this demand feeding lest he get indigestion or over fed. Demanding for snacks are like less than an hour post meals excluding the table food feeding even though it is not alot.

Wasn't this post supposed to be praising the little man but somehow incline slowly towards developmental updates, not that my memory can substained for a month so rather do it progressively!

Daddy II

2010-09-28T22:29:00.002+08:00

Okay, I though it's high time I gave back the credit due to the daddy. You might not have remember the ranting post months back, refresh your memory ~ http://oursweetiepiyobaby.blogspot.com/2010/03/daddy.html

I was complaining big time on how little help the daddy rope in on care giving of the little guy. Proud to say, 6 months down the road now, he's improving leaps and bounds **pat pat on the daddy's back**. Gosh, I am speaking as though he is my boy too!

seriously speaking, the daddy contributed alot these days. well it might not be willingly on his end since Zethan insisted on the daddy helping him with almost every single thing. Yes your eyes are not playing a trick on you. I am not sure to rejoice or be upset over the whole situation.

Now the daddy helped to bath the little man, wash him after poo and put him to bed, nap or night. Zethan kind of insisted that the daddy does all these mentioned for him and will protest if I am the one doing it and daddy is out of sight. I can enjoyed the occasional luxury of spending some mummies~time~alone gathering with the babes without worries weighing on my mind on how they are faring back at home. Now we are playing reverse roles since majority of the kiddos prefer mummy to do these chores over the daddy thus explaining my dilemma. But heck care, can't bothered, status quo as of now.

In the morning when he woke up, usually it is the daddy he will disturb by kicking, rolling over and the stunts goes on endlessly. this is definitely good for me especially over the weekend. As daddy need to work on saturday so daddy will prepare and feed him milk while I am allowed to sleep in a little longer unless he leaves the house before Zethan is up then that is a seperate story.

So I have to enjoy life as long as Zethan allow, who knows if he decide otherwise or maybe it will be for a long long while, of course the latter is ideally prefered!

Vroom

2010-09-25T23:34:00.002+08:00

Zethan watched the F1 Grand Prix on TV earlier in the night and was totally engrossed with he loud rev of the engine.

he started to sign car with both hands turing his 'steering wheel' and said bu bu~~~

Then he saw the Audi R8 advertisement and repeat the same thing again!

Aspiring driver he is.

Words

2010-09-24T23:17:00.003+08:00

Zethan is getting a tad more vocal lately. Sharing some new words heard, here goes: -

Bye T = Bye MRT
Bye C = Bye See ya
Dope = Drop
Bo = Boat
No more (his favourite, post meal, cartoon ended etc)
Bng = Open (he pronounced as Open w/o O)
Go (learnt from a taiwanese entertainment show where they always shout "lucky ball, go!")

That is about all I can recall as of now.

Oh, just a short note, Zethan appear to be going through a growth spurt these few days. After his usual meals, he will ask for snacks including signing Eat when he see someone eating and ask for food.

Lantern

2010-09-21T16:32:00.002+08:00

Lanterns, mooncakes and baby shower in one weekend!

sat was our 7th ROM anniversary but have decide against any celebration, save it for wedding anniversary instead.

we were invited by Aunty Ophe for an evening of lanterns and mooncakes, not to forget a whole load of food. Had a great evening and oh mine, Zethan had a wild time running up and down the slope and at the playground.

Sunday is Ophe and Chace's baby shower, an all mummies only affair thanks daddy, caring for Zethan a home!). My very 1st baby shower as this is pretty much an amg moh thingy. It was so fun eating, drinking (bubbly juice, we were kind to ophe, not drinking in front of her!), gaming, taking photos. All of us are even dressed in blue to fit the theme!

The canapes and sandwiches from Coffee bean are yummilicous especially smoked salmon and roasted beef. Chicken wings from Pelican were yums too. Oh I ordered this beautiful mini cupcakes from a friend with blue baby shower theme and specifically asked for 5 with CHACE spelt out! look uber lovely and taste great too especially cookies and cream, not too sweet.

20 mos

2010-09-12T22:48:00.007+08:00

Zethan turn 20 months today. He weighs about 11.4kg and approximately 85cm.

Just going to do a quick update on his progress, not too lengthy, short and sweet.

He is picking up things at pretty amazing speed and does it out of the blue to surprise everyone. while some people frown at the idea of letting their children watch TV programs, it can be a life saver thingy for us. The power of advertisements or media as they called it. Just the other day while we are watching the 9pm drama series, Zethan over heard a boy in the show calling PAPA and he repeated after him for a few times happily. Of course the daddy is like over the moon when he heard it. There are a few other instances whereby Zethan pick up some words while watching advertisements (not that I can recall now, blame it on my pea sized memory). This goes to show that we have to be weary on our language in front of him and the TV programs he is being exposed to.

Language ~ I am in fact a little concerned over his speech as apparently he has very limited vocabulary till this moment. The same old Ball, Bus (Bart), Bubbles, Boat (Bo), MA MA (I am grinning from ear to ear), mum mum. A quick check with the PD who say that it is considered as normal for them to have single syllabus at this age. Elephants are "Hmm"

Food ~ He is slightly more adventurous with food but appear to fancy chinese food just like the daddy. He can take rice with chawanmushi or soup pretty well. Badly lacking fruits, gota turn to smoothie soon, hopefully he take it well.

Motor skills ~ need to work harder on his fine motor skills. Will be quite a while before he can self feed especially with a spoon although he still need some help with the fork. Large motor skill is pretty advanced which also means that he is very accident prone cos he love to run and not watch where he is heading!

Seperation anxiety ~ with the daddy and grandma, never with me. Not sure to rejoice or be upset about it. I do feel a tad rejected by Zethan as being a mummy, always been placed as the last choice by Zethan.

He is very sharp in his observation, identifying things and objects he acknowledge. He saw dogs on my pajamas and started signing dogs. He see Micky stuff and started pointing, saying "Ee". Often get mixed up with cats and dogs, anything with four legs and a tail are more often than not a dog.

okay, memory running low, shall update as and when I recall.

Long Weekend

2010-09-12T22:06:00.012+08:00

As always, holidays or days away from work whisked by and is over in a flash. That is what it is for the last 3 days.

Friday is a public holiday; Hari Raya.

Half minded on where to go, 3 of us slept in till 9+ in the morning which is a rare treat since Zethan usually wakes around 7-ish or latest 8-ish. Half the morning gone, another half of the afternoon on household chores. What is even more a rare treat is Zethan napping for a good 3 hours which happen only once in a super blue moon these days. Anything more than 2 hours is a bonus.

While on the road, made a last minute decision to have Golden Mile claypot rice for dinner so made a call to pre-order. Zethan had his 1st claypot rice. I had a bowl of Ah Balling as dessert but find that the fillings is too sweet for my liking. Plan to Suntec City was changed to Clarke Quay instead since there is an on-going lantern festival fair and Taiwan food fair. This is also the 1st time we went CQ as a family of 3 but it is not a wise choice, the whole of CQ is very very packed thus left the place empty handed.

Saturday, daddy is working thus no chance for me to sleep in. Zethan spoilt the morning by fussing, refusing to drink his milk, having less than half in 30mins out of which I lost my limited patience. To worsen the situation, he turn over the laundry rack, more work for me. He must have been tired out by the meltdown read crying that he went for an early nap.

Suggesting to have an evening picnic, that's if the weather permits which looks great for the whole day. Made Zethan nap at about 4pm and I went online for our discussion on the logistics for the picnic! So in less than 30mins, we got ourselves food and the whats not for a picnic, all set to go.

Meeting point at Visitor centre and walked 5mins to the so called picnic ground. Set out the picnic mat and no mess mat, spread out the food and all start to dig in. Yummy Dominos pizza ~ Extravanganza, Meatzza, wings, garlic breadstic, Sakae Sushi ~ Potato salad, Tomago maki, some salmon platter with a bottle of cool nice white wine. After food is bubbles time for the kiddos which attract a lot of other children in the vicinity. A great picnic, great company, great chilling out!

Sun ~Try very hard to laze around in bed, managed to steal some time! Upon waking is busy like a bee, preparing porridge for Zethan, packing his stuff, getting him and myself ready. Left the house at 12pm reaching Mandarin Oriental at 12.30pm in time for a wedding luncheon.

Zethan is so shy throughout the whole dinner when so many of our friends wish to play with him but to no avail. Though he is playful yet still reserved with them thus end up being a koala bear. On a positive note, he is very well behaved today, napping for 30mins amid the banquet and upon waking, stayed in his stroller and enjoyed the yummy food which he ate quite a bit which is a surprise. Braised herbal duck, cod fish, fried mantou minus the chilli crab sauce.

We went up to the bridal suite and Zethan stayed glued to the TV watching Monsters vs Aliens, concentrating very seriously on the show which tickled everyone pink as they tried hard to distract him away from the show.

So that pretty sum it up for the long weekend and till the next PH which will be in Nov. Oh man, how am I going to survive a whole month in Oct with no breaks!

Fatigue

2010-09-08T22:23:00.002+08:00

What better word to describe myself.

The fever saga went on for a record of 5 days.

2 midnight or rather early episode of spike at 39.9 degrees.

Zethan initially saw the thermometer and automatically said "Ti" (beep) till the end of sprinting off at the sight of it.

Physically and emotional absolutely drained which resulted in the body inability to even rest early at home (perhaps the phobia or being cautious and alert to detect the early morning spike stay).

Goodbye fever, welcome stuffy nose and cough.

Fever II

2010-09-04T23:06:00.002+08:00

The fever looked bent to stay.

Today is considered the 3rd day of his fever.

In the early morning, medication, sponging and monitoring till 3am of which temperature fall back to normal ~ 37 degrees. Complacency on my end for not monitoring further till 7am in the morning, shoot up to high 38. Fed milk, sponge, paracetamol.

After bathing and teabreak of cereal, realised his temp rebound close to 39 again. Made up my mind to make a trip to PD which is 1/2 day today being a saturday. Zethan is super fussy and whiney at the PD's, sticky and even refused to have his temp and weight taken. Realised he missed his naptime so can't be bothered, wait inside the clinic which I am usually against the idea. He slept for a short 15mins or so before we are brought to the waiting room. As his temp is high, PD came in to ask about the onset of his fever and suggest suppository insertion (which is brufen to be exact but onset of action much quicker) lest fits might occur due to the high temp. Oh man, my heart shattered into pieces though was assured it's not painful, just discomfort. I had to make him down lots of water and sponge him while waiting.

PD examined his ears, lungs, throats and noted a slightly sore throat with diagnosis of viral infection. The yo yo-ing of fever is likely to continue anything between 2-4 days thus meanwhile to watch out for any unusual signs and symptoms (to see a doctor). Should fever refuse to subside on mon noon then back to see him again.

The whole afternoon, fever appear to subside despite him taking a 3hrs nap which is very rare. Temp went back to normal. However after dinner, check his temp for monitoring purposes only to realise that it shot up again. Gosh, it is very draining mentally for me in particular as I tend to get stressed up and tense when the temp increase.

Back to sponging, paracetamol again. By this time the suppository had lost its effect and oral dose was recommended to be administered if necessary. Then I suggested for daddy to bring him along to grab some fever patch in case of emergency in the middle of the night. Looks like a wise choice as he return perspiring and fever subside a tad.

Before he went to bed, sponge him extensively and while I am blogging this post now, the temp is in the region of 37.7 will decide if paracetamol is necessary at 12am.

Fever

2010-09-03T21:24:00.004+08:00

Sudden onset of fever which started yesterday noon.

Mom called and said his temperature shoot up to 38.5. gave mom instruction to feed paracetemol first to observe. Mom said put on fever patch for him. An hour later, called back to realise that the fever kind of habour around 38 degrees.

So the fluctuation of temperature went on and still is at this moment as I blogged this post.

Feed brufen, temperature came down to like 37.8 but after taking a nap, went back to 38. Shortly after temperature went up to 38.8. Guess the weekend is burnt and will be more tiring than ever.

The most trying of all will be Zethan being manipulative, fussing big time when the daddy is around knowing jolly well that the daddy is not going to lecture him when he'misbehaves'.
Oh man, this is seriously driving me nuts. Knocking sense into both the big and small one is futile so forget it. Bite the bullet and pull through this trying period. meanwhile igorance is bliss.

Madness

2010-09-01T23:14:00.003+08:00

Refusal-to-sleep-at-night-syndrome.

It's such a major pain in the neck.

Just refuse to sleep at night be it 9pm, 1-pm, 11pm or beyond.

Roam around the bedroom, open drawers, pull clothings out from drawers, touch fan, follow daddy into bathroom

Yell at him = cry

Ignore him = cry

cry too long = vomit + change + cleaning up

it will not be long before we are the suspects for child abuse judging at the way he cry (just when I am blogging this post, he is there CRYing again, this time because ignoring him)

argh! It has been like a week yet feel like eternity. when is it going to stop if it ever do in the 1st place.

2010-08-26T22:12:00.002+08:00

Before all, please be warned that the following video might cause discomfort as the daddy is half naked and nipple can be seen, opps!

Anyway the pair of father and son love to snug at the corner of the couch after dinner with the daddy offering his favourite MMC on his Iphone. Out of a sudden one day, the daddy was giggling and when I turned, what greeted me made me laughed out loud as well.

This is what Zethan did....with his favourite chou chou (stinky pillow)

JBCG

2010-08-22T23:55:00.012+08:00

Jacob Ballas Children Garden which is part of Botanic Garden.

Have been reading about it for quite a long while but due to one reason or another, it always turned out the trip planned to check the place out was foiled (mainly it's the daddy who always give thousand one reason not to go due to laziness which is highly contagious!)

so finally today, I insisted that we go check out this awesome place for some waterplay since the weather is freaking hot and took the chance for Zethan to breathe in some fresh air, be a kampong kid?

As we prepare to leave the house, things are not looking up with the dark clouds overcast, thunder roaring, drizzling when we reached the void deck! Despite the 'uncertainty', I insisted to travel there cos who know we might be lucky and it might not be raining in that area. As we travel closer to our destination, luck appear to be with us as the weather is all bright and sunny. Found a parking lot fast and decide to check out JBCG first before coming out for some snacks at the Kidz cafe.

Took a short walk around the garden, stopping briefly at the sandpit (which he simply hate it, not even willing to go close by, not much improvement since JG hol camp), The treehouse, Suspension bridge etc before approaching the waterplay area since time is running out soon. Zethan is very reserved initially, very skeptical when his shoes are being removed as he clings on like a koala again (remember he hates to be on the ground barefooted). So we decide not to change him into his suit lest he totally refuse to get down.

Slowly but surely, he warmed up and started playing the the jets of water. Having said that, he do not wish to be near the crowd and is very cautious when 'strangers' walked near him. He ensure that both of us are within sight while having a whale of time exploring with the water jets! After about 30mins or so, we decide to make a move in case he catch a chill which is no joke. Guess what, he refused to be changed and when changed, demand to hold his daddy's hand and wanted to advance towards the fountain again! The daddy had to whisk him off and out of the garden immediately.

In a nutshell, it is an enjoyable outing though some parts of the garden will be more interesting for older children. But hey, it's always good to have some greenery, some fresh air for urban children especialy Zethan who is apparently very much of a shopping baby. Highly recommended to bring your children for some fun and exploration. Definitely encourage all children of any age to check out the place as we are definitely returning for more!

p/s ~ remember to bring along some mozzie patches for both adults and kiddos. we got bitten more than Zethan though which is a blessing??!!

M.I.L.K

2010-08-19T21:32:00.002+08:00

Zethan asked for milk voluntarily.

I was on the living room couch when he walked out from the bedroom.

Pulled my hand and led us to the dining table. Assuming that he wants to have the toy phone on the table, passed it to him of which he shaked his head.

Demand to be carried and point to the steriliser.

I asked ~ Do you want milk?

Zethan sign MILK!

Doors

2010-08-15T00:24:00.003+08:00

Zethan is obsessed with doors which just started today but as it is oready driving me nutz!

He tip toed to reach for the bedroom door handle, give it a pull and viola, the door is open. Of course the fun kicked in when he open and shut the door, I read it as simply waiting for accidents to happen!

Then come the fridge door. Our freezer is at the lower deck thus at the perfect height for him to open and shut. Mum spotted him pulling out the ice tray and trying to taste the ice cube, please catch me from fainting. with that, the safety gate got to be relocated to the entrance of kitchen. Zethan must have felt missing the kitchen as he tried hard to squeeze thru when we are entering the kitchen.

It does not stop here. He is even attempting the storeroom door. And yes he succeed in opening and shutting the door of which I shut him in it! Yell and cry inside certainly but doubt he will remember his lesson. Can you imagine how heavy the door is (for a toddler) yet he could open it.

This afternoon, I was in the kitchen hanging out laundry. Realising he is nowhere in sight, called out to him but no response. Knew for sure he must have some mischief up his sleeve. He appear moments later with his pacifier and stinky pillow. But wait, are they not supposed to be in the playpen the last seen? My heart skipped a beat or two. Most probably Zethan have climbed in the playpen to reach for them and getting out all by himself again!

Gosh, sounds like eyes must be on him 24/7 with the only exception when he is sleeping. Even though sleeping, have to peek in on him regularly to ensure he is not awake and attempting to climb out again!

19 mos

2010-08-12T22:43:00.002+08:00

It feels almost like just yesterday with a bump waiting excitedly for the arrival of the little guy, anxious over the 1st sign of labour, how contractions feel like, the tolerance to labouring......

but hey that's talking about a good 19 months ago and everything appear to go by in a flash. in this post, I am not going to talk much about Zethan's progress since there isn't much update so perhaps to pen down my thoughts will be interesting.

Zethan is now about 83cm, temperamental, demanding, excel in large motor skill, require improvements in fine motor skill, more need to be done in the department of speech. He has learned to kiss mummy when asked for it with a pouty mouth, can even use his hands to draw my head closer for a kiss. How heartwarming! Just few days ago, apparently he gave me a huge shock of my life by climbing out of his playpen (not to my knowledge and apparently no indication on how he did it) and he love to climb the dining chair to get to the dining. Don't ask me what captivated his interest on the table. He mouthed 'more' once or twice either trying to tell no more or wants to have more. he has a pointed buttock which 'prevent' him from sitting down for more than a minute or two (casting the thought of hyperactivity aside!)

okay now back to ME, how about my thoughts and journey through motherhood. when I see him in my arms following his arrival, the feeling is surreal. I have become a mummy after been through a roller coaster of emotions filled with worries, happiness, excitement. End of the day I am truely glad to be blessed with a healthy infant.

Zethan has not been a easy baby to start with which make the care giving really tricky.Never would I have thought I would face huge difficulties in handling this little being. The enormous self confidence came crashing down and started to doubt my own ability as a mother. Breastfeeding is a total big failure which is utterly upsetting. my tolerance in terms of patience have been pushed to the max and have to be reminded by my mum that perhaps I should not have such high expectation of the little guy. His self declared dieting aka milk strike sent me spiralling down south, I was totally close to the brim of a breakdown.

Untill this point of time, there are many moments when I still feel like a failure being a mother. Unable to apprehend and read the cues and signs of Zethan which might have save us from alot of meltdowns and frustrations. Do I understand my own child? Do I have to practise anger management? Can I stop myself from yelling like a runaway case from woodbridge? of course these are part and parcel of motherhood and it is only a matter of how much 'experience' one is being put through. So yes I have roughed it out or put it this way, roughing out still in progress, struggling with motherhood and what's next to come.

There have been many instances which serves as reminders on how precious should this child be. Having been through a miscarriage and devestation, Zethan should be regarded as a blessing. Witnessing the unfortunate children around especially those whom I have met during my course of work, the sick children reminded me further on the fact that I should treasure Zethan more and is fortunate to be blessed with good health.

Motherhood have made me a much more vulnerable person and I am easily being flooded with emotions over the slightest little thing. The advanced tear ducts are 'activated' at the sight of elderly earning a living, young children crossing the road and the heart sunk.

Everyday experiences resemble that to a lucky draw, you never know what to expect, will it be a lucky day or otherwise. On good days, the wonderful bonding and time spent with him make me regret for not being a SAHM to devote more of my time in his growing up years and the lack of participation in it. On bad trying days, the frustration can be a killer and the regrets of having such a difficult child set in.

Whatever the case is, the fact remain that he is still my child, my precious one. Happy 19 monthsary! Love you always, darling!

Weekend

2010-08-11T15:16:00.003+08:00

Tried to blog this post using Iphone but failed miserably!

Last weekend was an extended weekend thanks to National Day. Happy 45th Birthday Singapore!

Plans in the pipeline to have a good mix of rest as well as activities, taking full advantage of the 3 days.

Sat ~ went on the very 1st bus ride as seen in earlier post. afternoon was spend at home for Zethan's nap before getting out of the house for dinner. Had claypot rice at Clementi which is yumz only after a long waiting time of supposed estimated 1hr but end up being served after 20mins. off to IMM for grocery shopping. grabbed some striploin for Zethan and foodstuff for dinner since highly chance all will be under house arrest especially at night for the next 1 month. Reason for so being the coming of 7th month which is Hungry Ghost Festival and young children are advised not to be out at night say after 7pm.

Sun ~ took the chance to have breakfast but this little guy certainly has a mind of his own. The usual hotcake was rejected after less than 1/2 a portion but took to junkie french fries which he usually reject! As he missed his morning nap, doze off almost immediately in the car seat. Had wanted to bring him to Farmart to look at the farm animals but since he is napping, detour to nearby farm to grab some fresh vegetables. He must be really tired as he did not wake at all from arriving at Farmart till getting back into the car to head home. Head home to expect the 'delivery' of prayer stuff.

Mon ~ it is going to be a busy day! Zethan had a gathering with his buddies as part of celebration for National Day. All the kids are decked in red and white. The adults had popiah party thanks to Aunty Ophe for the preparation while mummy bought durians and Aunty Sue Lin brought B&J ice cream and Bundaberg. Healthy and yummy popiah, testing everybody's popiah wrapping skill!

The kiddos had Art and Craft post lunch and was made to paint a handdawn flag on a huge carton box. despite having a brush, Zethan made it very clear to avoid at all cost while Caleb and Cayden had a great time creating their masterpiece. Okay, after a long while, Zethan picked up the brush and 'painted' a stroke on the newspaper simply because he is trying to flunk the brush off!

Oh, one more thing, Zethan is behaving like a big terror! He pushes little Caleb which made him cry, chase after good old Frosty giving a spank or two, snatching toys with Cayden. Gosh, what happen to him!

Next coming up will be the family photoshoot with grandma and Jiu Jiu's family. Zethan wasn't very cooperative during the shoot, refusal to sit not to mention following 'instructions'. It was no easy feat to distract him or draw his attention to the camera. It did not help when the assistant photographer is trying all her might at the top of her voice calling out to him. See the thing is that, would you think it will be more effective for the parents to try and draw the child's attention or a stranger coming up with funnie animals sounds or whatsoever she is doing.

Mummy is not very happy with this shoot and to make matter worst, it was a very rush rush job and everything was over and done with in less than an hour for 5A2C which is unbelievable. The impression given was so long as photos are snapped and there is at least 2-3 nice / presentable shot, rushed on to the next set. She is very doubtful that the turnout will be good though with almost zero expectation, fingers crossed for a nice family portrait which is the 1st for the family.

Dinner at Thomson and was greeted with a pleasant surprise when a convoy of tankers, SAF vehicles, emergency vehicles drove past. Felt really patriotic for the 1st time when everybody was waving at each other, really cool man!

Bus

2010-08-08T00:19:00.005+08:00

Mummy took Zethan all alone for their very 1st bus ride adventure together yesterday. She decide not to drive ever so frequently in order to have different experiences with Zethan.

It was indeed a very interesting experience as she is able to observe Zethan's expressions, speak to him during the bus ride. That aside, this being mummy's bus ride after like perhaps 8 years, the bus is simply horrendous. Can you imagine the whole feeling like an oven despite a gloomy day post morning shower. Zethan is perspiring like mad in the bus and it was such a relief to alight the bus as it feels like aircon in the open versus aircon bus!

Even though the short journey, minus the very warm aircon bus, mummy somehow feel a great sense of achievement. Weird as it may sound as it is considered as very simple task and almost like everyday affair to many. This bus ride is apparently enjoyable and she is glad to be able to handle the whole situation. Zethan should have enjoyed the ride too without much fuss and no embarrassing moments for both.

More bus rides to come with confidence! Next will be train ride!

Addiction

2010-07-27T21:57:00.002+08:00

Zethan have numerous bad habits and addictions which appear to worsen by the days.

Pacifier addiction ~ ever since eons back when he takes to the pacifier, there has been no turning back. while most of his peers have been weaned off pacifier, as opposed, Zethan is getting more addicted to it. Recently it worsen as he go searching for it very frequently at home. If not given then brave a major meltdown which hardly anything can distract him.

Stinky pillow ~ many people are fascinated over his obsession with his stinky pillow aka Chow Chow. Those who have seen can vouch on how he is seriously addicted to it as though there is some form of forbidden drugs on it *the way he stuck it under his nose to sniff it*. well it started with pillow which after a while appear to be redundant thus become the pillow case which is much more hygienic and easy on 'maintenance'. The good thing is he is fine with any of the chow chow when the dirty one is in the laundry. He is not particular over the smell of it. This being the case, there are a few pieces to rotate around but before long, one after one are being misplaced and the 'crisis' started with there's only 3 pieces left (2 pieces at home and 1 piece for outing).

Both mummy and grandma have been cracking their brains over a solution to resolve this issue. so one fine day, it strike mummy that perhaps the chow chow can be replaced with a Mickey Mouse cloth since he is such a fan of MMC. Mummy took the pain to source around and found a piece of blue Mickey cloth. Grandma sew it into pillow cases. BUT it did not work as of now after a few days! Try harder, be persistent!

TV addiction ~ initially he is 'tuned' to the 8.30pm timeslot for MMC so before the clock strike 8.30pm, he will hand the adults the remote to switch channel. Then it escalated to demanding the TV channel to be switched on to Playhouse disney every now and then. NOW it became whenever the TV is switched on, he will fight with the adults to have his channel on never mind he is watching or not. Refusal to do so will result in his favourite antic ~ scream, yell, cry and fuss. sooner or later, the neighbours are going to call the police for child abuse which sound very much like it.

He can refused to go for his shower because of the TV.

The root of the problem is that the caregivers love to use the TV as the mode to pacify be it naptime or during meltdown which prove to be effective by and large. No doubts it works but it has turn into a major concern now and warrant immediate attention urgently to prevent the addiction from escalating further.

Sound like quite a handful??!!

Zoo II

2010-07-25T11:25:00.010+08:00

after some time spent on arrangement including last minute weather forecast update by mummy in the morning, the four families ~ Angs, Cheings, Chiams and Yeos head to the zoo with the kiddos in tow for a Family Date. Despite a fierce looking dark cloud spotted, it disperse within the next 20 mins and all look good for a zoo excursion.

Carpark is so damn full and they had to allow illegal parking at non designated lots, well it was NUS Family Day! argh! anyhow all managed to park and meet, entering the zoo at about 10.30am after some plans on what and where to go.

so it was decided to head to the Rainforest kidzworld for waterplay before the harsh sun rays appear over lunch. took a slow walk and along the way, stop and showed the animals to the kiddos. reached the destination and went on to take a look at the farm animals, pony, mini horse, goat. Think miss out rabbits! Despite being the 'role model', Zethan dare not feed the goats!

As the sky seem to look dark once again, all decide to change the kiddos at lightning speed for the water play. gosh the water is really cold, even for adults. Zethan being over whelmed by the crowd was very resistant even for water play which is a sight. Took him quite a while of warming up and there he goes stomping hard, treading in the water. But he is being very cautious and always ensure that mummy / daddy is close by.

The babes seem to be uninterested in water play for once or rather got tired of it pretty fast so off to change, ready for the Animals Friends Show at 12.30pm. Mummy had a very unpleasant brush with one of the staff there, quite unfortunately she did not note her name as mummy is contemplating whether to lodge a complain against her. You see, what happen was daddy park Zethan's stroller in a corner and when the show is due to start, she walked over and request for the stroller to be parked in the designated stroller bay. When queried if the stroller can be left close by as all were seated in the front row, she say no it was not allowed. so off goes daddy to park the stroller in the designated out-of-sight location. what peeved mummy off is that she did not appear to reinforce the same 'rules' to the many other strollers, not even to appeal to the owners to clear off the front row!

determined not to let such an idiot spoilt their day, the show was enjoyed more by mummy than Zethan. Zethan's enthusiasm is basically displayed with him clapping his hands with his monotanous expression all this while, no excitement exhibited. Went off for lunch @ Ah meng's restaurant to face a crazy queue and Zethan's fuss and meltdown isn't gonna help as well. Finally mummy get to eat in peace when he fall asleep.

After lunch, walked on to see the Hippos, kangeroos, emu, white tigers. Zethan only managed to catch a glimpse when he woke as all are about to leave the Australian Outback. As the sun is out and all are feeling the heat, proceed to B&J at the entrance before leaving. By this time Caleb and Cayden ko-ed.

So, yes all had a great time with great company blessed with nice weather. It is certainly nice to go on family date whereby everybody get to interact with each other be it the daddies, mummies or the kiddos (as if they really interact but they do at times). From mummy's observation, Zethan appear to be observing and looking on at the animals quietly thus no indication if he is enjoying himself except for a few oohs and ahhs along the way. Till the next family date!

Fever

2010-07-24T23:01:00.003+08:00

Zethan attended J & A's wedding last sunday and got on mummy's nerves. He is trying to be difficult by refusing the highchair, food and every single thing except the forbidden stuff like cutlery. Clinging on like a koala bear further test mummy's patience.

anyhow back to the topic. Zethan had a sudden onset of fever the next day with temperature hovering around low of 38. He is not eating very well and after monitoring him for a good 2hrs or so, mummy and grandma decide to bring him to the PD in the afternoon. Call was made but appointments full so no choice but to walk in and wait. Meanwhile temperature hit a high of 38.6 at one point.

Despite reaching the PD 30mins before closing, the wait is around 45mins. Zethan weigh about 11.1kg but no chance to measure his height since he koala-ed. Good news is no phlegm in lung, no ear infection. bad news is throat is a tad sore and diagnosis ~ viral infection and fever can be expected to last up to 4 days. paracetamol and Brufen to bring down the temperature.

That very early morning, his temp shot up to 38.8 which freaked mummy out. woke him up immdiately for a dose of Brufen, sponging and turn on the air-con. mummy only dare to hit the sack when temp decrease to 38. fever fructuated the whole of next day untill late evening then normalised. By then, mummy is totally burnt out!

Thank god it's only a 2 days episode which as it is, more than enough to drain mummy off and worried sick.

18 mos

2010-07-12T23:58:00.013+08:00

today marked another 'milestone' though rather insignificant. Zethan qualify for entry to Child Care, he turns 18 months!

mummy have not been spending sufficient quality time with Zethan these days due to overwhelming workload and she is totally drained returning from work. Stress and fatigue causes impatience when she dealt with Zethan which she is trying to avoid at all cost but easier said than done.
fair shares of enjoyment / fun at this age pretty balanced by same amount of frustration too.
Zethan recognise his way home, that is coming out of the lift. Tried a few attempts exiting from different lifts with different orientation yet he knows the way back. of course this is achieved by himself walking out alone without any guidance and he know the door to stop at.
He exhibit stranger anxiety recently by 'pretending' to be shy in the presence of others / strangers. Either he hid himself / buried his face or he try to smile sheepishly at them while trying to take a peek, trying not to get too obvious which is a funny sight. If he is in the 'comfort zone' (read as home), upon hearing footsteps or noises outside, he will ran away at lightning speed. sooner or later accidents is going to happen since he usually don't look where he is running!

Throwing tantrum is by all means as frequent as the 3 squares meal daily without any reservation. When he don't get his way, yell and cry at the top of his lungs as though he's being abused big time. Immunity is the way to go till the passing phase is over if it will ever be over. certainly is testing boundaries and watching the consequences before reacting accordingly.
The few favourite words of Zethan will definitely be Bus, Bye, Ball which Bus wins any time.

amazingly Zethan is picking up signing real fast which is a surprise. He always appear not to be paying attention when the disc is playing. however based on observation he is actually picking them up e.g. Dog, eat/food, bird, more, baby. all these are displayed within a few sessions of the DVD. Just yesterday and today, he sign eat/food when it's milk time. Not only he knows how to sign dog/bird but he does it when he see one physically.

He is certainly improving leaps and bounds when it comes to food in concern. The worried mummy actually 'drill' him with textured food such as alphabets pasta and now he can polished off with ease. A great achievement it is for Zethan although it might sound simple to some. Not only is pasta well accepted, even noodles / beehoon are requested by him from the adults' plates. Rice with soup / sauces training in process, pretty well progressing. A note for mummy, Zethan appear not to like dry food and prefer food with moisture e.g. soup. Ironically, he is downing lesser and lesser water. He is not sleeping as much as mummy would like him to. usually he will be tucked in bed like before 10pm but he would toss and turn, try his luck to continue playing for the next 10 minutes at least before reluctantly drift off to dreamland. by 7+am the next morning, he would be up and running despite everyone still in bed. Most of the days he clocked like 9hrs and even with naps, accumulatively at most it is about 11hrs (on a good day). mummy though the least should be ideally 13 hrs.
Zethan's new dancing trend resemble that of ballet dancing. when he hears music especially those he loves, with his hands in the air (one higher than the other), he will twill and turn round and round. get giddy and thump onto the floor. at times he will thump himself down purposely to get attention. action - reaction, when he does that, he gets oh oh from the adults.

He had super serious 'TV addiction' which worsen from requesting for his Disney Channel in the night for MMC by passing the remote control to fussing for it anytime of the day, fighting with the adults for his TV program. This is beginning to be a major concern of mummy since he is too much into TV. Not that she is totally disapproving watching TV programs / cartoon but he is spending way too much time on it.
mixed feeling on motherhood at this point of time. when he is not fussing big time, no major meltdown, it's such a joy. highly challenging when the table are turned, pushing boundries, have to bite the bullet and pull through!

Malacca

2010-07-05T23:17:00.015+08:00

Zethan's very 1st virgin trip ~ road trip up north with the Chiam family which too happen to be mummy and daddy's 1st trip with Zethan.

It's a pretty eventful trip to and fro Malacca and in a nutshell it was a fun and exciting trip, exhaustion aside. The drive was not too bad since it is after the school holidays so no massive jams to get frustrated over.

set off on sat morning by meeting the Chiams at JBP carpark but daddy had to detour to topup his cashcard so arriving late, sorry! passing over the walkie talkie and less than 3mins on AYE, super duper heavy downpour. so heavy that Zethan started to 'concentrate' on the road as though helping daddy to watch the way. No major traffic jam at both Singapore and Malaysia custome although surprisingly Singapore custome took a tad too long to clear by comparison.

Hit the NS highway after a short toilet break and topping up of fuel. stretch of continuous drive say 1+ hr and decide for a lunch break at Pagoh R&R. No nice lunch so the poor babes had to take horrendous porridge for lunch and luckily no complains from them. Took abit too long for this break and hit the highway again after 1hr and arrived at Ayer Keroh Toll in about 30mins. It was only then that daddy 'informed' mummy that the GPS which was loaned suffered a flat battery! mummy froze and panic button is pressed!

she took out her map which to her relief she decide to print for reference as backup. it was no easy feat to follow the directions on the map as the road signs in Malaysia is super unfriendly. mummy is stressed to the max. despite a few supposed wrong turns which mummy thought so, the good thing is it turn out to be the right one and finally after about 30mins or so, destination reached! it was an amazing sight as 1/2 the carpark of Hotel Equitorial was occupied by S'pore registered cars. BUT no lift to the lobby so the hubbies had to carry the strollers + luggages up the flight of stairs.

Checked in and had the rooms on the 19th floor. settled in, fed Zethan his milk and gave him a bath which is might as well since he pooped. Phews! an hour later, the 2 families hit the street and the adults took a short walk in the shopping mall a stone throw away from the hotel to grab some mineral water before heading for the local delicacies e.g. Chicken rice balls. took a goo 15mins to get the direction right to Jonker's Street and found the famous store but it was closed! so head to another down Jonker's street ~ Hoe Kee. the mummies went gaga over the old school highchairs, being reminded of hair saloon. mummy thought that the rice balls are too mushy for her liking but Zethan had his 1st taste of chicken rice!

after lunch took a walk down Jonker's street when the night market vendors are starting out. next went for durian chendol at San Shu Gong, grabbing some local delicacies before making their way back to hotel for a good rest. Zethan drift off to lala land after his milk feed.

The next day started pretty early when Zethan woke around 7ish! fed him milk, change and head for breakfast. cafe was packed and had to wait for a table. Zethan did not behaved himself and caused a din which mummy put on her brave front and ignored all the stares around her. The Chiams came back for their breakfast much later and all head back to bath the kiddos before venturing out again. Zethan fell asleep after his bath which is ideal for mummy to pack the luggage.

close to lunchtime, checked out, walked over to the mall to grab diaper. decide to have nonya cuisine for lunch before the drive back. ask for recommendation from the info counter at the mall and went in search of this restaurant across the road ~ Makko. Another episode of mummies' gaga over the cane highchair! food is good and best of all very reasonably priced. when all are done with lunch, the rain came. so near and yet so far. waited for a good 10mins or so before the drizzle lighten and all dashed across the road to the mall for shelter. because of the rain, decide to shop for like an hour before heading back, not forgetting having A&W before leaving. silly mummy is pretty insistent on eating the waffle with ice cream!

the drive back was pretty taxing since night is approaching and traffic tend to be abit heavy. Zethan did not sleep a wink throughout the almost 3hrs drive. He must have felt something bad happening as 15mins before arriving at 2nd link, he yelled and cry very badly, refusing his car seat. mummy took him out for some cuddle and before long, a spot check which made mummy placed him back in lightning speed. Daddy was 'fined' for some lame reason of 'your number plate buay pass' so yup, payment on the spot! mummy is fuming mad over it, not because of the money but simply irriated over it.

weird as it is, once cleared Singapore Custom and back on homeland, Zethan slept almost immediately!

by and large it was a good trip and certainly enjoyable. another road trip in the making? yes and no, KL sounds good??!!

June

2010-07-05T22:47:00.008+08:00

indeed it is scary how time flew by and half a year is gone just like that. before long it will be end of the year again with the festive seasons and Z turning 2! okay thinking too far as of now.

June had been pretty hectic month full of activities. Besides the JG holiday program, there's a BBQ at Ophe's in conjunction with Father's day and a mummys day out for dinner at Spruce.

The daddies helped to start up the fire for the 2 pits before rushing off to watching World Cup match. The mummies had to race against time + weather with flashing lightning and roaring thunder. The strong breeze prompted the mummies to double up with packing what could be baked and what not then fasten the BBQing process. Yes, successed end of the day but no rain! The feast continue with dessert of ice cream cake from Swensens as part of Father's day celebration.

Thanks to Florinda, the mummies managed a night out with dinner at Spruce. The bunch of mummies behaved like a group of school girls chatting non stop. Good thing dining al-fresco otherwise all will be chased out of the restaurant. But it was really great to catch up and chill with the mummies minus the babes thus could enjoy dinner in peace!

Excursion

2010-07-01T23:07:00.016+08:00

way too outdated post! mummy has been really busy these days with extra portfolio at work minus extra incentives / increment. too burnt out after work to update this poor blog! Keke

the last day of the program is an excursion to Siloso beach @ sentosa. after some discussions and considerations, it is decided to follow the group setting off from school in a bus! sound very exciting isn't it which is the reason why it was decided against driving in. the bus journey was promised to be tons of fun with songs and all, not a single bit boring.

set off pretty early in the morning and daddy grumbled over the load mummy had packed along. a little jam along the way but still reached school in time. the bus journey was a fun one since the class boarded on a bus without any 'outsiders'. songs were requested and sung BUT all Zethan is interested in was the unblocked view of looking out of window!

reached the beach and found a nice spot with shade to drop all the stuff. applied sunblock and changed into swimsuit. All this while Zethan is fussing big time and clings on like an Koala. Gathered it was because daddy accidentally allowed sand into Zethan's sandal and he was certainly put off! mummy tried her very best to warm Zethan up bit by bit yet in vain. Not only his refusal to come down on the beach, not even allowing mummy to squat down while carrying him and getting close to the shoreline. after a few attempts, mummy gave up for good and to spare each other the agony, whipped him off to the shower area for water play! a pity the water fountain under going maintainence.

He had great load of fun while the poor daddy had to press on the tap for him for a good 20mins to say the least. time is pretty tight as the babes did not managed a proper snack before being rushed off to board the bus. majority of the babies KO-ed on the journey back!

so there you have it, the very not so exciting adventure 1st trip to the beach, not very fruitful afterall to round up the whole program.

by and large to summarize the holiday program, mummy do not think that Zethan had benefit much from it, socialization aside. His attention span is way too short and could not 'blend' in with the activities e.g. storytime roaming around, sit-down singalong activities did not managed to excite him as well. She feels that the teachers did not displayed good crowd control management and the class is way too huge for toddlers of this age. By the time activity get around and reaches Zethan / over and done with, he is no longer interested. One thing for certain, at the very least, mummy get to 'discover' more of Zethan's likes and dislikes for her to work or improve on the weakness.

Julia Gabriels

2010-06-16T19:56:00.041+08:00

As mentioned earlier, Zethan attended the 'Beach babies' at Julia Gabriels Evans Road.

lesson start with indoor play with different toys daily as a form of warming up for children. Music was turned up louder as a sign to clean up and put away toys accompanied by 'clean up' song. All will sit in a circle and greet everybody with 'Good afternoon' song. Next come storytime and magic box time introducing the indoor acitivity of the day.

1st day ~ hand painting on sand paper + outdoor play, 2nd day ~ gop play + sand play, 3rd day ~ swimming time, 4th day ~ water play.

Snacktime is next on the list and is believed to serve organic food.

1st day ~ HT teddy puffs, 2nd day ~ HT maple arrowroots cookies, 3rd day ~ Applesauce, 4th day ~ honeydrew sticks.

Music time followed post snacks with Teacher carol playing on the keyboard with various songs sung. To end the day, it's bubbles time which is the toddlers' favourite requiring little effort to attract their attention.

Keyboard is then made available for the todds to explore!
picture time....

1st day.....

Day 2......

Day 3...... Day 4......
last day of the lesson is a excursion trip to the beach, Siloso beach @ Sentosa. Field report in the following post!

17 months

2010-06-13T00:07:00.008+08:00

today or rather yesterday marked Zethan turning 17 months. It's seiously scary on how everything whizzed past and always feel that time is never enough for all. The intent to bring Zethan out for a walk in Botanic Gardens was dashed thanks to the rain in the late noon. So the whole family relac at home partially due to the need for recovery post Julia Gabriels June Holiday Program for the whole week. Hectic and exhausting for mummy, shall blog seperately.

Zethan has been rather moody and emotional these days, cranky, whiney, sticky to the daddy. It has become an impossible task to decipher his cries / whines and pacifying him is an tall order. everybody envy mummy for the fact that Zethan stick to the daddy but seriously it can be a torture especially when the daddy can't pacify him and mummy need to intervene, bearing in mind that he can turn very hysterical at this point. His false cries can get really deafening which get on mummy's nerve big time. Imagine a screaming toddler right next to your ear.

He is fully switch to the improved formulation of Gain IQ but weird enough, with the same consumption, he tend to burp and puke abit post feeds. As the only 'new food' introduced is the new formula, mummy highly suspect it is the culprit, to monitor. basically he is on 2 solid meals, 3 milk feeds daily with some snacks of yoghurt / fruits in between feeds. mummy recently attended the Amazing toddlers parenting congress and reaslied that Zethan is having far too much solids from the guidelines. For toddlers of their age, require only about 1/2 bowl of carbo per meal but Zethan is taking close to more than 1 rice bowl or porridge each meal excluding the meat / fish / vegetables. He is still not very receptive of textured food thus his staple food remain as porridge.

no sign of self feeding as he is fussy about getting his fingers wet / dirty. at times he can self feed with fork but could not poke the food himself. He can understand now after being told repeatedly that he should removed his shoes after entering the house although reminder is necessary at times. He will squat down and try to remove his shoe but of course it's just the action. He say night night to daddy by waving and saying Bye automatically when bedtime approach then hold mummy's hand to the bedroom and his little bed. It has pretty much become a routine for him.

He has progress to sleeping in his own little bed although most of the early morning, he will creep over to the masterbed which mummy let him unless it's like midnight then the transfer will be done. One concern which kind of weigh on mummy is that he sleep lesser and later. Bedtime delayed to 10pm on most days and he wakes at about 7.30am religiously daily which translate to just 9-10 hrs of sleep. Nap 2-3 times accumulatively is about 2-3 hrs.

Zethan is pretty slow in the department of speech. It has been observed that he can apprehend what was told to him but the refusal to speak is present. The few words he babble remain as Bye, Bus, Bird, Ball, Bubble. mum mum (eat), na (take). No news of mummy and daddy. He does not respond accordingly when asked for yes or no, randomly correspond shaking of head to 'No'. When he is whining for something and the wrong stuff is brought for him, he will push them away.

oh, he was weighed on the baggage weighing scale last week when visiting Terminal 3 and it read 10.9kg!

School

2010-06-09T23:59:00.004+08:00

mummy signed Zethan for the Julia Gabriels June Holiday Program ~ 2nd week Beach Theme @ Evans Road.

4 days of lesson in classroom setting of 1.5hrs each day and last day will be excursion to Siloso Beach @ Sentosa.

Half way done with the lessons and it is really exhausting for mummy since shd had to to at work in the morning afterwhich rushed home to pick Zethan in time for his 3pm lesson.

Will blog about the program when it ended.

1st Swim

2010-05-30T01:10:00.009+08:00

Friday is Vesak Day and it have been arranged to have a swim at Aunty Ophe's followed by Chilli Crabs feast.

The day started great with the sun shining brightly. went for macs breakie once again, think Zethan is turning into a junkie toddler real soon. reached home close to Two and put him to nap otherwise faced with a cranky kiddo is no joke. soon after, dark clouds looming in the sky and rained! haiz, was pretty upset that Zethan had to miss his 1st swim again. yes the word is again as it always rained when there is plan for a swim. it did not help when it was pouring cats and dogs when it's time to set off and Zethan just woke from his nap. The only hope is that it wasn't raining yet in Holland, still harbouring some hopes.

Reached Aunty Ophe's and apparently it feel like any moment the rain will come. all made a daring decision to change and resume the plan to swim. within 10mins, all were at the poolside.

As this is considered as Zethan's 1st time in the pool, mummy tend to be more cautious in case it get too over whelming for him. started off sitting with him on the step with water curling around his ankles. next to the second step, water level up to the waist and all this while playing with toys. once he get warmed up and showed no resistance, daddy brought him further, floating around in daddy's arm. it wasn't long before Zethan splish splash around, grinning from ear to ear.

the stay in the pool was not very long as the water is a tad cold with no sun in sight. After a good 15-20mins, Zethan's mouth start to clatter which Aunty Sue Lin spotted thus it's time to head back.

in the later part of the night, the children had yummy porridge with steamed cod fish cooked with love by Chef Ophe. Next come the adult feast, chilli crabs! food is yummy coupled with great company, the whole family had a great time and ended the night just before midnight.

Thanks Aunty Ophelia, Uncle Jason and Buddy Caleb for the invitation to your house and not to mention messing up the whole place.

Tantrums

2010-05-23T23:10:00.004+08:00

so this is what they called the Terrible Two Syndrome??!!!

lotsa lotsa yelling and screaming especially when under daddy's care giving. With daddy caring for Zethan, even at home, he is forever yelling, screaming, fussing, whining. name it all and he does it all.

when he does not get his way, terrible meltdown. not only is he at the brink of bursting everyone's eardrum, he has learnt to throw tantrums by twisting himself out of whoever is holding him and jellied himself to the ground. so of course naturally the daddy give in but certainly not mummy.

the next question line, what about when the family is out and about when the meltdown occur in public. most if not all the time, mummy will insist on ignoring him least he got the attention he's fighting for. BUT, as always the infamous but, mummy do not wish for him to be a nuisance to others in particular. so the point is to ignore or intercept? indeed the balancing point is a challenge.

these days, Zethan refused to be seated in the highchair be it amid his dinner or while mummy and daddy is trying to finish their dinner at lightning speed. it has become quite abit of nightmare to dine out. now mummy is very strict when it comes to table manners in concern e.g. no walking around and feeding with food in mouth. however out of exhaustion, she is bending rules a wee bit but certainly hope that things will not get out of hand and completely irreversible!

coming out of dinnertime, Zethan is trying all his might in breaking loose. holding his hands is naturally out of the question and freedom is very much on his agenda lately. when one insist on holding his hand, either he will A - fuss and meltdown, jellied to floor or B - milder meltdown, squat himself and refused to budge. so one might say just let him go but there are many instances where it is never wise to allow him roam on his own. initially he will not roam far off from the care giver but now he decides he choose his directions and make his decision albeit roam very far off, displaying sign of independence maybe. mummy try to 'teach' him a lesson by hiding away from Zethan when he can't be bothered in crowded places. But the plan backfired as he thinks that it's a game of hide and seek and enjoyed himself happily~

so yes, going out and dining out is a superb tiring affair and both parents start to toy with the idea of staying in, resorting to hosue arrest again. yet adopting this Ostrich approach does not sound wise as well. so perhaps it's again crossing all fingers and toes that this is indeed a passing phase and please be over and done with very very soon!

MRT

2010-05-18T20:57:00.002+08:00

Zethan went for his very 1st virgin trip on the MRT yesterday.

Grandma brought him on the train and apparently Zethan did not enjoy it! Not sure what kind of expression he had on his face so much so that a lady asked if it is his 1st time on the train.

He fussed big time on the train especially when the train reaches a station, ding dong and the door open. He want to alight! he refuse to stay on board, refuse to sit, refuse to come down and stand alone. He just wish to be carried and grandma is not allowed to sit too!

mummy 'witness' it by hearing him on the handphone, making a lot of noise. daddy said that most probably if he's with Zethan, he would get off the train instead. no wonder Zethan know how to manipulate and have daddy all wrapped around his thumb!

16 months

2010-05-12T20:13:00.010+08:00

Today is the day Zethan turn 16 months old and he's just 2 months away to qualify for placement in playgroup / child care!

some updates on his development / milestones

Teething ~ can hardly judge / count how many teeth he has at this moment but last seen was the lower first molars appearing. Should have at least 8-10 teeth.

motor skill ~ climbing, walking, running is of no issue to him. In fact he enjoyed his freedom so much that it is really tiring to go after him. no signs of interest of self feeding be it with cutlery or using his hands not to mention lazy to hold his milk bottle.

language ~ few words mumbled often not in the right pronounciation. Bird, Bus, Bubbles, Ball etc. Any vehicle larger than a car (trailer, truck, van) is Bus, train inclusive. coincidentally all words appear to start with B! largely he still prefer to point and go 'Eh' or 'Ee"

eating habits ~ besides the 2 solids of porridge / mee sua, most of the days he will have 3 milk feeds of about 240ml each. at this point, he's still very much into soft and mushy food with very subjectively liking to texture food.

sleep ~ bedtime getting later and later averaging out to be 10pm. Naptime is worst off with usual duration of 30 mins to 1hour only! daily clocking less than the guide of 14-16 hours. as mentioned previously Zethan has kicked daddy off the king size bed but the situation is reversed now. He sleep on the single size mattress right beside the bed and is pretty used to it

Zethan is crazy over Mickey Mouse Clubhouse currently but having said that the show is not effective in keeping him still / capturing his attention throughout. He would still be moving around very often. He love MMC so much that his eyes are always on the lookout for the character. At times he is able to mumble mouse when he see one. Salute to him as even the smallest mickey appearing in the most secluded / out of sight area, he's able to spot them. One classic example is the advertisement in Facebook on Disneyland appearing in the corner of the screen which is so tiny yet he is able to spot them.

Mummy have observed that he is not very keen in books which she hope is not any tell tale signs for his future. He will flipped the book and threw them away subsequently. Flashcards do not work in capturing his interest / attention as well.

He is very manupulative especially that of the daddy. he knew that all things work deifinitely with the daddy thus displaying lots of tantrums to get away from ugly situation or achieve his wants. When he does something wrong and mummy gave him the stern look, he will pretend and flashed on his most charming smile. tantrums throwing also come in the form of kneeling down yelling and/or allowing himself to lie back on the floor.

He is pretty 'auntified' recently, lugging plastic bags and keeping his toys in it. the sideboard drawers in the living room became storage for his toys as he love to hide toys in them

Mummy Day Part 1

2010-05-10T23:50:00.015+08:00

1st official Mummy's Day since the last went through the hypes of H1N1 and Zethan being such a young baby, avoiding crowded places is the only logical thing to do.

Zethan is a pretty good boy since he only woke at 9am for milk thus allowing mummy to sleep in for like an hour extra which is considered as a bonus. Perhaps that is Zethan's present for mummy's day!

kicked off the day's event by going for brunch and decide on Epicurious @ Rail Mall since it is the nearest and having read about the raves and high recommendation from food critics and bloggers. Personally thought that it is a bad choice though being critical here.

knowing jolly well it's mummy's day and the place will be packed, it was a surprise that they are rather empty. was 'pointed' to an available table (read not shown) which the family find their way towards it. so the mummy had to walk back to the counter for a baby highchair. placed the order and was informed that they might not have a serving of 3 pancakes but subsequently return with last serving of 2 pcs which is fine as it's meant to be Zethan's lunch. something worth complimenting will be a small bunch of flowers and being greeted Happy Mother's Day which is pretty heartwarming. It was only then to have realised that they served Thai food and was not shown the menu! too late for changes as food is served. Nice of them to offer plastic utensils for Zethan and he happily help himself with the fork and feed himself pancakes.

the dining experience wasn't very great since there seem to be this intense pressure of 'limited tables availability' lingering in the air which made the diners pressurized to finish the food and go to free the table! well come on, how to appreciate and enjoy brunch when the staffs are walking around exclaiming the tables are reserved and the currently occupied tables are to be freed for subsequent reservation. worst than dining in a food court.

food served was reasonable in terms of the taste but mummy certainly frown at the sausages charged at 3 bucks and there are just 3 tiny weeny sausages not even the size of pinkie. the anger rose when daddy went to pick up the tabs and return with the receipt. Gosh they have the cheeks to charge for portion of 3 pancakes when they served 2!

contemplating to lodge a feedback (read as complain) for the services as well as the billing which is not justified. yes the amount is small but it's all about integrity and consumer rights. end up mummy and daddy walked off grumbling. mummy can be very crticial at times and this is certainly one of the ocassion!

Milk

2010-05-07T23:12:00.002+08:00

An observation worth mentioning which crack both daddy and mummy up.

Whenever Zethan realise that mummy is in the midst of preparing milk for him, he will automatically walked to his playmat and lie down to wait for his milk. At times he will become impatient and walked back and forth, repeating the same action untill mummy served him his milk!

This little guy can be so adorable, only when he don't act up of course.

Hello

2010-05-02T00:27:00.002+08:00

okay this post is strictly about mummy, nothing to do with Zethan.

Finally mummy bought herself a new handphone and join the trend of having iPhone after using her lousy HTC for 2 years. She choose a white at the insistent of daddy.

Daddy is her mentor as she is plain lazy to explore the phone but it sure is exciting with the tons of apps available although she suspect that end of the day there will be more apps for Zethan over herself. At this point she is still rather clueless with the phone and require lots more exploration. However she is showing potentially dangerous sign of addiction to the phone.

One thing she is very certain, the next change will likely to be in 2 years time, 2 years cycle.

Airport

2010-04-25T23:17:00.013+08:00

a rare sunday which the family started the day so early in the morning and early means 10+. had to run arrand in the far east; Tampines! had lunch in Ikea which is packed like sardine despite reaching there at 11.40am and the queue snake far to the cashier for ordering only not to mention finding a seat. Zethan refused to take his pancake (new on the menu) after a few mouthful and spit everything out!

though very reluctant, daddy had no choice but to be persuaded by mummy to make a trip to the airport. well, Zethan's last trip is in Dec but at that point of time, he can't explore on his own so this trip will be fun.

1st stop to viewing gallery at T3 which isn't very stroller friendly as there is no direct elevator from the carpark / basement. the next worst thing is part of the gallery or rather a huge section of it is undergoing revamping and the 2 limited sections on both ends aren't ideal as landing / taking off is not very apparent especially for the toddlers.

Zethan attempt to climb the platform, lose his balance and knocked himself against the metal platform. mummy went into panic mode as he is screaming in pain, sharp and loud. luckily no bleeding noted though there is a red scratch on the right of his nose. Zethan appear to be interested in the trucks (assume they are trucking the baggages) more than the aeroplanes.

so as 'advised' by the signage to visit the T2 viewing gallery instead, took a skytrain and walked quite a distance to get there. the sight that greeted mummy was totally unpleasant and disgusting. the so called changi aviation gallery look more like a dump more than anything else. students form cluster in all corners with notes scattered on the floor. on top and above, people sleeping near the glass panels which is meant for others to view the airplanes! mummy is definitely very much turn off and decide to leave without any viewing of peoples, correction planes.

took the skytrain back to T3 again and went for some snacks. Zethan had char siew bao minus char siew which he spit out and some french toast which is a tad too oily for him. he is pretty exhausted by now as he did not managed to nap long in the car. that did not deter him from running around the spacious airport, exploring his point of interest be it foutain, feature wall with running water, giant windmill, baggage weighing scale or simply poles and glass panels. so much so that he poo-ed and had to get changed which he refused to (simply having too much fun to stop). he refused to be held by daddy and chose to go his own way. trying to locate the baby care room is another chore since there are no signages when it is smacked right in the centre of the terminal.

so yes, that's the 'Best Airport' in the world for you, leaving individual to judge and comment at individual discretion. by and large Zethan had a great time exploring and hopefully he did manage to spot a few planes landing on the runway during the 3.5 hours stay in the airport. guess the next visit if there is one will be fruitful and pleasant.

Early morning

2010-04-22T14:50:00.003+08:00

Zethan recently started a very tiring trend for mummy and daddy, he would wake up amid his sleep in the middle of the night. technically speaking it should be early morning say 4-ish or 5ish!

He will not go back to bed after stuffing his pacifier on his own and instead try to sneak down the bed especially via the side which daddy sleep on the mattress on the floor. Yes, daddy have been officially kicked out of the bed by Zethan resorting to sleeping on the floor to refrain from being kicked by Zethan which allow him lots more space to turn and toss. However big the space is for him isn't going to help because Zethan is indeed a terrible 'bad sleeper'. He can turn and toss in all directions on the king size bed which sent mummy curling in one corner short of falling off the edge.

At times he will attempt to walk around in the darkness while sometimes he might try to locate his toy lying around somewhere to play, all this while in pitch dark. He will never return to bed / sleep untill mummy tell him off (meaning when it come to daddy, doesn't work). Somehow nobody seem able to identify what is going on to bring about this sudden change in his sleeping habit.

Help....it is super duper tiring to be woken amid sleep and it have been happening consistently for the last 4 nights / mornings. At this rate, both mummy and daddy is turning into panda very soon.

Our Sweetie Piyobaby

Ending 2011

HKG 2011 - Day 1

Sep 2011 Part II

Sep 2011 Part I

Boring

Home

Major

Conversation

Progress

May 2011

Changes

House

Busy

Withdraw

End of CNY

Appetite

Close shave

Fatigue

MIA

1st Family trip

2011

Christmas Part II

Merry Christmas

X'mas 2010

Retreat

Courtesy

JG

23 months

Catching up

22 months

wrong

Long weekend

wiser

Halloween

JG Week 7

Old

Here it come

chores

Wow

Hort park

Gently

New pattern

Haze

Height

Headrest

Sniffles

Read

JG Week 5

Books

Pee

21 months

Chace

Excitement

Weather

JG Week 4

Haircut 3

Diapers

Imitate

Bravo

Fuming

Park

School

Children's Day

Credit

Daddy II

Vroom

Words

Lantern

20 mos

Long Weekend

Fatigue

Fever II

Fever

Madness

Share

JBCG

M.I.L.K

Doors

19 mos