We were at the okto Junior Ambassadors show at SBG

This was an unusual Sat as we had gynae visit lined up in the morning and then had to go attend a relative's church wedding and we had an evening off since we were out almost half a day so after Ian's nap, we were planning to go picnic at the park as mama rem there was some 'symphony' going on at SBG, yes something we always wanted to do but we have family dinners on Sat and Sun and since with a gd weather, we decided to attend this okto program which was much publicised on tv and yes it was CROWDED!!! We were on time but it was already filled with a sea of 'seasoned' visitors we guess but well we got a spot and enjoyed the show. With Ian being able to sit thru such 'entertainment' shows (since we tried at the Olympic run) so it was gd seeing the kids going on stage and performing their 1 min of 'fame' but must say they are quite daring to do it in front of the sea of crowd and Ian's fav was this small gal with Hello Kitty fans, she looked younger than Ian and think she's a Jap and was singing Jap songs.....it was an entertaining 2hrs we stayed except.....Ian was tempted at every 'picnic' going ard us...in front was a family with ice cream treat and behind was a family having their chicken pie dinner treat hahahaa such a foodie boy we only got biscuit and ribena drink for him hehehee that nite he wallowed his dinner real fast hahaha

Guess we shld go more of such events coz it's quite interesting just to sit on the grass and enjoy the breeze and things going on, the best part of the show was this drum band that was so entertaining with all their beats (that mei2 went on beating inside mummy hhmmm) and it was truly a gd experience as we saw how they played drums with water on them. And asking kids to go on stage, Ian was almost ready to run up till we saw this whole string of kids and they are only getting 6....next time we guess! Just a nice evening out of the norm.....

We participated in the Olympic Day run!!!

Yes, Olympic day run....it was quite coincidental how we chanced upon this wkend coz rem last wkend we were at Clarke Quay's macs and it has been some time since we visited Macs and there we read abt this run but it din click that we shld go coz perhaps it might be oversubscribed but it's on mama's FB as a 'friend' and they sent a msg earlier last wk that there are limited space for it and we just gave a shot and was pleasantly surprised we could still register for it and it was gonna be 845am at ECP so that morning Ian woke up early (which was usually the case tho he could sleep in on Sat am) and we had bf on the go and timed to be there early to pick up the t-shirts but we din know the car parks well enough and we parked a car park earlier (coz the designated one shld be crowded!) but it proved too far walk for us as it was endless to the National Sailing club where we ought to be so we walked almost 30mins and saw the flag off! So we were late at the starting line so we just picked up the stuff and took a pic with the yellow M balloon sculpture there since it was sponsored by Macs

Thereafter we had to backtrack to the carnival ground which was supposed to be 3km run but the boy was too tired after walking so so far and kept saying his legs are tired and his tummy is aching hahhaaa it was a nice morning to walk as the sun was hardly out yet and so daddy ran ahead and picked us up mid way so we walked 3km I suppose the morning since walking to and fro hehehee

And we visited the carnival ground with most of the runners there already and they had alot of activities lined up there like Archery, art stuff and even a stage performance and the boy was most pleased to sit there to watch the children performing as they were from various pri sch and it was quite entertaining so we could just stone there and played some games as well hehee guess Ian is at the age when he could visually enjoy the 'shows' and yet able to participate in the games and guess we could stay on till the end of it but mama had somewhere to rush to so we left before the VIP came

And there was a booth to collect a cert to show that we did go for the run and it was endorsed by IOC hhhmm seems quite impressive huh....it's like a momento for the boy with the Olympic sign on the cert! Guess we never knew there was such an olympic run day in Spore coz we dun see it advertised anywhere and we do see quite abit of public participants and alot families came wearing the t-shirts even, guess we could look out for it again next yr and perhaps we could come much earlier and run with the stroller hahhaaa if the boy is still game for it! What an unexpected eventful Sat morning that we could do together as a family!

We just love wkends!

Now Ian is into the mode of waking up and checking if daddy is home coz it means time out of home =) and he loves being on daddy's back for bath on wkends and just this wkend we decided we shld check out new shopping mall b4 we have the little one on tow so we went to Nex - the happening mall which we heard so much and we had a gd time shopping ard the HUGE mall (which mama always passes by for tuition but too early to check out the place) and Ian was attracted to this pet shop which he saw his fav bunnies and wanted to take a pic with this kangaroo (???)

And we must check out this Texas chicken which we heard so many pple talk abt it and yet haven't got a chance to try and here we are and the one wallowing up everything was Ian coz he liked abit of everything and the verdict was it's nicer than Popeye maybe coz its not as salty and the biscuit is butter and honey and was nicer so we could have this again sometime when we are in the mood for chicken =p

That evening we came back early from po2's pl and the usual routine was Ian going out on the corridor to catch glimpses of the NDP rehearsal's fireworks with daddy but today daddy suggested going there to watch since we are home early and we bia-ed to Fullerton and we did catch a gd view of it as we are in front of the platform and was quite surprised the place wasn't crowded so we know where to catch the real fireworks! But it proved a little too loud for Ian and he was covering his eyes but just enjoying the fireworks bursting in front of our eyes!

It was a rare chance to catch fireworks back home coz we thot it would be crowded but we are glad we tried and before the baby even comes along to make it a tougher task but Ian preferred to watch it back home when it's not so loud (duh!) hahaaa anw it was a nice wkend out as we wrapped the nite with a dessert break at Clarke Quay's mac which hasn't changed much where we used to hang out in our younger days hhmmm feel so old just hanging there =)

Seizing every opportunity!

We are seizing every Sat time out together as a family now and for last Sat, we went for breakfast at Commonwealth (an area daddy used to hang out as his sec sch was nearby and we were surprised how the place has changed!) and then take a short walk to the railway track (yea so much talked abt!) and thot before they make any decision on the tracks we shld take a short walk there and with the hot sun, our dear son soon 'melted' hahhaa and we weren't as well prep as the whole crowd there with long pants, bagpack of drinks, hats and all....seems like everyone is getting their last trek on the tracks! It was nice just to walk a little down and capture some pics

And of coz for the boy who always wanted to see the 'stones' on the tracks as we rarely got chance to see them as the MRT tracks near our pl is underground so his request always come when we take MRT to po2's place as it's exposed (that's before they put on the safety doors) and he would ask mama to go near the train tracks for him to see the 'stones' and we usually get glares from pple coz we are so near the yellow line so today Ian could see the stones and even walk on them and realised it's not so easy to walk on these stones!

Thereafter we made a quick stop at the library to drop off books and DVDs and to get more of them and we bumped into daddy's biao jiu whom we usually only see during CNY but Ian could rem what happened just this CNY as the uncle was actually carrying them(the cousins one by one) all upside down and then he recommended us to go SBG as there was some exhibit going on there and of coz we went since it's one of our fav places to 'roam' ard and it's nearby

Here outside the orchid library, Ian insisted taking pic with this sculpture, dunno what he/she looked like but doesn't it look tired?? And this little boy insisted sitting beside and take a pic or maybe 3 pics hahahaa wonder why.....

Then it was this Forests, People, Environment exhibition which is near the entrance and it was a small area and it featured quite abit of the environment changing in Spore and actually there were alot interesting talks lined up for the 2 weeks but guess we can't quite sit thru with our pre-schooler who would be bored with all the lectures so we just roamed ard and saw the video clips which were available there

Then it was our usual walk ard the park and of coz flower picking for the boy (yes, no flower plucking as we always tell him) and he wanted all sorts of colours and it was tough coz some nice flowers just dun fall from tree hahaha so it was a gd lesson for him to really scout ard for pretty flowers and then teaching him that they dun last coz he knows coz he has brought them home so many times only to see them wither and dry up! But he's still saddened by the withering hhmm guess time to teach him some science ha

Anw it was a gd morning out exploring diff things and guess we gotta come up with more ideas for each gd weather Sat morning!

Ian turns 4 yrs and 4 mths old!

This mth, we ended the sch hols and returned back to sch and Ian just rem how his 4 wks of hols were spent as he told us that he will wanna have another wk of Aust hols when he has his holidays again....ya that would cost us so much just to keep going for hols anw it was nice to see how he was happy back to sch again and how he yearns his playtime and sch learning time with his classmates tho we are still pestering him to take sch bus or even change to noon session for next yr....hhmm guess he is one with his own mind now and hard to convince him

And just some Fridays ago, we found out the Garrett popcorn stall was opened at GWC when we were shopping there and they were giving out free samples of caramel almond and this boy went up to ask for it and he just loved it....argghh each time we drive past GWC, he will be reminded of the popcorn and insisting to buy them and eat.....well we almost bought them that nite but we still got some desserts to clear back home and did promise him someday coz we also loved the popcorn but it's just weird eating without watching a movie isn't it hahhaaa

These days, mama will take the chance of gd weather to bring Ian out for walks or playground time or shopping as we might hardly get the leisure of doing it when the little one comes along and Ian doesn't quite understand how shopping can be tough with a newborn coz he doesn't know how loud their demand can get hahhaa and so for the time being, the motivating factor to get Ian out of his slumber nap time was playground time =) and he loves just lying down the slides and then getting on his bike and riding it ard

Yes, time is running out for us as we are counting down and so mama started asking him to make teacher's day cards hahaha also coz po2 got him some nice stickers and instead of wasting them sticking ard, we decided to stick them on the cards and he was quite picky abt choosing which one for his teacher hhmm well we still get some more stuff to do and shall pace out across the wks huh

Some sundays back, ah maa asked us to pick some old toys which we could keep and we picked some for the newborn and Ian came back happily with this stack of chinese cards and he sticked them on his white board with his recent craze of bluetac and greentac and he started learning to write them....but one day he started pointing at them and mama just stared blankly and he got frustrated telling mama 'You are supposed to read them!' hahhaaa guess he was acting like his lao shi in sch and asking mama to be the student....anw he loves being the teacher as sometimes when mama is cooking in the kitchen, she could hear him calling his classmates chinese names and 'ordering' them to do things so mama could catch some glimpses of scenes he has in sch huh

This mth, he did get to stay 2N at po2's pl as his reason was he won't get the chance when sch starts and perhaps in Sep he will be confined with mama at home as well....anw wonder if that was a wise choice to allow his way coz he came back really sick.....he hardly has wheezing (the record shows he had wheezing last Jul and the yr before and wonder if Jul is the wheezing spell for him) but he looked really sick with his hard of breathing and po2 did panick after seeing him wheezing like that for the 1st time.....ya a hard lesson for them to learn as he has so much leeway when stay over like what he eats, what time he sleeps and what he plays and doc did say the cause might be air con or dust or food......which back home we hardly have aircon and mama is quite strict on his diet and so we had to learn by the hard way......but just glad the boy is fine with some med and tho he was sick, he was still active and eating well and we are just glad he recovered in time to go back to sch and hope his cough doesn't come back so so soon as mama is really tired of his numerous cough spells for the past 2 mths and for a boy who loved citrus fruit, it's hard to ask him to fast from fruit! And this wk his request was for oranges! And he got his request coz it's been some time we have put orange out of his sight and smell!

It's durian feasting time =) =) =)

It's the season of the yr that Ian really loves....guess every yr we blog abt him loving durians and his love for that fruit just can't stop so last wk we had a feast back home as daddy was back home early (a rare rare chance) so aft a nice fish/bird feed at SBG, we turned to redhill and got these durians...sigh those durian sellers are quite persistent and we ended up with 2 BIG and a small box.....mama just joked with Ian abt mama and daddy having the big box and he could eat the small one but upon opening the small one, he actually broke into tears hahaa coz there were hardly few seeds in there

Of coz we feasted together and recalled our past durian feasting days coz it was abt 4 yrs ago when mama just couldn't wait for Ian to sleep at nite and came out of bedroom to eat durian with daddy and only going back to find out that Ian has just flipped over and was on his tummy for the 1st time! What an eventful nite to rem when Ian 1st did his tummy support act hhaaaa he was only 5 mths old then =) so was telling him he gotta stay in room to watch mei2 the next time we feast on durian hahhaaa just savor such moments when he could really enjoy such 'feastful' moments with us! And guess what, the next nite daddy came back with durian crepe from gdwood park hotel as his coy had some disc hahaaaa some gd durian feasting huh esp for this dear durian lover who started his feasting since he was barely 1yr+, wonder if our next kid will be like him also =p

Exercise time with daddy!

Somehow on Sundays, Ian knows he could work his way out by asking for no nap as he knows daddy is home and could have more fun so today, he asked for no nap and we were thinking what to do before dinner at ah gong and ah maa's home and din mind him skipping nap and coming home straight to sleep early so daddy suggested Ian goes cycling and he loves it, anw it doesn't do justice for the bike as mama only brings him downstairs on wkdays to cycle and today he had this whole stretch to cycle at the canal next to ah maa's home and daddy was jogging...when Ian heard that, he told daddy 'I am surely gonna be faster!' hahhaaa when actual fact he did cycle real top speed but to lose some stamina and din wanna lag behind daddy so daddy had no choice but to pace his cycling speed......it was kindof fun seeing the father and son exercise while mama takes a stroll down the canal which we did 5 yrs ago?? When mama was preggy with Ian and mama was taking her walk while daddy was training for his IPPT and we did it on wkday evenings and now some yrs past and we are doing with a pre-schooler with us and thinking back how time has flown past....and perhaps we shld keep this going and soon we could see a toddler walking alongside with us or perhaps on her gor2's bike??