Orchard Road’s Christmas lightings started yesterday so we kiasu-ly brought the kids to see after an early dinner at home.

Drove from Tanglin Road to Paragon. We just spent our time at Paragon, took photos, shopped abit then headed home, the kids were all tired as it’s way past their bedtime.

We plan to go there early for our next trip, probably spend half a day there so we can see the decorations in the various shopping malls.

Paragon as usual, puts on an elegant look

Photo is abit blur, it’s tough to ask 2 young kids to stand still and pose.

Bro & family

My dad joined us after he finished work.

Dad with Kate & Chloe

Our family

Walked past this store selling camouflage-print hooded jacket and it only cost $8! Cheap buys like makes me happy (the auntie in me is talking). I believe that you don’t need very expensive clothes to dress your kid well. I always wait for sales, especially warehouse sales than I buy, this way, I don’t need to compromise on style due to budget.

As usual, Kate ask me what I buy the moment she saw the bag. we let them try on for size, it must be my lucky day cos both of them were very co-operative when I ask them to pose for pictures.

Words of the moment

Queen, circle (ci-ker), square (quare), mei mei, water (ter), sticker (ticker), bao bao (when she want you to carry her), yi chang (when you lift her up), car.

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No, no, no, no

Cannot understand why toddlers like to say ‘no” so much. Nowadays, Chloe says no to EVERYTHING!

Give her something? No! (shaking her head vigorously while blabber some baby language)

Take something from her? No! (repeat above action)

Ask to her bath? No! (again, as above)

Ask to her finish all her milk? No! (you know the head shaking pattern by now)

At times, I wonder if she will feel giddy from all her head shaking.

Whenever we guess wrongly what she exactly want after the head shaking routine, she will get frustrated and start throwing tantrums.

As much as I understand the tantrums comes from the frustrations she’s facing due to having difficulties expressing her thoughts blah blah blah………..BUT I have frustrations from not understanding what’s she frustrated about too!!!

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Reading

Chloe loves to read by herself now. She will let me read the book once with her on my lap then she will take the book from me, sit away and read it by herself. No matter how I try to convince her to read together, she will refuse. She will starts to get irritated when I ask her a few more times.

Not only does she wants to read by herself, she also refuse to stop when I ask her to. Almost everyday I will let her read before bedtime. When I tell to read for the last time then go to bed, she will put up her fore-finger to show me “Ok, I read one last time” but it always doesn’t turn out that way.

I tried all ways to convince her, exchange the book with her beloved blankie, ask from her nicely, ask her to keep it herself……all won’t work, she will throw tantrums by kicking her legs and screaming. I even try giving her a firm tone and tell her it’s bedtime and she needs to keep the book but she still won’t give in.

Oh “Mr Cane” doesn’t work for this case, the moment I mentioned that I will invite “Mr Cane” to come, she will scream and cry even louder. Love reading so much meh??…..sigh.

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催眠曲

I played classical music for Chloe during bedtime, the initial plan was hoping to lure her to sleep but I wasn’t expecting it to really work.

Pachelbel’s Canon in D is one piece of music that never fails to make her sleep fast, 99% of the time she will be asleep before the music ends.

When I was pregnant with Chloe, I used to listen to this CD that is for pregnant mums when I sleep, with Pachelbel’s Canon in D as first piece in the CD. I used to fall asleep before it ends as well. Hmmm, wonder if there’s any link…….well, no way to verify it.

Yesterday my mum called me to check on something then she asked if I want to talk to Chloe. It’s the first time Chloe react when you ask her to talk to the person on the phone, usually she will just listen by holding the phone. Although she only managed to say “mummy” twice, it’s already good enough for me.

She’s also amused that she can hear my voice from the phone. Today I “talked” to her again.

We brought Chloe to buy a new water bottle as her current one is too small. She drinks a lot of water, the normal size kind she’s using now can’t last me for half a day’s outing.

Went to Kiddy Palace at Marina Square, they have kiddy rides and a new playground just outside Kiddy Palace now. Halfway thru the kiddy ride, Chloe wanted hubby to carry her instead. Just when we thought she didn’t want the ride anymore, she wanted to sit down and “drive” herself again.

While we were having dinner, she was in her cheeky mood. So cheeky that she started to make funny faces at us when we feed her.

It’s been raining the whole of Saturday and we were worried that if the rain lasted till Sunday morning, it will ruin our usual breakfast trip. So…..we bought sausages and eggs to make breakfast at home instead.

Chloe doesn’t have a lot of chance to eat by herself. She can handle the food much better compare to last time, at least she will do so when I ask her to hold the plate. Think I should create more chance for her to practice.

In the afternoon, we went over to my grandpa’s place. Chloe is always happy to be there cos all the grand-uncles & grand-aunt will not say no to her tidbits request.

Every time she’s there, she go to my uncles’ room, bring the tidbits and ask them to open it for her. When I tell her to stop, she will go to another uncle’s room and do the same thing. When you scold her, she will give you the “but it’s from different person” pity look.

2 days back, we came home and saw the cupboard in this state. This is my mum’s temporary measure till we get a door lock (reminder to self: must buy door lock tomorrow).

Apparently, Chloe decides to play hide and seek inside the cupboard. She will open the door,sit inside the cupboard and close the door. Usually kids will be afraid of the dark but not her, she’s always been the more daring one among the kids.

I told my mum, only mischievous kids will be 天不怕，地不怕。

One blogger was asking me where & what sticker books I bought for Chloe. To make things easier, here are the photos.

The “food”sticker book is under the same brand as the “super sticker book”. They used to come in separate books for different topics. Now they come in the “super” size which combines the 4 basic topics, Numbers, First Words, Shapes & Colours.

It’s more worth to buy the “super” size but the individual ones are easier to use cos it’s flat when you open it. “Food” is their new range, only have individual book at this moment.

The Elmo one is not open yet, the “super sticker book” and “my big book of stickers” are the thicker sticker books which I think will be able to last me a while. I bought the Elmo one cos I can’t resist, the colours and pictures inside the book are just too attractive.

I rotate among the books, usually will let her use 1 or 2 page per book per use. It’s to let her get used to stopping the activities when being asked to. Usually when we keep letting her use the same book for too long, she will become very protective over the book and throw tantrums when we want to get it back from her.

Ps. pardon the double watermark, thought the first watermark will be over-write when I do the 2nd one (didn’t like the colour of the first) and I converted the original copies of the photos.

Today I got bothered by a tiny white spider that appers on my windscreen while driving. I kept telling Jan that I’m very bothered by it even after she ensure me that the spider is outside the car, not inside.

On second look, we both realized that the spider is inside the car. I think for fear that that I will put her life at risk when I freak out (yah, I’m afraid of small bugs/ insects/ whatever you call them), she bravely grab a tissue and proceeds to kill the spider.

Then……instead of killing it on the spot, she swept the little fellow onto my steering wheel. I screamed on the spot!!! Thank god that we were stopped at red light.

After killing the spider, she gave me a very duhz look and says she doesn’t understand why I’m afraid of something so small. She says the spider looks cute cos you hardly see a spider that is all white. Well, I don’t understand why she finds it cute too. ^o)

She told me that she just killed one bug for Fynn (her elder daughter) over the last weekend and now she have to do it for me. We both think that Fynn should be my daughter since we have the same likes and fears…heehee.

Then we giggled and talked about our phobias thoughout the journey home.

To repay her bravery for killing the spider, I made a pact to kill cockroaches for her, that’s her worst phobia.

My MIL still treats hubby like a child. She makes decisions for him and insist that he do what she ask him to. Like when to drink/eat, what to drink/eat? Well, she tries to control his other stuffs too but the drinking and eating part irritates me the most.

Whenever she pass hubby a drink and he doesn’t finish it within the next 5 mins, she will keep reminding him and if it still doesn’t work, she will ask me to ask hubby to drink.

To me, it’s so damn duhz. Hubby is an adult, I don’t have to constantly remind him to finish his drink. He will finish it when he wants to. Even Chloe , at 20 months, doesn’t require my constant reminder, she will take her water bottle and drinks by herself!!!

Here’s a classic example…..

2 weekends ago, we brought Chloe back home (we stay with my parents during weekdays to spend more time with Chloe, only goes back to our own place on weekends).

Just before going home, me and hubby had a heavy dinner. After settling Chloe, me and hubby were at the study room, me watching TV and he surfing net. Then MIL came into the room.

MIL: You come back so long still don’t want to drink water ah? (we were back for like half hour).

Hubby: No, I’m still very full from dinner, will drink later.

About 5 mins later, MIL comes to the room…

MIL: You want to drink tea or not?

Hubby: Don’t want, still very full.

*now repeat above 2 times…each with 5 mins interval.

Another 2 mins passed……

MIL came to the room with a HUGE glass of tea, filled to the brim. Why I say huge? The cup that hubby uses at home is double the size of a normal cup. Making a decent tea in his cup requires 2 teabags.

While she pass hubby the tea, she nags: “how can don’t drink something after coming back one? must drink something, finish the tea now”

After another 5 mins….

MIL: I bought cake, go and eat cake.

Hubby: Don’t want, still full.

Another 5 mins….

MIL: Go and eat cake

Hubby: Don’t want, put in the fridge, I will eat tomorrow.

MIL: Cannot! put inside fridge, tomorrow not nice already. You must eat it by tonight.

Hubby: I really very full.

MIL: Full still must eat, I buy already.

While watching the whole episode, I’m thinking…….hubby is 36 years old, not bloody 3 years old and this kind of saga happens everytime we go back home.

The next day, I told hubby that he’s the one who encourages his mum to keep nagging him cos she knows he always gives in eventually.

And very often I see a victory smug on my MIL’s face after hubby gives in.

Hubby defences himself  by saying that he gives in cos he want to stop her nagging. To me, that is only stopping short term problem.

Do you call this  一个愿打， 一个愿挨?

Today we made a impromptu trip to the library, was supposed to run some errands at Lot 1 and hubby wanted to return a book so there we are. First time Chloe’s in a library, we ever borrowed books for her before but have never brought her there yet.

Her reaction??? Well….for a book lover like her, library cannot go wrong. She sort of shrieked when she saw the amount of books on shelves. She was so indecisive on which book she wants to read, she takes a book, flip for a few seconds then she will put it back to take another one.

While sorting photos, I found some taken 2 weeks ago when we were at my grandpa’s house. Chloe and Kate were playing blocks with my bro and they manage to stack it really high. They took turns to place the blocks while my bro try to help balance it.