Fidgets!

while I was at work today, my older girls spent the day with Linda and her clan.

They spent the morning at Fidgets, supposedly Singapore's largest indoor soft play structure for children from 0-10 years, with dedicated baby and toddler play areas.

I am told they had a great time. Min made Auntie Linda climb the obstacle course with her and go down the long dark tunnel slides because she was too scared to do it by herself at first.

I was also told by Linda that Jon Jon offered Min his hand to go and play and Min took it, kissed it, and then they ran off together! awwww! how cute!

three cheers for Auntie Linda!

Skate Camp: Day 3

Today was Day 3 of Skate Camp!

We were again blessed with another hot day, which meant we could be at Bishan Park. But I felt so hot for my little En skating under the sun and wearing her helmet and doing all these practices!

But Day 3 finds her a much better skater! Here, she's actually playing catching on skates!

sure, she falls down.

but she picks herself up and goes again!

while En was skating, Min and I hung out at the playground, in the shade.

When she was done, we came back to the skate park to wait for En and she and Jon each enjoyed an ice cream in the shade.

My new skating graduate!

she's had a blast making new friends and acquiring new skills these last three days.

I'm almost ready to buy her her own set of blades and gear! In case anyone was wondering, En's classes were conducted by Skateline. It was $65 for 3 days, and each day's lesson was for 2 hours. If you choose to come per lesson, it's $25 each lesson. I understand they are conducting this same class Mon-Wed next week as well as the week after.

Oh yes, while I was still at the playground with Min, En & her beginners class were actually brought outside the skate park, and brought around Bishan Park to skate on the path! Linda managed to capture this video. I think she said that En was going down a slope! Check it out!

More of today's pictures here, some taken courtesy of Leonard, the teacher from Skateline!

Skate Camp/Bishan Park Day 3

Skate Camp: Day 2

So day 2 of Skate Camp was a lovely sunny day, so the class was held at the Bishan Park. I've never actually been to the Bishan Park before. Not quite my part of the woods. But as it turns out, Skateline has their own skating rink here.

It's a nice large space that is great for learning how to skate safely.

Min & Wen checking out their sister's skating moves!

En was quite happy to join the class today and she was skating around quite comfortably.

with her settled in, the younger kids and I headed to the nearby playground.

For these and more pictures, check out this album!

Skate Camp/Bishan Park Day 2

Skate Camp: Day 1 videos

As proof of how much En is learning from her skate camp, check out these two videos of her today!

Click below to see pictures of today!

Skate camp day 1

setting up another Christmas tree!

After day 1 of skate camp, I sent Wen home for her nap and then we headed to Linda's place so that En & Min could play with her kids. Jolene had a class at 1 so En & Min took their naps at Linda's place while we dropped her off and went for lunch. While lunching, I discovered that Linda had a huge phobia of putting up a Christmas tree, and when she asked if I would help her set hers up if she bought one, I immediately agreed of course! I love setting up Christmas trees!

We also bought a Christmas wreath for the main door. Isn't it lovely?

Linda gave Jolene strict instructions to watch me as I set up the tree cos it was going to be her job from next year on! But really, it was very easy, and I have no doubt Linda will be able to do it very easily next year!

All the kids, save Joel, were involved in the decoration of the tree.

Ta da!

Jolene putting the finishing touch on the tree - the Star!

this is a very nice elegant tree compared to the one we have at home! ha ha!

According to Linda, the first thing her husband said when he came home and saw the tree was that it was a fire hazard! He's the GRINCH! ha ha! sorry J!

Skate Camp: Day 1

Linda signed up her kids for a 3-day skating camp with Skateline, starting today and invited us to join her. Now that we have our own car (yes, we finally caved in and bought a car, more on that in another blog), it's much easier to get around so we decided to join her. The class was supposed to be held at the Bishan Park but due to the rain, it was held at the multi-storey carpark across the road from Bishan Park. En & Min were both excited about taking the skate classes on the way here, but the moment we arrived, Min flatly refused to participate (I was expecting this and hadn't signed her up for the class. I still remember our last attempt in June, so silly of me to think that she would be ready to skate!). En, surprisingly, started crying when I asked her to gear up and join the class. She began whining about not wanting to skate and it was very strange. Maybe it's cos we came late and she was intimidated by the crowds in front of her. Or it could be because she wasn't going to be in the same class as Jolene. Whatever the case it was not her usual behaviour.

Well, this kind instructor, Leonard, took her and brought her to join the advanced class cos he asked me if she had skated before and I said yes.

But as it turns out, this class was a little too advanced for her, so she was brought back to the beginner's class after a bit.

Meantime, Jon Jon was busy listening to the briefing and getting ready to blade. My younger two had settled down to listen also! Here's En, warmed up and much happier.

The younger two, and Joel soon were bored and they decided to play around the multi-storey carpark. The class was held on Level 4B, the second highest level, and the next level after was the roof level.

So the girls and Joel just ran up and down and up and down!

What a great workout for them!

Min & Wen sharing a hug! so sweet!

They also went to the roof level and started splashing in all the puddles they could find.

meantime, after some practice, En was able to join the older kids and start learning more skating techniques.

En announced that she liked this skate class more than her previous one because there was so much space! But I think that more importantly, she likes this class because there are so many kids in it!

En is a very social creature and she thrives better in a group than when it's just a small group of kids. I think she learns better this way.

She progressed more in today's 2 hour session than all her other classes combined!

After En took off all her gear at the end of today's session, Wen rushed to grab the pieces and attempt to put them on!

She'll be wanting to come to skate class soon, this one!

Setting up our Christmas tree!

while the girls were taking their nap this afternoon, the man and I headed to Giant to buy a Christmas tree and decorations to dress the tree with.

After we got home from small group this evening, and the girls had taken their bath, we began setting up the tree. The girls tried to be patient as we spread out the branches of the trees. But they just couldn't wait to put up the pretty stuff.

In case you're wondering where Wen was, she was already asleep. An operation like this is not suitable for a young one like her! Next year!

It was fun to set up the tree with my girls. Min loved the golden balls with glitter on them. She would hold the glitter ball, rub her palms around it, and then look at her glittery hands in glee!

We had given away our Christmas tree and decorations in the US but we kept a few, the personalised ones. Last year, my wonderfully creative and thoughtful friend, Christine, sent the girls these hand painted, personalised Christmas tree decorations, little balls with their names on it.

We also brought back the Christmas deco that Lynnette & Joolip had brought us the year Min was born, that was a snowman family with our names on it. I need to go find a shop that will make a new one for me, one with all my girls in it!

Looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas in Singapore!

Wen: Month No. 22

dearest Wen

You're 22 months today!

this month, your interest in pretend play has grown significantly. You have started to take interest in caring for a baby doll, doing things like wheeling it around in a stroller, pretending to feed it. I'm not so surprised about that, seeing as to how your sisters are always playing with the dolls, you were bound to learn from them. What I have been more surprised by is your interest in your sister's Hello Kitty doll house. You will actually take the 3 figurines of the bear, the Hello Kitty and the puppy and play with them, making them sleep on the toy bed, or pretend to walk up the stairs and swim in the pool. I'm quite astounded at your ability to play this way given how little you still are!

You are now able to stack duplo bricks up and play with them. This month, we've moved beyond the simple peg puzzles towards the jigsaw puzzle type of puzzles. I bought you a box of 6 puzzles ranging from 2-3 pieces each, and after your first few attempts with help from us, you are now able to fit the pieces together quite quickly with minimal help, if any at all. Because some times, we do try and help you and you will push our hands away or grab the piece from us and loudly proclaim, "I do!" You are also interested in fixing your sisters' 24 piece puzzles. You can't do it on your own, but if I pick out a piece and tell you where to fit it, you will sit there quietly to work on it with me. Neither of your sisters were interested in jigsaws till recently so this is again something I'm quite surprised by!

This month, your sisters were opening my drawers when they found their luggage bags, the type that has wheels and can be wheeled around. They promptly took out the bags and began to drag them all around the house as they played their games. You tried to take their bags whenever possible and this resulted in many fights and quarrels. So I had to go out one lunch time, and buy you a brand new luggage bag of your own! Of course, your jie jie Min, upon seeing it, decided that she was going to give you her bag and take your new bag. But you didn't really care one way or another. You were just happy to have a bag to drag around. When we went to Club Med last week, you were very pleased because I had packed you a bag too so you weren't left out.

The other day, grandma was walking you home from her place to ours, and when she stopped at the red light, you saw a cab passing by and stretched out your hand to flag the cab! Grandma was outraged that you could not only recognise a cab but be able to flag it down! When we take a cab, and we drive into our carpark, you are able to point to our lift lobby and tell the driver, "THERE!" That's what comes from not having our own car and taking cabs everywhere. You've become quite the expert on cabs! You do get to ride in ye ye and grandma's cars though, and your favorite spot, unfortunately, is the front seat next to the driver. If we place you at the back, you will, more often than not, wriggle your way out of the seat belt and attempt to climb to the front. I'm looking forward to us having our own car soon, so that I can strap you firmly into your car seat!

You are very clingy to me. I thought this was a phase that would quickly pass, but so far, I'm still your favorite parent/person most of the time, and you need to be in close contact with me all the time. When we were at Club Med, papa and I had the chance to spend a lot of time with you. You are such a cute little thing to be around. I don't think we've spent quite so much one on one time with you before! You loved swimming! The only thing was that you would cling to me for dear life! You love to stand at the side, hold my hand and jump in! You could do this over and over. You especially liked being in the deeper pool, probably because you had more space and it was easier to kick and swim around. In fact, with the yellow arm floats that Club Med lent us, you were able to swim on your own for a good distance. But still, you needed to be very close to me. From time to time, papa would "kidnap" you and drag you away to another part of the pool just so I could get a break from your claws on my skin, but that would result in some yelling and crying always! You could have just swum forever! When we got back to Singapore, we asked you to show ye ye and nai nai and grandma how you swim, and you immediately spread yourself out on the floor and began pushing yourself forward, with legs extended and moving too! Such a sight!

You aren't quite so interested in food any more. But the one thing we can easily get you to eat/drink is soup. During our vacation, you mostly drank the corn/mushroom soups that were served at the buffet, or you would have noodle soups. You are so independent and you are able to sit at your high chair, spoon in hand, and with your bib on, feed yourself mouthful after mouthful of soup. Auntie Linda was quite impressed by you. In Singapore, one of your favorite meals is the corn soup and bread from MOS burger. You are so tall that you are quickly catching up with your sisters. We used to be able to seat two of you on one stroller and push you around. But those days are now ended because you are much too heavy to sit on your sisters. When we do place you on either of them, especially jie jie Min, they will tell us that you are too heavy, or that you are crushing them.

it's interesting that you are such a sociable creature, but that you need a very familiar face around, even if not next to you, but in the same room, so you can feel comfortable and safe. You've been going to Hannah yee yee's school to play a lot this month. You completely charm the socks off the kids there, and you'll tell Hannah yee yee or grandma that "I want to play with gor gor!" In fact, this past week we were out at a mall, and some of Hannah yee yee's students were there, and when they walked past you, they recognised you and said, "Eh! It's Wen Wen! Where's Miss Yeo?" But if Hannah yee yee leaves you alone with the kids, you'll cry madly. It's the same as when you go to nursery in church and you're very comfortable there now, and can play very well with everyone. But if we leave, you'll be inconsolable! I guess this is what is called separation anxiety.

Blessed 22nd month my boisterous, talkative, ever so cheerful little girl (that everyone thinks is a boy, even when you are in pink!).

Love, Mummy!

Duck & Dive!

Today we took En & Min to watch Duck & Dive at the Drama Center located at the Central Library.

This was the writeup for the production.

An Ugly Duckling who REALLY does not fit in at home…A Frog who thinks he is
a Prince…Both need a family. Both need a best friend. Both want to be loved…But
both are very, very alone. Follow the adventures and misadventures of these two
cute, but confused creatures in their quest for acceptance and security, as we
cleverly intertwine two classic fairy tales: Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly
Duckling and The Grimm Brothers’ The Frog Prince. A beautiful, poignant,
hilarious and wonderfully silly tale of two creatures stumbling through
situations every teen or parent might find themselves in, with fun and laughter
that the little ones can join in safely and wholeheartedly.A marvellous musical
for the whole family to enjoy, in the best Broadway and West End tradition, with
colourful costumes, wonderful sets, toe-tapping tunes.

This was a 2-hour production by a local theatre group called I Theatre. I Theatre focuses on theatre for children, youth and family audiences. Linda had told me that this was one of the better groups in Singapore, and a couple of months back, I had tried to get tickets to one of their other productions but it was all sold out. So this time I made sure to get my tickets early.

At first, I was a bit worried if 2 hours would be too long for the girls. And it seemed like I was right because for much of the first hour, my kids were either scared or wanting to go home. During intermission, they were also telling me that they wanted to go home, though by that point they had become charmed by this diabolical bird, a heron I believe, who was actually an actor on stilts and with a large beak and who could do this diabolical laugh, the kind Min likes. And then we settled down for the second half of the show and at the end of the performance, Min refused to leave, and said, "I want to watch the show AGAIN!"

This was truly a fabulous production! Amazing props and sets, wonderful actors and actresses with great singing voices and songs! I was captivated by the entire performance, and I had a great time. This was, by far, the best local kids production we have attended!