Before the year ends...

I am compelled to blog for the last time before I head off in less than 6 hours, on another road trip to Malaysia and spend countdown in a frenzied pool of people.

Another year has come and gone. So many events had taken place, so many experiences and memories to jot down.

Spending the countdown with this group of friends have become a ritual for the past 6 years. We are that committed to the extent that I would leave Jayden in my in-laws care just to avoid the many other issues - meltdown, being a handful and most important of all, getting lost in the crowd. I feel the guilt every time. :( Sorry boy. Hopefully you can join us next year.

So before I leave the country, let me leave some photos behind of what we had done for X'mas.

This year X'mas proved to the most exhausting but fulfillng one. Perhaps also because we had 2 house gatherings in a single row.

I don't think the son really understood the meaning of Christmas. Perhaps it meant ripping open many many delightful presents from people who loved him. Thank you Aunties and Uncles for the gifts!

Merry X'mas and Happy New Year!!!

Will write when I'm back!

Relief

I conclude that this is one of the hardest milestone for Jayden. Sleeping through the night, weaning off the pacifier, sleeping in his own room, being diaper free at night - all these seemed mediocre to having to tell the son that poo-ing while standing up in his diaper is not the proper way for bowel movement.

There were times where the boy would rather just constipate throughout the weekend or go red in the face when I refused to give him the diaper thinking that he would have no choice but to do his dump at the potty. It was 3 months ago when Jayden went diaper free even at night.

I am not sure if it was peer pressure or education from school. One fine day, when the son mentioned he needed to poo, I gingerly asked if we could try the potty - and he AGREED!

Of course, there is a smelly price to pay. I had to sit through the entire session, holding his hands and even pretended I was poo-ing TOGETHER with him. Kids just don't want to feel left out I guess.

But it was all worth it. Jayden has successfully managed to poo in the potty without STANDING UP and IN DIAPER! And after a few sessions with him, Jayden has now requested for me to stand outside the toilet with doors closed while I wait for him to finish his business, knowing that I can't stand the stench. Hehe.

So yes, it is a HUGE relief for me to annouce that my boy is finally DIAPER FREE! WOOHOO! More savings!

What better way to reward the son than ice-cream!

Birthday Party

When Jayden was a baby, he was a defensive and shy boy who refused to participate in any of the playscape or party activities. Fast forward 3 years later, he still is and it has become extremely difficult to encourage the kid to join in with the rest whilst he's missing out on all the fun. On the contrary, the boy seemed to prefer giving the 'fun' a miss and not jostle with the rest of the kids.

I am hoping that this shyness will go away when he grows up.

The photos are deluding though it shows that he is having alot of fun - ON HIS OWN.

Dawson turns 2 and he is almost the same height as Jayden! *gulp*

That 1 year itch

Apart from the almost-weekly-sinful retail shopping, I realized I have a terrible habit. It usually comes as a yearly itch that I find it hard to curb.

I thought I would have made it this year without any new purchases but this was too hard to resist...

Balenciaga Classic City 10th Anniversary Edition in Lizard Embossed skin

Interior fabric is in animal print

So will I break the curse next day? It is undeniably a challenge considering that we'll be going to Europe in March!!! *beams* How is it possibly acceptable to come back from Europe EMPTY-HANDED?! (as I typed this, the hub in background is shaking his head)

Of course, how can I miss X'mas not buying gifts for the two boys in my house? Then again, isn't X'mas supposed to be a season for spending, spending, spending? :P

First Day

1st Dec - Jayden started his new school @ Agape Little Uni. Like every worried wart mother, I made sure I packed everything in his bag, droned in his ears everyday that he's going to a new school and make new friends and hoped he has a smooth transition.

Photo taken by Jayden - Not bad eh

The 1st 2 days were pretty easy. He went to school with a smiley face, bade farewell to me and lasted till the end of the day. Well done boy!

I thought my worries were unnecessary until Day 3 arrived. The boy suddenly burst into tears when we turned into the carpark and refused to go to school. Biting my lips, I handed him to the teachers and assured him that I'll come to pick him up when school ends.

It has been 4 days now. It is getting better - at least I perceived to be. The poor boy will try to fight back his tears and told me he'll be brave. Jayden will request a goodbye hug each time I leave him at daycare before he slowly walked back to class.

My heart aches each time he does that. :( I hate this feeling.

Celebrations

** Bon's ROM **

The long awaited day. Finally my girlfriend has tied the knot.

Bon is one of the few friends I grew up with. We shared almost every secrets together, exchanged gossips on the cutest guy in school, worked part-time during school holidays and did alot of silly naughty things.

We literally watched each other grew up, saw the guys we've dated and finally settling down. I cannot believe we've grown so old!!!

Obviously, the gal has a serious obsession with Cookie Monster since secondary school days. Everything was in blue! From the flowers, to the carpet (yes, people use red carpet but she used blue!), to the balloons, cake and even the ring bearer! Very innovative indeed.

Congrats babe! Looking forward to your customary one year later!


** Company D&D @ Fullerton Bay Lantern **

The D&D was nothing to rave about. I never really relish the idea of stand-up cocktails as everyone was everywhere and in a mess! However, having to go for an event meant that I needed a new dress to wear. Of course, also an excuse for myself to shop shop shop!

C's blogshop Modashoppe happened to launch a range of dresses days before the event. What appropriate timing! The best thing about it was I managed to get to wear the dress prior to their official launch! :D

Back to the D&D. I was aiming for the iPad that I was literally chanting under my breath. In the end I won a "$100 NTUC voucher" *gua gua gua* No iPad for my kid but still have free milk.

Hopefully I'll still be around next year to win some travel vouchers. *cross fingers*

Kuantan 4 - 6 Nov

We went apprehensively but came back a few kilos heavier and collected some beautiful memories.

Departed the house as early as 6am and another 6 hours later, we arrived at Swiss Garden Resort.

We were mildly impressed... ...

The resort was spacious and the rooms were clean - that was enough to make our stay pleasant. Most hotel photos always turned out differently from the actual thing so we learnt that lowering our expectations when travelling would make your trip a better one.

Photos... ...

We had the entire beach to ourselves on Day 1

The entire trip consisted a myriad of good food, sand and water play and the unforgettable company from the Lims. I've never seen Jayden had more fun from the past trips than he had clowning around with Chloe.

And who can forget how we managed to stuff 2 25" huge-ass luggages, 2 car sets, 2 strollers, 5 adults and 3 children in ONE car. I could almost hear the car suspension whining in pain. Hur hur.

Thanks for the great trip Lims! Certainly more to come!

Moving on

Today marks the end of Jayden's pre-nursery class at Thomson Baptist Kindergarden (TRBK). Ironically, today is also 1 month passed his 3rd birthday.

It never dawned upon me until today that my son will be moving on to another environment. When I dropped him at school this morning, bringing cupcakes for the party and small gifts for his teachers, I then realized that today is the last day my boy will see his teachers, a place he has grown accustomed to for the past 9 months, sharing happy memories with his friends and teachers.

I suddenly felt lost.

Will he like his new school? How long will it take for him to get used to the new environment? Will we need to change to another school because of external factors - distance, teachers, curriculum, environment, etc?

I hated that feeling.

"You'll never know until you've tried" - Everyone would say. So I guess that's really nothing I can do except hope that J gets adjusted as quickly and smoothly as possible. That his immunity system is strong enough to fight away the many diseases at the daycare centre.

I have been preparing alot of things to make the boy feel comfortable with the transition - new bag, lunchbox, beddings, sweater, things that would make him feel familiar and not cry himself to sleep at a foreign place. Telling him on a daily basis that come X'mas he will have to go to a new school and meet new friends.

I really hate this feeling.

On another note, have received Jayden's year-end review at school. Comparing from mid-year performance, it appears that he has improved although I suspect it's just a tactic to make the parents feel better. Till date, the son can only read numbers from 1 - 10, shapes and colors but has no idea on alphabets. That worries me. I need to buck up pronto!

Road trip

In less than 12 hours, the Yip family will be out on the road on their way to East Coast of Malaysia - Kuantan with the Lim family. I have no inkling idea what is there but I do know there is a beach. And that itself could be enough to survive on a 3D2N with a very hyperactive child.

This will also be our first virgin road trip as a family and also our car first long haul drive. I hope he serve us well after the previous tyre scare.

It will be a long and arduous 6 hour drive. Please let there be good weather!!!

Preschool graduation ceremony

Up till today, then I realized how much my boy has grown. I must say I am very impressed with how the teachers handled the kids, coaching them to dance to a song, stand on the stage without running around and most important of all, having lots of fun in the midst of all these preparations.

I was surprised at myself when I got a little emotional looking at the K2 graduates donning their graduation gown and going onstage to get their certificates. I could imagine myself tearing when it would be Jayden's turn as he proceeds to elementary school.

Jayden used to be very clingy to us whenever there's a crowd. Hence, I was also a little apprehensive on how the boy would react seeing such a big audience on stage. But once the music came on, he was dancing confidently and flashing his biggest smile. So amazing! I would have froze on the spot!

His pre-N class danced to the tune "Round the clock" by Bill Haley.

If you noticed, the poor fella was the shortest in the class. *gua gua gua* So determined to get the boy to play basketball when he grows up!

And now a video of his performance. Times like these, I wished I had a super zoom anti-shake camera.

Sleep training

The things we do to encourage the boy to sleep on his own.

We trained Jayden to sleep in his room since he was 8 months old. Until when he turned 2 and found out that sleeping on his own isn't all that comfy as squeezing in a queen size bed with us.

And there comes the many other conniving excuses as well - "Mummy, I'm scared of the pig above my room. There's a Z monster under the bed. I can't sleep in my room it's too hot." So we left him in the comfort zone of our room for about a year, sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor.

One day, I told Liv "It's time he needs a proper bed." That was it. And so it began the search for a decent bed to convince the son that sleeping on it was way more fun than squeezing with us.

I have always wanted to get the Thomas train bed but the size was way too small for a growing kid. Besides, it was only available in the States and hand-carrying the item seemed impossible although I know C's BIL made it back.

Then I recalled the time we visited a local furniture shop selling kids furniture. I was also dreadfully reminded how the son bawled when we tried to pull him away from the double decker bus bed and said it was too big for the room.

One year later, we brought him back to the shop to re-select his bed. And courtesy of his godma, he is now a proud owner of a red fire truck bed.

Well, is Jayden comfortably sleeping on his own now? He still requests for us to accompany him during bedtime. But at least he wakes up on his own now and proclaimed that he had a good sleep. Oh, and he's fully night diaper free too! :D

The 3rd year

Everytime of this year, I would be like a frantic mother going through my mental list to ensure that the son has the most enjoyable time on his birthday.

After holding mega celebrations for 2 consecutive years, I told Dylan that we should keep things simple for fear that I cannot live up to Jayden's expectations of a smashing celebration as he grows older. Well, to use the word simple, is always an understatement.

10-10-2010: Celebrating with his friends

16-10-2010: Celebration with Godma @ T3

11am: Met up with Liv for furniture selection. After much contemplation, we decided to get the Fire Truck bed for Jayden, courtesy from his godma. We had a hard time trying to reason with him that green color just don't suit his room style.

1230pm: Lunch @ Sakae Pasta. I made a horrible choice of braised meat sandwich. Imagine they used normal sunshine bread! Thereafter, we proceeded for ice-cream. Jayden picked his own mini volcano and happily gobbled down 3 scoops!

17-10-2010: Dim Sum Lunch @ Ritz Carlton

Met up with my maternal family for lunch. My dad initially wanted to order an ice-cream cake but I flatly rejected as we had to head out later. And so, my mom picked a cake from The Patissier. Chocolate cake with marshmellows - what a great choice!

19-10-2010: Actual day celebration @ School

I am only thankful we had a car to load all the stuff and drive straight to school. One big bag of goody bags, the cake, his clothes for outing after school. I cannot imagine lugging it around and hailing a taxi underneath the scorching heat.

The celebration was pretty simple. The teachers gathered the kids to the table, made them sing a song for the birthday boy and viola, all done.

Jayden was exceptionally a good host that day, cutting cake and ensuring everyone had a piece of it.

** TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS **

Jayden couldn't wait till the actual day and requested to open all his presents. I am impressed that my friends took notice of the things Jayden likes and got him things he had mentioned to them before.

It certainly beats being a kid these days. J's roomful of toys has proliferated at such an alarming rate that has gone beyond storage control.

Well, what can I say. As long the son is happy, I am happy.

Happy 3rd Birthday son! We're glad you've enjoyed your birthday. Please continue to stay healthy and happy. Mummy and Daddy love you always.

I need more space

I think everyone would agree that heels are like the 2nd most important accessory other than holding the latest IT bag over your wrist. A nice looking pair of heels accentuates the contours of your legs, a decent 4 incher provides an instant boost to your ego and of course, different colours denote for different occasions. Something the hub can never understand.

When I was younger and just started in the career world, I used to only own ONE pair of heels. Yes you got that right. The classic dodgy thin strappy with your toe sticking out black heels. I was a complete case of Ugly Betty.

Anyway, fast forward 10 years later, I bought my own house. Designed my own shoe rack the way it has to be to fit the design of the house.

Wrong move.

I shall make sure that my next house, the shoe rack has to be designed to fit my shoe collections, not the other way round! I now have shoes stuffed in my clothes wardrobe as the rack had ran out of space! *gulp* And the clothes wardrobe is another space issue! *double gulp*

As if it's not bad enough that I'm a poor space planner, I have also successfully instilled my love for shoes onto my son. I dug out Jayden's shoes for house-keeping one day and almost had a shock of my life!


15 pairs.

How did it even get to there?

Taken at 26 months so collection has since increased

Buying shoes for the son suddenly become a collector's hobby. Whenever I go on business trips or holidays, I would try to scout for shoes that are different from the ones we get locally.

Perhaps I should really tell myself to stop buying stuff like these for the boy. I don't even know if he would wear them eventually. And yes, we don't even want to go into clothes now..... ....

Lazy Sunday affairs

Every time I re-visited brunch, my love for eggs are rekindled. Forget about sunny side up, half-boiled or scrambled. Eggs benedict brings you to another level. Top it up with smoked salmon and you're swooned over.

Ever since C decided to keep Ziv away from the boring Shicida classes, we have more opportunity to explore places around that serves a good pack of brunch. Some are even worth the return visits. One of them would be Riders Cafe.

We love the simple concept of having horses around to entertain the kids. And although they have recently changed their menu, their warm toast and scones still saved the day.

Enjoying himself @ Paragon after a heavy meal

** BIRTHDAY BRUNCH @ TANGLIN TREE **

This year, we decided to dish away holding a mega celebration for J. There will only be seperate sessions with our family and closer friends who saw J growing up.

One of them would naturally be his 3 month older kor kor Ziv. So what better way to celebrate than to have it over a brunch session.

This time, venue was at Tanglin Tree. It had a mini playground and a sand pit. What perfect way to keep the kids busy while we sip on our latte serenading the cool breeze and pristine blue sky.

Thanks to C and family for getting the strawberry cheesecake. The adults were so stuff with brunch that we only had a few mouthfuls of the cake. The kids however, always have stomach to finish up a piece of yummy cake.

First celebration down and perhaps a few more mini sessions to go! In less than 2.5 weeks, my kid is turning 3 and hopefully TT (Terrible Twos) would also be gone by then?!?

Almost 3

In just less than 30 days, my boy will turn 3. Every time of this year, I am reminded that I am a mother to a child. From the times when he could only cry to communicate, coo and smile at my silly actions, trying to get on his feet and now to little young man who will often tell me that I nag too much at him. -_- Yes, he is no longer the defenceless infant.

I will certainly miss the times where I could cradle him in my arms effortlessly. Now, 14kg could only last a short moment before my arms ache and shiver - and sometimes I wonder why it never developed into muscles.

I will also reminisce on the times where Jayden looked at me as if I belong to his entire world. Now, he can play independantly or hang out with someone else.

For now, I am cherishing the moments where he showers me with endless kisses and hugs, saying "I love you Mummy". I am pretty sure those 3 words will vanish as he grows up.

Just last week, the Oct 07 mummies religiously celebrated the kids 3rd birthday @ Modestos Vivo. It is interesting to see that alot has upgraded to a mother of two. Whilst I still have alot of catch up to do.

1st Oct bash @ YCK Grassroots

Happy Birthday to all the Oct 07 babies! Not sure how long this will sustain. But I'd like to see the kids grow up together and have a laugh at themselves. Wouldn't it be nice? :)

Sep is a month for shows

In a span of 2 weeks, we have brought our little man to the Barney Space mis-adventure Adventure show and Voyage de La Vie.

It was more of a promise to Jayden as we have missed the show previous year. So far, we have brought him to watch Thomas, Hi-5 and some other children recital plays. And to our amazement disappointment, Barney show was the least entertaining - at least to the adults. Even Jayden said so himself. So I guess this will be the last we see of the purple dinosaur *HALLELUJAH*!!! :D

Complimentary from my mom, we were treated to the highest accolades show in Singapore. Thinking that the boy will be amused by the fireworks and baffling acts, we were pretty happy to bring Jayden along for his first 'circus' act - until the timid boy literally covered his eyes with both hands throughout the entire cast. It looked more like a painful ordeal to him than anything entertaining. SO GLAD THAT IT'S COMPLIMENTARY and not a waste of money. Still, I preferred the Cirque de Soliel anytime than this.

So what will be our next show? Little man has requested for Toy Story to come to town lately. Oh man. What a tough choice to fulfil.

Man in the house

Sometimes I often wonder if we play conflicting roles in the house.

Dylan does most of the chores as the neurotic man believes that the different colored towels in the house is for specific purposes. And I conveniently had problems remembering them so the only task he has entrust to me is to fold the clothes. Easy peasy.

I, on the other hand, prefer fixing things up - fixing the computer, a new desk, except fixing dinner. Bought a new desk for Jayden from Ikea. We reckoned that it's time we have a decent place for the boy to read his books and pretend he's doing some homework.

It's been a few weeks and nothing has been done so far. The boy has successfully scribbled his book with permanent ink making it very un-readable now. -_-

Toilet training

There was a time, I used to think that weaning off the pacifier was something unattainable, considering Jayden's addiction to it. But HE DID it.

There was a time, I used to think that it will take ages to toilet train Jayden. But HE DID it - at least for day time.

So lately, I have been toying with the idea of training the son to be diaper free at night despite not being able to keep his diaper dry throughout. I hate to think that one day he will outgrow his diaper size and that I would have to upgrade to adult diapers. And probably by then, it would be harder to train.

I finally understood the meaning of "半夜3点叫人起来撒尿" I think there must be some co-relations to diaper training.

For the past 2 nights, I have been diligently waking up the boy to get him to go the toilet. The idea is to induce the understanding to him that if you feel the urgency, you must wake up and go to the toilet. Hopefully he gets it. For now, Jayden has successfully slept throughout the night without any bed wettings. So proud of him! :D

Once this is accomplished, I have another difficult task of weaning the diaper off while poo-ing.

Flat

Other than the size of my boobs, I encountered a flat tyre early last week during my SAHM stint.

It could have been a small issue where I can simply change the tyre myself. BUT BUT BUT,

1. Tyre exploded in the middle of CTE and the car was in lane 1


2. Son was sitting beside me giving the "What's that sound?" look


3. I literally stopped the car at lane 1 and came out to check out the flat tyre, never mind the tons of cars whizzing pass!


4. Called tow company and was told they can only arrive 1 hour later! Muster courage to drive to road shoulder


5. EMAS LTA emerged from nowwhere and offered to help change tyre - I'm SAVED


6. Found out Dylan left the spare tyre AT HOME *kua kua kua* and the fella was still in reservist!!!


7. EMAS then suggest to tow the car to nearest carpark


8. Called Liv to help bring Jayden home, he was getting restless under the hot sun


9. EMAS then realized our car is 4WD so need a special tow truck - waiting game continues!


10. Finally towed to AMK ave 5 carpark

A very busted tyre

Check out the 4 punctured holes!!

I had the shock of my life when Dylan changed the tyre. The inner wheel had 4 punctured holes, it was like someone deliberately stabbed 4 times on the tyre! It still remains a mystery as what could have caused it.

The entire ordeal left me speechless. Firstly, I acted like a frantic lunatic when it happened - could have been escalated due to having son in the car. His safety is my priority! Secondly, we were stranded in the middle of the expressway and didn't know what to do. I didn't know EMAS had such service, and it's FREE! I stored their number almost immediately.

Mental note: Must learn to act calm in emergencies.