Anlene Orchardmile Run

At the inspiration of Iris and to instill healthy living in Denise, 7 of us signed up for Anlene Orchardmile Run last Sunday and I brought Denise with me.

Denise was very excited during the week. I had no difficulty waking her up and the moment I whispered "Denise, wake up for Anlene Run..." She woke up...:)

For a moment, the kids were the centre of attraction...:)

We walked from Dhoby Ghaut MRT to Orchard MRT; a total of 1 mile (1.6km) within 28mins. All who finished the race received a Finisher medal at the end point. I guess they had extras because the kids each received one too!

Denise - Swimming Lesson

Bought Denise a new swimming costume because she started her swimming lessons today at Arena Country Club. Talked to the boss and found out that if they find you fit for competition; they will recommend you to David Lim, his partner, (former Singapore National Swimmer) for competitive training. But well...that would be many years down the road...:p I told him that my intention is to cultivate water confidence in Denise so that at least she is not afraid of water...:)

Lesson 1 (Total of 5 students)

- Warm up exercise

- Brief them on pool rules

- Learn how to get in and out of pool

- Learn to breathe from nose

- Went underwater

- Learn to balance on the float

- Jump into the pool with the help of instructor

Dora The Explorer - The Pirate Adventure

A friend gave us 3 tickets for Dora The Explorer - The Pirate Adventure at Singapore Expo. I brought Denise, Debbie AND Nicole (one of my colleague's daughter who loves Dora)! Yup, I brought 3 kids to a kids' show all by myself.... What a "pirate" adventure for me!

I had to drive them there, feed them dinner, bring them to toilet, buy Dora products during the break..... I am amazed I survived the night....:p

Denise and Nicole loved the show. They received Dora light-stick as door gifts for Corporate Guests. Sing and dance to the music... I bought each of them a Dora doll. And when Nicole's mummy came and pick her up, she gave Denise a Dora stamp pack. Denise was so thrilled!

3 Birthdays In a Weekend

1) On May 17 (Sat), Denise attended classmate Caelyn's birthday celebration at MacDonald (Queentown Ridout Garden). Caelyn had a 3D Barbie birthday cake; do you notice how awkward the candles were placed?She had a pinata as well. As there were too many children, Denise did not have her turn to pull the string. However, she had a great time trying to bag as much goodies as possible!2) May 18 (Sun), another classmate Richa celebrated her birthday at GoGoBambini. I heard so much about that place but this would be our first time bringing Denise there. Huge indoor playground but it was rather cramp... Not much program but the kids went crazy during the hour of free play! Food was average and Richa had a nice strawberry cake.

3) May 19 (Mon-Vesak Day), Denise went back to GoGoBambini for Javier's birthday... Yes, GoGoBamini again...:p Same place, same food... But this time the free play was interrupted because 1 toddler urinated in the playground...:p And it turned out that it was one of Javier's guest...hahhaha.... We proceed with cake-cutting and then the kids continued their play after that... As for cake, Javier had a Winnie the Pooh Swensen Ice-cream cake...something different!

Tiring weekend... But to Denise it was probably the most fun!

Family Portrait

We took this Family Portrait in 2006 when Denise was 3. We super-imposed Debbie onto this photo.

This was taken in church on Mother's Day...:)

A Happy Family!

Denise and Mummy

Auntie Iris took this photo for us while we were queuing to have our Family Portrait taken. One of my favourites...:)

Baby Sign and Sing

Debbie had her 2nd round of mock class in CHEC; Baby Sign and Sing. She had a lot of fun playing with her reflection in the mirror. Do you know that clapping is part of babies' development?

She just learnt to clap and that came in useful for this class. Debbie had fun with the singing and shakers!

Debbie

This is for Debbie...:) Hahha....I'm having fun with Photoscape!

Denise

Did this montage using Photoscape!!! So fun, so many ways to display your photos...:)

See how Denise has grown...:)

Vivo Again!

Went to Vivo again... Yes, again! Anyway, Denise wanted to go into the water. Thinking that we brought extra clothes for her, we said yes! Guess what? We forgot to pack her shorts!

See the photo on the right? She ended up wearing Debbie's "skorts" (shorts cum skirt)! It turned out to be her "mini-skirt".

Teething

I was trying to take a picture of Debbie's tooth for the blog and ended up causing her to knock her head against her cot...:(

Well, I managed to snap a shot with her mouth wide open....crying of course...:p

This is for Gu Gu!

JX's sister bought this dress for Denise from States. Thanks Gu Gu!

Happy Mother's Day

Last month, JX came home with a bag of clothes from Dorothy Perkins for me; 3 tops and 2 bottims! I was pleasantly surprised and was not particularly expecting anything this Mother's Day.

Then on Thursday, JX surprised me with matching sandles for myself, Denise and even Debbie! That's not all...

On Friday, Denise came home with an Art & Craft. There were some drawings on it; a handbag, a sun, some animals... Hmm....maybe things that she would like to me to have??!

And she sang me 2 songs, I think she learnt from school!

JX left me another surprise before he left for CG with Denise! He designed a card and left it on the fridge! How sweet...

When JX and Denise came back from CG, he informed me that we were meeting Mervyn and Jenny for breakfast the following day. To cut the long story short, Mervyn was giving Jenny a SPA treat and JX wanted to give me a FINAL surprise by "sending" me for a treat too..:) Christal was in childcare and JX looked after Denise and Debbie at Mervyn's place. We went to The Aspara Garden Spa at One North. We both had a Body Scrub and Swedish Massage...

Hmm...I don't mind going back there again!

After that we had lunch with the Songs at "Dian Xiao Er", followed by ice-cream at Ben & Jerry's.

5th Mother's Day for me and this has been my best so far...:) Thanks to my dear hubby, Denise and Debbie!

Birthday Cakes

It's amazing the kind of cakes a kid will get for his/her birthdays these days. It's getting bigger and more elaborated!

Recently we attended a party where the kid had a 3D SpongeBob cake! Sorry, no pic because I forgot to bring my camera...

Wonder what Denise will ask for on her 5th birthday...

First "Day" in School

Debbie attended her first class in CHEC. It was a mock up class and children of the staff are invited to attend for FREE! These are her "first classmates".

The first theme is PAPER... The children are free to roam in the room, filled with everything made of paper!

Debbie was putting everything into her mouth!

Even the parents took part in the fun...:)

I am looking forward to the next 4 weeks of Baby Read, Sign and Sing!

Blur Mummy

What's wrong with this picture? Nope!
- No one gave me free diapers...
- Neither did I get them from a sale...

I went to buy diapers for Debbie. Bought a pack of XL... What was I thinking??? Or was I even thinking...:p Too big!

Bought another pack the next day... A pack of L. Halfway through the pack, I realised that she is supposed to wear M.... Ops!

Eventually got the right size...

How can I be so blur?!!

Sick AGAIN!

See both kids keeping each other company at home!...:)

Talked to a mother of 3 recently. She is open to trying for No.4 but she dreads it when they fall sick. Sigh...with only 2; I already understand what she means.

On Friday, I was asked to bring Debbie home as there was a "string" of green mucus that flowed from her nose. In view of the recent HFMD and being a responsible parent, I took half day urgent leave and when home. All I could say was "TGIF - Thank God it's Friday!"Over the weekend, she started getting very cranky and drool ALOT!!! I attributed all these to her 2 teeth that is rather visible by now.

Last night (Sunday), Denise developed FEVER at night...:( Had to keep her away from school for a few days...

Took urgent child sick leave for the next days to let both of them recover fully...

No.3? Hmmmm...... I am still thinking about what my friends told me...:p

Teething!

Finally see 2 white spots on Debbie's lower gum... Yup! 2 pearly whites sprouting!

There goes the toothless grin pretty soon...:)

Car Seat

Have I mentioned that ever since I had to take over driving Denise and Debbie every morning, both my gals have been behaving like *ANGELS* in their carseats?

Denise will be eating or reading at the back, on her booster. Occasionally she will ask me for help, like unscrewing her water bottle cap, remove her biscuit from the wrapper etc... To keep her at the back, I make sure she is entertained with her choice of CD during the ride! Her current picks are either "When I Grow Up" or "High School Musical".

As for Debbie, I always make sure that I have enough toys to keep her occupied! She will have her "cow book" from Fisher and Price. When she is cranky, I will press the cow's nose and there will be lights and music to distract her. There is a "star" mobile for MORE music to entertain her. And if all else fails, I will sing the "The Cuppycake Song" :)



This song will always calm Debbie down without fail!

Driving with 2 kids is not as scary as I thought it would be...:) Thank God!

Choked!

Had a scare last Friday when I went to see the doctor with Debbie. I was down with bad flu and cough! While the doctor was checking me, I gave Debbie her piece of bread, tied tightly in a plastic bag. I could hear her playing with the plastic bag while I turned my back for the doctor to check my lungs...

Suddenly Debbie gave a loud cry! She seems to be choking! I realised that she had tore the plastic bag and bitten off some bread...!!!

I felt lost! Immediately the doctor lifted her up and started patting her back. Debbie opened her mouth and I digged a piece of bread, sized about my last finger, from her mouth...:( I told the doctor if I was not in the clinic, I would have held her upside-down and start smacking her from the back... To my surprise, she said that was the right thing to do...

Praise God, Debbie was alright after that! For a moment, I felt lousy as a mother for not looking out for her... Sigh, one of those moments...:p

Busy and Tired

Sorry to those who follow this blog faithfully... Mummy has been busy and very tired.

There have been many happenings and photos to blog about but eversince Daddy started his class in SOT (Bible School - School of Theology), our lives had turned topsy-turvy!

Mummy had to take over driving Denise to school every morning and then to office with Debbie. Picked up Denise after school and drive home so that Daddy can drive to his night class in Informatics... Well, so far, the kids have been behaving well in their car seat when Mummy is driving on the road...:)

And Mummy has just changed to a Blackberry that does not come with a camera... A lot of pictures to show...
- Joey's 2nd birthday;
- Ian's 5th birthday;
- Water Play in Vivo;
- Lunch at Marche...

Well, we will be back when Mummy finds time to upload those photos taken from our camera and Daddy's phone...:)

Crawling

Debbie, at 8 months 2 weeks, is crawling on all fours now. She is developing rather fast, I think...:p

She loves to stand on in her bed. Can sit unsupported and now lifting up her butt and crawling on all fours!

Can't wait for her to stay cruising and walking...:)

Riding in IMM

Afther the "horse-riding" experience in Vivo, I told Denise that we will not sit on one of these battery-operated rides anymore.

When we went to IMM on Sunday, Denise and her friends jumped on that opportunity... $2 for about 5 mins ride....:p

When will I learn to say "no"...

Pizza-Making

Denise loves to help me cook!

I have always wanted to make my own pizza at home, and decided to buy the ingredient for some pizza-making on Friday!

Of course Denise was very excited. She helped me cut the ham, crabsticks, button mushrooms etc. Spread the ingredient and throw it into our toaster...

Viola! Our own Hawaiian Pizza! Yummy!!

Worksheets!!!

Last Thursday, JX and I became "kiasu" parents... We bought activities books for Denise...:p

Denise told us that she will do her "homework" in school and she has been re-doing her previous A-B-C books at home. We went to Popular and bought her, not one but FOUR books! 2 Jumbo activities books for English and Chinese, another 2 on English and Maths.

However, we do not have to ask her to do them. Everyday she will ask us to read for her and help her do the activities. And when she is doing her work... She is VERY serious...

Barbie Swimming Pool

Denise's latest toy....Barbie Swimming Pool! Her "reward" for taking part in the Fox Model Search.

A little indecent....cos she takes off their clothes...:p

But quite fun because you can create effects by having water dripping down from the sides.

As usual.....expensive....hahaha.....

Vision Test

Brought Denise for a *repeat* Vision Test on Monday.

She was so excited when the nurse warmed her up by asking her to read through the alphabets.... "N, O, H, A, E..."

Have you ever wondered why only these few letters?

Anyway, she has a 6/9 vision. Good for young children since they are not required to read the smaller characters...:)

Water Play @ IMM

Brought Denise to the Water Playground at IMM last Saturday. At first she was apprehensive about getting wet in public... But after some warming up, she went CRAZY!!!

And what about Debbie?

Sitting *like an angel* in her stroller; playing with her toy and eating her biscuit...:)

"Horse" Riding @ Vivo

Denise has always wanted to ride on one of these whenever we visit Vivo. But as a "calculative" mum, I always feel that it is a waste of money. About $4 for 5mins!!!

Even though she is always very understanding whenever I try explaining to her why she should not ride on one, I still feel bad that I have to reject her request.

Well, I finally gave in last weekend...but for 5mins only...:p

Fox Model Search 2008

Submitted Denise's photo to Fox Fashion and she was selected for the Audition, which was held on Mar 13, Friday, at Paragon.

About 60 - 80 hopefuls kids, aged 5-12 years old turned up that morning!

One girl even came dressed in a full bridal-liked gown... Hmm....thought Fox is more streetwear style?!!

Anyway, Denise simply walked down the aisle; not her usual self... No smile and cannot be bothered. The emcee asked her to give the judges a wave...and she just shook her head...:p

JX says that maybe they are looking for a "attitude-looking" face....hmmmmm...

Her happiest moment of the day? Shopping at Toy R Us and bought a swimming pool for her Barbie...:)

RIBS At Changing Appetites

Debbie: "I didn't know that the Ribs will be this BIG!"

Debbie: "Yummy! No one told me that RIBS was that good...:)..."

Debbie: "The older children had Kid's Meal and look at them... Wait till they try the RIBS... Hahhaha...."

The Singapore Flyer (Mar 2)

Mervyn bought our tickets last year when internet booking was launched! Was scheduled for the 8pm slot but managed to board earlier at 715pm with the Song's and Ho's...:)

It was drizzling and the capsule was wet. However, the view was still very captivating!

I managed to capture a short video clip of the scenery...:)

You may follow this link to view other photos we took: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/dawnlpc/TheSingaporeFlyer