Painting

                                        Pictures taken 21 June 2013

Starting out nice and neat

Whenever toddler E gets bored in the afternoons, breaking out the paints usually cheers him up. And it's good for my conscience since he demands TV whenever he gets bored. Painting is creative, hands-on and keeps my busy boy happy.

Which means mama is happy too.

I need a bit of colour

That's his 'I'm not done, stop taking photos!' face

Piano Man

It was a hot afternoon on 13 April and there wasn't much to do. I guess toddler E decided to liven things up a bit and put on an impromptu piano show.

La la la!

Deep in thought during his performance

First Trip to the Zoo

Took toddler E on his first trip to the Singapore Zoo with Ollie and auntie J on 26 March. It was a pretty hot & humid day, which is the norm for Singapore. J's hubby had a free pass for entrance to the zoo from his company so we used it that day (Thanks Ollie's dad!).

We walked around at first (note to self: eat or pack breakfast because the prices are ridiculous for a kaya toast set) and had a bite to eat before venturing further into the zoo. After walking through some exhibits, we saw that Splash Safari was about to start and took the opportunity to rest and enjoy a show.

Waving for the camera in his old man singlet

Looking for the star of the show

Splash Safari

No action shots of the show in progress because toddler E and I were both busy watching! It was a good one with a sea lion. Toddler E remembered sea lions from our visit to San Francisco as a stopover on our way back to Singapore after my sister's wedding in Las Vegas.

In memory of an icon, Ah Meng the orang utan

It was nice to see Ah Meng, albeit as a statue. I'll always remember her as the face of the zoo when I was a kid growing up.

While Mama Was Sleeping (14 June)

Someone's figured out how to turn on the camera even when my iPhone is in locked mode. I found these pictures in my photo album.

What's up my nose?

Is that my chin??

Huh, so this button takes pictures?

Daily Bath - Love It or Hate It

How toddler E went from loving his bath to being really reluctant to take one.

It began with him getting really worked up about getting water in his face so he started refusing to wash his hair. Before that, I washed his hair like I always did since he was born, by cradling his head and neck on my arm (body out of the bathtub and on my lap) and scooping water over his head. No mess and no water in his eyes. Once he became more mobile, he wouldn't sit still so I'd pour water over his head while shielding his eyes and hope for the best.

After a while, he was just flat out refusing to wash his hair at all. So I went out and bought a shampoo hat so water would not get into his eyes. It's almost exactly like a sun visor except made of soft plastic. That worked great for a couple months. Then he was refusing to wear it or wash his hair (again).

I think it was daddy E who put his foot down and told toddler E that he had to wash his hair, no questions asked. There was whining, negotiating and tantrums but in the end toddler E accepted his fate.

He still negotiates bath time now but I think it's because he's reluctant for the day to end and sleep is boring? Toddlers and their insatiable need to live, learn and do things. Inspires me to get away from the screen (computer and phone) and be there doing things with him.

Sunglasses: Before & After

Sometimes I forget to bring toddler E's sunglasses out. He gets upset and I can see why.

This is without sunglasses:

Sun in my eyes, mama!

Ahhh, so much better with sunglasses:

Mr Cool Guy

Found this pair of sunglasses at Target in Las Vegas when we last visited my sister, auntie D. They were super duper cheap, less than SGD 5!

Ya-Ya Mandarin Kids Playgroup

As toddler E grows older, he's become more restless at home. The usual lunch and shopping outings that I take him on don't seem to satisfy his curious mind as much lately.

So I've been searching for activities for him to participate in where I can be present in the class because let's face it, I'm not the kind of mother that can hand her child over into the care of strangers without a significant amount of trust involved.

Since daddy E and I are concerned about toddler E's Mandarin development, I found Ya-Ya Mandarin Kids Playgroup through Meetup and was thinking about trying out a class but the current sessions were mostly in the east and we live in the north-west which is quite a distance to travel for a 45 minute playgroup.

Then I noticed that Happy Willow posted on Facebook about a trial class for Ya-Ya Mandarin Kids Playgroup on 22 May and I signed up almost immediately. Happy Willow is an indoor playground located in Fusionopolis which is right above the one-north MRT station. I can get there in about half an hour on public transport which works out great.

Here are pictures of the session toddler E attended on 12 June.

Storytelling

Parachute time!

I think he's trying to wink like the bee?

Toddler E seems to be enjoying himself so far. There's been issues with him wanting to play at the indoor playground instead of attending the playgroup so I've tried bringing him in right when the session starts. This way I'm hoping that he doesn't have time to even think about running off into the playground first. Unfortunately he's been faster than me quite a few times and ran off into the ball-pit before I could usher him into the playgroup area.

Once he actually gets over being upset that I've cut short his playground fun and pays attention to the facilitator, things run more smoothly and he sings along to the Mandarin songs and eagerly listens to storytelling time.

And after playgroup, he has unlimited time at the indoor playground. That is a win in my book!