Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Goodbye




This is Guo Zhu, one of Hubby's workers from Jingnan, China, and he is going home for good next week.
So fast, 2 years passed and I feel a tinge of sadness that he's leaving. I get along better with him than the others because he is friendly, has a toddler, and loves cars - so we have common topics to talk about.

He is always telling me how much he likes my car, and his dream car is to own a VW Passat.
Finally, after 2 years working in SG, his dream is coming true. He is going home to start his own business and his wife is buying a Passat probably as I'm typing this. I feel happy for him of course, though it would be sad to lose a good worker. But there is no stopping him and we wish him the very best.

And oh, if you wonder why he's pictured here with yours truly's car, it's because he is superb lah - he washes and polishes my car for me, FREE. So good right?!
Loads of fun sneaking out of the house way after tucking Kai to sleep and going to Hubby's office and hose the car down, making everybody wet in the process, then washing, scrubbing, wiping and talking cock.

All the best to him and he will be missed!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

World Cup 2010 - the goofy series.

The boys are featured here wearing matching Man U jerseys and soaking up the WC fever.
Getting the boys together for a neat photo shot is insane. Just take a look yourself!





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After awhile, one is distracted by a swatting hand, the other is swatting flies.... ZZzz...


Yawn..... . . .. Can you hurry up already ??



Eeeeeekkkk.... Don't wipe my face with your tail leh!


Maverick: Don't want! Don't push me off the couch!



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Finally, take 341937.. The baby finally cooperates. But. The dog is not looking! Grrrr....


Ok, that's all for now folks.
If you can't beat them, join 'em!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Fun at Gymboree Harbourfront (picture intensive)

We attended our first play class as a family together, and it was better than we expected!

Let the photos speak for themselves. But warning: photo intensive!



The Bugaboos and Orbits lining up..




Class proper begins...

Teacher Lily is very engaging and expressive that's why all the children love her


Kai clapping while being bounced in the air by Daddy


Going around in circles according to the music


Our happy kid still clapping away to the music






"The wheels on the bus go round and round...."


Lining up for the next activity: use of equipment

Going up the ramp and through the tunnel


"Hello Mummy! I'm a pro at Agility just like my buddy Maverick!"

Out of the tunnel and going down the slide

Kai rolling the huge ball to practice balancing


and bouncing on the ball

Daddy very tired after all the bouncing, going in circles, singing, clapping HAHAHA


After equipment use there was gathering in a circle and playing the "Busy Box"





Kai waving his musical instruments to the song-singing





Our dear enthusiastic boy is centre of the class






Andy & I both felt it was pure good clean fun for Kai to build up social skills, since he's the only baby at both homes (mine & Andy's) and faces old people and 2 dogs + a cat either way he goes.
I think the classes are more for his socalising and our parent-child bonding more than anything else.

Kai was enthusiastic about the whole affair, which made our whole experience worthwhile and exhilirating.
Very impressed with the small and manageable class size and I have to say, the Teacher was really good at catching the kids' attention and getting the group of 10-16 mth olds to be attentive.

Thumbs up for Gymboree!

Breakfast on a Saturday morning

It was 9.30am, and rise & shine for Kai. He woke up drinking little milk and wanted to have his breakfast straightaway. Mummy, on the other hand, was tired so...... made a quick - but nowhere simple - breakfast for Kai.



On the menu:
- Banana and fresh milk smoothie
- Multi-grain bread
- Cheddar cheese slice








Since he was 9 months old and able to eat different textured foods, I gave him finger foods to encourage his self-feeding.
And little beknown to all, but I usually spend bulk of my monies not on designer togs or toys for him but more on quality food for my baby.
Kai drinks Bellamy Organic milk, that's $45 per tin, per week alone!
On top of that, I try to let him eat as much organic fruits / veggies / rice as possible, especially greens with large surface areas of leaves, to minimise the congestion of hormones / antibiotics / GM foods / pesticides etc.

That said however, one must be careful to know that just because a food is grown free of pesticides, it doesn't make it organic. To be organic, the produce must be certified by accredited authorities. I usually trust Australian or US-certified organic foods because they have to go through stringent criteria for certification. They have to be grown in biologically appropriate environments right from the soil to the surroundings and even the water used to water the plants.

Other than organic produce, I pay attention to the labels on the food. For eg. fruit juice should be fresh from the fruit and not from concentrate, and wholegrain is better than normal rice or bread. And of course, everything in moderation. I dont encourage him to develop a sweet tooth, but I dont discourage him from consuming some diluted juice or "junk food" once in a while either.

So far, I'm extremely lucky that I rarely have food fights with him *touch wood* :P
I don't want my baby to be chubbier /heavier/stronger than the kid next door or cousin-so-and-so's-kid.. but it is important that he is healthy in his own right.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Daddy's girl

Below is a conversation between Hubby and his 2 guy friends. Interesting read. Hahaha!
Legend:
*truly* is Andy
(o'.')-o O('.'o) is another friend called Garret




*truly* says:

what bout you ?
what name you think of bro ?

Benny Tan says:

dono ley


*truly* says:

must think liao


Benny Tan says:

name is a headache


*truly* says:

or your wife will bug you soon
and you cant sleep


Benny Tan says:

ya la
we have a few in mind
kate , kayla, jayda


*truly* says:

jayda sounds like weird name bro
dun choose that
kayla is hot name


(o'.')-o O('.'o) says:

kate
kayla is porn name


*truly* says:

thats true
i reccomend u ALI
also not bad
pronounce as eh-lee not ah-lee


Benny Tan says:

i dono


*truly* says:

ALI TAN
awesome right


Benny Tan says:

Marissa


*truly* says:

sounds pinoy leh


(o'.')-o O('.'o) says:

name simple is good


*truly* says:

ALI
3 alphabet
sounds sophisicated


Benny Tan says:

people sure make fun ALI la


*truly* says:

spelling is ALI
but pronounce as eh-lee
check out ali larter
google it
ALI LARTER
its hot bro


Benny Tan says:

lol
brb

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .




I laughed out loud when Hubby sent that conversation to me. Super funny can?!
Apparently, Benny & wife are expecting a baby girl and the boys are discussing about choosing names.
I think guys have weird opinions of girls' names! And hmmmm.... didn't know that Hubby is sooooo into the name "Ali" for a Baby Girl...
I hope he's not gonna want to name our daughter Ali Tan, because I will faint. Like Ally Tan? Also cannot. Cos Adam already "A" mah.. So if we have a daughter, she must be named with a "V".. like Vera, or Venetia, or Valentina.. Or something that's not ALI.

It's heartwarming when you know your man is talking about babies to other men. It speaks VOLUMES about how family-oriented your husband actually is.
Well, it's obvious that all men need a daughter. And from this conversation, I do know that Hubby needs a daughter badly. *wry smile*

Explorer Kid



















It isn't everyday that Daddy can go home early , so when Andy said he could reach home at 6.30pm on Tuesday evening, we brought our little tod to Explorer Kid @ Downtown East for a little bit of play time.
Glad that he enjoyed himself and there weren't many kids around too. Family times are the best.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Our first class

Since Kai was 4 months old, Andy & I have been thinking of bringing him for some baby Yoga or playgroup class where 1 parent is allowed to be around.

I said we'll do a review of the class but we never went!
Now, it looks like it is materialising.

This Saturday, we are bringing him for his first Gymboree Play & Learn session at Harbourfront.

Andy & I are more excited than Kai for his first playgroup session! Teeehehehehe

Monday, June 21, 2010

KL road trip & Daddy's Day weekend - 19-200610

Saturday, 19 June 2010

"Are we ready folks?? I'm raring to go!"


After clearing the jam / stopping for toilet & food breaks / somemore jam, we finally arrived at KL in one piece!









Reached our hotel. Oh it feels so good to stretch our feet!

We parked at priority lobby lot






Upstairs...


Our open-concept toilet


My Bubbly is just thrilled that all the sitting-still-in-the-carseat has paid off: he gets to romp around the bed and climb everywhere, YAY!


Mr Chuckles


Still very happy after a grand 15 minutes. Hee!


Darling Kai's crib


We settled down and then there was no stopping the shopaholics!

Outside Lot 10




Kaikai is excited as well - can you see him waving his hands in the air? Haha!

At Lot 10 and Sungei Wang



At Chinatown for dinner...


By nightfall, all adults and one baby were sweaty, sticky and had tired, abused feet. Time to head back to the hotel for a shower and World Cup!


Darling Kai & Mummy had lots of fun playing in the huge bathtub filled with his bubble bath and rubber duckies. It was divine. He enjoyed himself so much that he refused to get out of the tub and we had to carry him away, with him screaming!


After a clean & nice-smelling Kai is changed into his PJs, it's Daddy & Mummy's turn at the tub.
It feels so terrific after a long day of shopping and eating, to just relax in the bath, swigging red wine with the man I adore :)

The next morning:
20 June 2010


Kai's breakfast for the morning: Honey stars, baked beans, tomato, scrambled eggs and mango yogurt. WOW

Kai feeding himself honeystars


Aunt LY


After breakfast buffet on Father's Day, the deserving Dad gets a treat in Spa :D



On our drive back, we stopped over at Tangkak for their famous durians. Kai looks spaced out because he's so weary from the long drive


3 adults on 20 kilos of DURIANS.





Mmmmm.... This is heavenly!


King of fruits.

"Woah, everyone is stuffing themselves silly with durians but me"





All the species of durians in Tangkak are what we never even heard of - Golden Phoenix, No. 13, 5 Dragons, Milk Bottle (pictured below). They are all nicer than our top grade Mao San Wang.

This is the place to go to for famous durians, frequented by our local stars eg. Pan Ling Ling and the likes.






It was a great trip. So proud that we all made it in one piece - especially Baby Kai. It must've been unbearable for a baby to be trapped inside a carseat for so many hours on the road.

Happy 1st Father's Day, hubs!
Love you!
Your kayu wife.