This is y favourite pic of the lot. It's got my 2 fav people and the Singapore skyline complete with the flyer. It's now my desktop picture. :) 
Here's my husband being consulted. It was so funny I just had to snap a pic. 
Me having a go. The kite's so high up you can't really see it in the pic. 
That's my bub all clean and satisfied after his poop. :)- Location:Marina Barrage
- Mood:
satisfied
The 2 of them obviously didn't know they were being photographed. :)- Mood: content
The boys looked super cute and very smart. At $10 for a 2-piece suit, I say it's a very good deal!
John's pal Jair giving his 'camera' smile.
My bollywood bub
Mucking about just before class. 
Doesn't John look like a little Indian prince? :)- Mood:
giggly
I purchased the Mr Men set from a lady doing a bulk purchase on the Singapore Motherhood Forum. And i must say it was a steal! S$90 for for the whole 46-book set and it came in a neat hard cover box. The price printed on the box was 99 pounds! I was very pleased. :)
- Mood: amused
At CVC, it's proving to be even more of a challenge because there are so many computers around and when John decides he wants to watch something on youtube, he heads straight for Aunty Gret, Aunty Marianne and of late GRANDPA! When he doesn't get his way, he cries up a storm and more often than not, he gets his way. Aunty Gret and Aunty Marianne now give him just a little entertainment but it's grandpa he's got wrapped round his little finger. And i've got the evidence:
How? How? How???- Mood:
worried
It was a nice, relaxed lunch for us both cos the two little ones were in relatively good moods and were happy to get to know each other. Close to the end of the lunch, they were playing 'follow the leader'. Nat would start to bang the table and John would follow suit and then vice versa. I know it's not socially considerate behavior but the restaurant wasn't too crowded and it was too cute to watch! Here's a short video:
Then there was the book swop...
After lunch... reading time.
Nat's more interested in what John's reading. 
John decides Nat's is more exciting too and they SWOP!
Swop completed and we have to happy bubs!
When a familiar song comes on, or when he's in worship rehearsals, John actually sings. The words typically come out as 'ooooh oooooh' (and thus the face), but they come out at the right time. When there's an instrumental segment in the song, he stops and when the singing come on again, the 'oooh oohs' start again. It's uber uber cute.
- Mood: giggly
It wasn't overly crowded and the weather was nice. The animals were strutting their stuff and John had a good time on the tram and the boat. We watched the Splash Safari show with the sea lion, penguins and manatees and John was good enough to sit through the whole show. One of the highlights had to be the Rainforest Kidzworld. It's a pity I didn't bring John's swim gear but he had a good time running around the playground-like area and looking at the animals in the petting corner. It's amazing how the bub is not bothered by the smell of animal faeces... mummy on the other hand, felt nauseous more than once - and no, i'm not pregnant (yet :D). Here are some of the photos from our little family excursion.
One thing i must say is that it's a great thing i brought along my hip seat - that blue contraption that looks like a fanny pack in the top right picture. Whenever John decided he didn't want to walk, or when he wanted to pick up something that looked remotely like dung, we had to carry him. Daddy could carry the 10.5kg bub comfortably on his shoulders, but for me, the hip seat was absolutely necessary to prevent my arms from giving way. I had on hand my ergobaby but it was waaay too warm to carry John in that sling.We spent a total of 5 hours there and by the time we got back to our car mid afternoon, the tyke was so tired out he slept almost immediately. All three of us had a wonderful time and we will definitely be going back there again.
Background: The Italy experience was terrifying for both of us. James was on a course and I was alone with the bub most of the day. It was in an ulu part of Italy so the town was really small and so was the hotel. The room was a nice size but walls were paper thin, so each time John cried, i imagined the other folks in the hotel wishing they stayed somewhere else. It didn't help that John had realised he had vocal chords and were exercising them extensively so each time he was awake, I had to sling him and and take him out. We were out a few hours at a go and so by the end of the trip, my shoulders were absolutely trashed. All this aside, it was good for us to be together as a family exclusively. I do cherish the experience because of the bonding that resulted and given a choice, I would go through it again.
That being said, I prayed really hard for the 3 days we were to stay at Parkroyal on Beach Road. John was now at a different stage in his little life and the challenges were different. And God came through for us. John was so good during our stay there. He even slept and napped really well! He ate whatever I gave him and he was happy to just run around the ballroom foyer most of the time. James and I could attend the teaching sessions and the group sessions and I was even able to co-lead worship at the Prayer, Praise and Worship without feeling anxious or guilty. All I can say is that God truly answers prayers and we now have enough confidence to consider a little family holiday at the end of the year! Woohoo! :)
Photos courtesy of Uncle Eddy and his big big camera!- Mood:
grateful
Even with Barney and Mickey Mouse on screen, John didn't like having his hair cut one bit. The moment the electric shavers made contact with his hair, he squealed and when we persisted, he cried. So I had to carry him the whole time and in mummy's arms, we calmed down significantly and we finally managed to finish the haircut. It took 25 minutes and I must say John was a real trooper. I actually expected it to be much harder so I was very relieved not to have to leave with his hair half cut. After the cut, John looked a little like a mini NS boy with his hair real short, but hey, at $20 a pop, i'd rather he had a good short cut so it'd take it's time to grow out.
A couple of days after that we met Desiree and Leroy at the swimming club and fortunately for us, Desiree was armed with her camera again. Woohoo! Here are some of the lovely post-haircut shots taken that day. Thanks again Desiree! :)
- Mood:
accomplished
Eh???
How can anyone not love love love him? *grin*
Photo courtesy of Aunty Gret.
- Mood: chipper
I must say it's been a really busy busy busy one month and time has just flown by. Between all the work at CVC, maid troubles, keeping the bub happy and active, I haven't been able to do very much else, let alone blog. So here's my first looong overdue post.
This video was taken about a month back when John had really learnt the joys of independent walking. We were at Novena Square with grandma and soon to be officially aunty Celia (I still can't believe my "baby" brother's getting married! woohoo!), and John decided he'd explore the open space and check out a couple of shops.
It's really funny when he does a little jig when he hears music like in this video. What's also amusing is how he checks out a pretty lady at the end.
Just a little note to myself that I have yet to blog about our little outing to the zoo, transformetion weekend and lovely photos from Desiree (again! aren't we fortunate!).
- Mood: amused
Thank God for friends who do. *winks at Desiree* - Location:marina barrage
- Mood: grateful
- Location:home
- Mood: chipper
Before the warm up, the kids are allowed to run around and play with anything in the gym. John's favourite item at the moment is the trampoline. He makes a bee line straight for it. I think for him, it's even more fun when there's someone else on it too.
The warm ups are made up of action songs, dancing around and a skill that parents learn so they can continue at home. Such skills include flipping your child, teaching him to arch his back etc. After that it's free play again before 3 gymnastics stations interspersed with free play. Then it's the swings! All the kids love love love the swings. After that it's the bye bye routine and that wraps up the gym session. All this lasts 45 minutes and at the end of each session, mummy's waaay more tired than John is. If given a chance, i think he could go on for another hour if we let him! Here are more pics of our session yesterday.
Part of the free play - Climbing on the snake
Gymnastics station #1: swinging from the pole. Here he's learning to bear his own weight.
Gymnastics station #2: Climbing the ladder
Free play again. Here he's chosen to walk up and down a set of steps with handles.
The ball pit. John just loves throwing the balls out and calling for mummy to pick them up and throw them back in. Tiring i tell you.
The big swing! Carefully monitored by the gym instructor, John balances on this huge swing. Here he's actually looking at the other babies in the smaller individual swings.
Now he get's a ride on the individual swing. The gym assistants blow bubbles to keep the bubs entertained. The swings help prevent fear of heights.
I'm glad John's really enjoying his time at the gym. As a mummy, I feel it's important that I engage him in such play and am part of this process of development. And I have no regrets signing him up for something like this. After this term, however, I'm thinking of enrolling him in something else just to give him some variety so now i'm scouting around and looking for interesting trial classes. :)
- Location:mygym
- Mood:
bouncy
First, we headed to maccas for breakfast with Desiree and her boy Leroy. Leroy and John are about 8 months apart but they seem to get along reasonably well. John had a whole hotcake by himself, even after his morning yoghurt. It's amazing how he doesn't put on weight. I guess it's all that walking and burning off the calories.
Leroy & John.
The breakfast was just a prequel to our little outing to Marina Barrage. I've just heard so much about it and I had been waiting for John to walk confidently enough to bring him there. And having gone there today, I must say it's a really really lovely place. The water play area's huge! Because it was a weekday morning, we had the whole water play area to ourselves and the boys had an hour of fun getting wet, watering the plants, etc. Desiree even brought a plastic elephant watering can for John. That was really nice - thanks Desiree!
The boys again. I find it very interesting to watch them engage in parallel play. 
zzzzzzz
I had a couple of friends come over for lunch as well and John got to play with another friend - Rae (Lynn's beautiful 8 month old baby girl.) They were all chatty... communicating in what must be baby talk. I wish I had taken a video of them interacting. Would have been nice to have that archived. It was really nice catching up with some of my old MG friends (all new moms and one mom-to-be) and sharing our experiences and struggles. Thank God for good friends.
After John's afternoon nap, I brought him for his swimming class again at Suntec City. I must say he's really improved since we started some months back. He now can hold his breath under water for at least 3 seconds and he can "row row row" his boat - like he's swimming the breast stroke. He can also climb out of the pool with little assistance and he can jump in when asked to (mummy's there to catch him of course). I think the most important thing he's learnt in his swim class is how to expel water when he accidentally takes in some. Definitely something he needs to know. I'm just glad he has gained some confidence in the water and loves it.
Today was a good day overall. I really enjoyed it. However, I was supposed to go to the gym today after John went to bed, but the day's activities have been a tad too much for me. I think i'll go tomorrow instead. *fingers crossed*
- Mood: high
Before: Two patched on his face.
I prayed and asked God to give us wisdom to help the bub. Only He knew what was going on. And once again, I must say God answers prayers. When John was about 10 months, I started to notice that the eczema was particularly bad days after I ate squid or prawns. And John was having the same through my breastmilk. So I decided to cut seafood (except fish) out of my diet completely. And voila! John's skin cleared! So for about 2 over months now, he's been dawning silky smooth baby skin... FINALLY! :)
After: Eczema no more! :)
If you stood with us in prayer for John's recovery, we would like to thank you. God is good and every prayer counted!
- Mood: thankful
- Mood: giggly
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