Photo taken with my iPhone
We tucked into bed early just to travel into the past with our book, taking a trip down history lane to go to ancient civilizations and the forgotten past.
Is there a favorite book that your little one and u love? One that both of you read as a faithful guide and inspiration to new lands and magical places? Do share with me.
Caught this tender moment between father and son one evening…
A good father is one who does not feel afraid to show his tender side to his son. Sons, not just daughters, often need that physical show of love and tenderness from their fathers, to give them the assurance that they are loved and treasured by their dads. How can a boy learn about strength and tenderness? I think the best way to learn is from his father.
I realised this when converting my photos this morning; that I have not been taking photos of Kyle consistently for the last couple of months. It used to be that there will be new pictures at least every few days, and I realised that I have been a rather slack when it comes to taking photos for the last 6 months.
One of the best thing about this blog when I look back at my old posts have to be the past photos that I have taken of Kyle and the family. So this really reminds me that moving forward, I really need to be consistent in taking more photos, at least on a weekly basis. As Kyle is really growing up too fast before my eyes, and soon (sob sob) he will be out of his preschool years 
We got to enjoy a couple of our favorite things this afternoon; sushi and sashimi for lunch! Kyle simply loves Tamago sushi and Chawanmushi, while I am a fan of Unagi Sushi and Sashimi. I would usually go for the cheaper option of Chirashi sushi don, which is bits of sashimi on top of a bed of sushi rice. Well, Japanese food is one of Kyle's and my favorite cuisine, not for hb though. But he is always a sweet and accomodating dad and hb to often go with what we feel like eating. I think these days, eating out is really expensive in Singapore. We had our lunch at Akashi at Orchard Hotel, and it cost us almost $90.00 for a 4 Tamago, 2 unagi sushi, a tini box of Chirashi Don and a Tonkatsu Pork cutlet set for hb! Overall, the Akashi experience is slighly overpriced for the so-so quality of Japanese cuisine that is equivalent to some of the other Japanese sushi chains. Have to eat out less often and improve on my cooking skills!
We went on to another of our favorite things to do as a family; foot massage!
Kyle is this foot massage junkie that loves getting a foot rub. Every night before he goes to bed, he will ask me for a couple of seconds of foot and back massage!
For an active child like Kyle, it is quite a feat for him to be able to stay still for 30 minutes while the therapist gives him a foot massage. For the next 1 hour, while waiting for hb and I to finish our massages, Kyle was quietly playing with his matchbox cars on the chair.
It was only after when I walked to the reception area that the receptionist told me that a certain caucasian lady who was seated on the left side of hb's chair complained about the noise that Kyle made. Kyle in fact was really quiet and compliant while waiting for us to finish our massage, he crashed his matchbox chairs together for less than 5 minutes, then when I told him to stop, he quietly played with his cars on his chair for the next half an hour.
Our post foot massage experience was shortlived when we heard about this other customer and her complaint. She was so irate to the point that she took the email addresses of the prioperter of this foot massage chain of shops to complain about her less than satisfactory experience here. Just too bad I did not get to hear about it from her and meet her, I would definitely not stay silent on this.
First of all, this massage premises have an open concept where chairs are laid side by side with only a wooden divider that can be used in between the chairs, so it is inevitable to hear noises from other patrons. In fact, each time when we visit their premises, we will always hear a patron who will be fast asleep in his/her chair, snoring really loudly and consistently throughout the next 30-60 minutes! Morever, there is no rule that children are no allowed in their premises, especially since Kyle was a patron in this instance. Also if she wanted exclusivity, she should have paid for a 'personalised and behind close doors' foot massage service and not a foot massage that cost $29 per half an hour, with patrons seated next to one another.
It is people like that, who give expatriates a bad name. The expectations that they have for that little amount of money that they spend are not reasonable. And besides, this really demonstrates a low tolerance of assimilating in another's culture. We learn to be tolerant and gracious of one another and noise in an open concept like this. If she demands total silence and peace, she should jolly well pay for that! I have to say this, what a cheap ang moh she is!
Arrgghh…this is just one of those days that a seemingly relaxed and quiet weekend afternoon is spoilt. Just had to rant a little in this space…
K loves this book that we recently borrowed from the library;
And he has been singing the catchy tune of the song 'Dem Bones', which is actually a song about the valley of dry bones from Ezekiel 37 :
"The toe bone connected to the heel bone,
The heel bone connected to the foot bone,
The foot bone connected to the leg bone,
The leg bone connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone connected to the back bone,
The back bone connected to the neck bone,
The neck bone connected to the head bone,
Oh, hear the word of the Lord!"
We did a family activity this morning relevant to this book. I traced an outline of dh's body, dh then traced my body outline and then followed by K's.
Dh went on to sketch the detailed skeletal structure of the bones inside the body drawing, while K got busy adding in all the other details.
K knows where is the neck and back vertebrae and the Fibula (the smaller lower leg bone) Tibia (larger lower leg bone) and loves to re-enact the drama of how the skeleton in the book kicks another skeleton's Tibia (or in the shin).
I absolutely love books that we can all learn and play from!
A week of being stuck at home has left me with plenty of cravings, so I made dh and the little one come along with me in search of Vietnamnese Pho.
K wasn't in his best of moods today so I could hardly get a grin from him for the photos.
Since we rarely spend time around this part of Singapore, I brought my cam along to snap some pictures of Chinatown.
There are so many sights and colours that is hard to capture with a moody little boy and a hungry dh in tow. So my next visit with the cam to Chinatown has to be sans the little boy and the man.
When we finally got our Pho, it turned out to be a great disappointment. So unsatifying until I did not bother to capture any shots of it. So I have learnt that one should never go to Chinatown and try any other cuisine other than Chinese food.
And the boy was in his best, "I don't want to eat anything" mood. I suppose the Pho was really no good according to his gourmet tastebuds.
So my search for good Pho continues…
I figured that it was about time to make our ‘Friends of the zoo’ membership worthwhile, before it expires in 2 months. As dh had some time-off this morning, we took this opportunity to make a morning visit to the zoo.
Being a mom who is a stickler for routines, I always ensure that our visits last the most 3-4 hours and then head home for K to get his long afternoon nap, after having lunch at the zoo. With that limited time each visit, the objectives to be achieved become extremely targeted. K will be posed this question, “What animal you want to see today?” And then we will just plan complusory stops along our route.
Each time when we are at the zoo, dh will make sure that I take that mandatory photograph of K and him with the otters, and then reminisce about the very first photograph that I took of them both in that same location. It’s hard to believe that it has been barely 1 year 7 months ago, and our precious little bundle has grown to be this sociable toddler.
A trip to the zoo will not be complete without a visit to waterplay area. Especially since K is such a huge fan of water play, I thought I should not deprive him of enjoying some splashing good fun just because I am not too willing to get myself wet. Thus, dh was assigned the task of accompanying K in and around the area.
K had a short 40 minutes experience in waterplay, before a downpour came and we settled for a greasy fried chicken lunch. One of my gripes about the Singapore Zoo has to be the quality of food that is available. Apparently a visit to the zoo usually means we have to end up with a not too appetising lunch. My junk food addict (hb) obviously did not mind one bit, although he did complain afterwards about how this brand of fried chicken has a tendency to make him quite sick after the food settles in the stomach.
Nevermind the food, it was the company that mattered. I am sure K enjoyed the family time together, although he got slightly feverish in the evening. Somehow, his antibodies has this tendency to work overtime after a session of waterplay. Time to load up on some vitamin C.
It has been raining every single day since November 11 (Yes, I have made that mental note each time it rains). Whenever it rains, it just reminds me how near we are to Christmas and that this is my 2nd Christmas as a SAHM. No plans to change this status as I am enjoying it too much to ever want to go back to work.
I am so glad that I have the advantage of beating the crowds on the weekends and be able to do all of my Christmas shopping on a weekday. I have just ended the frentic race to buy Christmas presents. Really early this year, as I so do not enjoy the experience of hanging out at malls and jostling with the crowds doing last minute shopping.
So nice to be able to relax with dh and k at a mall on a friday morning. Taking our time to enjoy a slow lunch and dessert, without having to queue up for food or wait for seats. Dh and I absolutely abhor crowds, so you will hardly see us at a mall in town on a weekend, unless one of us needs to get something urgently. We will rather be in our shorts+t-shirt+flip flops dropping by at our neighbourhood mall for lunch or dinner.
After reading a feature on this new fast food restaurant, which has been voted as the best in New York, dh was curious enough to want to make a trip down to ION Orchard to try it out. Dh’s review? Not bad, quite crispy and appetising, most apt for the american taste buds as the soy sauce chicken tasted a tad too sweet. Very much like sweet and sour pork dish that is served in most chinese restaurants in an European country, that is always a little too sweet on our taste buds.
Holding on the tag @ 4 fingers, which will light up when the food is ready for collection
For K, any meal in town will not be complete without dessert. So he patiently waited…
And waited…
Finally it was here, all 3 flavours. Coconut for dh, who is extremely consistent when it comes to his preferred gelato flavour. Apple flavour for me as I am the fickered-minded gelato consumer who usually goes with whatever I feel like for that day. And for K, another consistent epicurean when it comes to ice cream, it will be vanilla flavour for him. Except that the ‘vanilla-like’ flavour in this gelatarie was too milky so I chose another flavour that I was certain that he would like. When he tasted the hazelnut flavoured gelato, he exclaimed, “Like kinderjoy!” (his favorite egg-shaped chocolate that comes with a toy).
He is so thrilled that daddy is able to spend the afternoon with him and the highlight of the day was surely the gelato, as he does not get to eat ice cream when he goes out with me.
Rare photos of me with K. Such is the life of the self-appointed family photographer, who is always behind the lens. But I am not complaining, for I get to be the one who selects the ones that get on my blog. So there will hardly be one that is uploaded with me displaying a bad hair/smile day 
Anyhow, I am in the mood for Christmas…planning to get the decor up at home, so as to get everyone else in the same mood, wrap up all the presents and looking forward to bake up a storm soon in my kitchen.
A dinner get-together for an ‘early’ birthday celebration for the November birthday boys; dh and Uncle Nick.
Dinner at Aston’s Prime, almost everyone had steak, while I had to settle for a grilled Halibut because of my bad throat; I was stuck with having the soft, greasy fish that was totally not appetising
The kid’s meal that K requested for; chicken tenders, was far from being tender. Little effort was made on Aston’s to ensure that the kids meal looked or tasted good. This will most likely be my first and last time at Astons. The saving grace was definitely the company and endless entertainment from dear K.
We proceeded to Orchard Central after dinner in search of dessert and K got a pretty good view of the Christmas lights from the long escalator located on the side facade of the mall.
K was thrilled (as always) when he got hold of Yiyi’s iphone, surely he is a technophile in the making.
Photo-ops with Nana, Uncle Nick and Uncle Ed.
He sure enjoyed himself while savouring the ice cream and showed off his dramatic displays of appreciation for it.
Dh and K had a great time together.
Day 1 – K got his first pet; guppies
It took a bit of convincing from dh that he did not need to open the tank or put hands in the tank to get up close and personal with the fish, and the fish did not really fancy being ‘scooped’ up by the net all the time.
Day 2 – Zoo and ‘Macdolder’ (Macdonald’s) with dad and grandma
Day 3 – K and dh were on their way to the car when they spotted a cat stucked in a tree. K was absolutely thrilled by the sight of it and told the cat, “Cat come down.”
Dh single handedly went swimming with K (without the helper), taught him how to hold his breath, while dunking his head at the water spurt. K then went on to dunk his head at every water spurt at the pool.
When father and son went for lunch together after their swim. K ordered his own food for the first time and assertively told the waiter he wanted to have spaghetti.
Day 4 – K scouted around for a pair of kid’s sunglasses with dh and grandma. While waiting for his turn to play the toy at ELC, he got quite upset when another child hogged the toy and refused to share with him. He then tripped and hit his head on the shelf.
I still cannot figure out how the accident happened, thank goodness it was not a serious injury. Anyhow, K ended up with 3 new aeroplanes from ELC which helped to alleviate the ‘trauma’ he experienced.
Overall, I think dh did a good job and I noticed that K is closer to him, after spending so much time together these few days. When I asked dh how it was taking care of K these couple of days, dh made is sound like it was such a breeze.
I suppose it is just the ego talking.
This coming week will be the first time (in 9 months since I left my full time job), that I will be away from K for a few days. Dh will be taking leave from work to spend time with K. I am glad to know that father and son will be spending some ‘male bonding’ time together, yet, at the same time can’t help but feel a little worried about not being around for K.
To satisfy my ‘anal tendencies’ (according to dh), he has asked me to draft out a schedule for him to follow. I have told him that setting up schedules with a toddler is fundamentally useless, especially when it comes to playtime. But I have anyway, wrote out a long list of activities that dh can keep k busy with, including routines that he can refer to.
Daily routines have to be established, but activities are usually child-initiated. If I want K to do a certain activity, his attention span will last the most 10-15 minutes, unless it is something that he is interested in exploring for the day.
I suppose dh will just do what he is best at…bring K out and tire him out with outdoor activities. It seems that a visit to the zoo, swimming and taking the LRT/MRT, are just some of the morning activities dh have planned for K.
Anyhow, while I was typing the activities out in a list, I realised that K spends quite a bit of time in front of the TV:
12.00 p.m. – 1.15 p.m. – Lunchtime TV/DVD time
4.45 p.m – 6.45 p.m. – Evening google box time with Playhouse disney
7.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m. – Dinnertime TV (usually watching whatever I watch)
That’s a total of 4 hours and 15 mins or more, in front of the television everyday! So I have highlighted to dad that he needs to cut down on his TV time when he is with K, as he has a tendency to be a couch potato (which is his form of relaxation) at home. There have been times when I get dh to babysit K for a few hours in the morning/evening, I always return to dh with his eyes glued to the TV and K is sitting right next to him/tumbling on the bed/turning the room upside down, while dad has his eyes still glued to the box.
I really hope k does not become a coach potato when I am back on Friday…