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!

Childcare day

Many would deem that childcare day means cooping at home, dressed in your most unglam clothes, chasing around your kid.

THAT IS SO WRONG.

I shall declare childcare day is FUN DAY.

Celeste and I took the kids to Bambini Playclub at Kallang. Well, driving around Singapore has been an easy feat but this has changed ever since the kid came along. And with you as the only person in the car, you'd have to plan your route carefully.

LOST = PANIC MUMMY = IMPATIENT KID

Celeste had no issue finding Kallang with the help of Mr GPS. And for me, being a Easterner for the past 20 years certainly helped quite abit in the navigation.

Not very pleased in the swing

Even the slides didn't work

And finally the ball pit did the trick!

The boys having their snack time

After play, we adjourned to T3 for lunch at TCC. Surprisingly, the entire day trip turned out pleasant and no screaming baby!

When is next childcare day for us again? ;)

Barney has hit town

...or rather hit the West side of Singapore. Just like any gan cheong mummies, Celeste and I had been planning to bring our boys to watch the over-rated 'child celebrity' that had come to the most unpopular (at least in my opinion) mall in Singapore.

BARNEY IS HERE.

And just like every other doting parent, we have sucummb ourselves to this fat, unattractive, off-colour creature that have had kids glued to their tv shows, and the parents alot more poorer with their alarming range of merchandise. Till date, Jayden has owned Barney in micro & medium plush size, Barney dining sets, Barney clothes (this is bought by THE MIL). We are restraining ourselves from over indulging for fear that Jayden's future favourite colour is PURPLE.

So last Saturday, Celeste and I arranged to bring the boys to meet their celebrity. With a twist of communication, we arrived at 1pm lost in the crowd of Barney fanatics. Only to realized after the show that they would only come for the 4pm slot. Lucky for them to have got the pass ticket for the photo session taking! We arrived too late and ended up taking shots downstage which turned out pathetic (blame the daddy photographer)

It was still a good Christmas show and Jayden loved every bit of it. He was concentrating so hard, he cried the moment Barney left the stage. -_- Maybe we should introduce Baby (boring) Einstein soon.

Sunday is FUN DAY

After months of planning, we finally arranged a day at the Zoo with Nicole & her friends.

We had to get the little one out of bed at 8, dressed him up and whizzed off to the ZOO!

All chirpy and ready in his cap & rubbed with sun-block

At the Zoo entrance

Photo with the deers. It was tough taking a shot with Jayden facing the camera. He couldn't stop looking at the animals!

Engrossed in the animal show.

This is the 1st time Jayden sat quietly to watch the entire 30min show in 1 seating! No fuss! Guessed he really enjoyed watching the racoons, monkeys and birds popping out from nowhere and ducks jumping into the water.

*grouch* show ended already??

We ended up not taking alot of photos because the little one got exhausted, probably from the heat, by 11 and was zonked out. We even missed going to the kids playarea where there were water play, pony riding, etc. We'll definitely bring him back again!

After 2.5 hrs of sweat, we treated ourselves to Ben & Jerry waffles & ice-cream before heading back home. We were glad that we arrived early at the zoo cause by 12, the carpark was queued all the way out to the main road of Mandai! That's the problem with 'limited entertainment'. Everywhere is packed.

Thanks Nicole for the homemade breakfast! Let's do it again someday!

** 1st time to T3 **

Yes, there's nothing wrong with the title. This is OUR 1st time to Terminal 3. It never really crossed our mind to visit the place until people told us that it's actually a very baby friendly place to go.

And so, we went there for dinner at Popeye. I can never understand the rave about their chicken. It is oily, the fries are over-fried. In short, it was a horrible dinner.

Jayden was having his nap while we having our dinner. He was still napping while we walked around to find the Mickey & Friends display until he heard some kids screaming "AEROPLANE, AEROPLANE!" And his eyes lit up and looked around. He enjoys looking at aeroplanes. Whenever one passes thru our house, he will quickly walk to us and ask us to carry him to the window.

Back to our search for Mickey, the place was so huge, we didn't know where to start. So we asked this blur guy at the candy house counter for directions since he works there. And guess what that joker told us? "Err.... They are all on the road side leh". And it was raining heavily outside!

Not wanting to disappoint the little one, we decided to look around instead. And we're glad we did!

Posing with Mickey & Friends

A very happy baby with his Daddy

Back to that joker. He wasn't lying! While we headed back home, we saw the Mickey mouse & friends alongside the road as well!

And that pretty much sums up our Sunday last week. We hope you had fun baby!

Growing Up Gifted

I have been contemplating for the longest time whether or not to bring Jayden for classes. After reading some reviews, I wanted to enrol Jayden to a class that is coupled with learning & playing. Growing Up Gifted (GUG) was one of the choice.

But I didn't want to jump on the wagon and signed him up immediately to 8 weeks of classes without knowing if he'd enjoy the curriculum. I'm so glad that such places allow for just 1-time trial before you sign on a package.

And so we brought our little terror to his 1st class (apart from him attending one session of gymboree @ 6 monnths). We were quite excited about it until we were told that only 1 adult/caregiver is allowed in the classroom. :( So disappointing. Means both parents cannot get to experience the class together with our little one.

Well, knowing that Dylan cannot handle Jayden on his own, it was just Mommy and toddler.

Getting warmed up

Mommy, I'm all ready!

Obviously, we have to start teaching him to SHARE

And still full of engergy with Mr Happy after class!

Jayden with his art & craft snake

Jayden didn't take very long to warm up to the environment. Maybe because there were other 'fellow' friends there as well.

There were art & craft, story telling, bubble time and most bits of it were singing and swinging your toddler up & down. It was a nice session but I felt that it would have been better if we could have both parents in the classroom, especially during the sing-a-long session, carrying your baby UP & DOWN. EXHAUSTING & BACK BREAKING.

Dylan and I felt that Jayden wasn't ready for such long classes yet as the little terror just would not sit still. While the rest of the toddlers listened attentively to the teacher, Jayden was busy rummaging the toys, disturbing other parents and screaming away when he got excited. We really hope it's just a passing phase.

So after a good 1.5 hours of 'aerobics' with our toddler, we went to Swensons for some ice cream and dessert. Obviously, his glum face is telling me to not waste time taking photos and start feeding him that mudpie!

Don't worry little one, we will bring you for more classes and hope you'd enjoy each and everyone of it!

13 months

Happy 13th months baby!!!

I nearly forgot this date. It seems like once they hit the 1-year old mark, we stop to count in months anymore. Lousy mummy... ...

We took Jayden for his 1 year old photoshoot at The Studio Loft. I must say the experience was worse than his 6 months shots. Now that the little terror knows how to walk, he wouldn't sit still for a decent shot! So after this 'dramatic' experience, Dylan and I told ourselves that it would be the last. (We'll see)

This is our cheeky boy growing to almost half our height!

And finally we got a nude shot!

Even when busy, the big boss still wants to eat

The things he could do these days: -

1) Kisses you when you ask him to although he still kisses his toys more

2) Will walk to the trashbin and throws his soiled diaper when you ask him to

3) Will keep his toys when asked to then throw them out again to play

4) Screams when he doesn't get things his way

5) Loves to imitate us cleaning/mopping the floor

6) Recognizes words like "Bus, apple, bear, aeroplane" but can only say apple and 'bao' for bread

7) Prefers to sleep on his own now, thus no need mummy :(

8) Claps his hands when he hears a song, can recognize that it's a song

9) Offers biscuits to strangers and then take it back from them (this is quite embarrasing. heh)

Jayden is getting quite a handful these days and usually by the end of the day, Dylan and I will be totally worn out chasing him around the house. There are moments that we don't understand his cries and outburst of frustrations and sometimes we just lost our patience. But we kept reminding ourselves that it is our duty to teach our little one the rights & wrongs.

It's not going to be easy but it will be an enjoyable journey. So hang on tight little one!

He walks!

Jayden took his 1st baby step before he turned 1 but he would always fall after a few steps.

But a week after his birthday, he is walking quite steadily now. Even removing 'obstacles' from his path.

Fun @ Jacobs Ballas

And so, to end the month of October with fun-filled activities, Celeste and I arranged to bring the boys to Jacob Ballas.

We planned to meet 10:30am for a breakfast picnic. However, we didn't planned the unexpected jam and the location of Jacobs Ballas. Dylan parked at the center of Bontanic Gardens and so we had to walked 15 mins to get to the destination. Celeste and Kevin decided to drive instead.

And finally we met. Set up the picnic area and gobbled up hungrily at the food. Celeste prepared sandwiches and sausages. Me being a lousy cook, bought some kueys, pastries, otah, etc. The adults were so hungry, we finished up everything before we could even take a photo of it!

Ziv eating his onion ring

Jayden with his mouth food of cake crumbs

Daddy holding his hand to walk

At the water fountain

I had to capture this shot. He was whining because he wanted to play with the water but needed me to be by his side. Hence, mummy got wet too! And mummy didn't have extra clothes!

Finally happily playing and poor mummy trying hard not to get wet

It was a great day out with the boys despite the heat. A break from all the shopping and dining. The boys had fun at the riverside watching fishes, turtles and helplessly at other people blowing bubbles from afar. hehehe...

It was an enjoyable trip and we certainly looked forward to more! Of course, the next time, we'll be more prepared.

Our part time helper

We couldn't afford one so the little one had to help out. (Just kidding la!)

It's amazing how kids are interested in what adults do. Jayden loves to watch when Dylan starts sweeping / mopping the floor. And once Dylan was done with it, he will take up the mop and start imitating his Daddy. A good way to start encouraging him to clean up his playarea? :)

************************************************************************

Sidetrack... ... Jayden was down with a viral fever since Tues. In the wee hours of the morning, he started crying and screaming like he was in pain. Nothing we did could comfort/soothe the poor boy. We figured that he was just very very uncomfortable. Measured his temperature and it was 37.7 degrees!

Dropped him off at the in-laws place before work and the sick boy just wouldn't wanna let Mommy go to work. And when we finally managed to seperate us, Jayden was wailing pitifully. My heart ached.

Called back home at 11am and MIL told me his fever has gone up to 38.4 degrees! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? BRING HIM TO THE DOC! I nearly screamed over the phone. It just baffles me to think that they were still taking it slowly when Jayden was moaning in pain. Brought him to KK A&E and nurse measured him again, this time it was a shocking 39.8! Doc said no signs of dehydration but just ruled out as viral fever and throat inflammation which could be the reason for his discomfort. Wanted to admit him but doc refused and said to come back only if the fever did not subside.

Fed paracetamol and for the rest of the day, it was agony for him. He wouldn't eat/sleep, didn't even want to take his favourite bath. At that point, I wished I was a SAHM that could be by his side. :(

After days of sponging and medication, his fever subsided but he developed a nagging cough. Let's pray that it'll go away soon.

To those who have sent me messages, thank you for your comfort and advises. Jayden will be back in action soon.

The celebration

FINALLY.

After months of preparation, from combing the entire island of Singapore to find the perfect place, setting the theme, getting the partywares, the goodie bags, the invites, the co-ordination, the anxiety... it is FINALLY OVER.

Date: Sat, 18 Oct 08
Time: 3:30pm
Venue: Fidgets @ Turf City

Some of the contents of the goodie bag

All wrapped up and ready

The invites

Cupcakes to give away

The highlight of the event - 3kg cookie monster cake

All ready & set for the party

And what's a party without friends!

2 empty chairs reserved for baby Ziv & baby Max who went missing for the group shot.

Such a pity :(

Thankfully we managed to get a group shot with them. This is Ziv looking terrified because Jayden couldn't stop disturbing him from behind. Poor Ziv.

Baby Max and his parents.

Disclaimer: The one holding baby Giselle is not the mother. The mother went missing. (kidding)

With jie jie Sharmaine. Jayden couldn't stop taking his eyes off her!

Auntie Bon trying to 'kop' cookie monster away.

We managed to save cookie monster from her hands...

Family potrait with our toddler

With all his pressies unopened

Jayden received so many toys and ang baos!

Daddy & Mummy had fun ripping out the wrapping paper and unveiling what presents he got. In fact, we were more excited than the little one. There were so many exciting toys, but guess what he chose in the end?

** JAYDEN'S MESSAGE **

Dear Auntie, Uncles and my baby friends,

Thank you for sharing the joy with me on my 1 year old.

Thank you for your ang baos, presents and well wishers. I'm now a very rich boy and have lots of toys to play with that Mummy & Daddy can save on. :)

I will promise to be a good boy and let you carry me next time.

Till we meet again.

** MUMMY'S MESSAGE **

Special thanks to my friends who helped out during the day. We needed 3 cars to lug the presents & party stuff back!

Thanks Liv for the yummylicious cake that got everyone blown away.

It was an eventful day. Dylan and I reckoned that this would probably be the 1st and last attempt on preparing such a 'grand' event. Hehe...we'll see...

Let's look at the damage to our pockets.

Venue - $600

Food - $250

Partyware & Goodie bags - $50

His Birthday Suit - $100

The smile on his face when we told him we're gonna charge to his account...

PRICELESS