Alice in a Christmas Wonderland

Today is a P-and-mummy day, for hubby is involved in his friend's wedding as a 兄弟. Started the morning by bringing P down to the garden for a walk. Wanted to let her play the slide at the playground, but alas, the playground equipment were all wet due to the rain. A cute little 5 year old girl came over to me and ask if she could play with P. I told her she could, but don't expect P to be too responsive. What follows is a 20 min monologue conversation with the little girl. I barely got a word in and she's just telling me everything in her life, a newborn brother, a Vietnamese grandfather, a fat father, a fierce teacher etc, and she didn't play with P, haha. I'd be worried if P becomes like that when she reaches 5 years old. I mean, I certainly hope she will not talk to strangers, and even if she did, my family history won't be revealed.

We set off for Raffles City in the afternoon, and was fortunate to be able to hitch a ride from hubby who was heading to the banquet hotel venue. Wanted to bring her to the toys section at Robinsons, but saw that there was a Lego fair on Level 3 event square. What's even better is that they have a Lego play area (for older kids) and a Duplo play area (for toddlers).

After 30 min of play in the Duplo 'pit', we headed for the promised toy section at Robinsons.


And the highlight of the day - Alice in a Christmas Wonderland Live Show. This is the 1st kiddy live show for both P and me, and I'm glad that she sat through most of it. I think the colorful setting and characters caught her attention, and she was very engrossed in their dance moves, occasionally even standing up to dance to the music. She got a bit fussy twice during the show and tried to walk off, but directing her attention back to the stage worked wonders.  The show was pretty good, save for a screechy Queen of Hearts who talks in a super high pitch voice, jarring on the ears.

Waiting for show to start

Engrossed with the stage action

After the show ended, I found myself walking in the direction of Marina Square. It seems almost like a routine for me to head to MS after Raffles City. Was wondering what to have for dinner and Swensens came to mind immediately. Unfortunately, a queue was already forming by the time I got there, so we switched to Secret Recipe instead. I rarely dine out with P alone. It's already tough for me-hubby duo to dine out with her, often requiring one to watch her first while the other eats. Luckily, lady luck shone on me today. P was quite interested in eating my food (pan grilled catch of the day) and sat in her high chair while I fed her. In fact, I think she ate more fish than I did. It was only towards the end that she started her usual antic of climbing out of her high chair. I stuffed the remaining fries down my throat and we got out before a meltdown occur.

Last stop of the day was Millennia Walk. They have a huge Christmas tree at the center of the mall, and stalls around the tree selling Christmas related products.

Here's P checking out their bear offerings

'Lil one got pretty tired after this action packed day, and I managed to put her to bed way before her usual bedtime. Will be bringing her for her 15 month jab tomorrow, yet another 'action' packed day for her.

The Holiday Guide

This is going to be my bible for the upcoming X'mas season!

We'll be starting off December with a staycation at Bay Hotel near Vivocity. It's been some time since P's last swim (the last time was probably at our Changi Village Hotel staycation), and I can't wait to play water with her again. When will November end??

Singkids Changi Airport

My parents are coming back from Philippines today, so I decided to take leave to go fetch them back from the airport.

We started the morning by going to Thomson Plaza for breakfast, then heading to the NTUC to shop. P is a fan of grocery stores (and toy stores of course). There's an unending supply of stuff that she can see and touch, so that's what she did the whole morning while we parents are looking on in horror and wondering when we are going to pay for damages.

Things took a downturn after we got home. It was nearing her nap time and she decided to throw a major tantrum which lasted almost half an hour. Half an hour of non-stop crying, coupled with throwing toys (that we passed to her in the hope of appeasing her). It got even as far as picking up the toys she just threw and then throwing them again with all her might. It was a major one. I finally appeased her (she was probably tired from all the crying) and she drifted off to sleep, and a deep sleep indeed. I had made plans to head to Royce Kids Gym at Liang Court to check it out, but the deep sleep spoiled it all. P awoke 2.5 hours later and it was close to 2.00 PM. We went over to in law's place for late lunch and by the time P was done with her porridge, it was past 3.00 PM. My parents' flight would arrive at 5.05 PM, so it doesn't make economic sense to go to Liang Court, pay for 2 hours, play for about 1 hour then head to the airport. We decided to head straight to the airport instead.

SingKids® PlaySystem is the first to bring in these features of a colorful moving playground in Singapore. The new indoor playground was designed and built by an innovative Japanese company, in Osaka, Japan. They have 4 branches in Singapore, and we headed to the one at Terminal 3. First impression is that the place isn't very big, and separated into 2 sections (Toddler vs Older Kids) and occupying 2 shop space such that you need to cross a pathway in order to get to the other section. The features also look similar to Kiddy Fun, which P didn't really enjoy the last time we went. However, with 1.5 hours to burn, we decided to just head in.

Toddler Section

After 1 hour of play ($18 for peak period, $4 for additional adult), we were pretty much done with the place. Headed back to Terminal 2 and there was quite a massive Angry Bird moving structure. We went 'waaaahhhhhh' and the 'lil one went 'waaah', causing us to burst out in laughter. I tried to make P take a solo picture, but she ended up looking quite 2D-fied .

Our Music Studio at Tanglin Mall

P received 4 Our Music Studio vouchers for her birthday, and we finally attended the first session today. Our Music Studio is located at L3 of Tanglin Mall. From the outside, it looks like a small shop space, but I was impressed when I entered the studio and found that there's plenty of space for activity. The class was supposed to start at 3.00 PM, and we arrived at about 2.50 PM. P had the chance to do the pre-class activity: Throwing and chasing colorful bouncy balls all over the studio.

We had Teacher Huzzy for the class and I think P liked her a lot. Whenever she smiles at P, P grins back in glee. The curriculum was pretty similar to the trials we have attended previously, but P really did seem so much engaged in this one. We played with maracles, bells, drums, parachute, flower bouquet, scarves and did plenty of running around the room. Sadly, I didn't manage to get any pictures during the class because they only allowed 1 accompanying parent and I was busy chasing the 'lil one. Compared to her previous trials, I think P has matured quite a bit. She is now able to understand basic instructions like "put back" and reach out her hands to request for instruments. She clapped with gusto and babbled through the class. She sayang younger babies and plays with the older ones too.

After class, we decided to hand around Tanglin Mall to wait for the Avalanche and Snowfall event at 7.30 PM. Explored a lot of toy stores and P practically went for a toy inspection at Tanglin Mall. Had a Red Velvet Cake and a Carrot Walnut Cake at Cedele to burn some time. Here goes the pics for the snowfall event.

A picture before darkness falls

The beautiful X'mas tree

P wth papa Jon



How about a shining reindeer?



And elves?

Final pic before the snow comes!

Here goes...

Great fun! Just that we weren't prepared enough. There were so many kids totally buried in the foamy 'snow' and their parents came with towels. Some were even running around in just diapers, how cute! Great ending to the weekend. Can't wait for X'mas!!

Scratched by a cat

The Deepavali holidays started out with a morning trip to Bishan Waterpark. I've brought P there previously, but hubby came along today. The sun was out and there was little breeze, so we let P play longer than the previous time. There were 2 kids there, both in thermal swimwear, but I still can't convince myself to pay $50 for one that she probably will only wear twice before outgrowing it. Hubby and I had a great morning workout because P wants to walk everywhere! Each stream and structure she sees, she needs to walk through it. My back almost broke and hubby had to take over.

At about 3pm, we set off for hubby's colleague's place because hubby needed to pass him something. Turned out his colleague was throwing a mini party at his place, so we joined in the fun. P was especially fascinated with 1 of the 2 cats in the house, and kept trying to engage it. Heard from hubby's colleague that the cat wasn't very friendly, so we kept P some distance away. At one point in time, cat was lying on the bed and P walked to the edge of the bed to get a closer look at the cat. All of a sudden, the cat lunged towards P and gave her a series of scratches on her arms before retreating. P was shocked for about 2s before she reacted, started wailing and ran towards me for comfort. We didn't see any scratch marks on her so we thought the damage wasn't that bad. After a short while of crying, the 'lil one tried to go for the cat again, seemingly unscarred by the whole incident, but we didn't take another chance this time round. Left that colleague's house shortly, and while wiping her hands at the void deck, we then discovered the extent of damage: 2 small punctures with blood, and 3 scratch marks bearing an uncanny similarity to cane marks. Hopefully, it doesn't cause any mutation and make her a catwoman or the likes.

It's been more than 2 years since I've been to MBS, so that's our next destination after leaving that colleague's place. The last time I went was on 31 Oct 2010, 1 day after our wedding. We were staying at Pan Pacific Hotel after our wedding banquet, and decided to explore MBS the next day. It certainly has become more interesting since then, more shops, more activities and more crowd. P took in all the hustle and bustle, sucking her thumb, clapping at some sights, and finally fell asleep right outside Motherswork. We headed to Suntec Crystal Jade for dinner, hoping she will sleep through it, but it didn't work. She woke up right on cue when the food arrived, and demanded to be fed. After we had separate dinners (taking turns to bring P for a walk), we ended the day by bringing P to my mom's place. She would be there till Thursday evening, and I'm sure I will be missing her and worrying about her scratches.

Weekend

Brought P to Great World City yesterday afternoon as she was getting cranky at home. First stop was the pet shop, but she didn't seem impressed with the galore of rabbits and guinea pigs. Went to ELC next and that was her cup of tea. She had fun playing the kitchen set with another toddler and we had to practically drag her out of the store. Hubby was happily checking out the boys' toy section at ELC and proclaimed to me that he's going to buy this and that if we do have a son, and they are going to build a mega city of cars. How exciting -_-" I would much prefer kitchen sets, thank you very much.

Since there's a church in the vicinity, we thought we could attend evening mass as well. We thought P would be tired out by the time mass starts, since we woke up from her nap at 12 and stayed awake for 6 hours. No chance though, she was wide awake at mass and kept roaming around and shaking hands with random strangers, or flashing her megawatt smile at them. I'm pretty sure the celebrity genes did not come from either of us, so we're still guessing who. Her battery ran out in the car, and she got very mad when we got home and I put her down. That caused 30 min of incessant crying and I almost pulled my hair out. The only good thing that came out of the crying fit is that she got pretty tired after that, and went to bed without much fuss.

Today's program was dinner at Asian Market Cafe (Swissotel) to celebrate hubby's cousin's 21st birthday. It starts at 6pm, but I thought it will be a good idea to bring P out shopping first. She gets really cranky at home, plus today's weather is terribly humid, so off we went, just the 2 of us (hubby was left behind to fetch his family to the dinner).

We took the train to City Hall and walked through City Link to get to Marina Square. There's a children's playground outside Mothercare and Kiddy Palace. P looked rather interested, so we had a go at it. She went straight for the slide and tried to crawl up from the bottom. Pulled her away and placed her on the rocking beetle instead. After a short while, her interest was gone and we decided to explore Kiddy Palace instead. Curiosity got the better of her and she explored Kiddy Palace by hand, touching everything in sight, ugh.




We also explored Times Bookstore and John Little before making our way back to Raffles City. By the time I reached Marina Link, she was conked out. I found myself ordering a smoothie from Dunkin Donuts even though I wasn't thirsty, just so I can find a place for her to sleep comfortably and relieve myself of the 10kg load. It was 1 hour later when she woke up and time for dinner.





Conked out at Dunkin Donuts, and no one dared to sit near us

 Hubby's maternal side of the family is rather close. They organise plenty of gatherings and these relatives really make effort to turn up. I hope I can foster something like this next time.

X'mas decor are up in most shopping malls. I'm already in the X'massy mood and it rocks!

The Mimic

P is currently in the mimicking phase. She shadows what we do and its reflecting our parenting right at us.

1. I slap on my toner and moisturiser after my bath, while she stands outside the bathroom and observe me. I turned to see her patting her face just like what I do.

2. My skin has been dry and itchy ever since the return from my Korea trip. Since we rarely use her Mustela body lotion, I decided to rub some over my arms and legs. P stood and observe for a while, then start to reach down and rub her legs just like how I applied the lotion on my legs.

3. Probably the most classic. Each time P does a forbidden thing like reach for things she isn't suppose to have, we would shake our index finger at her and tell her no. To our horror, we found her mimicking the action every time she does the forbidden, and it's as if she does the forbidden on purpose and show us the same gesture afterwards. Really hits us smack in the face and prompts some deep thinking on our parenting so far. An eye for an eye indeed.

Aside from the mimicking, P has been under the weather for quite some time. She started having cough and runny nose some 3 weeks back, and it prompted 2 trips to the doctor within a space of 1 week. She looks like she was on the road to recovery, but her diarrhoea started the day before I went to Korea, and lasted till I'm back one week later. Just when we thought all's well, she came down with a very bad cough accompanied by runny nose, symptoms similar to the bout of illness prior to the diarrhoea. It hurts to hear her cough. You could picture the phlegm in her lungs when she coughs, and it's affecting her sleep (and ours too) at night.

I came across an article in the paper's today talking about the source of stress for mothers. I look at P and think back on how my mom brought me and my sis up, it can't be easy. Salute to all mothers out there!

Happy Sunday

P is super happy today. I'm not sure why, but I'm very sure she's jubilant today. She was happy to roam around the house, laughing out loud at everything she sees: Mommy, daddy, toys, switches. Every once in a while, she will let out shrieks of joy, and that really makes our day.

Brought P to MBFC for dinner. MBFC has became our weekend haunt. The lack of crowd and abundant space is really conducive for a hyperactive toddler to run around.

P meets toddler X who is 1 day older than her. Both of them started to walk together in tandem and it was funny to watch the unsteady steps, and the occasional fall. They chased each other until toddler X had to go. How fun!

We had an early dinner at Soup Spoon, but it was too early when we got there, so we just sat in the restaurant to wait out dinner time. P managed to engage the staff, waving hi and blowing lots of kisses. She blew so much that the staff fell in love with her, and offered her a bread. However, P did not get a firm grip of it, and the bread tumbled to the floor almost immediately (what a waste!). I dumped it up before she decided to taste it and she's cool about it. While we have dinner, P was free to roam around as long as she is in sight. She must have burnt lots of energy, for she conked out in the car on the way home, haha! That's why I love MBFC on a weekend ;)

Back to my P

Whee, I'm back from Korea!! It was a great 7d6n trip with my mom, and the tour group/guide/itinerary rocks! I didn't regret joining the tour, for the experiences and places it brought me can never be completed on my own if I do free and easy.

Missed P a lot when I was away, and looking at her photos and videos made it worse. My flight touched down in Singapore at 11.45pm last night. Hubby was supposed to bring P back from his mom's place so I could see her (although she would be asleep), but when I reached home at about 1am (baggage collection took ages), I was disappointed to find out that hubby went out for drinks and didn't bring her back :( He said I will need some rest, and I agreed when morning came.

We went out to buy breakfast then proceeded to MIL's place to eat and see P. P went for her morning walk and wasn't home yet, so we took out breakfast to wait for her. She came back when I was finishing up, and the look on her face when she saw me was priceless! She kept giggling and giggling (think heeheehee, heeheehee) and when she finally plopped intoy arms, no one could remove her anymore. Boy, I really miss her!!

Brought P to explorerkid at AMK hub in the afternoon and had an hour of fun. She did not change at all despite my 1 week absence. Her behaviour was the same:
1. Only want me to carry, papa can't carry
2. Took her afternoon nap sleeping on me
3. Followed me around the house and ask to be carried

It's great to be back to P :)