Saying a little prayer

Our little nephew Gabe will be going for a heart operation today and I just want to say a little prayer for him.

Dear God, please keep our precious Gabe safe, please let the operation go smoothly and successfully, and lastly please bring strength to my dearest sister Mich and Terry for having to go through such tough and heart aching moments. We love them all dearly.

Missing, thinking and keeping you three in my prayers.

Wayne growing up that bit more

Out of the blue, Wayne told me this morning while we were getting ready to leave home, that he wanted to walk into his classroom by himself and that I could say bye to him at the entrance (which is where the kids remove their shoes and have their temperatures taken).

We used to try that in the past but he would never allow us to leave. All of a sudden, he just decided he was a big enough boy to do that. I told him I was really proud of him and he insisted I call daddy immediately to let him know.

And with a hug and a kiss, my little boy said bye to me and made his way into his classroom himself.

Another reminder that my little boy is no longer that little.

On a side note, we registered Amanda for playgroup at Mindchamps, so if all goes as planned, she'll be in PG starting Feb 2014.

First movie experience!

After months since mommy and daddy's last movie date (can't even remember when that was!), the first movie we caught was Thomas's blue mountain mystery.

It was Wayne's first to a cinema and we were kinda taking a chance with it as we we were not sure if he would be afraid since the cinema would be pitch dark and the sound quite loud. I'm glad we took the chance as it turned out he loved it. Of course I'm sure had it been any other movie, the outcome would have been very different.

Being his first experience, he did need quite a few reminders to talk softly. Each time the songs came on, Wayne clapped his hands and gave quite a performance singing along to the tunes of Blue mountain mystery, oblivious that the whole cinema could probably hear him. He was really into it and we couldn't bear to burst his bubble so we didn't bother to quieten him when he sang. I'm sure the rest of the parents would understand.. and he wasn't really THAT loud. :)

Amanda of course had to skip this outing and was placed at Grandma's, which is good from time to time as we could really give Wayne our undivided attention and truth is that I really do miss these moments with my little boy very much. He was however really naughty and we did have to reprimand him a couple of times while outside, with him uttering "I'm really very upset with the two of you" when we scolded him. We didn't know whether to laugh or to scold him further. Sigh. Disciplining is really no easy feat.

Its all about points!

A few months back, after cracking our brains on how to motivate Wayne to behave well (he was getting harder and harder to control!), we decided to adopt the points system of rewarding with him and I must say it has been really effective! We award him points when he does something good and take away points when he misbehaves and when he accumulates a hundred points, he gets to choose a toy. And Wayne being super motivated by toys, its no wonder this system works for him.

Instead of having to repeat "Stop it, Wayne!!!!"countlessly and have our blood pressure soar each time we scream at him (not to mention having our image go down the drain when we are outdoors with all that screaming),  these days a simple "Wayne, if you continue doing that, I will minus your points" usually does the works. Easy peasy, not always fail proof but 8 out of 10 times, it usually works. 

Over the weeks, what I realized with this system is that it actually encourages him to display desirable behaviors more so than as a way to prevent him from misbehaving. With the enticement of more points for him, we have gotten him to go swimming (big achievement!), attend his clay class by himself (big achievement!), agree to take up piano classes (yay!) and the latest feat.. getting his haircut sitting by himself (hooray!). 

You see, in the past, this little boy of 4 years still insisted on sitting on my lap each time he had his hair cut.. so that I could 'protect' him. No big deal, I know, but that meant that I could never bring him for a haircut when it was just me, him and mei-mei out. And yeah, this little boy could do with a bit more guts. 

So at 4 years, finally, it was a haircut experience with him smiling and singing away. Finally...... !

And so.. spoilt as he is by yiyi, after this haircut, he immediately got to choose a present from Toys R Us. He has been looking forward to getting this all week ! 

Thanks yiyi!!

Amanda-licious @ 10 months

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