Baby G's First Full Day @ School

Today (29th Dec), which happens to be GuGu's birthday is also Baby G's first day attending a full-day childcare. Previously, Baby G only attended half-day childcare in the mornings and he's back by 1pm. Now, we feel that it's time for Baby G to attend a full day childcare as he's getting to be a big boy and also, the school no longer operates under a half-day session, so we've got no choice.

First day today, although I have more free time, I must admit, I do miss my little boy in the afternoon, feels like something is missing... but I'm sure I'll get over it pretty fast. Heh Heh. Now when I take leave, I have the whole day to myself and can do more things instead of rushing to complete everything by noon time.

According to the teacher, Baby G didn't sleep during nap time when the rest of the kids were catching their 'Zzzz's, he was up and about, walking around the place. How I wish I was there to see what he was up to. I suspect he's walking around, expecting one of us to pick him up from school. The good news is that he didn't cry nor look for us throughout the entire day. When we picked up him, the teacher told us that he only went to sleep at about 145pm and woke up about 4pm. Hopefully things will get better, else he'll be missing his afternoon lessons.

San
hugs & kisses

Happy Birthday YeeYee!!

Today is YeeYee's birthday. We decided to try out Friends@ChompChomp along Serangoon Garden.

Kinda disappointed actually. The portions were very small especially for my family's usually large appetite. I even had to tell MaMa to cut smaller portions so that her tenderloin can last longer. HaHa. Even Grandpa commented that he could've have finished his Veal in 3 mouthfuls. So you can imagine how little the portions were. As for my Parrot Fish Fillet, well, the portion is ok, but it was very salty. I wonder if Parrot Fish is a saltwater fish and they forgot to wash it clean. I think only the pastas did not have any complaints from the respective diners.

=> Daddy's Vegetarian Linguine

==> My parrot fish


==> From L->R, Grandpa's Veal, YeeYee's Bacon Spaghetti & MaMa's Beef Tenderloin.

Instead of the usual cake that we would buy to celebrate, this time, I decided to just get a small piece (about the size of 1 slice) so that it won't go to waste.

In the end, I found out that MaMa wasn't full and she went to eat her favourite Wan Tan Noodles @ Dunman Food Centre. HaHa.

Happy Birthday, YeeYee!

San

Feeling thirsty from the salty fish

Potty Trained!

This post is dedicated to Baby G's daddy. After about 2 weeks of "training", we can safely say that Baby G is finally potty-trained. All this is the effort of Daddy who patiently gave encouragement to Baby G, even though there were times when Baby G wet the floor and Daddy had to clean up.

Baby G can now tell us when he needs to go to the toilet for a leak. We have stopped putting on diapers for him already, except at night when he's sleeping. In fact, Baby G prefers not to wear diapers. What's next for us is to buy undies for Baby G.

Baby G is no longer a baby already, he's getting to be a big boy.

Well done, Baby G!

Kudos to Daddy for his success.

San
Proud of her 2 boys.

Christmas Day!

On to much more happier things after the last unhappy post.....

On Christmas morning, Baby G came over to wake me up, asking me to accompany him to watch his Barney show, so even though I had less than 5hrs of sleep, I was determined to wake up and spend time with Baby G, to "compensate" him for not spending the previous evening with him.

We watched Barney for about an hour and then we went to wake Daddy up. Then we proceeded to open all the gifts that were given to us. Baby G showed me the "mini-laptop" that Grandpa bought for him, he was really enthralled with it. But later when he realised we bought him a cash register with sound effects, he started playing with the toy and lost interest in opening the rest of the gifts or the laptop.

<= His laptop until he found the cash register =>

I took a video of him opening the presents... I found it funny cause when he saw me holding the camera, he thought I was taking a photo of him and smiled for me.... quite funny.

Merry Xmas to one & all.....

San

Lousy Christmas Eve

We were supposed to go to MaMa's house to have Christmas eve dinner with both families. But because of work (go read the newspapers for more details), I had to stay in office til 2am... what a drag! This is the first time in my entire life I did not get to spend Christmas with the family, to say I was disappointed is an understatement.

San
Fuming/Disappointed/etc

Welcome, Baby Ashley!

On 22nd Dec 2008, baby Ashley (not Rick Astley as what Uncle Alan said) is born. We decided to visit both Ashley & family on 23rd as some of the uncles & aunties were not free on the 22nd.


When we reached, Ashley was being breastfed, so all the adults & kids waited outside; the kids were running up & down, especially Gwyn. One minute you can see her running into the room, the next minute she's running outside into the hallway. I think our group was one of the noisiest bunch, lucky the nurses did not chase us away.


Baby G also joined the kids at the mini-playground at TMC; he really enjoyed himself. The most surprising part is when Uncle Dan arrived. When Baby G saw him, 1st thing he said was "Uncle Dan, come play". Then Baby G kept talking to Uncle Dan, he even 'asked' Uncle Dan to carry him. 1st time was not successful, but after Zac was distracted, Uncle Dan managed to carry Baby G.


<== Awww... what a lovely (and rare) shot.....


Uncle Alan also came back from AUS and brought chocolates which the kids happily munched.

<= Gwyn's not as messy as Baby G =>

When we went home, Baby G didn't want to leave Uncle Dan. Kept wanting to follow him home... hmmm.. what a thought. Uncle Dan, do you want to help baby sit?

Congratulations to Ben & Pat on the birth of their lovely daughter, Ashley!

San
Feeling happy for her friends

Snip.... Snip.... Snip....

On Monday, I finally made the effort to do something about my super long hair (just before Xmas & my cousin's wedding). Come to think of it, it's been more than a year since I last visited the hairstylist. Finally went down to Kimage to snip off my long tresses and re-bond my hair again. This time, the whole process took about 4.5hrs, an improvement from the previous year of 5hrs. But every year, it's the same complaints from the hairstylists, my hair is simply too thick to allow re-bonding to be done any quicker.

<== Before & After ==>

I do feel like a burden has been lifted... but I do miss my hair.

San

Head feels lighter....

A Cycling We Will Go.....

Finally, the rain stayed away for our cycling trip. Most likely because this time, our trip was not planned. We even stayed up late (almost til 2:30am) the previous night, catching up on the last few episodes of the Cantonese drama serial (家好月圆). Side track a bit --> Good show, I like it a lot... lots of twists & turns in the plot and nice surprises in the end.

Ok, back to the cycling trip. Baby G woke up at 7am in the morning asking for his usual milk. So I dragged myself out of bed to make for him. After his milk, he wanted to watch his Barney VCD and asked me to accompany him. I just sat on the sofa beside him while he watched and I slept.

About half an hour later, Daddy woke up and suggested we go for our cycling trip since the weather was pretty sunny. We quickly prepared & got ready to leave the house all within the hour.

==> Baby G showing off his "muscles".....

We reached East Coast about 9am and managed to rent a bike with the child seat in front for Baby G. He was very excited about sitting on the bicycle. He kept saying "Ride bicycle... ride bicycle...". He also saw quite a lot of ships far out in the sea. "Mummy... ship... ship.... Borrrrrrr" (the sound of the ship's horn).

==> Daddy & Baby G on their bike....

We rented the bikes for 2 hours. We cycled towards Bedok Jetty and then rode back to The Playground (former Big Splash). We made a few pit stops along the way cause my stamina isn't what it used to be. The last pit stop was at The Playground but it was too sunny to stop and take any photos.

===> 1st stop, breakfast for more energy

==> 2nd stop : MacDonalds where Baby G played on the slide while we rested. On the way back to return our bikes, we sort of realised that Baby G was pretty quiet which is so unlike him. So I checked and realised that he actually fell asleep.... he looked pretty funny.... He was trying very hard to stay awake, but the ride was so smooth and the wind blowing, a receipe for a good sleep.

<== A sleepy, or rather, sleeping Baby G ==>

We were contemplating on having our lunch at The Playground or go home. So we decided to grab a quick bite and go home to let Baby G rest. So we drove the short distance to Carl's Junior and by that time, he seemed to have lost his sleepiness and became excited again. Since he didn't look sleepy, we changed our minds and decided to eat-in.

<== Carl Junior's burgers are big ==>

When we finally reached home, not only Baby G was tired, even Daddy & myself were totally shacked out. We both slept like logs.

In the evening, we went out for dinner since we were too tired to muster any energy to cook. We chose Il Piccolo @ Hougang Plaza since we had a 1-for-1 voucher. Pasta was great as usual, but the pizza was really horrible. The cheese tasted kinda weird, after eating just 1 slice, felt a bit "jerlak". I think it's the worst pizza I ever tasted. In future, I will only order their pasta which is really delicious. The cream sauce is thick and creamy and the ingredients are fairly plenty. Even Baby G enjoyed only the pasta, after eating 2-3 bites of the pizza, he told us he doesn't want it. We also order rojak which was also really delicious.

What a day!

San

hugs & kisses

(Will my legs ache tomorrow?)

Bak Chor Noodles

While chatting on the phone with YeeYee, she's been talking about the Bak Chor Noodles around Changi Road that she tried the other day. She kept asking us to go and try, so... on Tuesday evening, we decided to go there for dinner.

After shopping for Xmas gifts at White Sands, we went down to MaMa's house and then we all set off for dinner.

I think what was special about the noodles is actually the soup base. It doesn't taste like normal 'bak chor' noodles soup, I think the owner added ikan bilis for added flavour. It's really delicious. I regretted ordering the dry version. MaMa & YeeYee ordered the soup version and it tasted so much nicer. The side dishes were also not too bad. We had Cheese Tofu, Thai Shrimp Cake and Fried Dumplings.

<== Grandpa, YeeYee & MaMa

<== Daddy & Baby G enjoying their noodles.

After dinner, we had desserts at a few shops down. The beancurd (Tau Huay) with Peanut Sauce Balls was really delicious. The beancurd was soft and silky and the peanut sauce in the balls were just the right consistency. Both Baby G & MaMa enjoyed the traditional yam cake as it contained a lot of the yam.

What a feast!

San

hugs&kisses

Shopping @ JB's City Square

On Monday, we decided to make a half day trip into JB for some shopping. We wanted to take the taxi to Jusco or Carrefour but when we saw the weather, we decided it was better to just go City Square instead; at least we would not be at the mercy of transportation (or lack of it).

Ah Ma & YeePo came along for the shopping trip. It was also a good chance for Baby G to spend some quality time with his granny and for me to get some Xmas shopping done.

After Baby G woke up from his afternoon nap, we packed up and went to pick AhMa & YeePo up. We parked at Woodlands and took Bus No. 170 across the Causeway. Usually Baby G loves to sit on the bus, but this time, he seemed a bit apprehensive on the ride. I think maybe coz he doesn't recognize the surroundings.

==> An apprehensive looking Baby G

We managed to get some cheap tops from F.O.S., and then we proceeded to have a short break so that the 2 elders can take a rest. We went to Merry Brown for snacks.... in the end, we ordered quite a lot cause Baby G said he wanted to eat rice.

<= Ah Ma eating porridge

Fried Chicken =>

==> Baby G having his rice & fish

After the short R&R, we started at the top floor. Baby G was so full of energy after his meal that he didn't want any of us to hold his hands or carry him. Although we didn't have to carry him, we still had to run after him. This boy can really weave in and out of people so easily, it's really difficult to watch over someone so small and so agile. In the end, even AhMa & YeePo couldn't keep up with him and either Daddy or myself had to go chase after him.

The only time he stopped is when he saw Ronald. So while Daddy was trying on his slippers, I went with Baby G to take photos with Ronald. Baby G very gamely posed for me many times and I think this is the best shot of him & Ronald.

==> Can you find Baby G?

In the end, we didn't really managed to buy Xmas gifts for the intended, instead, we managed to get some stuff for me, Daddy & Baby G.

From L-R : Baby G's Adidas shoes, Mummy's bracelet/necklace, Daddy's slippers

By the time we go home, it was almost 11pm. Baby G was so tired out from the outing that he didn't even take his night time milk (come to think of it, I think this is the 1st time he missed his night feed).

What a day!

San

Phew!

Happy Birthday Auntie Stef!

On Sat evening, we went to Cedele @ Great World City to celebrate Auntie Stef's birthday. As usual, we needed a lonnnnng table to sit all 9 adults and 5 kids. Overall, the food was not too bad, although they had a kid's menu, they did not have suitable cutlery for kids... so it's not completely family-friendly.

<-- Gwyn all by herself.

Cutie Kate with ponytails -->

--> Zac posing as a rabbit....

Baby G only enjoyed eating the bread, he didn't like the chicken, complained that it was "Mummy, too hard". Initially, he was acting shy around everyone, but at the end of the meal, he started to warm and and interact with the rest of the kids. He kept calling Chloe "che che..." and even played catching with her.

After our meal, we went to MaCafe for drinks. We passed by lots of the mini kids' rides and Uncle Dan contributed $1 for the Bob The Builder ride that all the kids sat on. Zac in the driver's seat, Chloe standing by the side, Gwyn & Baby G seating on top the bonnet. Because it was Uncle Dan who carried Baby G to seat on the ride, Uncle Dan is now his new friend. After the ride was over, he kept saying "I wan Uncle Dan come..". Then he kept looking for Uncle Dan, even when he went to the toilet, Baby G walked there by himself to look for Uncle Dan.

Even on the way home, he called out for Uncle Dan to come home with him.... hahahaha....

By the way, our homemade biscuit gifts were well received by all, especially the kids... I think both Gwyn and Chloe almost finished theirs. Uncle Ben said it was a bit too hard. Uncle Adrian liked it dipped in coffee.


Happy Birthday Auntie Stef!!

San
hugs & kisses

Baking Time!

Every year, it gets more and more difficult to think of suitable gifts for our friends... towels/cups/etc... pretty boring.

So this year, I decided to give homemade butter biscuits. Although simple, it's something from the heart.

Don't worry friends, I've tried it out on my family/colleagues first... so should be no problem. Heh Heh.

I started preparing the dough in the morning and Daddy took Baby G out to buy the containers to store the biscuits and also to keep Baby G away from the kitchen.

<-- Cutting out the shapes -->

<-- Baking.......

<-- Why the difference in colour? Coz we weren't watching the fire.

<-- The final gift (As u can tell, we're not really the creative types)
I must add that Daddy was the one who actually did the baking. He made sure that the biscuits were baking properly and the colour was just right. Thanks Daddy!

Overall, I would say it's a mini-success. Of course, there's always room for improvement. But I'm happy with the final results. At least, it's presentable enough to give our friends.

San
hugs & kisses

Xmas Light Up 2008 / Barney Show

On Friday evening, we decided to bring Baby G to watch the Barney show @ Plaza Singapura and at the same time, walk along Orchard Road for the Xmas light up.

Daddy parked at my office and we walked to PS. Baby G was very excited as he knew he was going to watch Barney. When we reached there, they were playing all the familiar Barney tunes & Baby G kept singing along. But when Barney actually came out, he just stared and stared.

<-- Barney show -->

--> Baby G looking so enthralled.

After the show, we went for dinner at Kopitiam. Baby G insisted on eating noodles even though he had already taken his dinner at home. So I had to order wan tan noodles soup (although I would've much preferred the dry version).

<-- Baby G enjoying his noodles -->

After our meal, we walked from PS all the way to Taka, enjoying the cool air and lovely lights. We finally stopped at Macdonalds (again...) for a drink and Baby G's favourite fries. Enjoy the pictures.....

<-- At Plaza Singapura -->

<-- Candy feast..... Outside Centrepoint -->

From L-R : Hereen, Outside Hereen, Paragon

What a lovely way to spend the evening with the family.

San

hugs & kisses