Ed

Schools & Sports for my 5 year old

2010-07-22T15:13:00.003+08:00

His growth as of Age 5:

Height: 120 cm
Weight: 31 Kg

Well, his size attributes to genes and the various sports he is involved almost everyday. He is one of the little giants in his class...

This adventurous boy has mastered Rollerblade at age 4...and now that he has turned 5, he can cycle on a bicycle (2-wheels), balance on the waveboard, and even swim!
I was pleased to see his achievements, just a month before he turned 5. :)

Aside from sports, he is also in various enrichment classes, which he called them his 'Mental Challenges'.
He's with 'Shichida Method' for the past 1.5 years, started when he was 3 1/2 years old. We waited for 6 months before we manage to enroll him into the class. For a start, the class are rather costly at $70 per lesson, but fees were lowered recently, after 1.5 yrs of studies...

For Chinese, he is with 'Berries' school for a year and for the little one who doesn't speak Mandarin, he can now read a chinese book with little supervision. Now, his mandarin is much better than his English...

Other classes are: Julia Gabriel Speech & Drama since he was 18 months, computer class in his preschool since Jan 2010, Confucius Teaching since he was 3.5 years old, Phonics since Jan 2010 and lastly, his favourite class: Mental Arithmetic.

Class which he took up for 6 months but dropped: Art Class.
Surprisingly, he simply hate colouring and drawing. I wonder why...I thought an art class would be a joy to attend, but ended giving him more anxiety.

What other lessons will he be enrolling next? Well, likely...Music.

Memories from Year 2008

2010-02-24T14:27:00.003+08:00

It's been more than a year since my last update??
Well, the previous year was a splendid year. I had completed my golf lessons and attended a huge series of baking and cake icing classes.

Next, we have moved out from our 1st nest on 16th Dec 08...moved all our barangs to a storage house & shifted temporary to my folks' house...for a good 6 months due to a major full renovation. That was a good chance to give the entire place a good screening, ended up disposing half of the items in the house! We had been getting too much, especially clothes & shoes, which we had to give away more than half of our collections to the Salvation Army.

Recalling those moments, the shifting didn't impact our little Ed in the beginning, till the night when we officially shifted over at my parents' place. He started to realise the car bypassed our old home & noticed that we were heading to another carpark, he said with a teary face, that he missed the old house and wanted to go back to the old nest. We brought him back to the empty house the next day and he was so upset about it. No more bed, he said. He will definitely miss his neighbour Kenneth Kor-Kor, who was his usual playmate.

Goodbye to our very first home...

Julia Gabriel - Last day in Term 4

2008-11-19T18:01:00.016+08:00

JG Part 1 - 15th Nov:
It's the last day of the term & there will be a mini party in JG. As usual, we were 10 mins late for the class... :P

Here's some photos taken during the lesson and party. Well, he will continue the speech & drama lessons in Term 1 Yr 2009!! Teacher Zita and Shoba commented that this quick-witted kiddo is very advanced in speech as well as motor skills. Though he is only with JG for a term, he is very much ahead his peers. However, they suggested Ed should continue Term 1 with the parents' accompanied program for the fact that he newly started the term with JG & with the upcoming long holiday break might create a surprise separation anxiety when he's back next Term.

JG Part 2 - 8th Nov:

After his usual lesson, we brought him down to join the JG carnival. He enjoys the head-band making, dough play session & drama plays. Not forgetting the sweet goodies of popcorns & candy floss!

Right after the carnival, we brought him to E!hub @ Downtown East. Enjoyed the ride on the mini Ferris Wheel.

The day wasn't over for the little one. Our journey continues to the beach.

That's it for the day!

The next JG lesson for Term 1 in Year 2009: 10 Jan

My 1st birthday gift - From Ed

2008-11-19T16:01:00.030+08:00

This gonna be one of the most memorable birthday year...

Celebrations came one after another...crazy moments...happy moments...bonding sessions...best of all, surprises!!

Started days before the actual one...when 2 buddies gave me a treat at the coffee club. Ed came along as his school was off for K2 rehearsal on that day...

It's always nice to have surprises from friends since we are all married and we got lesser time to party as compared to singlehood.

Oh, all of us were too engrossed with our main meal and I was occupied helping 'E' with her newborn Ethan, that I only captured the dessert pic.

...got a surprise sms late thurs night from 2 clients-turned-friends, who asked me out on the next day for a dinner. Initially, I thought it just some casual gathering. (on the other hand, I find it fishy...as we never gather for dinner before.) It turned out that to be a birthday dinner treat...A wide spread of Japanese buffet at Hanabi Japanese Restaurant. They made effort to finish their office work fast, asked their hubby to 'settle' out their own Friday night, picked me up to have dinner. That was such a sweet gesture and sigh...it was a pity that I did not bring my camera along on the amount of food we ate!

Hubby came over to pick me right after our dinner...which we spent 3.5 hours in there, eating, drinking and lots of crazy chatting. Surprises continued minutes after I got up the car, Ed couldn't resist the urge of opening the compartment and presented me his very 1st gift and said: 'Mummy, this is for you. Your birthday present.' It was nicely wrapped...with a kiddo-wrapper and when I asked what was inside, he just beamed at me 'You open lah!', refusing to tell me what was inside...guess he loves surprises too.

When I opened...I saw this. *Touched*

Doesn't this 'Breadou' looks like the bun sold in 'breadtalk'? In fact, it looks and smells like one! Ed thought so, and kept asking me to eat it! Keke...in fact, it was a squeezable stress relievers cum comfy wrist supports. It makes me hungry upon looking at it.

Few days ago, our conversation goes...

Ed: 'Mummy, I want to buy a birthday present for you.'

Me: 'What do you want to buy?'

Ed: 'I want to buy make-cake present.'

Me: 'Really? You know Mummy loves to bake cakes huh? Oh, Mummy...melts...'

Ed: 'You are not ice-cream. You will not melt lah...'

That certainly melts my heart...at least my kid noticed I enjoy baking...and wanted to give me something that relates to baking.

Con't...

Me: 'But do you have money?'

Ed: 'You put money on my hand then I buy lor.' (He raised his palm and say 'Give me money!')

Recently, he is getting very creative with words...
Hubby: Daddy treasure Edus.
Ed reply: You are not a pirate, so I am NOT your treasure.

Ha! Cheeky little one.

From what I know from hubby, they spent an hour in a shopping mall to get gifts...while waiting for my call when I finish my buffet dinner with my friends. Aren't they sweet??

Right after I opened up Ed's gift, I was presented a birthday card that reads...

'Because you're such a Great Mom, I was going to do a drum solo for you on your birthday! But on an occasion THIS special, you deserve a full-fledged PARADE!'

The surprises aren't ending yet...next, hubby took out another gift...that was from him. He thought I should have a casual watch...he chose something that is truly slim in White & Gold. Love it!

The birthday journey carries on...Hubby took a day off on my actual birthday and wanted to plan for some celebration in Genting together my parents...but it was such a rush...so I suggested Melaka on Sunday instead.

On Sat, we meet up friends to have dinner at Spageddies.

On Sunday, we went off to Malacca for great shopping of DVDs and food that is even better than KL! We even had both lunch and dinner at the all-famous restaurant in Melaka!! All meals were on my parents! ;) Thanks, folks!

Only managed to capture some photos taken in Melaka...before my camera went on riot. Arrrggghhh...no pics on the yummy-delicious dishes from the restuarant & the fun we had in Melaka. Remembering just 2 years back when we brought Ed to Melaka, we were there for 3 days-2 nights. This time was kinda short, though. I bet it must be tiring for hubby to drive 6 hours to and fro...as I didn't take over the wheels. I'm not used to driving at the speed of 140km/hr in Malaysia roads. Yet, I didn't want to stay overnight. Coz the next day is just for the 2 of us.

Some pics from Melaka...our tea-break:

On actual day...we left Ed with my mum and off we went to VivoCity. We didn't want to plan much for the day...we also skipped going the spa for massages as both of us constantly went for full-body massages during weekdays afternoons...

Walked around Vivo and popped in to any restaurant that we never tried before....this time it's Shin kushiya Japanese Restaurant. They serves lovely charcoal-grilled 'Kushiyaki'...

Right after lunch, we popped into the cinema to check out which was the next movie on screen, without any waste of time waiting. *keke*

We chose - 007 'Quantum of Solace', an exciting movie for an exciting day!

Next stop....hubby told me he wanna get me the 2nd gift....a new mobile. My current Sony T650i handset is about 1 year old and is working very well with the 3.2 megapixel camera. Saw the newly launched C905...which is packed with an advanced 8.1 megapixel cybershot camera with Xenon Flash, plus GPS, Wi-Fi, Photo-Fix, Video/Photo blogging etc, plus the extras which I don't use at all. What captivated me was the camera lens & flash. Got that in silver. Here's my technology toy...

and the previous glass-screen mobile which hubby bought last year... :)

After that, we went on for the 3rd gift...never-ending buffet. Hubby reserved a table for 2 at 'The Line' in Shangri-La Hotel. The buffet spread was awesome...impressed with the wide varieties of unique Indian food and the freshness of salads, oysters and sashimi...however, I wasn't impressed with the cooked food (rather saltish) and desserts. Maybe I baked often...based on my own judgement on a hotel standard, their dessert chefs failed my expectations. Overall looks is OK, taste is lousy.

Left 'The Line' with a full stomach at 8pm...to pick up 3 free tickets to watch 'Madagascar:Escape 2 Africa' from my buddy. It will be on 20 Nov...combo with hotdog, nachos, popcorn and drinks!

Lastly, hubby also upgraded my chosen built-in oven, hobs and hood for the new house...his initial budget of less than $1,600 in all...has upgraded to over $4,500 of kitchen 'toys'. Are those counted as my birthday gifts as well...since I got that promise on my birthday month?? (Hubby should get my hint when he reads this blog.) keke...*Feeling Blissful*

*Thank you everyone for all the gifts and treats!* :)

Con't - Kinderland Zoo Trip

2008-10-30T17:09:00.003+08:00

His first trip with school...with his usual pose.

1st school excursion - ZOO

2008-10-03T10:56:00.003+08:00

He's going to the Zoo today with Kinderland. It's an optional excursion (I wonder those who are not joining...will they still need to attend school?)

Well, I chose to let him participate as this marks his virgin trip to go on an outing without any parent accompanying...
When he was 2 yr old, he went to the Botanical Gardens with Learning Horizon...but all parent had to tag along with the school.

He was so excited that he woke up earlier than usual (before the alarm clock went off!)...get dressed up, sling on his bag and start pestering me to leave the house for his school bus! He was waving so happily to me, when he got up the school bus.

My 3 year old is growing up...independently! :)

My cutie emperor

2008-09-29T17:00:00.004+08:00

Just a sneak preview of the trip in China...take a look at my supreme ruler of NG empire!

He is very co-operative when the guys in our tour group (total 20 in this tour) took turns to snap a picture of him. He kept his mega smile for everyone to complete their shots. Well, just as the Korea trip, he captures everyone's heart with his hyper-active & bubbly character.

His First official class photo

2008-09-29T16:41:00.002+08:00

His school asked if we want to order a set of photos, so I thought it would be nice to get a copy. I can't recall the price....$16??

Besides this, the set came with 2 other copies of individual photos.

School: Something he enjoys...

2008-09-29T11:09:00.004+08:00

Drama Classes! We have put him back to Julia Gabriel after he stopped attending for about a year. After being with Lorna Whiston, I felt the lessons are a far cry from what was taught in Julia Gabriel. Therefore, we shifted him over to JG this term. What prompted me to shift him back was he could still remember the songs/lyrics with actions taught in JG about a year ago...this shows how well the school impacts to little kiddos within a short period of time.

He loves the school so much that he would pester me to take him to classes whenever we passes by Forum (yes, he could still remember where the school was and which is Forum building along the stretch of Orchard road!)

For this term, he missed a weekend class in JG and 8 weekdays of school in Kinderland, due to the long holiday trip to Jiangnan, China in Mid Sept.

Hepatitis A Jabs

2008-09-29T10:05:00.001+08:00

He's almost done with the optional jabs...Stopped for a long time after the Chicken-pox jab & the 2 Pneumococcal jabs...now it's time for Hep A. The jab that I dragged for a long time, coz I felt there's too many jabs before he turns 3.

Since we have been travelling so extensively this year, I thought we shouldn't dragged on the Hep A for too long...

Did he cry this time round? No...he just shouted out an angry "HEY" when the needle was inserted. Ha! Everyone was laughing at his reaction.
His 2nd Hep A jab will be on Feb 2009...

Kinderland - Parent Meeting Session

2008-08-26T13:27:00.003+08:00

Another term has ended. Hubby joined me for this session & we met up with the new English teacher, Mrs Ho. I kinda like this enthusiastic English teacher...and here are the comments from the 2 language teachers...

Extremely Alert...teachers are impressed with his learning pace & the speedy ability to grasp things.

Good appetite...however, dislike 'Chee Cheong Fun' (maybe I ate too much during pregnancy. That was my daily 'must-have delicacy' during my preggie period)

Socialise very well - very sweet & caring towards friends.

Dramatic - Shown skills in role playing. Mimicked very well with endless imaginations.

Willing to obey only if it's supported with convincing reasonings else harsh tone will only turns him to be more rebellious.

Able to understand & speak Mandarin. (which is rather surprising to me. I thought his mandarin isn't as good as his Teochew dialets??)

Busy August

2008-08-22T23:26:00.005+08:00

This month is an expensive one, I would say. Committed on a few big ticket items such as bags and property.

For a start, I got myself some extravagant bags. Here's 4 more bags adding to my collections - 2 from Louis Vuitton & 2 from Longchamp.

Louis Vuitton - Eva Clutch...with 2-in-1 shoulder/sling use. Great bargain!

Louis Vuitton - Particularly love this Monogram Vernis range with its elegant white glossy finish. Rather unique among the others. Chose this Roxbury Drive.

Voila...
Longchamp - Semi-casual for work kinda bag...just nice for A4 docs and my lappie.

Lastly, another Longchamp - I never once purchase any branded bags in RED. So I thought this time, why not have a change? Pinky are too girly for my age, anyway.

Other than the hefty purchases of bags, we have committed on a property.

We ended up giving deposit for 2 units. Ironically, the first one we paid for was the stack of units which I've aimed for the last 15 donkey years...yah...it's truly that long since my secondary school days...however, it failed on the fengshui aspects after we consulted a master. Initially, I thought...seems like helping others to sell a house is much easier than helping myself getting an unit. It took me months of intensive viewings to commit for an unit as there's totally no supply in the area I'm looking for. At last! My prayers were heard & there's one unit which popped out just in time with the right direction we are looking for to suit our family's 'Ba-zi'. Hope this house will bring us another good start, just like our current place.

Something to ponder...The whole buy & sell era seems to be all dramatic, freaky and unbelievably fated.

Coincidentally, the buyer who bought our place also gave us a deposit and back out the purchase. So...somehow we 'got back' the deposit we lost on the 1st unit we placed. Right on the very first day when we re-market our unit, the first buyer who viewed our unit placed a deposit on the spot and the price offered to us was even higher than the ALREADY sky-high price we closed the last round. Yippee!! What a sweet blessing! Not only the deal was incredibly fast one, the price was scrumptious! Another amazing truth was, both buyers who bought my unit were staying in the SAME block currently! Isn't that awesome?

In addition, with the fact that the rare unit that popped up for our purchase at a much much lower price than the 1st one we offered. Wow...couldn't believe the power of Buddhism prayers...who else to credit for? Everything seems to be spiritually well-planned. Simply miraculous!

New Savings Plan for little one

2008-08-22T10:36:00.003+08:00

We thought it will be nice to have a new long-term savings plan since the last one we picked up for him was about 2 years ago...This time is a much bigger sum that will satisfy his education cost or part of a more comfy retirement.

Planning to pick up another big plan...in 6 months' time.

What are families for?

2008-08-20T13:34:00.002+08:00

The conversation we had this morning...

I was soundly asleep & Ed pulled my pillow...
I grumbled: 'Why did you pull my pillow? Yours is the smaller one. This is mine.'
Ed: 'But we must share.'
Me: 'Why need to share when you already have your own pillow?'
Ed paused & said: 'Like that...we are not family already. Family must share one.'

Upon hearing, both hubby & I jumped out of bed. And of course, without hesitation, I told him: 'Yeah, you are right. We must share. You can have me pillow' *Bang wall*

*Sigh, in a couple of years, I bet he could counter any restrictions I gave him.*

Gender Education

2008-08-20T12:46:00.003+08:00

Ever since he opened his golden mouth, he often surprises us with his incredible questions & answers...
Here's one that is rather embarrassing...

This toilet incident occured about 2 months before he turned 3 and that will be the last time he enters to a cubicle with me. While I was settling my 'business', he started this kiddy talk loudly enough to send giggles across the entire crowded restroom. And this is one really good entertainment for those waiting in the long queue outside the cubicle, though.

Ed: 'Mummy, you ngh-ngh or shee-shee?'
Me: 'Shee-shee'
Ed: 'Why you shee-shee like that one? That is ngh-ngh, you know?'
Me (astonished): 'I'm girl, mah.'
Ed: 'Wrong already le! Shee-Shee is stand one. Shee-shee not sit one.'
Me: 'I'm a girl, mah!' (By then, I already hear strings of laughter from outside.)

The worst came...
Ed: 'Then why you don't have ku-ku one?'
Me: 'I'm a girl! Arrrghhhh...Shhhhh....speak softly!'

Extremely loudly, Ed said: 'Orhhhh!! Girl don't have ku-ku one! Then Daddy have??!'

I quickly dashed out of the toilet with him. Naturally, pairs of eyes were looking at us & everyone were suppressing their laughter. Some even commented to me: 'He's very cute'

*Yah right....all I know was he often embarrassed me in public. I can't be angry with him since he is just 2 yrs plus of age?? *
Sometimes I wonder, he is such a late speaker, why of all sudden he can response with his reasoning in just a few months? IF he had improved in his speech gradually, maybe I will not feel so startled every now and then. It's barely less than a year before he is willing to speak...we still could not adjust to it.
At times, my mum went speechless by his very logical reasoning while he is at her home, as well.

Recent conversations...

2008-08-13T09:49:00.004+08:00

His unexpected but natural statements brought us many laughters recently . Few days back, he looked at me & said : 'Mummy, you go to work, then I stay home clean house for you. When you come home, I surprise you! I happy you, mah...'

Me: 'You mean you want to make mummy happy?'
Ed: 'YES! ...Because, I love Mummy'

*We were amazed by the advance qualities in him. Sounds very matured for a 3 yr old. Simply flattering. Wah...listen also shiok huh! *

2) When he is younger...he addressed himself as 'Dr Ng' (No one teaches him that, though), recently, he told me: 'When I'm grow up, I don't want to become a doctor, I want to be an astronaut. I want to go to space! I don't like aeroplane, I like rockets!'

After we satisfied his passion for dinosaurs, it's time to dig into some knowledge on solar system....jupiter, pluto...Urghh...such a dry topic. Why does he likes something which I'm not interested in? I've to force myself to learn for him.

3) While he was browsing a book last night, I disturbed & tickled his back. He turned his head abruptly, saying: 'Hey, no manners, huh? Look, I am reading a book, you know?!'
*Slapped forehead* (That is what I often said to him. Now it's all coming back to me)

Our next trip - China

2008-07-23T09:51:00.006+08:00

It's gonna be our 5th trip this year! This time, we will be travelling to China, my 1st step into the bustling shopping city (apart from ShenZhen, is that consider as stepping into China before?) :P
China was never a country that crossed my mind which I wanna visit. However, as the country progressed so rapidly and it's a shame that as a Chinese, I've never been to China. It's sounds so absurb. Some of my professional clients found it unbelieveable when I told them I've never been to Shanghai! They almost drop-dead laughing.

For this trip, we will be covering Shanghai, Nanjing, WuXi, Suzhou & HangZhou, for a total of 9 days!
Travel Period: 15th Sept to 23rd Sept. (Just the right time to capture the mooncake festival feel in China, with its best month in the whole year for travelling to China, Autumn...with cool breeze. Temperature between 16 and 25 degree)

Well, once again, it will be a family trip as we will be sponsoring parents'-in-law for this trip. At this age, they should enjoy their retirement lifestyle & see beyond Singapore as they seldom travel overseas. In total, 5 tickets to purchase this round. Little Ed will join us, for sure! :) He is looking forward to this trip when I showed him pictures and described the country to him. Let him savor the rich culture of China from this 'excursion' trip.

One important thing to blog of my dear one - Hubby: My effort in taking countless days to brainwash him, encourage him and convince him to open his golden mouth to invite parents-in-law to join us for this 9-days trip. As a super low-profile individual, this task seems harsh for him as this is not his usual way of expressing love for parents. However, I'm determined to make this as his first training session & I insisted not to represent him. Well, there's always the 1st time! (haha) I don't see why it's so hard to do so as I'm the opposite. Since young, I'm the sort of child who will frequently sponsor parents to trips, buy them dinners or movie tickets for their enjoyment. In long run, this has already cultivated the strong bonding & in return, old parents will definitely sense & appreciate the love from the child. As it goes along the years, these actions will travel to the eyes of Ed & without the need to emphasise further in words, he has verified thru'out his growing phrase, the importance of filial piety.
With my countless nudging and tugging, hubby took 2 trips home (1st day still unable to open his golden mouth to ask, and I forced him to return back the very next day to ask again) before he finally invite them along. Yeah, I did it! ;)
At that moment, I beamed with pride and a sudden thought reflect to me: 'Wasn't that easy?'
Upon hearing it, his parents were delighted! Anyway, which parents will be upset on hearing their son's willingness to bring them out for a long trip?
Guys really have problem showing their love for their own parents. Haiz...That makes me ponder...Will Ed be the same as his Daddy when he grows up? Let's hope not!

Next in line, let's see if I can shove him to get movie tickets for his parents. Hahaaaa...that will be a huge milestone for him.

Updates on my 3 yr old...

2008-07-08T19:54:00.008+08:00

Just a few weeks before he turned 3, the chance of wetting his diaper at night...reduced by 80%. No doubt some nights he will still pee, as his milk consumption so high. We did not choose to train him to wake up to pee during the night, fearing he might ask for regular night feedings again and we prefer him to have peaceful undisturbed sleep. However, he surprised us lately when we noticed he managed to control his bladder till he wakes up for school (ard 7.20am). Just as a precaution, we still puts him on diapers at night, in case any 'accident' happens.

Of his habits, he sleeps at 11.30pm usually and can drag on as late at 12.30am during weekends.

He drinks on 16oz to 23oz of milk before he sleeps, that is a whopping 690ml!! I wonder how his tummy could hold this large amount of liquid. We tried controlling him but to no avail. He will complain he is hungry and keeps requesting bottle after bottle, though he was given a good dinner. Normally, it's 2 full bottles...at times, he is asking for the 3rd bottle and could finish every single drop of it. Well, good thing is...at least he is telling the truth by finishing it and not wasting the costly Enfa.

For meals, he doesn't have a big appetite. He needs constant pestering and running around before his meals can be complete. His max = An adult-sized bowl of rice with a bowl of soup. He prefers pasta, prata and potatoes (all the P's) & for liquid -> SOUP. He volunteers to finish off a big bowl of soup fast but not for rice.

His tooth...He went for a second opinion with a Pediatric Dentist @ The kids Dentist in Camden Medical Centre, after we went to NDC. As a typical government service, the solution given were to either extract it off and be toothless till he turns 7 to 8 (that is a long 5 yrs wait) or to do a root canal and crowning and risked failing, ending with GA twice for extraction. Either solution, he will be on GA and the cost, about $1500 for NDC. Extraction is our last resort as we wouldn't want to see him feeling upset or reduce his confident level to smile or talk to his classmates since there will be a missing front tooth for 5 yrs. We were glad to know one of the top dentist, specialising in kids dentistry, Dr Rashid, who told us the problem can be solved without GA. Whew...what a relief! We wouldn't want to put him on a state of unconsciousness at this tender age, plus the description of how a tube will be inserted thru his nose to his lungs and the drip on his little hand...all sounds so gross to me. On top of that, there is a high risk of lung infection resulting death, if the tube inserted to his lungs trap in any phlegm from his throat (I find that majority of kids have some phlegm on their throat as they still do not know how to clear their throat daily) If this is a result of cavities, I might choose to put him on these treatment. However, in this case, he is an innocent victim and I felt it's unfair to force him going thru these from the fault of his classmate.

His pre-school, Kinderland, will sure faint once I submit all the claims to them.

Recent trips...we went to Genting for a 3 days trip & we had amazing fun. I didn't know Genting has changed so much. Little Ed enjoyed so much with the outdoor and indoor rides. Will update that in details soon.

Lastly, we are going for a new trip once again...we have just booked for a 9-days Shanghai trip!

Letz go Thai

2008-06-24T09:57:00.007+08:00

*Travel Period: 4 days - 9th to 12th March *

It's never easy to wake my sleepyhead up in the wee hours of the morning...changing him in the cab while we whizzed him off to the airport...be on time to meet up with the rest; Aunty, cousin & my parents. It's once again a family trip. We enjoyed travelling together & it's another form of bonding with the elders.

For this trip, it was a last minute decision to join my parents & aunty. They bought their tickets months before the trip...but it happened that hubby was also going there for a business trip with his whole company, Bangkok was chosen to held his company's yearly meeting this year...so I thought since it's so coincidence that their travelling dates & destination are the same, why not both Ed & I joined in for the trip? In addition, hubby's birthday falls during the travel period, we wouldn't want him to celebrate his big day alone in Bangkok. We met up during the nights for dinner & shopping and he even stayed over with us on one of the nights.

Well, heard that Chatuchak market is closing so our first stop was to comb the whole area for some good bargains. Over the 4 days, we also covered MBK, Patpong, Pratunam (that took us 2 full days as we discovered another side of the street that is a NEW shopping paradise, which I never stepped into it even though I been to BKK for more than 5 times). A blessing in disguise after a cab driver mistook our original destination & left us at a long street that is a much better place for shopping. *Cool*

Whenever in Bangkok, we never fails to feast at the all-famous seafood restaurant for a sumptuous meal to fill our tummies & a chance to take a break to rest our weary legs before we continue with our spree. It was my aunty's & cousin's first visit to this seafood heaven place...it was so irresistible that we took cabs to have our dinner there 2 days in a row...*Taste way better than Jumbo*

Some pics to share...the little one enjoys shopping as much as us!

Ed planted a loud, loving smack on his daddy's cheek, his gift for daddy's birthday.

How comical...

Birthdays Celebrations...Peek-a-boo

2008-06-20T01:00:00.000+08:00

Ever mentioned that I will update the blog on the birthday gifts...Finally, it's here!

My gift from him:

We had an early celebration this year as his reservist falls during my birthday week. He got me a gift that symbolizes the past, present & future- a Trilogy ring from 'Lee Hwa Jewellery'. The size of the gems looks perfect, totalling 1.2ct. On the actual day, someone came knocking on the door & I was surprised by his sweet gesture to send me a bouquet of flowers, with a loving note on it, even though he was in deep jungle training.

His gift from me:

With a blink, I'm again running out of ideas what to get for him this year. There isn't much of a variety to get things for men, isn't it? The gift which I got for him last year was a Mont Blanc starwalker pen, which has been often seen sitting on the table like an white elephant. This year, I thought a wallet shall be it. It's not an easy task, though...for my dear one is rather fussy when it comes to wallet...doesn't like those with coin slot, no more than 8 pockets for cards, no metal objects/logo on trimming or on the surface of wallet...the list goes on...

Since I find men who carry Louis Vuitton look rather sissyish...I thought Gucci fits a better choice.

Our gift for our precious one: Will update on that soon!

Korea Spree

2008-06-19T23:19:00.005+08:00

The spree started a day before the trip, it was an abrupt decision to get a brand-new camcorder for this trip, wanna capture & create Ed's action-packed movie on his first snow experience. There isn't any time to research on a last minute purchase so within 15 minutes, we decided on this...

Selected this gadget as it's compact, light and stores on HDD, instead of DVD/tapes. Trusted the reliability of Sony after my first camcorder lasted me for years, before I bought the very mini JVC one about 3 years ago that cost over $2000, yet is trashy. I'm just a Sony-gadgets fanatic, the owner of Vaio Lappie, mobile, MP3 and now...camcorder.

Over in Korea:

I'm ardently active when it comes to shopping. Did you just forget how much I bought in Japan last year? This year is equally ridiculous. *chuckled*

Apart from the usual must-buy items in the shopping list of irresistible fanciful accessories, trendy clothes and crazy shoes, my hands were filled with bags of hundreds of pieces of face & eye masks from the FACE shop & CORE. My greatest exceptional find was the 'Lamb Placenta's face gel' (Yup, indeed sounds gross, isn't it?) However, its results is absolutely miraculous! *Awesome product! Double Thumbs-up*

Here's a preview of just a fraction of my ga-ga beauty buys...

Lastly, our biggest spending in a single shop: Ginseng Extract & Ginseng Powder. (The gift for both sets of parents & own consumption). Total damage: over S$2,500.

One word for this shopping trip - Satisfying!

The arrival of our new wheels

2008-06-17T16:10:00.006+08:00

After 3 COE biddings, we finally got the highest bid price among the past few bids. Yeah! Our new baby arrived on 29th April. Some good starts to call for, just less than a month of owning it, we had a friend who chose our car to use as his wedding car. Next, on the first week after we collected the car, we strike lottery!

Of this new baby, I enjoy the handling of the vehicle, much easier to make u-turns though it's longer and wider as compared to my previous sunny. Impressed with the extra features that comes with it, such as the cruising button, the bluetooth sensor that auto detects my phone even before I reach the car and will pick up my calls automatically without touching the phone...plus the audio system will shut off temporaily till my conversation ends- No distraction at all, its wipers will increase or decrease its speed accordingly depending on the rainfall. All these boost my interest in riding in it, in addition to the sense of luxury comfort & space.

To our previous Nissan angel, I was rather unwilling to return the car keys to the dealer the day when we exchanged for the new one. Recalling some memories...this vehicle brought me to the numerous gynae check-ups when I was preggie and to TMC when I'm on labour, serving us safe & well for the past 3 years...

When I asked Ed if he missed the old car...his blunt reply was: 'That white car not nice one, this silver one nicer. '

That shows: When you are old, you are OUT. *Haiz*

My Marshmallow in Annyong Korea

2008-06-17T03:46:00.015+08:00

*Postdated Travel Period: 12th Feb to 19th Feb (on the 6th day of the Lunar New Year)*

Many are urging me for photos... Finally I completed the arrangements of the trip to Seoul & Jeju, a family holiday that was way back in Feb. I hope I have the zest to finish off for the Bangkok trip in March, the Mexico, USA & Canada trip in April...the upcoming trip to Genting this month...and the Malaysia Kelong trip in July, gonna be a whole lot of photos to sort out!! However, I must say a BIG 'Thank You' to an old pal, Lynette, who taught me a shortcut way to consolidate my photos in collages. Thanks, pal! :)

Let's get started! Here's one memorable family trip that I'll never forget how cute my 2-and-a half year old Marshmallow looks. Of course, it's never easy to bring a very young one to an extreme cold country (way below 0 degree C most of the time with gutsy wind...the lowest at negative 26 degree C @ the ski resort) but after the trip, totally no regrets! Though it's frustrating & tiring to handle a cranky kid during a long night flight whose sleep is being disturbed by the noisy trolleys & bright lights when meals are served at 2am, the worries that the 'bonus smell' will affect others in the same bus if he poos big-time during long bus journey (lucky he never did that during the 8 days bus rides), no peaceful meals with an extremely chatty & active kid, plus the on-off puking on your hands due to the cold... well, those were nothing as nothing beats the awesome sight to see him enjoying every single minute with us, tons of close bonding. He is fascinated by the snowy mountain, the slippery icy road, the attire, the ski equipments and lots more. He learned so much from this 'excursion' trip. Both of us were impressed by his observations, his senses brought alive! Little things that he relates with the cold weather were unbelieveable. Besides, time waits for no man to see a kiddo below 3 yr old wearing a full ski suit, it's just so-so adorable!

For this trip, he is the only kid in the tour group and he is well-loved by everyone. He brought a lot of joy & laughter to many during those long bus journey rides. Many helped us with our stroller, bags etc. Everyone couldn't wait for the bus to stop at the next destination to meet up with the little one, many couldn't wait to play with him & holding his tiny gloved hands. His nickname 'Little Tiger' was given by the tour leader. While others called him 'Xiao-Bao-Bei' or 'marshmallow' as he no doubt looks like one with that bulky pure-down jacket!

For a start, Uncle Woon drove us to the airport on that day. Our excited little fellow kept repeating himself that he wanna take aeroplane. To date, he still thinks his daddy is a Pilot!! Haha...Why? He often sees his dad travels on business trips and his impression of his dad was that he works as a Pilot. Before we board the plane, he said he will sit with me and when I asked where will daddy sits? His reply was: Daddy drives aeroplane. Hahaahahaa.......kids are so innocent.

Though this is already his 3rd time travelling by air, it's only this time we noticed his curiousity about everything in the plane. Kept asking what each button along the sides of the seats serves. When I answered to his question, he will turn around to 'teach' his dad what I've taught him, as if his dad is as clueless as him. *Amusing* He is aware of the seat belt on his own seat and he buckle up on his own & reminded us that we should follow suit. After the flight to Seoul, we took another flight to Jeju on the 5th day...one funny thing happened. We never realised that he observed minor things that we did from the last flight (5 days back)such as requesting for a drink during the flight from Singapore to Seoul. Therefore, on our flight from Seoul to Jeju...this 'kay-kiang' kid did not know that it was a domestic flight and no meal will be served. This little fellow stopped an air-stewardess & asked loudly: "Apple Juice, please!"

His tone and actions were ultra-hilarious. Both of us burst out laughing after the stewardess(korean) ignored him. Ed turned back in dismay and asked why no Apple juice this time. After explaining to him, he still insists he should have a cuppa. We couldn't stop laughing. :P

My funky monkey went wild in Everland Themepark...

Embracing the nature for an exhilarating snow experience...@ Yongpyong Dragon Valley Ski Resort.

Favourite shots of my cutie monster!

Boat cruising over to Nami Island in icy water...mesmerizing by the enchanting scene of wide grassland, rows of chestnut trees, cottages and lake, blocks after blocks of ice-craving, just like flipping the pages of a fairy tale.

Nice gesture from the tour guide who took effort to upgrade our room every night to either with a bigger bed or to a suite, none others in the group has the privilege, we were lucky! Here's the 6-star Grande Sheraton Walker Hill Casino Hotel and pictures of us looking silly in Lotte World.

Enjoying life...in the comfy hotel room, looking at his reflection on the mirror or watching TV.

Camera, pls!

Large playroom for him to use, while waiting for the flight in the domestic airport to Jeju - The island of Dreams & fantasy. Oh, he saw a battery-operated toy in the airport that resemblance the plane we were taking & he pestered me to get it for him.

Our first stop in Jeju island - Moksukwon Park. Overall, we prefer Jeju than Seoul...a totally different feeling with its beautiful scenery. Weather wise, it's much colder in Jeju as it's much breezy over there.

In order to look pretty on photos, he still puts on a smile, though he was freezing cold and his nose was runny. That's very true for all Geminis, who are well-known to be born 'naturally vain'.

Plenty of Sashimi in Jeju. You name it, they have it, including this weird-looking fish.

Never fails to request for a shot when he sees me with a camera. Effortlessly, he will start his silly faces regime. How posey!

Song-up Folk Village...Songan Sunrise Peak & the Mysterious Road. Over there, we got 3 bottles of premium honey & 'Wu-Wei-Zi' that cost USD $45 a bottle. What a bargain, since it's sold for $99 a bottle in Singapore.

Captivated by the motorised bears, he ignored me upon hearing me calling out for his favourite - Photo-taking! Finally there is something that could amuses him more than a camera.

Of all the adorable plush bears...he chose the most ordinary-looking one. What he got from the 'Teddy-Bear Museum' were a teddy cap and the multi-colored bear. For me, nothing. *Sigh*

There he goes again. He posed and called me out to take a few photos of him. OMG!

Wow...kids' meal are much tastier than the adult set meals, and it comes with a cute toy. This fellow had a buffet of ice-creams & jelly. He shares a common liking with me... there's nothing nicer than a cup of yummy ice-cream during flight.

That's the job of a kid. Eat, Play & Sleep.

How did he 'treat' Mummy...??

2008-06-04T02:32:00.003+08:00

He never fails to 'amuse' us with his own ways.

While changing into his pyjamas one night, my nails poked into his tummy accidentally.
Me: Opps! (Pause for a few seconds)
Ed: What must you say?
Me: Huh? Say what?
Ed: You must say sorry to me mah...
Me: Sorry... *Smack Forehead*
Ed: What else must you say?
Me: I say sorry already. Ok, Sorry, Edus.
Ed: No, you must also say SAYANG Edus!
Me: Alright. SAYANG EDUS! *Rolled eyes*

There was once he was busy painting on his easel and he was trying to explain what he was drawing. He is full of zest & chattering all day so at times, my ears went deaf. (To add on, this little artist's drawings consists of only lines and circles, so it never really interests me)

Ed, came running to me: Why you never answer me?
Me: Huh? What did you say? :P
Ed: You must answer me, you know??!
Me: Sorry... (Drove me up the wall, once again!)

Why am I always the one saying sorry to a 35 mths??
With his constant daily shockers, sometimes I need to divert my attention to baking or golf to preserve my sanity. (That's the excuse I usually gave Hubby whenever he complained I was baking too intensively & he gotta be that poor 'cake-shredding' machine to finish up my finished cake 'art'. :P )

Exciting June Holiday

2008-05-28T11:51:00.007+08:00

It's June...It's school holidays...It's his birthday month!!

Here's some updates on his upcoming activities for the month:

His 'excursions' & Entertainments:

Genting - 6 of us will be going together. 3 of us with my parents & aunt. It's been more than a decade since I stepped into Genting. We are skipping the School holiday crowd (Ed will have to miss school for a day), so will only be travelling on 27th June for a 3 days-2 nights trip to enjoy some fun rides & the cooler weather.

Kelong in Malaysia - Tentatively going on 5th & 6th July. Nature normally interests kids, and this time, we have a group of friends/colleagues who will be bringing their kiddos to join in the trip. This should be fun as it will be Ed very first trip to Kelong for fishing & get close to the nature.

Imax Movie - His new interest at 35 months is Dinosaurs! Recently, he kept asking me for the names of the different kinds of Dinos and buying lots of Dino-related toys/models. Therefore, I bet he will be elated to watch 'Dinosaurs Alive' in OMNI Theatre.

Movie - 'Kung-fu Panda', his 5th movie since the last ones...'Alvin & the chipmunks' & 'CJ7'. He never once dozed off from watching a movie, his body froze with excitement from the animations, so much so that he never even noticed our 2 hands digging into the box of popcorn he was holding...haha! Truly engrossed! The worst thing about going for a movie was: Wailing out loud when the movie ended & refused to leave the cinema - ('Mummy, it's over!!') Without saying, this little fellow will sure buy a DVD of every movie he watched before to add into his animation DVD collection.

Shows - His 3rd & 4th kiddo musical Show. Two Shows for this school Holidays since this boy adores movies, musicals and such. This time, we will be going to Dora Pirate Adventure in Expo & Barney's Let's Imagine Live! in Suntec. Thanks to Uncle Ryan for the 4 VIP tickets that gave us such good seats for the Dora show, saving us the cost of $68 per tic! :)

We have yet to go for the Barney show, on 5th June. For that, it was a last minute decision to go for it when he asked for his birthday gift. By the time I purchased the tickets from Sistic, I was left with Thursday slots and all Category 1 seats were sold out.

Ed asked: 'Mummy, Ah-Ma buy me a motorbike for my birthday, what are you buying for me?' (His granny bought him a motorised Motorbike. To date, he already has 7 vehicles - 3 bicycles, 1 huge Little-Tikes coupe, 1 truck, 1 Battery-operated motorcycle & 1 Tri-Scooter. All those 7 vehicles...he could accomplished on controlling the vehicles very well. *Tough cookie)
Me: You have a full storeroom of toys. What other toys do you want?
Ed: Hmmm, I want Barney Show. (He knew he couldn't convinced me further to buy him a pair of roller-blades which he had tried pestering the both of us for months to no avail.)
Me: Errr...ok. Barney Show will be your gift then.

Though I couldn't get Category 1 tickets this time & the view might be affected, I do hope he will enjoy his birthday gift. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Learning is Fun...with Learning Horizon:
Yeah, all along I prefer him to attend classes in LH. So this June holis, I've enrolled him to 3 classes. Nothing academic...just pure fun! Starting with 3 lessons to enhance parent-Child bonding with the fun on clay creation from Clayworkz, followed by Junior Lego Engineering. Though it all sounds so easy but I never know the right way to teach him to create using Lego. It will be a 2 day course, so I guess it will be something interesting, something new that could enhance his knowledge to create from clay & Lego. The last course with LH will be a 4-days class with a colourful theme of 'Circus-Circus'.

Next in line will be his acceptance from Lorna Whiston & Julia Gabriel for Edudrama, after months of waiting in the queue. This little rascal is so dramatic & expressive. This inspired his Daddy to enroll him in Speech & Drama classes. Well, Daddy wanted him to attend in both schools since coincidentally, both schools gave him a slot, but I prefer to start him with Lorna Whiston first and go slow...since these kinda classes are more towards having fun in expressing yourself, not academically stressing him with ABCs. Thru drama & play, I'm sure he will pick up his language at an even faster pace, very naturally.

With so much activities for the little one, this upcoming month should be a busy one for him and of course, me, who will be busy chauffeuring him here and there. Whenever I think of the time I had with my boy, I'm so thankful for my ultra-flexible jobs. Without them, I don't think I can achieve financial-freedom yet able to spend time attending classes with my boy & the ample bonding time, yet without the need to be a boring full-time housewife as well. I will cherish this bonding for the next 3 years which is so-so valuable...personally I felt the first 6 years is crucial in a child's mental development that will bring him a long way in future. This 6 years which Nothing can buy back time...with a glimpse, that will be over. I do hope the extra time given to him over the first 6 years will give him a stronger impact of family values. The values to care & love for the family & be grateful to things around him.

Kinderland - Parent Meeting Session

2008-05-23T11:23:00.003+08:00

We gave him an early school holiday this term...stopping him from going to school for a week since 14th May as we hoped he could fully recover from his cough. (Well, he never fall sick when he was attending Learning Horizon. Over in Kinderland, he caught the virus 2 weeks after attending the school & the cough never seems to clear completely). That was his first ever MC. Call us 'mean parents', we found it amusing when the doctor gave us the 3 days MC slip. I don't remember a kiddo who is below 3 needs to produce an MC to skip school.

20 May 2008:
Mrs Chan called to inform that he does not need to attend school on 20th May, Tues. I was quite surprised, though. Usually, I attended parent meeting sessions before/after the class & students need not skip school for the day just because of short sessions with the parents. Hmmm....

Anyway, I was there with Ed. It started off with the conversation of his tooth. Teachers were concerned about the condition after hearing from the principal how serious it was. I told him in fact, the 'mended' tooth broke off again last friday and he will be going to the specialist Pedodentist on 23 May.

Of their comments on his 1st term in this new school were: He wasn't eating well after I left him on his own on the 2nd week onwards. Now he is asking for 2nd portion! :P
He used to squeeze his way to the front when the lesson starts, and the students will have to give in to him due to his size...no choice, the giant is here!! Haha, teachers were surprised when I told them he will only turn 3 next month. They thought he was already 3.5 yrs old. Oh, thanks to his big build...the biggest in class.

Lastly, both his English and Mandarin teachers commented he is one of the brighest and the best speaker in class. He is the only one who talks in full sentences and loves to tell you the logic behind his answers. His teachers enjoy the way he elaborates his answers, lots of reasoning that were often funny and logical. Yeah, that I fully agree. He yaks non-stop at home and his energy level is awesome. Whoever plays with him for 30 mins, will show us the 'white' flag. *Surrender*

As he yaks non-stop, he's been asking the '101 WHY' questions everyday. I have to often find the answers over the web for him. I thought the 101 WHY will not happen to me... the more I worry, the more it happens, I guess. Keke...But it's a good thing, though. I even told the teachers that I ever brought him to a speech therapist as he was such a LATE speaker. However, when he started talking, he practically speaks NON-STOP! Seems like whatever he gathered over more than 2 years - Pure listening, he threw everything back to you in a go when he is ready to speak, and that was almost like after 27 mths!

Next comment from his teachers was: He is very imaginative.
To my opinion, he loves to use his imagination to give 'excuses' too! Few months back, I hurried him to walk faster to the car, he answered this with a crossed eyebrows & a stern look on his face: 'Mummy, if I walk faster, and I fall down, how?' ...'Then, if I fall down, got blood, how??'

Upon hearing that, I laughed. This boy has full of tricks in his mind!

On the last day of school, 23 May, he brought back a couple of candies on his hands.
I asked him who gave him the candies...
His reply: Uncle Chew (The bus driver) gave me sweets. He gave me only, other people don't have.
I asked: Why did he gave you sweets?
His reply: Because Uncle Chew loves me, mah!
I asked: Why did he loves you?
His reply: Because I CUTE mah!!!

*Faintz* His daddy burst out laughing after hearing that.

Kinderland Pre-School

2008-04-30T11:26:00.012+08:00

It was a last minute decision to enroll him to Kinderland just few days before the school starts. His first day started with Term 2 on 17th March, Monday. I'm glad I was allowed to accompany my super-gluey baby for a week. However, as Friday is a public Holiday on that week, I joined him for only 4 days.

Somehow, I had a shock of the school 'culture'. All the sudden, I compared how lucky Ed was when he was with Learning Horizon. The cleanliness is completely different! LH is sensitive on nitty-gritty stuffs on the hygiene for the very young. Here, everything is 'too' budgeted. In short, logistics is lousy.

Not only he had a change in school, I also put him on school bus. In the first place, we enrolled him with Kinderland just because they had school bus arrangements, so it's more systematic for us. He will take the school bus when the school ends and we will send him to school. However, that was short-lived. As I was going away for a long holiday, we added him to take the school bus to school as well, since we noticed he was adapting very well with the new school and enjoys the bus rides. For a less than 3 mins drive(he was the last student to board the bus as he stays the closest to the school), the transport adds on an extra of $270 on top of his school fees. Until now, I don't know what is the exact school fees. Roughly $1100+, I think.

Though, my initial impression of the school was bad but I didn't bother to feedback to the principal on my views. I regretted that. Alot of mothers may be busy working and simply ignore to keep a lookout of their child at school and I thought I was over-protective. No! I wasn't protective at all when Edus came back one day with a chipped tooth. The worst thing was, it was his first front tooth that leaves him looking ugly and 'toothless' whenever he smiles. I was really angry when I saw that. The first thing I did was to check the 'teacher-parent' booklet to check if anything was noted in it so at least I knew what was happening to my child! To my dismay, it was empty! I still remember on the 1st week of school when I did not put that booklet in his bag, his teachers called me twice to remind me to add that book in. Now that the book was in there, it was left empty. Nothing was written and it left me guessing for the whole day on what had happened. That was Thursday, 8th May. I guess any parent will feel the anxiety to know the root cause of it. I did ask Edus what happened. I was told his classmate, a girl named Laura, hit him with a toy car. Oh my, the force must be great to cause that big piece of chip!

I called Uncle Chew immediately to inform him not to pick Edus the next morning, as I will bring Ed to school on my own to ask the teachers on the incident. I was early on that day and I finally meet Wenn in Kinderland for the first time though both our kids were in the same school for about 1.5 months. The explanation from the teachers horrified me. One teacher told me she don't know about it. The other teacher told me she knew Edus cried very badly and was in pain and she knew Laura was the culprit. That verifies that Edus told me correctly. When I questioned the teacher why it was not written in the booklet when that happened and why they did not check on him though his gums bleeds. Her answers turned me off straight-away - 'I thought it was nothing serious!' (* Furious)

That was the ultimate. I told the principal about the incident and she told me she was sorry about it & they will pay for the medical bills. I told her that medical bills is secondary as Edus is fully covered by his Daddy's company insurance welfare. The problem is: With his age and with his very first visit to the dentist, will he be so obedient to sit still for the dentist to do the operation, especially when he is conscious? I don't want him to have a phobia to visit the dentist at this tiny age.

Nevertheless, we took him to the dentist on the very next day as he complained pain in his tooth & had to avoid letting him bite on harder food like apples.His appetite was good though, but he can only consume softer food or liquid food, just like an infant. :(
I'm proud of my brave boy on his first dental visit. He got frightened when the dentist put him on the chair and lowered the seat. The fast drop of the chair did scare him a bit and he trembles. I assured him that he will be fine and he was really a good boy. He kept very still and open his mouth wide. The next thing that horrified me was when the dentist announced what happened what causes the pain. The chipped off tooth (half of his front tooth) went piercing into his gum behind that tooth. It was stuck halfway into the gum. When the dentist showed me the bleeding gum and the gross chipped tooth biting into his gums, I felt like crying and it was really heart-pain to see him going through this at this minor age. Daddy looked very worried & kept assuring Edus he will fine during the process. I guess he was assuring himself that everything is fine. Haha! The whole operation took a lengthy 30 mins!! After removing the chipped tooth(which was a bigger piece than I've expected), the dentist told us the next horrible news. The nerve and half of that tooth was exposed. Nerve exposed? Oh my!! The dentist gave him calcium and antibiotic to patch the exposed area and we will bring him for a review 1 week later. As he was less than 3 yrs old, the dentist told us his nerve seems damaged by the hard impact and likely he will need a root canal!!! Oh my, I only did my root canal when I was past 30 yrs old. At his age, he needs a root canal & crowning?? And he will need a PD dentist to do that operation plus it will not be a single session. I did my root canal and crowning in 4 sessions. The worst: he got to put under FULL BODY sedation. Poor boy, he may need to go thru a bad trauma and the process will cost the school $3,000.

My Edus, you are a tough boy on your 1st visit to the dentist and went thru that gruesome process without any fear. You reacted so calmly & bravely that eased our worrying hearts while we were with you during the process. The dentist kept praising you for being so brave and you were given 3 stickers that written: Super Job!
I think you really did a very good job! :)

Caribbean Sea, Niagara Falls & Statue of Liberty

2008-04-07T09:52:00.006+08:00

Very soon, the venues that melts my heart and cities that often makes my heart leaps out for, are turning REAL! I'm all excited about the upcoming anniversary couple trip! This trip will only be a 16-days trip as we do not want to trouble my parents to look after Ed for us for toooo long. As 16-days is very limited, we decided to forgo Washington and Philadelphia. This will be the 3rd time I'm travelling to USA for a holiday, twice in the West States and my 1st time to the Eastern side.

Our Focus will be:

The most sought-after World-class resort, Cancun Mexico. A top tourist hot-spot in Mexico, it's also many Americans' dream resort palace.

Next, we will extend our stay to New York City, Boston and Canada. That was my request to hubby. Initially, he thought we should stay in East USA to tour around Amish Country and meet up with a friend, Emily, who stays in Philadelphia / Amish Country, but my dreams overtake his. Since I was 13, Canada has always been in my list of #1 Top DREAM country to visit...especially the awesome-sight of the thundering niagara falls & I can't wait to stroll along the river in romantic Montreal. This time, my dream came true!!

In Cancun, we'll be lounging by the turquoise waters, plus the many exciting adventures that comes along (snorkeling along a reef barrier, swimming with the dolphins, racing on zip-lines through the jungle, or exploring the ancient Mayan ruins in Tulum or just relax and doing nothing). We have booked tickets to Xcaret, Lobster Dinner in Pirate hook cruise, Isla Mujeres and Chichen.

Our Stay: 5 nights stay in CasaMagna Marriot Resort Hotel;

In Canada, we will be touring around Toronto, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, thousands island and on 'Maid of the Mist' cruise to sight a few other falls - Bridal Veil, Horseshoe, American Falls. Hopefully the water is not too cold, else they will not operate the cruise stops.

In New York & Boston, focus will be on Statue of Liberty, City tour - Wall Street, Times Square, Fifth Avenue, Ground Zero. Boston - MIT, Harvard, Quincy Market. Of course, tons of shopping!

Hoho...I will need an extra empty luggage for branded items as well! As I already had more than 25 orders of COACH bags and wristlets to buy, for close friends and colleagues!! Guess, we will just wipe off the shelves from COACH boutiques & turn my luggage into a COACH-infested luggage!! Whahhaaa..

In fact, we just bought a new luggage for the Korea trip 2 months back, but I bet it will never be enough as this will be another crazy shopping spree trip since we will be going to the WORLD's largest premium factory outlet, Woodbury Premium Outlet, for a full day. I still remember when I went to USA to work in Year 2000, I brought 1 luggage there and came back with 6 luggages!! Then back in 2005, when we were in USA for our honeymoon, and even though I yet to confirm on the gender of the baby (Pregnant with Ed), I already wipe off GAP, Polo Ralph and OshKosh outlets with a full 28" luggage of clothes for the baby! With all those mini-clothes, I could fill up the luggage too. You can imagine why I was named a well-known shopping queen! With that thought, Hubby went to buy another 28" luggage yesterday, knowing I will go berserk! Hahahaaa...

That is also one of the reason Ed cannot tag along. We can shop in peace & our hands will be full!. Haha...I'm eyeing on bags from Kate Spade & Coach plus Nine West shoes! Anyway, all matured ladies loves 2 things: Diamonds or branded bags. Isn't it? I guess I'm normal. :P

That's a BIG hint to Ed when he grows up & reads this blog, "You know what to buy on Mummy's birthday, huh?" :)

As we are going to 3 different countries, we will need to pack luggages for almost 3 seasons, more clothes to bring this time. Weather: Cancun, Mexico(Summer) around 22 to 29 degree; New York & Boston, USA(Spring) 8 degree to 13 degree; next is Toronto, Canada(Winter) at -2 degree to 7 degree, snowing at times.

When we returned, I shall put in some effort to consolidate the photos & stories of the last 2 recent trips in Korea(Seoul/Jeju) and Thailand(Bangkok) with little Edus...and placed them in the blog as a heartwarming memory.

Caribbean Sea, see you tomorrow!

Big Dreams...Big Plans for Year 2008

2008-03-03T12:37:00.004+08:00

Year 2008 will spells bigger plans for us. Everything in 1 go...

For the good year start, we managed to bid a new car plate number from LTA on the VERY FIRST WEEK of January '08! A good start!
Our number...auspicious: 899 (meaning 'Huat jiu-jiu' - aka 'Prosper for a long time') Hahaa...
Our current car is also 3 digits & I find 3 digits more unique since we have 3 persons in the family. In addition, we don't bet on 4-D, hence, no need for a 4-digits number. Plus 3 sounds like 'Sheng' (aka 'rise') Hahaaa....so many meaning in a number bidding.

Next in plan:
* 4 holidays this year.
3 holidays to go as a family trip and every year should have 1 that is an 'anniversary couple trip'. Last year, the 2007 couple trip was in Central Japan. This year will be East side of USA. Next year, likely Hokkaido. Since we had a feel of Spring cherry-blossom and snowy white winter before, we hope to go for an autumn Hokkaido next year, with lovely full-bloomed of sunflowers and lavenders.

Confirmed trips are:
1) Korea: Seoul & Jeju in Feb --> Confirmed & done that.
2) Bangkok: In March --> Confirmed & travelling this Sunday!
3) USA: New York & Mexico, Cancun in April --> Confirmed on SQ Flights
4) Australia: Brisbane & Tasmania/Melbourne in September --> Still planning

As in Mexico, Cancun is a resort island, tons of sea activities involved such as: Swimming with the dolphins, horse-riding on sea coast, motorbiking in jungles, scuba-diving and snorkelling...plus the lengthy flight of a total 26 hours, plus having to stop in Germany and New York, I don't think it's suitable for a below 3 yr old kiddo. Therefore, this trip is purely our 2008 couple trip.
Our mindset for holidays is: 'Holiday with enjoyment & ease'. He can tag along with us so long the flight is below 10 hrs flight (he gets cranky on midnight flights as his sleep is disturbed when too much noise involved when food is served on flights) & activities are more kids-friendly, plus trips must be either self-drive or by tour package and no extension on our own. We just wanna feel relax and not feeling more tired after a long holiday.

Of course, the downside was: He will be skipping school often. However, he is still entitled to skip as it's not so crucial to be in school at this age. And rather for him to re-queue and put on a waiting-list, we rather let him skip school and pay for his fees.

* Upgrade to a bigger car --> Booked
After discussing on the choice of either the latest Honda Accord 08 model, Honda Oydessey or Toyota Camry, we had booked for a new Camry few days ago. Our new baby will arrive after we are back from the States holidays. Tentatively by end April.
Colour chosen: Initially booked for a Black Camry. Though it looks much classy but we are kinda lazy to upkeep it, so we just called up the sales person yesterday to change to Mid-Silver instead. I think the latter is a more practical colour. In fact, the look of a white camry is awesome, but since our current car is a White one, we know the hassle of maintaining its body.

Why Camry?
* Price wise, just $1k difference between Ode and camry, but fuel consumption is higher on Ode. Next, we seldom ferry full load of 7 passengers. The reason for a bigger car is just ample leg room for rear passengers and a more luxury comfort.
* For the latest Accord 08, too new in market & not on the road yet. Meaning have not fine-tuned its engine(might have new problems) and no test drive allowed. Next, it's much longer than Ode as it's largest ever-built of over 4.9m long, so we don't find it practical for tight carparks on Singapore roads.

*Upgrade to a new Home
After the USA trip, we will be planning on shifting to a new home. Either to a condominium and NOT selling the current flat (as it's fully paid off so we can rent out legally), or move to a minimum 120sqm flat temporary (if private pricing not worth buying at all).

Summary for the past 8 months

2007-12-23T09:19:00.003+08:00

I got no other excuse but to admit I was simply too lazy to blog 'that often'. As I'm too carefree and not having a desk-bound job, I tend to ease away from computers as much as I can.

Well, I've sooo much to blog but I can only depend on my memory to refresh what had happened the past 6 months. :P

Aim to accomplish: Since I've dragged till the END of December, I hope to round up the blog before end March. *Applaused*

Record as at 31 months:

Weight: 18.5kg

Height: 101cm

First of all, to refresh my memories, let me categorised them. We will start off with the most important thing in life - Health.

Enhancing his Health:
* He did not fall sick even though he started school. So far for the last 6 months in school, the only time he fell sick was he had his very 1st high fever (@ slightly over 39 celsius).

* Since after he turned 1, he been complaining about leg 'aches' almost once to twice every month. That could be tiring for both me and hubby as we waited 18 months for him to wean off night feedings and now due to his 'aches', we had to wake up at nights to 'massage' his knees etc.
Due to that, we brought him to Dr Vanessa, but she said this was normal due to his rapid growth in height. We can only blamed it on our own heights. Both me and hubby were considered 'TALL' and he must growing too rapidly as well.
Even though Dr Vanessa assured us, we were overly concerned. We seek advise from 2 other well-known chinese sinseh. Both also said the SAME thing. He is growing too fast! The logic is: Either his veins, flesh or bones is growing too fast at 1 go and the imbalance caused the extra 'aches'. This will outgrow. In order to boost his health, doting daddy improves his health with high-end chinese tonics twice a day. The chinese sinseh prescibed some goodies to grind into powder-form so we could mixed in honey or milk. I can only remember tonics included: Yu-Piao, ginseng, Pao-Shen and many more. A bottle of that powdery goodies cost about $320 for a month's supply. Indeed, drinking twice a day for the past months had been a great booster. His aches almost gone! So even though it's consider expensive but he rarely complain about the aches, we decided to continue let him consume it till he turns 7 yrs old or older. We find that with a good 'base' at a young age to build up his health, he should grow up stronger & healthier. :)
His height seems to be growing fast now and we noticed he's catching up with the height of his coming 4 yr old cousin!

* His daddy loves him so much that he goes all means to boost his health even further. Not only he engaged a professional to sanitised our Simmons mattress using an unique technology, he also 'invested' in a more purified water for his consumption. We added on 'Hyflux e-Life' system for the water he consumed at home & at my mum's home. Of course, the outside food he consumed also balanced up his body system as we are careful not to let him be toooo 'cleaned' as it may spells trouble if he is overseas and there is no available purified water. *Wink*
I guess either we are 2 perfectionist parents or Ed is our everything. The latter seems to be it.

School:
* It's been almost 9 months in School with 'Learning Horizon'

* His 1st smile upon reaching school, only happened in 1st week of Dec! After being in school for 6 full months! Including enrolling him in school holiday programs.

* That is: No rest for him in school, he continues...though majority of his classmates did not attend for school holiday programs. (As our main concern is that school anxiety will hits in again if school is lapsed for weeks) Eg: His recent Korea tour lapsed for 2 weeks & he is back with his school tantrums again.

* We stopped him from Seimpi School of Music after his teachers advised us to. As it's conducted in the SAME school, he got confused as in why I could be with him in the SAME music room on Saturdays and not for weekdays?

*His school themes includes: Holiday edition, Plants & Nature (Botanical garden excursion), school xmas party & chinese new year celebration.

Speech:
* For the past 4 months, he loves to answer with the word: 'Because...'
For any questions that starts with 'Why', he will say 'Because...'

* He is very chatty now, so I lost count on new things he spoke, but what I can comment was he is rather creative and imaginative!

Vanity:
* As we are planned to let him have his 1st feel of SNOW, we were shopping around for some below 0-degree full-down outerjacket. For the first time we let him try on, he looked at the mirror with wide eyes! He quickly screamed and removed it.
I asked him: 'Why? You don't like this colour?'
His answer: 'No. Because I look FAT !!' *Upon hearing, my whole family Faintz!* (That happened in Dec '07)

* Recently, he noticed anyone who wears new clothes. If he sees me wearing something unusual, he will say: 'Mummy so nice ley!'

* He will refuse to wear old clothes. He is so vain that he will be willing to endure warm or discomfort, in order to look good.
Some examples:
- He don't mind sweaty palms if he could wear gloves.
- He don't mind feeling uncomfortable for wearing a super-small sized fancy top/bottom!
- He don't mind forcing his feets into tight outgrown shoes till they were all red!
- He has a fetish for shoes, so whenever he sees some nice shoes, he will insist to try on and will refuse to remove it (even with the price tags on!), will normally end up buying for him. So you can see, how many tons of shoes he got! However, this little rascal did have a fashion eye, those shoes he chose were often those I felt was pretty too. Like this pair...

*Will upload soon!

* When he goes to a salon for his monthly haircut, the minute he sits on the seat, he will tell his usual hairstylist: 'Don't cut botak. Cut little bit only.' **Super-faintz

* He is willing to forgo his favourite McDonald's french fries and when we asked him why he refuses to eat fries, his answer will be: 'I will grow fat'. (*Faintz...This happened after he noticed a really obese man stuffing fries into his mouth in one of our McDonald trips)

Education & Entertainment:

* He loves books so we added on more story books and encyclopedias for him.

* In order to allow him to easily access to the books, we had got him a shorty mobile bookshelf.

* Besides books, we also add on to more board games that are suitable for his age!

* As for his Sony Playstation, he is not addicted yet, though we did showed him the games.

* Pets is the next thing in mind so he can grow up to be more responsible. Therefore, we got him a new tropical fish tank. He is involved in feeding the fishes & cleaning the tank.

* Toys: We lost count on the new toys we got for him. Hope to recall them soon.

Feeding:

* He is having 3 normal meals a day and has lessen the milk intake. Currently, for last feed at 11pm, he has to eat 17 to 22 ounces!! That is more than 1 bottle of mineral water!! Max of 660ml!! He finished up perfectly! If we reject his request for next bottle, he will be crying non-stop till you give in to him. Initially, I thought he is just being playful, but upon seeing him finish them up, I realised he is truly hungry. That is, Daddy has to prepare his milk for 3 consecutive trips nightly!

Birthday:

* We made a short trip with our parents for 3 days in Batam. Just happen that his birthday falls during then, so we had a mini celebration there. :) That is also his 1st tour by sea.

*For my birthday, I got a great gift from hubby...Diamonds! Will update that soon.

On myself:

* Since he is growing bigger, I had so much time for myself. So I took up professional golf lessons in Marina Bay Golf Course & enrolled in baking classes. :) My life grew so fulfilling!

House modification:

* We had upgrade our study room to be a truly home office, adding on a 2 large study tables, a new Sony Vaio Laptop & a Canon home office laser printer (to top up with the current Epson R230 photo printer)

Teeth:

He has his full sets of teeth months ago. Seems like 22 or 24 teeths in total. I didn't bother to count them but noticed that there isn't any slots for further growth. As he is also covered with Dental services by GE, I was thinking of bringing him to Dr Lee for a dental check-up when he turns 3.

Something to complain about:

This boy refused to wash his hair and brush his teeth for the past 5 months and only until recently...he is more relaxed to allow me dealing with his teeth & hair. At least, he no longer screams and struggles away. I'm still waiting for him to truly 'enjoy' the process. Such as by pouring buckets of water over his face. :)

Languages:

* He understands very well in English & Mandarin, followed by Dialects (Teochew & followed by Hokkien). He understands our conversation in dialects very well too, unless we use super chim dialects. However, he still prefers to answer us in English. Guess he felt more comfortable in English. Both of us felt the importance of Mandarin & wanted to expose him into liking that language.

* Before age 27 months, we thought he had some kind of speech barrier or defiency, so we went to a professional speech therapist recommended Dr Vanessa and brought him for a speech test. Result was: We were overly worried. The rate of his speech was perfect and normal. Though that assessment cost us over $350 for 1 hour, we felt fully assured after that. No matter what, she was specialist on kids' speech therapy.

Clothes:

* We had 2 online orders from GAP and Old Navy. Thanks to Gene for the co-ordinations. Among the girls, I ordered the most number of pieces, as usual.

* As we will be travelling to New York next month, I will stop online purchases and will foresee having a good shopping spree personally instead.

* We also got 2 Crocs for him during the past 6 months. A 'Phua Chu Kang' yellowish boots & 'Pirates of the caribbean' black & red sandals.

New Cousin:

* Ed's little new cousin has arrived! On the last day of Oct & was delivered by Dr John Tee from KKH. This cutie pie, WenQuan, looks exactly like his elder brother. For the very 1st time of close contact, Ed is rather gentle with him & he seems to enjoy the company of the little one. He was so excited to see the baby opening his eyes. He finds it interesting whenever baby opens and closes his eyes...very sleepily. I did asked if I should bring the baby home & he nodded. He even offered to change diapers and make milk for the baby! Wow...that would not be the case if the little one is his REAL brother. Haha! On the other hand, upon hearing I'm taking the little WenQuan home, his real elder brother was brawling away...he thought it was real. That was amusing. Was that brotherhood or he thought his new 'toy' was taken away by Ed?

Hohoho... In total 2 direct cousins to play with now, each between 1 and 2 years age gap. :) Personally, I do not accept hand-me-down items. Now, I got someone to hand down all the clothes to, or it will be a waste as majority are still looking brand new!

Lastly, boys are generally boys. He loves going to arcades.

Weight & Height Record

2007-11-21T09:53:00.000+08:00

I have forgotten to do all these since the last round I recorded his data. I's been such a long time till he ask me his weight today:

As of today, his weight: 16.7kg
Height: 96.5cm

I don't know if he is considered tall for age 29 months. However, he is the tallest in his class, though he is one of the youngest. :)

Amazing Memory

2007-10-23T00:05:00.000+08:00

We felt blessed when we discovered he could remember the slightest thing.

Incident 1:
It's been 1 month since we stopped Julia Gabriel weekend class. However, when we drove past Forum that day, he pointed to the building and shouted: Edus school! I want to go to school!

We thought it was a coincidence. We felt that since Orchard road is a long stretch, he couldn't have remember it. So we drove a lot further and went for shopping...On our way back home, he saw that we drove past Forum, and again, he said: Edus school!! Mama, I want to go to school.

I wonder why he likes JG so much. He could remember the songs taught in JG even though he was there for only a few lessons...

Incident 2:
Alot of time, when we parked our car, he will be able to recall where we park our car when we were return to the carpark.

There was once I showed him the way to McDonald in Bishan Junction 8, and the very next time we went to Junction 8, he showed us the way to McD!! Though he did not see any signs of McD.

Before we reach our destination, he could recognise the street & point to the direction way before the venue, & will tell you where we are heading. And yeah, he often 'guess' it right!!

Incident 3:
If we ever promised him something, or we mentioned to him just ONCE, he will be able to remind you that you had promised him this or that...even if it was dayssssss or hours AFTER the promise.

Was he empowered with photographic memory? Should I enroll him in some memory class to mould him further?

Recently, his teachers feedback to me that he enjoys art & craft lesson more than music lesson.

I LOVE my Boy!

2007-10-20T23:07:00.000+08:00

Incident 1:

2 days ago, Ed saw me clearing a clump of hair from the toilet & asked: Mummy, whose hair?

My deliberate answer gave him a shock. I told him: 'It's mummy's hair.'

He gave me a worried look and replied: 'Mummy, Botak liao.'

I answered: 'Yah, you always made mummy angry, so my hair dropped so much.'

His next reply melted my heart, he said: 'Mummy botak, Edus also love mummy.'

Incident 2:

From that day onwards, whenever he saw me combing my hair or untangling my hair, he will remind me: 'Mummy, don't pull your hair. Wait hair drop.'

*SWEET*

Incident 3:

Whenever we were out, and if he saw me standing, he will bring a chair for me and will ask me to sit down. For anything that he takes, be it grapes, biscuit or whatsoever, he will definitely takes 2 identical item & will say: 'Mummy, you eat one, Edus eat one.'

*Awwwww..Such a lovely boy...I must have relaxed too much or have watched too many romantic drama series during my pregnancy. Or was it our strong bonding since the day he was born?? I'm thankful that I have so much time accompanying him daily...& glad that hubby did not feel there was a need for me to work in a full-time desk-bound job.

Talking back 3 - Problem Solver

2007-09-29T23:10:00.000+08:00

In my opinion, Edus seems to be a quick-witted toddler. He often gave us alarming replies that left hubby & I looking at each other in astonishment. He always tries to find conclusion to a problem.

Conversation 1:

Edus: Mama, make 'nair-nair' (referring to milk)
Me: No, ask Daddy.
Edus: Daddy, go!
Hubby: No, ask Mummy (both of us ignored him deliberately, testing his patience)
Edus: Mama, go.....Daddy go...make nair-nair.

Both hubby & I shook our heads.

Looking at us, Edus gave up. He let out a heavy sigh & walked out of the room and said aloud: Edus go make nair-nair!!

*Faintz...both hubby & I were stunned by his answer!*

The funniest thing was...he made an U-TURN upon reaching the kitchen. Haha..he must have realised he couldn't do it without us. When he came back into the room again, he said: Edus cannot make nair-nair. *Hahahahaaaaa*

Conversation 2:

Edus was singing...and hubby joined in.
Edus: Daddy, ZIP! (Indicating to his Dad to stop singing, so he could sing on his own)

In order to 'irritate' Ed, hubby continues to sing...This time, hubby sang 'HOKKIEN' song that baffles Edus.

Edus got fed-up and sang louder, trying to overpower his dad's singing. To irritate Ed to his max, hubby raised his tone even louder.

Edus used his hand to 'point like a gun' & shouted 'Papa...BANG!!'
With that, Ed, like a drama king, threw his head aback & added on a sound effect of ' ahhhhhhh.....'

*His gesture was to make sure his daddy stop his singing as his daddy suppose to be 'shot' by him.

Conversation 3:

Edus was chewing on his cheese when Hubby asked if he could share his cheese. Ed pointed that the cheese was already in his mouth.

Hubby: We should share.
Edus: Cannot share. My hands dirty!

Both of us were amused by his 'excuses'. In order to see what is Ed's next reaction, Hubby said: "OK, since your hands are dirty, let's go wash your hands."

Upon hearing that, Ed followed Hubby to wash his hands. After washing, Hubby asked again: "So now your hands are clean. Can you give me the cheese in your mouth?"
Ed simply ignored his Daddy, looking here & there (trying the act blur). Even though Daddy repeatedly asked him on the same question, he continues to ignore him.
*Hoho* His innocent look was cute.

Talking back again 2

2007-09-23T18:50:00.000+08:00

Conversation 1:
Edus: Mummy, where is my plaster? (Pointing to the back of his foot that Ah-Ma pasted on)
Me: Mummy threw away when you were sleeping
Edus: Cannot throw!
Mummy: Can! Why not?
Edus: I want plaster!
Me: I don't have any.
Edus: Have!
Me: I don't have.
Edus: But ah-Ma have!

*Opps*

Conversation 2:
Me: Edus, let's sing the monkey song! Woo-ah-ah-ah-ah..woo ah-ah...(as taught in Julia Gabriel)
Me & Edus: 3 little monkeys jumping on the bed
Edus: Mummy, you ZIP !!! You cannot sing. (using his 2 little fingers to slide across my lips to indicate 'Quiet')
Me: *Speechless*
Edus continues to sing: One fell down & broke his head. Left 2 little monkeys jumping on the bed.

Upon hearing that, hubby & me stood dumbfounded.

1st High Fever

2007-09-22T00:30:00.001+08:00

We were worried about HFMD when he had fever for 2 days, starting from 20th Sept evening & having an enormous ulcer. One of his classmates had that virus attack twice & was barred from school for 2 weeks.

After 2 long years, I would say we were blessed that this is the very first time he ever had a real fever and shot to a max of 39.1 degree. This was also the first time he is having an ulcer.

I'm very prone to having ulcers & hope he doesn't take over me. Seems like every kid brings worries to their mothers since the day they were conceived. Every little thing matters to parents & every stage unveiled a different set of uneasiness & heartache.

He did not attended school on Friday and will not be going for his Seimpi music class on Sat. On Friday, I brought him to a GP but it didn't work, so the next day we brought him to PD Vanessa. She increased on the dosage and asked us to monitor till next monday, to determine if he needs a blood test. Today's visit came with 3 kinds of medicine that cost $77 +.

His weight dropped a little to 15.7kg. He refused to take his height so no record for it.

His fever was hovering between 37.3 and 38.7...and for once a max of 39.1. That scares the both of us as he never had that high a fever before. Besides, he vomited once to twice daily for the past 3 days...though vomiting is very common thing for him, we were still worried. Since birth, he was a seasoned 'merlion'. We often ask many doctors and PD on the reason behind this, but we were told not to worry as he will outgrow that as he matures...

I'm glad he got over his fever on Sunday, at last! :)
Due to the ulcer, he refused to eat solid food & drank only very little milk.

Talking back again

2007-09-22T00:15:00.000+08:00

2 incidents that baffles us today...

Conversation 1 - When he is alone with my mum:
Ah-Ma: Edus! Don't do that! Wait mummy beat you huh!
Edus's reply: NO! Mummy go work already!

*Astonished*

Conversation 2:
Me: Ti-Ti-Ti...
Edus: Car parking...reverse
Me: Ok, time to wear your shoes
Edus: No! No need to wear shoes. Mummy carry Edus!
Me (Speechless)

*I'm fainting...* (Is he just a 2 yr old??)

The beginning of 101 WHY

2007-09-20T01:05:00.000+08:00

This was rare as he hardly ever had any fever since young. Ah Ma noticed he felt feverish and indeed, his forehead felt warmer than usual. After checking on his temperature, it barely shown 36.9. However, to play safe, we still gave him a single dose of paracetamol.

I felt his body might be too heaty, so I got him a cup of kiddo yogurt. He got so excited & gulped all in less than 3 minutes and kept pestering for more. The next moment when I open the fridge, he sneaked beside me & grabbed hold on a tube of Oreo cookies. I told him he is not allowed to eat that. His response caught me off guard. He asked: 'WHY??'

Opps! So far, this is the 1st time he ever asks me for a reason! I wonder will I get more 'WHYs' in near future! *baffled*
From this moment on, I've to be well-equipped with tons of answers for him...

Surprise

2007-09-20T00:51:00.000+08:00

Surprise is the word he expressed himself when something excites or amazed him. Last night, he slept earlier at 11pm (his usual is 12 midnight!) & both me & hubby started surfing the net. All the sudden, Edus woke up & sit upright, gave me a smile & said aloud: 'SURPRISE!!'

Yeah, right! We were SO surprised that we got panic instead. Hubby rushed to switch off the lights & the next moment, he dozed off again...

Little sweetie... You love to give us surprises. Both Daddy and Mummy enjoyed them so much. Nothing beats your innocent & adorable tricks and surprises.

His favourite food hunt - Japanese & McDonald

2007-09-19T18:24:00.000+08:00

McDonald seems to be our routine breakfast venue for the past 2 months. Of coz, that bored both me & hubby with either Big breakfast, hotcakes or muffins meals. We left with no choice when our darling boy kept repeating 'Go McDonald...Go McDonald' non-stop till we reach a fast food outlet every weekend. At times, for both Saturday and Sunday. *Bleh*

Besides that Red & Yellow man, he adores Japanese food. He will scream for 'sushi' whenever he spotted Jappy food. He loves it so much that last night, when I bought him a tuna bun with a piece of 'seaweed' on the crust, he exclaimed ~ 'This is sushi bread'. Oh my, he will relate anything with 'seaweed' on it to be sushi. Creative!!

Whistle

2007-09-14T00:16:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Edus heard his daddy whistling. He tried contracting his lips & blow but of course, he could not produce any sound. His next move caught me off guard as he quickly grab his very own whistle & start blowing. Loudly, he declared he could whistle too!

I was surprised he could relate the sound of whistling to something that could produce a similar sound...that was from a whistle device.

Chatty Singer @ 27 mths

2007-09-10T21:32:00.000+08:00

Edus enjoys singing lately & here are his common tunes:

1) Baa Baa Black Sheep
2) Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
3) Old Macdonald had a Farm
4) Happy Birthday - Mummy's Favourite
5) 'I love you' song by Julia Gabriel School
6) 'Good morning & Everybody sit down song by Learning Horizon
7) Elmo song
8) Barney song

He always amused me whenever he puts an object on a plate, sings the 'Happy Birthday' song & mimik to 'blow' the 'candle'. A few times, I caught him sticking his french fry upright on the pool of ketchup sauce. He told me that the french fry was the candle. I enjoyed his creative moves. Just a crazy thought, should I set up a 'Home KTV' & get a microphone for him?

Diaper matters: At 27th month, I still did not train him to wake up from his sleep to pee. He wears diapers at night & during his nap. I felt it was too harsh to disturb the sleep of a barely 2 yr old 'baby'.

However, during the day when we were out shopping or in school, he is diaperless. When he poos, he will be sitting on the child seat that sits on top of the normal adult toilet bowl.

One recent problem was, his 'Mamy Poko' no longer can hold his urine at night. If we did not change him by 7am the next morning, his diaper will overflow & damp the mattress. Despite changing the diaper at 12 to 1am before we sleep, it will still overflow by 7am. He ever wet on our Simmons mattress. Due to that, we engaged a professional mattress cleaner to 'sterilise' it. Per session cost us $46 for a single side cleaning of the mattress. That was rather costly, but for the sake for his hygiene & I was impressed with their industrial equipment that uses light-rays, vibrations & deep suction. Residential Wet & Dry vacumm cleaners can't do much for mattress.

School: Only until 3 weeks ago, he started to actively involved in his school programs & stopped his crying episodes.

Meals: Rejects baby's bland porridge but still takes cereals & brown rice. Lately, he doesn't really like to eat much as compared to a few months back. Upon seeing biscuits, raisins & cheese, he will be delighted! When we were out, he knew he is never allow him to have a sip of our soft drink & will make sure he finish all his food before he was given a single sip as a bonus.

Bathing Time: It's a torture to wash his hair nowadays. Struggling & screaming is his usual 'forte'. Usually, we wash his hair like an infant style...cradling, as he refuses to tilt up his head to shampoo & he is very afraid of water coming to his eyes. In the past, he was OK with water running over his face. I guess every stage changes...and maybe now he realised what is fear & what is the effect of water touches his eyes etc. As for bathing, he is fine to stand & bath using the shower head ever since he could stand/walk. No changes for that. However, I'm training him to bath on his own. He enjoys rubbing his hands to create foam & rubbing foam on his body, hands & legs. He seems to be doing well including holding the shower head to rinse off his soapy body but often still skipping the back of his body until I reminds him.

Sports: He enjoys cycling & skateboarding. So, we got him a new bike that is much bigger than his tricycle. To add on, we even got him a kiddo 'scooter-blade' to add on to his adventurous & boyish games. He pesters us to let him try on roller-blading, I told him he's still a little boy & we can only enroll him on blading course when he turns 4 yrs old. The smallest pair of roller-blades are still TOO big for his little feet. For swimming, we stopped bringing him due to the Lunar 7th month. We will be back to the pool soon!

Programs on TV: His attention span is much longer now. He can be left in the room & sit there for almost 2 hours watching, without disturbing me. Just like when I'm blogging now, he is besides me watching his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on SCV 34 Playhouse Disney channel. That's his favourite channel for the past 1 year.

Monkey see-Monkey Do: He loves to mimik us. Just like an actor, he loves showing us how we read a book, how daddy lie on his stomach when using a laptop.

Cutting nails: Nowadays, he is willing to sit still for me to complete trimming his nails. He enjoys hair & nail trimming so much so that he volunteers to do it. In the past, I often have to wait till he is asleep to do the job. I have to admit he is no longer a baby.

Safety: He knew the danger of roads, stairs & drains. He will run or walk on his own on pavements but will stopped automatically upon seeing a flight of stairs, drain or road. He will freeze & wait for me to hold his hands before crossing. I will remind him to look at the traffic & declare 'No car! GO!. He noticed the importance of it & been checking on the roads before he makes his next step on the road.

Baking Mood is ON

2007-09-10T16:49:00.000+08:00

All along, I enjoy baking but I was either too busy or lazy to kickstart.

Recently, my engine is back again...had attended classes for Triple Chocolate Indulgence Cheesecake, Oreo Cheesecake, American Baked Cheesecake. Next, I've been making tons of Snowskin mooncakes for this season. I've tried making Red wine cranberry mooncake, GreenTea mooncake & Black sesame mooncake!

Wooo...More to come.

For a healthier lifestyle, I've also enrolled together with Sharine in this YOTAI class, that is Yoga with Taiji. Something unique. Ahhh...my life is fuller now...

Besides, I'm also considering whether to join 'True Yoga' too. :)

Seimpi School of Music

2007-08-23T15:23:00.000+08:00

Some changes for Edus's school routine:

Currently, he has been in his usual 2hrs class in 'Learning Horizon' from Mon to Fri. Followed by 'Julia Gabriel' bilingual class on Sundays.
After almost 1 full term in JG...it's been 2 months, I find that the curriculum in JG is EXTREMELY similar to LH. It seems 'boring' to me, as Mon to Fri plus Sundays seems to be the SAME.

Basically, 'Learning Horizon' is a 100% enrichment school. I'm glad I've chosen to put him in that school & he had a lot of exposure in this school. Over in LH, Teachers also gave each kid individual attention. Anyway, it's like 4 teachers in a class of 10 students. :) Without fail, everyday after the class ends, 1 of the teachers will feedback to me on what he did in class on that day, what they have observed etc. I felt Edus is in good hands.

Changes from Sept 2007:
The last day of this term will be 30th August & there will be a 1 week school holiday. Since this little boy is sooo attached to me and stopping the school for a week means it will be chaotic when the term resumes on 10th Sept. So, hubby & I decided to enroll him in the holiday program with 'LH'.
Theme: 'Little Busy Handz'
Course fee for 3 days of 2 hrs: $89.88

I'm glad that in 'LH', they do not restrict their arts lesson to mainly colouring or pasting crafts work...they are adventurous to include various kinds of art. Eg: Fabric printing, vege & fruits printing, making dough, cutting & making of aprons, making paper hats, musical instruments created from paper & peas. Simply, learning phonics thru art.
This new theme 'Little Busy Handz' will include Clay moulding, Pie baking & Tee-Shirts printing. That's COOL!

Since there's so much activities in 'LH' & it's already so comprehensive, we concluded that JG is only a duplicate. For next term, likely to stop JG. However, we will put him to learn music instead. We decided on Seimpi. Personally, I was trained in 'Yamaha' for 6 yrs when I was a kid. I felt music helps in academic & thinking skills. So why not enroll him and see if he enjoys it, just like I did.

Why Seimpi?

They takes in very young child
Venue ! That's important. We always felt lazy to go all the way to Orchard for JG clases on busy Sunday morning. Seimpi will conduct the music class in LH music room!
Fees are lower. Extra discount for MIM-Playtime lessons. Coz Edus is currently a student of 'LH'.

3 Cheers for LH: Edus will be taught by 'Seimpi' in his very own school in LH. That means on every saturdays, we only need to drive less than 10mins to the Grassroot Club, instead of going all the way to the Funan branch. *Yeah! :)

Oh another changes was: Currently, all parents who sent their kiddo to 'LH', they felt LH is an enrichment school & for 2 yr old, it's not necessary for them to attend class daily, so 8 of them opt for thrice a week class. Thrice weekly class is so popular that they planned to open another class. Recently, kids for the daily class dropped to 2 kids(including Edus). Meaning if the other kid, Ashley, did not turn up for class, Edus is left facing a minimum of 2 teachers! Argghhh!

It's meaningless to continue the daily class 'alone' as Ashley also opting for thrice weekly for Term 4. That is why Edus will be back to 3x a week class(Mon, Wed & Fri) next term, starting from 10th Sept. Of course, plus a Sat for Seimpi in LH.

Hi-5 - Let's GO!

2007-08-20T11:32:00.000+08:00

This is also the 2nd time we bringing little Edus to a kiddo musical play. The first was 'Elmo Colouring Book', which I had not blog about it, yet. :) That was fun & I can feel how much Edus enjoyed it & this time, I wanna see & feel his excitement in Hi-5 too!

Well, Hi-5 team is here!

We have bought the tickets to bring him to watch in Expo! Got the tickets for 6th Sept @ 7pm. We were lucky to get the 2nd row in Category 3 seats, we were told it's 17th row from the stage. I guess it's consider pretty close-up. Initially, I still thought most of the seats were sold out & had planned to go for the Category 2 seats if we were too far behind. We paid for $48+$2 = $50 for each ticket.

Yeah! I'm feeling excited! :O

2nd Movie

2007-08-20T11:28:00.000+08:00

Ever since his last movie 'Happy Feet', we did not bring him to any others...

Last month, we finally brought him to another movie 'Shrek 3'. Since then, he recognised the giant monster & begin to like that ugly figure. Hmmm...

17 August 2007

2007-08-20T11:17:00.000+08:00

This marks the day he STOPPED crying when I leave him in his class.

It's been more than 2 months since going to school EVERY single weekday in 'Learning Horizon'. Today, he finally did not cry and joined with his friends when I brought him to the class.

Teacher Eve told me he started to show his affection by hugging his friends in class, ever since last week. He is a 'Hi-Touch' person. Simply loves to give a big hug to people he likes. However, Teacher Eve was concerned that due to his big build, his strength sometimes could 'left the other kid breathless'. Haha....this giant overpowered his friends not by age (he is the youngest in class), but by his SIZE. To date, he exceed the 90cm mark, and over 16kg weight. Looking more like a 3 yr plus kiddo instead.

His longest sentence

2007-08-20T11:15:00.000+08:00

He's been very chatty lately, but only to people he knows.

The longest sentence he could handle without stopping in a go, was 5 words in a sentence. Like this: 'Edus eat McDonald's French Fries'.

Diaperless @ 25th mth

2007-08-20T09:01:00.000+08:00

He is off diaper ever since after his 2nd birthday...but it was only till 25th mth, then he stopped wearing diaper totally.

Even when we were out or in school, he is diaperless. There was once he pees on the floor in his class, and teacher commented that he could be too engrossed in his activities & forgot to inform the teachers.
The only time he is on diaper was...when he is sleeping. He is so sound asleep that he will wee-wee during his sleep. I could have wake him up for his wee-wee sessions, but I did not want him to be disturbed from his sleep, especially when at his age, sleep is utmost important. Maybe when he is 2.5 to 3 yrs old, then I will disturb his sleep for his wee-wee.

Somehow, ever since he was born, I did not wake him from his sleep. In the morning, we seldom need to wake him up. He could sleep till 9 to 10am...if he wants. I'm happy that my career allows me to be like a homemaker, I don't have to wake my kid from his beauty sleep & I don't have to rush him to a child-care or to a nanny daily. :)

The whole Blog Halted

2007-08-01T14:48:00.000+08:00

It's been such a fulfilling month in June. The only thing was I couldn't find time to update the blog!

On me, current property market & stock markets are so bullish & simply to say, my hands are FULL. Not only for property, I'm blessed to manage & hit the 'Top Producer award' in my agency in Prudential. Every of my achievements will be credited to little Edus...Guess this June baby brought me luck on his birthday month!

I did create personal notes for the blog to remind me on the things we did & taking tons of photos, without fail, for our precious boy.

For me, being busy spells good news. No matter how busy I was, I still have ample time to spend leisurely with Edus & I'm fully utilising my time for him. So, updating the blog in real-time is really secondary to me.

To cope with my busy schedule, we have engaged a lady helper to do our ironing for us and 2 more personal assistants to help me on my admin work.

I will hope to do up a summary on his progress, his school (in Learning Horizon & in Julia Gabriel Bilingual class). Now, he goes to school every single day, except Sat. On Saturdays, it's either the Zoo or beachplay. He is so familiar with the animals that he can walk me from the entrance of the Zoo. :)

His speech is picking up fast as well. He can speak sentences now. At times, I was taken aback from his replies. I couldn't keep up with his learning pace. I was also glad that he loves books over toys. He would pester me to read 1 book after another to him. If I ignored him, he would keep patting on my hand and continuously saying :'Mama, read book!!'

With all that I have, I'm glad that I'm focusing on 1 kid at the moment. At least, it gives me ample time to cultivate him & give me extra coupletime with hubby. With another kid, I can cope but I will be too tired to really enjoy motherhood. For now, I'm contented that I still have time for my Mani & pedicures, my own reading & my weekly body massages.

Last but not least, we felt Edus is enjoying the 100% attention from the both of us. Recently, he often walked up to us at night, using 1 hand to hug around my neck, and the other hugging round hubby's neck, pulled us closer & he would say: 'Edus love both'.

These words warmed our hearts.

Blogging Time

2007-05-23T23:57:00.000+08:00

Since Hubby is in Shanghai for a 4 days business trip, I'm back to my mum's house. Initially, I thought of joining hubby there for a short trip(with little Ed), but it was too rush on my end. Since I decided to give it a miss, I finally settle some time to update my blog. For months, I've been completing 1 to 2 korean serial drama every single week & neglected the blog. Imagine 32 to 40 episodes every week! :P Often too engrossed in the show after Ed sleep (that is after 11pm) & too lazy to attend to the blog. Therefore, for these 4 days, no one pass me more dramas, so I should be more focus on upkeeping it. Anyway, hubby is travelling every week, DUH! Maybe I should change my all-time long template??! Will it take long? (Where should I start? Any pointers from anyone??) :)

Most likely you will see photos and posts that happened few months back! Hope I could keep his blog as updated as I can.

Our Japan Trip

2007-05-22T22:35:00.001+08:00

*Postdated 26th March to 4th April*

I know-I know. Alot of colleagues & friends are waiting for me to post my out-dated photos taken in Japan. I've dragged for more than a month. :P

Taaaaa-Raaaaa!! The story goes...

It's been a fruitful trip for the 4 of us & both me and hubby truly enjoyed ourselves. This, we called it our 2nd honeymoon trip. *hoho
We were glad that we did not brought Edus along. This trip has too much walking, too much hopping around. The unexpected colddddd weather might also be too harsh for the little one too. The lowest we encountered was -1 degree! Grrrrr...though it was SPRING!
We certainly enjoyed the peaceful nights together, the awesome SAKURA and massive shopping! Well, my accomplishment was: we did not exceed our budget this time (unlike our honeymoon in USA) :P For this time, we spent $9,000 + (we limit ourselves to $10k max).

Day 1 & 2 in Osaka:
Arrived Osaka on JAL. Our tour group was big! 43 of us...and most of them were honeymooners. I was surprised that everyone were co-operative. Over the 7 days guided tour, everyone were on time and the best was...no hiccups at all, which was rare for such a big group size!! Even the tour guide commented that luck was with us due to too many honeymooner (too much 'XI') as not only we managed to cover everything, she even managed to slot in extra locations for us! Like the sashimi wet market & the special 'sotong ice-cream' cum grilled scallops stall! Next, weather really good everyday too & that helps in permitting all of us to get to the 5th level of Mt Fuji! Plus we get to catch the cherry blossom! That was simply pure luck as the Sakura normally last only a week, and to catch it at its fullest, really depends on LUCK! :)

First of all, look at those awesome trees! *Wowww...

The goodies in Japan, starting with Green Tea Latte...*Slurp

In Osaka itself, our very first stop was 'Burberry'. The 3 of us were crazy with our purchase. 1st stop @ 'never-ending' shopping in Shinsaibashi and our hands were already full. We were so embarassed when we squeezed our way back to our seats in the tour bus with our bulky bags just for Day 1, at the 1st stop! Our tour continues to Osaka Chinatown, countless ancient temples, Universal Studio & Osaka Castle.

Day 3 - Kyoto:
I will update the details the next round. For now, make do with just photos, ok?

Day 5...on our way back to Tokyo, Hakone:

Day 6 to 10 (including our 3 days extension in Tokyo):
The majestic Mt Fuji...creamy looking snow-capped cone.

Personally, I'm sick of DisneyLand. I guess it might be a thrilling place to go to as a 1st timer, but if you've seen it more than once, it's nothing fascinating. What amazed me was EVERY disneyland looks almost the SAME. Even the rides and things you seen there are similar. Over in Tokyo's, both me and hubby spent the day queuing rides on behalf & being photographers for our 2 princesses (Sharine & Eileen)...as they enjoy Disney for the first time.

In Odaiba, Shinjuku & Asakusa Temple:

Trendy malls in Shibuya...high-end brand names in Ginza...high-tech gadgets in Akihabara.
Next in Harajuku...popular for their hair salons...so I got myself a new Jappy hair perm & wasted my precious 3 hours in the salon. :P
Why wasted? Coz my 'boneless hair' (too fine) never once keep any of my curls...they 'auto-rebond' in just 3 days...Even those curly aunty perm also don't work for me. *Sigh* I thought maybe if I perm in Japan, they could be more pro & high-tech to solve this problem & maybe I could get a real CURL. Hmmm...

More photos taken in Odaiba & Roppongi...overall, we managed to cover almost everything we planned...except Yokohama. *Sigh, we should have extend 4 days instead of 3!* This trip was so wonderful that the 4 of us has planned to return to Japan next year & our next destination should be in Hokkaido & Tokyo(purely for shopping) :P

Here's comes the truth of our overweight 60kg luggages!!
*I did not post all photos of my actual purchase...coz it's simply toooo many! Accessories, keychains, mini charms, embroidery cardholders, more bags & clothes....

Starting with my craze...The Blue Label.
Just a couple of months ago, hubby just bought me 2 COACH handbags that cause more than $1.2k damage to his pocket...and now, it was another $1,000. *Uhh...time to stop shopping for bags* I'm thankful that hubby not only did not lecture me on my wild purchase, he ENCOURAGED me to get more!! Oh, I'm so lucky to have him! :)

Mummy's craze on Ed's clothes from GAP...I almost cleared off the shelves in the kids department! Grabbed almost every piece that suits his size! Hubby's job was to carry the basket for me to drop off the chosen clothes & queue at the cashier. :P

Thinking back, I wonder why I bought him so many Disney lanyards. Maybe all look too irresistible in the Disneyland store.
Not much toys for him from the trip, though. Among those, I love the sushi set most! That's why I bought another set for his Cousin Bin.

Yeah, you are right. Hubby did not get much for himself, except for some clothes, shoes & jackets. His only rare buy was a TISSOT watch I chose for him in the airport before our flight. For that watch, i think it costs him around $600. I guess to buy it from the airport is still worth it without the GST...

Ahhh...such a long post. The outcome of taking more than 1,000 photos! :)

His School: Learning Horizon

2007-05-22T00:25:00.000+08:00

After dragging for months to find the right school, we decided to put him with 'Learning Horizon @Grassroot Club' on his birthday month. It will be a 2 hr class & I'm starting him slowly...with just 3x a week for a term and proceed to 5x a week on the next term onwards. Initially, we had decide for 'Kinderland Serangoon' but that's only for kids age 3 and above. Next choice was ‘Modern Montessori International’ but it was definitely out of way & the pathetic class size of 4 doesn’t attract me too. Next was 'Kinderland Kovan' & with the fact that little Elodie was also in the same class, it seems a perfect choice! However, we still have to face the transport problem. That's a real-real fact, even before enrolling. My mum doesn't drive and I cannot be sure that I can be the one to send & fetch him from school every single day plus hubby couldn't help much either as he's travelling overseas soooo often nowadays. I predicted that there is a high chance of changing school after a few months in Kinderland (I'm quite certain my mum will complain on taking a bus plus MRT to and fro, after 1st month) and I'm trying to avoid the need for Edus to change school after adapting to it. That will be a nightmare all over again.

Before I found 'LV', my mum was telling me she likes 'Little Skool-House @ AMKhub' as rain or shine, she can fetch Ed home! (Air-con interchange mah...her grandson cannot kanna rain or sun one. That's grandparents' mentality!! :P) Well, too bad, the class was veryyyyy full. Even on waiting list, Ed was on number 29!!!! Goodness, I didn't want to wait that longgggg. For this school, only the location attracts me, other than that, the limited teachers and the principal are not organised. They even had hard time telling me on the waiting list & fees! (DUH, maybe they are simply TOO new) Next, what puts me off was that they are under NTUC curriculum, might as well I send him to the NTUC childcare below my mum's block, save the trouble! I was lucky to chance upon 'Learning Vision' before giving up. I have intention to put him on full day childcare once he reaches 2.5 or 3 yrs old. So we had put him on waiting list for full day program @ 'Learning Vision' in NYP. Personally, I like the size of the schools. Both schools (in NYP & Grassroot) are exceptionally huge & kids there look really lively. Background of the kids plays an important factor of the reason why I prefer the school in NYP. *keke

Why Learning Horizon/Learning Vision??
· I like their comprehensive all-rounder curriculum, focusing on Communications, Creative Expression, Physical Fitness & Well-Being, Social skills, Technology IT Bytes, Environment Awareness...EQ Literacy, Rhythms & Moves, Artworks, Math Quest, Young Scientist, Outdoor learning experience,...and so on. Unlike Montessori which has a very unique teaching method.
· Good Class size of 10 kids
· Excellent teacher-student ratio of 1:5. Other schools are normally 1:8/10/12

As June is school holiday month, he will be on holiday program for 3 weeks (starting from 4th June) with the theme of 'Fairy Tales'. After that, his actual school term will start on 25th June.

His fees:
Cost for full day: $850 /mth
Cost for his current 2hr class: $ 892.50 /term (10 weeks with materials)

Besides 'LH', I've also enrolled him with 'Julia Gabriel @ Forum'. Again, he’s on the waiting list. I find that good schools always have to wait. Neighbourhood ones cost lesser, yet often have immediate vacancies...how come?? For JG, I like their Sundays Bilingual Class. That's just an additional 'CCA' for him to socialise with different people & for me to judge if he enjoys the lessons since I will be with him. If he doesn't benefits from it, who knows, maybe I will!!! *haha

Greetings

2007-05-13T23:54:00.000+08:00

For the past 2 days, before he dozed off to sleep, he will 'recite' his counting on his own...I wonder what makes him take that as his routine?! I quietly sat beside him & listened without interrupting. He was counting 1 to 10, without skipping any numbers. I was impressed! :)

His next recent habit was to finish a book before sleep. His favourite: Leapfrog LittleTouch.
The minute he wakes up in the morning, he will ask for a book! In fact, I was lazy to entertain him at times.
Is he a bookworm by nature??!

He has also improved his pronunciation over the phone. Instead of the usual: 'Lo'...he was saying 'Hello' clearly, followed by 'How are you?'
He also knew how to reply 'Fine' when I asked him 'How are you?'

My 15 month old lappie is down

2007-05-04T10:10:00.000+08:00

OMG! My Dell laptop was caught in heavy rain...and it doesn't boot up anymore. *Sigh* I still thought it could last till end of this month when I buy a new Ultraportable Sony Vaio laptop. I was aiming for that SonyTX57 for the past 1 month. I love its 9 hours long battery life , its sleek look & that super-light 1.25kg weight!

Now all I wish was to 'save' my harddisk...which consist of all my little boy's photos! :(

Numbers Vs Alphabets

2007-04-28T16:30:00.000+08:00

Little boy surprised me today. He was playing the number game with me. I never teach him on numbers but somehow, he managed to do it. For a 22.5 mths old, I don't know if this pace is too slow. However, to me, I didn't expect him to know at his age.

Our conversation goes:
Me: Edus, let's count 1,2,3...1
Ed: 2
Me: 3
Ed: 4...6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13

He skipped 5 and 10...and stopped at 13. He cannot carry on from 14...keke.

He seems to like numbers, but not alphabets. When I goes...'A'...he doesn't want to continue after me. :P

Movie & Gym

2007-04-20T00:45:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since we last watched movie. Today, hubby was on leave & off we went to catch a movie. We did not bring Edus along...little Ed had only been to movies once for "Happy Feet". We will wait till "Legend of the Sea" to be screen before bringing him again. Not much of a choice today, so we settled for 'Mr Bean's Holiday' & it turned out as we expect, a hilarious story! :D

After that, both of us hit the gym for a good workout since we just signed up for a 1-year membership. :) For the past 22 months, everyday seems to be revolved with either work, Edus or household stuffs. Glad that Ed is no longer a baby now...he's turning 2 !! We begin to feel it's getting easier & we started to enjoy some quiet time on our own recently...back to the time where we have our own personal time doing things we used to enjoy, just like life before having a baby. :)

Of course, we appreciate Edus who came into our life & brought us another form of joy! :)

Spa...shiok!

2007-04-19T22:10:00.000+08:00

It's been about 3 weeks or so since I last went for a rub! Today, I went to 'Body Wellness' with a colleague for a good orange peel scrub, followed by hydrobath & a good hour of aroma massage. I felt so energised after the session! Shiok-Shiok-Shiok!! *Yeah!*

In fact, I felt lucky. ;)
I'm thankful that my working time is soooo flexible. I can often escape crowds for shopping (don't have to queue for fitting rooms!I Duh!), movies or massage sessions. Best of all, I can spend alot of time with Edus...as much as I want.

Edus @ Ikea Tampines

2007-04-19T01:42:00.000+08:00

*Postdated in March*

3-in-1 Celebration

2007-04-19T00:42:00.000+08:00

*Postdated 11th March*

Today is my colleagues' wedding day, plus our own 4th year wedding anniversary, plus it is hubby's 31st birthday too!

Edus had a heavy task on hand on that day... as the Ring Bearer/Page Boy for the wedding couple. Getting him walk on the aisle on his own is a difficult & stressful task for a 21 month old toddler. In fact, I'm the one feeling the extreme stress! Let alone carrying the ring basket, without the risk of dropping into the 2 mini side ponds along the aisle. Plus he is so attached to me...I really don't believe he could complete the walk without me, on his own.

We tried to rehearse twice before the wedding ceremony. He refused to walk on his own. To top it off, he was feeling uncomfortable with his formal dressing (with a bow tie)...plus this air-con lover was under the hot sun! He was 'melting' !! I could see that he was feeling irritated & it was time for his NAP! *OMG*
In order not to jeopardise the whole ceremony, I confirmed with the couple that he is simply too young to hold on the rings & walk the aisle. He will only walk thru (will only try) and get another older kid to hold the rings instead.

Every guests were seated...the wedding song started, I told Edus to walk to the front, while I quickly went from the back to the front...trying to lure him to walk over. My!! He did it!! Walking on the right pace...and I was praying he will not tripped on the 2 gaps (small drainage on the ground) in between the aisle. I was certainly proud of him! At least, he did not make a fuss during the crucial moment. Did not trip off, did not cry...& most importantly, did not stop in the middle of the aisle crying & waiting for me to carry him away! That will be a shame! WHEW...that was lucky! Good work, Edus!! :D

To celebrate hubby's birthday, we went to a posh restaurant: 'Michelangelo' in Holland Village. It was highly recommended by websites & colleagues. Well, it was classified as a posh restaurant, but personally, I find the place was too romantic to bring along a kid. The food was really good, though!! Their scallops were superb! Cost us about $150 for a meal for 2.

My ah-bui

2007-04-19T00:23:00.000+08:00

We couldn't recognise him after we were back from our Japan trip. After 11 days of granny's 'generous stuffing'...his face seems to swell. *hoho*
Anyway...a 1.5kg weight gain is a big jump for his height.

Oh, isn't he cute wearing the Mickey's socks?? (which I got for him in Tokyo DisneyLand)

All in a day - Zoo, Farms & Beach

2007-04-17T18:10:00.000+08:00

After meeting 2 customers in the morning, hubby and I brought Edus to the Zoo. It rains after we were there for about 3 hours. Since the admission was free, nothing to be disappointed of. We just headed for the exit, bought a little gift for Edus from the Zoo souvenir store & left the place. Hubby said since it was still early, he decided to bring Edus to the next destination...Fish farm & Pet farm in Pasir Ris!

Edus had been to 'Qian Hu' the other time, so the fish farm doesn't really interest him that much. A few times, he even wanted to put his hands into the tank. He told me he wanted to 'mum-mum' (EAT the fish!!) *Pengz*

When we got to the Pet farm, he got very excited. He enjoyed watching the dogs having their bath, watching them playing in the mini pet pool, others feeding those stray dogs & those well-groomed animals in the training ground.

I guess hubby was very adventurous that day. It was already 5.30pm. He suggested the 3 of us to head for the beach ! Today, Edus must have enjoyed the nature to the fullest. This time, he had fun using a fat stick to 'write' on the wet sand. This tidy kid doesn't like to be 'dirty'. When sand gets into his sandals, he was 'complaining' to me. I deliberately took off one of his sandals...and guess what? He was standing on 1 foot...and refused to put down his bare foot on the sand! When I continued to take off the other one, he quickly sat on daddy's lap and lifted both his feet up high! Of course, he couldn't lift them off ground for a long time. Within 2 mins, he was unable to tolerate the weight & finally put them on ground, veryyy carefully. Both of us were laughing non-stop as Edus was protesting furiously when I tried to cover his feet with sand.

A nice family outing, indeed!!

His growth @ 22 months

2007-04-17T16:51:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since I last blog on Edus's growth.

Well, # of teeth still the same, a total of 16 pearlies.
No more new jabs for him, Pneumo & ChickenPox also done with.

The biggest jump was his speech development. Out of the blue, before he stepped into 22 months, this golden-mouthed fellow begin to speak words, not yet in sentences, though.
Even that, it was a nice surprise. I still thought I must look for speech therapist if he still refuses to speak after 24 months! I've been waiting for his 1st few words for a longgggg time!

I was beaming widely when he FIRST called me "MAMA", on 23rd March!! I was delighted, and was asking him to repeat himself again. He did it! Called me: Mama...Mama...Mama. Though he was repeating himself, I told hubby: 'This is NOT annoying...it's music to my ears'. (Quoted Hubby's joke that Edus was irritating when he kept repeating 'Papa' few months back)
When I asked him to call me 'Mummy', he said 'Day-My'...

I've lost count on the number of words he could speak as of today...but it's all popping out in a sudden. Fast & furious! It's like within a week...he spoke everything he accumulated in his 22 months!!

When we brought him to the Zoo on 14th April, he could tell me the baboon's buttock was RED and monkeys were up on the trees. Now, I find that applying the 'Friends of the Zoo' card was worth it. The card kinda 'forced' us to bring him there often, plus nowadays, he was looking forward for Papa to bring him to the Zoo. He was repeating Zoo...Cow, bear, horse...etc, after each visit.

His naughty side:
1) When he looks for granny to bring him to the playground, and if granny refuses, he will bring the telephone to granny & say 'Call Ah-Gong'. *Pengz* (He knew that whenever Ah-Gong calls, Ah-Mah will bring him out!)
2) He will throw tantrums especially when he just woke up from his nap.
3) He loves to open cabinets in search of 'new' toys & messed up the kitchen. However, after playing, he will keep them in place.
4) He is an active performer, he loves to make facial expressions, hum songs & doing somersaults. However his shy personality 'masked' out his 'wild' nature, whenever he is out of the house. This leads many to think he was such an obedient boy. *That's NOT true!*

What surprises he gave us (after we were back from Japan...that 10 days absence sprung him alive):
1) Whichever VCDs he wishes to watch, he will do it 'SELF-SERVICE'. He will open the drawer, choose a VCD, lift up the CD cover, switch on the DVD player, press the tray 'OPEN', put the CD in (and he knows WHICH is the RIGHT side facing up!!), close the tray & press the 'PLAY' button!! *OMG* (Where did he learn it?? Did he observe how we do it??)
2) He can dance EXACTLY the same dance steps as the dancers, in one of the Sesame Street VCD!
3) Hubby brought him to the park nearby (which is around 2 mins walk from our place & he was there only a few times beforehand)...and hubby deliberately walk the WRONG way home. Edus 'told' his Daddy the RIGHT way home by pointing to the correct route & lead his father home from the park! *I'm glad he knew his way home, other than knowing which level to go when he is in the lift and walking to our house and granny's house from the lift lobby.

His weight to date: 14 kg
He BOOM from 12.4kg to 14kg, after 10 days of granny's care.

His love for shoes...

2007-04-16T00:07:00.000+08:00

He couldn't resist shoes & socks. So I decided to get him another pair to add in his mini collection of shoes. :)
Chose the Disney Crocs instead of the norm...as it looks cuter & till now, I did not see any imitation disney crocs on sale on the streets, yet. I got him a size 8/9.

Japan, here we come!

2007-03-01T17:01:00.000+08:00

*Postdated 16th Feb*
Today, hubby had half day off for CNY. Off we went to book our tickets to Japan! It will be a 7-days tour package + we had choose to extend another 3 days in Tokyo. In total: 10 days, from 26th March till 5th April. :)
Package cost: $5,200 for 2 pax (I guess with the 3 days extension's transport, food and shopping, should not exceed $10,000, hopefully)

Getting excited by the day...another 3 weeks to go...before I get to see Sakura. It's been 7 years since I last seen the cherry Blossom when I was working in USA. How time flies...

The only regret for this trip is: Edus is Not joining us...
I felt a tinge of guilt whenever I think of that...even for now.
Everyone asked why the sudden change of mind since I had already bought him so many winter clothes...what a waste of money, right?? Plus the cost for his SQ flight is just a mere $600, compared to kids above 2 that cost half the price of an adult.

Well, hubby made this decision... to enjoy the holiday on our own. As we will be on a tour package and the itinerary will be packed with lots of transferring from Osaka to Kyoto to Tokyo. This trip might be too harsh for a 22 month old. Plus it includes tons of mountain climbing, long walking, drastic weather, cramped train stations in Tokyo, no escalators in most train stations & affecting people in our tour group if he fuss in the bus or worse, poo-poo in coach. All these resulted hubby to decide not to bring him along. He doesn't want the whole tour group to 'grumble' on us...haha...as the tour agency told us none of the 40 people in the group bring any kiddo along. Hubby prefers to bring him to countries like USA/Australia...places where he can rent a car and plan the trip that is not that hectic for a child.
Of course, though I very much wanted to think otherwise, I agreed with him very reluctantly. All along, I hope to bring him to disneyland, plus the fact that he had not left me for any of our trips (3 of them, so far). I had to accept that the truth of Ed maybe too young to remember or enjoy anything about cherry blossom or Disneyland. I also agreed that touring on our own and be free from a baby after 22 months, for a full 10 days, might gives both of us a real breather and a good rest...thoroughly relaxing our mind and body.

Oh Yeah! This trip, 2 other colleagues will be joining us, Sharine & Alice! Together, we will focus in Ueno...Odaiba... Shibuya...Shinjuku...Mt Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Universal Studio, DisneyLand, DisneySea...and many more!! :D

Many thanks to Sor Hoon, Kelvin & William for providing us with tons of Tokyo's info. We felt so equipped & ready to 'cheong' for the cool 10 days!

Another 4?? 13th, 14th, 15th & 16th

2007-02-16T17:33:00.000+08:00

Mass production again...this time another 4 cuspid erupted! Top left, top right, bottom left & bottom right. How come they always popped at the same time? This could be the culprit of him chewing on the bottle teats...& damaged 5 in a month. Sigh...

At least I'm happy that till today...after 16th teeth, he did not developed any fever or such. That was a relief for all mothers. Almost complete his set of teeth... :)

The Long Awaited Studio Photos

2007-02-12T15:49:00.000+08:00

Just few days before the Lunar New Year, the 3 of us went to Chinatown to collect his collage & 5R printed album...as well as the full 300 shots in softcopy. Hubby & I took 2 to 3 hours to narrow down the 300 shots to the 26 cherries. That's a tough job! In parents' eyes, every shots are cherries... :)

His Collage:

My Favourite:

Run Edus Run...

2007-02-11T16:51:00.000+08:00

Recently, I've been looking at nice walking shoes for little Ed. However, sport shoes are so limited in Singapore! Nothing looks unique! *Duh*
We went several places & found the so-called 'largest' selection in Royal Sporting House...less than 10 pairs to choose from. Nike...Reebok...Adidas.

Since there isn't much choice to consider, we got him this pair...Gold looks pretty cool on the blue velvet material.

Zoo Trip & Chinatown

2007-01-20T17:23:00.000+08:00

Since day 1, visiting the Zoo was under Emily's wish list. Due to the frequent downpour, we delayed this trip for a few times till this very last weekend in Singapore for her. Today, the weather looks really fine & the 4 of us headed to the Zoo.

Photos to share:

His cheeky laughter:

After the Zoo trip, we headed to Chinatown for shopping. Emily loves the traditional items in Chinatown & bought a couple of gifts. She even decided to buy some BBQ sliced pork to bring along her oncoming trips to Bangkok, Tibet & Nepal.
A lot of foreigners often travel for a WHOLE year before they stepped into the cruel working environment. I wonder why Singaporeans don't do that?? Personally, I had travelled for 2 months before I stepped into working life. I do hope Edus will follow his heart & have a chance to travel & learn about some exotic countries' culture before he starts the boring working life in future. I would think he should travel for at least half a year before settling down. As a parent, I will hope to support him as much as I can financially on this part.

His 10th, 11th & 12th Tooth

2007-01-20T10:43:00.000+08:00

OMG !!!

All came at the SAME time! The other 3 First Molars came to the world! This gives me signs of the need to cultivate the habit of brushing his teeth everyday....

Nowadays, it's hard to take photos of the newborn teeth. He's been quite a handful, terribly active & too cheeky to believe, signalling the upcoming 'TERRIBLE TWO'. He enjoys mimiking everyone's action! This concludes that he can be lovable & hateful at times!

Emily & Edus

2007-01-18T17:19:00.000+08:00

It's been 3 weeks since we have our backpacker friend staying with us...and surprisingly, from the start, Edus really likes her! Emily also enjoys playing with Edus whenever she's at home.

His 9th Tooth

2007-01-15T00:35:00.000+08:00

Forgot to blog this!

I discovered his 9th tooth. They seems to take ages to grow. This time it skipped the cuspid & went on for the Upper Left First Molar. That left a gap in between the molar & his incisor.

Well, I spotted that tooth by chance when he threw his head back with laughter & I caught a glimpse of that mighty tooth. And it has already grow out quite a bit. It could have been out 3 weeks ago, but this blur mummy had been diligently brushing his precious 8 teeth & never realised the 9th was 'born'. :P

Though his tooth development was slow, that never bothers me as the longer they take to grow, the merrier. I have lesser to brush, hence lesser effort. Plus from what I know, the later he has his set of milk teeth, the longer they will last before the permanent ones are out.

His Character

2007-01-14T23:52:00.000+08:00

After these 19 months, I noticed the change in his character. I believe this is his own natural character & might not defer much when he is bigger (unless from external influence).

Positive:
Maturity & Super responsible young man, even though this tender age.
He has shown maturity. In the past, he will cry if he sees me not leaving the house together with him. Nowadays, if hubby brings him out to Ah-Ma’s place, he is still very unwilling to leave me. However, if I give him a hug & kiss, he will waved goodbye to me & walked along with his daddy willingly.
He will keep his toys after playing (though I need to remind him at times). He will not empty his toy box & mess up the whole house.
He will hold the stuffs I asked him to hold -TIGHTLY. Even though the stuffs were too heavy for him, and even though his hands were aching & shaking with the unbearable weight for his little hands, he had NEVER EVER let go or dropped any of the stuffs/bag I told him to carry for me.
Careful - Anything that he drops, he will make sure he retrieves it, even if it's under the chair/cabinet.
Tidy - If he sees the floor is dirty (eg: breadcrumbs, pieces of paper etc), he will pick it up and pass it to me.
Behave in public - He will not run around in shopping malls or touch anything from the shelves in the malls.
Good Appetite - I don't have to worry about him not eating much or not drinking enough water. He will finish everything willingly.

Negative:
He can be stubborn.
He will bully people he knows (LIKE me or Daddy). He will behave like an angel when he is out.
At times, if he is holding something he likes & we snatched it away from him, he will throw tantrums. He will continues to stand at the same spot screaming & not willing to walk or being carried by anyone.

I’m so TOUCHED

2007-01-14T23:21:00.000+08:00

Ever since he was born, he is well-known to be very attached to me. Even when he is totally engrossed with his food, TV show or toys, be it at home or we were out shopping, he never fails to check if I'm within sight. If I'm not there, he will be searching around the whole house for me.

I believed all these were just purely 'babies-attachment', and they will be gone when he gets bigger.
Till this incident......I knew it's love. Innocent love for Mummy that touches me deeply.

Tonight's incident was the ultimate. Both hubby & I were baffled by his actions. What happened was: He was happily playing with his golf set & he accidentally hit my leg. Taken aback from the impact, I let out a loud ‘OUCH’. Immediately, Ed quickly left what he was doing, which was to let go his golf stick, turned his back & act as if he did nothing wrong. I said to him: 'Why did you hit Mummy? Do you know you hurt Mummy?'
Daddy was teasing him & said: ‘Oh, mummy is in pain. She is crying’. Ed quickly turned to see me & started to look as if he’s gonna cry. His lips quivered.

I wanted to carry on the act to see what he will be his reactions. I will expect him to come forward to ‘sayang’ mummy? So I did my sobbing scene.
When he saw me crying…he kept pinching & rubbing his fingers so hard that they turned red. Next, his eyes became red and watery but he was trying very hard NOT to cry. I was surprised by that as I thought when all kids are afraid, they would cry naturally! I was so deeply touched that I was near tearing. Daddy took pity on him and open out his arms to give him a hug. Immediately, he let out a loud cry…for just once & turned to look at me with his red watery eyes. This was the 1st time I see him so upset. I stopped the act & said: ‘You cannot hit Mummy ok?’ He came over & gave me a hug and stroked my face. How sweet was that! I often thought only girls will show these kinda loving gentle gestures. Next, he lifted his face from my chest & looked at me, stroked my face further & planted a kiss on my cheek.

Ahhhh……everything is WORTH it! All my time spent at home on him & the sacrifices on pursuing my career is worth it!I couldn't believe the bonding could be so strong!

As I have been wanting to buy a cane to tame this boy further, Hubby asked: Do you still have the heart to cane him? Do you still need to buy a cane?
Hmmm…that’s a tough question. Coz all along, I believe in ‘Sparing the rod, spoilt the child’

Afterall, if I were to buy a cane, it will be more of a threatening object than to seriously punish him.

Speak: Cheese

2007-01-13T23:10:00.000+08:00

How come every word that comes from him is related to food?
From mum-mum to yakult to Cheese!!

Other than food, I don't see his enthusiasm of speaking a little more.
What cause him to say Cheese??

It was my 1st trip to the largest NTUC hypermart in Singapore, since it’s opening of the long-awaited mall in Ang Mo Kio. My initial intention is to grab 2 tins of Frisocrem for Ed, but ended up with a thought of whipping a pasta meal for the 2 men in my life tomorrow, since it will be a Saturday. Within minutes, my basket was filled with Salmon, threadfin, broccoli, tomatoes, apples, butter spread, milk & cheese.

At night, I passed a piece of cheese cube that I just bought for hubby to give it to Ed. We did not mention what we are giving him. After his 1st bite, he let out a broad smile & said : CHEESE. That was a good surprise & really excites the both of us! As we were monitoring his speech progress, we are happy that he is willing to speak 1 more word. We asked if he said ‘Cheese’, he then continues saying: Cheese…Cheese…Cheese!

Great improvement! :)

Speak: Yakult

2007-01-13T23:06:00.001+08:00

3 weeks ago...he was excited whenever he saw us opening the fridge for a bottle of Yakult. One day, he was so eager to have one that he blurted out the word : Yakult.
Here's a clip of him saying...Yakult.

Shopping Shopping Shopping

2007-01-12T02:06:00.000+08:00

I know this shouldn't be the way. I've bought more & more clothes & shoes for Ed again!

This time from Fox & Colettee.
Every week, either me or my mum will be buying clothes for him & he has far more new clothes than me. *Sigh*

His 'Ah-Pek' Shoes:

Wanted to get a pair of bermudas for him...but end up buying more. Even asked for the thickest jacket in store, getting ready for our Japan trip. However, 2 of our friends could not travel in Feb, so we had to defer another month to travel in Mar/Apr, hope all of us can catch the Cherry Blossoms at the right timing! :)

ChixPox Vaccine

2007-01-05T10:00:00.000+08:00

He had his jab today! For the prevention of Chickenpox.

Personally I had chickenpox when I was in Pri 3 & I had it at the wrong time! It was the final prelim papers. It really affects my grades then. That was why I concluded I must give Ed this 'important' vaccine.

We went to Kidzlink for it and the minute Ed saw the needle Dr Tan was holding, he started to struggle. He is a BIG boy now! Finally he knew this jab gonna causes him pain! Haha...
Yeah, of coz, that followed by a shrill of cry. However, the minute I carried him away, he stopped sobbing.

We did ask regarding the single strand of short & curly white hair we discovered 2 days ago. Dr Tan mentioned she saw a few babies having silvery/gold, white hair....all are normal. We just have to monitor if they still grow at fast rate/large amount.

Next we also enquire about his speech. He understands a great deal of instructions & he learns things pretty fast, however, he simply refuses to speak more. Dr Tan told us to come back to her if he still doesn't speak at least 20 words by 24 months. We shall see.

Total cost for the jab was $105 (without any medicine).

Well, I ever 'complained' to Emily (the US ang-moh teacher who is currently staying in my house) about his speech progress. Her first reaction was not to worry as Albert Einstein also started speaking only when he turned 6 years old! That's a great relief & I chose to listen to her good example, rather than worrying for the future!
Due to her comments, I became interested to find out if Miss Ang-Moh was telling me the truth or just consoling me...keke
Well, here's my findings about Childhood Einstein:
"Far from being an obvious genius, young Albert was actually unable to speak fluently until he was nearly 12 years old."
'A remarkable aspect of Einstein's childhood is the fact that he spoke much later than the average child. Einstein claimed that he did not begin speaking until the age of three and only did so hesitantly, even beyond the age of nine. '

Since his pneumoccocal & chixpox vaccine were done, his next optional jab was Hep A...which requires 2 jabs. I shall wait till he turns Two before giving him that 2 needles again.

Dr Tan mentioned chixpox jab will cause fever for next 2 days. We are lucky to say Ed did not really developed any fever for almost all his jabs, including this. :)

Till now, it's good news that he completed the FULL course of compulsary vaccines!!

NEW Year 2007

2007-01-01T10:45:00.000+08:00

I had a great new year gift this year! And that was to hit my numbers in Prudential & got my Quality Club title. That's a great achievement for a newbie, considering I'm not really 'working' & usually accompanying Ed at home & also having my property career on hand. :)

This year resolution...to hit my numbers for Quality Club once again & to focus more family time. It's already a big portion of my time on family in 2005/2006 but for this year, it's gonna be even more focus into Ed's development in school. Kids grew too fast, I have to really capture that before it's gone! Career is only a bonus for me if I can hit my numbers! Next resolution for 2007, is to have a year-end baby. *SURPRISE*
Personally, I'm a Nov baby and 'PIGGY' is my most compatible animal sign, so we decided to try out for just 1 month to see if we can have a little piggy baby. The fact that history has to repeat itself turns me OFF, the nausea 1st trimester, the tiring 3rd trimester, waking for the night feedings, the full course jabs cum follow-on fever, the need to divert my attention & energy for 2, the delay in travelling plans...and so on.
The reason for settling for another has only 1 reason. That was: it seems good for Ed to have a NEW LIVING TOY to play with him & grow up with him. Haha. It seems like everything is for Ed, even having #2 was for him. Hubby said it was too cruel to classify #2 as a 'growing Toy' for my little precious. That's favouritism, right?? :P I guess I was, I always love boys, that's why! Boys are so cheeky & active! I was teasing hubby if my #2 is a boy, then I will downgrade Ed & little Ed will be HIS brother's TOY! :P

Whatever it is, whether to have #2 or not wasn't very important, but we will give ourselves to try for 1 to 2 months, if we have it, so be it. If god feels that 1 is enough for me, I will stop my plan for that living Toy. :)
Just that simple! :)

Today, we also have a new guest from USA. She will be staying in Ed's room for a month. Initially, I was worried if Ed will be scared by that blonde lady...but to my surprise, he was having fun playing with her. Giggling & laughing away whenever she was around!

Somersault

2006-12-25T02:57:00.000+08:00

He did his very 1st acrobatic move, performing a full complete somersault on his own. He loves doing it again and again on our king-sized bed. Spinning from left to right, right to left.

He seems to be fast in his motor development & have natural interest in stunts. Now, I was contemplating whether to enroll him to a gymnasium in future! Hohoho...

Kiddy Ride

2006-12-25T02:48:00.000+08:00

Whenever Ed passes by this mini scooter at our void deck, he would ask for a ride. When he sits readily on the seat, he will put out his hand to ask for a coin. Next, he will try to slot the coin but often failed to do it on his own & asked me to slot it in for him, while he held on the handles tightly & getting ready for the ride.

Immediately when the ride ended, he will stand up & indicates me to carry him down. Lucky till now, he has not tried asking me for another coin. He seems contented to have just 1 ride. He will then waved bye-bye to the scooter. I guess in no time, he will be asking for coin #2.

3 days in a row - X'mas celebrations

2006-12-25T00:51:00.000+08:00

Started 22nd Dec...both hb & I went to Prudential agency dinner. We had it in Fish & Co, the one besides Parkmall. With the 2 singers & band, the atmosphere was good. Plus we are the biggest group of all, over 30 of us! It was a pity I forgot to bring along my camera for some candid shots!

23rd Dec:
We started our day with some home-cleaning as we are expecting 1st time guests to our house the next day. After that, the 3 of us set off to Chinatown to meet Uncle Ryan & Aunty Eilyn. They were so sweet to give the 3 of us an individual gift! Over in Chinatown, we went to 3 major tour agencies to ask for flight details for our upcoming Japan trip. So EXCITING!! Initially we planned to go Japan @ the end of March for 'Cherry Blossoms', but Uncle Ryan had some job commitment, so all of us had to bring our trip forward to beginning of Feb!! Just 1 month to go!!! That's FAST!! I thought we just came back from Melaka 2 weeks back?? Anyway, beginning of Feb, Japan will still be in Winter. Grrrr.....will it be too cold for Ed? This will be his 1st encounter to stay in a roughly less than 5 degree country. Will I bring home a mini Icy Snowman??
It's time to shop for thicker gloves, socks & scarf for this little boy!

I expected this trip to cost us about $7,000, including Ed's. We had to pay for fuel surcharge for Ed...and that alone will cost us extra $600. WOW!! My parents will sure to tell me not to bring Ed along, but he is our only child. We won't enjoy without him! He will have to join our fun in Disneyland too! Isn't that every child's dreamland??

Well, in Feb, I will let nature take its place for this trip. See if I can get Baby#2 a 'MADE in JAPAN' title. Haha! *Crazy Mum, yah??*

After that, we headed to buy some traditional toys for him. Not too high-tech, just simple toys. Look at his new collections! Little golf set was a gift from Uncle Ryan too!! Thanks Uncle Ryan!! That turns out to be his latest favourite toy! :)

Lastly, we went to Tanglin Mall for some photos & shopping. We bought a pair of black shoes from Colette. We wanted a Size 25, but it was 'out of stock'. We placed an order & will be back next week to collect it! :) For this CNY, I am thinking of getting him a pair of sporty shoes...maybe a pair of NIKE or ADDIDAS. *CooL* ;P We went to Royal Sporting House & spotted a rather stylo pair. Might get that for him as well when we collect his 'Colette' pair next week.

The day has not ended yet!! After Tanglin, we went to Parents-in-law house before heading for a X'mas party in Aunty Carolyn's house. Yummy turkey, wine & Jappy salad. Ed loves their X'mas tree & had fun with the pretty Jie-Jies. This cheeky Ed seems to know who are the pretty ones. He did not hesistate when those pretty ones wanted a kiss from him or carry him! Oh my! That's too young an age to identify 'CHIO' ladies!

24th Dec:
Morning - We went to Grace & Sharine's place to give them their X'mas gifts! Didn't want to drag the gifts till the day is over. It would be meaningless, right? Got this really cute Cookie-Monster toy from Aunty Sharine. So sweet of her to remember Ed's birthday cake was in this character & she got this as a gift for him! Of coz, Ed loves it very much. Anyway, Elmo & Cookie-Mon has always been Ed's best friends. Thanks Aunty Sharine! :)

Afternoon - Uncle Tony & Aunty Sabrina came to our house with their 3 lovely princesses!! My, they are gentle & looking so sweet. Every one of them got their charm & unique characters. Phobe was a responsible & caring sister. Gwen was the cheeky & smartie one. Nicole was the gentle & princessy one. Wasn't Ed fortunate to have the company of 3 pretty girls??

Look @ lovely Nicole...my future Daughter-in-law:

When they left, this was Hb & my conversation:
Hb - 'I think I will like girls. They are cuter than Ed.'
Me - 'I thought you wish Heaven & Earth will give you a boy? And didn't you tell me you only like boys?'
Hb - 'Now I feel girls also not bad ley.'
Me - 'So have 3 kiddos lah...just like them. Good right?? If you have 3 girls, you happy boh?'
Hb - 'Hmmm, it's nice to have 3...but don't want lah, hard to handle so many kids.'
*Faintz*

Evening - We wanted to give a dinner treat to 2 of Hb's kakis, so arrange to meet up with Uncle Weiliang & Uncle Weixin. Initially we wanted to have Thai seafood for dinner. However due to some delays, we end up with a nearer venue & settled for 2 rounds of dinner. In Sakae Sushi for quick bites & in Pizza Hut for the X'mas pizza set. That was a yummy creation. I enjoyed the cheesy taste of it. Wonder if they will still serve this creation after X'mas??
After dinner...3rd round! We went to Coffee Bean in Sgoon Gardens for a drink & chatted till 12 midnight! Of course, Ed dozed off during our coffee chat.

YawnZzzz....heavy dinner & a long day for the 3 of us. It's over 2 am now, it must be that 'Mocha' drink that kept me wide awake until now!

His worst cut

2006-12-22T00:45:00.000+08:00

*Postdated 12 Dec 2006*

I mentioned about Ed's broken lip during the photoshoot at Yew Kwang's studio weeks ago.
Here's how bad it looked!! Poor boy!

Swim-Swim

2006-12-19T17:15:00.000+08:00

Ed enjoys going to the pool. We will bring him to the pool almost once a week. He could not resist the minute we enter the swimming complex! He will jumped excitedly & 'nagging' in his baby language to indicate he wanna enter the pool!

Some photos to share while he swims with Ah-Gong. He tried to mimik the other swimmers hands and legs. He now dares t0 lean forward to float & kick his legs in water.

New Toy Car

2006-12-19T16:20:00.000+08:00

*Postdated 2nd Dec*

For just $15, it seems a good catch during the John Little Sale in Expo.

Little Graduate

2006-12-19T16:00:00.000+08:00

*Postdated End Nov*

We went for a group family photo session, as brother-in-law had just graduated recently. We went to Serangoon Broadway, the same one as I went when I graduated 5 yrs ago. How time flies!

Over there, the co-ordinators asked if we would like Ed to dress up like the 2 of us. I was excited upon hearing that. That sounds cute! However, it was way too large for him & he looks funny wearing it. The next time he will wear this will be when he turned 6 yrs old. The time he truly graduates from Kindergarten.

Get ready for this X'mas & Japan

2006-12-19T15:29:00.000+08:00

Since we are going Japan, I got a few long-sleeve tops & jackets in advance for our precious. 4 pieces from GUESS & 2 from Fox.

Just nice to wear for the recent cooling & wet weather...and as well as getting ready for the festive X'mas!

Young Parents

2006-12-19T15:26:00.000+08:00

1 year supply of magazines = All these free gifts!

On his own - HairCut

2006-12-17T10:40:00.000+08:00

He is sitting on his own this time! Almost every month, I brought him once for a trim...likewise, everytime with him sitting on my lap. This time, the hair stylist asked if we could allow him sit on his own. Well, why not? Letz try it!!

This vain little boy kept very still...kept looking at the mirror while the stylist trims his hair. This time, the stylist suggested we keep his sides really short and high...& I wanted him to have his ah-gong look back again...so I opt for a very straight fringe! Haha!

Here's the result of his haircut, without the need of catching his legs & hands. :)

The cost?? Just $2.50 a haircut in JB! Good deal huh!!
All along, we spent about $6-$8 for his haircut. This time was the lowest cost!! :) Her skills was not bad too, fast & neat! We shall go to her everytime from now onwards!

Today, we lead the way to Jusco in Tebrau City...and it was the 1st time driving in for Uncle Ben. With the help of our mini walkie-talkie, the 2 cars managed to stick together & attempted to go to ulu places for Bak-Kut-Teh lunch & seafood dinner!

1st Studio PhotoShoot

2006-12-12T13:57:00.000+08:00

Since he was 9 months old, I wanted to bring him to take some professional shots. However, it dragged on till he was 17 months before I found the energy to really do it. I told myself he will no longer be that cute after 18 months, so better be quick!! Kiddos grow fast and I must not let it slip off...

I chose our wedding photographer, Yew Kwang, to take for us. We went to his studio 2 weeks ago, but after only taken the 30th shots, he fell and broke his lips. It resulted in 2 very deep cuts after the bad fall in his studio. Ed was bleeding so badly that we had to stop the whole photo session, with heavy hearts. In the past, he fell before...but has never been this BAD shape before. Both me and hubby were so 'sim tiah' by the amount of bleeding from the cut...his lips just swell like a sausage. It must be very painful but this tough cookie did not cry for long. In fact, I find him taking it lighter than we did!!

2 weeks after the incident, we arranged for another photo session again. This time, I was extra cautious about his every movement. YK continued clicking away till we announced to call it a day. All of us were so tired & Ed was getting cranky. In total, he took more than 300 shots!! I did not know we had took so many photos until I got back the softcopies for selection!! I'm impressed with Ed's patience, it's not easy for a toddler to pose in over 350 shots!

Just 2 days after the session, I was asked to select 20 photos to put into the album...and guess what?? Both hubby and I could not resist our cutie pie's pixs...they were all so well-taken!! After veryyy strict selection, we still have over 120 photos on our favourite list!! We insisted on getting those prime 120 pixs from our selection & I bet it will cost us a bomb...could be more than $500, my guess!

Well, I did told YK, I regretted not taking studio pix when I was in my 3rd trimester. This time, if ever I go for #2, I will go for a pre-natal photo session!! :)

We are back from Melaka!

2006-12-11T22:08:00.000+08:00

The trip was enjoyable! Except that Ed was rather cranky to the new environment. I wonder if he will fuss again when we travel to Japan in March!! :/

Started our drive from 8.30am & we reached Malacca at 12pm (considering stopping over twice in between for breaks)

Ed did behave himself thru'out the journey. The only setback was he poo during our trip! Lucky he kept very still when I was cleaning him, or it will turn out to be really messy & yucky *Oh gosh*

We took lots of photos for the 3 days trip & here sharing some of them!!

Day 1:
We checked in to City Bayview Hotel, which was newly renovated. X'mas decor at the hotel lobby was nice! Shopped in 4 large malls, namely: Makota, the new MegaMall, Jusco & Tesco. Well, not forgetting the Jonker Street Walk in Chinatown!

Day 2:
Ed turned 18 months today!
Plan for Day 2 was to visit 'Butterfly Park'...we skipped the 'mini malaysia', as we were too tired after the park. We headed to aircon malls instead. We wanted to go to Bei-Zhan for their well-known good food for our lunch. However, when we got there by 3pm...they were closed for lunch. Left with no choice, we settled for western food & went for a swim, before returning back to Bei-Zhan for dinner.

Day 3:
We did our last minute shopping & bought lots of local products. Their freshly-baked pineapple tarts were really yummy!! Heard about Malacca's chicken rice balls & went to try it. Hmmm...I don't think it's nice, though it was famous. Among their local food, I prefer their thick, rich chendol. So far, out of 3 days, we had 4 bowls of those sinful desserts! :P

Malacca

2006-12-08T10:11:00.000+08:00

We are going to Melaka for 3 days, starting from tomorrow till Monday. Yesterday, Daddy went to book the hotel for us and lucky-lucky, we managed to grab the very last hotel room. He chose City Bayview Hotel instead of The Equatorial/Century Makota, after many good reviews from friends.

This time, we will be driving to Melaka on our own, for the very 1st time. As we wasn't sure of our journey, we ponder on whether to bring Ed along or just the 2 of us. However, the hotel personnel seems to read my mind. The 2 days hotel stay package comes with a King size bed + a single bed + a baby cot + 2 adults 2 kids breakfast for free! Well, I don't have to consider further...he going with us!

This time, I will bring along his swimming suit...as this trip will be more on a relaxation trip rather than the usual JB shopping trip. And hopefully I can show him the butterfly park. Shall see if he will be fasinated or scared by those flying insects!

Welcome new baby boy!

2006-12-06T17:51:00.000+08:00

Since our usual FBO kakis were at work, I chose to visit Mel & her newborn boy in TMC earlier! As I wasn't very sure of my way to TMC and didn't want Ed to distract my driving, I asked my mum along to TMC.
The little newborn was all rosy and he looks so lovely. My blur mum thought baby was a girl and asked why he was dressed in blue. keke.

Congrats to Mel, Edwin & the newly promoted sister 'Elvina'. :)

It was a pity that I forgot to bring my camera to capture some shots on the cutie boy. Nevertheless, I guess I will have another chance to take some pixs when he celebrates his full mth in Jan! Well, as usual, I wasn't excuse from Mel on the question of having #2, even Mel's mummy told me to 'Hao-Hao-Chuo-Ren', just before I left the ward. Frankly, for the past 2 months, I have more than 3 dozens people(Relatives, friends, colleagues & even CLIENTS) asking me the same question. I wonder if I already have 2 kids, will people still ask me for #3?? *Faintz*

He did it? Skip the night FEED!

2006-12-06T01:39:00.000+08:00

In August, I remembered blogging that he stopped waking up for his night feeds. However, sad to say, my joy was short-lived. His routine came back in September & October.

At last! Since the day Daddy left for Australia on 6th Nov & I shifted to Ah-gong's house to stay, he STOPPED his night feeds! I wonder was he trying to be considerate & allow me to have a better sleep since Daddy isn't around to help me out??
Till now...I've been counting the days as he had successfully skipped his 'crucial' feed for exactly a month now! Hope to continue counting the days for my beauty sleep!

Lately, he slept thru' from 11pm till 8.30am or 9.30am for his breakfast! He will sit up, points at the door & says 'Mum-Mum', the very minute he wakes up!

However, he seems to lose weight since he stopped having his extra feed at night. Hmmm, is that a good sign?

This little boy only sleeps with this position. He will goes back to this position, even if I try shifting him to the normal back-resting position.

MMI for him !

2006-12-05T23:13:00.000+08:00

I guess it's not a matter of when to send him to school, but which school has the right effect on a child's mind. Both of us, me and hubby, have the same mindset. We do not want our boy to feel pressurised from school, neither do we want to force him to learn in a pace way before his peers. We just want to find a school that can project him with a positive aspect towards learning. We also prefer him to understand things with his senses and through play, plus in his own natural pace.

We had searched around our area for the right school...and after combing almost all schools in our area. Well, not that we are kia-su, I just want to eliminate the need to change school often. Changing school every now and then could confuse a child and we don't want that to start happening.

We are ready to settle for 'Modern Montessori Pre-School Centre' in Kovan Centre. Not only it's just 5 mins drive from our house, the interior layout, lighting & reno in that centre did impressed me. I could be overwhelmed by the 'sales-talk' by one of the teachers, whatever it is, I truly like the way she guided us on how her classes are being conducted daily. Her teaching method was very extraordinary, yet not a single hint of pressurising the child. Say for example, if the child answered wrongly, the child will not be getting the response from the teacher as 'WRONG...NO'. Instead, he will be guided again the next day. I don't know if I'm an alien(aka Sua-ku) towards childhood teaching, but I really find their method amazing. I've shopped around for so many schools & only this school left me with deep impression!

I was told he could start school in Jan 2007, but I thought of enrolling him only in April '07, as the 3 of us will be going to Japan for a holiday in late March to catch Japan's 'Cherry Blossom'.

Swimming @ home

2006-12-05T22:35:00.001+08:00

Since we started bringing Ed to the pool, he can't help 'swimming' at home. What he did was the 'commando crawl', with his legs kicking in the air & flapping his arms in and out occasionally, while on his tummy. Whenever he sees the pool, he will get so excited & will cry the minute we bring him out of the pool. He refused to leave the pool, even though he was shivering after 30 mins in it.

Everyone who did not know the reason behind this, were concerned on why he was learning to crawl AFTER knowing how to walk?! keke...

The fact was: He was trying to mimik swimming. He knew by flapping his arms in water, he will be rewarded with some floating & bouncing effect. However, doing the same actions on the floor, did not move him. In order to see himself moving, he did it by crawling! That was an interesting action on his part. His version of swimming. He seems to have interest and potential in swimming, I just felt. When he watched adults swimming & floating in water, he followed suit and managed to diligently kick the water to keep afloat! Of course for safety reasons, I did held on to his neck...while he kicks in the water.

I did asked my current swimming coach if he could learn swimming at this age, but he suggested 4 years old will be a better age to learn. Well, I guess he got to wait for another 2 years.

Sensitive Skin

2006-12-04T01:17:00.000+08:00

He's prone to mosquito bites. Whenever he gets it, he will scratch non-stop and alert us by pointing on his 'wound'. He scratched not due to itch, but the fact that he finds it ugly.

2006-11-30T01:24:00.000+08:00

*Postdated 6th Nov*

Daddy was going for his 3 weeks reservist in Australia. Little boy & I will be moving in to Ah-Gong's house to stay for next 3 weeks. Looks like I have more things to pack than Daddy. Lappie, clothes, bags, shoes...etc.

Lucky thing was: Ed was so engrossed with Daddy's army stuffs that he couldn't be bothered with mine! Boys will always be boys...they seems to be more inclined to Army items??

We are Proud of YOU, Son!

2006-11-27T20:27:00.000+08:00

*Postdated 12 Nov*

The few days before the contest, ah-ma was tensed to make sure you did not fall & hurt yourself. As for me, just the night before the contest, I had a hard time getting to sleep. The only person not feeling excited about the contest was YOU.

On this day, Aunty Choo & Uncle Ben was even more excited than us...waking up @ 7am to quickly finish their housework & breakfast & they arrived earlier to the venue than us! Of course, a lot of other kids had arrived for registration and we were considered the 'late' ones. Later on, even great granny came to support you!

The judges were doctors who looked into your Health Booklet, measured your height & weight and testing on your motor development & reaction towards instructions. You were asked to kick the ball, pick the phone, throw the ball etc...and you did them all correctly. Nurses & doctors commented you had a very big build. I guess that contributed your winning chance.

At 12pm, we were all surprised there is only 3 prizes in all categories. A lot of parents left with disappointment when their kids' name was not called. When it comes to your category of 12 months to 18 months, we were also skeptical if you would win. Uncle Ben seems so confident that his effort will not be wasted, as the minute your
'ID' ...Baby #9, was called, he walked right up to the front of the stage & got ready to snap pictures of you collecting your prize. You got the 2nd prize!! By then, you were already asleep & as daddy was away for reservist, Ah-gong came up to the stage with me to carry the hamper. It's a pity daddy could not verify the happy moments. Coz when I walked up the stage with Ed in my arms, I couldn't help feeling the intense pride he gave me. I was indeed very proud of my son.

Prof Ng

2006-11-14T00:28:00.000+08:00

All along, Ed doesn’t like the feel of wearing any foreign object on him, whether it’s a cap or glasses. However, after seeing Ah-Ma acting as a Doctor & him as a patient, with the use of the Doctor’s set, he begins to like wearing glasses. Here’s his comical look! Don’t you agree he looks very studious too?! *Wink*