We are EXPECTING!!!

Yes, we are expecting a new born soon but nope, it's not the one in the pic (wish bb could be popped out so so big!) This was a pic taken during CNY when Aunty Lorr was looking aft the 2 little ones (the other one is Aiden, Uncle Ben and Aunty Celeste's boy) and since then it looked kinda nice to have a companion for Ian and he has been 'bugging' us for di2mei2 (maybe got influenced by po2) anw it has been a much awaited prayer answered as we have been waiting for the bb to come to come as a companion for Ian as we could see how he misses companion on wkdays (coz wkends he has his cousins!)

Anw some mths back, we did visit the gynae to do other tests as well and found out it wasn't so so easy for mama to conceive (for some reason) and in fact Ian was a MIRACLE for us coz he came barely 6 mths into a marriage and he popped out aft we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. Yes, looking back God has been so gd to us and have been waiting for another miracle since mama has aged more and with all the endless 'naggy reminders' from ALL pple (yes, even with aunties coming up during bday parties saying we shld not stop at 1) yes yes, thanks for all these needless reminders, it definitely added more pressure on mama hhahaaa and gd thing mama was going thru the BSF on the bk of God reminding her that God's timing is all important and there is nothing too hopeless with God and that really encouraged mama on! Guess mama has learnt to be encourager to pple rather than asking 'When is yours coming huh???"

And looking back, it has been God's perfecting timing again....for Ian's, guess we shld hv been reminded how perfect our God is and how could we doubt him for our no. 2 coz that time we wanted a kid before mama turned 30 and it came so timely that mama turned 30 the day after the bb shower! And also the delivery of Ian came so timely after the due notice was served for mama's previous job to go on maternity lve. And this time, the bb shld be out a few mths before mama turns 35 (yes, that was the mark mama was going for before she becomes a high risk mama) and also we went for gynae visit during the 1 week break when Ian was with po2's pl so we could ask all we could with the visit and to find out the bb has been safe since mama is already 13wks preggy.....ya ya so slow in finding out, guess just too too busy with Ian's routine and dismissed all nauseous as just lethargy from fetching him to and from sch and cooking all those dinners (which made mama more sick and couldn't eat much and yet had to feed Ian arrgghh) looking back, God has sent angels to protect mama coz rem there was a fall mama had aft tripping over Ian and yet the foetus survived hahaha and also we planned for a vacation in May and now it's just nice to travel during the 2nd trimester....what can we say abt God's timing!!! He's indeed the perfect one and in Him, we do not need to worry and even as we go thru the next 6 mths, we really need all your prayers and support in going thru the pregnancy. And maybe 4yo is a gd age to teach Ian abt siblinghood and he has been asking for bb endlessly and he wants the bb NOW!! And he wants a mei2 but we dunno the gender yet but he's sure big hearted wanting to share all stuff with bb but sure hope he will do that when the bb arrives and juggling with a preschooler and a bb might be a challenge but we will go thru it with God's help!

We visited the Fire Station today!!!

Ya we were at the central fire stn today and the kids had so much to explore ard the place and Ian was asking to take the CPL but it was mega long queue and by the time we are doing with the exploration of the place, the queue has closed so so will be back again....

Today they went on board the ambulance, fire engine and tried the water spray and going on the gallery, they had more fun with the old ambulances and fire engines and even trying on the uniform and doing some shading there with the materials provided....guess it has been some time since we last came here together so it was gd the kids were kept entertained with all the stuff and it was a nice Sat morning to be able to make it there!

Ian's 1st swimming class...

For some time, we have been planning for a swimming class for the 3 kids (tho their ages varies) and the day finally came that the class took place! We had planned on a Fri evening as Seth has sch till 5pm and after dinner, it would be just nice for the kids to come by for class at Safra! So today, they were most elated to hear that there was swimming class and before the class began, they couldn't wait to take a dip since it has been so long since we last came this pool and they had some fun before the coach ernest came to take them on.....well some new stuff for the kids as they were taught to blow bubbles in the water and were asked to dip their heads into the water....hhmm this Ian just couldn't do it hahhaa and told the coach he doesn't want, guess that's the thing abt having a class with all the familiar faces so he dares to make such requests that he doesn't dare to.....well well 1st lesson only and will see how far he can go with the coaching rather than with us coz he wouldn't do what we want him to dip his head in....see what the coach can come up with....well for the 1st lesson, the kids love the swimming class let's see how long that lasts....

After 10 wks of missing going po2's pl....

A sch term has passed and even when planning Ian's sch hols, there were several times he did request to go po2's pl even when po2 picked him up from sch and this wish is finally fulfilled since he''s off from sch this wk and just taking train to po2's pl brought so much memories as he was doing the same as he did usually (running into the train to get his seats! as if the mama told him to 'grab' seats! ) and asking to do stuff on train (he used to doodle alot but today he started writing numbers on his own hehhee coz some time ago mama was just lamenting to ah mu Ian can't quite write numbers yet and today he surprised mama coz he started writing 1-9 and even the toughest 8, he did try a while and he got it! How happy were both the son and mama hahhaaa pleasant surprise on the 30 mins ride up north!)

And when he got there, he was so excitedly 'gathering' his toys he used to play when he stays over and got so busy playing in the room that po2 said she could leave him alone there to do stuff and well he had a gd time there that he said he wanna camp 3 days there (huh??)

Dayi went over with cakes to celeb po2's bday as today was the actual bday for po2 and guess Ian's presence just brought more joy than any gift could bring to the 2 old folks and here's Ian with po2 and ah gong lazing behind the scene hahaha.....heard the boy sang so loudly the bday song since he was the only kid ard

And when dayi sent this pic to mama, the qn came 'hey whose bday issit!' coz Ian got a choc cake with a candle too and when later mama called, Ian kept saying 'dun ask that question' (abt whose bday issit hahaha) and dayi said it was to 'make up' for not celebrating his bday over at po2's pl hahhaa and of coz the boy wouldn't reject more cakes and even posed for this bday cake of his hhmm he had so much fun he din quite wanna talk to mama on the phone....guess this was a long awaited wish to stay over and just let him have the extra fun coz it will be be back to routine next wk! And it's another 10 weeks before he gets this stay over again up north!

Finally a musical for us after 4 yrs.....

Yes, we went for the Lion King musical on Sat but it was without Ian coz when we purchased the tics, the person did say it's not suitable for kids below 6yo but well when we were there we saw tons of kids with their parents....guess we kindof regretted but yet coz it was matinee Ian probably will fall asleep inside tho we guess maybe not coz the props were so interesting and they were in fact walking down the aisle so so many times....but there may be scenes that may be frightening to him anw we had a gd time coz we have not watched a musical since we had Ian and now he's bigger and more manageable, we were glad to have Jiu2 and Aunty Lorraine who so kindly agreed to babysit him and Joy so the adults and Seth could go for this musical. Guess the 2 younger ones had a gd time too hearing of the things they did and ate! But was most glad they did sleep in the car coz was worried Ian might not want nap and would affect Joy but ended up he slept 1st (upon the instructions) and enjoyed the hrs he had with Jiu2 and Aunty Lorraine and also meeting up with Uncle Kenneth and Aunty Salome =)

It was real gd to be able to go for the musical for the man again coz we used to love going when we were dating or even when we got married and guess our wish to to 'influence' Ian into this but it will be costly since they dun have concession for kids and well Lion King was gd and perhaps we could go London to catch it with Ian hahhahaa just a thot =p

And then we met up with the other Chng Clan for celebration for po2's bday opp church when we got reunited with the 2 kids and here they are with the Toy Story cake (again!) and they were so pleased to see so so many candles coz they never seen so many on their cakes hahaha and had a gd time blowing them out and wanting which part of the Toy Story cake (AGAIN!) it's always lovely to have bday celeb with the clan and the kids (and the adults too!) love it!

4 cakes for a 4-yo boy!

For a cake lover, the 4 cakes were only for him over the span of 5 days, the 1st was the Sat's when we had celeb over at our pl. Guess the 4 cakes also symbolise the thanksgiving for his bday. For the past yrs, mama always did a flash back on Ian's life...perhaps this time it can be a little different having the cakes to represent the 4 thanksgiving...the 1st of coz for God in our lives and in our family....its really God's grace that saw us thru the initial mths and yrs of bringing up this boy as it is our 1st experience being parents....now seeing how the boy has grown and how's his faith in God is growing and ever singing his praise whenever he is back at home.....recently he learnt "kumbaya" and "I will make you fishers of men" thru the 'chapel times' at his sch, it just reminded us of how God is slowly growing seed in his life and even singing "The bible is a treasure book" when he comes back from BSF, truly thank God for such moments when truths are being instilled in his heart and trust this seed will grow over the yrs of 'planting and watering'

The 2nd cake is to thank God for family and friends.....guess family is the kinship that's the greatest gift from God on earth and Ian never fails to remember his family whenever he has things to share and even when he does things, he will make sure he counts to make sure there is enough for ah gong, po2, Jiu2, Aunty Lorraine, Dayi and of coz ah baa and ah mu's family....there is just so much love in his heart that is so blessed by the family in his life....and of coz the new friends he made in sch as he comes back daily to tell us of the happenings and it's always gd to hear how he is able to relate to many friends in sch and when mama brings him to sch, there will be some friends ard to greet him "hi" and truly thank God how he has slowly integrated into sch so well without much worries and of coz enjoying every moment of his sch life =)

And this was a cake brought by po2 since he won't get to meet po2 on his bday since daddy has take lve and he has an aeroplane toy on top of the cake and we truly thank God for the providence in our family.....being a single income family, we never expected there is so much He could give us and we never had to worry abt meeting the ends meet. Though the boy doesn't know the value of money yet, he knows daddy works hard to bring 'bread' home so that he can go to sch and have toys and even holidays! Most important, we have God in our home and He is the true provider of life and all

And the 4th cake was from dayi which was a yummy chocolate cupcake from Awfully chocolate and the boy just love it....the 4th thanksgiving would be for a boy who is truly a gift to both his daddy and mummy as there is much joy ard when he is ard and as he grows up, he is becoming more sensitive to things and wanting to be a loveable boy (tho there are still moments of tough-ness) but he's really growing out of his 'baby-ness' and truly into a boy as we see how he will wanna make mama and daddy happy and when mama's not happy, he will make sure mama is fine by looking into mama's face and keep calling 'Mummy, are u ok?' and even asked if he could kiss mama when she's angry hahaha coz that's the moment he really fears hehehe despite his endless reasoning but we could see how his mind is growing with more thots and creativity and just appreciating this phase of his life when he's ever keen to learn and just easy to be disciplined and for that reason, it pays to be a stay home mum coz u see 'returns' as u reap! On such a day, we just wanna wish our boy a truly truly Blessed 4th bday and we are so looking fwd to another new yr of 'adventure' and 'fun' seeing how God is moulding you to a boy after His heart!

Skipping nap for 2 days....

Over the last wkend, we were surprised how Ian was catching up on his sleep and over the last few mths it has been real real tough getting him to nap in the noon as he would toss and do funny stuff and not get to zzzz and Sun it was the time when mama heard daddy trying to get Ian sleep and it was really tough and he finally did after 2 hrs of 'playing' ard....anw he surprised us even as he knocked out on bed just past 9pm and woke up still later than usual.....so mama had to wake him up on Mon at 730am to hv bf before going BSF and mama guessed he probably dun need to nap that noon and true enough, after tossing 30mins he told mama he's not tired and wanna do some homework and so he did.....

It was tough trying to keep him going with activities and Mon was easy coz po2 came by with cooked dinner for us and so mama din need to cook and Joy came along to play with Ian and entertain the boy....the boy was energetic thru-out and only when it comes past 7pm, mama then got him to go take a shower and above is the rare pic of him wearing pyjamas just past 7pm and yet he had his toys in hands....he was still playing as normal and no sign of lethargy in him until mama asked him to go bed at 8pm....even on bed mama expected him to knock out after milk but he was still chatting with mama for a gd 30 mins sigh....wonder where his energy came from as mama was even tired out on bed with his endless energy thru the day

Almost the same happened the next day as he only woke up past 720am hhmm with this napless sleep then he could sleep thru 11hrs coz we used to wonder how come it's so tough for him to take 11hrs of sleep daily (as that is the min a toddler of his age shld be taking) anw with the days without naps, guess mama is the one missing out on the naps hahhaaa guess this just came far too soon and just 2 days before he turns 4, he's fine to go without naps?? sigh....

Ian's 4th birthday is finally here!

Ian has been asking whether his bday is here almost every other day as there was built up thru out the wk and when he woke up today with mama greeting him Happy Birthday, he could not hide his happy smile and he got up to get prep for sch as daddy gave him a Happy meal bf surprise while sending him to sch and he was glad to go for his gym class today! And after sch we picked him up to spend the rest of the day celebrating his bday!
He has been so looking fwd to seeing penguins as he could vividly rem there are penguins at the Bird Park and here he is posing with the penguin (see how he crosses his legs) hhmm wonder where he learnt abt crossing the legs before posing but well it was a cool start to the hot weather when we first landed at the Jurong Bird Park and it just got cooler along the way

Here is Ian by the Flamingo pool and checking out the flamingoes as we later came by to see the feeding done for the flamingoes and they can be quite noisy at meal times hhmm and we saw 3 egg nests waiting to be hatched at the bird park!

Then Ian asked to see the macaws coz they were quite noisy when we passed by and behind them were the noisy macaws which we also saw them at the Parrots show

Here we are waiting for the start of the Children's Parrot show which we finally made it here as Ian was stuck at the Splash and Slide playground for a gd 30 mins or so coz he went endlessly on the slides which we took some time for our lunch break at the play area

After the show, we hurried to see more birds before the sky turned dark and here we came to visit the owls and Ian was quite friendly to say Hi to them even tho it was dark but it was a nice cosy place to watch them tho Ian started hurrying us to go off as it was just too dark for him to venture further hhmm saw some snowy owls and reminded us of Christmas as the trees were with snowy cap on them

And here we are making our exit out of the bird park which was a gd short stay coz we saw quite a few highlights and this time Ian was able to appreciate it better esp the show as he could follow the presentor better and he thoroughly enjoyed as he clapped with all the performances. If not for the threatening weather, we could stay for more shows but well we headed for our part 2 of the bday celeb which we were gonna meet up with dayi who wanna spend the day with the bday boy and we headed out and soon the rain met us on the highway and Ian had his power nap while we were on our way to next destination

Yes, we did the smaland passort for Ian on his bday as he turns 4 today and officially he can be a member of the Smaland....nothing much but to clock smal$ to change for some gifts for each visit he comes to Ikea but we do go there quite often so it was nice to do the passport for him tho he wasn't too game to take the pic with the auntie as he just woke up from his nap!

Soon he warmed up with the 'toy area' for kids and he was hopping on every spinning chair, every swing and every possible playing toy as that's his fav whenever we came here and he was just glad to be riding ard

And we came here coz the other day we promised him a birthday chicken wing treat for him as we din allow him to eat much the other day coz he's recovering from a cough but today he had his treat...of coz not all but 2 was suffice to treat the chicken wing lover boy and dayi came by with an awfully chocolate cupcake for the chocolate lover....it was really chocolate-ty till the boy din wanna share with us as it was too yummylicious sigh....what a treat huh just for the name of BIRTHDAY!!!

It was tea time at Ikea and then we proceeded to Anchor point to do some shopping and dinner...well the boy couldn't eat much after his heavy tea break but he was game for ice cream but the condition was for him to eat some food and he did have a macau pork chop burger but he was more game for the burger than the meat....anw such a day of sinful eating sigh and here came his choc ice cream which he was most pleased with!!! Thanks dayi for coming with us to share this bday joy with the happy boy!

It was a gd day out after Ian's sch and this boy was smiling the whole time guess he truly enjoyed his special day and he now really is 4 yrs old coz he has been counting down since Christmas day and it has been 3 mths of counting and guess he's really glad it has been a gd bday week for him! Yeah almost a little celeb for every day of the week! Happy birthday, our ever happy and cheeky boy!

Celebration of Ian's bday at ah gong and ah maa's pl

As usual, Sun evening we had dinner over ah gong and ah maa's pl except today we brought along a cake to celeb there with the folks and this was a cake Ian chose for his bday and of coz it's a Toy Story cake with ALL the characters (yes, he made sure all were there when he chose the cake but it turned out 'chaos' for mama hehhee) and here's a pic of Ian with his cousins and can imagine the 'noise' produced EVERY Sun at the estate with 5 little mouths hhmm

And of coz the boy was happy to be sung the bday song again and blowing his candles (made sure no one else blows out his candles hahhaa) and of coz cutting the cake and when comes to distribution of the cake it became a headache as every kid was asking for a particular character sigh and it sure made mama's job tough anw probably learnt the lesson not to get such many characters cake haahaa....yet another celeb for the boy's bday!

Ian's mini bday celeb on Sat

We usually celeb the family member's bday on the Sat before the bday with chng clan but this Sat we weren't able to do it as Uncle Daniel was holding his customary wedding dinner at Copthorne King's Hotel and here's the pic of the extended family. It was a gd time of lunch together as the Chng Clan was on the same table and the kids had fun catching up with the folks. Ian actually agreed to sing on stage with Jie2 and gor2 in return for a gift but it din take pl coz the 2 younger ones who were more keen had to take their nap towards the end of the lunch as it was past their nap time....and then we proceeded back home to have mini celeb at home

Just to add more 'atmosphere' to the mini 'party' so mama put up the bday banner and the boy was most elated to see it hanging with his fav balloons and it brought much to him that he just couldn't hide his smiles and thanked mama for the bday 'party'....guess he was just contented with the small party he has with his close family members

He was so so glad when the 'guests' finally came as he has been asking when is gor2 and jie2 coming by to play with him and together they dabao Ian's fav -pizza for the mini celeb and the kids just love the food huh and it was yummy to get this pizza from GWC (which is so popular among the expats!)

And then of coz it was the bday cake and Ian was happy with the Stitch cake we got and the kids just got excited with the candles and singing of song and for the 1st time mama saw this awkwardness on Ian's face as he knew all were singing the bday song to him hhahhaaa but he was happy to blow the candles on his own and to cut his own cake!

Just to thank ah mu and the kids for swinging by to make this boy's bday more special with your presence and he doesn't know how elaborate parties have to be but this sure made his a really special one with all ur love and blessings! This is just the start of his bday wk, guess he will have more surprises along the way =)

We got a new 'toy'....

We got the i-pad some weeks back (aft much consideration) and finally set it up last wkend and were thinking how to introduce it to Ian coz he has badly wanted it (yes, even willing to forego his Aust trip for it!) and it was quite timely that we attended a talk abt the changes in pri sch syllabus in Chinese and we realised how we need to buck up for Ian so so....we introduced this new toy with conditions attached (yes, toys dun come easily for him eg the iphone with much strings attached)

And so for i-pad it was said that it belongs to daddy (since mama has iphone already) and therefore we can only play when daddy is home (ie cuts down the time we spend on it) and only played at home (if otherwise daddy suggests) and it's meant for family play (ie we take turns and its not a solo game so we download more family friendly games like monopoly, Uno and marble games!) and most importantly when we play this, we have to speak in mandarin hahahaa much resistance for the potato boy but he had no choice and to agree that he will do it! Viola! We played a gd 30 mins on Sat nite and it turned out well tho he was speaking only 20% mandarin but it was a GD start and guess he was real happy to be laying his hands on the i-pad but with much much rules hahaha....so anyone wanna come and join us for this new toy??? huan yin....huan yin!

Ian's 1st bday present arrived!

Dayi 'delivered' Ian's bday present to our doorstep after the lunch and Ian was most glad abt it coz some wks back we went scootering with his 2 cousins and he was hopping onto Joy's scooter non-stop and guess it was new to him so he hogged onto it and so we thot it might be a gd gift to get and told dayi since she was going JB shopping and din wanna sth too ex as it might be a passing fad....anw so when he saw this blue scooter, his face 'lighted up' asking if it was for him....then for the next few days he just went ard the home with it arrgghhh except rules that it can't go into the bedroom so he has his 'parking zones' and he actually parked it beside his bed at nite so that he could scooter it out when he wakes up in the morning so these days it was easy to wake him up

Just that when mama told him the rule that once the scooter goes outdoors, it can never be played back home just coz the wheels would be dirty and all and his 1st smart ans was 'No, my scooter is only to be played at home....when we go out, I play Jie2's scooter' arrgghhh what can we say so we told him he could play with his own while each kid has their own sigh but he insisted sharing the pink scooter just coz he wanna play at home.....will take some time to 'brain wash' more arrgghh no wonder a friend ever told me that all of us are born sinful....where did he get this idea from?? Sighx3!

A lovely lunch with beloved dayi!

Today happened to be ACS founder's day and dayi din have sch in the morning and she had her friend's car so she was kind to offer to pick Ian from sch and then for lunch and Ian was 'shy' when he saw dayi (was totally surprised coz thot he would be most happy to get a car ride) and only when reaching the car then he 'warmed' up and we headed for this Macs for lunch as it was the day when they have 1-for-1 burger 'sale' and boy, it was super crowded by lunch time so gd thing we were there early and had all our sets ready as the boy was famished and he ate his double cheese quite quickly and dayi was most impressed by that and he had a gd time chatting with dayi while mama got the food.....then he proceeded to the kid's play area and he was the only kid at the place so he could do all sorts of stunts and was all worked out when we headed home! Thanks dayi for this rare chance of going lunch with us on a wkday!

Ian's reasoning 'skills' is building up!

Ian's just a wk away before he turns 4 yrs old but its quite amazing (or shld we say scary) how he's getting his thots being reasoned out

Just last mth, when mama was supposed to bring ah gong for his eye check so mama thot to prep him so told him the plan that he will go over ah mu's pl to nap and then play with Joy jie2 while mama goes with ah gong and he was prompt in asking why mama must go with ah gong. His 1st reply was 'why not ah-mu?' then mama had to explain coz ah mu must prep gor2 to go sch and then his next question was why ah gong can't go along and then mama explained coz the doc is an indian so ah gong might not understand and he went on to ask 'why doesn't he speak chinese?' and then after much explaination his next final ans was 'why can't the doc call u?'....was totally stumped at this qn coz the ans will be they dun hv such service! Haaaa anw the plan still went ahead and he did well at ah mu's pl but yet had to go thru such 'grilling' by our 3yo son arrgghhh or shld mama's ans be 'coz I am ur mama then do what I say' but din wanna appear so authoritarian esp he's only 3yo

Then just last wkend we were going to choose his cake for his bday and upon arriving the car park he told us he wanna go the playground but told him he gonna choose his own cake design and then he came up with this ingenious idea....'mama, why dun u choose for me while daddy and I go to the playground?' arrrgghh and this time of coz NO....coz that was just a lame excuse to go playground arrgghh guess its always no with mama ard hahaha

And the most worrying is abt his 'bargain' NOT to go Sun Sch coz just some wks back he started telling mama he doesn't like Sun Sch (wonder issit coz he has this comparison with his sch and BSF) and thot at that time was coz his gor2 and jie2 weren't ard but it persisted even after they are back from hols and there was a wk when he told mama he wanna stay home and not go church and after telling him Sun is the day we have to go church to worship God and all, then he said he wanna stay with mama in sanctuary to do 'stuff' but told him sternly kids have to go Sun Sch then he blurted saying he doesn't like the worship there, he likes the Sun Sch class but not the singing....sigh really wonder what is the prob with the worship coz he used to love singing there but lately he just dreaded going and tho he still goes and say Bye with a smile but deep inside him guess he's just doing it coz we kindof 'forced' on him sigh....this is a prob that's really worrying coz we dun wanna him go church disgruntled and just last Sun, some pple did come and try talk to him but he just din quite give a look....sigh sorry for those who felt he wasn't his own self coz even Pastor came to talk to him every wk but he just gave the 'dun bother me' look, we wonder issit the whole church thingy or issit coz too many pple come and 'bug' him since the min he stepped into church, we dunno but we need to pray for this boy....guess we never expected this to come this soon but hey we used to say 'are u trying to kid a 3yo?' but seriously now having a 3yo son myself, we wonder are they growing too fast for us to catch up with sigh....