Swimming

Dearest Skyler,

It's so amazing to watch you grow. Today, you insisted on taking off your shirt. Mama thought you were just warm so she let you. But, after removing it, you asked for the tag on the shirt to be removed. Mama cut it off and put it back onto you and you were totally fine with it after that. You so know how to determine cause and effect now. :D

In the evening, Papa came home with dinner. It turned out to be a minor disaster. Papa had ordered 'Kang Kong' but the stall gave Papa squid - something we refuse to eat! Aunty Chris accepted it as they eat it, thankfully. You helped Papa to deliver it to them. Thank you, Lil' One!

But, that left us with very little food. Good thing Papa wasn't hungry. Mama managed to eat most of what we did have. You didn't eat much either. Sigh ... You're really hardly eating, Lil' One.

After dinner, you went swimming with Papa. Mama couldn't come along as she had to meet Aunty Bili.

You have developed a routine there. You would go to the training pool and have Papa pull you across. Then you would 'fly' back across it. Once you got to the side, you would climb out, run to the wading pool, jump in, climb out, walk over to the training pool and start all over again.

As it was getting late, Papa did his usual get out of pool routine with you, that is, Papa started telling you that it was time to go. You asked to do the routine one last time which we did. Surprisingly, you agreed to head out after that. But you insisted on walking on your knees across the wading pool to where our things were. :p

We quickly showered and headed home. Mama still wasn't home yet when we got back. Thus, Papa let you watch a bit of TV before we headed to bed. Papa was very sleepy.

While we were going through your bed time routine, Mama came home and joined us. :D

Papa and Mama love you!

Swimming

Dearest Skyler,

It's so amazing to watch you grow. Today, you insisted on taking off your shirt. Mama thought you were just warm so she let you. But, after removing it, you asked for the tag on the shirt to be removed. Mama cut it off and put it back onto you and you were totally fine with it after that. You so know how to determine cause and effect now. :D

In the evening, Papa came home with dinner. It turned out to be a minor disaster. Papa had ordered 'Kang Kong' but the stall gave Papa squid - something we refuse to eat! Aunty Chris accepted it as they eat it, thankfully. You helped Papa to deliver it to them. Thank you, Lil' One!

But, that left us with very little food. Good thing Papa wasn't hungry. Mama managed to eat most of what we did have. You didn't eat much either. Sigh ... You're really hardly eating, Lil' One.

After dinner, you went swimming with Papa. Mama couldn't come along as she had to meet Aunty Bili.

You have developed a routine there. You would go to the training pool and have Papa pull you across. Then you would 'fly' back across it. Once you got to the side, you would climb out, run to the wading pool, jump in, climb out, walk over to the training pool and start all over again.

As it was getting late, Papa did his usual get out of pool routine with you, that is, Papa started telling you that it was time to go. You asked to do the routine one last time which we did. Surprisingly, you agreed to head out after that. But you insisted on walking on your knees across the wading pool to where our things were. :p

We quickly showered and headed home. Mama still wasn't home yet when we got back. Thus, Papa let you watch a bit of TV before we headed to bed. Papa was very sleepy.

While we were going through your bed time routine, Mama came home and joined us. :D

Papa and Mama love you!

Saying Sorry

Dearest Skyler,

You have grown up enough to know when you've done something that displeases us and for which you need to apologise, Lil' One. Mama saw you putting your hand into your cup of drinking water this morning. She asked you what you were doing and you told her that you were looking for fish! You seemed to have not realised that different cups of water are for different purposes. Mama took the cup away to dispose of the water as you shouldn't drink it anymore. But you got distressed and pleaded to be given the cup so you could drink the water. Of course Mama didn't give in as it was dirty. She gave you a fresh cup of water instead. Then, on your own, you said sorry to Mama! You seem to have understood the concept and the rationale for apologising, Lil' One. We also have much less difficulty in having you apologise when you do something we don't approve of nowadays. That's good. :D

You also got Mama to play the guitar while you accompanied her on your trumpet today. That was so cute!

Papa brought dinner home. After dinner, we went out to the Point for a short while. We did a bit of shopping before we stopped over at the ice cream place for a drink.

We came home after that and went to bed soon after.

Papa and Mama love you!

Just Another Day

Dearest Skyler,

You had a routine kind of day today. However, you woke up at 4 plus in the morning and insisted on looking for Mama. You also insisted on having your Milo before trying to go back to bed but, since it was time for Papa to go to work, you stayed up to have breakfast with Papa and saw Papa off before you headed back to bed.

You got up later in the morning and did the usual with Mama. :D

After Papa got back in the evening, we had our dinner and you had your bath before we went to the Point to get our newly purchased fan changed. It had started making a clacking sound when it reached the end of its oscillation. From our experience with one of our other fans, this seems to be a precursor to the oscillation malfunctioning completely. :p

The exchange was fairly hassle-free except that the salesman tried to check if Papa knew what he was talking about.

We stopped over at the ice cream place for a quick bite before heading home to set up the fan.

We went to bed soon after.

Papa and Mama love you!

Giant Pickle

Dearest Skyler,

We woke up a bit early today as you wanted your Milo. After having it, we went back to bed. By the time we got up again, we were late for church!

We had Sunday School today. You were so looking forward to the ‘Glorious God’ song as you would be carried into the air as part of the actions for the song. However, the CD player wasn't working so we couldn't sing this 'jumping' song. This was so tragic as you were so looking forward to it. Apparently Che-che Alyssa was too. Oh well ...

You had your usual activities for Sunday School. You had the songs followed by a story before you had some colouring and finally snacks. Papa brought you out to wash your hands but as we met Mama along the way to the toilet, she brought you instead.

After we got back, you were offered some biscuits which you wanted. They were also distributing coffee flavoured biscuits which we rejected. You can't have coffee flavoured stuff yet, Lil' One. We're not sure if there's caffeine in such things and you're too young for that.

We shopped around the bookstore for a while after that.

We walked over to Han's for lunch. You were very sleepy already. You didn't really want too eat. We tried to encourage you. We pretended you were the Giant Pickle from ‘Dave and the Giant Pickle’ and the sandwiches were frightened of you. You ‘giant-pickled’ the sandwich! :D You ate a few mouthfuls of the sandwich before you got tired again. We ended lunch with some ice cream.

We then headed home. You were so sleepy you napped in the car all the way back. You'd fallen asleep almost the moment you sat in your seat.

We got you to nap at home after some persuasion. You didn't want to but we were worried that if you didn't, you would be too tired to go to the swimming pool in the evening.

After we got up, Papa and you packed for the pool. We brought your new swimming diaper! :D

You are so much more confident in the water now. You were willing to cling onto Papa's back while Papa made his way around the wading pool. You also allowed Papa to carry you across the Learning Pool in a swimming position. You were never comfortable with either before. :D But you still don't like your float. Papa'd brought it along once more thinking that you'd want to float in the deeper pools but you refused. Oh well …

Papa spent a bit of time persuading you to exit the pool before you finally agreed.

After we'd showered and changed, we went to get dinner. We bought lots of food!

We then headed home for dinner with Mama. We went to bed a bit earlier as you were very tired.

Papa and Mama love you!

Skyler Gets Hurt

Dearest Skyler,

You woke up early and dragged Papa out of bed to make you a Milo ... Twice!

The second time, Papa let you watch Sesame Street while he slept on the sofa. You decided to pile your soft toy friends onto Papa while he was sleeping! :D

You finally went back to sleep for a while. We woke up later and rushed off to the gym. Papa had gotten up later than planned as you'd disrupted Papa's sleep resulting in Papa being so exhausted. :p

Mama brought you to the gym as Papa had to see the doctor first.

You were the first in the gym. This gave Aunty Pearl and you both a few moments to chat. She reiterated that she would miss you when we stopped coming. She also gave you a hug which you gladly returned.

Mama tried her best to help you with all the moves though she was so pregnant. Later, a Mei-mei ran into you and hurt your mouth so badly that you bled. You cried and cried! This totally broke Mama's heart. Teacher Eunice gave you a bit of ice to try to stop the bleeding.

What made Papa unhappy was that the mei-mei's Mama didn't even apologise or get mei-mei to do so. Papa can't understand why some parents don't teach their children to be careful when they're playing in public and when they hurt other people they don't have them apologise or do so themselves. It's such a simple courtesy! Sigh ...

Anyway, you'd calmed down by the time Papa came. Mama then had to rush off to the doctor so Papa took over taking care of you.

Papa felt sad that you'd been hurt so Papa brought you to the McDonald's and got you a Happy Meal. It came with a Hello Kitty notebook shaped like a shopping bag. You had some fun playing with it and carrying it like a shopping bag. :D

We then headed over to look for Mama at the doctor's. We came across a small fountain and we went up to look at it. We then headed to the doctor's.

We only had to wait for Mama for a very short while before she was done. We headed for Popo's after that.

We met up with Popo, Bubu and Moh-moh there. As you'd already had the Happy Meal, you weren't really very hungry but you did have some Milo.

You went around and played with all the toys you could lay your hands on. Everyone had to play with you! :D

After some time, we left. Before we could go off, you had your mandatory drive around the carpark in Bubu's car. :p

We went to United Square to get you a swim diaper. We stopped over at the Toys R Us as Mama wanted to get you a toy as is our practice when a loved one is hurting. We let you choose from four My Little Pony sets and you clearly chose one of them. We kept on testing your choice by making you choose over and over and you consistently chose the same one so we got it for you. :D

We also allowed you to choose your swim diaper. It's a non-disposable one. This means that we can reuse it over and over. The amazing thing about the way you made known to us your choice was that you would tell us one by one the ones you didn't want and the one you did want. There could be no doubt which you wanted! :D

We then shopped a very little bit before heading home for a nap.

We got up a bit too late to go swimming so we went out to get dinner and we spent the night relaxing at home.

We turned in a bit earlier as we have Sunday School tomorrow.

Papa and Mama love you!

HFMD

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and you spent the day together once more. You both did another drawing ... This time, it was of a strawberry picnic. :D

Papa came back with dinner once more. After dinner, we thought of bringing you for a walk at the pasar malam. We got dressed and headed there but it had already closed! Oh well ...

We haven't been bringing you out this whole week as we're afraid that you may catch the hand-foot-mouth disease that's going around. We've encountered parents who have been totally callous about bringing their ill kids out. We came across a kid at Suntec food court obviously with chicken pox still oozing and his mother was totally blase about it.

And it was reported that another parent sent her child with HFMD to the childcare centre because she couldn't find someone to care for him. This was even though she knew that he was totally contagious.

Thus, it's very difficult for us to trust that parents will be responsible enough to not bring their infected children out to infect other kids. We don't want you to catch it if possible. That's why we haven't brought you out this week. The number of infections has been very high this time around. A few childcare centres have been told to shut down for the duration because of the huge number of infections that they have.

We dropped by Aunty Chris's to pick up a toilet seat cover before heading home. You were so cute. You used the cover to frame your face! :p It was quite dirty though. :p

We again read a few books with you before getting you to bed. This time round, you were more ready for bed though it was so early once more.

Papa and Mama love you!

Activity-filled Night

Dearest Skyler,

You had your usual activity-filled day with Mama today. But what was unusual was the activity-filled night that took place as well.

Papa came home with dinner earlier than usual. We got dinner earlier as you'd not eaten lunch. You'd been sleepy the whole day. In fact, you'd only awakened at noon! This was a surprise as you'd gone to bed at the usual time last night. Even then, you were still sleepy after you got up. Anyway, because you were sleepy, you didn't really have lunch so we decided to have dinner earlier.

You ate a bit and ran around a bit. :D In the midst of dinner, you wanted a bath so Papa prepared it for you.

After your bath, we did lots of things! We played hide-and-seek. It was confusing at times as we couldn't figure out who was supposed to be hiding. :D But you were the seeker most of the time so it didn't matter. :D

Then we played with your play doh set (you're still afraid of the tool you call the octopus; we had to put it away before you would come near it). We made lots of animal shapes. And we made a mess too!

We then read several books together. You kept on choosing one after the other. :D

After that, we tried to get you to sleep even though it was way before your usual bed time. We all got in bed and went through our usual routine. But you were totally not ready to sleep.

You kept on dashing around doing things. You even went back to the living room to bring a stool in to try to get Mama's specs. It took you a very long time before you were ready to go to sleep.

Good night, Lil' One.

Papa and Mama love you!

Orange Turtle

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and you did lots today as usual. We're so glad that Mama has been able to be your main caregiver all this while, Lil' One. You've turned out very very well indeed. We're so happy to be your parents and we think you're quite happy to be our child. :D

You were so cute this morning! You spoke to Baby Mei-mei and even sang the Trotro song to her! :D

Mama opened your drawing block today and both of you drew on it. You both came up with a picture of a beach with an orange turtle as the main character. When Papa came home, Mama and you shared with him the story of the orange turtle. :D

Papa had come home earlier this afternoon to nap. Actually, Papa had only expected to lie down for a few minutes but he couldn't wake up after he'd fallen asleep. You kept on trying to wake him but he couldn't. Sorry, Lil' One.

After he did wake up, Papa let you have a bath. You had your bathing buddies with you as usual - Dr Owl, Pooh Bear, Turtle and Surfer Penguin.

We then went out to get dinner and pick up some groceries. One of the aunties that we bought food from said that you're a very pretty girl. :D

We came back home to have our dinner and you kept on running around on your car but always coming back to the dining table for your next spoonful. We're so glad you don't expect us to chase you around to feed you - especially since we won't. :p

After dinner, you helped Papa to set up our new fan. You are such an amazingly helpful girl, Lil' One. You're always volunteering to help! Thank you!

Papa then moved a couple of fans around so that we have a more effective fan on Papa's side of the bed. This is especially important as it has been so warm these days.

We then put you to bed soon after. You were a whirlwind in bed! You kicked, elbowed and hit both of us in your excitement in playing with your see-saw, see the big bad wolf, rabbit, etc. Thankfully, you managed to fall asleep soon after.

Papa and Mama love you!

Good Morning, Grandma

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and Papa left very early this morning for work. You were still asleep then. We wondered when you would wake up since we weren't in bed with you.

True enough, you woke up at 7 plus and came out looking for us. Grandma asked you to wait for her as she was busy at that time. You obediently went back to bed where she found you lying down with Baby Bear. :D

Grandma then made you Milo in a big cup but you asked her to put it in your small cup. After she did that, you asked her to put it in the big cup.which she did. Then you wanted it in the small cup again! Such a naughty girl you are. :p

After that saga ended, you asked to watch Sesame Street again. When you'd had enough of that, you asked to play with your toys and Grandma and you started playing with the Hungry Hippos game.

Mama came home about then with lunch. You were so sleepy by then! At one stage, you were lying down on the yellow chair and you asked Mama if you could sleep. She said that you could and you fell asleep right away! You were so sleepy as you'd awakened so early!

Mama woke you up soon after as it wasn't the most comfortable place for you to nap.

After lunch, Grandma headed home and Mama and you headed to bed.

You woke up soon after as it was a very humid and warm day. You then went about doing your usual routine of having fun with Mama.

Papa came home fairly late tonight as he'd had a meeting that ended late. He was too tired to bring you out so we had dinner at home.

Papa was so tired that he wanted to catch a nap but you didn't allow that. You wanted to spend a bit of time with him! So, he had to give up on that and be with you for a while. You would sit on his lap so that he couldn't do anything else. :D

You only went to bed later in the night.

Papa and Mama love you!

Grandma Stays Over

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and you did lots today. The biggest project of the day was your painting a vase! Mama and you painted a bottle and wrapped it up and then you both put flowers in it. It looked so pretty! :D

In the evening, Papa came home with Grandma. She was staying over tonight as both Mama and Papa had to go out early tomorrow and she will be taking care of you.

You had so much fun with her. You showed her your stove set and cooked food and prepared drinks for her. :D

After dinner, Mama and Papa went out to the Point to buy a fan so you and Grandma stayed at home. You watched a bit of Sesame Street and played a bit while we were out.

When we got back, we wished Grandma a good night and headed for bed.

Papa and Mama love you!

Lazy Sunday

Dearest Skyler,

We had to not go for church today as we'd gone to bed so late last night. You'd already had such a long day yesterday, we felt that you wouldn't have been able to go through yet another sleepless day. But we do feel bad about this, Lil' One. We should be going every Sunday for corporate worship.

We woke up leisurely and Papa brought you out for a walk to get breakfast. We even went up the bridge to look for 'dou hua' but they'd all run out. We ended up buying the usual breakfast items and headed home. Papa had to carry you most of the time as you didn't want to walk. You're so heavy! :p

We had our breakfast before we just lazed around. Soon after, we went back to bed for a nap.

In the afternoon, we went down to the Point for an early dinner. We ate at the foodcourt once again. You were impatient to get out of your chair but we insisted that you stay in it until Papa was done.

We then did some shopping at the supermarket. You were very naughty there. We told you not to climb the railing but you ignored us. That is very naughty. It is so dangerous! You have to stop that!

We came home after that and went to bed soon after.

Papa and Mama love you!

Little Tikes

Dearest Skyler,

We went for your gym session this morning. You'd slept late last night so you slept in until quite late. In fact Papa had to wake you up!

We got there barely on time as we'd set off late and there was a queue to get into the carpark as it was quite full.

Today was ‘Bring A Friend Day’ but nobody did. We had invited Kor-kor Zachary but he couldn't make it. In fact, there were very few people today. The usual class itself had a poorer attendance than usual.

We did the usual things but the parachute that Teacher Pearl used was smaller so it was easier to handle. You enjoyed the parachute ride and slide. :D

You did everything except the very last skill. You did it all because you wanted Teacher to help you and the best way was to do what she was teaching. The last skill was on the balancing beam. By the time you went up to the balancing beam she was done teaching it so you didn't get a chance to get her to help. You were so sad! Poor Duckie!

After the lesson, you got your stamps and gave Teacher a hug before we left.

Papa asked you if you wanted your Milo and you said that you didn't. Instead, you wanted to go to the playground. Papa told you that we didn't have time to visit the playground today and headed for the carpark. It was only after we got there that you said you wanted Milo so we headed back up.

We got your Milo but we had to sit outside as the place was so crowded. You sat next to the McDonald's statue as there was no other space.

After you were done, we went back to our car and headed to Ngee Ann City. We were going to redeem Little Tikes toys for you. :D

We headed straight for the Post Office and found that, surprisingly, there was no queue. We picked out the fishing set and a turtle Glow Pal! They had run out of the duck one and the crab wasn't as cute. Papa had some difficulty carrying them as you wanted to be carried and they didn't provide any carrier. Oh well.

We then went down to the foodcourt to buy lunch. We picked up the food fairly quickly as there wasn't much of a queue there either. A nice aunty sympathised with Papa's struggles with carrying you, the food and the toys. :p Haha! Parents really understand each other. :D

We headed home and once we entered the flat, you asked to play with your new toys. Papa agreed to let you play with your fishing set but we would have to have our lunch too.

The fishing set was really over-sized so it was easy to hold and manipulate. The fish and such can probably be used in your bathtub but we're not going to tell you that. If we did, you may never come out! :p

We all had a nap after lunch. You were quite reluctant but you were sleepy so you finally did fall asleep.

When Papa and you woke up, it was quite late already. We had to get ready to leave as we were having a church group gathering tonight at Che-che Rebecca's place.

We had to drop by the Point to pick up some food before we drove down. We were quite late by then. Thankfully, when we got there, we realised that they had barely started eating. We weren't as late as we'd thought. :p

You went around playing and you enjoyed climbing into one of the high chairs that Aunty Niki had set up for the toddlers to use. You would clamber over all the chairs to get into it! :D

Throughout the night you would go between Papa and Mama as we'd split into the Papas’ and Mamas’ groups. You enjoyed the playpen that they'd set up and also the kitchen stove set that they had in the room upstairs.

Someone had brought cream puffs and you totally enjoyed them. You ate so many.

We headed home after that. By the time we showered you, it was very late. Oh well...

Papa and Mama love you!

Kiddie Land

Dearest Skyler,

You again spent the day playing with your Pooh Bear toys, stove, etc.

In the late afternoon, Mama helped you to have a bath. Papa came back soon after and we all rushed down to town. Mama was meeting Aunty Candy for dinner.

Papa brought you across the street to Paragon and you decided that we would eat at Fish and Co. There, you had two cups of Milo besides some fish and rice.

After dinner, we went up to the kids' floor where you got onto the kiddie rides. Papa let you ride the Barney one. :D

We then went to the playground set. Lots of kids were there playing. You enjoyed clambering on the equipment! You kept on going up and down even though there were so many kids there. And a few of them were quite rough. :p

When you had enough, you sat on the motorcycle ride but it was too big for you still.

We then went up to the toy store. You played with lots of the toys there. You especially liked to play with the basketball! :D

While we were having dinner earlier, you had spotted a Big Bird balloon. You then kept on asking where Ernie was. You had remembered that they played hide and seek on Sesame Street and you wanted to look for him too. :D

We went back across the road and you were calling for Ernie along the way. :D After we'd crossed the road, we looked for Ernie at the fountain but he wasn't there.

We then went to the toy section in Takashimaya to continue our journey to Ernie. And, yes! He was there! Our journey to Ernie was done! :D

We then went to look for Mama. After we got back together we walked around a bit and you asked to go play with the piano. We had no idea which piano you were referring to so we went back to the toy section. You walked around a bit before you found a keyboard to play with. Papa doesn't think you could have seen that when we came up earlier but oh well ... :D

We then headed home.

Papa and Mama love you!

Many Animals

Dearest Skyler,

You woke up very early this morning. You then lined up all your Winnie the Pooh animals and counted them. Wow! Aunty Lin Lin really gave you a lot of them! :D

You stayed up to see Papa off to work. It's always so good for Papa to see his family before he goes to work. :D

You and Mama saw a baby lizard outside the toilet later in the day. You kept on calling it to come down. However, it ran off instead and we couldn't find it after that.

Papa came back in the evening and brought you to the swimming pool. Mama had dinner with Bubu so she couldn't come along. You, as usual, enjoyed walking around the pools! :D You also kept on hopping around. It was quite dangerous when you did that outside the pool and by the pool side as you could have slipped and hurt yourself badly.

You had also asked to go to the bubble pool so Papa brought you there. However, once the nice lifeguard uncle switched on the jets for us, you got scared. :p Papa tried to show you that it was safe and you dared to come into the pool to try it out but it didn't last long. :p

Papa started asking you if we could go for dinner after close to an hour and you wanted a few more minutes. :D

We went to the Swensen's at North Point for dinner.

When we got back, Bubu and Mama were there waiting for you. Bubu had bought you a bird shaped plane that could fly when we threw it.

Bubu left soon after so we went back home. We went to bed fairly soon as well as you were quite tired by then.

Papa and Mama love you!

Papa's Tired

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and you played with your stove set today. You also played with your 'jewellery'. You even put your bracelets on Baby Bear. :p

You then napped for a short while. After you woke up, you had chocolate ice cream. You were totally against the vanilla ice cream! You had corn flakes and strawberry with your ice cream. Hmmm ... Why do you dislike vanilla? :(

You practised writing but you still can't do it properly as yet. :p But never mind. It's early days yet. :D

Papa came home a bit earlier today. Papa was tired and tried to nap but you kept on trying to wake Papa up. You even brought your bath tub to Papa's side of the bed! You sat in it and played by yourself when you couldn't get Papa up. :p

Mama had to get up to play with you so that you would leave Papa alone so that he could rest.

After Papa got up, we went to the Chinese restaurant at the Point for dinner. So many of the waitress aunties seem quite fond of you. Several of them would come to say ‘Hi’ to you.

After dinner, we came home and you played with the packing peanuts that Papa had brought home. You called them snow flakes. :p

Papa and Mama love you!

Bathtub

Dearest Skyler,

You saw the Korean girl magnet on our fridge today and you remembered Godma Audrey! :D Of course that started your train of thought regarding Godma - her fish tank ... etc. :D

There was a heavy thunderstorm today and you were scared of the lightning and the loud thunder. Mama kept you away from the windows to be safe.

You have started to ask Papa to let you have a bath when he comes home. We would then spend some time playing with you in the bath. Dr Owl and Pooh Bear are your bath partners now. :D

We once again went to the Point for dinner at the foodcourt. You again were able to wait for Papa to finish eating before asking to sit on his lap.

Again, we went home straight after dinner. Papa spent some time doing house work before we went to bed.

Papa and Mama love you!

Falling Chair

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and you had crepe for lunch today. While you were eating your crepe you used your dirty fingers to touch our washed laundry! Mama scolded you and you reacted by being so well-behaved the rest of the afternoon. :p

Later in the afternoon, you asked for ice cream. Mama allowed you to have some. She asked you to get the spoons and you actually correctly picked out our ice cream spoons! That's amazing! We still can't figure out how you register such things! :D

You can open the storeroom door now. In fact you can open every door in the flat! We can't keep you out of any room anymore. We just hope that you'll realise that there are certain rooms that you shouldn't rummage through. :p

Anyway, you remembered that some of the toys that you seldom play with are in the storeroom and you started pulling out a few of them! :p

We went to the Point for dinner. We ate at the foodcourt. Thankfully, you were able to sit in your own chair until Papa was done before you came to sit on Papa's lap! :D Thank you, Lil' One! However, while you walking around, you played with your high chair, lost your balance and fell backwards pulling the chair unto yourself! You were so poor thing! :( Thankfully, the chair was very light so you escaped injury.

We headed straight home after that as Papa was very tired.

Papa and Mama love you!

Gym

Dearest Skyler,

We woke up late today. We missed church as we were so tired and couldn't get up. Sigh ...

Later in the morning, Papa brought you for your gym session. We had postponed it as Papa had to work yesterday.

You did most of the activities today though you did give a few things a miss. :p

You saw Teacher Pearl towards the end of the session and wanted to say 'Hi!' Papa told you to go over but you insisted that Papa go along with you and you grabbed Papa's hand to pull him along.

Teacher Pearl saw you and she gave you a hug. She likes you too, Lil' One. :D

After the session, Papa brought you for a cup of Milo. You drank the whole cup! :D We then headed home.

We had to fill up the car with petrol on the way home. By the time we got to the petrol station, you had fallen asleep. Papa debated whether to wake you and bring you into the station when he had to pay but he decided to let you sleep instead while praying all the while that you wouldn't wake up and find yourself alone. :p Thankfully, you stayed asleep.

After we got home, we all napped as we were still tired.

We went to the Point for dinner in the evening. We also walked around a bit before heading home.

Papa and Mama love you!

Bon Voyage, Grandma

Dearest Skyler,

Papa had to go in to work this morning so we had to postpone your gym session.

You had a bath after Papa came home from work. We then drove over to the Point for a dim sum lunch. You ate a bit of the food but not as much as before. Hmmm ... Are you getting bored of some of the items?

We then went over to the library for a very short while as we had to return some magazines and borrow new books for you. It's really important that you develop a love for reading, Lil' One. :p

We then quickly rushed to pick Grandma up to bring her to the Airport. She was flying off for a holiday today. You had fallen asleep in the car on the way to her place and only woke up after we got to the airport. You must have been so surprised to see her in the car when you woke up! :p

You met your Yee-Po on your Papa's side for the very first time. She and her husband were going with Mama on the trip.

After checking in, we went for a drink as we still had a bit of time. After they'd gone into the transit area, we went up to the viewing gallery so that you could see the aeroplanes. You managed to catch a few of them landing. It seemed to be a very busy period as there were planes landing every few minutes. Strangely, while Terminal 1 is the oldest terminal, it is the only one that actually allows people to view the planes. You can hardly see anything at the two newer terminals. Oh well. :(

We drove over to Popo's place after that as we were having dinner with her, Bubu and Moh-moh. You had your usual fun playing with them all.

After dinner, you had a ride in Bubu's car before we headed home.

Papa and Mama love you!

Dearest Little Princess,

Sweet Tender Moments in the Night

Mama always enjoys watching you before you fall asleep at night. Unless Mama is really very sleepy, Mama will always only go to sleep only after you have fallen asleep.

These past few weeks, because Papa has been very tired from work, he’d always fall asleep almost immediately after getting into bed. Of course, you still always insist on lying down on Papa to look at your little shadow rabbit – “Baby Rabbit” – and Papa’s big shadow rabbit – “Papa Rabbit”.

Once Papa has switched off the light and fallen asleep, though, Mama and you always have a bit of time together in the dark. You’d start raising your hands or feet in the air in the dark and staring at them. Sometimes, Mama would start tickling you and then you’d tickle Mama back. Othertimes, when Mama has been quiet for a while, you’d turn to Mama and ask quietly if Mama is awake. Then you’d start telling Mama about something. Tonight, for example, you told Mama that you’d like Papa to bring us to see the jellyfishes and crabs again. The last time we saw these was at Underwater World on Sentosa, so I suppose that’s where you’d like Papa to bring us.

Mama also always kisses you goodnight once the lights are out and pats you a little bit. These days, you’d do the same for Mama, which really melts Mama’s heart. After being quiet for a while, you’d also like to ask to “share Mama’s blanket”. You’d raise your little feet up high into the air and want Mama to cover your feet with Mama’s blanket. Then you’d ask Mama where your feet are and Mama will tickle your little toes. That’s such a funny game!

After we’ve had so much fun tonight, Mama told you to go to sleep, that we’d play some more tomorrow. You happily agreed and went to sleep.

This time of bonding we have before falling asleep is so sweet and precious to Mama. Mama loves you a whole lot, Little Skyler.

Sweet dreams! (*kiss*) Papa and Mama love you!

Mama

Shopping

Dearest Skyler,

You were playing catching with Mama this morning when you lost your balance and fell onto the floor. Thankfully you managed to break your fall. Mama brought you to nap after that. When you woke up, you told Mama that you were hurting and Mama was somewhat confused as to how that happened. She asked you and you recounted to her your earlier fall. You're so good at telling us what has happened to you now, Lil' One. You're so able to speak and we love having conversations with you. :D

In the afternoon, Papa dashed home and brought Mama and you to Raffles City. Papa had to dash off once again. Mama brought you to the fountain as you wanted to visit it. While there, you asked for ice cream and Mama shared one with you. You insisted on eating on your own and created a big mess! Mama brought you to the toilet to wash up and the toilet lady seemed quite unhappy with you both cleaning up there. We wonder why? Oh well ...

Mama then brought you to shop at Robinson's. You had lots of fun playing with the toys on the shelves. Papa came back to find you both still there. :D

We went over to Sushi Tei for dinner. You ate a bit of food but you were quite restless so you got out of your chair and started walking around. Fortunately, you were okay throughout.

After dinner, we went over to Suntec City to carry on shopping. We dropped by the Kid's Zone so that Mama could pick something up. You enjoyed yourself walking around and playing.

We then headed to Carrefour in another attempt to get you diapers and milk. You had fun playing with the swing set there. You also had fun running around. We managed to get your diapers but they didn't have your supplements. Oh well ...

We headed home after that. What a long and tiring day of shopping!

Papa and Mama love you!

Cafe Skyler

Dearest Skyler,

You started a café today with your stove set. You lined up your soft toys and had Mama have them knock on your room door one at a time before you allowed them in. Then you cooked and prepared drinks for them all. :D It was so tiring for Mama as she had to bend down so much at a time that Baby Mei-mei is getting so big. :p

You both then collected cookies from Aunty Chris's. She'd baked lots for an activity and she shared a few with us. She filled up a whole bottle for us. Thank you, Aunty Chris! :D

You wanted to eat the cookies immediately but Mama wanted you to have your lunch first. And she couldn't help but laugh out loud when you reacted by grabbing the bottle of cookies and did a Cookie Monster on it. You're so funny, Lil' One!

You're also such an adventurous eater. You always want to eat or drink whatever we have though you have no idea what it may be. Thankfully, you're okay with our telling you that certain things you can't eat yet. :D

We all went to see the baby doctor this afternoon. Papa came home early and drove everyone down. The whole visit was over quite quickly. Thankfully, the doctor didn't find any problem with Baby Mei-mei. :D

While we were waiting to pay, you spontaneously broke out in song! You had come up with your own song - "Chew, chew, chew, swallow...". Both of us were astonished and amused! You even had body swaying going with it! :D You were SO cute!

We then took a walk around the garden where you sat on the turtle and tortoise and played with the whale and also the clowns.

We then went shopping at Plaza Singapura. We had dinner at the foodcourt before we walked around.

You had a ride on the Barney ride. We also visited the sheep. The salesman there wasn't very friendly ... Oh well ...

We then went to look for diapers and your supplements but they didn't have any! What a disappointment! We'd gone all the way there mainly too buy these. Oh well.

We then headed home.

Papa and Mama love you!

Swimming

Dearest Skyler,

Mama set up your new stove / kitchen set today. It was your birthday present from Aunty Bili. You had such great fun with it. You pretended to cook and make drinks. Mama was your main customer. :D After Papa came home, you prepared food and drinks for him too! :D

Mama also made a pair of binoculars for you out of toilet roll cores. You enjoyed playing with that tremendously as well. You brought it everywhere and would get your soft toy friends to look through them as well. :D

After Papa came home we headed for the swimming pool. We hadn't gone swimming for quite some time due to the rainy weather and Papa's work.

The water was very warm today so it was very comfortable. We'd brought your float along but you didn't want to use it. You insisted that Papa carry it along though. :p You did your usual wanting to move from one pool to another. As it wasn't so cold, Papa didn't mind it as much. :p Papa used to dislike that as he would be shivering in the cold. :p

After some time, Papa started encouraging you to leave the pool as Mama had waited for some time already.

After we had showered, we drove down to the Point for dinner at the food court. You ate quite a bit of our food as you were hungry.

There was a group of big kor -kors and che-ches there playing some game and generally being very noisy and inconsiderate to the other patrons. You cannot be like that, ok? :p

We headed home after that.

Papa and Mama love you!

Figure Drawing

Dearest Skyler,

Mama had you lie down on some large paper and traced your outline. You found it ticklish. Now, we have a huge outline of you! :D We’ll keep it and compare your size against it another time. :D

After Papa came home, we went to the Point for dinner. We ended up doing our usual things of walking around and shopping after some food. :D

Papa and Mama love you!

Grandma

Dearest Skyler,

Grandma came to care for you today as Mama had to go in to work in the afternoon. Grandma came a bit earlier than expected so you couldn't get a nap. In fact, you spent the whole day awake. You simply refused to nap. :p

You played with lots of your toys at home! Both of you then took a walk downstairs. You both went all the way to the basketball courts next to the carpark on the other side.

Later in the evening, Mama and Papa came home with dinner. We had dinner before Grandma left for home.

Papa and Mama love you!

Han's

Dearest Skyler,

We managed to get up to go for Church and Sunday School today. In fact, we got there just as the priest dismissed the children for classes. Papa brought you today as Mama's finding it difficult to bend down so much as Baby Mei-mei is so big now.

There were very few of your friends in attendance today. Apparently, quite a number of them are unwell.

You had the usual activities such as singing. They played your favourite jumping song. :D

After the singing, we headed into the room for story-telling. Papa thought you would be like last week where you were okay with Papa not being around but this was not the case. You refused to let Papa go. Sigh ... Papa's still struggling with wanting you to be independent and wanting you to want him with you still. :p

You then did some colouring before Papa brought you out to wash your hands. When we returned, your friends were watching the Veggie Tales being played on the TV. They had also fed your friends with marshmallows. Papa didn't let you take any as he was afraid that it might have the same result as the chocolate you ate the last time which we strongly believe caused your cough.

We went to get some lunch after we left and as we had not eaten there before, we decided to go to the nearby Han's - it was nearer than we'd thought! We got there before we realised it! :D

It was very big with lots of tables! We ordered some food that was actually quite mediocre in taste. But that has always been the trademark of the place. You were quite restless and insisted on walking around. Thankfully you still ate some food.

We headed home after lunch and as usual Papa hoped to have a nap but you were not having any of it. You stayed awake the whole afternoon and Papa kept you company. But Papa wasn't very good at that as he was so sleepy. You ended up watching lots of TV and playing by yourself. It was only after a while that Papa was awake enough to play with you and read to you.

Later in the evening we drove to the Point for dinner at Swensen's. We shared some food before heading home.

Papa and Mama love you!

Busy Saturday

Dearest Skyler,

We woke up fairly early today as you woke us all up. We decided to make use of the opportunity to drop by Mama's old place to buy some breakfast that we had a hankering for.

We quickly bought the breakfast we wanted and headed for the gym. Mama joined us for a while before she had to go off for something.

Today was 'Hugs' day where we were to give and receive hugs every chance we had. You wanted the teachers to help you throughout the session today so Papa had you join the queue whenever they taught a new skill so that you would have their assistance. :p You were so willing to do so many things. You appear to be one of the kids who could do the moves properly.

After the session, Papa thought of getting you some Milo but you only wanted to get to the playground. So, Papa brought you up immediately.

There, you played with almost everything they had. You played with the tiger feet, the house, in the ball pit, the slide, ... :D

There was a very naughty boy there today. He kept on scaring you by squeezing you out of the house. You wanted to play in the house once and the boy pushed you aside to get in ahead of you. The second time, there was no one inside so you went in. The boy went in after you and you tried to get out. As he was blocking the exit nearer Papa, Papa asked you to use the other exit. As you were trying to get down the ladder, the boy pushed you with the door. This made Papa very mad. Papa couldn't understand why that boy was so rude and why his Mama who was right there didn't stop him. Papa had no choice but to keep the door opened so that you would have time to scramble out. Sigh ...

Once Mama was done, we left to meet her for lunch at the basement. We had lots of food. The eating place also had a small section with toys that you were keen to play with. :D

When we were done with lunch, we drove over to Mama's school as she had to do something in the library. You'd fallen asleep in the car and you continued to do so after we'd arrived.

When you woke up, Mama still wasn't done. You wanted to sit in the driver's seat so Papa let you. You were quite done very quickly so we went up to the library to wait for Mama.

As Papa and you were thirsty, we got ourselves some drink from the vending machine. We then walked around a bit. We walked up the stairs and you hopped around. :p You attracted attention everywhere you went as people there usually don't see someone your size around. :D

On one of our rounds around the place, you inexplicably started walking on all fours! One of the people there was totally surprised as well but found you so cute that he reached over and tousled your hair. :D

It was quite a while before Mama was done so we spent quite a bit of time walking around. In fact, we even had time for another drink. We helped Mama with her books when she was done.

We then headed to Grandma's to have dinner with her. She had just returned from visiting Ah Pek.

Once we arrived, Papa just headed for the bed for a nap. Papa was so sleepy. You played with Grandma and Mama while Papa was out. You got permission to jump on Grandma's bed too ... while Papa was still sleeping on it!

We then went down for dinner at the nearby coffeeshop. After dinner we headed home. It had been a really long day!

We put you to bed earlier today as you'd been out the whole day without a proper nap and you have Sunday School tomorrow.

Papa and Mama love you!

Wall

Dearest Skyler,

You woke up quite late today. You must have been so tired out. We'd even gone to bed so much earlier than usual. :p

Papa came home early today.

While Papa was in the Study, you brought something in for him. On your way out, you weren't looking at where you were walking so you walked into the wall. Poor Darling Girl! We constantly remind you to watch where you're going but you're still not doing it. Please be more careful. Good thing you're tough or you'll have more injuries than you do now. :p

We had a short nap before heading down to town for dinner. We went to Ngee Ann City. We had dinner at the Sushi Tei there. You so can't sit still in your chair throughout the meal any longer. Halfway through, you insisted on sitting on Papa's lap. You also started walking around the table between Mama and Papa. You keep doing this nowadays. :p

After dinner, we shopped for short while as Papa was a bit tired and we wanted you to have an early night as you have a gym class tomorrow.

We did manage to get you to bed earlier than usual, thankfully.

Papa and Mama love you!

Moh-moh

Dearest Skyler,

There was an accident with lunch today! The fish that Mama had prepared dropped onto the floor! Fortunately, it dropped with the fish downwards or the plate it was on may have broken and either Mama or you may have been hurt. Thank God!

We'd asked Moh-moh to come watch you today as Papa had to work and Mama had to attend a meeting. Thankfully, she was available and willing.

She brought you downstairs to play with your trike and at the playground. You only came up when it started drizzling.

You also introduced Moh-moh to the ‘Giant Pickle’. You were so chatty with her too.

Papa came home a bit earlier today to take over caring for you so that Moh-moh wouldn't be too tired out by you. Moh-moh left soon after Papa came home.

Papa and you then spent time together as we waited for Mama to come back from her meeting. We'd actually planned to go out for dinner but she was stuck in a very bad traffic jam that took her a very long time to clear. Thus we decided to order in instead.

You were having a bath when Mama finally made it home. Just as you completed your bath, Aunty Chris and Dawn came to collect something and you rushed out to say 'Hi!' And just as they were leaving, our food arrived. :D

We quickly had our dinner. Papa and Mama were then busy preparing some things and we had to leave you to play by yourself and you got unhappy with that. You kept on getting us to pay attention to you. Sorry, Lil' One.

We then let you watch your 'Bottleneck Bill' so you had something to do. You were so sleepy by then so we put you to bed.

Papa and Mama love you!

Mexican Food

Dearest Skyler,

Mama and you spent another great day together. You played a lot with the Winnie the Pooh tree house. You had tea parties and the works.

Later in the evening, after Papa had come home, Papa felt like having Mexican food. Thus, we decided to go back to this place that Mama and Papa had gone to a very long time ago. Papa was feeling a bit nostalgic about the place.

We drove all the way to Faber Garden and ate at the restaurant called Margarita’s. You didn’t really like the food there though. We guess it was too spicy for you. You ended up walking around a bit and you got very bored when we took too long over the meal.

After the meal, we headed home and put you to bed.

Okay, no more Mexican food until you’re much more ready for it. :p

Papa and Mama love you!

Duckie Love

Dearest Skyler,

You woke up in the middle of the night and demanded to have your Milo. You refused to go back to sleep until you had it. We all woke up to feed you but you didn't finish it. After we got back to bed, you demanded a second cup! And you refused to rest until Papa gave it to you. Sigh ...

You woke up later that morning behaving so much better. :D And once again you were such a good girl. :D

Mama did the usual stuff with you and taught you lots of stuff. You are really such a joy, Lil' One!

Papa came home later in the evening and he'd brought dinner home. You insisted on having your bath first so we did.

You also watched your current favourite show, 'Dave and the Giant Pickle'. We were so amused when you recited the dialogue along with the show. You're so good at it though you still can't pronounce most of the words properly.

After dinner, you accompanied Papa to the nearby shops to do some shopping. You walked most of the way and hopped some of it. :D

We bought a few things before heading back. You were so obedient. You listened to Papa all the way there and back. :D

We put you to bed a bit earlier tonight.

Papa and Mama love you!