Swimming Class

Ethan is following in his sister's (brave) footsteps and has started swimming classes as well! We were not sure how he would fit in as the other kids in the class have been there for quite a long time and he is a little more cautious than his sister...... but he surprised us all by giving it his best shot even overcoming his aversion to getting his face in the water! He is now even able to do an assisted dive into the water and pick up little toys at the bottom of the pool! We think having positive peer influence and a good teacher really helped. ("I love Teacher Sam", he tells us quite often)

Here is the happy boy waiting for his swimming class to start. The classes continue even after we get home, when he then takes over Teacher Sam's role and patiently teaches his sister and bath toys the same excercises he learnt in the pool earlier!

Family Train Holiday

The impending closure of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station motivated us to do what we had been talking about for a long time... take a family train ride into Malaysia! We booked a 5 hour ride into the small town of Gemas and had a great time with the kids who absolutely loved the whole experience.

Hotel Tropicana is a small, simple, and very clean hotel just 3 minutes walk from the train station. It's the perfect place to stay a night while you eat local food (oooh...the prata was so good!). There is even an air-conditioned KFC near the train station if you really need something kid friendly and safe. Ethan and Talia are great travellers and have fun doing and seeing new things. In the morning, Talia wanted to be in Ethan's bed so we tucked them in like the loving brother and sister they are.

The train ride back was neither too short nor too long. They watched TV, coloured books, looked at the window, and enjoyed eating snacks. "Mmmmm.... train food is yummy!" is something we kept hearing over and over again.

The train is a great place for kids and a bonding holiday cos you slow down and spend lots of time talking with each other. There were times when even Mummy and Daddy got time "alone" as Ethan and Talia happily played together on their own two seats. Other times it was Mummy-Daughter cuddle time... this was certainly how our nap time went.
All in all, it was such a great (and cheap) trip that Daddy thought perhaps he should even do it next week with Ethan just one more time before Tanjong Pagar closes...

Night Toilet Training

We are proud that Ethan is pretty much in control of his toileting in the day time (that Good Boy chart was pretty good!) and we have recently started trying to train him to go to the toilet at night. He is quite a heavy sleeper so we are not sure how this will go but so far we have been waking him at around midnight before we go to sleep and take him to the toilet then. He's usually quite sleepy but cooperative enough to stand and pee at the appropriate time. We have also been trying to reduce his bedtime milk drink to only upon request. In the morning we have been telling him to make sure he pees in the toilet and not in the diaper!

So far we have been pleasantly surprised with quite a few dry diapers and only a couple of 'spillovers'! Well done son!

Festive Recollections

We were so busy and tired out during Chinese New Year this year that we didnt get a chance to post these cute pics of Ethan & Talia doing the Tea Ceremony on the first morning of CNY. This was their first time at offering tea (cold Chrysanthemum tea) to their parents & elders and they did really well without spilling anything! Ethan, of course, was the Master of the tea pot while Talia looked attentively on....

They then took turns carefully offering us the tea....

......before finally being rewarded with their ang pows -- comprising of 2 golden chocolate coins for the joy of instant gratification!

They did great at Yeh Yeh & Ah Mah's place as well.....and seemed to enjoy the visiting of relatives as well! Here they are enjoying their first lollipop ever!

Singapore Art Museum (Part 2)

More interesting exibits at the Art Museum -- here they are appreciating the solar powered "flowers" on the wall.....

You may just be able to make out a happy Talia dashing around these "trees" and scribbling on them with the markers provided.....

Happiness is decorating a giant cake for Mummy!

This one must have been Talia's favourite!

Ethan, on the other hand, had a great time building train tracks and watching them run and eventually collide into each other around him.....

They even had a tiny stage where he proudly sang to the rest of the gallery at the top of his voice and did a little joy jig for his Mummy Dearest! They are now big fans of the Museum!

Singapore Art Museum

We went to the Singapore Art Museum with 2 kids and minus 2 wisdom teeth from Daddy's extraction yesterday.

In this special exhibit many things are interactive and you can play with the exhibits. Young children are free but we had to pay $10/adult.

Cooling off

It's been simmering these last few weeks so here we are at the water playground at Nex Mall. The kids are loving it and were thrilled on the train ride up too! Cheap n good fun!

The Apprentice

Daddy has a young apprentice who deeply respects his work and has a keen interest to learn and help out as much as possible. Here they are putting on the finishing touches on a modified bike seat. Like any good apprentice he takes the art of craftsmanship very seriously (look at the face!)

The Poser

Ethan has been striking different poses for photos, finding that he adds variety to the resulting ensemble. We went another "Night Cycling and Satay Outing" during whin Ethan insisted on eating biscuits after the Marina Bay light show cos that's what we did the last time!

Loving It

Guess who just loves her swimming!

A Loving Drive

Our two critters were in a good mood this morning with lots of love and affection for each other. Here they are sharing a single seated Barney car after church... Quite sweet!

Tender Heart

Did you know a little boy can get so sad thinking about missing his Daddy that he throws up? Indeed these sheets look clean now but a short while ago...

We were having a nice bedtime, finished reading, and lying in Daddy's bed waiting for Talia to fall asleep in the kids room. I had earlier told Ethan that Daddy was going to East Timor next week and that I would miss him very much. After a long silence Ethan mournfully said, "I will miss you Dad," and a distressed sadness came over his face. His eyes were glistening and the edges of his mouth drooped down. "Ethan, are you sad?" He nodded as tears dripped down his cheeks. I hugged him and he began weeping, then coughing, then all of a sudden I was covered in penne, cheddar cheese, beef, tomatoes and once roasted vegetables that didn't smell nearly as good as it had 2 hours earlier! What a tender heart...hope he'll be okay while I am away!

Taxi Driver

Our son seems to have a knack for knowing how to relax and look like he is really enjoying himself. Work intensely, play intensely, and relax intensely...he gets this from both mummy and daddy! He does look like a taxi driver napping in his car though...

Dear Talia

Dear Talia,

Today you woke up from your nap with a plaintive cry. "I want Daddy!" you cried. Mummy carried you to me and you calmed down instantly when you put your head on my shoulder and gave me big hug. You stayed there for a long time and I just closed my eyes and soaked in your presence. I wrote to you when you were first born than I would be here to watch over you and protect you my sweetie. I remembered this when I looked at this picture of you holding me. I am so glad that you wanted your Daddy and came ti me. I will be ready for a hug from you any time my dearest daughter. Love,

Daddy

Night Cycling with Ethan

We had a Father-Son outing today specially planned on Daddy's Brompton with the child seat Ethan barely fits in! We set off from home just before 7pm and made our way to Lau Pa Sat where we promptly consumed 7 and 13 sticks of satay. Ethan really loves satay and this famous location does not disappoint!

The last few sticks were gobbled quickly so we could continue cycling to the Marina Bay Sands light show at 8pm which was excellent and great fun. More cycling, eating cookies while watching the skyline and seeing the sights ended a great evening together, though Ethan did have to swallow the news that Daddy is going away next week to East Timor. It was all topped off by night-time cuddles and a sleepy 4 year old who curled up in Daddy's bed to conclude this special night together.