He's finally taking classes

After a series of trial classes from all sorts of playschool, we finally signed up a package with Busy Buddies. Deciding factor - Clean, spacious environment and Jayden actually paid attention during the puppet play!

Our only decent mummy and kid shot for the day

Marking his territory toys

Bringing all the toys to his 'yellow' territory

Further prove...

Jayden_Busy Buddies from Emily Tan on Vimeo.

This week, they're introducing the letter 'G' for Giraffe!

Feeding the puppet giraffe

Painting his giraffe (although most of the time, mummy was doing it)

Obviously, Daddy seemed to have a bad case of rheumatism. Out of the 10 shots he took, ALL were blurred! -_- What's with husband and camera??

Then it's time for sensory - SANDPLAY! And check out that cute ang mo daddy and his son!

Roaming around the garden in a ladybug

So there, we have committed ourselves on every Saturday at least for the next 10 weeks. Means no more afternoon nap, no more shopping for mummy. What have we got ourselves into?!

CNY

This is the only time of the year where we get poorer and Jayden gets richer. But at the same time, all of us grow older by a year too.

1st family photo taken on Chinese New Year Day 1. And all dressed in red!

Red shirt, red shoes but no red underwear

CNY Day 1 were the usual places. Visiting our parents, the eldest uncle house which had like 20-30 kids running all over the place! I cannot imagine the day when Jayden decides to join their 'clan'.

CNY Day 2 was more interesting. We decided to visit my MIL's relatives in JB. Thankfully, we planned the drive-thru around his nap time so he had some good rest before terrorizing the house and demanding people to feed him CNY goodies and drinks.

Backtrack to last year when he was only 4 months old. Look at how much he has grown!

Still can't even sit up straight properly and had little hair

And now that he has more hair, they just wouldn't fall in place. Yes, I know I need to bring him to the dresser soon. I am >this< align="left">Happy New Year baby! Now can Mummy go buy herself a bag with your ang bao money? (Just kidding!) :)

Please continue to stay healthy & happy!

** MMR Jab **

@ 15.5 months, we brought Jayden for his MMR jab. We were quite confident that given his age now, he should be quite a brave young warrior. But to minimize the risk of a wailing toddler, we opted for the 'numb' cream which was said to have some effect. 15 mins later, MISSION FAILED.

@ 15.5 months, his status:

Weight: 9kg

Height: 77cm

PD mentioned that he should be triple his birth weight considering he was a heavy infant at birth. We blamed it on his super hyperactiveness. But we weren't too bothered since he's active and happy. We figured that the weight will come in place when he's older.

Today is Day 3. 7 more days to pass the fever phase. *fingers crossed*

The week before CNY

In order to make sure there was ZERO disturbance, I voluntarily brought Jayden out alone while Dylan spent the next 4 hours spring cleaning our home.


Well, and being so early in the morning with all shops closed, it meant that shopping was near impossible. (bummer) And so, I bravely drove our little terror for a swim together at the new Sengkang Sports Complex.

Having his morning breakfast before the big dip. (ignore the 'zhao keng' diaper)

It looked so fun even I wanted to have a go at the slides!


In his still over-sized swim wear and life jacket

Jayden's eyes were fixated at the slides while I changed him into his swimming gear and each time I asked "Do you wanna play?" He'll excitedly scream "OK"

But just 10 mins before we were ready to hit the waters....

He chickened out....

The rest of the pictures were not taken as mummy and

kid were busy at the pool...

The entire morning went well as planned. It was a perfect time to be in the waters amidst the humid weather until it was time... ...

TO SHOWER

I panicked. How am I supposed to change my kid and at the same time change myself?!?

Thankfully, there was a mini bench in the cubicle. The muffin worked perfectly at times like these to keep the kid hands and mouth busy. But somehow, the kid was more busy looking at his mother instead. *blush* hehehe

Yes baby, we're all changed and happy. Let's come back again with Daddy this time!

2008 had been eventful

2008 has got to be my busiest year. A year of motherhood, a year watching your little one grow, taking his 1st solids, his 1st smile, 1st word, 1st step. All seemed like time has whizzed through too quickly.

Looking at his infant photos, one can never imagine how remarkable this tiny bean grew and emerged to what he is today.

Some of the things he can do nowadays: -

1) Recognises apple, bus, aeroplane and can name them too
2) Calls out Daddy and I've upgraded from Apple to Mama but still no Mummy :(
3) Understands A is for Apple and B for Bubble (no idea why)
4) Claps his hand, steps his feet and lift up his hands on cue when we sing "If you're happy and you know it"
5) Requests you to open anything that he wises - The door, the biscuit tin, your wallet
6) Says "No more" when he finishes his food
7) Calls Auntie & Uncle
8) Exceptionally good at throwing tantrums
9) Says "Ok" to your every requests as long as you offer him food (greedy boy)
10) Mistook cookie monster and calls it elmo


Have been awfully busy since 2009 started. To kickstart a brand new year with our boy, we buried ourselves in...

Ahh...frolicking in a sky pool overlooking the sea. It should have been a romantic escapade minus the third party. :P

Yes, we stayed over at Amara Sentosa over the weekend, thinking it was a good chance to getaway and bring our little terror for some activities apart from the routine weekend shopping.

I have come to accept that if we ever planned to stay overnight outside from home, it's NEVER an easy task. The list of "THINGS TO BRING" for a kid is unbelievable. To prevent myself from missing anything out, I started packing on Wednesday, bit by bit, until finally we get to set off on Saturday morning in FULL GEAR.

I was quite proud of myself that I had all things prepared and under control until I realized that I have forgot to bring the most important thing to capture these moments. MY CAMERA BATTERY!!!! -_- And so we had to resort to camera phone.

HOT HOT WEATHER deserves to have some ice-cream!

After a nice dessert, it's time to visit the fishes @ Underwater world

Due to a very major hiccup at the hotel, we ended having a very late check-in. Hence, we only managed to visit Underwater world & Dolphin Lagoon before Jayden dozed off.

And so, that was our chance to sneak out for the 'romantic' dip at the skypool! We were quite daring to have left Jayden in the room by himself but we were confident that he would nap for at least an hour so we made sure we returned back earlier. And true enough, Jayden was still snoring in lala-land when we returned and jumping on that chance, Dylan sneaked back to the pool while I had my shower and even took a short nap! Isn't what a relaxing gateaway should be? :)

Ocscar the mascot

The very next morning, we took Jayden for an early dip at the pool. The water was icy COLD! And being such a water baby, he refused to let the cold get into his play.

Even refused to let us hold him in the pool

Enjoying his chocolate muffin

And the best way to end our short outing is to have a nice warm breakfast after a good swim! :)

I must comment that Amara breakfast has quite an impressive spread and most important of all, delectable! Perhaps, we just may return back again!

The last days of 2008

How did we spend the last month of 2008?

** KUISHINBO & THE FLYER **

With the treat from Celeste & Kevin, the boys and the hungry parents feasted at Kuishinbo. We mistakenly thought that bringing a toddler to a buffet line was always a good deal. We were SO WRONG.

Jayden couldn't stop fidgetting in his seat, so he decided to frighten his quiet neighbour - Ziv. In the end, both sides of the parents had to carry their restless child on one hand, and hungrily gorged the food on another hand. We left the restaurant with a half satisfied stomach and a very messy floor for the staff to clear.

Our very exhorbitant ticket

Just before our flight...

This is our 3rd year and counting celebrating. We started off as couples, then married and now with kids. It's truely amazing how affinity can bring people together irregardless of the time spent.

I wonder how would it turned out in a year later?

** X'MAS DINNER @ THE YIP ABODE **

To avoid the mad crowd in town, we decided to have our very own celebration in the comforts of our home.

His 1st overseas trip

... TO KUALA LUMPUR!

I know it's nowhere fanciful. But to avoid the risk of having a bawling toddler a few thousands ft above the ground, we decided a short trip would be good.

Mickey & Minnie mouse display at Budget Terminal

Jayden fell asleep the moment the plane started to take off and only woke up after we arrived at KL terminal. So, his 1st experience on the plane ride was as good as NOTHING.

We took the bus shuttle to KL Sentral (this is how Malaysia spelled it!) for RM9/pax. Cheap and the bus was spacious and clean. On the down side, with a toddler, luggage, diaper bag and stroller in tow, we should have opted for a cab straight to the hotel.

At Corus hotel lobby

I have over-estimated Malaysia's hotel ranking. A 4-star rating turned out to be the least that I expected. The baby cot was not prepared as requested. We waited for nearly 2 hours before it arrived only to see a shabby wooden "that looked like termite infested" cot rolled into our room.

No cot bumper, no quilt, no baby freebies, nothing that made us felt welcome as a family.

The room was average. The bathroom gave me the creeps. We had HAIR on the the bathtub.

It must be the travelling that got me exhausted. After changing and a late dinner, we went to bed early.

Day 2

We went to the all raved shopping mega mall - Mid Valley. Upon looking at the audacious price tags in similar SGD value, despite the Malaysia sale, shopping became an agony.

Dylan and I only bought a few tops and bottoms from Zara & Padini.

Posing with a Xmas puppet

We spent the entire morning & afternoon only at Mid Valley. With all the baby stuff lugging around, it was a chore to move places.

Reindeers @ hotel lobby

At night, we combed the streets of Chinatown only to be sorely disappointed at the cramped & dirty walking lanes. Of course, the shopping was nothing to exclaim about. Fake designer bags, shoes & clothes.

Day 3

Before heading to the airport, we went to KLCC. Again, the shopping was a disappointment. So we decided to let the kid sit on all the rides instead.

Mummy, what if there were 2 of us? *mummy shudders*

Do you still remember tele-freaking-tubbies?

Bananas in pyjamas! What happened to them?

I think Jayden was very pleased with all the rides that he slept yet AGAIN on the plane back.

Jayden was on hunger strike throughout the 3D2N trip. He wouldn't take his usual porridge or milk. He even said no to fried rice! Overall, it was a pleasant experience overseas as a family but we reckoned not to bring the kid if possible.

Maybe when you're older little one?

X'mas

This is my favourite time of the year.

It would mean another year has come to an end, a brand new year awaits.

X'mas always gives me a very fuzzy feeling. The time when you start to think of the people you love, the time when you start to wonder where had time gone to. This year, X'mas is even more special because it's Jayden's 1st X'mas as a toddler.

After years of decorating my dad's tree, I finally get to decorate my own. I'm proud to admit that the tree was put up by me, myself ALONE. Yep, the lazy man in the house didn't even touch a branch of it, though he shamelessly claimed that he helped to take the tree out of the storeroom. *rolls eyes*

Our Xmas tree decked with presents, 90 % of which belongs to Jayden

PRESENTS! ALL MINE!!

Presents received at the X'mas bash. Thank you Auntie Alice & Auntie Chersam!

I forbade Dylan to open any of Jayden's or his own presents until X'mas day. It seems that I have 2 impatient boys in the house. THEY JUST CAN'T WAIT.

Well... ... do they have a choice when the head mistress says WAIT. ;)

12 more days!