My GROWING Boys!

This morning, I suddenly realized how much my boys have grown when I have difficulty pushing the twin stroller up a slope at my mil's condo. It is more of a small step on a slope. Fortunately, a nice young man help me to lift the stroller up. Looking at them , I just realized how fast they have grown over the past year and it is only a short one month plus away to Ry's 3rd birthday and Br's 1st year.

At the end of his second year, Ry has grown comfortably into into his big brother role and is able to look out for his little brother and say things like, "弟弟, no, don't touch" or "弟弟, naughty" or "弟弟, go away!" when he sees that his little tyrant brother is up to mischief. He would also breaks into a big smile when he comes over to our room and saw baby Br in the morning, shouting loudly, "Good morning, br br!" or "Br, Br......" , followed by a big beary hug that almost look like strangling the little baby! Also, recently, Ry loves to say that he is a "big boy" especially ever since I started to potty train him and telling him that he is a big boy and big boy wears underwear and go potty whereas baby wears diapers. Since then, he insists on wearing underwear but we are still far away from successful potty training yet as the child care center still requires Ry to wear diapers and had not started on potty training for all the pre-nursery kids yet. So our potty training can only be restricted to the evenings and weekend.


Ry has definitely settled into SG life and routine comfortably and is slowly eating some of the local food that he previously refused to touch! Thank goodness, his diet outside the house has expanded to chicken rice and 菜饭 instead of just fried rice only, though he still ferociously refuse anything with noodles.We have stopped his speech therapy since he finished his ten lessons near Christmas and decided to take a wait and see approach whether his language explosion will take place and also to give him some time to internalize the skills he has picked up during his therapies. What is assuring is that Ry is definitely picking up speech and is able to speak in 3 - 4 word sentences although most of his speech is still within 2 words but at least, now we can make sense of what he is saying. Interestingly, as he come closer to 3 yr old, we also find that his understanding skills improved much more and he could easily interpret what we say more easily. On a few occasions, we even caught him speaking in Mandarin and when we asked him to repeat those terms, he would shyly and sheepishly utter them so softly that we could hardly hear him or understand him. Needless to say, his Chinese sounds very "ang mo-ish" too. Hmmm, I think I have to build up his confidence in speaking in Mandarin as it seems like he think it is funny for him to do so too. Some of the Chinese words he say are "洗手， 吃饭， 睡觉， 老师".

Baby Br on the other hand has grown into our little tyrant, both in behaviour and in size. He has grown much taller and heavier after his initial episode of 水土不服 when we first moved back to SG from Boston. Now, he could finish a big bowl of porridge easily for his lunch and dinner. Like Ry, he loves to snack on cheerios. Fortunately, we found a cheap and local substitute (Favourite Ohs) which look exactly like and taste almost like cheerios but at half the price . So, when we put Br beside Ry, he hardly looks like he's two years younger.


Why is baby Br our little tyrant? This is because we could hear his voice all day long except when he's sleeping. He likes to yell and holler to get our attention. When we do not hear his voice, we would immediately have to check whether he has put anything into his mouth! Not only that, he is definitely more "sam seng" (i.e. Hokkien for rough / mischievous) than his brother. He now learns to climb onto the coffee table and likes to crawl his way into the room on his own and pulling open drawers and cabinets. Not only these, Br also has "itchy hands" and he loves to touch things and pull at stuff that is within his reach so much so that we could not bring him to places where there are delicate and breakable stuff while out shopping. We never have such a problem with Ry when he was the same age and come to think of it, Ry is really a "perfect" baby. However, I think my parents and my mil seem to think that Br is much cuter and interesting as compared to Ry. My mum commented that Ry is too 少爷 (gentleman) whereas baby Br is much more fun and interactive. The comment also extends to their eating habits as baby Br will eat almost anything you feed him whereas Ry only likes certain food and is pretty stubborn about trying new things.

I wonder is it always true that parents with two same sex kids will always have a 一动一静 aka an extrovert and introvert combination. On the ending note here, I look forward to sharing and learning more about my two boys in their new year.

Visit to Haw Par Villa (虎豹别墅)_29 Dec 09

I think I forgot to mention that I am currently on extended maternity leave. Initially, I was supposed to work for 90 days before entitling to the remaining extended maternity leave before baby Br turned 1 year old, which means that I should only start my remaining 40 days leave from mid Jan. However, I decided to heed a friend's advice and try to ask my director whether he could support me to go on leave earlier in December since it is the lull period now and I would be less disruptive to the work flow in January. Fortunately, my director saw the sense in my proposal that he wrote in to the personnel department for a special request and the approval came only in mid-December. So, I have been on leave for about two weeks and will return to work in mid January.

On Monday, while having dinner at my mil's place, we were chatting away and my mil asked whether the Haw Par Villa is still available for visit and she'll like to bring my nephew there to see the eighteen level hell (十八尘地狱). So, we went home to check on the internet and decided to bring the boys out the next day to Haw Par Villa.


On Tuesday morning, after breakfast, I proceeded to cook porridge so that I pack and bring along with us to the outing for my two dear son's lunch. It was free entry for the villa but we had to pay $5 for parking and $1 entrance fee for seeing the eighteen level hell. There were not many visitors at the place so we were happy that we need not jostle our way through and my nephew could spend a fair bit of time reading the description of the statues. I was pretty shocked that my nephew, C did not know many of the Chinese mythologies since his mum is a true blue Beijing lady and he has always been the first in his class in P1 and P2. He is definitely a product of our current education and social system which focused more on academic results since one of his daily activities involves working on the numerous assessment books. It was definitely a pleasant 2.5 hour day trip where we could allow our energetic toddler to run around and climb onto the statues. However, the many steps and narrow path in the park made it difficult for us to move around with our twin stroller.

Br sitting on top of the landscape while waiting for Ry, my mil and my nephew to explore the Journey to the West (西游记) statues.

Ry was most excited about all the different animal statues he saw in the villa.

Our last visit - inside the dark tunnel where the eighteen level hell is built. Ry is already tired and hungry, so he's quietly snacking away from his cheerios cup while the adults were busy explaining the statues to my nephew!

It's the Christmas Season again!

Look at baby Br's festive wear! Besides the festive red & white colour, there's something else too ....

It is the cute little reindeer on his butt!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone first!

This year, we did not have a white Christmas but instead we had a warm and loving Christmas celebration with close family members. It was nothing spectacular since we only had KFC and pizzas for our mini celebration followed by a mini log cake. More importantly, it was the family members' loving gestures and the excited squeals and laughter from our little ones when they opened their presents that make it a special Christmas Eve evening. It was also the day that little Ry finally understood the meaning of "present" and could finally anticipate and appreciate the unwrapping procedure. He could even point to the wrapped gifts and proudly said, "my present! 弟弟's present!" and "mummy, open present!" A huge improvement in his speech development even though he still could not say in complete sentences that are more than 3 words.

My sister-in-law, nephew and my 2 dear boys! Ry was not supposed to be in this picture but he managed to sneak himself in!

This year, we bought Ry a tool set consisting of screwdrivers, hammer, wrenches and others so that he could pretend to be a mechanic. He was ecstatic about it and couldn't resist playing with it throughout the night. K and I have agreed that we would only buy toys that are educational or at least provide some form of tactile experience for our little ones. So while searching for a Christmas present for baby Br, we simply could not find anything suitable as we already had plenty of toys for his age from Ry's collection and there were really nothing new out there that excite us into buying. So, we the cheapskate parents, decided to just wrap up one of Ry's old toy truck and passed it off as a present for Br. In this way, we not only saved some money and also managed to teach Ry to share and give his toy to baby Br. So now, whenever Ry sees the toy truck, he says that belongs to 弟弟.

The brothers playing with the new tool set! There are simply no dolls and other girly stuff in my home!

Other highlights of this month included us attending my brother's wedding that was host at both Singapore and JB as well as going back to Pasir Ris park again on Boxing Day and playing badminton at my brother-in-law's condo on the following Sunday.

Ry was so proud to have his tie on and he kept showing off to everyone! And welcome the bride to become a new member of my family!

Little Ry trying to play badminton and doesn't he look professional?

Day trips to Pasir Ris Park and Zoo

For two Saturdays in early December, we have been making day trips out of the house. The first Saturday was a trip to Pasir Ris Park where we brought Ry cycling and to the big playground where he could climb and tumble and spent the whole morning enjoying himself to the fullest. It was our first day trip since we are back in Singapore and it was a happy occasion since baby Br and I almost fully recovered from our cough that stretched for almost 6 weeks. We were pretty surprised by what Pasir Ris Park could offer and the cool weather that morning made it more enjoyable for us to spend our time there. I think we will probably spend more time there in future since it is just a short drive from our home and best of all, it offers free parking which is not commonly found in our little island.

K rented the bike for an hour and brought Ry cycling while I slowly pushed the stroller with baby Br to the playground.

The first time we saw the swing suitable for baby in Singapore. How Br missed the swing rides!

Ry wanted to climb this fixture despite it is for older kids and managed to make his way through with help from us. However, he said "scared" halfway through and refused to move along and we had to nudge him along to the end.

The following Saturday, we decided to go to the zoo with our nephew, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law since my sister-in-law had the Robinson's corporate pass. Although Ry had been to the Boston Franklin Park zoo two times but with him understanding and knowing more animals, I think he probably enjoyed this trip most. I must also attribute to the fact that Singapore Zoo's open concept make it easy for the kids to look at the animals and some of these exhibits are at children's height and eye level, which make it easy for them to look at the animals. After the visit to the zoo, Ry could still rattle off the animals he saw like giraffe, zebra, leopard, gorilla, lion, tiger, monkey and hippo. His favourite exhit is probably the hippo since he could see them swimming in the water through the glass window as he happily follows them to and fro when it swims and could tell me that hippo swim whenever I ask him about the zoo trip. Needless to say that the boys also spent a good one hour at the Rainforest Kidzworld where they frolicked in the water playarea. I bet I would definitely make use of the MOE corporate pass more often in future:> While writing this, I'm already planning whether to go to Science Centre or Jurong Bird Park in our next trip.

Ry had an elephant mask from the zoo and had the mask on for the first part of the trip despite the heat.

We spent a great afternoon at the Rainforest Kidzworld where Ry and his cousin played together at the water area!

Baby Br having a great time disturbing his gor gor when his Ry is napping beside him after a tired afternoon at the water play area.

Why do I miss Boston?

I have been retelling my life in Boston to many people I met recently including my colleagues, relatives and friends. The more I retell my time as SAHM, the more nostalgic I became of our life in Boston that was just merely two months ago.

What do I miss?
1. I miss the crisp, cool and fresh air in Boston!
Baby Br and I have been coughing non-stop since we are back in SG. The doctor said that I have bronchitis and it being a result of us not used to the dusty air in SG. Now, Ry is down with the cough too! I really miss our great health back in Boston!

2. I miss the fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries and the crisp vegetables.
SG depends so much on the import of our fresh produce that it is difficult for us to get really fresh vegetables nowadays especially during rainy season or the price is extremely expensive! K and I think it is a joke that we call SG a food haven when most our food do not taste as nice and fresh without the extra seasonings.

3. I miss the four seasons and especially the winter and snow!
Although it is freezing cold in Boston, we would rather stay there then wilt in our humid weather where Br and I often gets bouts of eczema flaring because of the sweat and humidity. I sorely miss the winter now as Christmas creeps close and without the cold and snow, Christmas season just simply lost its appeal!

4. I miss the great service and friendly chit chats with strangers!
Enough has been said about the poor service in SG! I think I would rather pay the 15 - 20 % gratuity to ensure great and personalised service like those that I have encountered in Boston then to suffer generally poor service when I still need to fork out mandatory 10% service charge, without getting even the slightest smile and thank you from the service staff. Needless to mention that I do not expect to see greetings like "Good Morning" and smiles when you meet strangers on the street or on the trains.

5. I miss my life as a SAHM!
Most importantly, I sorely miss my life as a SAHM when I could whip up my own healthy meals, spend quality time with the kids and plan their daily activities.

Penguin Daddy!

Recently, TCS 8 has a new 9 pm show called Daddy at Home (企鹅爸爸) which talks about 2 stay at home dads. K and I have been watching a few of the episodes and are pretty entertained by the show. Most importantly, it is quite a reflection of our current life. K is still "jobless" and waiting for his deployment from his company while I have started work a month ago. So now, K is the penguin daddy who stays at home taking care of the two boys, cleaning up the house and doing grocery shopping twice a week.

Initially, I thought K would be quickly bored by the mundane routine but to my surprise, he actually find the whole process entertaining and rewarding as he gets to spend quality time with his two boys. To my envy and jealousy, my boys are turning to him for comfort and TLC instead of me. In fact, Ry is so close to him that I think Ry hardly miss me or think of me while I'm at work.

I am thankful of having a supportive hubby who's able to take care of the house and the two boys while I'm at work and doing such a great job that I do not have to worry about the boys. Even though there was this minor accident last week of which Ry fell down and had a small cut at the back of his head which resulted in us rushing down to Changi A & E department and giving me a big scare and made me really angry with K for causing this to happen.

However, having only boys also make me realize the importance of the role of daddy since he could understand their lingo and attend to their needs better than me, like knowing that boys love to play catching game, play trucks and cars better with more enthusiasm than the mommy who has little interest and is clueless on how to get the boys interested. I am glad that the SG government is now looking at the importance of the role of daddy in child raising that they are launching a campaign to support the cause. Definitely, I think that more could be done to levitate the status of dads in the children's life for which I think most Singapore daddys are still not doing enough.

At our 11 years anniversary (7 years wedding anniversary cos they share the same day - 20 Nov), I would like to say to my hubby, "Dear, thank you for whatever you have done for the family! I really appreciate you accepting and forgiving all my little flaws and mistakes! May we have another 10, 20, 30 .... more years to go hand in hand together!"

A photo taken when we sort of by the way celebrated our anniversary at a lunch at Swensen after Ry's speech therapy at Ion Orchard.

Hugz!!!

Every morning before I step out of the doors for work, Ry will run out of the room and shout, "Hug, Hugz!" with his arms open. As usual, I would always give him a big hug and plant him a kiss on his plump cheek before I grab my handbag and leave for work.

I'm awed by the amount of happiness and satisfaction that I can derive from such a simple routine. All I can say is that at this juncture of my life, I'm glad and contented to have become a mother of two boisterous boys that may possibly turn my hair grey and add a few lines to my forehead with their angst and nonsense in their teenage years. But before this happens, I think I'm still going to enjoy my daily morning routine and the bliss from the hug and the sweet little voice that say, " Hug ... mommie".