More pics of D

His contented face after a feed :)

我有小肉肉

This is what Ai Ai's Chinese teacher would say

I am breastfeeding D !

Ai Ai's Mickey Mouse - can you see it?

Kisses from jie jie everyday

My babies at about 2 months old

My Baby!

She says "D is my baby" and wants to use my breastfeeding pillow to breastfeed him :)

The reason is scary!

Sometimes Ai Ai uses words that I suspect she doesn't understand, but she speaks with such conviction that you would think she knew what she was talking about.

Me: Sophie, Mommy is sad.
Ai Ai: Why is Mommy sad?
Me: Mommy is sad, because for some reason, David is rejecting Mommy's milk.
Ai Ai: The reason is scary!
Then turning to her daddy, she asked "Did you see the reason, Daddy?"

Ahem, I think Daddy did not see the reason, but Mommy found out and it was really scary!
It's because I took some spicy food and caused some discomfort in D as he was not used to the taste... so the reason is indeed scary, as this means I cannot take spicy food for the next few months, at least!

Getting a little too big for his tub :)

My 2 babes

Something to Share

A friend shared this with me online. I love it so much I've decided to post it up on my blog so I can share it with everyone else.

Please Mom and Dad...

My hands are small. I don't mean to spill my milk.
My legs are short. Please slow down so I can keep up.
Don't slap my hands when I touch something bright and pretty. I don't understand.
Please look at me when I talk to you. It lets me know you are really listening.
My feelings are tender - don't nag at me all day. Let me make mistakes without feeling stupid.
Don't expect the bed I make or the picture I draw to be perfect. Just love me for trying.
Remember, I am a child, not a small adult. Sometimes I don't understand what you're saying.
I love you so much. Please love me just for being myself, not just for the things I do.

- Author unknown

Ai Ai's First Haircut at the Hairdresser's

We decided to bring Ai Ai for a haircut as she refuses to dry her hair in the evenings after her bath.
She wasn't upset about it - in fcat, she was really excited about her first trip to the hairdresser.

Getting ready for the snip

The first snip

Her hair in a ziplock bag I brought along

Looking worried that the hairdresser will snip her ears off?

A very happy Ai Ai

Gourmet Confinement Food!

I can't begin to say how much I am enjoying my confinement... how am I going to cope when my confinement nanny leaves at the end of the month?

Here are some of her yummylicious cooking:

Mee Sua for breakfast

Homemade char siew

Fried drumlets

Fried fish with soy sauce

Turmeric Chicken

Steamed Codfish

Pork Ribs (pai kuat wong)

I love my 弟弟

Ai Ai is always saying "I want to carry D!"
Guess the pink skate scooter did its job well.

P/S. David's all clear!

Did I forget to say that David's heart is perfectly OK now?
The Cardiac Paediatrician could not hear any signs of murmur, and just to play safe, did a scan on him before we were discharged today... no signs of the prenatal VSD at all! :)
Thank God for this!

Updates on Pics

R's "Labour wounds"

Ai Ai sayang David

Presenting D to Ai Ai

Presenting our Mighty Smart Baby

Dear David,

You've been a really good and smart baby.

Earlier during the pregnancy, I've asked you to stay in Mommy's womb safely till full-term so you can put on some weight, since the doctors at NUH mentioned you are a wee bit small-sized, something which Dr. Lim didn't place too much emphasis on, as he believed it's just constitutional.

You've listened to Mommy well and been staying in there till past your EDD of 2 Oct.

And since Mommy decided to try for a natural VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section) with you, I've been asking you to come out during the weekend when Daddy is around, so mommy doesn't have to rush and put jie jie with some neighbour before rushing to the hospital.

You've listened well again and decided to come out today, on a Sunday morning.

As you were still not engaged even when I checked into the hospital, I asked you to start moving down Mommy's birth canal so that labour may be smooth and fast.

Again, you've listened well. After reading the papers and chatting with Daddy for about 3 hours, 2nd stage dilation was really quick for about an hour before you popped out at 1:26pm.

Maybe that's why Auntie Cindy calls you a "Mighty Smart Baby" :)

Enjoying her music class

This is Ai Ai playing the violin today with Ms. Chua's help :)

She's looking all serious!

May I get married?

This was what Ai Ai told me after we finished reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Ai Ai: May I get married?
Me: Who do you want to marry?
Ai Ai: Ansel kor kor.
Me: Where do you want to get married?
Ai Ai: Thomson Plaza.
Me: What would you hold in your hand? (pointing to the bouquet in Snow White's hand)
Ai Ai: Ice cream! Strawberry one.

If only life is this sweet and uncomplicated :)

Playing the violin

This is Ai Ai on her last day of music class this term.
She's been asking to play the violin, and her wish was granted today.
Teachers Ms Chua and Ms Low brought a baby violin to class and let the kids try it one at a time.
They also sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars to the teachers playing the piano and violin.

We're looking forward the new term next week! :)

She's got a mind of her own

I pee-peed in my potty. Daddy don't bother me!

This was what she said after she has peed in her potty by herself.
Cos R was always bugging her to pee in her potty - almost every half hour to one hour, but I believe she can hold her pee for up to 3 hours now.

R says she sounds just like Uncle Ian who wouldn't let Mum check his homework in Primary School :P

This was what Ai Ai said to me today

When Mommy was small, I used to push Mommy in a trolley (referring to her shopping cart)
But now I cannot do it because Mommy is a fat fat cat (jabbing her little finger into my belly)
:(

A Day with Grandma

Been feeling really tired now that I am in my 38th week...
Mum has kindly offered to come and help out during the day which really helped a lot.

R came back early today so we had dinner and then sent Mum home.
This is Ai Ai at Grandma's home:

Doodling on the floor

Her drawings:
she calls them "Mr Potato" when Uncle Ian asked her what she drew

I am very proud of her drawings :)

Ai Ai strumming Mum's guitar

Ai Ai giving a rocker babe look

We had our blood pressure taken by Mum and Ai Ai wanted a go at it too

She's looking all serious here, wondering if her bp is OK?

An "okay" from Grandma the nurse, whew!

Confirmed placement to Chiltern House

This is one of the best birthday presents I had - CH just called today to tell me that her placement at the Turf Club branch is confirmed! :)
The only worry I have is that it's the PM session and Ai Ai may not be able to adjust well without her nap... well, let's keep our fingers crossed!

Awfully Choc!

We had a simple cake-cutting session at my mum's place on my birthday itself - just for the kids really.
See how excited they are about blowing the candles? :)

It's great to be part of a HUGE family... we celebrate someone's birthday almost every month!

Birthday Celebration

We had my birthday celebration with Mum, Dad, Ian and Jamie at my favourite Korean restaurant, Hangsang at Square2.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a very nice experience thanks to the manager.
I asked for Ai Ai's favourite seaweed soup instead of a bean paste stew for one of the sets we ordered, and he told me he cannot substitute that, but then 1 minute later, a waitress brought the soup out to us. Plus they gave us our bean paste stew too!
If the lady boss was there, she would gladly have given us that bowl of soup for free... afterall, how much can a bowl of soup cost?

We asked for our BBQ beef to be pre-BBQed in the kitchen as we didn't want to bother with the hassle of sitting at the BBQ tables which were pretty cramped.
And guess what? Our BBQ beef came out first, without the side dishes, rice, dip, lettuce and condiments.
We had to ask them to give us the rest of the food so the beef will not go cold.

Quite a disappointment considering we are regular customers of Hangsang :(
Each time I visit the restaurant now, I wish this new manager would not serve us - he's either coughing away or busy clearing our food and cutlery when we have not finished... makes our dining experience really lousy!

R looking all serious - is he saying his grace before eating? :P

Ai Ai looking at her favourite food - fishballs!

Ai Ai all excited about cutting my cake :)

Ai Ai happily tucking into her cake

Mischievous Ai Ai forcing R to eat a very sour cherry!

Thanks, Ian, for taking these great pictures!

Mooncake Playsession at Auntie C's

We had a whale of a time at Auntie C's home with our Mooncake Playsession.
We supposedly had a "curriculum" which includes telling the story/legend of the mooncake festival, followed by a re-enactment of Hou Yi shooting the 10 suns then we make our mooncakes.
But the kids were simply too busy to sit down and listen to anything.
Ai Ai was too enchanted with the MANY toys at Auntie C's home :)

Tiara, wand and the whole works borrowed from Sara :)

Dancing to the beat of ABBA's Dancing Queen which Uncle R played

Only Ansel and Sara were interested in making the mooncakes with the adults
Our lovely creations :)



Auntie C's very pretty almond longan agar agar

Thanks, Auntie C, for hosting us!

No more Singapore Montessori!

I just called the principal of Singapore Montessori as today is the last day to confirm Ai Ai's placement for Sep'09.
I explained to her that we would be moving to Bkt PJ area and asked for her advice if it would be wise to send Ai Ai to her school just for a term till Dec when we move.
As expected, she advised against it as it would be very traumatic for Ai Ai to adjust to a new school from Sep-Dec'09, and then another new school in Bkt PJ in Jan'10.

The principal was really nice and explained that since Ai Ai is such a sensitive child (told her about Ai Ai not liking Innate even before going in), we should keep her at home for this term in case she gets too attached to Singapore Montessori.
I wasn't just paying the principal lip service, but Ai Ai really liked Singapore Montessori because she told me on the day of visit in Aug, that she liked the school and she would not cry, and on that day of the visit, none of the teachers nor principal even interacted with her!
Till today, she sometimes even tells me she wants to go to the "big girl school" and wear the green dress uniform *sigh*

I told the principal that Ai Ai wasn't too impressed with Innate and Gracefields which we visited, and she gave some tips on how we can help Ai Ai like the school, in the event that we find one that is reasonably alright in terms of our criteria.
She said we could get the teacher to give Ai Ai a pencil or some gift on the first day so Ai Ai will like the teacher and school.
Bribery? Well, anything if it works for Ai Ai :)

Bloom!

We did our Bloom shots with The Studio Loft last Saturday, and here are some of the pics :)
The photographer, Maryann, was simply great and very patient with Ai Ai, so we really enjoyed the session.

Ai Ai wasn't prompted to raise her blouse for this picture above, but she did it herself when she saw that I was asked to do it, saying "I have baby in my tummy too"

More Preschools - and they look promising!

R visited a few more preschools on his own today, out of which 2 were quite promising :)

1. TELC at SIM
- good curriculum but no schoolbus, so it's out
- difficult for R to fetch Ai Ai to school in the mornings cos of different timings and traffic in that area could be heavy

2. Caterpillar Cove at Ngee Ann Poly
- similar to TELC, no schoolbus so it's out as well

3. MMI Railmall
- aircon settings
- I like the fact that they do not try to squeeze every subject into everyday - they have English on Mon and Wed, Maths on Tue and Thur, and Cultural/Botanical on Fri
- So everyday's structure is:
English or Maths or Cultural/Botanical depending on day
Montessori Activity
Snacks
Chinese (daily)
Practical Life
- Each of the above activities would be 30-45mins
- N1 is AM session: 930am - 1230pm
- Fees: $450/mth (no subsidy as it's operated as enrichment, not childcare)
- Schoolbus $120/mth both ways
- Centre manager is really friendly and encourages us to go for 2 trial lessons at $36/each so we can assess environment and teachers before committing ourselves. Very open and says parents should know what's going on in the class.

4. MMI Phoenix Walk (at CCK)
- operated by same franchise owner as the Railmall one
- 2-storey non-aircon bungalow
- similar structure as MMI Railmall
- N1 session 9am - 1130am
- Lunch provided at 1130am before kid takes schoolbus to go home
- Breakfast will be provided at 830am if kid goes early
- Cost: $675 - $150 = $522/mth after subsidy
- Only advantage is it's got a playground, but it's really just a slide on a concrete ground

Things are starting to look up.... :)

Preschool Decision Again!

Because of our move to Bkt PJ area in Dec, I'll have to hunt for a preschool for Ai Ai again.
Much as we love Singapore Montessori, we'd have to move to Bkt PJ area so I can get some family support with baby #2.

We visited these schools today:

1. Gracefields Kindie at Teck Whye:
- nice surroundings which R likes
- principal just left last term, so now new principal is actually a K2 teacher who is continuing to teach the K2 class (R didn't think she was very kids friendly :P)
- snacks look good e.g. kway teow/macaroni/bread rather than biscuits all the time
- there's schoolbus so it's a plus point
- I looked at their timetable: everything is 15-20mins only e.g. assembly for 15mins in morning followed by 20mins of English, 20mins of Chinese, 20mins of Music etc etc. Would 20mins of everything be a little short? By the time the kids pack up for art, it's 10mins wasted and then they won't spend that much time on the next subject. This I am afraid is not very good for developing focus and concentration?
- Fees: $750/term which is cheaper than Gilstead branch at $990/term (but Gilstead had great reviews plus Mandarin Immersion Program from N2 onwards)
- Sessions: 3hr lessons (AM or PM)

2. Innate Montessori:
- we just popped by today during lesson time even though principal asked me to go at 430pm, cos I wanted to see what lesson time is like
- Nice surroundings with well-behaved children; they even have a pool at the back which is gated; Montessori materials are all very new and well-kept. Lots of international kids there (Caucasians, Koreans, locals)
- Got funny feeling about principal though; she is also the teacher for K1 and K2 levels. She has a condescending tone when she speaks. She is also strict which I don't mind, but not the condescending (how-come-you-don't-know? she will roll her eyes) kind of attitude which I am not comfy with. A little local girl asked her how to spell "playing" and she told the girl "You know how to spell "pla" yeah? So pla and ay and ing, now what do you get?" The girl obviously looked intimidated by the principal cum teacher and just nodded her head and walked away, but I suspected the girl still doesn't know. She didn't just use the tone on this girl, but to a few others too. Can be detrimental to kid's self-esteem I think, even though the pure Montessori curriculum is strong.
- Fees for 4 hr program (AM or PM): $500/mth less $150subsidy = $350/mth (swimming included)
- Additional $65/mth for English and Chinese Speech and Drama lessons every Fri
- Overall, I don't like the feeling... very tensed. In fact, Ai Ai was shaking her head even before we went into the school... and she kept saying "Sophie don't like..."
Now do you believe kids have sixth sense?

Our hunt for a preschool in Bkt PJ area continues....

Last Day at BrightStart

Today is her last day of school at BrightStart, and it's also Teacher's Day celebration.
Since the teachers had so much praise for the Cranberry Shortcake during the National Day Celebration, we decided to bake them again.

R spent Sunday afternoon painting these lovely pictures with Ai Ai and I made them into these little pretty paper bags to keep the shortcakes. I must say they look really pretty, and the teachers were really pleased with these "designer bags" :)

It's sad that I have to pull Ai Ai out of BrightStart as she is really attached to Teacher May, but I guess we have no choice.
There's also some changes in our lives after last week - we'll be moving out of our estate in Dec.
Instead of starting her at Singapore Montessori in Sep just for 3 mths, I asked the management of BrightStart if they could accomodate Ai Ai in their Tods class till Dec.
When they found out the reason and it is obvious that they only have 3 mths of revenue from me, they didn't waste their time in telling me "No" in my face.
Teachers at BrightStart are really good and patient, but what can I say about this new management except that they do not give a toot about the kids' education?

R named the one on the left "Fishes in the Sea" and

the one on the right "10 Suns at Bxxxxx Lxxx" (our estate name)

Ai Ai insisting on carrying her gifts by herself