The girls after a dip in the kids pool.

The original plan was to go to the playground and blow bubbles. But we passed the pool and Sophie cannot just pass the pool. The girls went in their undies and t-shirts and had a blast!!!!!

Left: Sophie reading with A.
Right: Sophie having dinner with kor kor Chris.

I think I’m all ready for No 2…………………… right. Maybe just for an hour a day, ha!

Recently I’ve been doing some babysitting.

First of all, I LOVE KIDS!

Second of all, Sophie loves company and she’s so much happier when there are people around. I’m a great believer of having more kids because they take care of themselves eventually.

And since I live in the neighbourhood of spas and cafes, I’ve offered my friends – come, leave your kids with me and go have a dinner date/spa treatment and enjoy yourself. (I even thought of making this into a business considering the number of expats around this area who wouldn’t mind paying for this!)

So, some time back, Wanz dropped Ally (3 yrs old) and Arya (18 mths old?) with their helper and went for her hair cut. Just last Friday, B dropped A (2 yrs old) off to go do her nails. And on Fri night, I went over to S’s house with Soph to look after my godson Chris (6 yrs old) while his dad went for F1 and his mum was at work.

Ooooooo ok, truth?

The first hour is BLISS! The kids play nicely – sharing toys, food, books……….. I even sat down to read the papers at some point.

The next hour, the kids suddenly turn on each other! Share! No! Snatch! Cry! Fight! Etc……. Here’s where I come in with distractions – here have this other toy, biscuit (somehow someone elses’ biscuits always tastes better!) etc…….

Finally, I put on the TV while waiting for food to arrive. Rest. For like 15 mins……. and then I realise, not everyone’s kid is like mine! I went thru 3-4 vcds because Sophie wanted the "The Backyardigans" but A wanted "Barney". When I put on one, the other say "No!". My part time helper had a good laugh watching me trying to satisfy the two little two year olds!

My conclusion??????????? An age gap of 2 and above is great! 4 years apart even better coz Chris was such a gem and was constantly trying to play with Sophie. Having twins is disastrous unless you’re there watching them all the time at this stage.

But I still LOVE KIDS.

Blowing out the candles. For more photos, look here.

We had a little lunch celebration at Sol Playground Cafe after church for Sophie and her church friends. Ally, Arya, Evan, Skyler, Summer, Kyla and even little Eli were all there! Even Minnie Mouse! I had an ideal in mind – that Sophie can invite one more friend with each increasing year for her birthday e.g. 2 friends when she turns 2. BUT as it turns out…….. nay, forget it, it’s so fun to have friends!

Having the party at the cafe was a great idea if I don’t say so myself! Hiak! Endless supply of great food (as opposed to catered buffet food), someone helping to pour the drinks, play area which I don’t have to clean up after!, super child friendly – no one bats an eye at kids running amok plus there’s a nursing room n changing room in the cafe itself!, free face/hand painting on Sundays (hee I planned it such that the timing coincided haha) etc… SUPER! Only problem was that they didn’t tell us earlier that there was a party after ours and we had to clear out by a certain time. But at least they were nice enough to offer us another table and helped us to move over.

This time round, Sophie was pretty much involved in the party planning. She choose the
- friends to invite
- theme (ok, truth? hee… i didn’t put Barney as a choice… HAHAHA. Sorry lah I’m growing fond of the purple guy BUT balloons, cake n party bags? That’s too much… Mickey still can.)
- goodies for the goody bag (I was really tempted to escape and run out to do a quick buying trip but decided in the end to bring Sophie along. She totally enjoyed the process. I strongly recommend this. She was so excited to pack the goody bags and kept saying "These are for my friends, right?". So cute lah)
- cake (Er…… also guided choice. It’s Mickey OR Mickey. Hahaha)

She was so hyped up about the party the night before, she even said "I LOVE to sleep!" coz we kept telling her that she needs to sleep so that tomorrow can come. Hiak!

I had a great time observing Sophie and how she has grown – the spontaneous hugs to her fav friends, the shyness, the joy when Evan her best friend walked thru the door, the willingness to dress up with a tiera, recognising and mouthing the words of the birthday song when the record was playing because she was too shy to sing it aloud, ability to sit alone with her friends and interact with them, willingness to sit and be painted coz it’s pretty……. yes all that….. My little girl is growing up

The adults also had a great time. James and I felt right at home, walking around playing host to our friends. I was SO thankful that my parents were around helping to keep an eye on Sophie. Sophie’s godparents also did such a great job watching out for her and Vic at one point was feeding Sophie the birthday cake!

We are really blessed to be surrounded by great friends. Thanks guys for being there and also for all the lovely thoughtful presents!

Sophie feeding kangaroos

We’ve caught the zoo bug recently! We went two days in a row!

I gotta say our local zoo ROCKS big time! It’s an open concept zoo so you almost feel like you’re walking thru the park with animals close to you and they are everywhere! Except that the lion and the giraffes can’t reach n tear each other apart because they are separated by moats and vegetation plus a narrow road and pathways that we walk on. Which means, we’re safe too! Phew! But it was funny to hear the lions and giraffes taunting each other across the street or at least it seemed like that, so near yet so far!

Saki Monkeys

In the past two days, we managed to catch the

1. First Day – Splash Safari show where the sea lion, penguins, manatees entertained us,

2. First Day – Water play area where Sophie went wild coz she hasn’t played in the water for a long time. The area needs a major uplift coz it’s very rundown but there’s a new Children’s area coming up soon.

3. Second Day – Kangaroo feeding at the Australian Outback area where DN shook hands with the kangaroos and Sophie asked the kangaroo if she wanted to eat her shoe! Serious!

4. Second Day – Elephant riding, our friends went on it but we didn’t. Sophie saw how the elephant peed and was not very impressed that they didn’t use the toilet. Hiak.

Eh….. doesn’t seem like a lot in two days…

But it was SOOOOOOO enjoyable! I enjoyed listening to the zookeepers and presenters talk about the animals. They are so knowledgeable and so passionate about the animals! And they are oh so so kind! There is hope yet for the service industry in Singapore! Here are some examples of why I think the Singapore Zoo is world class:

1. June and I were running with our prams and babies towards the giraffe feeding when we saw the zookeepers walking towards us. We missed it! We must have looked really sad and disappointed. But they were so kind to tell us to head towards the Australian Outback where the kangaroo feeding was going on. I mean, they could have just told us, sorry finished bye bye but they went the extra mile to inform us of an alternative! AND this impressed me – the guy checked his phone for the showtimes, which prob meant they had some software to indicate that (COOL!) or he already memorised all the showtimes and was checking the time!

2. At the Kangaroo feeding area, they let DN and Sophie share the feed (no, not for the kids, the kangaroos!). They could have very well insisted that we had to pay (or donate coz by right it’s a donation) twice for two kids. They also didn’t hurry us and we took our time to feed the kangaroos. The kids had such a great time! DN even had time to shake hands and make friends with one kangaroo.

3. Bin wanted to let J sit on the pony so we bought pony ride tickets. But when we got there, NONE of the 3 kids wanted to sit on it! Argh. Ok lah I don’t really blame them. We had a chat with the trainer/keeper and he started telling us more about the pony. He was so gentle with the pony. I the goondu got Sophie to pat the pony on the back, thank God, he calmed the pony down quickly or else we would have been kicked! So I learnt never to pat the pony from the back! We met this guy some time before and he left an impression coz he was so knowledgeable and so helpful. Anyways, he told us that we could refund the ticket if we didn’t use it. How sweet! So Bin got it refunded and they went on the elephant ride instead.

What I would recommend to do for a morning trip

1. 9am Watch the Elephant bathing and then after that walk around abit
2. 10.05am Polar Bear Feeding
3. 10.30am Treetops Trail & Otter Feeding
4. 10.45am Giraffe OR Kangaroo feeding (Have to choose either one coz they are about the same time) Cannot miss this one! Cost about $5
and you can share the feed with your friends. Not to eat, to feed the animals.
OR 11am Catch the Splash Safari show (about 30 – 45 mins) and after that head towards the Children’s Play area for water play
5. 12pm Lunch
6. 1.30pm If you still have time, you can catch the Rainforest Fights Back show OR go for an ride on the Elephants (anytime from 1-2pm). The show is free but the ride costs $8 for adults and $4 for kids.

For the feeding and shows, you got to arrive early because they only allow a certain number of people to feed e.g max 5-10. Beyond that, the animals will not eat anyways. On weekdays, the shows are not so packed so you can arrive on time but on weekends, you have to rush for everything. Oh and it can get really hot so bring a hat or in our case, a dainty umbrella and the boys will fight over you…….r umbrella.

The Zoo is going thru a lot of revamping since end of last year and I think a better time to go would be the end of this year. But it is definitely worth a trip. You gotta go. It costs $16 per adult and $8.50 for children ages 3 – 12. A little expensive for a family trip BUT so worth it. Or like us, try to get your company incentive cards and it’s a free trip!

(ok after writing this post, I shd get an award for the bestest friend of the zoo. I hope some PR guy from the Singapore Zoo is doing his job.)

Last Sat, instead of bringing the kids to yet another performance, water play or birthday party, we girls left them with their daddies, got all dressed up and went for high tea at St. Regis. Very tai tai

Ooooooooo it was SO fun!!!!!!!!!!! We took lotsa photos, swooned over the spread, and then ate and laughed A LOT! And the champagne was divine!

We had a great day today!!!

In the morning Sophie and I went to West Coast to have a bit of sandplay… gotta prepare her for the upcoming trip. I’ll be so sad if she refuses to walk on the beach!! It’ll be a disaster! I’m having dreams of us walking on the beach, building sandcastles… la di da…. can’t wait! She did well! She dug her head into sand and pour sand on her head. Ok pass, she’s not afraid of sand. I battled being the scardy cat Singaporean mum and wanted to stop her but she was having so much fun, I just had to sit back and just laugh with her. Sometimes when I relax, we do have so much more fun.

After that, we had lunch at Macs. Yes, also in preparation for the trip – to eat junk food! Ok like as if we need any training in that! Hahaha… She enjoyed her milk, corn and scraps of meat off my oily McWings and cheeseburger. Argh, so unhealthy! But so yummy! Oh ya, plus fries. Dipped in chilli! Argh, she’s taken to the chilli sauce! This time round she’s not so keen on fries, donno why, good thing I guess. We’re going to be away for a whole month so I really need to start relaxing on her food intake or else I’m really not going to enjoy the trip very much. She doesn’t eat a lot so I really need to be very strategic on what I give her – max nutrients on little food. Ok I guess one month of junk food won’t kill her, in fact, she might really start to enjoy food again! Avocado land here we come!

We spent the afternoon with Evan and then later popped over to Summer and Kyla’s place. The girls had a great time. Today’s lesson was on Good Friends. I really pray that these two girls will stick thru thick and thin together, just like Gin n I. We made them do hand prints – each girl has a hand print of her own n the other’s. So sweet. It’s going to be so memorable in time to come.

Ended the day with dinner downstairs with Daddy. Nice. Friends and family that’s what we need for the long run. I’m deeply appreciative of that tonight.

DN, one of Sophie’s Sept baby friends, was at our place last night after dinner.

Both of them are so cute together! They’ve got some history together – first hugs, first kisses etc…

And last night, when it was time to go home, DN threw Sophie’s shoes out of the door (btw, he actually picked the same one which she wore during dinner… 100 points to the boy who notices what the girl wears! He chose them out of 4 pairs of Sophie’s shoes lying there k! Super!) and signaled (typical DN style) Sophie to leave with him! And then he called James and I to go with them too! Aiyo TOO CUTE!

We’re so sad that June, PF and DN are going away for a while.

Caught this picture of Sophie giving Evan a little nose rub and affection today.

The thing about these two girls is that they are SO different. They snatch and they fight but they really like each other very much. Sophie is funny and Evan likes to laugh. Sophie the emo one always cries when Evan has to leave. Evan who is normally more chill also was reluctant to leave today. So cute lah.

Top Left: from left – Clarice, Jovann, Reubern (hidden a little), Arianne, Sophie, Der Nen and Clarence (plus his daddy)
Top Right: Cupcakes designed just for the kids
Bottom Left & Right: Sophie and Dernen

Having Sophie has really broaden our social circle! It’s because of her that we get invited to cool parties and activities. It’s also because of her we make new friends. Hiak…

When Sophie was a few months old, I got really bored at home and made some friends over the Singapore Motherhood Forum (something that I never thought I would do) but what a blessing it has been because some of us have became really close, confiding our mummy problems to each other. Forming a really tight support group. I still remember our first meeting at Tanglin mall. It was so strange coz we’ve never met each other, almost like a blind date.

Now the kids are all turning TWO! They are all more interactive and entertaining. We celebrated their birthdays together last Sat and the kids had a blast – chasing bubbles and all! So sad that us the Lims double booked ourselves and I had to run off for worship prac but at least we got to sing and cut the cake together. It was hilarious watching all of them trying to climb onto the table to touch the cupcakes. I took a whole lot of pictures coz it was just so funny to watch them.

I’m looking forward to all of them growing up together.

Spending time with our "extended" family

The cell kids played with cookie dough yesterday and out came these marvelous creations! Wanz made the dough and even Sophie got to use the moulds, add chocolate chips and M&Ms. She loved it! The best part? EATING THEM!

Look at how happy she was!! Her favourite were the chocolate chip ones. We brought some home and she’s been happily eating them too. Wanz made some coconut milkshake for the kids too. Sophie loved that too! Such a treat to have a friend who is a good cook!

This is Sophie’s all time favorite person besides James and I – KOR KOR CHRIS.

Chris is my godson and prob one of the few kids that I actually babysat before I had Sophie. He’s 6 and going to Primary 1 next year. He’s a really really sweet boy and he treats Sophie very gently. I think that’s why she likes him very much. She sings Happy Birthday Kor kor Chris every other day even though his birthday has passed long time ago. He’s also the first name she mentioned when I asked her who she wanted to invite for her upcoming 2 yr old birthday party.