Laughing Ger

My Gym Open House

Following my post on signing up for the free trial for My Gym at Djitsun Mall, Ang Mo Kio, the day came for us to attend the trial. We arrived at Djitsun Mall to see that the escalators are not working yet, so you will need to take the lift up to My Gym. The earlier session has yet to leave, but staff were nice enough to let P in to try some of the structures first. They had a ballpit, 2 trampolines, a playground structure and plenty of mats and equipment. I like it that the lesson area is fully carpeted and they had padding in areas where kids could bump into.

While the earlier session sang their goodbye song, P and I sat by the side and watched. She couldn't resist the playground structure after a while and I had to watch her instead. I realized I didn't get a picture of the playground structure, but it's strange because you need to take a step down before you can slide. In my opinion, that's quite dangerous for bubs wearing socks, because they could fall easily. I never really had to 'spot' P when she goes on the slide sat neighborhood playgrounds, but for this one, I have to.

The session began with everyone gathering at the red circle. The teacher sang a welcome song and we have to go round to introduce our bubs and their age. P is somewhat smack in the middle in terms of age. We have a handful of kids that are 2 years old, and the rest at about 18/19 months old. The teacher led us through some songs and patting actions. P didn't do very well with the sit down activities and at one point in time, she even wandered off to their "storeroom" where they kept balloons and a lot of colorful equipment. Yes, I think P was going for their balloons. I had to pull her back and luckily, they started the bubble session. P was jubilant, and really raced all over trying to chase bubbles. After the bubble session, we settled back down for a puppet show. The teacher handling the puppets had to do some dialogue from behind the puppet scene, but we could barely hear her voice. It would be great if they could play some sort of story from the radio instead.

The last part was an active gym session, and the part that P and I really like. There were 3 stations - Handstand, rolling and swinging - and all led by facilitators. For handstand, P had to hold something like a push up bar placed on the floor. The instructor would make sure she holds on, while the role of the parent is to lift up her hips and the other facilitator will help to stretch out her legs. P did 2 really decent handstands, and I'm really proud of her. The rolling station was performed on a gym mat that looks something like a slide. The child needs to roll forward by tucking her chin on her chest. I've done this numerous times on my bed at home, and P never fails to be amused. However, P couldn't seem to get the idea at this station, and I was too self-conscious to be giving a demo with a queue of parents behind, so we just did a flimsy one and left. Last station, swinging like a trapeze! P totally totally enjoyed this. The child has to hold onto a wooden bar (suspended from ceiling), swing 5 times and the parent has to catch her. P was laughing out loud all the way, a look of joy on her face. Parents at the side were all telling me she's super happy. Unfortunately, she didn't get to do a 2nd round on this.

And, it was freeplay after that! Lesson was shorter than I expected, but staff told me it was only a snippet of their usual lessons. They gave out brochures about lesson pricing and birthday packages. Their promotion for that day was 3 weeks free with 20 weeks sign up. Each lesson will cost $40++, which is quite expensive in my opinion. Hubby wasn't all that keen too, so we didn't sign up in the end.

River Safari

It's hubby's birthday today, happy 29th! We were thinking what to do for the day, and I suggested the zoo because I had plenty of fun there on my birthday. What's more, it's free entrance for me. Hubby said ok, so I started to pack wetsuits, sunblock etc in anticipation of going to the water playground at the zoo. Before I could complete my packing, hubby told me he has yet to recover (runny nose for past few days) and wouldn't be up to playing with water. We changed out minds and decided to check out the River Safari instead.

River Safari is the newest addition to Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s portfolio of award-winning parks. Nestled between Singapore’s two award-winning wildlife parks – Singapore Zoo and Night Safari – River Safari offers an unforgettable adventure inspired by eight of the world’s most iconic rivers. This $160-million attraction features state-of-the-art exhibit design, Southeast Asia's largest panda exhibit as well as the world's largest freshwater aquarium. Housing one of the world’s largest collections of freshwater fauna, the park features over 5,000 specimens representing 300 species. And that includes Singapore’s resident giant pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia.

Guess who we saw when we first arrived?

Hubby and P got in free, so I was the only one who needed to pay to enter. They are offering a discounted price of $25 (adult) at the moment because the River Safari boat ride and animal exhibits along this ride will not be available until later this year. Upon entering, the staff sang hubby a "Happy Birthday" song, and helped to take this picture for us.

Paiseh moment for hubby, so he hid his face

The river safari was super easy to navigate. It basically one straight path that you walk through, and view the exhibits along the way. One word of caution is for you to head to the washroom before you start to explore, else the next nearest toilet is at the panda viewing area, which is like halfway through the park. There was too much fishy exhibits at the beginning of the trail, and P was somewhat disappointed, telling me "I want see animals," We pointed out various crocodiles to her and she remained unfazed. She only brightened up when we got to the panda viewing area, and it really does help that the panda area is airconditioned. It might have been the weather on that day, but we endured a breeze-less walk almost all the way (hand held fans might offer some relief).
 

The 3Ps - P, Papa, Panda

After the pandas, we took a bathroom break and found a restaurant right outside. It serves panda pau, how cute! On hindsight, this pau is really expensive and tastes no better than any red bean pau you find outside. Well, one of the touristy things we can do in Singapore :)

 

The River Safari took us about 3 hours to complete, which wasn't too bad. When the River Safari boat ride and animal exhibits open in future, you should defnitely buffer more time. Surprisingly, hubby told me he really liked the tranquil feel of the place and won't mind coming back in future. I will be back when the new attractions open.

eXplorerkid Baby & Junior Race 2013

The eXplorerkid Baby & Junior Race 2013 is back!

It was a memorable event for us last year, when P was still so babyish and took part in the crawling contest. Hubby was surprisingly gamed when I told him about this year's race, but he did comment that a leopard will not change its spots, and that P's reaction will be the same as last year, haha.

When browsing Downtown East's website to find out more about the race, I chanced upon this video which featured myself and P at slightly after the 1 min mark.

Come September 22, P will be hitting the 25 months mark, which puts her in the Toddler category of 25-30 months. Yep, no age advantage. I think they are supposed to complete some tasks before racing to the finishing line.

Due to the loyalty discount, we only paid $12 (inclusive of processing fee and mail) for this year's race. We're all looking forward to it!

My Gym at AMK

My Gym was created in 1983 by William Caplin and Yacov & Susi Sherman, who opened their first two My Gyms in Santa Monica and Van Nuys, California. Utilizing their experience in the fields of sports, dance, early childhood development, kinesiology and gymnastics, they developed a program and facility where children actively participate in a variety of structured, weekly physical education classes to gain social skills and self-esteem.

I'm quite excited to know that they will be opening a branch at AMK! We had previously gone for a trial at their Tampines centre, and I think they are quite well equipped with ball pits, climbing structures, attachable swings etc. P must have less than a year old when she went for that trial, so I'm quite keen to see how her motor skills have evolved since then.

I received an SMS on my phone yesterday, and this is what it says.

How can I pass up a chance to explore their new centre? I responded my interest and got a call from the centre shortly to confirm a slot on 14 July. Fast and efficient service.

The AMK branch is situated at the newly constructed Djitsun Mall (don't ask me how to pronounce the name, I'though I suspect it's a silent D, so that makes Jit-soon Mall). You can see it when the mrt is plying AMK - Yio Chu Kang. It's still a fair walk from AMK Hub, but it beats having to go Tampines to attend the classes. The last time we passed by the mall, it looks as if it wasn't going to open anytime soon. They had some banners showing some of the tenants, and it includes Sakae, Khongdon BBQ, Watsons, True Fitness and a few other children educational facilities. When speaking to the My Gym staff to confirm the slot for P, I asked if the mall is already open, and the answer was no. I wonder if My Gym is going to be the first tenant to open on 13 July.

Counting down to 14 July...

14 years of Friendship

Reserved a little time for friends tonight. 

Universal Studios Singapore

Day started early for the Tan family, because we're off to Universal Studios Singapore! We parked our car at Harbourfront Centre and took the link to Vivocity to meet hubby's friends. There was to be 11 people + P going. MasterCard had a promotion on RWS website where you buy 3 tix and get 1 free. It would have been better if we had 12 people, but oh well, can't always have things our way. I purchased 3 sets of that promotion via their website yesterday. Tickets were to be collected at the Guest Services counter.

Breakfast at Coffee Bean, Vivocity. A hot chocolate to start the day right.

We took the monorail and it was only 1 stop away. It was my first time taking the monorail, so I wasn't sure what to do. I learnt I could use an ezlink card to get pass the gantry and it will only cost $3 (I later found out we didn't need to pay when we take the return trip, so it's quite worth it). The monorail is quite like the sky trains we have at Changi Airport, and it was a pretty tight squeeze (think peak hour mrt ride) while heading to Sentosa. 

1 stop later, we arrived at Waterfront station. Boy, was there already a big crowd at USS. I was quite shocked when I saw the queue at the Ticketing counters. Luckily, the Guest Services counter was a separate queue behind the ticketing counters, but it was still a fairly long wait. 

Collection of tickets

Tan Family at USS

Full Group Photo

Because of P's age and height, it helps to do a lot of research on the rides she can go on prior to going to the park. This link is particularly helpful. Here are the only rides that a 22 month old can go on, unless he/she is particularly tall:

• New York - Lights Camera Action
• Sci-Fi City - Accelerator
• Ancient Egypt - Treasure Hunters
• Lost World - Dino Soaring
• Far far away - Magic Potion Spin
• Far far away - Shrek 4D
• Madagascar - King Julien's Beach party-go-round

1st character we bumped into the moment we enter - Kung Fu Panda

From the list, it would make more sense for us to turn left after the main street to go into Madagascar and Far Far Away areas, but it was a group of adults, so right side was the way to go. As P didn't make the height for the Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase, hubby went in with his friends while me and P went into the souvenir store.

Really like this photo of P and Elmo(s)

P raced into this scene while others were taking their pics, so I q-ed and we took this pic. Messy hair for me coz of the breeze

Looking bored. When is papa coming out??

Coming out from the rides, we passed by the Transformers ride next. Waiting time was a whopping 80 min, so they decided to skip it. Next is the Battlestar Galactica rollercoaster with 15 min waiting time. Hubby's friends went in, so we checked out the Accelerator instead - P's 1st ride! It's like a spinning teacup kind of ride, but P didn't take it too well towards the end when the spinning got faster and the lights start flashing above her. She tried to stand and clamber onto me, but we told her she had to sit down. Luckily, she didn't have a meltdown and the ride soon ended.

In the Accelerator (before it starts spinning of coz)

Hubby's friends took way longer than 15 min to return from the blue roller coaster. Upon coming out, they were raring to go for the red one and told me and hubby to join while 2 of hubby's friends babysit her. I was worried about leaving P behind (and also not very keen on the red one as I remembered it as being quite scary compared to the blue). They were insistent, and I found myself joining the q and worrying about P throughout.When our turn came, I was quite surprised the seats were different from 2 years ago. I recalled they only had a safety barrier to clamp down our thighs in the past, but it has since been upgraded to having a vest-like structure. Ok, didn't feel so scared upon seeing the vest thing, but man, the 1st drop was bad. My heart was 2cm from leaping out of my body, haha. Nonetheless, it was a great adrenaline rush! Exited the ride to find P perched on hubby's friends' shoulder, sucking her thumb (sign of sleepiness).

Hubby and friends went in for The Mummy Ride. I skipped that intending to put P to sleep, but I found a stall selling bubble guns and bought 1 for P. The moment the bubbles come shooting out, sleep was beyond her. She chased bubbles till hubby came out.

The proud bubble gunner

Group decision was to head to the Malaysian food street just outside USS for lunch. It was super crowded and we had to wait quite long for seats. Even so, we couldn't get seats for the whole group and ended up sitting separately. By this time, P had conked out, leaving me free to guard the table while hubby went in search for food. Knowing his dislike for long queues, I asked him to go for the shortest one, and this is what he came back with.

Lor Mee, tasted better than it looked

Didn't come cheap at $5 per bowl

Hubby's friends had also kindly helped to buy chendol and a fruit platter for us to share. Great to have lots of people tackling different queues, and we got to eat a variety of food. P woke up towards the end of our meal and we didn't have anything for her to eat except fruits and chendol. She usually don't have much of an appetite upon waking, so it wasn't too bad. Her diaper, however, is in need of a change. We sought out an information counter and got directions to the nearest diaper changing room. 

Went back to USS and went left this time round. Hubby's friends went for the Madagascar Crate ride while hubby and I brought P to the merry go round. I asked P which animal she wanted to go for, and she told me lion. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to get the lion both times - 1st with me, then later with hubby. She took to this much better than the Accelerator, and we felt happy seeing she had fun.

We went in for the Shrek 4D show, and P refused to put on the 4D glasses. I think some of the scenes were quite scary for her, so most of the time she was watching garbled images on the screen directly. Then all of a sudden, I felt a warm gush of liquid all over my shorts. You guessed it, diaper leak, omg!! We hurried out of the theater when the show ends, told hubby's friends to go ahead 1st while we went in search of a diaper changing room (again). I had brought a change of clothes for P, but not for myself. Lesson learnt :(

After her change of clothes, we went back to the Shrek souvenir stall where the mini ferris wheel is located. They told us each "wheel" can only fit 2 adults, so we thought hubby and myself could go with P, but no, they meant only either of us can go with P. Hubby was happy to escape, so I went with P. It was a boring ride, and somewhat dark. P just sat there wondering what was going on. She was more happy to run around the souvenir shop touching Gingerbread Man, magnets etc.

In the ferris wheel cabin. Too dark for pics, so I on the flash. Unfortunately, it can only capture her squinting.

Jurassic World was the final destination. It contained only 1 ride that P can go on, and was the ride that I think P will enjoy the most. Waiting time was 30 mins and I stayed in the queue line while hubby and P waited at the side. P is getting sleepy again, and by the time we reached out turn, her face has turned to stone. This was the best kiddy ride in my opinion, but we caught it at the wrong time.

En route the way to leave the park, we saw a mega bubble gun that can churn out gigantic bubbles. P was totally excited (you can probably tell by now she's crazy about bubbles). We spent the last few minutes  watching her chase and burst those fragile bubbles, and that ended our day at USS. Of the 7 rides she could go on, we managed to cover 5, not too bad if you ask me :) Hopefully the next time we come back, she will be able to go on more rides.

Chasing bubbles and dreams

It's a Bear Hunt

As a follow up to my other posting, today is the day of the "It's a Bear Hunt" musical. The PSI was waaaaaay up high at 371 at 1pm, and I received a message from hubby asking me to abandon plans for the musical and just stay at home. I didn't want to waste the tickets, so I told him I will try to minimise the impact on P by taking a cab there and back.

P, who has been cooped up at home these past few days due to the haze, was more than happy to leave the house. I booked a cab, so we didn't wait out in the haze trying to catch one. The moment we reached the National Library, P's delight was infectious. She raced around laughing for no apparent reason. She saw kids and try to befriend them. 

The musical was to take place at the Drama Centre on L3. We arrived ahead of time, so P had plenty of time to mingle around, running and falling on the carpeted floor, no damage done. 15 min before the play, we made our way to the theatre and our seats (4th row from the stage).

Show started quite on time. There were essentially only 3 characters in the entire musical. The opening dance was quite refreshing, but I was looking really forward to the "bear hunt" itself. The "bear" turned out to be the Gain IQ bear which appears at random times to play hide and seek. The whole plot just didn't match up to my expectations. I had hoped for more bear appearances, which is what P is really excited about. I guessed the Santa Claus the Musical sets the benchmark too high - changing backdrops, plenty of characters, engaging music.

After the show, there was a chance to take a picture with the Gain IQ bear. P was really happy.

We headed to basement to check out this tree house area for kids. Took off our shoes to climb the tree structure, and P refused to put on her shoes after that! I tried a few times to get her to put it on, but was always met with an adamant "NO!!!" Sigh, the independence streak...

There was plenty of space for her to run around and she did that with gusto. Despite our concerns about bringing her out in the haze, I'm really happy I chose to bring her out.