Reaching milestones...

J is about to turn 18 months! He has quite a rich vocabulary by now (ranging from people, numbers, animals, modes of transport, fruits to furniture etc), is able to say words with 3 syllabus (BAH-NANA!) and can string together 'phrases' like mama-take, papa-carry.

Today is the first day of 'school' for him since it's time he learn to interact with other kids around his age on a more regular basis plus he's increasingly a handful to be looked after at home. Here's his sleepy look at 8 am:


It turned out to be a very good start (and fingers crossed that this will last) since he played with toys happily when we dropped him off. On the other hand, G seemed to suffer more of the separation anxiety since he took leave and was prepared to camp in school. But, he was sent packing off by the principal and basically was melancholic the entire day, thinking of J and how much he missed playing with him... Here's a shot of him having lunch:


In any case, any worries seemed unnecessary since J was rather contented (again with toys) when we went to pick him up and took some time to leave school! On the whole, he seemed to have adjusted somewhat though he appeared to have been 'starved' since he managed to eat an extra portion of porridge for dinner... This is definitely something that we will continue to monitor and here's hoping that J continue to enjoy 'school'! :D

... Hello Dragon!

This is J's second Lunar New Year but really the first one that J is able to enjoy, remember and best of all, say GONG XI! It is very funny to see him perk up and dance to the new year tunes from commercial jigs. J is also quite good at passing any angpows he receives to us since he doesn't quite understand the concept of money yet! While the past 2 days of 'pai nian' seemed to have tire him out (which is great for us since he sleeps more soundly), he has generally enjoyed the past 2 days of visiting and there are still a number of gatherings lined up :)

May the Dragon year be a joyous and prosperous one for one and all! GONG XI GONG XI!

Our Family Portrait (J guarding his red packet from us)

J in his 'long' (dinosaur = kong long) outfit and his 'kum'

J still holding tight to his 'kum'

... all the way to his grandma's place

... and my relatives'

Hm... so many goodies... what shall I eat?

At the Sentosa Flower Show... second year in a row with J

Goodbye Bunny...

This is how much J (a little Tiger) has grown in the year of Bunny. It is amazing how much he understands now and is capable of. His latest achievement is to say 'help', 'please', 'thank you' (or 'xie xie'). Sometimes, he does so without prompting and its lovely to watch him remember his manners :)

And here's a pic to send off the Bunny (double rainbow spotted at Turf City)

Happy New Year!

The first post of 2012... I suppose most people would write about new year resolutions. Since I don't subscribe to resolutions, I thought I would write about my wishes instead.

I have small hopes, mostly for my boys:

1. Junxi to enjoy toddler class/day care and that he will learn to sleep through the night. If it's not too much to ask, I also wish that he doesn't suffer sibling rejection when his little brother is born and will learn to love his Didi as much as he is loved.

2. Didi to be healthy, happy and sleeps well (second time parents know what to pray for!).

3. G to be happy and smooth progression for his career.

4. For me to learn to cope with motherhood with 2 boys and to improve as a coach.

Here's to a great 2012 :)

Merry Xmas 2011!

Babies Prom

J managed to sit still for 15 mins of the Babies Prom. Maybe I shall try again next year to see if there's any improvement to his attention span?

First Family Trip to Lombok

What a trip! It didn't turn out to be very relaxing since caring for J took place 24/7. In particular, G felt that it was a hardship trip and admittedly it was more tough on him since he had to be J's main caregiver given that I was rather out of action with the bun in the oven...

J seemed to love it (though) since he was like a mini-celeb at our resort. The staff were always playing with him and were always very attentive to our needs :) I can't say the same for the chickens and turkey who roamed around the resort since they were repeatedly chased by father and son! We even saw a chicken flew up twice to escape the chasing!

J's performance on the outbound flight was rather good since we were able to feed him and contain in within the confined space. The return flight was another story altogether! He refused food and was always shouting for us to "GO! GO! GO!" Well, it was rather miserable for us and the rest of the passengers alike even though we know he was finding it difficult to fall asleep despite being very tired. sigh!

All in all, it could be a while before we travel with J again given this experience (even though I think his vocabulary has expanded since the trip). Here's a few pics of the trip: