Christian's 5th Birthday

This post is long overdue.. we celebrated Christian's 5th birthday at an indoor playground this year. He had asked for a party, and was careful to specify "I don't mean just bring a cake to school...I mean a party like Andrew had, at SAFRA, remember?"

I considered this request carefully because I do not want him to cave in to peer pressure, and did not want to give in all the time. After some consideration, I realised that we did not have a proper party for him since he was born, and we informed him that if we had a party, the next one he will be having will be in another 5 years' time. I also set 2 conditions for him to fulfill. He had to I) start showering himself and II) stop using diapers at night.

Yes. He is still using diapers at night. I was initially quite ashamed of that fact, and blamed it on lack of effort on my part to train him, but after reading some articles online, learnt that boys are usually slower than girls in this aspect and that night toilet training really depends on the individual being physiologically ready - the bladder must trigger a signal to the brain and wake the child up.. So I stopped putting pressure on him, and thought he'll be ready when his diaper finally stops being wet in the morning.

As for party venues, I had considered having a sports party organised by Shaws, a pirate ship party at Sentosa, and a simple indoor party. I settled for the last cos not all kids might enjoy the sports party (especially the girls in his class?) and also cos my friend pointed out "How are you going to top it if you go for the pirate ship party straightaway?"

So we settled on Fidgets, which looks pretty awesome to me, but was a little inconvenient in its location. It's at Bukit Timah, Turf City which I discovered to be a rather family-friendly place, but not so friendly to those without cars.

Christian had also asked for an Elmo cake and so I looked hard for one. It was tough to find a baker who would do a fresh cream Elmo cake, but I eventually managed to find one who would customise it for me at a very reasonable price.

Here's a few pictures of the big day.. (P and I kept thinking (much like typical parents) "we've never had such a party for ourselves..kids these days are so fortunate..")

Christian certainly looked like he enjoyed himself, playing with his classmates in a different environment, and being the star of the day. We are so happy that he has reached this milestone! Half a decade.. only 3 more of these to go, before he is a full-grown adult.. sigh.

Thank you darling for being such a wonderful son..you are so beautiful and precious to us and we love you more than you can imagine.

Celebrating Calista’s 2nd birthday

My parents have yet to go to MBS together since it opened and I took the opportunity to celebrate Calista’s birthday there last Sunday by visiting the lunch buffet at Rise.

 

It was a rather good deal cos the children ate free and I only paid half price for the adults. :) I was pleasantly surprised by the good service and the range of food..It was the children’s first time at a buffet and they were so entertained by the sights on offer..the chocolate fondue and dessert table being a particular hit with them. There was even a suspended honeycomb dripping with honey!

The waitress also provided colouring activities complete with a free set of crayons so the adults could eat in peace for a while. P declared we should go back more often while Christian declared “I love this lunch!”

Calista seemed to enjoy the new surroundings too, and lasted till 3pm without a nap. Needless to say, she crashed within ten minutes of being in the car.

Happy Birthday darling! We love you lots!!

Calista is 2!

My dear Calista turns two this Friday. It’s hard to believe that two whole years have elapsed since she was in my tummy. She is growing up so fast, i’m happy yet wistful all at the same time.

Sometimes when my colleagues and I talk about current affairs, I get thrown the question: “what would you do if that was your daughter (being promiscuous/run over/etc..) I am often momentarily speechless as I imagine my sweet baby all grown up or taken away from me. It i so hard to imagine her as a girl with her own life to lead, away from me..or as a girl with her own destiny. Perhaps i do not believe in destiny…but that is when i am wracked with questions such as “Maybe if i am not a working mum, our bond will be stronger and we will weather those inevitable tumultuous times better…”

Anyway, I have digressed. I wanted to capture a snapshot of her personality at age two..for I am sure I will forget the funniest things she says, and the most tender and pure moments we share.

She will fight tooth and nail (mainly by the simple act of wailiNG) for things (bolster\my hp\book\some ridiculous pamphlet mama asked kor kor to throw away) but she will soon after offer the same thing very sweetly to me. She has shown a sense of humour, and imitates how P laughs (theatrically) – hahaha.hohoho.hehehe.

She has progressed from starting 80% of her sentences with “I want…(bitamin, wafer, bread, milk, berry) to “I think….”

What a cognitive leap!

She blurts out the most amusing things just before bed..i feel like a priest during confession time when i hear things like:

“meimei play the playground today.”

“I think….i drink mama milo today.”

“Because jiejie give medicine”

“meimei go to school.”

“I think kor kor take it.”

“I don’t want this sooooong!”

“I hear the children sing”

“Mama go work?” *pouts* “I want mama baobao”

“I see the pocket I want put the money. Gonggong….!”

“Meimei fall down at playground. Meimei run, meimei knock, fall down.”

“This is mine. Mama have own pillow.” (when i tried to share her pillow with her.)

“What’s this mama? meimei sayang…” (touching my BCG scar on my arm)

Her speech reveals her healthy ego, forceful and demanding personality, and  yet, her tenderness. She can cause one to be exasperated, and yet melt one’s heart in a matter of seconds. I am thankful that she is in our lives.. may God bless her and keep her under his watch.

Thank you for bringing us so much joy the past two years…we love you so..

Aunty XJ’s wedding

It was Aunty XJ’s wedding on 8 Jan 13 and Christian had the honour of being the ring bearer! It was Christian’s first time being involved in a wedding in this manner and I must confess I was a little worried about him freezing up when all eyes are on the kids just when the church doors are thrown open.

Lots of prepping helped and he played his role brilliantly, although I must say his smiles were a little forced. He had fun monkeying around with Lana the flower girl and listening to the kind uncles who took time to explain the various instruments, during rehearsals.

I was glad to be a part of my friend’s wedding too, as a jie mei and by singing a song chosen by the couple during the church service.

p/s apologies for the long hiatus from blogging, been quite tired from work and parenting duties.. hope to get some energy back soon..

Christmas Parties 2012

We didn’t do much on Christmas Day this year, the thought of having to wrestle with a restless Calista and hush a loud Christian during service was rather off-putting and so we went cycling instead. =P

We are, however, beginning to form some Christmas traditions as a family.. and a large part of that is meeting up with our friends. I can’t believe a year has passed since I met with Corrine and Michelle in our old house.. so much has changed in a year, and yet it didn’t feel like a whole year ago. This year, we met in Corrine’s new house instead. The kids had so much fun running around in circles, playing with the toys in Ashley’s every-child’s-dream- room, and playing hide and seek.

P and I enjoyed having time to talk to other adults without having to worry too much about having to watch over our kids, cos an adult would always be keeping an eye on them at any one time. The best part about meeting with close friends is knowing that your child is engaged and entertained, and you can sit back and relax for a while. ^_^ Seeing the thoughtful presents that our friends gave our children also makes us realise how loved our children are. Grateful.

Christian enjoyed meeting his godparents and I think he really lapped up the attention Corrine’s husband gave him. Attention is such a rare treasure for him, something he has keenly felt the lack of, since his sister was born =/

We had another gathering with some church friends on Saturday, and wow, it’s amazing the ruckus 8 children and 1 baby (calista) can make. It was fun watching Christian go half-crazy with the other children..after a relatively sedate time of Lego, they decided that rolling someone under the bean bag and going bump was fun. Christian laughed and played so hard he was all sweaty and hoarse afterwards, but we think it is healthy for children to let loose occasionally :)

I hope Christian and Calista will remember that the Christmases they spent during their childhood were filled with laughter, joy, family and love.

TEN

Well, children. 5 days ago marked Daddy’s and Mama’s 10th Dating Anniversary. Mama and Daddy celebrated by going to Au Chocolat at MBS for lunch, but there was little fanfare otherwise. I thought of getting something for Daddy but didn’t go beyond Royce chocolates and a little card. The two of us would love to have gone for a holiday to mark the occasion but it was not quite possible since I had just started a new job and your Daddy had used up most of his leave to study for various courses.

I did think about it though, and thought that perhaps I should post something here just so you two could understand how your Daddy and I met, dated, and got married. (Inspired by Christian’s questions on how he would know how to find the right one. Gosh. These questions are popping up way earlier than expected.) So, here’s the story, in case some tragic event happens and I never get to watch you two grow up and you never get to ask me:

Your Daddy and I met in university in May/June 2001. It was the faculty orientation, and I was asked to go around in some ridiculous cheerleader outfit. Your Daddy (the superficial one) said I caught his eye because I was in a Union Jack tank top and a short skirt. – __ – I hardly paid him any attention. Slowly over the course of a year though, I found out that he liked me.. and boy was he romantic. He wooed with poems, and gifts stuck in my locker..by being around, and my heart would skip a beat when we met to study before lectures / tutorials. It was a little complicated, cos I was actually still in another relationship when we met, so nothing really happened until I broke up with this other guy in early 2002. I felt horrible, but well, I think my heart was not there and I don’t think I really loved that guy even though we got along rather well. Your Daddy and I were torn between propriety and raging hormones and did not get together until late 2002. One thing that irked me was, he never did “Ask the question”, but just assumed that I was going to be his girlfriend after dating. We therefore do not have a definite date to mark the start of our relationship.. but 16 Oct 2002 was a special date to us, and we used it as a marker for keeping count.

Here’s some pictures to show you how young, carefree and happy we were. Well, that’s not to say that we are miserable now, though we definitely do feel the burden of cares a lot more these days..

 

I forgot to add..the journey has not been easy. We started off with quite a lot of drama due to miscommunication (our 1st dates were filled with awkward silences and silent bus trips..although the chemistry was sizzling (then), we had no idea what the other was thinking.)

We’ve learnt to adapt to each other:

- different bio-clocks (your daddy used to wake the minute the sun shone into the room, whilst I could keep snoring on till 11am if left alone);

- different food preferences (daddy educated me on the goodness of oatmeal and goat’s milk)

- different sleep habits (i could not live without aircon, daddy used to get blocked noses from sleeping in airconditioned rooms..but eventually he came round to the benefits of sleeping in a room where the windows could be closed fully to block the traffic noise)

We’ve also had to learn to live without each other for a while..this happened twice, in our 2nd  year of relationship when we were sent to different cities for exchange (he to Toronto, and I to Halifax)..as well as in our first year of marriage, when Daddy worked in Hong Kong for a while.

Things are still not all rosy and smooth sailing now, but I am grateful to have found a soulmate and life partner to weather all the storms and cross the hurdles with. I thank him for spotting and picking me out from the crowd so many years ago..he has become a worm in my stomach, one who knows me so well, sometimes even better than I do myself.

This I wish for you two, my children. To find a soulmate God means for you to have, one who understands you, loves you, one who laughs along with you and whom inspires you to be a better person. Hopefully by looking at us, you will understand what it is you want in a life partner, and I won’t tear my hair out the first time you bring a girlfriend / boyfriend home. ^_^

Christian’s 4th Birthday

It’s the 23rd of September again!

We started off with having a celebration in school on Friday 21st. He had a 2kg “Cars” cake which was very well-received by the children who kept asking for seconds.

I was very pleased when he asked to give out the goodie bags himself. The goodie bags contained a sand art pack, a vehicle eraser, and an Earth’s Best snack bar.

We gave out some chocs at Sunday school to the children and I was surprised to see that he had a gift from the Sunday school teachers. It was a children’s book on Jesus’ first miracle.

We went to Cedele for lunch after church and thought it appropriate that he had a bread buffet for his birthday, given that he goes nuts over bread.

We cut a cake back home, with gonggong and popo, and were so stuffed. The little girl lurved the cake, and even helped herself by sticking her finger into the cream and licking it up.

After nap, it was off to Pitzitalia to meet his nainai and yeye, aunt and cousins… He had lots of fun with his older cousin at the free indoor playground, though the place was undergoing renovations and was partly closed.

All the festivities have left P and I rather exhausted. I’m so looking forward to a fuss-free stay-home weekend next week.

Birthday celebrations

We had a joint birthday celebration for Nainai and Daddy two Saturdays ago at Brotzeit, Somerset 313. Christian was the happiest of all thanks to all the pizza and pork knuckle, and kept asking when we were going to get to the cake.

I had lunch with the guy on his actual birthday, and presented him with some macarons designed to be balloons..

We didn’t manage to go to The Coastal Settlement on P’s birthday after all cos I was tired out after putting Calista to bed at 8-something. We ended up just chatting at home as we usually do till bedtime..although there was no fancy celebration, i’m glad we enjoy having ‘dates’ anywhere..as long as we have time and space to talk.

There’s so much to be happy over and grateful for. I hope the next year will be an even better one for you, dear!

Flowers

It's Mother's Day again. I was thinking back on last year's post, and wondering what there is to say. The recent lack of sleep coupled with the full-time work at home and in the office has reduced me to quite an intellectual zombie.

The minute I woke up this morning though, I realised I had so much to blog about.

"Although motherhood leaves you totally knackered with nary a moment to yourself, it also gives you the heartiest laughter and the most tender moments."

Christian bounched into my room at about 8am, shook my leg and went "Mama, wake up..mama wake up! It's daytime! The sun is out! Wake up, mama.." I groaned and buried my head in the pillow for a while more, but smiled to myself as he said, "There's flowers outside for you! It's mother's day! Daddy bought you flowers, come and see!"

He ran out of the room, and ran back in to find the still-supine mama half-conscious. I opened my eyes to see some fake Ikea flowers thrust under my face. "See, mama! Flowers for you! Daddy bought them!" I raised my brow cos i recognise them as the flowers I bought from Ikea many months ago. P came into the room and got quizzed.. "I have no idea where he got those from.."

Hah. He most probably remembers gifting me flowers last Mother's Day, and thought of doing the same this year. :)

(Just for the record, I got a carnation this year..and we brought the kids out to Ambush at J8 to eat together with the in-laws..)

He proceeded to pretend to be a lion cub, and went leaping off the foot of my bed to the mattress below, like a suicidal frog. He leapt over and over until I laughed at the kamikaze froglet, who had accidentally ruffled the bottom of my blanket in the midst of his training and took a very brief break to adjust my blanket to cover my feet, without me asking. AWww.. After I woke, he kept asking me to eat bread at the breakfast table even though I said i didn't want any. "There's bread, mama! Mama, you want bread? The bread is VERY nice..there's red bean you know, just like mine. Mama, you don't want bread? No? *pause for a few secs* Mama, you want me to choose the bread for you?" He went on until even my dad burst out laughing..I joked that he will make a good supermarket salesman in the future, whilst P commented that Ch's care for me is so "wu2 wei1 bu2 zhi4" =7

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We walked to the reservoir this morning, and Christian conquered his fear of the swing for the first time! Walking back, we passed many ixora bushes and i asked if he wanted Daddy to pluck an ixora flower so he could see and taste the nectar within. He immediately said "No, don't pluck! It will drop down by itself, then we can see the nectar.." His love for trees and flowers is so pure.

CNY 2012

It's been more than 2 weeks since CNY.. although, since CNY technically only ended last week (Chinese New Year is traditionally for 15 days), I guess this post isn't too late.

We didn't do very much this CNY. I'm not the type to lug my kids around to visit, insisting that they follow my schedule cos I think as their parents, we are responsible for them getting enough rest. Disrupting their schedules usually results in tired children who then turn cranky and throw tantrums for no reason. Not fun, and something you do not wish relatives-whom-you-meet-once-a-year to witness.

So. With two kids and nap times to work around, the only places we visited were the grandparents'. It was Calista's first CNY but she barely knew what was happening, other than that it was very loud at Nainai's house, with lots of children shouting.

Christian was happy for the chance to meet his cousins. He was even willing to be separated from us, after visiting P's grandma's place. One of the relatives drove a small mini-bus, and Ch piled into it together with his cousins to go to P's mum's house. Anyway, I'm glad it's over, cos it certainly was difficult to keep Ch away from all the festive goodies. We decided to give in and allowed him a cookie here, a sweet there, a small slice of cake.. and he's been coughing for 2 weeks ever since. Sigh..i wish his constitution was stronger, so I can be less restrictive in terms of his diet.



 

Valentine's Day from the Mama's boy

P brought me to the chocolate buffet at marina bay sands to celebrate v-day a day in advance.

Since the buffet starts only at 8pm, he picked me up from work and sent me home so I could have a quick shower before heading out again. Ch saw me before I left and asked why I was wearing a dress before hugging my legs, saying "I love you mama".

I laughed at how superficial boys are.

P fibbed that we were going to work (he'd surely ask to follow if we said we were going to feast!)Ch asked us "Why you go work AGAIN?" but bade us cheerfully farewell when I told him to play at home and that I'd go home to give him a kiss at night.

P and I had a good time chatting, enjoying the view from the skypark on the 57th floor. We marvelled at how well Ch took our departure. Hah. But we marvelled too early. My mum said he was acting out of character and sulky towards bedtime. He refused to sleep, to change, to drink milk (very rare!!). He flipped flopped on the mattress, decided to lie on the floor instead etc etc. They only managed to put him to bed at 10 something pm.

I had a talk with him in the morning -

Christian, did you not want to sleep last night cos you missed mama??

Ch: Yes, I missed mama, so I didn't want to sleep. *pouted*

Me: AWww.. come, give me a hug.

Ch: *hugged my legs* I love you, mama.

Me: AWWWW ^_^

I let him sit on my lap while waiting for P to drive the car down from the carpark, and Ch put his head on my chest.. My mum teased him for being such a big baby, and Ch wanted to escape my embrace and sit by himself soon after. The balm has healed him.. He is emotionally balanced again.

*shakes head smiling*

Christian, the cake fanatic

Christian attended his classmate's birthday party last Saturday. The party was held at the pool we usually go to, within Mt Faber Safra. He had so much fun and was so shameless in hanging around the main celebration area, taking the initiative to sing her a birthday song before asking where the cake was *shakes head*

It was great to see him so excited and delighted to be around his classmates in a different setting.

However, when we finally got to the cake-eating part, it was amusing yet worrying seeing how much he loves cake. 

He could barely resist touching the cake and kept wanting to hang around the cake after the first cut was made. I had to drag him away so the birthday girl could take pictures with her family without his face in them. He hung around the periphery of action, all the time eyeing the cake. When she finally came to him with a piece, he thanked her, grabbed his treasure and wanted to wolf it down. I pulled him to a table, sat him on my lap and began asking.. 

"Please may I have some? We are supposed to share this piece right? C'mon, please share". 

He fended me off with "NO. NO. NO" whilst using his elbow to guard his cake from my open mouth. 

I tried again (at this juncture perhaps i need to justify my preying on his cake. he's so prone to coughs and colds that we try very hard not to let him eat sweet stuff / cookies / cakes / wheat / white bread) - 

"Christian... *mock pout* Mama doesn't have any cake.. can I have some please??"

He dismisses my request with: "Go ask from Joy yourself."

I make an astonished/bemused face at his brilliant rebuttal and P, who was sitting opposite us, grinned. 

Christian devoured most of the beloved cake and finally gave it up to us after I used emotional blackmail - 

"Remember...i told you.. if you love someone you'll want to give him / her the best.. you'll give him what you think is good.."


He paused, stared at what was left on his plate before pushing it to me.

"Ok."