One.. Two.. One.. Two..

Vio is a sporty little toddler. Other than kicking & dribbling balls the whole day, he also likes to do adult's warm-up movement!

[caption id="attachment_1835" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Morning Time Exercise with Daddy"][/caption]

Story Alive "Hansel & Gretel"

Just felt like it's been a million years since the last babies outing. So we decided to have a short one. Only Iggy, Celestine, and Vio joined the outing.

We went to City Square Mall to have lunch together and watch the free story telling session from Leap Schoolhouse: "Hansel & Gretel".

[caption id="attachment_1827" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Attendees"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1828" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Waiting for the show"][/caption]

The show begans with promotions about Leap Schoolhouse (but of course. What do you expect if the show is free?) And apparently, the show was targeted mostly for bigger kids. It involved asking few kids to answer questions, go to the stage many times to help setting the scene for the show or to act as Hansel & Gretel.

[caption id="attachment_1829" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Show from Vio's Point of View"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1830" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Daddy = My Personal Sofa"][/caption]

Though Vio didn't seem to understand much of the show, he managed to sit down during the whole show. I suppose he enjoyed the scenes of koko and jie-jie going up and down the stairs. And looking at them setting the scenes for the show. Haha.. Overall, it was quite ok.. At least we got a short outing (finally!)

Our Little Reunion

It's that time of the year again~

Time for me & my friends for our bi-annual "reunion". This time round is for late celebration of my & Allie's bday. (very very late, that is.. hahaha). We went to Shin Sapporo Ramen at Suntec. I just realized that I (almost) never try real Japanese Ramen before? Or have I? I can't seem to remember... Well, maybe it's because I'm not a big fans of noodle, especially thick ones (I find them to be yucky). And Japanese noodle for me = udon, which is thick. I only like thin noodles.

Well, this ramen shop sells thin noodles too. I ordered their signature ramen: miso ramen (spicy), and changed the noodle to thin ones. It was not bad.. At least I think I'll try to order ramen again next time. Provided it comes with thin noodles..

[caption id="attachment_1820" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Gang"][/caption]

We purposely didn't order any side dish.. Coz we wanted to try this interesting waffle shop that Allie & I spotted before meeting up at the Ramen shop. And.. as usual, it's card & gift-giving time!

[caption id="attachment_1821" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Shy Bday Gals"][/caption]

This year, I got a white 2-way scarf. Thank you galsss.. I like it... :D

After dinner time, we walked to the waffle place, and *ahem* stop for a while to take photos with the christmas tree.. wahahha..

[caption id="attachment_1822" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="O Christmas Tree.."][/caption]

Wah I think Vio would've loved the xmas tree bery much! It's made by all balls! I'm sure he'll scream "BALLL!!!!" and get so excited and want to take the balls.. Hoho..

And finally... the waffle place! The promotion that made Allie & I interested to have the waffle was a big standing banner picturing a cup of cut waffle with ice cream and belgian chocolate only for $5.8! It sure looks yummy! So we wanna ordered the one pictured in that promo.. And guess what did the person say? That menu is no longer available.. Tsk tsk tsk.. And they still put it up soooo big! Somemore it's a standing banner, which they have to pack up each night when the shop close. And they still put it up! Such a trap!

Though felt so cheated, we were already there. So we ordered 2 plate of waffle with ice cream (Rum & Raisin and Tiramisu). And.. at least.. it's nice... yummmmyyyyyyy..

[caption id="attachment_1823" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yummy Waffle with Ice Cream"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1824" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="4 of us, again"][/caption]

As you can see, the walls are all covered with post-it notes. We were just wondering.. Do you think that it's all written by someone who's paid to do it?? I mean, the person who wrote all that are not really customers.. but more of the employees themselves... But ah, well... I guess we'll never know.. :)

Hot Wheels Update

Following the Hot Wheels Craze here, check out how fast growing our Hot Wheels collection are:

[caption id="attachment_1814" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Latest Hot Wheels Collection"][/caption]

They're combined into a quite long circuit, with many "stunt actions" that happen very fast. The pic in the photo exclude 1 set of Hot Wheels that apparently can't be combined to make the track even longer..

In the meanwhile, here's Vio (with his orange moustache) wishing everybody a good weekend! :)

[caption id="attachment_1816" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="I'm a grown-up boy with moustache!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1815" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Have a good weekend, everybody!"][/caption]

Toddlers & Hair Cut

I guess most parents of toddlers will know that toddlers and hair cut just don't go well together.

Vio hates hair cut. No.. I think that's an understatement. Let me emphasize: Vio hates hair cut. Ah.. That looks more like it :D

For his first haircut, we brought him to a hair salon in Taman Jurong, and unexpectedly, there was no problem at all! He didn't seem to know what the auntie was doing to him. The 2nd time round, we brought him to yet another salon in Taman Jurong. At first he was ok, then after few mins he started to realize something, and cried. The third time round, he cried sooooo loudly, and it was difficult to keep him still for the haircut.

After that, Vio's hair has always been cut by a neighbor, in the comfort of our own home (or in the neighbor's home), with many many toys to entertain him, but yet of course he's still crying. Though I think not as bad as before. He's just afraid to hear a "machine" coming near to his head. If it's only scissors (hence no machine), then it wasn't so bad.. 

Then sometimes back.. At Philips' staff sales, they have some units of Kids Hair Clipper to go at very low price! The retail price was supposed to be more than $100, but at that time, it was going at $35 only! So, on impulse (and thinking of the long benefit it has in the future to come), me and some other colleagues that also have toddlers, bought it. Somemore the box say it's ultra-silent, and designed for Moms. That's just what we need, isn't it? ;)

So... we decided to try it out during the weekend! The set was quite complete, really. Other than the hair-cutting machine, it also has scissors and comb in it, complete with the brush to clean the unit, and the hair length setting, not forgetting VCD with real children getting haircut using the tool (with happy faces, I must emphasize) AND it even includes robes for hair cut! Very thoughtful indeed..

So first things first.. we made Vio sit on his chair, facing the TV..

[caption id="attachment_1807" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ready for My Haircut"][/caption]

Then we announced that he'll watch videos of koko getting hair-cut, and he would have his hair cut that day too, just like koko! (Though he didn't seem to understand it.. he just knew that he's going to watch something).

And so the video was on... and the machine was on (with 3 mm setting).... and.... yeah yeah you're right.. He's scared with the sound.. He kept looking at the machine to ensure it doesn't get any nearer to him. Though I must admit, the sound wasn't so bad. I mean it's not as loud as normal haircut machine...

Luckily daddy was brave enough to quickly snip Vio's hair and 1 of the back part, and.......... whoooooooopsssss!!!! Apparently 3mm setting is tooo short for Vio.. he looked botak at one part of the back hair now! *sigh*  So we adjusted the setting to 6mm.. and continue the hair cut with much struggling from Vio..

[caption id="attachment_1808" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Stop it, please!"][/caption]

One-third of the hair cut done, and the video was changed to Barney show (which is Vio's fave show at the moment). He still struggled here and there, but after sometimes he just sit there quietly, though sometimes still trying to move his head away from the machine. But in the end, we managed to cut off (well, almost all) of his hair!

[caption id="attachment_1809" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Crime Scene Photos"][/caption]

And would you like to see the new Vio? Here he is... tadaaaaaaa...

[caption id="attachment_1810" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="New Hairstyle"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1811" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Back View"][/caption]

It wasn't too bad, was it? (At least for the first try...) Actually we feel quite proud of ourselves to be able to cut Vio's hair all by ourselves! Haha.. Though not as nice as going to the salon.. But then we're not having high hopes on this.. And neither is Vio :D

Btw, can you see the botak part in Vio's back hair? I hope it'll get to be covered up soon..

Vio was so happy with his new hair (after the hair-cutting episode was over, and he already bathed) and kept smiling while looking in the mirror.. Hehe.. And.. Daddy & Mommy's smiling too, feeling proud of our accomplishment of the day :D

Pumping

After our trip to Jakarta, Vio seems to show much more interest in his ride-on toys. One fine day, he can suddenly steer his ride-on car pretty well! (going backward, forward, turn left and right). That's quite an achievement, I should say. That car isn't really easy to steer around, but Vio likes it now, and he can steer it from room to room rather well (and high-spirited), especially if mommy's accompanying him in riding his other ride-on toys (which is a train). I should say that the ride-on toys are quite sturdy ya. I can sit on it and play and it's comfy enough for me! Even daddy can sit on his train ride-on toys. (Sadly, as much as I want to, we can't fit in the car ride-on toys) hahaha..

Now, what does it have to do with pumping, you say? Ah... for few times, Vio has seen daddy pumping his bicycles, and he wanna "help" too. Just that we don't normally let him to. One day, I decided that he can also play with the pump (supervised, of course). But the thing that he should "pump" is his car wheels! (Not that it need to be pumped at all). Ah well, that's why people call it "pretend play" right? :)

[caption id="attachment_1803" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="One.. Two.. One.. Two.."][/caption]

Ah.. doesn't he look like a professional at work? *smile*

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

< to us, that is..>

We've just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Wow has it just been 3 years? I feel that we've been married for very long already.. (in a good way).

Both of us took leave on that day, but apparently pi had meeting in the morning, so he can only take half day leave.. which is good. Because it gave me ample time to prepare a little something for him: I decided to try baking cupcakes!

I think it's my first time baking cakes in Singapore.. wahahahaha... My oven has been under-utilised for very long, hor? I've bought all the necessities in a cake shop in Toa Payoh which is quite complete, just that I need to walk quite far from my office (about 20-25 mins of walking!). And 1 visit is not enough to buy all the things, since I'm so fickle-minded, especially in choosing the not important but fun stuff, such as: which paper cup design should I choose? What size?? Can you imagine I can spend like 10-15 mins just to decide that? And coupled with walking time and the time I need to have my lunch, you can see why 1 visit is not enough in my (already) extended lunch-hour (1 1/2 hours haha). Oh, must say thank you to a friend who has given me self-raising flour and cranberries to make the cupcake!

So... the baking process begun.. Based on recipe from internet, I wanted to make vanilla cupcake with cranberries, topped with chocolate toppings.

As can be guessed, Vio got scared by the sound of mixer, and he kept tugging me to play with him. So finding a time to make the cake (and the topping) was proven to be quite difficult, as Vio always came to nag me to play with him. Nevertheless, here's the vanilla cupcake, fresh from the oven! (though I'm not sure why the top part is not smooth as in picture.. some cracked up. But that's not a problem lah.. since anyway it will be topped by chocolate topping. And I'm not having high expectations on it anyway...)

[caption id="attachment_1797" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fresh from the Oven"][/caption]

I tried 1 piece, and yummm.. It was not bad... The texture was quite soft :)

As for the chocolate topping, I decided to substitute the required cocoa powder to use chocolate drink that I already have, but reducing the sugar. And.... it's not apparently working well. The topping came out to be reaaaaaaallll sweet. Next time, should follow recipe and use real cocoa powder, or melted chocolate bar instead.. But anyway, it works well as the topping (though the color is not chocola-tey enough). Just that in the end, we didn't eat the topping.

[caption id="attachment_1798" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cupcake with Chocolate Frostings"][/caption]

Oh well, it doesn't look too bad right? (Repeat: I'm not having high expectation. Haha!)

And here's the cupcakes prepared specially for pi...

[caption id="attachment_1799" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cupcakes for Pi"][/caption]

Though not as pretty as those sold in the shops, it's the thought that counts, isn't it? ;)

Not long after, pi came home with a stalk of pink roses. Thank you, darling! :)

We had our dinner at Ambush, a European restaurant with apparently, rather affordable prices. I ordered German sausage with Rosti; the sausage was real nice! Vio love it a lot (and so does mommy)! Pi ordered paella, which is a Spanish food. The taste was quite unique. The only thing is... the portion was quite small. I didn't really feel full after eating it.. Haha... I think they encourage people to order more side dishes.. :p

Looking back at the last 3 years, overall it was a great. Surely there are some ups and downs, but I'd rather we look at the more "up" side. And since I'm currently pregnant, I can't help but remember the sweet little things pi had done, especially during my first pregnancy. Some of them are listed here (just in case my memory fails me!)

1. He woke up in the middle of many nights whenever I had sudden leg cramps, and massaged my leg until I was feeling better, and of course, willingly without complaint.


2. He didn't let me do any tiring housework during my pregnancy, and took over all of them. These were brooming, mopping, and cleaning the toilet. I was left only with dusting, which was the easiest housework.


3. Despite his dislike of guys who carry their girlfriends' or wives' bags, he was more than willingly carry my bag when I'm pregnant.


4. He has no complain and is very supportive of my pregnancy complaints, which is always the same for many many nights in a row, and always try to help to lessen the discomfort.


5. ... and many other small things that can't all be mentioned here..

All in all, thank you dear for these three great years :)