Happy Birthday Popo

1 May 2009

My mum is born in the year of the tiger. In ancient China (not so ancient actually, it was still practiced by some families 2 generations ago ... and not just in China, it happened ... surprise, surprise,.. in Singapore too. Gate of Hope, CHIJ), girls born in the year of the tiger, especially those born in the evenings, were killed (unthinkable, cruel, but true), abandoned or given away as they were believed to bring harm to the family. What about boys, one would naturally ask. Oh, they are too precious to be the subject of superstitions ... Luckily for my mum, my late grandpa loved his daughters as much as, if not more than, his sons. As a matter of fact, he doted on his granddaughters more so than his grandsons.

Things We Do Together

"Row a boat"

At other times, the bolster is a "giant carrot" and each will tug one end whilst i sing the Chinese children song, ba ro bo (literally, pulling out the carrot).

What Big Can Do, I can

Peanut at his craftwork:

Sweet Potato at his art & craft work:

Peanut dancing in class:


Sweet Potato dancing in class:

Peanut making music:

SP making music:



Peanut, the policeman


SP, the MI5 agent:


Peanut and his footprints:



SP and his graffiti on the driveway:

All photos courtesy of Pre-school By-the-Park

World of Tarzan

29 March 2009

Our 2nd trip to the zoo - this time without Ah Meng whose reputation was synonymous with the Singapore Zoo for as long as I can remember.

This trip, I got wiser. Instead of trying to cover the entire grounds, I just focused on the animal feeding sessions - first, the polar bear, then the giraffes, followed by the jaguars - and the occasional animal exhibits (white tigers, zebras, flamingoes). With tram rides and lunch in between. And ended at the new Kidz world with a grand playground for water play - just what we needed on a typically hot day in March.

In case you are wondering about the conspicuous absence of Sweet Potato in the water play photos - he was not asleep but he was so afraid that he was either clinging on to Wati or to me. Too crowded and water was like splashing everywhere, much to the delight of the older kids. Plus my camera ran out of battery ... alamak!

By Bus, Train & Cable Car

3 May 2009

Don't remember when was the last time I took the cable car to Sentosa - maybe never did. Each time we drove past (on our way to VivoCity), Peanut would ask to take the cable car. He enjoyed the ride in Ocean Park, HK immensely. I had promised that we would do so after SP turns 2. But read in the news that they plan to close the cable car operation sometime in 3rd quarter for renovation and only open sometime next year. So here we are, 2 months earlier than the original plan. SP behaved like a pro, no problem with the height whatsoever. Though he got up at 7am, this small bundle lasted and lasted and lasted (with no stroller and no nap) throughout - Peanut knocked out in the car on the way home, I could not detach myself from the bed when we reached home, even the tireless Wati needed rest - but still he lasted some more ... until 7pm!

SP loves school

Paying attention in class: His turn with the puppet:

Making music intently:

My mother's day gift in-the-works:

Outdoor play:

Apparently, hard to believe, but he is the most well behaved in his class!

When I grow up, I want to be ..

Peanut's playschool has been having fun learning about different occupations in the past few weeks - first, a policeman, then a postman and this week - doctors.

For the past year and more, since he could talk in sentences, Peanut has been aspiring to be a truck (more specifically, a garbage truck and a dump truck, in that order of preference) driver, crane operator, excavator driver/operator, bus driver, postman, fireman and policeman. Oh, I almost forgot, he had once wanted to be the enemy or the bad guy (that ended last Christmas shortly after being teased by J's niece and nephew). More recently, he also pretended to be kungfu panda, a transformer (Optimus Prime, Jazz, Bumblebee, Megatron, Rachet - yes, showing off what I had to commit to memory with much effort and now has become useless trivia), spiderman. But a doctor, somehow, is not an attractive job.

Anyway, over the weekend, I bought him a medical kit playset which came with the usual stuff (stethoscope, thermometer, injection needle, 2 bottles of 'medicine' etc) so he could bring to school and share with his friends for their class lessons. And of course, I ended up being his first patient ...oops, 2nd patient - Wati was the first. This was how the 'doctor' explained after examining the 'patient', "This bottle is good medicine." Lifted another, "This bottle is bad medicine. Eat already will die. You want?" Well, at least I was given a choice - ethical practice? Euthanasia anyone?