Days Of Our Lives

Saying goodbye

2011-08-30T23:08:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow marks the boys' last day at Kiddy Academy - a place they've known all their lives and the place they've spent (possibly) as much time as they have at home.

It all started when I sent away the maid who was helping to take care for Riley and had just a week (half of which we spent in Bangkok) to look for an infantcare centre. I googled for infantcare centres, rang two of them, visited one - and that was where I decided to put Riley.

Riley was just about thirteen and a half months old then. Tomorrow, when he spends his last day at Kiddy Academy, he'll be all of 4 years and nine and a half months. That makes it 3 years and 9 months that he's spent there. Initially, it was mostly half a day but that slowly became full days as I spent more time at work.

For Reece, it's been his other home since he was just 14 weeks old. For him, it's been a 17-month-long journey that he's taken at Kiddy Academy. (Although he's only been in the childcare section the past two months. And I'm hoping that will work as an advantage in getting him to settle quickly into the new place.)

For the boys, Kiddy Academy really is more like a second home than a pre-school. I suppose it's only become more of a 'school' for Riley since he started K1. So why did I decide to take them out?

I've always been aware of the shortcomings of the academic programme at Kiddy Academy - big classes and a not-so-interesting curriculum with lots of teaching using the white board and little hands-on experience. But this shortcoming was greatly compensated for by a team of teachers who truly LOVED the little children. Led by Teacher Zaidah, the teachers were warm and affectionate. They knew every single child by name. They understood each child's temperament. There was no reluctance on the teachers' part to play mummy - patting them to sleep, giving them little massages, lots of hugs, lots of kisses. And that was what kept me at Kiddy Academy these past few years.

I never believed that the 'academic' was all that important at a time when my children just needed to enjoy being children and discover what it means to be little boys. And that was why the love these teachers showed was so important to me - if I couldn't be with my own children in the day, then I wanted someone else to offer them a good alternative.

If you knew Riley, you would be convinced that Riley grew up at Kiddy Academy secured in the knowledge that he was loved - and that made him a happy, confident and easy little boy.

But all that changed when Teacher Zaidah left earlier this year. Since then, there has been one other change of supervisor. And all the original teachers who worked under Teacher Zaidah have all resigned too.

For me, those were the alarm bells. There were some pretty evident signs that I should take my children out. And then there was just the mother's instinct. That things were changing and my children were no longer taken care of the way I wanted them to be.

We're off to a new place in two days. It's a complete departure from what Kiddy Academy is like. And I'm hoping it will stimulate Riley and Reece to discovering more for themselves.

Tomorrow will be a sad day for me. I will truly miss walking down the corridor to drop off / pick up the boys. I will miss the kind cooking auntie who came to me two weeks ago with tears in her eyes asking if it was true that Riley and Reece will be leaving Kiddy Academy. I will miss the place Kiddy Academy used to be. And the fact that I had always thought Riley will be part of the graduating concert at the end of his year in K2.

I'm not sure what Riley will miss. He's got some fantastic memories of Kiddy Academy - the three year-end concerts he's participated in, the school trips to the zoo, the Botanic Gardens and the Underwater World. He's got good friends too - Dylan, Michelle and Sallonie. We've been talking about changing schools and he's full of excitement at the idea of going over to the new place. I think he will miss his friends - but friendship at four years is probably different from how I perceive friendship to be. And because of that I haven't pressed on with that. It's good if he can recognise how he isn't going to see his good friends on a daily basis anymore, yet be excited at the prospect of making new friends. Right now, I think he's just excited at having a HUGE box of goodies to give away to his friends tomorrow.

As for Reece, I'm not sure what he'll miss. He's too young for the concept of friends and he's not been part of any school activity. I'm sure the change in routine will unsettle him; but I'm hoping this is something he'll get used to quickly. Like how it took him about a month to totally get into the routine of being in playgroup. As an individual, he is also less emotional than Riley and recovers much more quickly. Hopefully this means a quick settling in period for him.

Whatever it is, I suppose the first few days will be tough. And all of us will be missing Kiddy Academy terribly. But I'm sure we'll get over it and hopefully the boys will then enjoy the different experience at the new place.

Reece's first day in the playgroup class

2011-07-01T20:34:00.000+08:00

At 18 months and 9 days, Reece finally says goodbye to infantcare and moves on to the playgroup class at the childcare centre.
While it means we no longer have to drop the boys at different entrances to the childcare centre, it does mean that we have to get two of them into their uniforms each morning. The boys look a bit blurry eyed in the pictures because we had to wake up early this morning.

When we walked past the infantcare entrance, Reece happily waved to his teachers at infantcare. But when we got to the other entrance and he realised he had to go in, he started looking a little weepy and walked away. And this is despite the month that he's spent going over to join the playgroup class at least an hour each day.

I was quite worried at first because he did cry a little and was still looking apprehensive even when the teachers led him to play with other little children. Halfway through the morning, I rang the childcare centre and Riley's teacher reported that Reece was doing perfectly fine so that gave me some relief.

When Weng and I returned in the evening to pick the boys, we couldn't find Reece in the playgroup class or the nursery class. Instead, he was with the kindergarten children, having a second serving of dinner. After finishing the porridge meant for the toddlers, he was eating a bowl of noodle soup that the pre-schoolers were having for dinner. It was quite cute seeing all the 5- and 6-year-olds at dinner, with a toddler running around. And his poor teacher running after him. ;p

According to Riley's Chinese teacher, Reece did have a few crying episodes. And whenever he was anywhere near the infantcare section, he'd seem very happy and think they were bringing him back to the baby class. (And of course, he'd cry when he realised no one was letting him back in there.) But there were familiar faces, of course. And those were the teachers and aunties whom he allowed to feed and bathe him today.

Apparently, after lunch, he insisted on following 李老师, who's the K1 Chinese teacher, back into the K1 classroom instead of sitting with the other toddlers in playgroup class. So 李老师 brought him in for a singing session with the children in K1 and Reece sat next to Riley, holding onto his gor gor's arm. Leaning against Riley, Reece actually fell asleep during the singing session! He woke when the teachers tried to put him down on his mattress so 李老师 had to carry him while he slept.

All in all, I'm glad he managed to eat and sleep properly on his first day away from infantcare. I suppose it'll take him a couple of weeks or even a month. But given that he's very familiar with the place and there are at least four teachers and aunties who used to go over to infantcare regularly during their breaks to go play with him, I'm hopeful he'll settle in happily soon.

Now to just get him his school shorts in size M instead of wearing those in size L which his teachers got for him. Those are so oversized, he looks like he's wearing a skirt!

Breastfeeding: still at it

2011-06-21T10:40:00.001+08:00

Reece turns 18 months today. If I counted the 2 years 4 months when Riley was breastfeeding, this means I've been at it for a total of 3 years 10 months (and counting) since November 2006!

I can't tell you how much I love nursing my children. Especially when they're tiny, all we do is eyeball each other when they nurse. Makes me feel like I'm looking right into them and imprinting that image of their faces into my memory.

It's been quite a smooth journey except for a couple of weeks when Riley wouldn't get off the breast and just kept going at it till I was all sore and frustrated. With Reece, I was worried that I wasn't giving him enough because when I express, I find I produce only a tiny amount. But he's developing alright so I suppose he's getting what he needs by feeding constantly through the night.

Thanks to my doula who taught me all I needed to know about breastfeeding and who helped both Riley and Reece latch on seconds after birth, as well as my ex-boss who told me the best thing she did for herself after she gave birth was to co-sleep with her baby so it was easy to nurse at night, the boys have happily had their milk on demand and at all hours of the day.

The first time Riley latched on outside was when he was just a few months old and we were out at the coffeeshop opposite Thomson Medical Centre. We had gone to the hospital to visit someone who'd just given birth and then gone opposite for some yummy fried beef hor fun. Halfway through lunch, Riley started fussing and crying and really wanting his milk. That first experience nursing outside was a scary one! I wasn't sure how I could nurse him in a coffeeshop! Thank goodness I had a sling to put him in and a burp cloth to throw over his head. I remember my heart was pounding the whole time - terrified I was going to expose myself to everyone in the coffeeshop.

After that experience, it was anywhere and everywhere when it came to latching on my babies! I've latched them on at restaurants and in clinics. But their favourite place to nurse when in public is when we get on some mode of transport. Somehow, me sitting down and having nothing to do or look at makes them want their milk. On the MRT, in a taxi, in the car, on the plane, in a ferry and even on the tram going up to the Peak in Hong Kong! We've done it everywhere!

Besides latching them on, there's also the expressing. Expressing in the office, expressing in a toilet (when the room I used to express in while at school was locked), expressing in a nursing room at a shopping centre, and most unforgettable was expressing in what used to be MM Lee's office at the Old Parliament House when I was there for a full-day event while at my old job!

I don't know how much longer Reece will breastfeed but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts!

Domestic help

2011-05-09T16:04:00.002+08:00

This is what I got from Weng for Mother's Day this year:

The Neato - my little robot helper to vacuum the floor when we're at work.

Dusty floors bug me VERY VERY MUCH. I have no problem keeping the house tidy. The boys are trained to keep their toys and everything else once they are done with them. Toys and drawing material are kept before nap time in the afternoon and before bed time at night. Newspapers are kept on the dining table only on the day of print. After that, they are kept in a stack in the store room till the karang guni man comes by. So, neat and tidy is not an issue. Dust-free is. Especially when I live in a neighbourhood where there are many new blocks of flats being constructed ALL the time.

Coming home to step on a dusty floor is very annoying. Yet I find I don't always have the energy to sweep and mop. We have a lovely part-time cleaner but she comes by only once a week and that hardly helps when it comes to dusty floors. Thankfully, Weng came up with the wonderful idea of getting modern technology to help.

Let's see how this works out. If it's as useful as the clothes dryer that Weng got for me earlier in the year, I'll be happy as a lark! :)

Different Strokes #1: Where the wild things are

2011-04-07T14:40:00.000+08:00

Many people have commented on how similar Riley and Reece look. I don't really agree but yes, I do see the similarities. When Reece was younger, the differences in character were not so obvious. But now that he's growing up into his own little person, it's become clearer to Weng and myself what the differences are in terms of character.

Difference #1: Where the wild things are

The biggest difference is how Reece is NOT afraid of the dark. This is a complete contrast to Riley - who is still afraid of going anywhere in the flat on his own at night. Even when the lights are turned on. -_-"

Riley whines about the toys in his playroom looking at him. He imagines he hears weird sounds and has woken up at night refusing to go to bed because he thinks he saw a butterfly there earlier. When he needs the toilet in the evenings, one of us has to accompany him. Otherwise, he'd rather pee in his pants. Really.

But Reece is such a gung-ho little trooper in comparison. He goes anywhere on his own at night, whether or not anyone follows him. He'll happily wander from room to room and is most happy to sit in the dark and play on his own - if we allowed him to do so. He's even done what Riley couldn't do till he was three - woken up in the middle of the night and walked out of the bedroom to go look for his parents who are still watching tv. Riley would have opened his eyes and started wailing.

My 3 Valentines

2011-02-15T11:27:00.001+08:00

Woke up this morning with the two boys and Weng came in from the study and climbed in bed with a loud "Happy Valentine's Day!" and to give all three of us a kiss. Riley replied with a sleepy "Happy Birthday, Papa" and we had to explain to him what Valentine's Day was. That sweet boy then announced, "I love you, Papa. I love you, Mama."

That was pretty much Valentine's Day for us this year. Weng and I had already gone on a twosome foodie trail all of last week - chocolates, yummy food... all that was missing were the flowers. Haha!

And what was my gift to my three men? Another DIY (decorate-it-yourself) cake!

Thanks to T and her wonderful idea - getting half-priced vouchers - the mummies had a great time decorating the cakes together.

Did the boys enjoy it? You bet they did! Riley ate just about half the cake while the rest was demolished by Weng, myself and Reece - who had great fun feeding himself the cake!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

School update

2011-02-11T22:15:00.000+08:00

This year, Riley moves on to Kindergarten 1 while Reece will be moving from infantcare to playgroup later in June.

Riley's now one of the more 'senior' boys in school, having moved from infantcare through playgroup, nursery 1 and 2, and now in kindergarten. While some of the children from his class in infantcare are still with him in K1, some of them have moved off to other pre-schools.

But I'm not too worried about Riley and friends. Everyone - and I truly mean everyone, from the cleaning lady to the children from PG to K2 - knows Riley. Does he know everyone? Haha! No... Sometimes while walking with him to/from school, we meet a child in the same uniform and the child will shout, "Hello, Riley!" and I'd ask Riley who that was and he'd have no idea. ;p

This year, there are fewer children in Riley's class (compared to his class size in N2) and they share the same teachers as the K2 class. Riley was also selected by his teacher to be one of the two class leaders in K1. *beam*beam* (What's the role of the K1 class leader? Tell others to keep quiet. Haha!)

The work he does has also progressed from filling in worksheets to writing and drawing in an exercise book. Teacher Lily gets them to draw according to the theme of the week and they then write a short sentence about what they have drawn. (This weekend, Riley had to do something for Chinese New Year. So he drew an ang pow and wrote, "I like ang pows." Erm, I had to spell it all out for him, of course.)

He loves doing homework and eagerly checks his file and exercise book each time he brings it home on Friday.

What's remained the same from last year are his English speech and drama classes with Ms Rachel and Chinese speech and drama with Chen Laoshi.

And what about Reece?

He's the darling of the teachers. Apparently, some of them like to sneak over to the infant side during their breaks to play with him. Teacher Rose told me Reece makes her want to have another baby!

He's got two good friends - Mikhail and Ka Yi. Ka Yi and Reece like to hold hands and walk around the play area. Round and round and round, until the teachers tell them to stop.

However, the older children don't quite know his name and call him "Riley baby" all the time. There's also this Chinese teacher who likes calling him "xiao Riley" (small Riley).

Reece loves his teachers and is thrilled to arrive in school (most days). He easily slips from my arms into theirs and toddles off to Mikhail to hang out together. It's quite hilarious to see the both of them hanging at the little wall separating the sleeping and play areas - they stand there and smile at people who walk by. While the rest of the babies go into the playpens.

And sometimes, the two brothers meet. Especially when Riley is in his classroom and Reece walks past with his teachers to go to the bathroom (to shower or wash his bum bum after a poo). That's when Riley runs out to give Reece a big hug. And the teachers have to chase Riley back into his classroom.

That's school for the two boys - a big playground!

I heart Weng

2011-02-11T10:25:00.000+08:00

But of course! How could I possibly leave my husband out when writing love notes?? ;p

This year, Valentine's Day has come early for the both of us. In fact, Weng renamed it Valentine's Week. And it is such an apt name for what we've done this week.

There were chocolate molten cakes with ice cream at 3 inch sin on Monday, an outing to the airport on Tuesday, French food at La Petite Cuisine on Wednesday, teh-cino, cempedak goreng and pisang goreng on Thursday. And we're not even done with the entire week!

Happy Valentine's Day to you too, my dear husband! I love you lots and lots!

I heart Riley and Reece

2011-02-11T10:18:00.000+08:00

(Since it's Valentine's Day next Monday, thought I'd write a little love note to my two little darlings.)

Dear Riley and Reece,

To think that I once thought children were horrendous and didn't want any! Of course, such a thought would never, ever pass my mind now that you've entered my life.

When did I start loving the two of you? From the moment the nurse at KK took a quick glance at the pregnancy test device and said very happily to me, "You're pregnant!" (Ok, admittedly, I didn't quite know what to feel the first time I set eyes on you, Riley. And I certainly wasn't feeling much love when labouring to give birth to you gave me such intense, intense pain, Reece.)

Mostly, my journey with the two of you has been one of wild, crazy love. The kind of love that makes me want to give up on everything else. The kind of love that makes me protective, delirious, scared, anxious, angry, disappointed, thrilled, proud... - a mad, swirling mix of very different emotions, sometimes all at the same time. And while you're still too young to understand what I really mean, Reece, this is something I'm certain Riley understands and shares.

Riley, my darling, what more can I say about you? Like Reece, you're the light of my life. But what you've shared with me the last four years is the something special we will have for the rest of our lives together. It's not just the secrets you've whispered to me, or the endless chatter you've subjected (haha!) me to. It's not just the hugs we've given each other or the huggles and kisses we're so used to having. It's also how we've come to read each other - often without the need to verbalise what we think or feel. I know when you need me, I can feel when something is wrong. Just like you know exactly how I feel without me even having to open my mouth to say anything. And immediately, you know what I need - whether it is a hug or an affectionate pat on my back or shoulder. Or just telling me, 'it's ok, mama'. Somedays, I look at you - this 4-year-old who follows instructions, helps out with housework (you fold, clean and organise perfectly!), plays with his little brother, loves his parents to bits, loves school, loves his friends, is creative, earnest, curious, independent and loving - and I marvel at how you've grown and how you've moulded youself into such a lovely little boy. You, my dear Riley, you are truly special and amazing. Continue believing in youself and continue with that courage to learn and try and continue with that strength you have inside of you.

And Reece, my little Reece. You're such a little tornado, ripping through our everyday lives with intense energy. You're strong and quick, assertive and curious and at the same time, you look to us to share your love and your joy. You shower me with kisses and give me the tightest ever hugs, as if you were afraid I might run off. You're so quick at picking up everything that I sometimes forget you're only really 1-year-old and still a little baby. You know what you want and you're not afraid to stick to your desires. With you, I don't worry about you being bullied on playdates of at school. You certainly are no pushover. Yet, with me, you're the sweetest little thing ever, snuggling up right next to me when we're in bed together, sleeping with one hand on my arm, hanging around me when I cook, when I wash, and even when I'm in the toilet! (Ok, that last one can sometimes be a little annoying.) But I love you so much, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Everyday of my journey with you has been an amazing one. Everyday that you grow and learn is everyday that I grow and learn. I love holding your hands and making this journey with the two of you. Riley and Reece, I love you and I love being your mother.

Happy Valentine's Day, my darlings!

I'm back!

2011-02-11T09:22:00.002+08:00

And no, I didn't go anywhere. Instead, January was spent being ill, and taking care of people who were ill. Basically, it was a month during which Weng, Riley, Reece and myself took turns falling ill, sometimes again.

So there's nothing much to blog about for the first month of the year, except that I've realised how difficult it is to take care of two young children when I feel like death myself.

How has February been? Erm, well, Reece was ill the first two days of Chinese New Year. Riley's got a cough and runny nose now and has two eye bags that make him look like someone punched him in his eyes. So. Hmph. Can everyone please stop falling sick??!!

And when (or if?) the boys stop falling ill, I'll have more energy and time to blog!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T10:29:00.000+08:00

It might have been the cake or the partying but both the boys fell ill the day after Reece's birthday.

Riley had a febrile fit while at childcare - turned out he had a chest infection. And Reece was down with bronchiolitis and gastroenteritis. There were four visits to the hospital in all. Both had chest x-rays and blood tests. And Reece was nebulised twice.

We finished almost four bottles of paracetamol in the week and a half they were ill. I had hardly any sleep and felt especially down over the Christmas weekend.

But the good thing about falling ill is RECOVERING! And recover they did. :)

On the first day of school in 2011, both the boys are well enough to go back to childcare and infantcare. And Reece has got a little Thomas bag to match Riley's!

And finally, after 3 parties...

2010-12-21T16:12:00.000+08:00

Reece is ONE!!!

Weng took leave that day and our initial plan of either visiting the zoo or going swimming were dashed when we heard the weather report on the news in the morning and the weather forecast predicted thunder and showers.

So we headed to the National Museum instead.

Reece had a great time running around the open space (probably more than he did looking at the exhibits). Riley enjoyed the running around too. But his favourite parts of our visit to the museum were the 3D show at the Pompeii exhibit - it was a rundown of what happened to Pompeii the day Mount Vesuvius erupted, the collection of gifts to the Istana as well as the photo gallery. He found the casts of dead Pompeiians (is there such a word) a little scary, although as we expected, he was also quite drawn to them because of what they are.

In fact, as we left the museum, he exclaimed quite loudly, "There's so much to learn!" (I was surprised - because we didn't explain that this was about learning. We just helped him read what he couldn't and explained the exhibits to him when he asked what they were.)

Looking at the gifts to the Istana. Many swords, daggers and kris. Why other countries give these as gifts befuddles me. I prefered the porcelain items and art works.

The birthday boy! Reece is 1!

At the craft corner of the Pompeii gallery. Making a...

gladiator helmet!

And this was Reece's favourite part of the visit!

After that, it was off to the tailor for Weng to get his new shirts for Chinese New Year. Reece's birthday lunch was yummy dim sum at Tung Lok Paramount and then, we all headed home for a nice, long nap!

What a lovely way to spend a birthday!

And then another celebration at school

2010-12-20T17:03:00.000+08:00

What's a birthday without bringing a cake for the darling teachers at Kiddy Academy?

Although most of the babies in infantcare are too young to have cake, we brought one nonetheless. It's actually for Reece's teachers lah. They're such wonderful people and it's really hard work looking after all these babies.

We were a little late so most of the other babies had already fallen asleep - it was morning nap time. So there was just Reece, Riley, and this other boy. Another woke up in time to see us eating the cake. Haha!

Reece the birthday boy, and Riley the birthday boy's kor kor. ;)

After the party at McDonalds, Reece seemed a little more aware that this was his party. The birthday song made him really happy and he got to cut his cake too!

This time round, there was no magnificent cake. But the cake from Prima Deli was pretty enough and what I loved about it was the fruit cocktail filling! That was Riley's favourite thing about the cake too!

Reece with Teacher Juriah, Teacher Angie and Teacher Wendy. His favourite teacher is Teacher Juriah. Seems he only wants her to carry him!

After that, it was off to Swensen's at the airport for a birthday lunch treat from Grandma Tan! Yippie!

Birthday Party at McDonald's

2010-12-18T22:48:00.000+08:00

We weren't very sure at first if we wanted to make a big deal of Reece's birthday and had actually contemplated a small, quiet celebration at home.

But while at McDonald's at Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 for their Open Kitchen tour, we thought the little party corner was just nice for a very small party with friends so that's how our secondborn ended up having his 1st birthday party at McDs - just like his big brother!

Unlike Riley's birthday party that had an overflowing guest list and the party planner was too busy to organise any games, this time, because we kept it very small, it was nice and relaxing and we even got to play some simple games.

Obviously Reece was quite oblivious to what was happening. Well, at least he didn't cry or fall asleep! He just wanted me to carry him the whole time. o_O

The birthday cake was created by Christy from C for Cupcakes. Since we got Riley's birthday cake from her, I thought to get Reece's from her as well.

It was a magnificent cake. Truly! Sitting on a ball were three tiers of chocolate mud pie with a sea salt caramel buttercream filling. Christy is truly a baking extraordinaire! All I gave her was the very vague idea that I wanted a Circus cake with bright colours. And this was what she gave us! And the cake rotates! And plays music!!

Riley helped blow out the candle since Reece didn't know what was going on. ;p

It was a good evening - not too tiring. I suppose the most tiring thing I did at the party was carrying Reece and cutting the cake. Haha! Reece seemed to enjoy himself and Riley, too. (After he got over sulking - he was a little sad that it wasn't his party.)

No more parties till we have another baby and that baby turns 1! Yay!

Formula 1

2010-12-17T21:35:00.003+08:00

Four days before Reece turns one, I had no choice but to bring formula milk to childcare... :(

My breastmilk supply has been dwindling and each time I express, the tiny amount that I get makes me really upset.

The plan is to continue expressing and hopefully Reece still gets some breastmilk in childcare. When he's with me, we'll continue latching on. And let's see if the fenugreek and milk thistle supplements are effective. Sigh.

Just to console myself, when Riley started going to infantcare at 14.5 months, I gave him fresh milk to have when I wasn't around. o_O

Reece can: drink from a straw!

2010-12-13T15:51:00.002+08:00

First taste through a straw? Banana milkshake! Yum!

Celebrating Reece's 1st (Chinese) Birthday

2010-12-11T21:03:00.002+08:00

For Reece's 1st birthday in the Chinese Lunar calendar, we did a little celebration just like what we did for Riley three years ago.

Offerings at the altar. It's very interesting - every single item there has a significance to it. Each item represents something we wish for the birthday boy. I did the red eggs and bought the cupcakes. This time, my red eggs are nicer than the ones I made for Riley - that's because I used traditional red dye from the Chinese medical hall instead of food dye.

Grandma Chan and the boys

Some chanting from Grandma Chan and Papa! And Riley standing around trying to be helpful.

And after the prayers, it was time for the game! Like with Riley, we placed 4 items for Reece to choose. And like Riley, Reece also picked the...

... PEN! :)

An early Christmas dinner

2010-12-10T23:33:00.002+08:00

Christmas dinner with the Tans. As usual, it is very early in December - this time, the night before my brother and family fly off to spend Christmas with my sister-in-law's family.

Pre-dinner playtime: On Joe's pet dinosaur. Reece was terrified of it everytime it made a noise. He didn't even want to go into the playroom after that.

Joe and Riley at the children's table.

And for dessert - a chocolate cake called Santa's Cottage from Prima Deli. Yummy!

Walking with Dinosaurs

2010-12-03T22:15:00.005+08:00

Unlike some other children's shows where we buy only one ticket for Riley and one for either Weng or myself, we all wanted to catch Walking with Dinosaurs (except Reece of course - he doesn't know what dinosaurs are. Haha!).

Learning from our experience at Disney on Ice, I got cheaper tickets near the stage, but by the side. For a little boy like Riley, what matters most is experiencing the dinosaurs up close and not so much not about seeing the entire stage.

And experience it he did. It was an experience Riley enjoyed thoroughly - although he did go back to school and complain to Teacher Rose that he was 'disappointed' that the dinosaurs didn't scare him.

And of course, besides the show, Riley enjoyed buying show-related merchandise. And taking pictures!

Taking the train on the Circle Line from Mountbatten to Stadium. Just one stop. We had to park at Mountbatten because the traffic to the Indoor Stadium was horrendous.

Waiting for the show to begin!

Er, I can't remember which dinosaur this is. (Photo isn't exactly very clear because we weren't supposed to use the flash. Although, as predicted, many many flashes continued popping throughout the show. Typically Singaporean. Sigh.)

After the show!

And we got to take a video too! Courtesy of M1!

Oh, and I almost forgot - so how did Reece enjoy it? Very much! He was rapt in attention (or petrified?) for almost the entire part of the first half. He then latched on and fell asleep and didn't wake up till the T-Rex came onstage. And he enjoyed that bit too! Yay! I'm glad he gets to watch these shows with us.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

2010-11-29T22:47:00.003+08:00

DIY cake from The Icing Room - you choose either a vanilla or chocolate cake that comes creamed but with no decoration at all, and then you decorate the cake yourself. The package comes with some basic bits to use but I bought some extras. First time decorating a cake. Weng was pleasantly surprised. :)

Reece crying because... Erm, it's either Riley who's holding him in an uncomfortable manner or he wants to come down. Or wants mama (who's behind the camera). We don't actually know. Haha!

Riley and Papa. No crying here. :)

Speedy Gonzales

2010-11-27T22:21:00.003+08:00

Last weekend, Reece was taking careful steps from sofa to TV console. It was 4 or 5 steps at most. And he still had not figured out how to climb off a bed safely.

This weekend, Reece is walking on his own all over the flat! From one room to another, from one end of the flat to the other! And he's confidently climbing off the bed without falling off.

What an amazing difference a week makes!

Kiddy Academy Annual Concert 2010

2010-11-20T23:48:00.000+08:00

This is Riley's 3rd concert since he started attending his childcare centre.

And while he was only in one concert item when he was in the playgroup and in Nursery 1, this year, he's not only in the Nursery 2 dance item, he's also in the skit put up by the children in the English Speech & Drama class as well as in another skit by those in the Chinese Speech & Drama class.

This year, the theme was Fairy Tales, so each item was a re-telling of a fairy tale.

N2 dance item: Cinderella. Riley was in charge of opening the item...

...he was the King telling the Prince, "My son, you must find your wife from the princesses at the Ball."

He was supposed to bow but was so amused with the King's hat which he saw for the first time that day. He thought it looked like a chef's hat. So instead of taking a bow, he decided to start chopping some imaginary food in his hands!

This is the "handsome" pose Teacher Rose taught them.

Skit by English Speech & Drama class: Stone Soup. The N2 children presented "Planting Rice" at the start of the skit.

And then it was the skit by the Chinese Speech & Drama class, 白雪公主. The N2 children were acting as the little animals that protected Snow White when she ran into the forest to hide from the evil Queen. (The Queen and her magic mirror were a hoot and I thought they stole the show!)

Fooling around on stage. They couldn't remember what they were supposed to do.

Finally! Doing what they are supposed to do.

In the finale item. Singing a song with the rest of the children - from PG to K2.

After the concert, a shot with good friends Ryan and Cheryl. They've been friends since they were in infantcare together!

Every year, the children get to keep their costumes after the concert. In the first year, it was a Malay baju. Last year, it was a red Hawaiian shirt and white shorts. And this year, it's his King's costume - tuxedo pants, shirt, bow tie, cummerbund and coat. But Riley's got nowhere to wear it to. Anyone wants to rent a tuxedo-outfitted 4-year-old for your event? Hahaha! ;P

Riley says

2010-11-18T09:53:00.004+08:00

Ok, so this might not be funny to anyone else but I've got to put it down before I forget them. Already, I've forgotten some that tickled me for days.

1.

We're all lying in bed chilling out. Weng asks Riley to get something from the bathroom. And Riley replies, "I'm not your wife, ok?!"

2.

On our way to Grandma Tan's, we had to take another, much longer, route as there was a massive jam on the highway. When we get to her flat, Riley sits down for breakfast with Grandpa Tan and starts rattling away about the traffic jam and how we had to take this super long route. This sets Grandpa Tan off on some rant against the 5 million population and how there are way too many cars on our roads.

Riley interrupts, "Stop, stop. It's simple, ok? Very simple. When there is a traffic jam, you just... drive on the other lane!"

(Grandpa Tan had no comeback to that.)

3.

Riley to 舅舅: My 李老师 at Kiddy Academy taught me to say a lot of animal names in Chinese.

舅舅: Yeah? So what did she teach you?

Riley: 大萝卜，肚（兔）子，老虎，长颈鹿。。。 (The other animal names were correct but my brother almost fell off the chair at the first one! 李老师's eye must have been twitching like crazy that night!)

Happy 4th Birthday, Riley Chan!!

2010-11-15T18:10:00.010+08:00

I can still remember that afternoon I spent in labour four years ago. Watching an old HK TV serial, eating sweetcorn ice cream and grilled chicken wings while timing my contractions.

The first time I set my eyes on my firstborn, I stroked his arm gently and said, "Hello!", while thinking he looked a little alien-ish.

And now, that little baby is 4 years old!!!

At 113cm and 25kg, Riley is almost at my chest level when standing, and when he sits on my lap, he's all arms and legs, dangling off me.

And while he's indeed grown in so many different ways, and has matured, he's still the same little baby I've gotten so used to - asking me for kisses and huggles (that's a hug and a cuddle!), telling me he loves me, falling asleep happily only when we lie in bed with him.

At 4, he can now write his name and didi's name. At childcare, he works on worksheets in English, Chinese and Mathematics. He loves dancing and drawing. And adores ALL animals (he made me call the police to report a dead dog lying in the middle of the highway because the body shouldn't be left there just like that, and made me feed his stick of sotong balls from Old Chang Kee to a very hungry stray cat - ok, I know I shouldn't have done that). He loves his brother and likes playing with him - but also loves annoying him by pinching him or pulling him down to the floor when he's sitting down. He likes jigsaw puzzles. And any game on the iPhone. He likes taking photos and having others take photos of him. And he loves his school too.

Riley Chan, I'm so proud of what a great little boy you've grown up to become. Now you only need to learn to stop whining so much and you'll be perfect! ;p

Here's what we did on your birthday!

Pre-birthday celebrations at childcare on Friday

Happy happy birthday boy with his rocket cake!

Blowing out candle, sparklers and all that smoke from the dry ice (which mama and papa had to rush to get from Swensens at the airport - they don't sell dry ice, by the way. Had to buy ice cream to get it.)

N2 class photo!

Giving out the goodie bags

Birthday morning at Jurong Bird Park

Breakfast at Bongo Burger. Birthday boy with the "Wild Birthday" badge - free admission and free ice cream!

Feeding the lories at the Lory Loft. Riley liked giving the nectar feed to the birds that couldn't get prime position.

And I guess the birds liked him too! He got one on his head!

Photo opp with a Malay Fishing Owl after the Birds of Prey show

And one for the family album!

Birthday evening at Grandma and Grandpa Chan's

With the Power Ranger mango cake Mama picked out for you. And which you loudly announced as "not powerful enough".

And not forgetting your post-birthday 'let's-not-go-to-school' treat: watching Megamind at the cinema with mama

I hope you enjoyed your 4th birthday celebrations, my little darling!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Elisha!

2010-11-06T22:05:00.003+08:00

Riley and Reece celebrated cousin Eli's 2nd birthday at MyGym at Great World City.

This is the 3rd party we've been to at MyGym. It used to be a small, one-roomed, cosy gym space. Now, while the entrance remains a small one, there's retail space, cafe space and many party rooms for rent. Makes it all feel waaaaay too commercial and kind of like a party factory. Not quite the kind of place I like.

Of course, none of this mattered to the boys. Riley had a great time because he's older now and can participate in more of the activities. Reece just enjoyed himself doing some group exercises and playing on the gym equipment. It was so exciting for him, he fell asleep immediately after the cake was cut - TOO much excitement for a 10-month-old!

Joe and Riley having fun following instructions

Crawling around and working up a sweat

Ooouf! Check out the expression on Riley's face as he dodges the moving sandbags!

Now check out the gym teacher's expression as he tries to lift Riley up! That's a double ooouf!!

Doing it all on his own now.

Reece enjoying the swing for the very first time!

And the flying fox!

And after all that activity, it's time to eat!!!

Oh, and today marks the first time Reece walked all on his own!!! Two steps!!!

So where were we all of October?

2010-11-05T22:25:00.006+08:00

October was a crazy, busy month. As the marking piled up and I had to stay later at work, there was less time to blog. But now that the students are gearing up to start their exams on Monday, I've got more computer time! Yippie!

Thought I'd do a little recap of all we got up to in October!

Weekend Fun: It's all about ANIMALS!!!

Ok, this isn't exactly October but it was the last weekend of September and Reece went on his first trip to the Underwater World! (Fish are part of the animal world too. So guess it belongs here!)

On the way! Reece on the island bus from car park to Underwater World.

So am I bigger or is the crab bigger?

Some of the new attractions at the Underwater World: feeding baby sharks

and the new Dolphin Lagoon right next to the Underwater World. There's no need to take a bus anymore.

And then there was a trip to Animal Resort at Jalan Kayu - also Reece's first time!

Reece didn't like the Animal Resort AT ALL. I think it was too hot for him. Poor baby didn't get the wear his hat because his kor kor took it away from him.

For $2, we got 3 packs of animal feed. Riley got to feed the animals all on his own because Reece was absolutely disinterested.

And the Bukit Timah Saddle Club. A first for all of us!

The horses there are just too beautiful - shiny coats, beautiful tails and manes. And such an air of magnificence!

Riley, Reece and the other babies at tea that day - baby Aria and baby Hannah. Jeremiah was in the bathroom with his mummy.

But the month wasn't all fun. In the middle of the month, poor Reece came down with HFMD for the first time. He spent the first two days totally miserable and whiny and wanting to be carried ALL the time.

This is what our baby does when he's miserable. He's like a cat!

But finally, after a week, he was all well again! Just in time for our family photo shoot to mark the 10th anniversary of Weng and I meeting each other!

And to finish off the month, a haircut for both the boys, new shoes (his first!) for Reece and we're off to Grandpa Tan's 65th birthday dinner!

And that was October!

And not forgetting Riley...

2010-09-25T13:04:00.001+08:00

Attempting his fire-eating act

Trying to look like a K-pop star

and the pensive Taiwanese soap star (with smiley sidekick next to him)

9 months old!

2010-09-21T22:53:00.000+08:00

Dearest Reece,

You're 9 months old today!

It seems like everytime I blink my eye, you become less of a baby and more of a little boy -

You've given up creeping and now crawl everywhere. When you're around chairs and tables, you'll immediately use them to pull yourself up and stand around to look at us. You've also started cruising and we now have to be careful what we leave around the flat.

Your favourite foods are tissue paper and snot - yes, in that order. And when you're found out, you have the cheekiest look on your face as you smile and giggle at having tissue paper dug out of your mouth. The smiling stops when we try to clean your nose, though. Yup, you really dislike people going near your nose.

And how do you let us know that? Very clearly, by snapping and growling at us, with a frown on your brows and a beating hand gesture. Besides that, you've also learnt how to signal to us that you want something. When we're eating and you don't get to share, you'll pat your chest and tell us that you need to be fed too. And when there's a toy you want, that's what you'll do as well.

Ooh, you're such a fun baby to have around! We're all looking forward to seeing what else you'll come up with!

Happy 9 months, darling Reecey!

Changi Airport Terminal 3

2010-09-20T22:26:00.005+08:00

Ever since returning to teaching, I'd never taken childcare leave. So, given that I had a chance to take it today, of course I took it to spend more time with Riley and Reece!

The plan was to go to the airport and let Riley have another go at the battery operated cars at the basement of Terminal 3 before going to White Sands to meet Auntie J for lunch.

In the end, we spent the entire morning at the airport! Auntie J even came down to meet us eventually.

So what was there at the airport that kept us occupied the entire morning?

At basement 2 at Terminal 3, there was a playground, printing on wood block carvings, an embossing station and, of course, the battery operated cars at the car park!

We waited a whole hour before they opened and Riley had a great time going around the tracks on his own. It was good being there on a Monday morning because we didn't have to deal with the weekend crowd.

After that, I brought him to the slide and asked him if he wanted to give it a try. I was a little worried because it's a covered slide and I couldn't go in with him because I was carrying Reece in the sling. So while the boys manning the slide got him ready, I ran down to the next level to be there when he came out from the slide. In the end, Riley went down the slide THREE times! And I had to climb up and down the stairs (carrying Reece) as many times too. He enjoyed himself thoroughly and followed the big boys' instructions to "cross your arms, close your eyes, lie down and go down".

On the way to the sky train, we saw this Hari Raya Puasa display. So pretty!

It was a great morning at the airport. Not sure about airports in other countries but I'm glad our airport is one where we can go to for food, shopping and lots of family-friendly fun!

Lanterns at the Riverside

2010-09-19T23:33:00.002+08:00

We had a date with baby Aria and her parents this evening to check out the lanterns and the Taiwanese food fair at Clarke Quay.

Before dinner, Riley and Weng indulged in one of their favourite activities - turning capsules!

It wasn't just Riley. I got a Hello Kitty pouch too! (He got a Mickey Mouse figurine and two Power Ranger vehicles.)

It's been a long time since I've been to Clarke Quay at night and it felt good to be jostling with the crowds and admiring the lanterns.

We had to give the Taiwanese food fair a miss, though. The queues were just too long!

Riley was quite unhappy at the food fair because the 'fragrance' of smelly tofu hung heavily in the air and he spent the whole time walking with his hand over his nose. Didn't help that it was a very humid night. Poor boy didn't get to see much too because there was such a huge crowd he was just being pushed about.

As much as I enjoyed the lanterns, I was pretty glad when we got to the end of the display.

POSB Kids Run 2010

2010-09-19T14:56:00.003+08:00

Finally, the day of the run!

Riley had some problem waking up early this morning because he slept late last night. Probably because of that, he ended up really whiny and grumpy most of the morning. and of course, the heat didn't help.

Taking a picture with Smiley the POSB mascot. Riley was already grumpy at this point. The walk from the car park to the starting point was almost half the distance of the 1.2km run we had signed up for.

With Godpa at the starting point. Riley didn't actually walk after this point, instead...

Papa carried him all the way!

Once the boys were done with the walk, we rewarded ourselves (the boys - for walking/carrying Riley for 1.2km, and mummy and Reece for standing under the hot sun) with breakfast at Swensen's at the airport. The boys perked up immediately once we entered the airport. Aah! The wonders of air conditioning!

Chilling out

2010-09-18T23:53:00.000+08:00

At dinner at Bark Cafe this evening, Riley was the social butterfly. He was at our table for all of 10 minutes. Then he went off to make friends - playing with some girls and watching them light their lanterns, having fun at the pool table with these two primary school boys, and even hanging out at another family's dinner table!

Sunday Swim

2010-09-12T22:42:00.005+08:00

Went over to Auntie Su's place for a swim with Ian kor kor. The boys had loads of fun!

Here are some pics of Riley at the pool.

Walking to the pool in the blazing sun -

Filling up his water cannon to shoot at papa -

Fire away! -

Sesame Street Live!

2010-09-10T23:00:00.001+08:00

Another live show has rolled into town, and this time, it's Sesame Street.

We got the tickets for this show from his school when they were trying to organise a meet the characters session in school. The meet the characters session didn't happen due to poor response, but we still got a really good deal for the tickets.

We've been to so many live shows since my first one with Riley last December, but the idea of going to a live show never fails to stir up excitement. Once again, it was just Riley and me going for the show - papa and Riley bonding time! :)

After getting a bite with mama and di di, we headed off to the indoor stadium. What a big difference 8 months makes. Back then, I had to pack lots of things (water bottle, tissue paper, wet tissue paper, a change of clothes) and I had to keep asking him if he needed the toilet. This time round, all I packed for him was his water bottle and a small pack of biscuits (to save me spending on over priced junk food :) ). I didn't bring and tissue and even forgot to bring his sweater - I was too busy trying to squeeze everything into a tiny bag and fit my DSLR in.

He looks like such a big boy now in his jeans and t-shirt.

The set-up for the Sesame Street show was much simpler compared to the other shows, there wasn't even a banner/stand up poster for us to take our customary shots in front of to 'prove' we've been to the show. The merchandise was much simpler as well, just some DVDs, some plush toys, ONE type of kiddy binoculars and ONE type of spinning, light emitting toy and ONE type of character balloon (Elmo head). It was almost as though the organisers had a conscience and felt bad about fleecing parents.

Of course, no live show is complete without the customary spinning, light emitting toy for Riley. He got one at Thomas and his fit inducing flashing cup from the Wiggles show.

Here he is posing with the toy while I try to fit the stage in the frame in the background.

As we got there quite early (about 20 min before the show started), I soon got quite bored and began taking photos of random things...

Another view of the spinning toy -

A pic of his cool Nike shoes with Chinese Tiger motif (for the year of the tiger) -

The seats were further than what we usually get. It was a good distance to see the whole stage, but still quite far from the stage so the characters did not get anywhere near us when they came down from the stage to mingle with the crowd. Riley was quite disappointed that the characters did not come up to him and asked me a couple of times why. We did manage to move closer to the stage during the interval, but it was still not in the area where the characters were. He wanted to move to that area, but the gates were manned by ushers. He did have more fun in that area though, as there was some open space at the sides and there were quite a few kids jumping/dancing along to the performance.

Posing during the interval after we managed to get seats closer to the stage -

Some pictures taken during the performance -

While we had fun overall, the lack of proximity to the characters onstage probably did dampen the fun factor a bit. I'll get better tickets next time. :)

Reece

2010-09-10T22:00:00.008+08:00

A few pics of my darling Reece taken this morning while kor kor was doing homework from all the days he's missed this week.

Standing up to see what kor kor's doing -

One of his favourite looks -

On the floor, big eyed and cute :) -

And of course, one with kor kor -

Gangsta!

2010-09-06T22:20:00.002+08:00

Riley got a sudden burst of inspiration to do some body art on himself (more specifically, on his left arm) using some markers that could stamp little shapes. He then moved on to drawing and colouring his fingers and finally, after taking out his washable markers, asked us to draw a moustache for him. I added a small goatee for good measure.

He was so pleased with the result that he said he wanted to have the moustache drawn on again before he went to school the next day.

We gamely drew the moustache on the next morning thinking it'd be a good laugh. Riley though, decided to be sensible and washed it off before we left home.

Weekend Wow: Voyage De La Vie

2010-09-06T01:21:00.017+08:00

It was our second visit to Resorts World at Sentosa this evening. So what did we do there?

Riley had a run-in with a T-Rex...

enjoyed a delicious dinner at a Jap restaurant...

and then went for a spot of shopping to get mama a surprise!

Really? Haha, no... The background in those pictures were from this advertisement we saw on the wall at the lobby to Hotel Michael when we were leaving after dinner.

So why were we there? Riley had seen the trailer for 'Voyage de la Vie' - the in-house circus performance at Resorts World - and said he wanted to watch it. While I've watched performances by Cirque du Soleil twice, Riley had never seen something like this before so we thought we'd get tickets and bring him there. It then became something of a special evening for him because when I was booking tickets on the Sistic website, I realised that infants in arms will not be admitted so we made arrangements for Grandma Tan to babysit Reece that evening and made reservations for a nice dinner at one of the restaurants at Resorts World.

Even though we stayed at the resort in March, we'd never seen the place so crowded and didn't venture anywhere near the casino the last time we visited. This time, our experience was a very different one.

At the carpark, we hopped onto the carpark tram to get to the entrance to the atrium. We didn't realise there was such a service but a nice lady pointed it out to us - saved us the inconvenience of having to make our way through a HUGE carpark.

The tram driver was a friendly old man (we met him again on our way back and he recognised us!) but oh, he drives like a teenager! The tram ride should be featured as one of the rides at the Universal Studio theme park! Riley was pretty thrilled by it - a good start to the evening.

Having fun with the fountains at the Atrium. Pressing the button activates some of the jets in the fountain.

Outside the theatre, Festive Grand. Located next to the Casino.

And inside! Riley with a packet of crisps he wanted to buy. In the end, he only ate it after the performance on our way to the restaurant.

It was a thrilling performance featuring trapeze artists, contortionists, magicians, lots of acrobats, some guy with a crossbow and a cute little white rabbit named Sparkle (don't ask us why but when Weng and I saw Sparkle, we both turned to each other and said it looked like Reece!). Lots of adrenalin-pumping music and many stunts to thrill even those who've seen other such performances. The house was about 75% filled and it was an audience that appreciated the performance.

Throughout the different segments that made up the performance, there was always lots to watch - onstage, off-stage (performers would move amongst the audience) - and sometimes, you really didn't know where to look!

Riley was transfixed throughout and it was clear he thoroughly enjoyed the performance. We were really glad we brought him.

After the performance, we made our way to Palio at Hotel Michael where we were to have our dinner. I actually wanted to try Osia for its Australian seafood cuisine but Riley doesn't like seafood so I picked an Italian place - pasta and pizza ALWAYS works.

Monkeying around pre-dinner

We ordered a Calzone and a pasta to share and for dessert, we had a Pizza Dolce.

Riley loved it! Look at how he's savouring his chocolate covered pizza!

As much as Weng and I both love Reece to bits, it was a nice break where we could enjoy our dinner slowly and actually have a conversation. Riley obviously appreciated the attention too because he did not act up at all during the meal and was lovely company at the dinner table.

After dinner, as we were walking out of the hotel, I noticed the advertisement on the wall and thought it'd be a hoot to get Riley to pose as if he was part of the advertisement. Actually, it started out with just the dinosaur but then we found it so amusing we continued on to the Jap restaurant and the shopping scene.

Riley is really sporting when it comes to jokes like this. I think he shares the same sense of humour as Weng and I and times like these, I sometimes feel we aren't quite parents and child but three good friends behaving in the silliest of ways - and having such a good laugh at the same time!

The evening had to end, and we had a baby waiting for us to bring him home. For Riley, the fun stretched till midnight as Uncle A dropped by for a chat with Weng and Riley stayed up to eat mooncake and watch TV. What an evening!

Weekend Wows: Airforce Museum

2010-09-04T22:01:00.000+08:00

Who knew there was an Airforce Museum in Singapore? Well, apparently Auntie B did! Thanks to her great suggestion, this was one of the places we wanted to bring Riley to. And now that play gym classes have come to an end (again), we can resume our Saturday morning excursions!

Even before we drove into the car park, we could already some retired airplanes on display. These were mounted on pillars and soared up towards the sky - check out the picture Riley took of one of these planes.

The Museum has an outdoor gallery and two indoor galleries. The outdoor gallery exhibits aircraft such as attack aircraft and helicopters as well as missiles, machine guns and equipment used in the maintenance of these aircraft. Here's Riley with a drone - he was quite taken with the concept of a drone plane that could fly into enemy territory.

He made us read from the displays next to each aircraft so he could learn the name of the aircraft (don't ask me, I can't remember) and what it was used for.

Moving to the indoor galleries, there was one on the ground level chronicling the history of aviation. Very informative but the room smelled very strongly of mould so we didnt' stay long.

Then it was upstairs to the second indoor gallery and this one told the story of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

Riley enjoyed very much the stuff he could get his hands on. There was this in the picture below and the radar room and the cockpit of an F16, amongst others.

In fact, he enjoyed it so much he didn't really want to leave. So we went back through the gallery one more time for him to get his hands on all the equipment one more time.

One more for the album just before we leave!

We got there early so it was just us and an old Caucasian couple. As we were leaving, we saw 4 other families - all with little children - who had just arrived and were still exploring the outdoor gallery. I suppose not many people are even aware that this Museum exists.

The Airforce Museum is located at 400 Airport Road (opposite the Ubi Driving School) and is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm, except on Mondays and Public Holidays. Admission is free.

I want to be just like my brother

2010-09-02T22:22:00.000+08:00

Reece saw Riley playing with his sunglasses so Riley got another pair and put it on him. Made Reece so happy!

Riley says

2010-09-02T10:41:00.003+08:00

Riley gets his haircuts at quite a few different places but the one we bring him to most regularly to is the QB House outlet at Eastpoint Mall. It's convenient enough for us to go there for a quick haircut after picking him up from school or for me to bring him there in the afternoons when we visit at Grandma Tan's.

One of the highlights of going to QB House is the plastic comb he gets to keep after the haircut. It doesn't ever last long because the teeth break quite easily after some rough handling.

Last night, Riley used the comb he got from his haircut last Friday to comb Reece's hair and they were both playing with it when a couple of teeth broke from the comb. We've already told him that should the teeth break, he needs to throw comb and broken teeth away immediately in case Reece decides to put the little pieces in his mouth.

So Riley picked up his broken comb and runs to Weng shouting, "Look, Papa! The comb is broken! The teeth fell out! It's because the comb didn't brush (his) teeth, right? Haha! Didn't brush his teeth!"

He was all over himself at how funny he was. And when we laughed with him, he continued, "I'm a funny funny boy, right? I'm a clown head!"

I like the "funny funny boy" bit. Not so much the "clown head". Better teach him not to describe himself that way.

Reece can: CLAP!

2010-08-31T10:30:00.000+08:00

At 4am this morning, I saw Reece clap for the very first time!

Riley woke us all up when he shouted in his sleep, "Say sorry to me! Say sorry to me!" (Erm, we managed to quieten him down by actually saying sorry to him. Haha.)

Awake, Reece started wriggling and waving his arms and legs about. Then, he started passing out gas. Quite a lot of it. And loudly too. When he was finally done, he started smiling and clapping for himself!

I was very excited with the clapping - it was, afterall, the first thime I'd ever seen him clap. But it was 4 in the morning and I wanted him to fall back asleep so I had to keep quiet and pretend I was asleep.

Getting no reaction from me, Reece started rolling about on the bed and by the time he reached the foot of the bed, he had fallen back asleep. :)

Expo Posing

2010-08-24T22:47:00.003+08:00

We decided to head to the Singapore Expo for some Texas Fried Chicken. Getting out of the car, Riley stopped and stuck a pose insisting on taking another "sour lemon" picture like last time we were here.

Not quite the same, but cute nonetheless. :)

On an unrelated note, nice orange clouds we saw after dinner.

老友狗狗

2010-08-23T22:44:00.004+08:00

Riley has been quite interested in this HK drama serial. What does he like? It started with the theme song - he loves it and tries to sing and dance along. Then I suppose it was the dogs and the policemen (he likes them both). Now, when we watch it together, he will even repeat what the actors say. Not too bad, considering he's picking up idioms and new vocabulary. And I don't even have to do anything! ;)

8 months already!

2010-08-23T22:01:00.003+08:00

Dear Reece,

You just turned 8 months this past weekend.

At 8 months old, you are 11.6kg and 76cm and you can crawl, sit up on your own, and yesterday, we saw you pull yourself up from sitting to standing. These two days, you've also become quite the expert at getting off the bed and couch - we showed you a couple of times how you should move down using your legs and bum and a few days later, you did it all on your own! Now we have more to worry - because even though you can move off the bed on your own, you can't stand... yet!

You enjoy playtime with kor kor and like to smile at Papa. You especially like to cling onto Mama like a little koala baby. Generally, you're a chubby little cutie and we all love you lots and lots except... When you scream and wail persistently whenever we put you down on the floor to go to the toilet / shower / eat. That's when you give us all a big headache. Hopefully, you will grow out of this soon!

Didi at 8 months. Picture taken by kor kor using Papa's very heavy DSLR.

Kor kor and Didi with their typical looks - Kor kor is silly and Didi is big-eyed and pensive.

What is a blog post without yet another picture of your kor kor? Here he is in his self-designed pose.

Youth Olympic Games Singapore

2010-08-22T21:28:00.000+08:00

(picture taken from Olympic.org)

These are the mascots for the Youth Olympic Games currently being held in Singapore. Riley's quite familiar with the games as we've been catching the games on TV and he also watched the Opening Ceremony on tv the night he stayed over at Grandma Tan's with Joe and Eli.

When we turned on the tv this evening, Riley said loudly, "I want to watch the Lyo and Merly show!"

Obviously these mascots and whatever marketing efforts are working on this little boy. (Erm, when I see the winners get their medals and that Merly stuffed toy, I want one too...)

Mummy misses Riley!

2010-08-14T23:27:00.001+08:00

Tonight marks the first time Riley is (voluntarily) spending a night away from home. He's at Grandma Tan's with cousins Joe and Eli. Mama is at home missing him lots. Papa is pretty blase about it. Reece seemed very happy rolling around in bed without a screaming maniac trying to pinch his cheeks and lie on top of him all the time. In fact, he was a lot more vocal and laughed a lot more too!

Happy 1st Birthday, Aria!

2010-08-14T13:53:00.001+08:00

Riley and Reece's only girl playmate celebrated her first birthday today. And we were there to celebrate!

And Riley can: HEAR (clearly again)!

2010-08-13T17:48:00.001+08:00

... in my right ear.

Haha, that's Riley! The compacted ear wax that's been plaguing us since May and for which we had to visit the ENT Clinic at KK Hospital a total of FOUR times (!) was finally flushed out by the very patient and accomodating Dr Victor this morning.

Three different pieces were picked out after some vacuuming - all while Riley was screaming away, of course. (Papa was all drenched in sweat after keeping him down in the chair while the good doctor did his work.)

The first piece was about the size of a green bean. And Weng and I went WAH and thought it was huge. Then the last piece came out and it was all black and bigger than a soy bean!!!!! We only wish we took a picture of it. But the nurse threw it away before we could ask to do that. Haha!

Amazingly, Riley's been speaking a lot more softly immediately after that last piece of ear wax came out. No more shouting and screaming!

And now, he can hear the SWEET voice of his mother everytime she nags at him. Hahaha! :)

Reece can: Sit up on his own!

2010-08-12T19:46:00.004+08:00

After a couple of weeks of trying, Reece can now move into sitting position from crawling! He can also pull himself up! Yippie!!! And from crawling around the living room, he's now quite confident at crawling everywhere - into the kitchen, into the bathroom... Anywhere I am. I feel like I've got my own stalker. ;)

Who wants to eat fried food?

2010-08-11T20:39:00.000+08:00

A conversation in the car on our way home this evening:

Weng: You know what I was thinking when I drove past the Expo earlier? (The Expo is on the way between Weng's office and the boys' childcare centre) Texassss...

(Texas Fried Chicken - newly opened at the Expo and something we tried and now love!)

Me: Yeah! That was exactly what crossed my mind when I went past it on the bus earlier!

Riley (piping in very loudly): You know, you know, when I was in school today, I was thinking of Old Chang Kee!

(Old Chang Kee sells all things fried: curry puffs, nuggets, chicken wings... If it's fried, you'll find it there!)

So you know now what this family likes to eat and what we eat all the time! Hahaha!

We love you, Godma!

2010-08-01T22:01:00.000+08:00

Happy 7 Months, Reece!

2010-07-21T21:37:00.003+08:00

And after we took the photo with our 7-month-old, Riley ran over and asked for his photo to be taken too. So we ended up with this:

Immediately after we showed him the picture, Riley ran off shouting, "SOUR LEMONS SOUR LEMONS!" And made that same face again. Strange boy.

Reece's 1st Hair Cut

2010-07-18T21:00:00.000+08:00

After months of agonizing over whether to cut Reece's hair, we finally decided to do it after his "fire hair" had become more like a comb over.

He was really well behaved throughout the hair cut, no crying and only minimal fussing towards the end. Very well done for a 6+ mth old!

Erm, what's happening?

And here it goes!

So this is what getting a haircut is like...

Don't pinch my cheeks, mama!

Post-1st haircut. In their Singapore Garden Festival apparel. Reece is not happy. He was wanting mama to carry him.

Singapore Garden Festival

2010-07-17T21:18:00.001+08:00

This is our first visit to the biennial Singapore Garden Festival and the last time it would be held indoors at Suntec Convention Centre. We aren't really garden people but it was enjoyable looking at the various garden displays. It was also good fun to have the company of Uncle A, Auntie D and baby Aria.

At the ticket collection area on Level 1. The exhibition covered two levels - level 6and level 4. The beautiful displays were on level 6 and on level 4 was the marketplace.

Our first time at the Singapore Garden Festival! (Riley is in the stroller - we only use it when we know we're going somewhere where he has to walk a lot. Not to mention that he'd just had his gym class earlier this morning.)

Even the walkway outside the exhibition hall was decorated. And when we stepped out of the lift, the fragrance of the flowers was the first thing that hit us. Not quite sure if Riley thought it was fragrance or pong. He covered his nose and said, "Smells like crab". (No, I don't think he meant 'crap' because that word isn't in his vocabulary - yet. So yup, nature smells like seafood to him. They're all the same. Incidentally, he doesn't quite like seafood either.

At the gift store. I'm the kind of visitor tourist attractions all like. I love going to gift stores and buying something that had the image or the name of the attraction emblazoned across it. ;p

Riley enjoying (some part of) the exhibition.

At the end of everything, I asked Riley if he enjoyed himself and if he'd like to go again. He said he enjoyed himself but won't want to go again because it's "too nice". Ha!

But I'm sure he wouldn't mind having dim sum lunch with Uncle A and family again. When the two daddies are big eaters, it means we get to order lots and try every other thing on the menu. Yum!

The Singapore Garden Festival returns in 2012 at the gardens that are currently under construction next to the Marina Barrage. I hope to visit that then - hopefully Singapore can have its own Chelsea Flower Show equivalent one day!

At the shops

2010-07-11T21:42:00.002+08:00

Mama is at home marking frantically, so Papa brought the boys to Daiso for a bit of shopping - and amused all the other shoppers there by making his 3-year-old push the 6-month-old around in the shopping trolley.

A Photo for Godma

2010-07-11T13:59:00.002+08:00

They're not really naked. Just topless.

Back at the Gym!

2010-07-10T22:00:00.004+08:00

Riley loudly declared a week ago that he wanted to return to the gym. So here we are again! Stompers class every Saturday morning!

And look who's here enjoying himself too!

Youth Day at the Zoo

2010-07-05T23:46:00.003+08:00

This marks the first time I brought the boys to the zoo on my own! Ok, maybe not entirely on my own - we went there with Auntie D and Aria and met up with Auntie B and Ian and Irvin at Rainforest Kidzworld inside the zoo.

Riley wanted to take a picture with the parrots. He actually wanted the red one but this one was 'on duty' when Riley got his turn.

Reece didn't enjoy himself too much. He was frowning most of the time. Probably too hot for the little boy. And when he's hot, little red patches appear all over his face and neck.

One for the album! I eventually had to chase Riley out of the stroller. It was really groaning under his weight!

And one more before we left.

We didn't see very much - just the probocis monkeys, the white tigers, otters, flamingos, kangaroos, baboons and the pygmy hippo before we hopped on the tram and did the entire zoo from the comfort of the tram. ;p Then it was playtime at the Rainforest Kidzworld. Riley really enjoyed himself there - running around the shallow pool, sometimes with Ian and Irvin, sometimes on his own. The mummies were lucky enough to get a table by the pool so we sat there for our KFC and Ben & Jerry while the boys exhausted themselves.

It wasn't just the boys who were exhausted, the mummies were equally exhausted. And this mummy still had to come home to shower the boys, put them in bed for their (late) afternoon nap, do the laundry and prepare dinner. (And pregnant Auntie B had to carry a sleeping Irvin home on the bus and MRT!)

But all that exhaustion was forgotten when Riley held my hand and said, "Mama, I had fun today."

<< Rewind

2010-06-28T09:45:00.008+08:00

(Warning: Very, very long post.)

Now that school has started and the boys and myself are all back in school, I have time to blog! ;p (Photos will come later!)

So what did we get up to the last four weeks?

It would have been great if we could have gone away on a holiday but this family doesn't let that stop us from having LOADS of fun!!

Week 1:
I spent most of that week back at work seeing students and preparing for the next term. On Friday, I took the boys to Kallang thinking that our tickets to the Wiggles Live Show was for that evening. As the taxi pulled into the car park, I started worrying because there weren't any cars there at all and it was 30 minutes before the show started. True enough, when I got the boys out and the taxi drove off, I took out the tickets and realised the show was for the NEXT day! Riley was a little disappointed but I made it up by taking him to Burger King for dinner. Then, we went on the Circle Line (for the first time! Ooh, and this boy LOVES trains!) and went to Dhoby Ghaut to catch the Transformer Live Performance at the atrium in Plaza Singapura.

There, Riley did something that made me beam with pride the whole evening. He was sitting with the other little children and after a while, he realised that little children who volunteered to go up on stage all walked away with a Transformer toy. So, when Optimus Prime and Bumblebee made their appearance and the hostess called for children to go up on stage to join in a game, he turned to me (I was standing right at the back, a distance away from him) and gestured that he wanted to go up. I tried to tell him that he needed to catch the attention of the hostess instead of telling me. I'm not quite sure what he heard (cos it was really noisy) but he decided he was going up on stage whether or not he was chosen. So he went up on his own! He was the littlest child there. It's strange how he sometimes seems like such a big boy to me but onstage, with all the other older children, he looked so small!

Onstage, he did the dance, took part in putting together a puzzle and then walked away with a Transformer toy. I could tell he was nervous because he kept biting his lower lip but it was something he wanted and he went and got it HIMSELF. *Beam*Beam*Beam*

Too bad Weng missed all this - he only made it there after the show. But we had a great time after that, going to to get a new phone for me, driving to Clementi for Weng to pick something up, and then heading home way past the boys' bedtime. And what was Reece doing all this while? Taking in everything in amazement and falling asleep during the long drive from Orchard to Clementi.

That weekend, there was the Wiggles Live Show on Saturday and on Sunday, we went to catch the Ben 10 performance at United Square. Riley enjoyed both very much. At the Wiggles Show, he even got to shake hands with one of the Wiggles! I didn't see that because Weng watched it with him. With these ticketed shows that tend to be very pricey, we sometimes will buy only 2 tickets - one for Riley and one for either Papa or Mama. And the parent who doesn't watch the show will get to loiter around Kallang Leisure Mall for an hour and a half.

Riley at the Wiggles Show - with his loot (a fit inducing flashing cup and a t-shirt):

Week 2:
There was a playdate with Auntie B and her two boys. We took the train from Punggol to Mountbatten and again, Riley was thrilled that he got to take a bus and two trains. The boys had a ball playing together and there was lots of laughter and they were all hot and sweaty by the time we decided to go out for lunch. Oh, and in between all that, our dear pregnant Auntie B made a batch of yummylicious cookies which the boys enjoyed very much hot off the oven. This was all followed by lunch at Tung Lok Classics at the Chinese Swimming Club (thanks, Auntie B!) and then more running around at the tennis court on the rooftop. Riley and Reece were pooped and that afternoon, they only woke up from their nap at 6:30pm!

On Friday, we had an unhappy start to the morning when I brought both boys to KK Hospital for Riley's appointment at the ENT Clinic. He's got compacted ear wax clogging up his ears. And while the left ear has been cleared, the right one is still pretty clogged up even after one previous appointment to clear his ear wax. I'd hoped this second session would be the last but even though he's gone through this once and I even passed Reece to this nurses so I could hold Riley and sit with him, he still struggled and screamed lots and even tried sliding out of my arms. In the end, the doctor had to stop because she ended up scratching the inside of Riley's ear. :( I got mad because this not only means we have to go again for a third session, it also means that if he continues like this, the doctor would have to send him to Day Surgery and put him under GA to clean out his ear.

This was before the appointment - breakfast was a happy one at Delifrance at KK.

Despite that, the very angry mummy still brought both boys to the cinema and we caught Shrek Forever After together. Then, there was lunch at Riley's favourite place Pastamania and then we took the train back together.

That Saturday, Reece got his first chop on his passport! We went to Tebrau City in JB for some shopping and lunch at Nando's. Weng laughed that while others are queuing at Bugis Junction to dine at Nando's in Singapore, we ended up queuing at the Causeway to go to Malaysia for lunch at Nando's!

The Chan family at Nando's:

Riley on the kiddy rides at Tebrau City - He's grown so much since we were last here:

Week 3:
This week, the boys and I went to visit Auntie T and Uncle N at home.

Riley always enjoys Uncle N - they play well together and he always gets a little toy from them. No surprise then that he was excited to visit! Can't wait for Auntie T's little baby to arrive soon so Riley and Reece have another little friend to play with.

On Thursday, we went with Auntie D and little Aria for a playdate at Go Go Bambini and then had a nice, long lunch at the restaurant inside Culina. Riley has come so far since his first visit to a play gym. I remember he needed me to go everywhere with him and wasn't sure at exploring the different parts of the play gym on his own.

On Saturday, there was a Parent-Teacher Meeting at the childcare centre (for Riley only. No Parent-Teacher Meeting for the babies in infantcare. :P ) And after that, there was lunch and a birthday party at Uncle S's new apartment. Riley got himself all wet playing at the pool with little Jeremiah whom he hasn't seen in almost a year but that sort of thing doesn't bother little children. They see other little children and start playing together almost immediately. How nice!

Week 4:
Last week of the school holidays! More trips for the boys and me!

On Monday, we visit the Singapore Art Museum with Auntie D and Aria. Children's Season is on this month at its premise at Queen Street. Before this, I didn't actually know that there are two buildings to the Singapore Art Museum. I'd anticipated a quiet, short visit but it turned out to be such a wonderful exhibition! There were so many things for the children to do and so many things that got them interested.

We eventually had to leave because it was past the children's usual lunchtime and we needed to get them fed and get them home in time for their afternoon nap. I was pleasantly surprised that we spent two and a half hours at the Museum! Lunch was wonderful dim sum at Wah Lok. So while the children indulged in play, mama got to indulge in nice food on these play dates!

Reece had his 6 month check up on Wednesday. He's 72.2cm (97th percentile) and 11.25kg (>97th percentile!). After his vaccinations, I brought him for lunch at Tung Lok (again!) with Grandma, Grandaunt and Great-grandma. Papa joined us as well. Only poor Riley was in school and didn't know what we got up to that afternoon. (And yes, I did feel very guilty...)

Thursday was a trip to the Library at Bishan and then shopping and lunch at Junction 8.

On Friday morning, we dropped Reece off at infantcare and then Riley and I went off for breakfast while Weng went to work. When we were done with breakfast, the rain had turned into a downpour but we had to make it to the dentist by 9.30am. I decided to go on a rainy adventure with Riley. In the downpour, we took two buses, braved the rain, saw a little flooding and how the waters splash out by the side of the bus when it drives through flooded areas and made it to the dentist with 5 minutes to spare. It's Riley's first visit to the dentist since he was a year and a half. I don't think he actually remembers his last visit to the dentist so I had to prep him for this. It really helped that this dentist is a mummy herself and she was very gentle and very very encouraging with Riley. She really knew how to put him at ease and got him to sit through the cleaning. She prescribed a tooth mousse for his brown front teeth and in the few days we've used it, it's really helped to remineralise the enamel that was lost previously due to tooth decay from his night time nursing when he was younger.

After the visit to the dentist, we went to pick Reece up and then it was off for shopping and lunch with Auntie J.

Over the weekend, there was a visit to HDB Gallery and going for the opening of Family Bay at Lower Seletar Reservoir where we saw the Prime Minister and watched a Vietnamese water puppet show.

All in, it was a very busy 4 weeks for mama and the boys. It wasn't just the trips we took together, I also saw Reece grow so much - his front teeth on the upper jaw are halfway out now and he's now rolling both ways and can move himself by pushing around on his arms, tummy and legs.

Smile time!

Play time with kor kor. Riley was trying to turn his brother into a birthday cake. This was all topped by a screaming rendition of 'Happy Birthday to Riley'!

I had so much fun being with them that I actually choked up this morning when I dropped them off at the childcare centre.

Hello!

2010-06-26T22:53:00.003+08:00

We haven't really been here for a while - the school holidays have been keeping us busy. Will update soon but in the meantime, here we are at the HDB Gallery this morning!

Hello! :)

Eat your vegetables!

2010-06-25T23:54:00.005+08:00

At breakfast this morning, Riley picked the cucumber and tomato slices out from his club sandwich and as he was doing that, he asked, "Vegetables are good for you right? They make you strong right?"

And I replied, "Yes, Riley."

So he pushed them all towards me and said, "So you eat them, Mama. You eat, you eat."

So in love

2010-06-12T22:51:00.003+08:00

For the past three years, Riley has fallen asleep every night with me by his side. Then, when Reece came along, Riley still had me in the same bed every night but there was always Reece in the middle.

Tonight, Reece fell asleep before Riley did so I decided to move over to the other side of the bed so I could lie next to Riley.

The boy rolled over very very close to me and held my face in his hands, and said, "I'm glad you're lying next to me." Then he smiled a big big smile.

I love that boy sooooooooo much...

Riley and Reece's first Malay wedding

2010-05-30T22:04:00.002+08:00

We attended our first nikah (solemnisation of a Muslim marriage) today. For Weng and I, our previous experiences were all limited to the wedding feast so we were looking forward to learning something new today.

Riley the happy boy - two goodie bags filled with sweets and snacks! And all this even before the wedding began.

The bride and groom and the kadi (the solemniser).

After the solemnisation ceremony, the groom sang the bride a song that he'd composed for her. Reece had been very restless during the ceremony and it was getting difficult keeping him quiet so we wouldn't disturb the ceremony but once the groom started singing, Reece kept absolutely quiet and was transfixed as he sang. I only wish the song was longer! :)

Here's wishing Auntie C and Uncle Y a loving marriage!

Reece can: sit in a high chair! He can also...

2010-05-30T21:58:00.001+08:00

This weekend, Reece sat on a high chair at a restaurant for the very first time! Yippie for mama! He can't sit very long and still prefers to be carried but at least it's an alternative for me - now I don't have to carry him all through the meal. :)

At Quentin's at the Eurasian Community Club - opposite our President's private residence.

His other first? Stretching out both arms for me as I walked past him! Now more reasons to make me feel guilty... Aargh. ;p

Smile On Sri Lanka

2010-05-22T14:01:00.002+08:00

Hello Kavinda!

After showing Riley the profiles of the children awaiting sponsorship under the Smile on Sri Lanka project, Riley agreed to sponsor 8-year-old Kavinda using his monthly savings. The condition was that Reece joined in too. So the two little boys are now Kavinda's sponsors and the money will go towards ensuring that Kavinda has weekly lessons to go to.

No more monthly savings trips to the bank for a while. Haha!

A Tale of Two Brothers

2010-05-21T22:30:00.001+08:00

Reece is 5 months old today and he's started learning to play with his kor kor. From sitting in his bouncer and laughing at his brother's antics, they now wrestle together in bed. Reece usually just moves his arms and legs about and grabs at anything on Riley's head or body. Riley will lie on top of Reece and attempt to squash him while Reece chuckles away like a happy little bird.

It's always nice watching the two of them together. Even looking at them sleep together can be something that keeps me busy for a while. I just lie there staring at the two of them in amazement.

A squash and a squeeze - Riley and Reece in the baby bathtub together. Keeps them both happy at the end of the day when they get a little cranky.

Having two children is very different from having one. And part of the difference is in watching them interacting. That's the fun part. Of course the not-so-fun part is when they both decide to fall ill at the same time, or when they decide to fall ill one after the other.

Reece can: Go in the exersaucer

2010-05-20T10:39:00.001+08:00

Yay! Something else to keep Reece occupied so I don't have to carry him all the time!

Bubble Baby

2010-05-18T20:21:00.000+08:00

What Riley can say

2010-05-15T08:48:00.005+08:00

At the hospital, we were asked more than once, by doctors investigating into Riley's fits, if he was developing properly speech-wise and how much he can say. I tell them I'm pretty sure he's hitting his milestones when it comes to speech. This is what he's told me this week:

#1

"Digging my nose is fun"

#2

Riley: So what does my name mean?
Mama: Riley means courage.
Riley: Huh?? But I'm scared all the time!

#3

Papa: Riley, behave yourself and be good because Papa is feeling very tired.
Riley: Papa, sleep earlier next time ok? So you won't be so tired and feel frustrated.

The next time a doctor asks, I'll print this out and show it to them. ;)

Reece can: SIT, EAT & FLIP!

2010-05-14T15:23:00.010+08:00

What a week it's been for Reece! Besides hanging out with kor kor at the hospital on Wednesday, on Tuesday, he showed us that he can sit! (For a while... and then he tips over! Haha!)

Reece and kor kor all ready to go to school!

And then on Thursday, he started on solids. As with Riley, his first taste of food is brown rice cereal. And he seemed to enjoy Riley feeding him more than having mama feed him. Hmph.

Thursday night, he showed Weng how he flipped from lying on his stomach to lying on his back. I'd found him on his back at the foot of the bed one night last week when I'd left him on his tummy at the head of the bed - but didn't see him actually flip. So this afternoon, after he happily showed me three flips in a row after waking up from his nap, I ran for the camera but only managed to get this:

We start on the tummy

then flip

and we are done!

These days, he's also trying to lift himself off the bed.

Oh! And he can hold his own water bottle!

What a week of growing up for our Pinnypins! (That name comes from Riley. He started calling Reece 'Pin Pin' - from his Chinese name Pin-Yan 品言, then it became Pinny and Pins. And now Pinnypins.)

No more, please!

2010-05-12T21:31:00.002+08:00

Since I returned to work 5 weeks ago, I've been to KK (the hospital) 4 times in as many weeks!

In my 2nd week, it was to bring Reece for his 4th month check-up and vaccinations.

In my 3rd week, it was to bring Riley to A&E post-febrile fit.

Last week (week 4), Reece was there to consult the doctor for his very bad diaper rash.

And this week, Weng and I were at KK A&E at 5.30am after Riley had two febrile fits in a row. Riley had to be admitted and with the shortage of rooms and beds, we were stuck in a 6-bedder ward for the entire day and were only discharged at 6pm at our own risk. (The doctor wanted to keep him overnight for more observation.)

Next Monday, we'll be there again for Riley's follow-up with the ENT specialist to look into the ear infection he had two weeks ago.

That will make it visit #5 since mid-April.

AARGH...

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T10:34:00.003+08:00

This year, I got two cards!

From Riley

And from Reece!

Figure #4

2010-05-02T10:41:00.001+08:00

After drawing his papa, Batman and the entire family this week, this is Riley's 4th figure drawing:

Little Giveaway

2010-04-30T22:24:00.005+08:00

One of my favourite mummy blogs is one written by a lady named June. I don't know her personally but she cracks me up with her very witty and at times self-deprecating writing. It's the only blog that gets me laughing out loud.

This year, June started running Raffle Wednesdays, giving away something mummy- or baby-related each month.

This month, she features Little, an online children's boutique started by two local moms.

Riley and Reece actually already have something from Little (thanks to Uncle Adrian!) but I certainly don't mind a chance to get something else from website.

These photos were taken in February, just before the Lunar New Year.

Family Portrait

2010-04-30T22:07:00.002+08:00

Up till yesterday, Riley was still just doing squiggles and doodles when drawing.

Suddenly this morning, he drew his first figure - his papa. Later, at home, he drew me Batman and I asked him to draw a picture of the family.

It's an anatomically correct picture - everyone has nipples, belly buttons, and the boys all have their private parts. Mama is upside down.

The Sick Week

2010-04-30T17:12:00.000+08:00

This week will be remembered as the sick week.

Weng fell ill on Monday after being infected by a coughing and sniffly Riley. On Monday too, Reece had a temperature of 37.2 and was sent home from infantcare. (We suspect that was because of his teething because the low grade fever lasted only one day.) Then, on Tuesday, we kept Riley away from childcare because he started feeling feverish.

On Wednesday, Riley seemed fine so we sent him to childcare in the morning. Halfway through the morning, his teacher rang to ask us to pick him up as he was running a temperature of 38 degrees. On the way to the paediatrician's office, Riley had a fit - the first in more than a year - so we headed to the hospital instead.

Thursday - Riley was still ill, Weng was slightly better and I fell ill.

Today, we're all a little unwell. The boys had a three-hour nap while I spent most of the day feeling light-headed and groggy.

Can't wait for sick week to be over.

Miracle pills

2010-04-26T21:31:00.005+08:00

These are the last two of the capsules filled with my (ovenbaked and ground-up) placenta.

And I truly feel sad that I won't be taking one of these every morning. Sob!

My placenta was picked up by In The Womb a few days after I gave birth (nothing much to do before that - just pack it in a ziploc bag and freeze it) and I started taking them on Day 9. My placenta yielded 122 capsules and the service cost about $200.

I take one capsule a day usually but when I feeling particularly tired, I take two. I truly believe that it's what kept me going the last four months. It boosted my stamina and helped with my production of breastmilk.

Now that I'm down to my last two, I'll have to start looking for alternatives. Time to hit the pharmacies.

Mama's Superhero

2010-04-26T21:27:00.001+08:00

Riley saw a trailer for the movie Ironman (or was it Ironman 2?) on tv last night and asked papa who Ironman was. Papa told him Ironman is a superhero.

This morning, immediately after he opened his eyes, Riley proclaimed loudly, "I am Ironman! I am going to iron you out! Papa, you want me to iron your shirt?"

Then he proceeded to pretend-iron the bedsheets on the bed. :)

How to calm a teething baby

2010-04-26T19:30:00.002+08:00

This video (and more videos of Lin Yu Chun singing) calmed my very irritable and weepy teething baby into complete silence. He laid there enjoying the music and the only time he protested was when his big brother attempted to sing along.

Reece can: BITE!

2010-04-24T21:45:00.003+08:00

4 months and 3 days old and Reece has two little front teeth coming on his lower jaw!!! No wonder he's been biting during his feeds and it's been v-e-r-y painful!

I like

2010-04-21T22:28:00.001+08:00

Taken the day before I returned to work

4 months old

2010-04-21T22:02:00.006+08:00

Dear Reece,

You're four months old today!

And what a month you've had! Starting infantcare must have been difficult for you. At the beginning, you came home sounding like you've been screaming all day. And now, on the days when we pick you up in the evening, you're so tired that you fall asleep soon after we get home. Just this week, your bedtimes on Monday and Tuesday were 5pm and 6pm respectively! So all I got to see of you on those days was during the car rides to and from infantcare. Mama missed you so much those two days...

But otherwise, it's been yet another month of growing! You now grab everything we pass to you and put it in your month. You love waking up and seeing your kor kor - in your eyes, he can do no wrong. You're smiling and cooing at him all the time and he seems to be quite good at making you laugh too.

You're also developing an interest in food and would want to look at what we're eating (instead of just looking at us eating). Can't wait till we start feeding you in a couple of months!

You love company and between looking at your cousins play or the tv, you'd rather stare at your cousins and brother. At home, when we sit on the couch to watch tv, you'd complain loudly until we carry you up and squash you in between us so you're also sitting there, watching tv, and munching happily and loudly on your thumb.

And how you've come to love your thumb!!! And sometimes your index finger too! You suck on it when you're bored, when you're tired, when you're upset, when you're falling asleep. Your thumb seems to have become your best friend. (Is it alright if mama introduced a new best friend to you? How about a pacifier?)

Mama will remember the day you turned 4 months as a very happy day:

We picked you up from infantcare after my lessons so you could go for your 4 month assessment and vaccinations at the hospital. And you were SO happy in the car! You were smiling and smiling and smiling and it really did seem like you knew it was a short day at infantcare for you. You smiled all the way from Simei to KK Hospital and you were still smiling even as the nurse at the clinic took your weight and length.

So - weight: 10.36kg, height: 67cm. Off the charts again!!!

You aced everything during assessment and your auntie Nat commented that you're the first 4-month-old she's seen who can not only grasp objects but can bring the object to your other hand and your month. In her words, you're "developmentally advanced... developmentally gorgeous".

And do you know how relieved mama is to hear that? All our worries of possible developmental problems when you were in hospital for jaundice can now finally be forgotten! I'm so proud of you! *beam*

In the treatment room, you took your oral vaccine for rotavirus like it was honey and then got the shock of your life when two nurses, one of each side, plunged a needle into your thighs to administer your 5-in-1 and prevenar vaccines. There was a bit of crying but you stopped when mama hugged you. I'm so glad you didn't need to nurse for comfort because you weren't allowed to take any milk for half an hour before and after your oral vaccine.

And because you got your injections today, mama will keep you at home tomorrow - just in case. I'm sure you'll like that. It means you don't have to go to infantcare! :)

Happy 4 months, my baby darling!

First school trip

2010-04-16T22:41:00.000+08:00

Dear Riley,

It's a special day today because you went on your first ever school trip - without mama or papa with you!

It was a trip to the zoo and it was something you obviously enjoyed.

Papa and mama surprised you by turning up at the entrance to the zoo to surprise you as you got off the bus with the rest of your classmates from N1 and N2. You waved to us and came to us excitedly but when we told you to go back to 李老师, you did and stood there waiting for the teachers to organise the tickets. And when we said bye and told you to enjoy yourself, you happily waved and shouted bye bye to mama and papa, smiling as we walked away.

Later in the evening, when we picked you up, you told mama how tired your legs were because you walked so much. But it was also a trip you thoroughly enjoyed. When I put you to bed, you told me about the different animals you saw and shared with me various bits of information about each animal. You also told me about the tram, the lunch you had at KFC and the carrots and grass you fed the sheep.

As you talked, you hung yourself off our bed and told me you were a fruit bat. It seemed like a tongue twister to you and you said it so seriously a few times till you got it right.

I'm so proud of you, my little darling! You're growing up so quickly!

I can share

2010-04-15T21:31:00.001+08:00

Have you seen the video of the 3-year-old Chinese girl who's part of an acrobatic act walking the tightrope across the tiger enclosure at a zoo in Jiangsu?

Of course it horrified Weng and myself. We showed Riley the picture and the video and explained to him what was going on.

That was last night.

This morning, on the way to childcare, Riley brought that up and said he could walk on a rope too. So we explained again that the girl had been trained from young and that it really wasn't quite the thing a 3-year-old should do. Also, we warned him that he should not be attempting any such stunt because he could risk losing his life.

Riley looked very serious, nodding away as he listened and then he said, "And didi can have my toys when I die."

We told him didi can share his toys anytime and didn't have to wait for him to die. And then we both couldn't help but to giggle.

First day back at work

2010-04-12T21:20:00.000+08:00

... and full of sh*? - literally.

Weng had just driven into the car park when Reece did a HUGE poop and it leaked out of his diaper all over the lap of my light grey pants. For about half a second, I sat there in complete shock and then jumped into action. We'd never dropped the boys off that quickly before!

Then it was off to my mother's flat, which is just a street away from the childcare centre. Thank goodness I'd planned to arrive at work about 20 minutes before my first lesson so instead of spending that time getting ready at my desk, I was first in the bathroom washing the poop off my pants, and then blowdrying it with a tiny travel hairdryer.

The poop came off but of course the pants remained fairly damp but I really didn't have time to waste so it was off to work! In wet pants!

Thankfully, after two periods standing under the fan in an air-con room, the pants completely dried!

The good thing about this poopy episode was that it blew away all my anxiety about going back to work cos all my attention was turned to the pants! :p

Thanks, Reece! ;)

Transformers

2010-04-10T21:16:00.003+08:00

Screaming, wailing and with REAL tears rolling down his face, my 3-year-old managed to squeeze out enough words to tell me that he couldn't put on his briefs and shorts.

I, of course, sternly asked him why (since it's been months since he started dressing himself on his own).

He lifted up his hands and sobbed, "I have no hands. Transformer boys have no hands."

Note to papa: Never tell your son to pretend he's a Transformer. He obviously takes it too seriously.

Aaaaahhh...

2010-04-07T16:09:00.001+08:00

Finally, a truly 'me' day after giving birth to Reece!

With Reece at the infantcare centre in the mornings this week, I'm finally getting some time to do something on my own. On my to-do list today - a pedicure and a looonng visit to the hair stylist for a wash that comes with a head, shoulder, back and upper arm massage, scalp treatment and cut. So different from the quickie $10 cuts I've been getting the past few months!

Next on my list - wandering about aimlessly at Parkway Parade tomorrow morning!

Then, it's back to work next week. :(

First Day At Infantcare!

2010-04-05T22:27:00.003+08:00

It's Reece's first day at the infantcare centre today. We dropped him off at 8am and picked him up at about half past twelve.

In the four and a half hours he was there, he had two feeds, pooped once, had his bath, slept on and off, and probably cried lots (we guessed this cos he sounded hoarse when we got him back in the afternoon).

But his teachers seem charmed enough by our little boy who can't stop smiling whenever they carry him.

The first day seems to have gone quite well although Reece probably didn't sleep much cos he came home and had a 4 hour nap from 1pm to 5pm!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T23:09:00.003+08:00

Riley's haul from his first ever Easter egg hunt!

It was supposed to be an outdoor hunt at the Botanic Gardens followed by a picnic and a concert by the Singapore Symphonic Orchestra.

But it's been raining all day and even though the skies did dry up later in the afternoon, the grass would have been too soggy to picnic on.

So, a quick change of plans and we ended up at L's parents' house for the egg hunt and dinner.

It was an indoor hunt. As L announced to the children at the start of the hunt: "Look where there is air-con", it was clear no one was going to venture out of the house. Riley had spotted one chocolate egg before the hunt and immediately headed for that one. Papa had to help him with the rest. ;p

Riley's still hacking away with his horrible cough so he only got to eat one of his chocolates and after dinner, we were the first to leave because the boy was clearly heading for a meltdown with the non-stop coughing and inadequate sleep (also a result of incessant coughing).

Thankfully we got home before our son or the chocolates melted. ;p And Riley now has a lovely memory of his first-ever Easter egg hunt!

Stay at home Saturday

2010-04-03T21:08:00.005+08:00

With no plans and because Riley is still nursing a fever and cough, we stayed home all day today. So what were we up to?

Weng tried to take a passport photo for Reece but we didn't get any good shots. Still, it gave us some photos of Reece is a romper that Godpa gave Riley 3 years ago. We don't have many rompers that we kept but generally, Reece is now wearing rompers that Riley wore when he was 6 months old!

Then we made our way downstairs to the mobile library. It comes on the first and third Saturday each month and is parked just four blocks from where we live. It's a neat, clean and very pretty little bus, with about 3000 books inside.

Papa and the boys reading together

After that, while we were watching tv, Reece surprised us all by lifting himself off his chest to watch tv too! Our little baby is growing up! (And he's almost botak!)

Sleeping Beauties

2010-04-02T23:32:00.001+08:00

Don't they look alike?

Kiddy Math

2010-04-01T20:58:00.000+08:00

Disney on Ice + Resorts World + Universal Studio + How To Train Your Dragon = Too much excitement

Too much excitement = FEVER... sigh :(

Today's number is...

2010-03-24T15:13:00.001+08:00

3!

My husband is 33 years old, my elder son is 3 years old and my younger son is 3 months old!

Resorts World Singapore - Day 2

2010-03-24T14:58:00.006+08:00

We woke up late this morning at almost 8am - late by our standards considering the entire family is usually up before 7am. After breakfast in the room (I brought bread and spreads from home), we made our way to Hard Rock Hotel to use their pool. (The pool at Festive Hotel is still under construction.)

Beautiful morning! Great sunshine :)

While Weng and Riley went swimming...

Mama entertained herself doing silly things... and checking out the Hard Rock gift shop!

Rare shot - Riley's footprints in the sand (on the left. The ones on the right are Weng's. Not that huge a difference in size considering one is 3 and one is 33... ;p Anyway, our boy HATES sand. He cries when he goes near a sand pit and he almost went into panic mode when he found out he had to walk on the sand to get to the pool.

Ah, this he liked! Water playground!

Can you spot the daddy and little boy in the jacuzzi?

The pool at Hard Rock is very big - there's a lap pool, a wading pool, a beach pool, a slide and a pool, a pool around all these pools, pools along and next to the cabanas - it was pools galore!

Too bad for us the wonderful sunshine started hurting so we headed back to our rooms, showered and checked out in time to buy lunch home and get Riley in bed for his nap at 1.30pm.

Did we enjoy our staycation? Of course we did! We plan to visit Universal Studio again next year when the Transformer Ride is up. Hopefully Reece will be able to take a few rides by then!

Resorts World Singapore - Day 1

2010-03-24T13:46:00.009+08:00

We've been eagerly waiting for Universal Studio to open so that we could bring Riley there for a visit. Everytime the Studio appears in the newspapers, Riley would be poring over the map or pictures published, studying every single detail, asking questions and generally getting very excited about the fact that we'd soon have our very own theme park in Singapore.

So when we found out that it would open in March 18, we went online to book our tickets. Not on opening day and certainly not over the weekend, but on a weekday after the March school break. And given that I still have three weeks left to my maternity leave, we thought we'd make it more exciting for Riley by throwing in a night's stay at Festive Hotel as well!

We left home early - at 8.15am and the original plan was to hit the theme park when it opens at 9am, then do lunch and check-in at the hotel and return to the theme park after the boys have their afternoon nap.

But it started pouring while we were on the highway so Weng decided that we should try to check in first.

We got to Sentosa at about 9.10am and drove straight to Resort World. However, the signage was rather confusing and we were then directed by the ushers to leave car park B1 East and drive to car park B1 West instead.

Now, B1 East gave a grace period of ten minutes but B1 West did not. So when we finally got to B1 West after going round in B1 East for half an hour and then going back out on the island to get to the other car park, we really expected to be able to access the hotel.

However, when we took the escalator up from B1 West, we found ourselves at the Convention Centre with, again, no access to the hotel. There was another couple there who had the same experience and who were also trying to find a way to the hotel. The staff at the Convention Centre were friendly but each gave a different answer as to how we ought to make our way to Festive Hotel.

It turned out that many parts of the resort were still under construction so the underground car park that would otherwise lead us straight up to Festive Hotel was inaccessible. The fastest way was to park at B1 West and walk along the road from Convention Centre to Festive Hotel. However, it was pouring and we had luggage, stroller and children to move from one point to the other. So you could guess it was all very frustrating.

By the time we finally figured out what was going on and made our way to the reception counter, it was 10.30am! We had spent almost an hour and a half just figuring out how to get to the hotel!

The reception staff were great in allowing us to check in earlier and gave us an upgrade from a Deluxe King to a Deluxe Family King. Once we got into the room, unloaded everything and dried the boys (who were a little wet from walking in a light rain to the hotel), the frustration of not being able to find our way wore off and we got all excited again about going to the theme park.

Finally in our room!

The Deluxe Family King comes with a kid's loft bed and a fold-out sofa bed - lots of space!

Riley checking out the loft bed with a lollipop that he got in his kid's welcome pack

Let's go!

From Festive Hotel, we walked through the shopping area, past the entrances to Hotel Michael and Crockford Tower and made our way to Universal Studio.

A sculpture by Salvadore Dali outside the casino

In Riley's words, "Two naked billies"

Finally! Outside Universal Studio!

As it was still the soft opening period, Weng and I each got a $5 retail voucher and $10 meal voucher. Riley and Reece both got in for free because they were both under 4.

The park itself isn't very big at all but it was chockful of rides, eating places and gift shops so there was lots to see and do. While Weng and Riley went on the rides, I waited outside the rides, walked around, went into the gift shops and talked with other visitors so it wasn't boring at all.

The one ride that Mama and Reece got on and the one that Riley got on twice - the Madagascar carousel

The mini coaster at Far Far Away

Ferris Wheel inside Fairy Godmother's Potion Shop

(Oh, I'm probably getting all the names of the rides wrong - they've got quite fun names but I'm too lazy to dig out the park map and get the correct names. Sorry!)

Riley was quite tired from waking up so early and all that excitement so he got quite tired very soon after we arrived at the park. After about an hour, we decided to break for lunch and used our meal coupons at Goldilocks Cafe - very nice fried chicken and mashed potato! :) Riley got his second wind there (air-con always works!) and after lunch, we continued on to the Donkey live show. Then it was off the Jurassic Park before we headed back to the hotel at about 2pm for Riley to take his nap.

The Donkey Live Show where Weng and Riley both got called up (separately) to be part of the show.

Dino ride at Jurassic Park

Outside the Battlestar Galactica shop

When we got back, Riley wanted something for tea so we got some yummy strawberry shortcake and summer fruits cheesecake from the cafe at the lobby. And a macaroon too, for the hungry boy. Then it was nap time till 4.30pm.

Grandma Tan joined us at the hotel for a visit and a look-see around the resort. She then stayed in the room to rest while we hit the park again just before 5pm. Weng and Riley had enough time to go on the Madagascar carousel again before trying the Rapids Ride at Jurassic Park (where they both got completely drenched! Thank goodness I had a change of clothes for Riley) and then going for the Shrek 4D show. I spent more 'quality' time with Reece hanging out outside the rides and in the gift shops.

The one photo that Riley really wanted to take. With Kungfu Panda!

So shy with a pretty girl!

One last photo before heading back

Thankfully Riley is tall enough to take most of the rides. 107cm is generally the height restriction (Riley j-u-s-t made it) and even then, there must be an adult accompanying the child if the child is under 122cm.

Finally, the last stop was the Universal Studio shop near the entrance that stayed open past the closing hour. When we exited, there were two lines of Universal Studio staff who would cheer and clap each time visitors walked past. (Maybe they were just so happy we were leaving so they can then go home! ;p )

The staff at the resort and theme park were all very friendly, outgoing and helpful and my experience there was very very unlike the experience I get shopping or visiting other retail areas on the main island of Singapore. If only service was like that all the time!

What else did I like about the park? That nothing was too expensive - lunch at a nice family place was $28.80 for two adult meals and one kid's meal (we used our coupons so paid only $8.80!). Riley's (small) toys were all below $10 and t-shirts were $23.90. So if you don't go too crazy at the gift shops, it's all very affordable!

Finally, to finish off Day 1, we went back to our room for everyone to shower before walking to Hard Rock Hotel for a buffet dinner. Then it was home for Grandma Tan while we went back to our room for tv and a good night's rest.

Outside Festive Hotel, after dinner

Good night!

3 months old

2010-03-21T22:51:00.003+08:00

My dearest darling Reece,

You're 3 months old today! I looked at you sleeping this afternoon and thought about how these past three months have been fraught with frustration and anxiety - from the severe jaundice to the many tests we've had at the hospital, from the high red blood cell count at birth to the problems we're having with the insurance company.

But through it all, it's always been so lovely to just look at you and hold you in our arms. You are such a sweet and easy baby, always smiling and gurgling and fitting so nicely into this crazy, noisy family.

This month, you'll be starting infantcare and I know you're not going to be too happy at being left on your own but I also know you're going to get through it and you know we'll always rush to pick you up as soon as we're done with work.

Happy 3 months, little Reece! We love you so very very much!

Photos by Riley

Disney On Ice

2010-03-19T23:34:00.002+08:00

Riley knew we'd gotten tickets to Disney on Ice but he didn't know when we were going. (Erm, and he really can't tell Monday from Sunday so it all doesn't make a difference to him at all.)

Anyway, we were late leaving the house so there was no time for dinner. Thank goodness Riley is a little boy who loves his snacks so we made do with popcorn, fish balls and potato crisps during the show.

Riley happy as a lark because he got his snacks and a Incredibles toy sword from the concession stand. Weng commented that the discount we got on our tickets all went to paying for the toy and snacks!

Reece was a little frightened by the loud music at the beginning so I latched him on and he fell asleep. During the intermission, he woke up and was quite transfixed by the show. The Brazilian lady sitting next to me was quite amused and kept turning around to look at Reece.

After the show, it was still raining so we headed home and picked up dinner/supper from the McDonald's drive-thru in Sengkang. Love that drive-thru! Riley was a happy little camper - he didn't go to bed till 10.30pm!

Less hair, more chin

2010-03-14T15:50:00.003+08:00

Almost three months and Reece is starting to lose his hair. While the hair is falling off, the double chin is fast growing. ;p

Back to work!

2010-03-12T22:23:00.000+08:00

No, it hasn't been 16 weeks but there's this compulsory course I need to complete by the end of the year and I'm not too keen at attending the public one on my own at the end of the year so I'm back at work two days this week and one more day in two weeks' time.

Weng and Grandma Chan looked after Reece yesterday while I was on course and today, it was Grandma Tan's turn. Thankfully, Reece was pretty kind to his grandmothers, sleeping in the mornings and afternoons with only one feed in the middle of the morning. I'd go to him during my lunch break to feed him (and relieve my poor breasts) and then after the course, I'd rush back to a baby just waking up and on the verge of hunger. I think it helps too that he doesn't quite mind the Tommee Tippie milk bottles that claim to combine breast- and bottle-feeding.

And did Riley miss me? Well, he had his speech and drama class at the childcare centre on Thursday afternoon and today, even though he had to take his nap at the centre, it was followed by a shopping trip to Parkway Parade where he got to buy more trains at the Isetan private sale. And dinner was at Pastamania - which is never a bad choice because he really enjoys the food they serve there.

Now to do this one more time in two weeks' time. And then to return to work for good two weeks after that. Aargh!

Swimming!

2010-03-06T15:11:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since we brought Riley to the pool and I've had to get him new swimming trunks and a float because he's outgrown his old Gap ones and the Thomas float sprung a leak the last time we used it.

Here he is with all his swimming barang barang - including his back float that's strapped across his chest. He insisted on carrying everything. Talk about mismatched!

Wearing his arm bands and the back float means he's the only child in the pool with that many flotation devices strapped on him. But also means he feels more confident and can make his own way around the 1-metre deep learning pool.

Now to convince him to take swimming lessons.