The Bub in the Belly

This post is a mish-mash of recent photos. Like many parents, I snap a million photos of the son (almost) everyday, and not every photo fits into a theme, so I thought I'd just throw them into one post.

This is Ryan's recent Lego Duplo creation. That's Buzz Lightyear at the top right corner, preparing to fly "To Infinity and Beyond!" We're not sure whether Ryan prefers Woody or Buzz at this point, but it sure is amusing to hear him exclaim, "To Innininy and Neyornnnn!" In December last year, we had thoughts of popping into Hong Kong Disneyland where they just opened up a section based on Toy Story, but we decided not to go just then. Maybe this year?

The next shot was taken at Beach Road Prawn Noodle Restaurant, which is near our home. Ryan loves chopsticks so he always collects a handful when there are some around.


There was a couple sitting at the next table and the lady apparently decided that I needed to be aware of some important things, so out of the blue...

Lady: Your son is very handsome.
Me (after looking around for the voice): Oh, thank you. (smile)
Lady: He will be a good speaker. (she says this in Mandarin)
Me: Oh (laughing a little), he is just starting to talk now. I'm still waiting! (smile)
Lady: Yes, he will be a good speaker because his upper lip points upward. (she says this in Mandarin and with absolute conviction)

(That's according to an old Chinese saying - if your upper lip (Cupid's bow) has an upward arch, you will be a good speaker.)

The next photo was taken at Tanglin Mall's snow village. I like this photo, despite the technical flaws, so it gets included! It's the expression on Ryan's face that brings me back to this photo again and again - so innocent and full of wonder.


We are still breastfeeding! More on that in a separate post.


There were a few weeks last month when Ryan liked to stuff his fingers into his mouth. And I'm not talking about sucking on a thumb, I mean five fingers at one time go into his mouth! Here he is in the car, playing with his fingers in his mouth and reading "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle.


Enjoying another book in the car. This was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", also by Eric Carle. Ryan turns the pages and prompts me to "read" the book to him while I drive. Yes, I know every word by heart. And so does Ryan! I'll try to get a video of him reciting the story!



Brushing teeth with daddy.


Some post-birthday bash photos here.

Fresh flowers - anybody knows what these are called?


The leftover curry from the curry fish head. After keeping it for a day or two in the hope that we'd find some way to consume it, we gave up and threw it all away.


A couple of nights after the birthday bash, the wind came howling through the house and lifted the inflatable bouncy castle off our terrace, depositing it in the bushes in the driveway. That shows how strong the winds were because that thing is heavy! Fortunately, Richard went out to the terrace in the morning to check on everything, otherwise we wouldn't even have realised that the bouncy castle had flown off.  On a previous occasion, the wind tried to take off with our sprinkle mat but that landed in the driveway too. Exciting living in the east. Anyway, here's Richard collecting the bouncy castle while I snapped a photo from our balcony.

Hello dearies. I have been falling behind on my posts and I do have quite a bit to update. It's been sort of a struggling week for me - I've had a few family issues to sort out, which has been very draining on me mentally. I'm looking forward to life getting back to normal next week.

Anyway, some updates on our adventures.

On Friday morning, I brought Ryan and my mum to NAFA Arts Kindergarten for a tour. Looks good. I'll do a separate post on our visit.

In the afternoon, I brought Ryan to the paediatrician to get his vaccinations up to date. His regular paediatrician, Dr Ngiam, was on leave so we consulted Dr William Yip instead, at the same clinic. Dr Yip has attended to Ryan a few times before (including when Ryan was born), so we are quite familiar with him.

As usual Ryan took both his jabs well, with no fussing or crying. Dr Yip was amazed and said that he was so brave. Dr Yip also did a wellness check for Ryan and certified his development as normal. Ryan is 10.6 kg and 83 cm. (There was no post-jab fever.)

I took the opportunity to ask Dr Yip about weaning Ryan off breast milk. I also mentioned that Ryan isn't always keen on his solids. Dr Yip said that it's fine if Ryan prefers breast milk as breast milk has plenty of nutrients and calories (Dr Yip was very impressed (shocked, even) that we were still breastfeeding!). He said that, if I do wean Ryan off the breast, the real substitute for breast milk is solid food, not formula or milk, and he said that it's perfectly fine if I choose not to give Ryan formula or milk. His point is that there is no rule that Ryan's nutrition must be delivered through formula or milk, and formula/milk is just another form of food. Of course, if I do want to provide a milk substitute, he said there are a variety to choose from - soy milk, cow's milk, etc. So Dr Yip basically gave me the same advice as Dr Ngiam did.

For dinner that evening, we went to the buffet at AquaMarine, Marina Mandarin Hotel. Wrapped up the day with a movie on DVD.

The next day, Saturday, we had a simple lunch at Beach Road Prawn Noodle, at East Coast Road.

Enjoying the jumbo prawn noodle, while Richard is having the pork ribs noodle.

Don't be misled by the photo - Ryan isn't able to handle the chopsticks yet. Nevertheless he always wants a pair for himself and we do let him hold them and do what he likes with them. He does know that they must always stay in a pair and he is always very careful to keep them that way.

In the afternoon, there was PlayClub and this week was Daddies' Week. As usual, we were asked to come in similar father-and-son outfits. We brought out the shirts that Richard and Ryan wore for Daddies' Week two terms ago. Looks like Ryan can still fit into his, although the label states that it's for 12 months.

There was a birthday celebration in class today so there was cake for everyone.


Outdoor activity was sandplay. I get the feeling that this is not one of Ryan's favourite outdoor activities (or maybe that's me), so I'm glad that he gives it a go anyway.



While Ryan's class was finishing up their sand play to go into the classroom for music, the other PlayClub class came outdoors for swimming. The Mandarin teachers in the other PlayClub (Ryan's ex-teachers) called out to Ryan and tried to lure him to the swimming pool. It was very amusing because Ryan's Mandarin teacher then tried to entice him to go back inside for music, so they were literally fighting over him! Of course, the swimming won in the end. Ryan walked over to the pool area (Ryan's ex-teacher was delighted to open the gate for him and take his hand) and he even tried to climb into the pool! Haha!

In the evening before dinner, we hung out at Parkway Parade for a little while. Ryan got into this coin-operated ride (a hot dog truck) and discovered for the first time ever, that it actually moves! There were some children in the front of the truck and their parents put a coin into the ride while Ryan climbed into the back. He was quite intrigued when it started moving and he sat quietly at the back for the entire ride. After that, we felt obliged to put in a coin (to contribute our share) so Ryan got to go again!


I think he thought that the child in front was really "driving" the truck - when the ride ended, and the "driver" got off, he got up and walked to the front and called for another driver, and when another child boarded the truck, he quickly sat back down at the back! Hahaha!

Ryan fell asleep on the way home, which was about 7.30 pm. Amazingly, he slept until 9.30 am the following morning! He must have been completely wiped out. While he slept, Richard, my mum and I had a barbeque dinner on our upstairs terrace.




Will post our Sunday update next!

It's Friday and the weekend is almost here! I still remember last weekend - it was a series of meals strung together by Ryan's classes. It started on Friday evening, when we met up with some of Richard's colleagues and ex-colleagues for a steamboat dinner at 7th Storey Restaurant at Wilkie Edge. We thought that we might have to leave a little earlier but Ryan was really well-behaved and towards the end, he just fell asleep in my arms, so we managed to last till the end, when everyone parted ways.

The next day before Ryan's Playclub, we met up with Kenny, Belinda and their son, Matthias, for lunch at Lao Beijing in Tiong Bahru Plaza. We ordered the set lunch from the tasting menu. It was for four but the portions were so generous that we had to ask for two of the courses to be doggy-bagged. Great value for money, haha! Dinner was Chinese fare at Taste Paradise in Ion Orchard. Ryan polished off a bowl of fried rice, so I think it's safe to say that he approved of the food there.

On Sunday after Ryan's swimming class, we had brunch at Beach Road Prawn Noodle at East Coast Road. I had the prawn noodle and Richard (and Ryan) had the pork rib noodle plus we ordered some ngoh hiang and other fried stuff. Yum. After Shichida class, dinner was a simple affair at Crystal Jade Kitchen at Great World City. Again, we met up with Kenny, Belinda and their son, Matthias and again, we ordered the set menu for four. This time, the portions were just nice.

Lately on weekends, we have adopted a new practice - we have been loitering! Late at night, after the shops have closed, the three of us will loiter along Orchard Road. There is no target destination or aim, we simply meander along, stroll up and down, enjoying the cool night air. It started when late one night, Ryan was still full of energy and so we decided to let him burn it off - we took him out to Borders (Borders closes at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays) and after Borders closed, we let him walk up and down the street until he was ready to go home.

It's almost like going to a park. The area is quite brightly lit. The pedestrian streets are wide and spacious and there are lots of plants and trees (not as many as in a park of course). There were also quite a lot of people milling about, some loitering like us and others on their way somewhere. I like it. In the day, people are rushing from one mall to the next and Orchard Road is all business. At night, the people are different, they don't have things to do, places to be, they just want to chill and relax. Somehow, it's more personal.

Here's a video of Ryan outside Far East Shopping Centre (next to Borders), burning off his calories by going up and down the stairs, and up and down the stairs, and up and down the stairs (he claps his hands after each rotation). We have to accompany him on his stair climbing (we take turns) and it was not funny because he did it more than 20 times!

More calorie-busting activity for the boys!


Here are some photos taken on a different night. This time we were loitering outside Ion Orchard after it had closed.


More stairs!

There was a large crowd gathered on the steps outside Ion Orchard, they were listening to two Filipino buskers - the lady was singing and the man was playing the keyboard. Some people even got up to dance. It was so wonderful - it didn't matter whether a businessman sat next to a domestic helper, whether an old retiree was dancing with a young teenager or whether a Filipino and the Chinese man next to her were humming the same lyrics. When everyone came together just to listen to the music, there was, for that brief space in time, no differences, no pretenses, no prejudices, just a real sense of community. Just wonderful.