My Sister the Model

Ethan was snapping pictures at random so I showed him how to use camera "properly" to take pictures of his cute sister. This is his best one! Not bad eh?

Dr Jones

We were both going to the doctor today to get our vaccinations, but Daddy got the wrong date - it's not for another month! So instead we detoured to Jones the Grocer for father-son time. This daddy knows where the good deals are and Jones is one of them. At this upmarket Australian cafe, a pot of tea is $4.50 which is very reasonable cos it can be shared by two, hot and ice water is complimentary, colouring pens and paper are provided for kids, service is excellent, there is no service charge or GST and parking is free! See what a good deal it is!? Ethan loves it here just like Daddy. We are now sharing "vanilla cream" tea (caffeine free) with honey!

Driving Ms Talia

Ethan not only likes driving Daddy's car, he also likes playing with his own. He does modification, washes it, and of course drives his sister too! What a sweet pair - and both in yellow too! He really treats Talia well, being gentle and protective of her, and we can already see that she in turn adores her big brother.

Tennis

Ethan loves going out to play tennis with his daddy. Actually, he only loves it for about 5 minutes then he loses interest in the game! So daddy has to remind himself that it is about having fun in the experience at this stage and not so much about getting Ethan "into" the game. We did buy a tennis racket together though - this cutest little Wilson which is well sized for him. But after the initial 5 minutes Ethan wises up and prefers to use Daddy's racket instead. Apparently bigger is better in his view.

Mad About Driving

Ethan's great new craze is driving. He either particularly likes Daddy's little Subaru R1 or he particularly likes driving with Daddy. Today Mummy is feeling under the weather so Daddy told Ethan that he was going to drive with Daddy. You cannot imagine the look of glee dripping from his face. I wish we all had that same expectant joy when we are about to spend time with our Abba Father!

So here we are at free parking outside Sembawang Shopping Centre, after a rainy drive during which Ethan kept telling me that HE wanted to drive. Daddy promised so Daddy is delivering - letting Ethan enjoy one of his favourite activities. Whether it is being with Daddy or getting to be like Daddy he just soaks it all up! He will probably remember this time "driving" more than any other activity we do at Sembawang!

Water Park at Sembawang

It was a great day at the water park in Sembawang Shopping Centre for all! Ethan and Talia thoroughly enjoyed themselves and got dripping wet at this fantastic playground. It is less boisterous than the one at IMM and it has food and drink shops just next door where parents can sit and order grub.

It was one of the first few times that Talia really got herself drenched going in and out of the water sprays. Ethan was much more cautious than she is now at that age. We have always known that Ethan loves to play with water but Talia really LOOOVES the water.

We ate steak, chicken wings and french fries at the open air Astons and drank milk tea from the Hong Kong tea house...it really feels like one is on holiday! Amazing that the park is all free, the food is cheap, there is lots of cool air-con shops when you get tired and street side parking nearby is free if you can find it! The only thing missing is warm towels and a changing room!

Talia had such fun time with her Mummy and Daddy!

Bumblebee Boy

Have you seen Ethan in his bumblebee outfit? It was a special occasion – the last day of school and everyone dressed up, so Ethan donned this outfit complete with wings. On that day he unusually allowed the hood to be on too, so he looked quite the part!

Reading

We've been introducing Talia to the joys of reading and are glad that like her brother, she has taken to books very while. I read her The Very Hungry Caterpillar last night and she laughed a lot at Mummy's attempts to make the Caterpillar come alive! Here she is settling down to a fun musical book that Por Por bought from a recent trip to Sydney.

Ethan on the other hand, is expanding his experience to various other genres of reading material, and here he is reading concernedly about the fluctuating interest rates and its impact on his education fund......

Reading sure is fun!

Gingerbread Bumblebee

Today is the last day of the school term and we are having a gingerbread party. Everyone came dressed in costumes so Ethan came as a bumblebee! We had the gingerbread story and a simple character "parade". Now we are eating gingerbread men, some who have been home-baked while others are wrapped in SwissBake and Jones the Grocer bags. I must admit that this simple theme adds much fun and value to the whole day and the kids love it!

I Love You Talia

Ethan hears that we love him so much that he is ever ready to pass on the love to his sister. Today he kept on saying "I love you Talia" and hugged and held her for a long time! She enjoyed it for a while then started getting a bit frantic. In response Ethan held her tighter and patted her head gently with a soothing yet possessive, "No need to cry Talia!"

Artwork: Well & Sick

You've seen a picture of what Ethan looks like when he's sick. Now you can see what his pictures look like when he is well and sick! The difference in energy levels is startling...and funny too!

This is Ethan feeling well...

And this is Ethan feeling sick...!!

I Surrender

Ethan has been very sick for 1 week now. High fever, vomiting and a terrible cough. He's been so weak that he will lie down passively just watching the world go by. Thank God that yesterday we started him on antibiotics and he now on the road to recovery. He is still feeling weak though but here is Talia keeping him company. She looks like she just won in a sibling wrestling match!

Talia's Passport Photo

Talia is 6 months old and getting her first passport for her trip to Langkawi with parents and grandparents. We held her up against the wall and she smiled beautifully! I told Ethan, "Sorry son, Talia's passport photo is much nicer than yours cos we had to take yours when you were only 2 months old in your fat, least-cute stage!"

Kangaroo

Does this pouch look familiar? It was Ethan's favourite one when he was Talia's age and it looks like our little girl enjoys the bird's eye view too! It's really good for when I need to go out for a short jaunt with both of them as I am hand-free!

Things haven't been going so well on the new sleeping venue tho. Talia's caught Ethan's flu bug and has been pretty unsettled and waking a lot at night, so she's moved back into my room and sleeping with me for now.... She's been pretty hard to settle so I've been getting about 4-5 hrs sleep a night and pretty tired! Hope she gets better real soon. Thankfully Ethan's been charming and even helps to soothe her when I run out of steam -- often doing quite a good job on his own!

Pure Joy

Our friend Sharon took these pictures of Ethan playing at the water park. She said that his happy was was irresistable! I think so too... the title of the montage is very appropriate for the screaming squeals of delight on his cute l'il face.