Happy weekend

Finally a breather from work before it all starts again in a week's time!

It has just been 2 weeks since our return from Seoul but as the hubby puts it "It feels like we have never left". Ever since stepping back to familiar grounds, we've been so consumed by our daily routine of looking after the kids, washing dishes, bottles, clothes and what not; not to mention payback time at work for being away for close to a week, leaving the both of us exhausted to say the least.

Nonetheless we are much thankful to our family for the much needed and much desired escape to Seoul paradise. The husband and I had such a wondrous time exploring the streets of Seoul, admiring the Koreans indisputable perfect skin, and of course.. the shopping. Which was truly therapeutic.

As all working parents would understand, weekends are simply divine. Time spent with the kids are really treasured and on this early Saturday morning, despite the kids and myself down with the flu, I'm really thankful the weekend is here. In all its simplicity and routineness, I'm looking forward to everything we have planned!

Happy weekend all!

Clay Cove - Part II

How proud we felt, it was Wayne's first time attending a class sans momma and daddy. 

To our surprise, Wayne was happy to be left with his clay class teacher in this second lesson of his. Shortly upon arriving, he asked mommy "to stand by the glass door for 5 minutes to watch him, leave and come back later".  No hesitation at all on his part and zero fuss. It made mommy's heart swell with pride. Isn't life made all that more wonderful with all these small nuggets of happy moments watching your children grow up?

Actually, it also got me thinking whether all the times we try to force the kids to do something - if that was necessary? If we had brought Wayne earlier to attend these independent classes, he would have probably screamed his head off. Obviously, he was not ready emotionally. But now that he was ready, it just happened. So maybe, its all about allowing kids to take on things at their own pace? Just like being toilet trained.. some train their kids at a really young age, like at one. Is that necessary? What is the benefit of that (money saved on diapers?)? You'd just end up with lots of accidental peeing on the bed, in my opinion.

Anyway, back to Clay class, this time round, Wayne got to color the plate that he made in the first lesson and that concluded his first clay piece. As with the first lesson, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and was all smiles. He obtained a Young Potter certificate at the end of the lesson and ta-dah below is his masterpiece. 

Amanda-licious @ 9 months

Quayside Isle

For the last two weekends, we have been to Quayside Isle thrice. Yes, we love it that much! It's a very chillax place, the view is pretty and it's perfect for Wayne to run around and for the rest of us to stroll. Given a busy work week, it's a perfect place to chill in one of the many cafes and restaurants here on a weekend.  

We brought our families here as well, both for brunch as well as dinner. Personally I prefer the place in the evenings. There should be more of such places in Singapore! Most of the cafes here are open-aired, so that you can take in the great view - if you don't like the heat, remember to come dressed lightly. Its a really laid back kind of place - with the countless yachts berthed right in front of you, it sets you in the mood for a holiday.

21 April

 

27 April

28 April

The kids at photo shoot

Smile baby, smile!!!!!

Unfortunately, our attempts at making Amanda smile during her photo-shoot today wasn't that successful. Haha. Our little Miss Pouty Amanda just refused. And when she refuses, no one can force her - mommy inclusive! I was actually quite optimistic that it would be a really successful shoot today, as Amanda is always so smiley these days. I even brought Hello Kitty and grandma along as back-up "make-Amanda-smile" props. Hehe. But but but.. I guess in a new environment, no amount of props could work. Daddy was wise to manage my expectations before the shoot, he knows me only too well. On the bright side, at least Amanda wasn't crying half the time, like how she was during her previous shoot at 3 months old!!! (Grandma, if you thought today's shoot was stressful, you should have been there at her previous!). So I am actually quite happy with her performance today. And while there probably won't be smiley faces of Amanda, hopefully there will be some ultra cute non-smiling-serious-looking photos of her!!

While the focus of the shoot was more on Amanda, Wayne also had his share of photos taken. Amanda had a total of three concepts while Wayne had one. I love the props used in his photos. And it was a breeze getting Wayne to smile!  I guess its much easier to shoot older kids. The kids also took some sibling shots and we also had some family photos in between. I have no idea how the family shots went, as I couldn't see the expression on the kids, hopefully there would be some nice ones. 

I must say that these photographers are really patient.. two and a half hours we were there, and we were exhausted! We were trying so hard to get Amanda to smile - singing, waving toys etc, and there was also Wayne to manage, and all the changing of outfits, carrying Amanda into various positions and poses... *sweat*........ it was both fun (ok, only to me) and tiring!!! 

The next shoot mommy plans will probably be outdoors as then Amanda would be older and perhaps even walking. It is less stressful as we don't really need to pose, we can just play and have fun and let the photographer do all the work.  Neither would we be confined to a certain space. The photos are also usually more natural looking and the outdoors with the blue skies and greeneries are so perfect as a backdrop. Hopefully we can do some family ones as well!

Meanwhile, can't wait to see how this round of photos turn out!