Never been so "Chiong" before- Hubby, Yee Sinn, Grandma Lee and I went shopping at downtown Orchard Road yesterday afternoon from 1pm all the way to 9pm! The moment Yee Sinn finished her lunch, we washed her up, packed some extra diapers, 1 feed of milk and her dinner and off we went! We don't want to miss the post Christmas sales for anything.

We started off at Centrepoint Robinson. Hubby picked up some Ashworth trousers, Grandma Lee a pair of shoes while I didn't managed to get any stuffs. We popped by at the children's department where Yee Sinn's grand aunt works. We spent quite some time there as she was made to try dunno how many sets of clothes and shoes. Apparently, my aunty was very anxious to make sure she has her perfect set of clothes and matching shoes for Yee Sinn's first Chinese New Year cum birthday. Am not too sure if she'll grow up being a vainpot next time... I hope not.

Soon after, we headed down to Takashimaya followed by Paragon. We popped by at Muji to check out some stuffs but didn't managed to buy as it was out of stock. I was pretty much tired and turned slightly grouchy by then. Soon after, we managed to squeezed through the crowd and headed home via train. Thank goodness we didn't drive cos I wouldn't want to walk back in the same direction in the mad crowd.

Not satisfied that we didn't complete our shopping trip, we went down again this afternoon, but this time to Tangs and Isetan and all within 3 hours. And nope, we didn't pick up anything this time round except 2 BPA free milk bottles bought with near expiring vouchers.

Let's hope the Post New Year Sale isn't too tempting. Hee hee.

Yee Sinn turned 11 month last Friday. We're all counting down to celebrating her first birthday - on the first day of Chinese New Year. I'm still thinking of what kind of cake we should get for her special day. (all ideas are welcome!)

At 11 month, my little girl is progressing very fast. Socially, she is able to differentiate different expressions on others' faces. She can sense when we are angry, frustrated, happy etc. She now understands words like -No, Cannot, Sit down, Stand up, Come, "Lai" (chinese for come), Mumm Mumm, Nan Nan, Erng Erng (poop), Kai Kai (Go out). She can also play simple games with us like guessing where are the hidden toys or catching. Yes, catching. She'll walk in circles around the coffee table as you try to catch her, often giggling and running in opposite directions.

She also loves going out - be it to the playground, MRT station to pick up the free papers, or to the nearby NTUC for groceries. She'll todder towards the door or to her stroller the moment she sees any of us opening the door or the stroller preparing to go out. She'll get seperation anxiety when if she sees either me or Grandma Lee leaving her behind. Strangely that doesn't happen when her papa goes out of her sight.

She also likes books. She loves to flip the pages of colourful books mostly borrowed from the library. When either hubby or I picked up a book and start to read it aloud, she'll drop what ever she's doing and plonk herself next to us. We had a few surprises these few mornings. She woke up, crawled to the bedside table, picked up one of her books and started to flip them quitely. Both hubby and I pretended to sleep while peeking from the corners of our eyes. She'll have her quiet time for about 10 mins before crawling to our bedside and start "beating" us to wake us up. That's when she'll say "erng erng" and we'll quickly take the potty and let her poop. Amazing isn't it?

Physcially, she can now todder a longer distance without support. She loves to walk- just like her papa. Her papa can't wait to be able to take her for his long walks on Sunday mornings. She can now easily wave "bye bye", clap hands, kiss papa and mama on their cheeks and can you believe it - blow the toy whistles! We are now going to teach her how to blow bubbles when we take her to the playground. Just need to check out whether our existing bubble solution is still good. We have also been teaching her how to clasp her hands together and do a "Gong Xi Gong Xi" - A very important gesture for the coming Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, she doesn't seems interested at all... all she wants to do is to clap her hands.

My little girl is no longer a smally baby like she used to be. In a fleeting moment, she'll soon be all grown up. But meanwhile, hubby and I will cherish every waking moments we have with her.

Nothing special happened yesterday- no chirstmas trees, no presents and no parties. We're non-christians anyway. However, we marked the end of Yee Sinn's infant-hood by clearing and packing away all her baby stuffs - the play pan (we decided to keep it cos she simply hates being in it.), baby stuff toys, clothes that are too small for her etc.

We also marked the beginning of our annual spring cleaning installment. From now till Chinese New Year, we (or rather Grandma Lee and I. Hubby couldn't care less though) will be packing and clearing the house of junks. I managed to pack the extra room yesterday. So now at one corner are stuffs that we'll be bringing to Salvation Army. Feels excellent to have space around. Yee Sinn has been walking around and exploring the house more often so this space clearing is quite timely.

As the weather was pretty clear, we decided that Yee Sinn should have some outdoor time. We drove all the way down to Marina Barrage to check out the place in the evening. Yee Sinn was so delighted with being able to todder around with our help, though at 10 month plus she can walk quite a distant without falling on her butts. She giggled and squealed with delight as she tried to "run" away from us. There were other kids running about, some flying kites while others just snacking away on picnic mats at the rooftop. We were tickled when she looked up and pointed to one of the bigger kites and said "Burd burd!!" She was also very fascinated with the water fountains and the colourful lighting displays about the barrage.

All the walking and excitement in the evening knocked her out to La-la land the moment her head touched the mattress. We too, were pretty much exhausted at the end of the day.

I just love spending time with my family... guess that is what the spirit of christmas means to us- being with your love ones and cherishing the moments together.

We had a potluck christmas party this morning. Everyone contributed something to the festive mood. The party invitation was opened to all our other love ones so many mothers brought their kids to work. I didn't bring Yee Sinn as I was one of the main organiser.

We got the kids to sit down in one of the meeting rooms where they coloured their favourite cartoon characters. Once done, we adults helped them to stick their pictures into a home made paper bag. They then threaded the bag and put all their candies in. The kids are so simple-minded - they are so happily contented with a simple brown bag with some cheapo sweets.

Oh, must thank a friend for giving me ideas on the party games. We played pass the parcel just before the party ended. We all formed a circle (yes, with kids and all) with each of us holding onto a christmas present. When the music started, we started to pass the pressie around simultanously. Once the music stopped, we get to take home the present that we were holding. Simple fun. The picture above shows the pressies that my colleague and I received.

It was pure good fun but thank goodness christmas is only once a year. Can't imagine being a nanny to 10 over kids at one time.


Took the family out to Chinatown in the evening. We figured out that the whole world will be partying at Orchard Road so Chinatown would be a relatively safe place to hang out. As it has been raining, I decided to dress Yee Sinn up in long pants, jazzy-toes socks and threw a jacket (My friend Jo gave it to her during her 1st month.. now it fits just nicely) over her. Grandma Lee's first reaction was "Wah! Yee Sinn looks so havoc!"

Merry Christmas to all.

I was on leave yesterday so hubby and I decided to check out Horse City. We were curious about Omshiva Yoga that a friend told us about. Nice place and the price was quite reasonable. Lessons cost about $180 for 10 sessions that can be taken over a period of 1 year. We were a bit disappointed though as they didn't have couple yoga lessons that we were looking for.

After the pitstop at Horse City, we went to Turf City for lunch. We also checked out a children's playgym called Fidgets. Yee Sinn kind of enjoyed herself in the play area meant for 2 years and below. There were 3 areas meant for younger kids like her but she only stuck to one. This was because there were quite a few rowdy kids who were quite rough with their play. In the end, we didn't pay for Yee Sinn's entrance fees. I guess it'll be more suitable when she gets older and starts to walk properly.

Have been trying to upload this video since Saturday morning. Only managed to do so today... wondering if it's the connection at home. Anyway, Yee Sinn has reach another milestone - she is now trying to walk unaided. Though we are not in the hurry for her to start walking, we do encourage her to walk to us as it is part of confidence building. So today, being a little bored, I whipped out my camera and managed to capture one of her few baby steps. Cheers to the beginning of her toddler-hood.

We took the family out to Swenson's for lunch. Hubby received an ice-cream voucher for 2 sundaes sometime back and it was near expiry. We brought Yee Sinn along after we fed her at home. Yee Sinn sure enjoyed herself cos she got a free balloon from the waitress. She also got to sample Grandma Lee's chicken bake rice.

Later in the evening, we brought her down to the playground. She kind of anticipated it when we got ourselves ready and opened the gate as it has more or less became a daily routine. As parents, we do enjoy bringing her down to play. After all, it's free gymboree for her as she mingles with other children and learn some social skills. We also picked up some child rearing tips along the way as we mix around with other grandmothers, mothers and maids too. Hahahhah.

I must agree with other mothers who told me that daughters are very endearing. This morning before I left for work, Yee Sinn sat at a corner quietly watching me changed, packed and getting ready for work. Just as I was about to walk out of the bedroom, she crawled towards me and opened her arms gesturing she wanted to be carried. The moment I picked her up, she plonked her head on my shoulder and hugged me really tightly. Aw..... my heart just melted. Days like these just make me don't feel like reporting to work. Sigh.

On a lighter note about work, the department is planning for a potluck Christmas party next week. We have drawn up a list of staff and their contribution. I'm still thinking of what to bring. Most probably will be something savoury. Maybe I will look through some cookbooks at home and see if I can fix up something simple next week. Heh heh.

Last week, my friend Sofia read my blog and said that this blog belongs to Yee Sinn and not mine. What do you expect? Yee Sinn is now the centre (or almost) of my life at the moment. Well, I would rather blog about something interesting (like my princess) rather than some mundane stuffs. Hee Hee. Okay... so here's an entry about someone else...

Something interesting happened over the weekend. Our family friend's daugther popped by our place on Saturday morning. We spent sometime doing some craft work (a small little crossed-eye chicken for her handphone) before taking her to the Esplanade for a dance performance. The dance called "Imagine Trees", was about saving planet earth. Don't think she enjoyed it as it's pretty avant-garde. What was impressive though was the percussionist's stage. He played the entire soundtrack out recycled items and that included day to day stuffs such as a broken standing fans, balloons, broken pipes etc. I guess it's the experience of attending a performance at Esplanade Studio that made our weekend interesting.

The entire family has been down with flu the last few days. Yee Sinn has been having running nose and she felt quite miserable as she doesn't know how to blow her nose. Hubby was down with slight fever earlier in the week. He is much better now except for a lingering cough. As for me, I got hit by the virus and was on MC the last 2 days. Fever, bad throat and a terrible headache. Glad we're all recovering now.

On a lighter note, my little princess never fails to amaze me. She gave me a surprise by giving me a little wet kiss earlier in the morning. Yes, a sloppy wet kiss, with teeth bites! HAHAHHAHAH. Oh, she is now in the stage where she is curious about her toes. So these few days, she will bend forward and start biting, licking or sucking her toes. Sounds a bit disgusting I know and I sure hope this will be a passing phase.

Yee Sinn has been enjoying her bath time these few weeks. Instead of whining to get out of the water, she is now enjoying her play time in her little red tub. Sometimes she'll sing to herself, other times she'll play with her rubber ducks, whale or even the shampoo bottles. I guess this is a sign that she's ready for the pool! Can't wait to bring her to Auntie Mindy's house for a swim. Hee.

Yee Sinn turned 10 months last Wednesday. To mark her milestone, her big grandaunt gave her a new toy - $0 COE Car! We are leaving her car at Grandma Chang's house at the moment so that her cousin can also play with it meanwhile. Now she is older, we are also teaching her how to share her things - both food and toys, with other children.

We are very lucky to be staying in Toa Payoh. This is because our estate is surrounded with children's playgrounds that cater to different age. Just below our block is Yee Sinn's favourite hunt because it comes with 2 swings and slides. Also, that's where she'll meet her regular friends on most evenings.

Just across a small service road is a stretch of new 40 storey blocks, and of course it comes with newer facilities - 3 brand new playgrounds!! At the extreme end is a playground with "Spider Webs" and slides for bigger boys and girls. We will sometimes bring her to another at the middle of the stretch that was designed for toddlers like Yee Sinn. It comes with 3 slides, a few "tunnels" and a bouncy tortise and horse. Actually, though newer, we prefer to hang out at the old and rundown playground just downstairs because the kids, parents and the maids are so much more friendlier.

Yee Sinn has made many friends since we started to bring her down. The boys there usually call her "Mei Mei" and often show-off their naughty tricks to amuse her. There is usually a group of Indonesian maids chatting at the benches and they will also look out for Yee Sinn as she plays on the slides. Since we started bringing her to the playground many months back, Yee Sinn has became more sociable. I noticed that she'll now take the first step to be near other kids instead of just sitting in a corner watching them play. Bringing her down to the playground every evening is one of the simple joy that I enjoy doing after a hard day's work.