Happy 2014!

It wasn't so long ago that little E looked like this:

27 April 2011

Hi mom

And now he looks more like this:

24 December 2013

Picasso-ish

I'm glad that I can look back on those early days of sleep deprivation + steep learning curve in caring for a new baby and figuring out how things will work with the husband and in-laws and just family in general and say: I SURVIVED.

Things can only get better from here!

Happy New Year everyone!

Little Biker (On a Bicycle)

My father-in-law bought a bicycle for toddler E. It's still too big for him, but he enjoys riding it around the driveway and in the living room.

I spent some time searching for a toddler helmet (at a reasonable price!) that is also well-made and finally found one at Toys "R" Us for about $25.

With a helmet, I could finally take toddler E out of the driveway to ride his bicycle along the park connector near our place.

12 December

One good picture before he ran off into the playground

The Garden House Preschool

In my search for a preschool / kindergarten for toddler E to attend in late 2014 or early 2015, I took him to an afternoon preview of a programme called 'Sproutlings' designed for children 15 - 36 months at The Garden House Preschool.

Here's their description of the activities included:

"Get a taste of what we provide in our core programme with the comfort of having Mummy or Daddy around. Different experiences will be set up each week for the children to explore their senses and to try out their hands at gardening! A healthy, organic snack will be served while the children connect with one another in a group setting.

This is a chance for parents to get an insight to setting up invitations to play."

So we attended the preview on 26 September and had a lovely time!

Inside classroom

Getting into everything

Sandpit was a big hit

Water play area

Cooking area with dry pasta in pots

The focus was on outdoor play which I loved because a majority of the preschools in Singapore keep the children in an air-conditioned environment the entire time they are in school.

There were several outdoor play areas set up, a mix of sand, water, finger paints & dry props (like the cooking pot section with pasta in the pots). Toddler E tried every one except for the paint section towards the back of the building because he was stuck at the water play table and wouldn't budge for the longest time, not even for a snack!

The preschool is designed for up to 5 years old and toddler E will be 4 years old by the time I plan to enrol him in school. Plus we would be living in Yishun by then and The Garden House Preschool is somewhere in between Toh Tuck & Bukit Batok which would make it pretty far to travel for us.

Papa's Boy

Toddler E has always been attached to me but I'd attribute that to me being his source of food in the early months. Now he has times when he clings to me like a barnacle and then there are time where he is happy to play on his own.

As he grows older, the husband also gets to spend more time with him and share his love of toys and cartoons with toddler E. Gone are the days where toddler E (as an infant) would bawl his eyes out if anyone but mama picks him up and comforts him.

The storm has passed, toddler E is growing up! And I don't miss those early infant days at all, no siree!

19 October 2013

Happy 3rd Birthday Toddler E!

I planned a quiet celebration for toddler E's 3rd birthday this year.

We went to Imperial Treasure at Marina Bay Sands for lunch as we were spending the night at the Marina Bay Sands hotel for a staycation / birthday celebration for toddler E. Both sets of grandparents and my cousins joined us.

The cake was a simple one from Polar Puffs & Cakes. My sister sent an enormous helium-filled Elmo (via toddler E's auntie W) which made toddler E one happy camper.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Elmo

I only managed to take 1 picture of the food, the peking duck was really tasty, yum! Too busy eating to take more pictures.

Delicious peking duck

After lunch it was time to put our stuff in the hotel room and go swimming!

Elmo coming with us to the hotel room

Parked safely in a corner

After a swim in the rooftop pool

The Gardens by the Bay looked quite lovely in the evening light.

Great view!

Christmas 2013

So toddler E is old enough this year to pay attention and figure out what Christmas is all about.

He's been entertained by the various shows each shopping mall puts on during the festive season and came up close with a solo performer at The Grandstand which he really enjoyed.

I guess right now he is happy about getting presents i.e. new and interesting toys and eating lots of yummy food. Next year we will be in our own home (this is our last year living with the in-laws) and I've got some ideas for Christmas traditions for our family.

23 November

Mesmerised

Still watching

Joining in!

Happiness!

The photos are of the solo performer at The Grandstand. He was really good, very skilled at playing music while riding his uni-cycle.

I also took toddler E to a Nikolaus party organized by Musical Monkeys, a musical playgroup that we attend on occasion. He got to decorate a mini Christmas tree which made him happy.

6 December

Decorating the tree

Jingle bells

Santa!

We caught Jack and the Beansprout, toddler E's first Christmas pantomime! Thanks to toddler E's auntie W, we had really good seats close to the action on stage. Toddler E really liked it, some parts were scary to him but he stayed and watched till the happy ending so all was well.

1 December

Christmas tree at the Drama Centre in National Library (Bras Basah)

First photo with Santa!

Jack and the Beansprout

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Quiet Time (Toddler E Remix)

So 'quiet time' has been going well and toddler E has found his own way of expending his energy without bringing the house down with kung-fu fighting and screaming.

My mom recently bought the LeapFrog LeapReader pen and some of the compatible LeapFrog books for him to read with the pen. His current favourite is Disney Princess: Adventures Under the Sea. 

So he starts out sitting and reading his books with the pen.

16 September 2013

Let's use the LeapReader pen

Ok, forget the pen, let's just look at picures

I'm pooped, time to lie down and relax

And ends up lying down and looking at pictures at the end.

Gymboree Trial Session

A friend told me about Gymboree offering a free trial class so I signed up on their website and finally booked a trial for toddler E. There's supposed to be several children in one class but we were the only ones who turned up for the free trial. The staff at Gymboree told me it was because their Monday sessions were newly added to the schedule and not many parents have signed up yet.

Toddler E absolutely LOVED the place, all the props were just the right size for him to climb on and push around. He had a really good time in the session which gave his imagination a good workout baking an imaginary cake using props provided like little balls as 'chocolate chips' and a parachute as the 'mixing bowl'. The facilitator was a lovely lady who did a good job keeping his energy and enthusiasm high while playing and then winding down with a song at the end.

9 September 2013

Crossing the bridge

Up the ramp!

King of the hill

Toddler E had great fun but we did not sign up for the package in the end. I would have preferred if they offered sessions where we could pay as we attended but I understand that they would need a minimum number of participants in order to keep the sessions running so selling packages makes more business sense.

The Magic of Quiet Time

So I've posted before about toddler E giving up his regular afternoon naps. 

I was worried, really worried. How would I get some 'me' time during the day? The time that toddler E uses to take his afternoon nap is a block of precious child-free time for me to get things done (or just sit and stare at the wall which happens more often than not) and it keeps me going until bedtime. 

5 September 2013

Thank goodness for talking books!

I read somewhere that some parents change nap time into 'quiet time'. So the child does not necessarily have to sleep (this was causing all the drama between toddler E and I) but gets to play quietly with their toys or books and mama gets a break too.

So I decided to try it out and my 3 'either / or' rules for toddler E's quiet time are:

EITHER

1. Toddler E plays with his toys, but he has to play on his own 

OR

2. I will read story books to toddler E in bed where he usually takes his nap

OR

3. Toddler E will take a nap if he doesn't want to do either of the above

It's been working quite well, toddler E usually starts by saying he will play by himself, sometimes reading a book (looking at pictures or listening to an audio book) and he stays awake for the entire hour of quiet time but I can lie down for 10 minutes to recharge. And sometimes he'll ask me to read him a few story books then chose to nurse and take his nap.

This arrangement works because toddler E feels like he has a say in naptime and I still get some rest in between.