Taipei Touchdown

We are finally in Taipei!! Lovely cool weather at around 20 degrees celsius. Will post some pictures once the shipment arrives on boxing day. Then it'll be unpacking and settling down before Justin starts school in January.

The boys were good during the flight to Taipei. It was Jonathan's first flight and he didn't make much noise. Though the bassinet was a little squeezy for him. This 14mth old boy is now 80cm tall, slightly longer than the length of the 76cm bassinet. A good thing it was only a 4 hour flight (*chuckle*).

Ice Skating at Velocity

Justin tried ice skating yesterday. We were at Novena Square for high tea and he wanted to have a go after seeing the kids skate. Surprisingly he can maintain his balance quite well. Of course he had his fair share of falls. And with grandparents around, you can imagine the "ah!!" and "aiyohs!!" heard outside the ring. At the end of the session, he was wet, tired but happy.

Last Day of Class

A big THANK YOU to Deng Lao Shi, Miss Tng & Teacher Qi Qi for being so patient with Justin. He is super mischievous and it takes quite a lot of energy to get him focused and settled down. A 4 yr old boy who just wants to have fun, oblivious of the headaches he has given to the people around him.

Deng Lao Shi, Justin & Miss Tng

It's that difficult to get a decent picture!


Buddies in Crime

Teacher Qi Qi & Justin

From Left: Jordan, Daevon, Teacher Qi Qi, Hillary & Justin

FEK Annual Concert

This year's annual concert theme was "Noah's Ark" where Nursery class students acted out the animals boarding the vessel two by two. Justin was one of the two monkeys. Along with the play came the catchy tune:

"Rat-a-tat-tat and a dum-dum-dum,

Noah built a great big ark.

Rat-a-tat-tat and a dum-dum-dum,

For his family to embark.

Get in the ark, it's going to rain,

Here comes the monkey, scrat-tichy scratch.

Get in the ark, it's going to rain,

Here comes the animals two by two"

Justin (the monkey) & Ernest (the snake)

Top row : Lions, Rabbits & Zebras ; Bottom Row : Frog, Monkeys & Elephants

Grand Finale - "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

Haircut Without Tears

Jonathan went for a haircut today. And for the first time, he didn't cry!! My brave boy! He kept pretty quiet during the haircut. Oh, and the little star biscuits helped too, which he quietly savoured with satisfaction while watching TV. Thanks to Auntie May who is always so professional and gentle with kids.

The last time I brought him to another hair saloon, he screamed and cried the whole time. The ordeal left him sobbing with hair all over his face.

The Before and After haircut looks the same because Auntie May says his forehead is very high, so his fringe shouldn't be cut too short. From the side it looks much shorter and neater.

A Short Break ....

I haven't been blogging for some time, have been busy preparing my students for their theory exams. And it's finally over!! The results for practical exams are coming in too, so far 100% passes with 6 distinctions and 3 merits, and counting... (*Smiles*)

As I needed some time to do my own work, I embarked Justin into the world of jigsaw puzzles. Two 100 piece Thomas "Glow in the Dark" jigsaw puzzles which he took slightly less than an hour each to complete. That gave me some precious (though short) time for me to get my sanity back.

Puzzle Number 1: Moonlight Ride

Puzzle Number 2: Thomas' Midnight Ride

I will have to get some 3M hooks to hang them in his room.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!!

Jonathan has turned 1 year old!! Papa flew back specially from Taipei to celebrate Jon's first birthday. A truely great weekend for us. We went for lunch and shopping at Centrepoint. There was also a trip to Toys "R" Us, inevitably Justin's favourite place to go. See Jonathan enjoy himself eating his cake. He kept on asking for more.....

And yes, we finally have a decent family photo together. (*smiles*)

Jonathan's 1st Step

Jonathan made his first step to me today!! But unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me. He is almost 11 months now. So hopefully (fingers crossed), he will be able to walk steadily on his 1st birthday.

This video shows Jon standing up, a few minutes before he walked into my arms...




This one shows his motorskills. *Grin*

Myopia at 4 years old

Never did I expect to find out that Justin has slight myopia (short-sightedness) during his recent trip to the eye doctor. At a tender age of 4!! (*Sniff. Sniff*)

His myopia is now 100 degrees (Right) and 75 degrees (Left) with astigmatism. I am worried. When myopia starts, it usually increases by -1.00 dioptre (100 degrees) or more yearly. This only stabilises during the later teen or adult years. Now he is 4 years, let's assume it stabilises by Primary 6, so his degree will be 800 when he is 12 years old. Arghhh!!! This is freaking me out.

I didn't wear glasses till I was Primary 3 but luckily it stabilised by Primary 6. So my degree is now about 350. I think Desmond didn't start so young as well. My poor son!

Some people might think - aiyah, now so common, at least half of the students in school are wearing glasses. Never mind one lah! Anyway, next time can do Lasik surgery to correct his eye-sight what!

Then I read in an article, "One in four of our 6 yr old kindergarten children are myopic today compared to one in eight in 1996. By the time our children reach 9, two out of five P3 students are near-sighted. At age twelve, over half of the students are myopic. By the time they enter college, over 80% will need to wear glasses."

There are a myriad of reasons why myopia exists, including genetic reasons where it tends to run in the family. Both of us are short-sighted, so I don't expect him to have perfect eye-sight. But he is only 4 years old!! Sigh!

Obviously, I don't think myopia should be taken lightly. Especially for Justin. From now onwards, I will have to be even more cautious, in his reading habits and television time, so as to delay the progression of his myopia.

Vision is very important. To all parents, please practice good vision habits. Prevention (or delay in the onset of myopia) is better than cure.

Which Parent Will I Be?

"I got two A's," the small boy cried.
His voice was filled with glee.
His father very bluntly asked, "Why didn't you get three?"

"Mom, I've got the dishes done,"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmly said,"Did you sweep the floor?"

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away."
His father asked him, with a shrug, "Did you clean off the clay?"

The children in the house next door seem happy and content. The same thing happened over there, And this is how it went:

"I got two A's,"the small boy cried,
His voice was filled with glee.
His father very proudly said,"That's great, I'm glad you belong to me."

"Mom, I've got the dishes done,"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said,"Each day I love you more."

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away."
His father answered with much joy,"You've made my day happy."

Children deserve a little praise for tasks they're asked to do. If they're to lead a happy life, So much depends on you.

~Author Unknown~

Happy Birthday, Mummy & Daddy!

To all the August babies, Joyeux anniversaire !!

Daddy's birthday dinner at Seah Street Deli

Justin keeping himself busy while waiting for dinner

The solemn birthday boy

Yummilicious chocolate fudge cake

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On my special day, my ex-boyfriend sent me a bouquet of flowers. Haiz!!!

Jon Standing on His Own

At 9 months & 10 days : Jonathan getting up on his own and standing for 20 seconds.

Happy Birthday, Justin!

Justin had a KFC birthday party in school with his favourite Thomas the Train Jelly cake. I must commend the KFC staff for being well orgainsed and providing all the fun and laughter. Besides the party packs and food, KFC also organised games, lots of prizes & balloon sculpting of poodles for each kid.

Dinner at Ichiban Boshi, Novena Square

Boogie Woogie

Jonathan has been at it for the past few weeks, shaking away since 8 months. (*lolz*)

Shrek 3 - Goofy or Cute?

We attended Evan's MacDonalds Shrek birthday party this afternoon. See the kids have fun with the pair of green ears.

What's on my head??!?

My Shrek ears!!

Mealtime Battlefields

Kudos for parents who have taught their children proper table manners during mealtimes. Two months ago, I decided that Justin had to learn some basic table manners. Number (1) wash his hands; (2) sit at the table until he finishes his food; (3) eat on his own.

The first few weeks were pure torture . Prior to that, Justin had always been fed and I didn't really enforce the rules. After each bite, he would happily bounce off his seat, play his toys, ride his tricycle, jump up and down with his mouth full. Oh boy, he really tested my limits. I repeated the "rules" so many times that Desmond said I started to talk about it in my dreams.

After 2 months, I am glad to say that he has made some improvement (*phew!!*). He washes his hands, he knows that his legs can't touch the floor until he finishes his food. Although the cheeky fella did try to work his way around by hopping on the dinner chairs. Sigh! Let's be realistic. He is still a kid afterall ....

Trip to Taipei

Taipei Zoo (13th June)

Raohe Street Night Market (13th June)





Yummy! My Strawberry & Jelly Ice Platter!!

After a dinner of sumptuous beef "ngau lam" noodles, we headed to Raohe Street Nightmarket. We were greeted by the smell of "chou tou fu" (smelly beancurd) the moment we came out of the taxi.

The whole street was lined with eateries selling traditional Taiwanese snacks e.g. fried chicken, black pepper pau, bubble tea, barbequed squid, every other conceivable part of the duck, oyster omelette, and much more.

I found great bargains - Jonathan's pyjamas set for NT100 (SGD 5/-) and Justin's socks at NT20 (SGD 1/-) a pair. We left the night market at 11:30pm after 2 hours. Happy and satisfied.

Standing Up

Jonathan has learnt to roll over, sit & crawl.

Now, he is pulling up and standing at 7 months!! Hooray! I actually have to make extra effort to release his fingers from the crib because he holds on very tightly. The little fella is hanging on for his dear life!

His legs aren't really strong to support himself on his own yet, but if I hold him upright under his arms, he will push himself up with his feet (almost as if he's walking).

Good job, Jon! Next milestone - walking around the crib with support.

A Sleepless Night

	Sat	10 pm		Bedtime.
		10:30 pm		Jus is sleeping. One more to go.
		11:30 pm		Jon finally sleeps. Time for mummy to catch some sleep.
	Sun	12 am		Jon stirs. Pat him to sleep.
		12:45 am		Jon stirs and cries. Change his diapers.
		2 am		Jon wakes up for the 3rd time. Pat him to sleep.
		3 am		Jus wakes up.
		3:45 am		Jus stirs & starts scratching all over because dear Miss Mozzie is hungry. Falls asleep after applying Mentholatum.
		7 am		Time for milk. (**Distant sound of Jon cooing & playing in his baby cot**).
		7:45 am		Arghhh!!! Mummy sees her panda eyes.

Brotherly Love

I have heard of many stories of elder siblings becoming rebellious and jealous when the little one arrives. I didn't want that to happen, so before Jonathan was born I bought Justin a gift (supposedly from his lil' bro). When the big day arrived, I handed the gift to him saying that it was from his brother. He commented, as a matter of factly, "Di Di (aka little brother) didn't buy this for me". (*silence*) (*smiles*) But he was happy with his Thomas water bottle.

For the next few months, I actively involved him in daily activities like getting diapers, bringing Jon's milk, getting bibs, wet tissues for his brother. He gladly obliged and actually felt proud to be of help. I praised him for being such a "helpful engine".

I am glad to say that he loves his brother a lot. He even lets Jonathan grab and pull his hair without complain. Very different from his normal unruly behaviour to others. And he loves planting lots of kisses on Jonathan.

The two seem to get on very well so far. And it's amazing how Jus makes Jon laugh and giggle. Justin seems to be the only one that can play and make Jonathan laugh non-stop for a few minutes.

Trip to HK Disneyland

We went on a weekend visit to HK Disneyland in Lantau Island on the 3rd of March. Justin thoroughly enjoyed himself sitting his favourite train around the park. Apparently the 30 mins wait standing at the station wasn't much of a concern for him. Although he didn't understand the frustration his dad was going through, complaining that we could have walked to the next station by the time the train arrived. When we finally boarded the train, Justin was so excited that he could hardly sit down. He really enjoyed every minute of it!

We took the Jungle River Cruise, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Carousel, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (See Desmond & Justin shooting away in the photo). Autopia was pretty fun - futuristic electric cars cruising along the highways of tomorrow. I got into one car while Justin drove another car with Desmond. (His legs are long enough to reach the accelerator). Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D Adventure show was also pretty interesting. It was very funny watching Justin grab things in the air right in front of him.

To end the wonderful day, we watched the fireworks on disply at the parade square in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Welcome to MyLittleKoalas!

A warm welcome to you! These are my little koalas, Justin (left) and Jonathan (right) sitting on papa Desmond's lap. I thought of this name because Jonathan always holds on to me very closely when I carry him, just like a koala joey.

Facts of a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
* marsupial herbivore native to Australia
* main diet consists of eucalyptus leaves
* sleeps 20 hours a day