Learning a New Game
1 day ago
Friday, December 26, 2014
For our last "sweetness" post of 2014, here's the four of us wishing you all things sweet and wonderful for the coming new year!
Thursday, December 25, 2014
We spent Christmas morning in church, followed by lunch at home (Richard cooked coq an vin!). The afternoon was about opening presents, and as usual, we still hadn't opened all of them by the end of the day. Ryan was especially pleased that Santa granted his request of a set of Alphabet Robots and spent a good part of the day playing with them before he considered opening another present. Something funny - one of his presents was a Hot Wheels track set, which I didn't want him to start setting up (it was near bedtime). So I asked him to open another present, which turned out to be ... yes, you guessed it ... another Hot Wheels track set! Hahaha!
It was a quiet Christmas - there were tentative plans to meet up with friends but nobody made the initiative to confirm the details, which we took as a sign that everyone really just wanted to spend Christmas at home with their families.
It was a quiet Christmas - there were tentative plans to meet up with friends but nobody made the initiative to confirm the details, which we took as a sign that everyone really just wanted to spend Christmas at home with their families.
Babydoll wore her hanbok to church. This time we managed to convince her to wear the little jacket (jeogori) and she looked very convincing! A few people asked if we were Korean and some even greeted us in Korean!
It was a good Christmas - over too soon, as always. Have a blessed Christmas, everyone! May the Lord bless you and keep you!
Friday, December 19, 2014
Popping in to share some sweetness! It's been a while, I know. I'm usually a little quiet on the blog in December - usually because I'm reflecting - this year, it's because I'm so so so busy!
Anyway, it's less than a week to Christmas - are you feeling festive? Our Christmas tree is up in the living room - always a good way to add some festive cheer. The tree looks a little crazy in the daytime but when the night falls and the twinkly lights come on, it looks pretty magical. We've got some presents already but they're not under the tree yet - we want to keep Santa alive and Santa only arrives the night before Christmas, yeah?
Ok, so here are the two rascals in a short Youtube video. Ryan is directing babydoll in a "Freeze! Go!" game and, around these parts, when we say "Go!", we mean, "Dance!" (Bonus point for you if you can guess where this was filmed!)
Have a great weekend!
Friday, November 28, 2014
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Over the weekend, I had a few messages come through on my whatsapp groups on children getting their hands stuck in elevator doors. Scary stuff.
Our littles are quite good in the elevators. The only mischief they get up to is to squabble over who gets to press the buttons. The scariest thing that has ever happened is that babydoll once ran ahead into the lift on her own (so that she could get to press the buttons) and the doors closed, sending her alone to the ground floor. This was at our condo. Normally she would have been able to open the door on her own but not in our condo's elevator, because the open/close buttons are too high for her.
We weren't very alarmed, to be honest, because this happened in a "controlled space" - our condo - and we could predict what would happen. I was sure that she went to the ground floor because she would have pressed "1" and, once she reached the ground floor, she would not have been able to exit the elevator lobby because she would need an access card to do so. She also would not have wanted to - she'd probably either stay in the elevator or come out on the ground floor and wait for us. The only variable was if anyone got into the elevator in between so I raced down to the ground floor via the stairs while Richard followed in the elevator, checking every floor.
I found babydoll on the ground floor, outside the elevator, which had gone up to ferry Richard and Ryan. She was in tears, yelling at the elevator and pounding on its doors. I can honestly say that it was not a typical scenario for us; we are usually careful about elevators and the children usually do wait for us. Ryan, especially, will not even press the button for the elevator to come up to our floor unless everyone is together, waiting in front of the elevator. Also, this would never have happened outside our home - it was the familiarity of the scene that encouraged babydoll to rush into the lift.
Anyway, back to the point of this post. I wanted to share something that we do when the kids are inside the elevator to keep their hands safe and to keep them from touching stuff. So, if they are in a crowded elevator, I sometimes ask them to put "fingers on noses". This helps them to keep their hands to themselves, away from people and certainly, out of danger. This works when you want to shut the car door too!
Last weekend, Richard came up with a game that works to the same effect. He got them to strike a funny pose, and to hold the pose till the doors open again (it was just us in the lift). So here you see the two of them, vogue-ing away! He was playing the game with Ryan at first, but on the second time around, babydoll got right into it as well. It was really funny!
Friday, November 21, 2014
The weekend is almost here! Five weekends to go before Christmas! Woohoo! Here's some sweetness while you get started on your Christmas to-do's - have a look at babydoll modelling this outfit that I sewed for her Julia Gabriel Bilingual Playclub class last week. The theme was "silver" so I couldn't resist!
I made the cardigan and the shorts which she is wearing. I also made a silver dress (with a tulle skirt!), which I thought she would pick to wear, but as you can see, she has a mind of her own.
The pattern for the cardigan is the Greenpoint Cardigan by Hey June, minus the buttons. The shorts are the Kid Shorts by Dana Made It. The fabric is a slinky, semi-sheer knit from Spotlight. The cardigan was quite a hit - the first time she put it on (which was the night before), she refused to take it off and even went to sleep in it. Plus, Ryan says he wants one too!
Enjoy the rest of the photos!
Enjoy the rest of the photos!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
I mentioned in an earlier post that babydoll is raring to go to preschool. She has been bugging me almost everyday, and especially in the morning when her brother goes off to preschool. We are thinking of starting her off in January next year, in N1 (Nursery 1).
Is she ready for preschool? I recall our paediatrician advising us to keep the littles home until around 4 years old if possible because preschool is a prime avenue for children to fall sick. Certainly, with Ryan, our target was four years old and that was what happened - we enrolled him at N2 (Nursery 2) (he was 3.5 years old, to be exact). Our target for babydoll was the same - N2 - and, if truth be told, we have asked for a place to be reserved for her at N2. We did not ask for a place at N1 because we did not expect to enrol her in N1.
Last week, babydoll was with me when I picked Ryan up from preschool (this is not usually the case). We were a little early and, from outside the classroom door, I could see that all the students were still in class, enjoying a storytelling session. Babydoll wasted no time - she sat down outside the door and started taking off her shoes and, as she was taking them off, she waved at me and said, "Bye bye, mummy."
Hah!
This little patootie was so happy! She obviously thought that I was bringing her to join in the class. Finally! finally! she could go inside the classroom and be part of the fun! Well, what else could I do except to open the door for her? She trotted inside without hesitation and looked for a place to sit among the students. Her brother exclaimed, "Hey! That's my sister, Rachel!" He sat her down and put his arm around her while the class finished the storytelling session.
After that, the students dispersed to go home. Ryan was delighted to have babydoll in his classroom and showed her off to his friends and showed her around the classroom. The two of them ended up at the books corner where they grabbed some books and sat down. Ryan's Chinese teacher sat with them and read a Chinese book to the two of them. By this time, the classroom was empty but they didn't want to leave.
Babydoll didn't look at/for me at all. Of course, she was with her brother but, the way things were going, I suspect that she would have been fine on her own too. I waited for them to finish the book, had a short chat with the Chinese teacher and then I managed to get the kids to leave.
I ask babydoll (almost) everyday now if she wants to go to school. The answer is a firm yes. I even tell her that I won't be there, and the answer is still yes. I even video-recorded it. Heh heh.
So, what do you think? Is babydoll ready for preschool? I think she is - mentally and emotionally. Despite being less than 2.5 years old, she is conversing well, unafraid to voice her opinions and needs. She is socially curious, always joining in the play of other kids. She is intelligent and thirsty to learn. She is also quite independent - I don't think she'll have issues separating from me. There is still the concern about health of course. In that respect, experience offers great reassurance - Ryan has not fallen sick from school before. I think it's a combination of luck and strong genes, so hopefully babydoll has the same luck and the same strong genes?
I feel so bad disappointing babydoll every time she asks to "go class", but now that the decision is made to enrol her, I'm looking forward to seeing how happy she is when she puts on her uniform and runs off to join the other kids!
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Every day after preschool, I will ask Ryan about his day. Interestingly, he usually starts by telling me what he ate for lunch! After we talk about pasta and chicken and noodles and fruit, I make a point to ask him three things: whether he feels happy, what he did in class, and who he played with that day. At the moment, he seems to be hanging out regularly with two girls called Audrey and Ayana.
Richard says that, when he dropped Ryan off at preschool a few days ago, Ayana rushed up to Ryan and hugged and kissed him! Then Audrey appeared and did the same thing! It reminds me of when Ryan started preschool in 2012. Back then, he was the object of attention of two girls as well, Katie and Kriti, both kissing and hugging and tugging him east and west.
Anyway, a few days ago when I picked him up from preschool, Ryan told me that he played with Audrey and Ayana, which didn't surprise me. Until he said, "Audrey and I got married."
Me: "Audrey and you got married???"
Ryan: "Yes."
Me: "When did this happen?"
Ryan: "When we were in the playground."
Me: "Did Audrey ask you to marry her?"
Ryan: "Yes."
Me: "How did the two of you get married?"
Ryan: "We leaned on each other. That's how we get married. We lean on each other."
Me: "Oh. Err. Ok."
Of course, it's just the girls involving him in their pretend play and nothing to worry about. Isn't it endearingly innocent? For the next few days, when I asked him about his day, I also asked him, "So, did you marry anyone today?"
Married at the playground. Gotta love it.
