Sneak preview of our photoshoot

What a pleasant surprise it was that one of the photos we had taken at our photoshoot just a week back appeared in the backdrop that StudioPlay used at the recent Baby Fair at Expo! We havent even viewed the photos we took and one of them appeared here!! Since Friday, a few of daddy's friends started to message him saying they saw our photo. That got mommy so excited!

Looking at this photo, mommy is really waiting in anticipation for the full set of photos to be ready!! All three of us looks very happy here!! Especially little Wayne who was smiling so widely!!

Mommy so wanted to take a family photo beside this backdrop.. but daddy said it was embarassing... ergh.......... should have just insisted!!! Hopefully the rest of the photos turns out nice too!! Yipppee!!!! Cant wait!

Wayne likes 'fei ma'!!! Haha!

My little charmer doing his best impersonation of "fei ma"!!!

Haha, mommy has been addicted to the 9pm Ch 8 drama and little Wayne has been watching together with mommy & daddy!! His favourite part of the show is when "fei ma" appears before and after the show starts and puts her finger to her lips!! Wayne would follow her each time she does that and laugh to himself!!!

Family photo shoot!

What was planned for an one hour shoot lasted THREE hours!!! Thanks to uncooperative Wayne who according to Uncle & Aunty photographer was quite "extreme". Hahah!

Wayne took quite a while to warm up to Uncle & Aunty photographer (not surprising) clinging onto mommy like a leech for the first half hour. After bringing out toys and props, Wayne warmed up a little.. but not good enough.. well, Wayne was never the kind of boy who would pose and smile for the camera.. so I guess mommy should have expected this.. While Wayne played, laugh and ran around in the studio, even allowing Uncle and Aunty photographer to carry him and have fun, getting him to pose and smile for the camera was a challenge. We had to run after him, trick him with food and make all kinds of monkey faces just to get him to go to the props!

Didn't help that he did not have his nap beforehand and mommy didn't bring enough food along to keep him happy! And when we arrived, mommy was shocked that we were expected to bring about 6 sets of clothes for Wayne.. we had only brought 2 sets. So Uncle Jack asked if we minded that as Wayne would be in the same set of clothes in many photos. Mommy was a little upset but on hindsight, mommy thinks it wouldn't have made much of a difference as Wayne wouldn't have allowed that many changes of clothes without making a big fuss anyway.

As it was, Uncle and Aunty photographer struggled to capture beautiful shots of Wayne as little Wayne would run away from the props and ignore all instructions. While it was hard to get Wayne to pose for the camera, mommy thinks Wayne had loads of fun playing with all the toys and with Uncle and Aunty photographer running around the whole studio. Wayne loved the balls, slide, the car and the bubbles!!! Haha, and when the Old Mcdonald Had a Farm song was played, Wayne went 'quacking" round the studio so happily, much to the laughter of all of us.

Mommy must really commend Uncle and Aunty photographer for their patience and professionalism.. they were really good in playing with Wayne ad making him laugh! And while mommy & daddy almost gave up, they never did!!!! And although the shoot was supposed to last 1 hour, they didnt even mind that it had lasted 3 hours!! Uncle Jack said its oki as long as we managed to capture more nice photos of Wayne! Thanks so much Uncle and Aunty photographer!!!

Mommy cant wait to view the photos!!! Mommy is keeping my fingers crossed there would be at least a few favourites!!! I think there should be a few nice shots of Wayne but for the family photos... I think mommy can stop hoping!!! We took the family shots last and by that time Wayne just refused to take anymore photos, insisting on playing on the slide which Uncle had brought out for him to take some photos earlier on! We so lack nice family photos!!! Ergh!! Upset!!! Nevermind, this gives a reason for our next shoot!!!!! All family photos this time!! Hahah!!!!! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait to view the photos!!!!

Cutting Prince Wayne's hair

Wayne was really funny. The past 2 days, daddy has been prepping Wayne for his haircut by saying "Wayne, tomorrow we will be going to cut your hair, shall we bring Prince Wayne (his teddy) along?" and Wayne would nod his head. Perhaps he thought Prince Wayne was going for a hair cut and not him.

So after we got home that evening after Wayne had his hair cut, Wayne immediately went into his room and took his scissors out, ran into mommy's room to get Prince Wayne and started to cut his hair.

"Cut cut cut" Wayne would keep repeating, while snipping at Prince Wayne's hair. He loved it so much he kept cutting while laughing away!!

Gone are Wayne's long long hair!

2nd attempt at cutting Wayne's hair yesterday - SUCCESSFUL. Yay!!

The first time we went to Little Red Dot, recommended by Aunty Shimin, Wayne made such a fuss that mommy & daddy gave up. Only to regret moments later. Once Wayne saw other kor-kor's getting their hair cut, he immediately shook his head, pointed to the entrance of the salon & leaned his body so far towards the entrance mommy almost dropped him from my arms. When it was time for him to sit in front of the mirror, he screamed his lungs out.. And as it was a busy Sunday evening, mommy & daddy decided to spare all the other customers in the shop from Wayne's screams. And so we left.

We tried to bribe him into cutting his hair using his favourite McD french fries as the carrot. No use.

Mommy : Wayne do you want to eat french fries? Cut your hair and mommy will bring you to McDonalds, oki??

Wayne : *Shakes head vigorously*

When we went to McDonald's after that (mommy & daddy were hungry), Wayne saw the fries and wanted to take one. Daddy said "No, Wayne. You didnt cut your hair so you cant eat french fries." And Wayne's reaction? *Paused for 3 seconds* then *Nods head*. And went on playing with his balloon. Oooh.... Wayne is such a man of his words!!!!! Good boy!!!! Or maybe he was just really terrified of cutting his hair.

But his hair needed to be trimmed still, right??!!! *headache* Mommy contemplated picking up the scissors at home & just do it myself, but with our photo shoot coming up in just a week, mommy decided against that idea. It would have been a BAD BAD idea.

So 2 days later, we were back at the salon again. This time, a Tuesday afternoon, less crowded so okay, we forced him down and let him scream his lungs out for the entire time it took to get his hair cut! Wasn't too painful an experience.

And YAY, a handsome boy he is now!!!! (after that horrid haircut he had at overpriced junior league - never going back there!)

Scrunched up face..

Looking so pitiful

Hundred kisses from mommy not enough to stop Wayne from crying =p

Cheeks red from all the struggling and crying.. cuuuuute

looking so adorable still.. mommy's little boy!

Finally its over!!! Wayne and daddy in their matching polo t's

Wayne still looking upset by the traumatising experience

French fries for you darling! =D

Mommy & daddy are so pleased with this new hair style of Wayne. He looks so clean cut & boyish. Nice!!!!

No more mistaking Wayne for a girl!!

Baby Cousin Gabriel Kenji On!!!!

Wow, baby has such a long name and we haven’t even added in his Chinese name!! Hehe, oki some background, Baby Gabriel is Wayne’s first little cousin and he is going to be born in Japan so that explains the ‘Kenji’ in his name!!! (hey, what does Kenji mean in Japanese?) And Baby Gabriel belongs to Da-yi and Uncle Terry! Congratulations!!

The whole family is really excited over this new addition to the family! Including little Wayne! Ask him “Where is Baby Gabriel?” and he’d point to da-yi’s tummy! And when da-yi is not around and mommy asks him that question, he’d lift up his shirt and point to his own tummy!! Haha!

The only boo-boo is that da-yi will be moving to Japan this Thursday, so that means we won’t get to see da-yi in her fattest stage *hahahha* AND we wont get to see Baby Gabriel when he is born!! Will probably only get to see him at the end of the year when hopefully mommy, daddy & Wayne visits them in Japan! Only grandma will get to see him, as grandma will go over to Japan for one whole month to help da-yi with her confinement! Wayne, do you want to tag along with grandma? “Grandma, da-yi, CAN you bring me along??? I can help to wipe Baby Gabriel’s backside when he poo-poo!”

So as we won’t be around when Baby Gabriel is out, mommy has specially prepared a gift set for Baby Gabriel!!! Filled with much love from all of us. =D

We can’t wait to see you little Gabriel. Counting down!!!!! 3 and a half more months to go!!!!

Hugs from Er-yi, Uncle HK and Cousin Wayne.

High tea at Goodwood Park Hotel

It sure felt good to take a day's leave off work in the middle of the week to just relax.. and live the tai-tai lifestyle!! Which is what we did, having high-tea with mommy's family in the afternoon at Goodwood Park Hotel. It was our farewell meal with Da-yi, Uncle Terry & Baby Gabriel.... we will miss you three alot!!!!

Took some pretty nice photos of Wayne running & laughing at the hotel!!

We really like Mindchamps!!!

We are another step closer to finding that perfect pre-school for Wayne.

Mommy & daddy took leave today to visit pre-schools. We were ambitious. Mommy had planned to visit 4 schools today.. but that would have meant almost the whole day - 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. It was tiring and so we decided on 2 in the end. Haha. Lazy mommy! And we chose the 2 that were nearest to home, and nearest to each other.

We visited Learning Vision and Mindchamps.

First stop was at Learning Vision. We didnt like it. The school was really big and clean and they had some pretty cool multi media facilities but we didnt like the environment inside the school. It had an open concept.. very few rooms, and each group of children were divided by just some low cabinets. It felt a little like a market place, really noisy and crowded. Because there were no rooms, when one child cries, the other kids from other groups could hear. How could this be conducive for learning? Anyway after observing the class which Wayne would join in if we enrolled him here, mommy & daddy kinda ruled this place out. It was quite a mess, the teachers didnt seem to be able to handle the group of children well.. although the teacher was in the midst of teaching them Chinese, the teacher was unable to command the attention of the children at all. The kids were distracted by other things and the whole place just felt really disorganised.

Next stop was to Mindchamps, our 2nd visit there. The last time we visited Mindchamps, it was on a Saturday so we didnt manage to observe any classes. So this time, we made a trip there again to have a look at the teachers, students and classes. And we were happy! Mommy & daddy are quite sold to this place already. It was a total different experience from that at Learning Vision.

The classes were conducted in a very orderly manner. The place was very clean and organised. The children in the playgroup class (Wayne's age group) were well engaged in the activities the teacher was conducting. The room for the playgroup class was quite big (compared to a tiny cluttered corner at Learning Vision) and looked nice and cosy. The manager there, Mr Kayne, spoke well, took time to explain the schedule and curriculum to us. The children there seemed to like Mr Kayne very much as well. Unlike at Learning Vision and quite a few other pre-schools, the afternoon sessions at Mindchamps were not spent just sleeping and what they call "free play" where the children basically are left on their own to do their own thing, which felt alot like child care, not something we were looking for. At Mindchamps, they have some English & Chinese activities scheduled as well.

But what struck us most was the children there. The children looked very happy. They were well behaved, spoke well, interacted well with each other and seemed very well mannered. And most importantly, they seemed very happy. Although it was school, the children appeared to actually enjoy being there. Which is very important, cos the reason we are sending Wayne to pre-school is for him to have fun with friends his age!

Wayne's behaviour while we were at Mindchamps further gave mommy & daddy assurance that this could be the right pre-school for Wayne. One where he could hopefully adapt more easily. Both times we brought Wayne here, he seemed to feel at home and would run around himself, playing with the toys. He didn't cling on to mommy like he would normally do in a foreign place. At Learning Vision, mommy had to carry him all the while there. So, we were really glad Wayne seemed to feel at ease at Mindchamps. Of course, mommy knows that the first month will be very tough for Wayne having to adapt and be apart from the people he is so used to being with. But in the long run, mommy is sure Wayne would love coming to school!

The entrance to the classrooms

Daddy at the entrance, checking out the parent's bulletin board
Wayne peering in, wondering whats going inside?

The gym room where Wayne enjoyed running around on the padded floor

Running to and fro.. entertaining himself as mommy & daddy spoke to Mr Kayne

We still plan to visit other preschools just to be sure.. but mommy is very keen on Mindchamps already. We also haven't decided when to start Wayne in school but perhaps July would be a good time. We'll see.

Mommy's really glad, at least we know there's this preschool we really like for Wayne.

Wayne is big brother to Baby Megan!!

This Monday afternoon, mommy took half day off work to catch up with mommy's good friend, Aunty Yuwen & spend some time with little Baby Megan who is just 3 months old. Little Wayne went along with mommy too, of course!

Although Wayne doesnt meet Aunty Yuwen very often, Wayne immediately warmed up to Aunty Yuwen and Baby Megan, surprising mommy as Wayne usually would cling on to mommy when there are strangers around. But today.. after just ten minutes, Wayne started walking around Aunty Yuwen's house by himself playing with some toys that Aunty Yuwen brought out for him.

And Wayne loved the view from Aunty Yuwen's living room... cos he could see the MRTs going pass every few minutes. Each time there was a train going by, Wayne would wave his hands and shout "Bye!!!"..

Wayne by the window where he waved to the trains

Wayne built a train using blocks..

Through this meet up, mommy also realised how much Wayne liked playing big brother, which mommy hopes is a sign that Wayne would love having a little baby brother or sister. *Fingers crossed*.

Wayne helping Aunty Yuwen feed Baby Megan her milk.. each time Baby Megan stopped drinking, Wayne would tap the bottom of the bottle just as how Aunty Yuwen taught him to. And when baby Megan refused to drink, Wayne would insist baby continue drinking, shoving the bottle into her mouth repeatedly until mommy had to stop him! Cute!

And when Baby Megan finished her milk, Wayne saw the box of tissue on the table and quickly proceeded to take a piece of tissue and gave Aunty Yuwen the look "Does baby need a tissue?" & was so happy when Aunty Yuwen nodded. So he quickly took a tissue..

.. and attempted to wipe her mouth with the tissue but ended up covering he whole face with the tissue!! Haha... Wayne please dont give Aunty Yuwen a heart attack..

Finally getting it right ... wiping baby Megan's mouth. Mommy had to keep telling Wayne "Be gentle Wayne, gentle gentle..", mommy was so worried rough little Wayne would end up hurting small fragile baby Megan with one of his kung fu moves or something! haha. You know how rough boys can get!!!

See how sweet and 'girl' baby Megan is!!! Her smile is so gentle and even her screams sound so meek in comparison with Wayne's. Oh, you know something? Mommy was the one who named Baby Megan!!!! And Aunty Yuwen was so funny, she actually bought mommy a gift for naming her baby! A pair of earrings from Swarovski. =)

After a while, it was time for Baby Megan to sleep and Wayne was so happy when Aunty Yuwen asked him to push baby to the window and rock her to sleep. Hehe, Wayne ended up rocking her so hard that mommy thinks it got her even more wide awake instead of being sleepy.

Wayne seemed so happy to take care of her, he just stood by her looking at her and rocking the pram.

Wayne stroked baby's toes..

Touched baby's lips..

And patted her to sleep...

Wayne looked so sweet, taking care of mei-mei.. hmm mommy has a feeling when Wayne will be a good big brother next time to his little brother or sister. =)

It was such a fruitful time.. mommy could catch up with a good friend and at the same time bond with little Wayne. Mommy was really happy today.

Chef in the making

It was the last weekend before Da-yi and Uncle Terry were to leave for Japan. Just another 4 days more before we have to say bye bye! Mommy has always been planning to cook for the family.. and so we did just that this Sunday! Making sure da-yi and Uncle Terry had a chance to experience mommy's superb cooking skills before leaving.. haha!

What was on the menu? Crayfish Laksa!!! A local dish that I'm sure Da-yi and Uncle Terry would miss when in Japan.

Mommy was really excited about this lunch cos its the first time mommy is cooking a meal for the family! And the very first time mommy is cooking a meal for more than 3 people (ie, daddy, mommy & Wayne!). You see, mommy isnt very talented in cooking and most of the time, mommy is just adopting the 'trial and error' way of cooking, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing.

But this laksa dish... its quite fool proof.. cos its actually using the Prima premix. Hehe. But STILL, it needs some skill too OKAY............... Many things could go wrong still if the skill isnt there. Eg. the noodles could be too soft.. the soup too watery.. and many more. Haha. Bottom line = mommy can cook!!!!!!

Getting the ingredients ready.. noodle and the paste

Forgot a picture of the crayfish.. but here's the prawns, egg and fishcake

The laksa noodles

And ta-da.... yummy crayfish laksa! And thats not all, mommy even prepared an appetiser! 2 kinds : asparagus wrapped with bacon & cherry tomatoes wrapped with bacon

And the verdict? YUMMY!!!! Haha.

And look who was behind all the above yummy food??

Master Chef Wayne!

Equipped with not just a sieve but also a yummy chicken drumstick in his hand!
Wayne seeing mommy wearing the apron also wanted to be part of the fun, and insisted on wearing mommy's red polka dotted apron too!

After this lunch, mommy is already thinking what else I can prepare for the family for our next meal!!