Don't Mess With My Drawers

I think all children probably have this habit of opening up drawers and pulling out all the content in it. Do yours do that too? I've seen it in Phoebe and now it's dé-jà vu! Reuben's doing it too. Gosh!

Side By Side

Recently, we have just arranged the children's car seat side by side. Previously they were also sitting beside each other, but Reuben was facing the back windscreen, meaning that he was facing Phoebe and Auntie Nia when we travelled. He didn't seem to enjoy it because he was not able to see his dear mommy and where the car was heading towards. So Auntie Nia put this seat the other way so that he'll be in-line and in-tune with everyone else. He was very happy and kept kicking his legs when he could see me. Heehee. It was a lovely sight to be able to see the 2 little ones when I turn around. :)

Catching Insects

This bucket of insects is one of the toys that Reuben and Phoebe like. It's a simple toy and yet the children love it. They love to rattle them and put them in the net. The firefly will even flicker when you hit it against a hard surface. Initially when I got this toy, it was out of reluctance. Never did I anticipate that it will become a popular toy. Reuben is able to put the insects into the slots on the cover of the bucket. I am proud of him :)

Post Christmas Babies

I know it's a little untimely to post this entry because Christmas was just over. But Reuben was wearing this Christmas sleepsuit last night, so I thought of posting this picture up. This Christmas Sleepsuit was Phoebe's. I bought it for her when she was about 14 months old although the size of the sleepsuit was supposed to be for a 12-month-old baby. I couldn't find a bigger size so what the heck, I bought it for her anyway. She only wore it twice and couldn't fit in it anymore. Now this suit is passed to Reuben. Not being bias, but I think Reuben looks better in the Christmas sleepsuit. I think it's the hair and the smile that make a great difference!

A Picture of Threesome

To think about it, we have not taken any threesome photo with Reuben! How can it be!! Have we kind of forgotten about it or were we afraid to do so for fear that Phoebe will feel left out ? Maybe we were too cautious of Phoebe's feeling that we kind of overlook taking threesome pictures of just papa, mommy and Reuben. With 2 kids, we really have to be watchful of their feelings. Don't want anyone to feel left out or favoured upon. Anyway, Phoebe was the one who suggested taking this threesome picture for us. After the picture was taken, she looked at the photo and asked, "Where's Phoebe?" I told her, Phoebe's the photographer and she smiled and repeated, "Phoebe's the photographer." Then, she went about taking nonsensical pictures again. Haha :)

The Threesome and the nonsensical picture

The Big Person Vs The Small One

We have been attending Seng Kang Methodist Church for the past few weeks because of the proximity and the service timing. That place is also Phoebe's nursery. Hence, Phoebe feels a sense of familiarity when she visits that church. Coincidentally, her Sunday School is conducted in her nursery classroom, Joy Room. So we always pop in into her classroom to take a look at the children's work on display to get a glimpse of what's going on in her nursery class. We saw some of the pictures drawn by the children and when I saw a particular piece of drawing, I knew immediately that that was Phoebe's drawing! It was so cute and it was exactly how she would draw when she was at home! I could identify it easily, just like how a mother seal could sniff her baby seal out from the rest.

When she was at home, I told her to draw a picture for me. She drew two. For the first picture, she explained that the small person is di-di and the big person standing beside him is Phoebe herself. It was so sweet of her. That was the first time she drew just herself with Reuben together. I thought it's worth keeping the memory, so... SNAP! Here's the picture! (^_^)b

Phoebe said that the one in the middle (in blue) is her teacher, Miss Hoe.

Children has no sense of estimation. Phoebe drew her head so big that there wasn't any space left for her body. So I simply extended the paper by sticking another piece below it for her to draw her body. The bigger person is Phoebe herself and the smaller one was Reuben di-di.

Bishan Community Library

Bishan Community Library is a good place to bring the children to, especially on a rainy day. So parents can keep that place in mind for wet weather programme. The whole basement level is designated for children. We have been going to Bishan Community Library fortnightly for the past one month. Phoebe would try to look for books for herself while Reuben would crawl around the library. We always hear people saying, "Watch out, there's a baby crawling." Much to the amusement of people, I felt a little embarrassed but Reuben enjoyed it. While, as long as he doesn't scream or wail, I guess a little crawling and a little dirt is fine. After all, he's washable! Haha. Papa would also be actively looking for suitable books for Phoebe. He's quite a hands-on papa. We would look for books from Eric Carle, Dr. Suess, David Shannon, Joy Cowley etc. These are some of Phoebe's familiar authors. In the first picture, Phoebe was making a funny face for the camera when papa was reading to her. Reuben was in the midst of pulling off his socks while stopping to rest after crawling around. He hates socks, don't know why. Anyway, caught him in action! :)

We are Hi-5

Phoebe always says that she is the Charli in Hi-5. Why ? Because she thinks that Charli is the prettiest and if you have noticed, Charli always wears pink and pink is Phoebe's favourite colour. In fact, I think pink is any little girl's favourite colours. And Phoebe would say that Reuben di-di is Tim (because he is handsome), Kelly is mommy (because she is plump, just like mommy), Papa is Nathan (don't know why, maybe he's the only male left since Tim is Reuben), Kathleen is Auntie Nia (because of the dark skin) and of course, Charli is Phoebe herself because Charli is the prettiest and is so pinkish.

Whenever the children watch children's programme, I would encourage them to do the actions along too. This is to encourage active watching, instead of passive watching so as to save them from becoming couch potatoes. I prefer them to be French Fries, jumpy in the oil, dancing as they watch. In the clip, Phoebe was trying to imitate the actions of Charli. She's almost 90% accurate! :)

Singapore Flyer

Yesterday, we went for a ride on the Singapore Flyer. Singapore Flyer is the world's largest observation wheel. From the capsule, we had a panoramic view of the Marina Bay, the city and beyond. The weather was a little foggy, probably due to the haze. But we still had a good view of the construction of the Intergrated Resort. The overall panoramic view was not exactly very spectacular, maybe less awesome than the London Eye where the architecture of the Big Ben and Westminster were more breathtaking. The shops and restaurants within the building didn't arouse our interest either. Despite the fact that it was a Saturday, there was not much of a crowd. This makes me worry about Singapore's tourism. Do we really have to wait till the IR is completed to draw the tourists to our little red dot ?

Anyway, I may not want to go on the flyer again in the near future but for today, it was a very good experience for us.

Off the Horse

My boy not only rocks the horse, he's able to get off the horse by himself without any help. I caught him doing that red-handed. Notice how he positions his hands to clinch support and stability? He's totally fearless and oblivious to danger. I'm not sure if I should feel amazed or anxious of his feisty spirit.

Family Portrait

We hardly have a family portrait because it's difficult to get the children to cooperate. Last Saturday, out of spontaneity, we decided to take a family portrait and the children were able to coordinate with us. I feel so contented when I see these pictures. I have a good husband and a pair of lovely, lovely kids. It's really a blessing from God :)

Reuben Likes Books

Reuben likes books. He has shown interest in books. He has witnessed us reading to Phoebe. He would crawl towards us to see what we're doing. Then he would pick up the books lying around to flip the pages. Sometimes, of course, he would attempt to chew the books. I'm glad that he's able to flip the pages of the books well. He would look intently at the pictures before throwing the book aside to grab for another one. The little bookshelf is about his height. He likes to yank the books out of the shelf. He enjoys having lots of books on the floor before settling down to "select" a book to "read". I'm looking forward to the day when the two of them will climb onto my/my hubby's lap to listen to me or my hubby reading to them. :)

Rocking Horses

My cousin used to play with this wooden horse but she's not playing with it anymore. Hence, my aunt passed that horse to us. Reuben amazed me when he was able to rock the rocking horse by himself without me teaching him how to. Seeing di-di rocking on his horse, Phoebe was also inspired and decided to rock on her horse too. It was a pleasant sight to see the both of them cheering each other on. What a bliss! :)

Reuben Stand Up

Reuben loves to stand up when he's on this spot of my bedside table. He will cheer as he stands. And when we encourage him, he would clap his hands as well. I think he understands the meaning of "Stand Up" because when we say that, he would do so.

Reuben's hair grows really fast. On the average, he needs a cut once a week. He just had a hair cut yesterday. He has his own personal hairdresser. I think he looks handsome after his hair cut :)

Dirty Dog

Phoebe's school got the children to buy a series of story books for preschool readers. The children have to identify some of the sight words from the books. From the story book, Dirty Dog, Phoebe is able to identify these words - sees, me, dirty, dog and cat. She cannot identify the words bone and bird yet. I'm trying to teach her how to sound the words out using Phonics. She's eager to learn but sometimes, she's a little conceited. I'm trying to praise and encourage her and yet, not letting her to be swell headed. It's hard to strike a balance. :p

Allergies

Allergies can surface at any period of a child's life. The strange thing is that, a child may not be allergic to a certain element when he/she was young but just when we are accustomed to that element, allergy creeps in. This happens to Phoebe. She has been eating fish porridge since she was 8 months old. She eats fish porridge for lunch and dinner. There was no problem at all. However, it was only until recently that she started having cracked lips when she ate fish porridge for twice a day. Her body seems to be reacting negatively to fish now, though the effect is mild. No only that, we also discovered that she cannot eat dried scallop as she developed rashes around her mouth. She used to be able to play bubbles happily but she will develop hives once she touches bubbles now. Allergies can come any time of her life. We just have to try and discover along the way. Hopefully, she will outgrow these allergies soon.

The Tired Entertainer

Am feeling very frustrated today. Dunno why. Just feel very tired and unhappy, easily irritable today... *sigh* I don't wish to do anything, except maybe to stay at home to sleep the whole day. But I can't. I've to send my boy and maid to my mum's place later. I've to pump later. I've to go to school to teach later. I've tons of things to do in school. I've to cook dinner tonight. I've to entertain my church acquaintances, who are coming to my place tonight. I've to be a clown the whole day. I've to be a pleaser. I have to laugh. I have to smile. I've to pretend. I've to keep my spirits up the whole day. I'm not always happy or cheerful. There are days when I'm really down. Nobody knows. Nobody detects it. Nobody's listening. I hide it so well. I'm tired. I don't want to do anything. I just feel like retreating to a corner to cry. And anyone that irritates me, or steps on my toes, will be snapped by me. I have my shield but behind the shield, I'm jelly. It's 9.40 a.m. now. It's about time. I need to get changed. I need to put on my clown suit. I need to leave my house soon. I need to carry on with my duties. I need to stop dwelling.

The crowd is waiting. The curtains are drawn. The show is about to begin...

Peek-A-Boo Fishy

Reuben has a unique way of playing Peek-A-Boo. Most children play this game using a towel or something opaque or at least, translucent to cover their faces. But Reuben prefers to play Peek-A-Boo using the fish tank. Maybe he was amazed by the transparency of the tank or did he think that he is small enough to hide among the fish ? Haha... Beats me! :)

The In Song

We invited the Kohs over for a Lunar New Year dinner last night. My parents were also invited for the simple dinner. After dinner, the children entertained us with the IN song for this Lunar New Year. What's the In song ? Let these little screamers (I mean, singers) tell you! Apparently, most if not all, preschoolers know this song. Let them scream (I mean, sing) to you...

Reuben Coming Down

Reuben is able to come down from the sofa. I'm not sure if anyone has taught him how to do so but I was amazed at how agile he is. Now, he's able to come down from the sofa, my bed and even my mum's, which is pretty high! What an intelligent and brave boy.