January 2012- The celebrations continue...

We gathered at Derek's 3rd aunt's place for the annual family gathering on 1 Jan 2012. Usually, this gathering is on Christmas Day but as some of the family members were vacationing in Genting during the Christmas period, the gathering was held on New Year's Day instead. The adults took hold of this opportunity to catch-up while the kids played happily as always. My sister-in-law bought a packet of bubble balloons and it kept the kids entertained while the adults were busy blowing the balloons for them. It was very funny looking at the exasperated looks of the adults when their 3 mins effort of blowing each balloon was destroyed by the kids in like a split second as they grabbed and popped the balloons. The relatives also took a family portrait this time round to kick-start the new 2012.

We had a quiet and mini celebration on 6 January 2012 for Derek's 35th birthday. As it was a weekday and we both had to work on that day, I rushed to buy a small cake after work and we sang the birthday song after dinner at home. Gerrard was excited to see the cake and eagerly helped Daddy to blow out the candles. I think one of Derek's best present is that Gerrard said "Happy Birthday, Daddy" to him that morning when he woke up. Despite it being a small celebration, I really wish my hubby all the best at work, health and everything else in this new year =)

December 2011 - Happy Birthday to Po Po & Gerrard's first movie

We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday at Changi Village Hotel on 18 December 2011. It was a small gathering with Derek's immediate family and as it was also the Christmas season, the place was decorated with huge Christmas tree and the joyful trinklets. It was raining rather heavily that day but it sort of gave a "wintery" feel to the whole season, where it was pouring outside but we are enjoying great food and company in the warmth of the quiet restaurant indoors. And what's a celebration without some picture-taking to remember the ocassion by? Here it goes...



My dear boy watched his very first movie at the cinema on 26 December 2011. Alvin & The Chipmunks 3 happened to be showing at this time and I decided to "give it a go" and see if he is able to sit through a movie and most importantly, whether he enjoyed the experience. Hence, together with Shirlyn & Wendy, the 4 of us were off to the movies. In fact, this is also my first time watching a cartoon movie!

I brought along some bread for him to snack on in case he was hungry and water as well. I could see that he was paying attention to the movie and rather, it was me who was rather anxious and kept asking Gerrard whether he is ok. Until he got a little fed up and told me, "Shh... you ask Yi-Yi!" Overall, I think it was a good experience for him and the choice of movie was excellent. It's duration was slightly less than 1.5 hours that is just nice for pre-schoolers and the main cast were animals that most kids love. Additionally, the chipmunks & chipettes love to dance and sing and this provided great entertainment to the overall plot.


Up till today, he still talks of the movie and I will start to be on the lookout for future movies we can enjoy together in future.

November 2011- The month of celebrations

This year, I had a fabulous birthday with my family, thanks to thoughtful Derek who planned a dinner celebration with my family members. The food was sumptuous and we had a delightful time at our house thereafter, enjoying the cake, chatting and laughing.

22 November 2011 marks a significant milestone in Gerrard's learning journey where he performed in his very first concert. This is also a form of celebration of completing his first year of school independently. The event was held in NUS Cultural Centre and this year's theme is "Festivals Around The World". Gerrard's class carried out the second item, Japan Taiko Drum Festival and he is a "drummer". Seeing him on stage stirred up a whole lot of emotions in me that I almost teared... it just seems like my baby has grown up so much. My mind went back to Jan 2011 where he was reluctant to go to class without me, overcoming his fears and now reaching the stage where he waves me goodbye and tells me that he can go inside the class himself. He has been practising his moves and despite their young age, they are so courageous to go up and stage and complete the performance. Kudos to all our future leaders of Singapore!

My little japanese drummer

At the end of the concert, every child went on stage and sang the finale song, "We Are One" and Gerrard was really tired at the end of the day, especially since it was an almost full day of rehearsals and performance. I am sure this memorable day will stay rich in his memory and added on to his life experiences.

The best I could take from my trusty old camera + my limited photo-taking skills

Following the year end Zoophonics concert, we quickly dived straight to 26 November 2011, where it was Shirlyn's big day and Gerrard had the imperative task of opening the car door for the groom that morning. This year, he is a bit older and understands a bit more. But he is also more playful and knows how to test his limits with us. He was running up and down at the wedding solemnisation hall & during the wedding banquet. As we were still maidless then, Derek & me had to take turns to take care of this "whirl of tornado".

We took the opportunity to book a one night stay at Conrad Centennial as the banquet was expected to end late and I didn't want to rush all the way back home. It was a very quick staycation because we only reached the evening before, stayed in the room for a while to doll up & prepare, attend the banquet, slept, woke up for breakfast then we checked out. Nevertheless, Gerrard had great fun with his 7 "adopted Conrad bears" that he kept throwing & playing about and also the huge bed he jumped about in.

Tired as we were from all the events and activities, it was great joy and fun. With children, you can never have a minute of downtime, but at the same time, you will never have a minute of sadness- I guess this is what being blessed is about.

8 April 2011- Getting silly

Gerrard has a great sense of humour and he was really tickled when I showed him the pair of big, round spectacles that Daddy wore for his friend, Ken’s “gate-crashing” on 5 Nov. After putting on the specs, he even asked me to show him to the mirror in the room where he can then take a good look at himself! It is very entertaining to be with him as his words and actions are so cute and funny.

Here are some of his antics:

- saying "Ha Ha Ha" when he sees something funny; yes, he actually says out his "laugh"

- covering his mouth when he is giggling

- Being very serious at times and "reprimands" us for being "Silly Mummy, Silly Daddy"

- whenever he is singing the "Cat in the Hat" adventure song where he moves his hands up and down like the boy and girl characters

- Doing the "snake dance" where he will close his fists and roll both arms round and round. He does this whenever he hears music and sometimes he wiggles his body along too

Makes me wonder where does he get this from?

Humour- yes, from me maybe....

Rhythmic sense of grooving to the beat? Must be from Daddy. Definitely.

7 April 2011 - The Mystery of Smell

I smell Gerrard every day.

In fact, I smell him every now and then, especially when I am giving him a hug. I noticed that Derek smells Gerrard whenever he hugs him too, even if he doesn’t have the baby smell anymore. And this is not something I was specifically told to do, nor had I specifically told Derek to do that. Why I say this is because, being first time parents, we literally had to be told what to do eg. How to burp your baby, how to change diapers, how to carry them and so on. However, this action is our natural instinct to do so.

Since the beginning of time, humans “see” the world largely through eyes and ears and we neglect the sense of smell but yet, mothers can recognise their babies by smell, and newborns recognise their mummies in the same way. This seems to have something to do with the fact that smells retain an uncanny power to move us and each whiff of our kids instantly conjure up scenes and emotions of love and protection.

Isn’t this amazing? This kind of emotion and action grows upon a parent... if you have not given your child a hug recently, go on and hug them today, and take in your deepest breath =)

Art Therapy- Oh what a noisy Zoo!

Gerrard attended his very first play at the Esplanade, Recital Studio on 23 Oct 2011 to watch "Oh, what a noisy zoo!". This play was inspired by a book titled "Silly Animal Poems for Children & Big Kids too! by Arthur Chan.

It was free seating on the floor and there is a small stage where the main characters- Julie, a girl going to the zoo, the zookeeper and 4 other actresses and actors who dressed up as monkeys, parrots and elephants. There was also use of animal hand puppets, together with musical wood instruments and lots of singing and actions during the play.

Although Gerrard was quiet most of the time, I can see that he is observing and absorbing every single detail. His eyes hardly blinked and the whole time, he appears to be in awe with all that is happening. Towards the end, he joined in the "Roarrrrrr" with the last animal, the lion and told us that he liked the play. There is another play coming up in Feb 2012 about an elephant learning the Alphabet. As Gerrard loves anything to do with alphabets, I am sure he will like the next play. However, will wait till nearer the date before I purchase the tickets as I am still trying to do more research about whether the play is suitable for 4 year olds.

As I am exposed to music since young, I strongly believes that it is good to cultivate an appreciation of music and arts because it provides an avenue for one to express ourselves, be in when we are feeling happy or sad. Although I have tried a few times to teach Gerrard to play the piano, he doesn't appear too keen to learn. Instead, he seems to prefer singing and moving to the rhythm.. well, maybe he is still too young as I recalled, most of my students were at least 6-7 years old before they started to actually like playing the piano. In any case, the trip to Esplanade has created a new experience for our little boy and I will definitely be on the lookout for more plays and musicals that we can enjoy in the future.

A rather scenic spot in Punggol

Yes, you have read the title right... you can actually find scenic spots in Punggol. No offence to Punggol-ians but I have always thought of Punggol/Sengkang as a rather “deserted” and “under-going development” area of Singapore. However, we have a few relatives who stay around that area and inevitably, we will go there for gatherings once in a while.

On Saturday, we had a family dinner gathering at Uncle Leong’s Seafood, which is located at a quiet and quaint part of Punggol East. Upon getting out of the car, the first thing that greeted us were beautiful kites flying in the sky. We discovered that it is a really relaxed place for food, fishing and walks. In the centre of the eateries, there are anglers learning the trick of fishing and experienced ones showing off their skills. There is also the option to BBQ what you have caught. The row of eateries overlooks a park and a river, with a long pathway for people to take a leisurely stroll, cycle or jog. The only downsides to this place are that the pathway next to the river has quite a bit of mosquitoes and I heard from Liting that the carpark is perpetually full so you’ll need to either make reservations or arrive earlier for your meals.

Gerrard with his cousin Baby Sheldon- he has mastered this "signature grin" nowadays as he says this is how his classmate Biacka looks like when she smiles at him

It's rare for us to take a family picture together so really thanks to Liting for this =)

When we were leaving, the night had already befallen and we saw a few kites that were lighted with flickering lights, flying in the night sky. It was very nice and too bad I didn’t bring along my camera to capture the pleasant night scene. All in all, it was a rather enjoyable evening for a family evening out and I believe we may go back again.

Orchid Mini Bowl at Downtown East

We went to Downtown East for dinner about 2 weeks ago and although we had passed by the bowling alley before, Gerrard was quite keen to go in there to take a look this time round. We had bowled at there previously but because I did not like the shoes rental there, I was reluctant to bowl again so it’s just to go in to watch the people bowl. However, we were met with a pleasant surprise at the side of the bowling alley.

As well as having the usual bowling facilities, Orchid Bowl also has a coin activated mini bowl for the littlies. This is great to play when your kids are just a little bit too small for the bumper bowl. The balls are much smaller, as are the pins and distance to roll. It is a great introduction to bowling for our young ones. We had 2 rounds of games and I could see that Gerrard had great fun although the balls were quite heavy for him. With my assistance and superb skills (ahem!), we managed to knock down most of the pins in each round =)

Eager to start his bowling game

Daddy helping him with Round 1

Mummy helping with Round 2- we striked!

Maidless Week 3

Just when I thought my luck with maids is improving, my trusty domestic helper, A, decided to terminate her contract 2 months earlier. I admit that I did feel a tinge sense of betrayal as I feel that she should at least stay and help me until the new maid comes, given how nice we have treated her. However, I am sure that for people with maids, you know that once their heart is set on leaving, there is really no point talking to them further. I had a few unhappy experiences during this time so we booked her ticket, chose a new maid and sent A home, all within 1 week. As our new maid takes about 6-8 weeks to arrive, we are officially back to how it was like in 2 years ago when we were maidless.

Week 1 was quite a chaos, in packing to go out, I forget to bring my handphone, when I remember my handphone, I forget to bring Gerrard's school bag... the list goes on. And being the perfectionist, I still want everything to be spick and span, floor to be mopped everyday, clothes to be scrubbed before putting into the washing machine, all admist holding onto a full time job mind you.

Week 2, I had fallen. Literally. I had a bad sprain on my spine and could hardly walk! My left leg felt lifeless and suddenly, I couldn't bend, I couldn't walk properly and couldn't carry my dear Gerrard. Everything seemed to come to a standstill and at this time, my knight in shining armour, Dear, helped out in so many ways. It is the first time since marriage that he took the lead in ensuring that the house is in order. He also took very good care of Gerrard and I really feel so touched and grateful to have him around.

This experience also taught me a very good lesson, to learn to let go sometimes and being insistent on every single detail may not necessarily be the best for everyone. Hence, by end of Week 3, I had learnt to take a step back, focus on what's important and not to sweat the small stuff. I have overcome my personal "hurdle" and accepted the following facts which indeed made me less uptight:

- it is really OK if the floor is not mopped for 1 day
- it is OK if Gerrard's bedsheets are changed every 10 days instead of 7
- when life gets really busy, the washing machine washes just as well even if the clothes are not scrubbed before putting into the washer

Another great thing I observed is that without the maid around, Gerrard has learnt to be a tad more independent. Now he is able to lift up the potty to pee in whenever he needs to and also helps me to carry the smaller stuff when he sees that I am struggling with my bags. He even knows to remind me, have you brought the keys mummy? did you remember your handphone, mummy? He's such a dear.

As long as everyone plays their part, nothing is too difficult to conquer. What's most important is the whole family stays together and sometimes, "wasting time" to have a good laugh is so worth putting off the laundry cleaning to tomorrow =)




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