bryan started nursery 1 (N1) on 4th jan 2010. it was so cute to see the boys holding hands and going to childcare. dom must be thinking "finally, bry is coming to school."
i stayed with bry for the 1st day, he was on 1/2 day for the entire week, and he was ok cos i was around. it was a bit chaotic and the teachers were all trying to get the children settled down and so it was play day for the N1. i left bry for 2 hrs from the 2nd day onwards, as expected, he cried. being in a new environment, he clamed up and peed on the floor on the 3rd day. so i told him that he must inform the teachers should he needs to go toilet and he did so on the 4th day. i am very proud of him. the teachers were probably wiser after the urine accidents on 3rd day, and probably were more alert to his body language. but bry is also a smart boy, he went to pull the teacher's hand when he needs to go. my son is a genius!
well, he will be staying there full day next week and there are so many things to pack! need to bring extra shorts (in case accidents again), bedsheet, milk bottle and powder, towel, PE attire and (the most important) his lenny! the pillows in our house are very fortunate to be able to attend class with the boys. dom brought his fifi and now bry his lenny.
gonna have a fun week soon!!!
Bry Full Day (11 Jan 2010)
i stayed with bry for the 1st day, he was on 1/2 day for the entire week, and he was ok cos i was around. it was a bit chaotic and the teachers were all trying to get the children settled down and so it was play day for the N1. i left bry for 2 hrs from the 2nd day onwards, as expected, he cried. being in a new environment, he clamed up and peed on the floor on the 3rd day. so i told him that he must inform the teachers should he needs to go toilet and he did so on the 4th day. i am very proud of him. the teachers were probably wiser after the urine accidents on 3rd day, and probably were more alert to his body language. but bry is also a smart boy, he went to pull the teacher's hand when he needs to go. my son is a genius!
well, he will be staying there full day next week and there are so many things to pack! need to bring extra shorts (in case accidents again), bedsheet, milk bottle and powder, towel, PE attire and (the most important) his lenny! the pillows in our house are very fortunate to be able to attend class with the boys. dom brought his fifi and now bry his lenny.
gonna have a fun week soon!!!
Bry Full Day (11 Jan 2010)
11 jan was the start of bry spending full day in childcare. both dom and him were down with mild flu and cough, but thankfully no fever.
as expected, bry cried when i tried to leave and the teacher assistant had to step in. dom also tried to comfort him but decided that play was more interesting and went off to play with his classmates. bry only cried for a short while and soon was following the teacher assistant around.
i think he adapted quite well and seems fine when i checked on him. he was back to his cheeky self by lunch time and didn't sit properly on the chair. lenny went to school with him, with specific instruction only to let bry hold during milk and sleep time.
when i fetched him home, he tried to ask for lenny to hold. lots of adjusting.... but most important of all that the boys will be healthy and not fall sick easily. will try to let their immune systems fight off this round of flu, dom probably will be able to but think bry will need doc soon.
Here We Go Again !!! (2 feb 2010)
as expected, bry cried when i tried to leave and the teacher assistant had to step in. dom also tried to comfort him but decided that play was more interesting and went off to play with his classmates. bry only cried for a short while and soon was following the teacher assistant around.
i think he adapted quite well and seems fine when i checked on him. he was back to his cheeky self by lunch time and didn't sit properly on the chair. lenny went to school with him, with specific instruction only to let bry hold during milk and sleep time.
when i fetched him home, he tried to ask for lenny to hold. lots of adjusting.... but most important of all that the boys will be healthy and not fall sick easily. will try to let their immune systems fight off this round of flu, dom probably will be able to but think bry will need doc soon.
Here We Go Again !!! (2 feb 2010)
bry caught stomach flu virus and was quarantined at home for 3 days, he attended half day childcare on thursday and friday. as expected, he was too comfortable at home, able to rule the house, and cried on those 2 days.
he ran a fever on sunday, diagnosis was sore throat. he stayed at home on monday (1/2/2010). managed to bring the fever down with "ling yang" water on monday.
side track: western meds are good but not as effective as chinese meds, but be warned to only buy from well-known TCM. this is probably not a problem in singapore but can't say the same for other countries.
back to 2/2/2010: bry attended half day again and he cried when we stepped into the centre. he was so eager to attend at home and was happily putting on his uniform, holding his communication booklet, chatting to dom. BUT major waterworks once we were in the centre. i just tell him that i would be fetching him home for lunch and left. better let the teachers calm him down then for him to keep seeing me and crying.
i wondered how long will he take to re-adjust back to childcare. at least the teachers are patient and love him.
Roaring Tiger 2010 (15 feb 2010)
boys in their CNY finery! ok, i got the t-shirts from bossini, along with 3 disount t-shirts. theirs are red with rainbow pics of the 12 chinese zodiac animals.
welcome the yr of the roaring tiger.
the CNY didn't start on the right note for us as dom had an infection on 11feb and we had to bring him to KKH on 12feb. thank goodness the infection has finally cleared and have a specialist appointment on 8mar. must say that he was pretty brave and listened to us. will have to wait till mar to decide what we really want to do.
anyway, back to CNY, we had reunion dinner at parents' place with great grandma. bry was pretty friendly with everyone and (as usual) running around. he only calmed down when Xiao jiu carried him, if not, everything and everyone was fair game to him.
dinner was yummy and there was so much food! roast chicken and duck from grand uncle #3, my favourite! dom has taken a liking to chicken skin (roast or steamed) and i tried to give him some boiled beef but he didn't like it. his choice of food was limited (due to his infection) and gave him lots of chicken, duck, vegs and beef. poor boy, he couldn't even eat the yummy prawns.
after dinner was the boys' favourite time, ANG BAOs!. bry seems to have no idea that it contained money but was happy to be holding the pretty red packets. dom knew there was money and the boys gave all their collections to me for safe-keeping.
CNY day 1: went to parents' place for lunch. it was play time for bry and television time for dom. bry was running around while dom was glued to the cartoon shown on cables. thank goodness, we do not have cables at home or else. everyone had a hearty lunch.
i must say that i am relieved that CNY is coming to a close. stressful time of the year as most shops are closed and need to stock up enough food at home. my wish for the new year: good health to all and nothing bad would happen this year, just want to enjoy a smooth sailing year ahead.
Cheeky Dom (21 feb 2010)
what is the first thing that comes into your mind when you see this pic? my first thought is "cheeky",
chon wai loves this shot of dom as it truely showed his naughty side.
this pic was taken at the Blood Bank CNY gathering at rebecca's house. we went over for about 1hr and the boys were on their best behaviour for about 15minutes before all their true colours were shown. after which, everyone was entertained by their actions and me chasing after bry to make sure he didn't break anything.
others have commented that dom is handsome and will be a heartbreaker...... dun know about that but now he is a headache sometimes. anyway this pic seems to make all worthwhile. he looked like he has some schemes cooking in his head and waiting for the right time to put his plans into action.
so watch out world!!! no one is safe!
David Schwartz Books for Kids (3mar 2010)
he ran a fever on sunday, diagnosis was sore throat. he stayed at home on monday (1/2/2010). managed to bring the fever down with "ling yang" water on monday.
side track: western meds are good but not as effective as chinese meds, but be warned to only buy from well-known TCM. this is probably not a problem in singapore but can't say the same for other countries.
back to 2/2/2010: bry attended half day again and he cried when we stepped into the centre. he was so eager to attend at home and was happily putting on his uniform, holding his communication booklet, chatting to dom. BUT major waterworks once we were in the centre. i just tell him that i would be fetching him home for lunch and left. better let the teachers calm him down then for him to keep seeing me and crying.
i wondered how long will he take to re-adjust back to childcare. at least the teachers are patient and love him.
Roaring Tiger 2010 (15 feb 2010)
welcome the yr of the roaring tiger.
the CNY didn't start on the right note for us as dom had an infection on 11feb and we had to bring him to KKH on 12feb. thank goodness the infection has finally cleared and have a specialist appointment on 8mar. must say that he was pretty brave and listened to us. will have to wait till mar to decide what we really want to do.
anyway, back to CNY, we had reunion dinner at parents' place with great grandma. bry was pretty friendly with everyone and (as usual) running around. he only calmed down when Xiao jiu carried him, if not, everything and everyone was fair game to him.
dinner was yummy and there was so much food! roast chicken and duck from grand uncle #3, my favourite! dom has taken a liking to chicken skin (roast or steamed) and i tried to give him some boiled beef but he didn't like it. his choice of food was limited (due to his infection) and gave him lots of chicken, duck, vegs and beef. poor boy, he couldn't even eat the yummy prawns.
after dinner was the boys' favourite time, ANG BAOs!. bry seems to have no idea that it contained money but was happy to be holding the pretty red packets. dom knew there was money and the boys gave all their collections to me for safe-keeping.
CNY day 1: went to parents' place for lunch. it was play time for bry and television time for dom. bry was running around while dom was glued to the cartoon shown on cables. thank goodness, we do not have cables at home or else. everyone had a hearty lunch.
i must say that i am relieved that CNY is coming to a close. stressful time of the year as most shops are closed and need to stock up enough food at home. my wish for the new year: good health to all and nothing bad would happen this year, just want to enjoy a smooth sailing year ahead.
Cheeky Dom (21 feb 2010)
chon wai loves this shot of dom as it truely showed his naughty side.
this pic was taken at the Blood Bank CNY gathering at rebecca's house. we went over for about 1hr and the boys were on their best behaviour for about 15minutes before all their true colours were shown. after which, everyone was entertained by their actions and me chasing after bry to make sure he didn't break anything.
others have commented that dom is handsome and will be a heartbreaker...... dun know about that but now he is a headache sometimes. anyway this pic seems to make all worthwhile. he looked like he has some schemes cooking in his head and waiting for the right time to put his plans into action.
so watch out world!!! no one is safe!
David Schwartz Books for Kids (3mar 2010)
http://davidschwartz.com/
i came across this author for children books on Prime Time Morning (channelnewsasia) and i must say that i am very impressed by his presentation methods. he wrote books on science, maths and ABC for older kids. his books on maths are full of graphics and few words. an example from his "how much is a million?": if there are 1 million goldfish in a goldfish bowl, it would be able to contain a whale. (may different from actual text) and the graphic is a goldfish in a bowl next to a whale in a bowl. and one can see the difference.
he also did a live presentation using popcorn. he had ziplock bags of 1 popcorn, 10 popcorns, 100 popcorns, 1000 popcorns and 10 000 popcorns. it gives us a visual of the difference in the numbers and imagine if you were in the audience and you can actually feel the weight between 10 and 1000 popcorns.
i tried to search for his books but it seems that it can't be found here. since the author is currently in singapore, there would be a good chance that major bookstores would start to carry his books.
"我的"!(3 mar 2010)
Fighting Spiders (29 mar 2010)
i came across this author for children books on Prime Time Morning (channelnewsasia) and i must say that i am very impressed by his presentation methods. he wrote books on science, maths and ABC for older kids. his books on maths are full of graphics and few words. an example from his "how much is a million?": if there are 1 million goldfish in a goldfish bowl, it would be able to contain a whale. (may different from actual text) and the graphic is a goldfish in a bowl next to a whale in a bowl. and one can see the difference.
he also did a live presentation using popcorn. he had ziplock bags of 1 popcorn, 10 popcorns, 100 popcorns, 1000 popcorns and 10 000 popcorns. it gives us a visual of the difference in the numbers and imagine if you were in the audience and you can actually feel the weight between 10 and 1000 popcorns.
i tried to search for his books but it seems that it can't be found here. since the author is currently in singapore, there would be a good chance that major bookstores would start to carry his books.
"我的"!(3 mar 2010)
our dear bry has attended 1.5mths of N1 and we are very pleased with his progress.
he has picked up some simple chinese, 回家, 我的, 饮水 etc, and can understand instructions in Mandarin (although obeying them is another matter).
he has taken to singing, 早安老师, national anthem, wheels on the bus, 10 little indians, old mac donald etc. once he start, he will invite you to join in or "dedicate" his song list and you sing. he still can't get all the words and pronouncation correct but is quite cute to see him sing. well, much better than having him try to disturb dom.
the best thing is that he has started to hog items (toys, bottles, hankies etc) by declaring loudly "我的", it used to be "mine". everyone used to say that the most frequent english word uttered by a child is "No", then the most frequent Mandarin word would be "我的"!
Stretch Your $$ (9mar 2010)
the bakery auntie has been nagging me to go shopping with her. she kept going on about this TCM(traditional Chinese Medical) shop that sells household stuff at cost price and how one can save about S$1 per item compared to buying from nearby supermarket chain. i am a bit sceptical as it involves travelling and the shop may not have the items i want or at the price i have been led to believe. yet, i have read numerous internet accounts of mummies who claimed that TCM shops do sell certain items (milk formula, diapers) at a cheaper price compared to supermarket/minimart chains.
anyway, i went with her and indeed i saved nearly S$2 on diapers! the milk formula is also much cheaper, saving me a whopping S$3-4 per 600g. my main purpose was to check out the prices for diapers and formula, and the saving alone for diapers justified the trip.
bus fare: S$0.83 x 2; time spent (round trip): about 45mins.
i made a second trip again today and found the price of Scotts Cod Liver Oil to be cheaper by 30cents (usually buy from work bcos of staff discount) and Scotts Vit C pastillies cheaper by 70cents. this time i bought milk formula, shampoo, Scott Vit C pastillies and rice. i am sure that i would have probably save S$1-2 on the rice, even if i didn't, the savings from other items would have made up the difference.
although bry is almost toilet-trained, he is still on diaper for naps and sleep. so diapers and milk formula are necessary items on my expenditure, a dollar or two saved will indeed go a long way. my only regret is not finding out about this shop earlier, would have saved me a fortune. you might ask "how the shop manage to sell it so cheaply?" and the answer "it directly import", at least for the milk formula, hence cutting out the middleman ands passing the saving to consumers!
the bakery auntie mentioned that the chinese herbs are quite expensive, this is something i have no wish to find out. i am more of a packed-herbal-soup kind of mum!
another good bargain store would be ValueShop. certain items are cheaper there too, cotton buds (500pcs) for S$1.05 and cream cleaner(like gif) for S$1.25, and it has a wide range of household items for you to choose from. a must have item would be u-shaped door stopper(place on door to prevent accidental closing, 2 for S$1.05), especially if you have young children at home.
BTS CNY (14 mar 2010)
this is taken by sharon's hubby, ted, at BTS CNY (rebecca's place).
it has been a long time since there is a shot of me plus the boys. there are another 3 more pics, album tiger cny 2010.
Khanacademy.com (15 mar 2010)
ah gong got me this website and info on the founder/creator, www.KhanAcademy.org. i must say that i am impressed by the teaching methods.
i was wondering how to teach dom simple additions and tried the oranges method, to give him a visual impact on how addition work, and the website also gave other method to do so.
the whole presentation is done on youtube.com, and it is a simple, fun-filled way. i would even say non-threatening, as you feel as if it is your friend who is imparting the knowledge to you.
The Curious Mind Of Dominic Aw (22 mar 2010)
he has picked up some simple chinese, 回家, 我的, 饮水 etc, and can understand instructions in Mandarin (although obeying them is another matter).
he has taken to singing, 早安老师, national anthem, wheels on the bus, 10 little indians, old mac donald etc. once he start, he will invite you to join in or "dedicate" his song list and you sing. he still can't get all the words and pronouncation correct but is quite cute to see him sing. well, much better than having him try to disturb dom.
the best thing is that he has started to hog items (toys, bottles, hankies etc) by declaring loudly "我的", it used to be "mine". everyone used to say that the most frequent english word uttered by a child is "No", then the most frequent Mandarin word would be "我的"!
Stretch Your $$ (9mar 2010)
the bakery auntie has been nagging me to go shopping with her. she kept going on about this TCM(traditional Chinese Medical) shop that sells household stuff at cost price and how one can save about S$1 per item compared to buying from nearby supermarket chain. i am a bit sceptical as it involves travelling and the shop may not have the items i want or at the price i have been led to believe. yet, i have read numerous internet accounts of mummies who claimed that TCM shops do sell certain items (milk formula, diapers) at a cheaper price compared to supermarket/minimart chains.
anyway, i went with her and indeed i saved nearly S$2 on diapers! the milk formula is also much cheaper, saving me a whopping S$3-4 per 600g. my main purpose was to check out the prices for diapers and formula, and the saving alone for diapers justified the trip.
bus fare: S$0.83 x 2; time spent (round trip): about 45mins.
i made a second trip again today and found the price of Scotts Cod Liver Oil to be cheaper by 30cents (usually buy from work bcos of staff discount) and Scotts Vit C pastillies cheaper by 70cents. this time i bought milk formula, shampoo, Scott Vit C pastillies and rice. i am sure that i would have probably save S$1-2 on the rice, even if i didn't, the savings from other items would have made up the difference.
although bry is almost toilet-trained, he is still on diaper for naps and sleep. so diapers and milk formula are necessary items on my expenditure, a dollar or two saved will indeed go a long way. my only regret is not finding out about this shop earlier, would have saved me a fortune. you might ask "how the shop manage to sell it so cheaply?" and the answer "it directly import", at least for the milk formula, hence cutting out the middleman ands passing the saving to consumers!
the bakery auntie mentioned that the chinese herbs are quite expensive, this is something i have no wish to find out. i am more of a packed-herbal-soup kind of mum!
another good bargain store would be ValueShop. certain items are cheaper there too, cotton buds (500pcs) for S$1.05 and cream cleaner(like gif) for S$1.25, and it has a wide range of household items for you to choose from. a must have item would be u-shaped door stopper(place on door to prevent accidental closing, 2 for S$1.05), especially if you have young children at home.
BTS CNY (14 mar 2010)
it has been a long time since there is a shot of me plus the boys. there are another 3 more pics, album tiger cny 2010.
Khanacademy.com (15 mar 2010)
ah gong got me this website and info on the founder/creator, www.KhanAcademy.org. i must say that i am impressed by the teaching methods.
i was wondering how to teach dom simple additions and tried the oranges method, to give him a visual impact on how addition work, and the website also gave other method to do so.
the whole presentation is done on youtube.com, and it is a simple, fun-filled way. i would even say non-threatening, as you feel as if it is your friend who is imparting the knowledge to you.
The Curious Mind Of Dominic Aw (22 mar 2010)
I think most of you would agree that the current educational system in Singapore
Dominic learnt about life cycle of butterfly in Nursery and now volume measurement in ounces. He was “teaching” me last night and probably made up at least 50% of his teaching contents. Still it amazes us, perhaps he may not fully understand the concepts but at least the seed of knowledge has been planted. Sometimes I wondered how adequate we are to coach him when he is in primary school, will have to worry when the times come.
Other curious things that he has done is to repeatedly question us about things, how fans work, why the fan blades must turn, is there a fan blade inside the air-con, how does tower fan works, how light bulb gives off light etc. there is just an endless of “whys” and “hows” from him and they sometime leave us speechless. Is this the result of a male mind, to question and take things apart?
Ah gong is questioning him on things around, like why the excavator has to be transported on a flat-bed lorry etc.dom is able to answer him and it shows that he is really thinking the question through. When I was teaching the NP students or training new staff, my motto to them is there is no wrong answer but you must be able to explain why you choose your answer.
I remembered once he found a small light tube, probably about 1cm long, and asked why there is a wire inside. I tried to explain that the electricity will pass through the wire and heat it up till it glow, “tad a” light! He kept asking me again and again until I told him to ask Chon Wai.
I could just imagine that when the boys are older, they will sit with Chon Wai and start doing some circuit board or take things apart. By then I shall have to change this blog to “Aw Engineers”.
Mandarin Anyone? (22 mar 2010)
Remembered that I blogged about bryan
It just goes to show how much he learnt since starting Nursery, of course, the credit must also goes to the teachers. he also loves music and will be attending speech & drama (English and Chinese) in Term2.
Nowadays, he will burst into songs when he sees some pics, like stars for Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars (English & Chinese version) and elephants (Chinese Nursery song about elephants), or just simply ABC.
Selling Fish (Selfish) (22 mar 2010)
The boys have their favourite toys and i would ask them if toy A and toy B drop into the water, which would you save first.
Dom would usually answer to save his favourite first.
Bry would answer to save himself first.
Now I know I would have to learn swimming.
I Am Weak (25 mar 2010)
Ever since after CNY, dom’s classmates started to bring colouring books to school. They had the popular ultraman, ben 10 etc. dom has been asking for such books too, the intense need to be the same as others. Herd instinct.
I refused to buy as he has plenty of books at home, not colouring but other types of workbooks, and he is bit old to be colouring now. Dom has been bringing his old books, some are completed and some half done, and seems to be enjoying himself sharing books with his friends.
Bry jumped on the bandwagon and also wanted to bring books. He brought sticker, colouring and story books, depending on his fancy. If you are at my place at 7.50am, you would probably hear me telling the boys to choose their books as I am not making an extra trip to bring them later. The boys would choose their books and get ready for school.
I gave in and went to Popular, brought books for them. Okay, I may have overdid the buying but it was for 7 books only. I got 2 colouring books on building vehicles for dom, a English-chinese story book, 1 dot-to-dot book and 3 colouring books for bry.
The dot-to-dot book would probably be a bit too difficult for bry and he wouldn’t have the patience to sit down and colour his books. Dom, on the other hand, was thrilled at his loot. He loves all things new and couldn’t wait to start colouring.
So this morning, the boys each brought a new book to school. As long as they are happy, it is money well spent. Btw, peer pressure and herd instinct are bad for parents’ wallets.
This is an overdue complaint/comment.
The boys are like a couple of fighting spiders. One minute they are loving and playing together, and the next moment they are at each other throats. Sad to say that bry is usually the instigator, snatching dom’s toys or just simply whacking him. Dom would react by either walloping bry or crying.
Both of them seems to have an unhealthy attraction to whatever the other is holding, and the thought “it is mine” just comes to mind and a fight is ensured.
What to do then? Do I let them fight it out, settle it among themselves. Or intervene and pull them apart? Am I wrong to have expect more from dom, he is afterall older and should listen to instructions. But more often than not, he seems bend on “revenge” and paid no attentions to our pleas of calm.
Let’s hope that bry outgrow this phase soon and peace will return. Until then, we would be keeping an wary eye on both of them, ready to play UN peacekeepers in an instant.
Drawing Lines (5 apr 2010)
many people has asked me what i do when the boys are in childcare. my answer: taking a break.
that's was then and this is now.
now i am drawing lines, for dom to practise his writing. the book comes with lines but the
spacing/height of the lines is too narrow and i have to redefine the "lines" for him.
other than drawing lines, so primary school, i have to write words (chinese and english) and maths for him to practise. i am not aiming for a scholar here, just want him to utilise him time more efficiently. for chinese, i am using the square excerise book.
speaking of chinese, dom can actually recongise quite a wide variety of characters but not necessary be able to reproduce them. he does have a good memory and a strong interest in the language.
other activities that i have planned includes, market and grocery runs and parent volunteer.
More Curious Things (5 apr 2010)
went to bishan park as ah gong wanted to show dom the plants there. science trip.
only managed to take 1 photo. anyone has any idea what this plant is called? i pointed this to him as it has a unique way to stay afloat. other info supplied was that it used to be grown for pig feed.
we also saw dragonflies and ah gong went on to explain that dragonflies are useful insects and help to eat the harmful mosquitos. didn't manage capture any pics of dragonflies but dom would probably point out to you that Masked Rider Kabuto also have a dragonfly character. marrying science with TV.
he also asked about why motocycles and scooters do not have wipers like cars. anyone interested to answer pls put in your comments.
Complaints (6 apr 2010)
that's was then and this is now.
now i am drawing lines, for dom to practise his writing. the book comes with lines but the
spacing/height of the lines is too narrow and i have to redefine the "lines" for him.
other than drawing lines, so primary school, i have to write words (chinese and english) and maths for him to practise. i am not aiming for a scholar here, just want him to utilise him time more efficiently. for chinese, i am using the square excerise book.
speaking of chinese, dom can actually recongise quite a wide variety of characters but not necessary be able to reproduce them. he does have a good memory and a strong interest in the language.
other activities that i have planned includes, market and grocery runs and parent volunteer.
More Curious Things (5 apr 2010)
only managed to take 1 photo. anyone has any idea what this plant is called? i pointed this to him as it has a unique way to stay afloat. other info supplied was that it used to be grown for pig feed.
we also saw dragonflies and ah gong went on to explain that dragonflies are useful insects and help to eat the harmful mosquitos. didn't manage capture any pics of dragonflies but dom would probably point out to you that Masked Rider Kabuto also have a dragonfly character. marrying science with TV.
he also asked about why motocycles and scooters do not have wipers like cars. anyone interested to answer pls put in your comments.
Complaints (6 apr 2010)
*sigh* *long sigh*
bry is being very naughty in childcare and the teachers are complaining. the usual ranges from not telling them when he needs to go poo, but this is minor, to disobeying instructions.
his form teacher told me that he runs around and "bangs" into things/ppl, disregarding his and others' safety. he does this at home too and the more we try to stop him, the more he does it. he also hits his classmates, instead of showing love. whenever we tell him no, he will get angry and also hits us. when being disclipined, he laughs/smiles at the teacher. i feel that he thinks it is a game.
here's the worst: the teacher compared him to dom. dom would cried when scolded but bry will laugh it off. dom will listen to instruction but bry will run away from the instruction. overall, dom was better behaved.
i am at a loss what to do. did i spoil him? i switched to part time after he was born and he almost always get away with murder. what can be done? he just doesn't understand the concept of punishment. i tried reasoning (dun bother to even try), scolding, standing in corner and even physical punishment. nothing really works.
maybe will really have to try some reward system with bry... ...
Elephant's Nose Is Very "Piao Liang" (12 apr 2010)
There is this Chinese nursery song about elephant’s nose. Translation: elephant, elephant, why is your nose so long? Ma ma says a long nose is beautiful. You are supposed to be the elephant, pinch your nose with 1 hand and cross the other arm over.
This is bry’s favourite, think it is the action that attracts him. I never heard dom sang this before. Anyway, bry is rather particular about how the arms are placed and he would correct you by putting your arms to his correct positions.
bry is being very naughty in childcare and the teachers are complaining. the usual ranges from not telling them when he needs to go poo, but this is minor, to disobeying instructions.
his form teacher told me that he runs around and "bangs" into things/ppl, disregarding his and others' safety. he does this at home too and the more we try to stop him, the more he does it. he also hits his classmates, instead of showing love. whenever we tell him no, he will get angry and also hits us. when being disclipined, he laughs/smiles at the teacher. i feel that he thinks it is a game.
here's the worst: the teacher compared him to dom. dom would cried when scolded but bry will laugh it off. dom will listen to instruction but bry will run away from the instruction. overall, dom was better behaved.
i am at a loss what to do. did i spoil him? i switched to part time after he was born and he almost always get away with murder. what can be done? he just doesn't understand the concept of punishment. i tried reasoning (dun bother to even try), scolding, standing in corner and even physical punishment. nothing really works.
maybe will really have to try some reward system with bry... ...
Elephant's Nose Is Very "Piao Liang" (12 apr 2010)
There is this Chinese nursery song about elephant’s nose. Translation: elephant, elephant, why is your nose so long? Ma ma says a long nose is beautiful. You are supposed to be the elephant, pinch your nose with 1 hand and cross the other arm over.
This is bry’s favourite, think it is the action that attracts him. I never heard dom sang this before. Anyway, bry is rather particular about how the arms are placed and he would correct you by putting your arms to his correct positions.
Bry was correcting helper just now, left arm cross over right hand and then right arm cross over left hand. He probably don’t realized how funny it looked, him keep changing the arms/hands’ positions, and we were laughing cos he looked so serious. The other funny thing about this is the way he pronounced “beautiful”, piao…… liang, sounded so much like angmoh speaking. I must try to get a video clip of this, it is really funny to hear him sing.
Baby Bird (12 apr 2010)
it started to rain during the evening around 6.15pm and bry was sitting at the living rm windows (ceilling to floor) commenting loudly that there was a baby bird outside. indeed it was a baby bird seeking shelter from the rain. the bird is probably a specie of humming bird, not your usual sparrow etc.
dom commented that the bird seems to be moving, i told him it was just breathing, and he asked why it was breathing. at this, i told him it was still alive so must breath if not... ...
bry was so cute, he kept waving and hello-ing at it, even brought his mickey mouse for the bird to see. the bird just kept looking at bry, then at dom and it closed it eyes. i told them it is probably lost, and the parents would be looking for it soon. sure enough, a couple of adults came flying by. they called out but did not try to land on the window ledge, probably weary of the humans on the other side of the window.
the boys were so amazed to see the parents, they are of sparrow sized, olive-green feathers and a slight curved beak, flying about. the baby bird "woke" up, turned away from the window and flew off to join it's parents.
this was probably the closest the boys got to seeing a live bird.
to be frank, when the baby bird closed it's eyes, i feared that it would die and had to explain to the boys.
Ah Gong's 65th Birthday (15 apr 2010)
Had a family celebration for ah gong’s 65th birthday on 11th apr, it was just few days before dom’s planned circumcision.
Nothing fancy, just a steamboat dinner and cake. Xiao jiu and Charlene got the cake, it was chocolate! Every chocolate lovers/addicts dream come true. Chocolate truffle, probably a new addition to Polar’s selection.
As usual, an outsider probably thought it was the boys’ birthday. (Since they are often mistaken as twins) both of them were so happy to see the cake. Dom is more reserved but bry was excited. We had to restraint bry, fearing the worst would befall on the cake before it’s 5min of fame.
As usual, the boys got to enjoy a small portion of the cake. Too much heaty food is a recipe for falling sick. Everything went well and all enjoyed the mini celebration.
Circumcision (15 apr 2010)
Dom went for circumcision on 14th apr. Having went thru a few OGGT and planned c-section (bry’s birth), I had first hand experiences on how the fasting and hunger would be like, so was rather worried about getting all the feeding times right. All the mad rush started on 13 apr, waiting for the call to inform us of the op time and all the fasting details, there was so much to remember. Dom had his dinner at 5.40pm and last milk feed at 2am (14/4), last cup of water at 7.15am (14/4) and was on empty stomach until the procedure was completed.
He was quite high spirited when we reached the day surgery (DS) at 10am but became bit withdrawn when he changed to the surgery gown. The nurses and doctors there were very professional and friendly, knew how to engage him.
I was most worried about the needles as he had a rather bad experience during a recent vaccination, and informed the doc about it. Fortunately, dom was “knocked” out with gas before the drip line was put in. for those who had done ops with GA/LA, the drip is inserted on the back of the hand and could be quite painful or/and sore. That’s exactly what I was so worried about.
At 11.15am, dom and chon wai went into the operating area (only 1 parent accompanied to operating theatre), within 10-15mins dom was “knocked” out and chonwai joined me at the recovery. Dom breathed in the gas deeply and did all the doc wanted him to do, he didn’t cry or fuss. I would have probably cried, that’s why I kept arrowing chon wai to go with him.
At 12noon, nurse called dom was already in recovery. My heart broke to see him lying on his stomach, sleeping the GA off. The poor boy had to undergo SURGERY at the tender age of 4.5yrs old, it doesn’t matter if circumcision was a common surgery, as a parent you wouldn’t want to see your child go thru any SURGERY at this young age.
Dom became fully awake at around 12.45pm, no complains of nausea or sore throat or pain.
He didn’t cry, just a bit blur. We fed him water, rose water, 1 lollipop (his 1st!), biscuit and ½ pack of strawberry milk. He took in all these, no vomiting. The post-op recovery was pretty good. We left after he peed.
dom commented that the bird seems to be moving, i told him it was just breathing, and he asked why it was breathing. at this, i told him it was still alive so must breath if not... ...
bry was so cute, he kept waving and hello-ing at it, even brought his mickey mouse for the bird to see. the bird just kept looking at bry, then at dom and it closed it eyes. i told them it is probably lost, and the parents would be looking for it soon. sure enough, a couple of adults came flying by. they called out but did not try to land on the window ledge, probably weary of the humans on the other side of the window.
the boys were so amazed to see the parents, they are of sparrow sized, olive-green feathers and a slight curved beak, flying about. the baby bird "woke" up, turned away from the window and flew off to join it's parents.
this was probably the closest the boys got to seeing a live bird.
to be frank, when the baby bird closed it's eyes, i feared that it would die and had to explain to the boys.
Ah Gong's 65th Birthday (15 apr 2010)
Had a family celebration for ah gong’s 65th birthday on 11th apr, it was just few days before dom’s planned circumcision.
Nothing fancy, just a steamboat dinner and cake. Xiao jiu and Charlene got the cake, it was chocolate! Every chocolate lovers/addicts dream come true. Chocolate truffle, probably a new addition to Polar’s selection.
As usual, an outsider probably thought it was the boys’ birthday. (Since they are often mistaken as twins) both of them were so happy to see the cake. Dom is more reserved but bry was excited. We had to restraint bry, fearing the worst would befall on the cake before it’s 5min of fame.
As usual, the boys got to enjoy a small portion of the cake. Too much heaty food is a recipe for falling sick. Everything went well and all enjoyed the mini celebration.
Circumcision (15 apr 2010)
Dom went for circumcision on 14th apr. Having went thru a few OGGT and planned c-section (bry’s birth), I had first hand experiences on how the fasting and hunger would be like, so was rather worried about getting all the feeding times right. All the mad rush started on 13 apr, waiting for the call to inform us of the op time and all the fasting details, there was so much to remember. Dom had his dinner at 5.40pm and last milk feed at 2am (14/4), last cup of water at 7.15am (14/4) and was on empty stomach until the procedure was completed.
He was quite high spirited when we reached the day surgery (DS) at 10am but became bit withdrawn when he changed to the surgery gown. The nurses and doctors there were very professional and friendly, knew how to engage him.
I was most worried about the needles as he had a rather bad experience during a recent vaccination, and informed the doc about it. Fortunately, dom was “knocked” out with gas before the drip line was put in. for those who had done ops with GA/LA, the drip is inserted on the back of the hand and could be quite painful or/and sore. That’s exactly what I was so worried about.
At 11.15am, dom and chon wai went into the operating area (only 1 parent accompanied to operating theatre), within 10-15mins dom was “knocked” out and chonwai joined me at the recovery. Dom breathed in the gas deeply and did all the doc wanted him to do, he didn’t cry or fuss. I would have probably cried, that’s why I kept arrowing chon wai to go with him.
At 12noon, nurse called dom was already in recovery. My heart broke to see him lying on his stomach, sleeping the GA off. The poor boy had to undergo SURGERY at the tender age of 4.5yrs old, it doesn’t matter if circumcision was a common surgery, as a parent you wouldn’t want to see your child go thru any SURGERY at this young age.
Dom became fully awake at around 12.45pm, no complains of nausea or sore throat or pain.
He didn’t cry, just a bit blur. We fed him water, rose water, 1 lollipop (his 1st!), biscuit and ½ pack of strawberry milk. He took in all these, no vomiting. The post-op recovery was pretty good. We left after he peed.
All is left is the home care, the list is long and rather confusing; I would have to follow it closely. Since the surgery went smoothly, ½ the battle is already won and just have to concentrate on getting the second ½ right.
Boring *Help* (19 apr 2010)
dom is not resting at home and everything is going well.
as expected, he is bored and keeps wanting us to play with him. i tried to engage him in some colouring, writing and playing on his own. it is ok if i am not working but a real challenge when i am off nite. lucky maid around to help.
watching tv is kept at minimum, he is quite addicted to watching tv. i let him watch an hour of seame street in the morning, so that all of us can get some chores done.
hopefully he will be well enough for school by next wk
Boring *Help* (19 apr 2010)
dom is not resting at home and everything is going well.
as expected, he is bored and keeps wanting us to play with him. i tried to engage him in some colouring, writing and playing on his own. it is ok if i am not working but a real challenge when i am off nite. lucky maid around to help.
watching tv is kept at minimum, he is quite addicted to watching tv. i let him watch an hour of seame street in the morning, so that all of us can get some chores done.
hopefully he will be well enough for school by next wk
Mr Men & Little Miss (29 apr 2010)
we have "become" fans of Mr Men and Little Miss, this is a popular series of books during my growing up yrs and now easily available (t-shirts) in Bossini.
just bought Mr Noisy t-shirt for dom and Mr Happy t-shirt for bry. the boys each have a water bottle (Mr Clever-dom, Mr Happy-bry) and i have 3 t-shirts, Miss Naguhty, Miss Giggles and Miss Chatterbox; and now i have Miss Helpful.
dom chose Mr Noisy cos he said he is very noisy. i wanted to get Mr Bouncy for bry, cos he loves to "bounce" around and both Noisy and Bouncy are in blue. i didn't want to buy the same t-shirt but wanted something similiar in colour. twins.... but dom insisted that bry should get Mr Happy cos he is always happy.
anyway, got the t-shirts at a discounted price. got the boys quite a number of t-shirts from bossini, a car design, chinese new yr and now Mr Men. my boys, bossini boys!
Regency Condo (3 may 2010)
just bought Mr Noisy t-shirt for dom and Mr Happy t-shirt for bry. the boys each have a water bottle (Mr Clever-dom, Mr Happy-bry) and i have 3 t-shirts, Miss Naguhty, Miss Giggles and Miss Chatterbox; and now i have Miss Helpful.
dom chose Mr Noisy cos he said he is very noisy. i wanted to get Mr Bouncy for bry, cos he loves to "bounce" around and both Noisy and Bouncy are in blue. i didn't want to buy the same t-shirt but wanted something similiar in colour. twins.... but dom insisted that bry should get Mr Happy cos he is always happy.
anyway, got the t-shirts at a discounted price. got the boys quite a number of t-shirts from bossini, a car design, chinese new yr and now Mr Men. my boys, bossini boys!
Regency Condo (3 may 2010)
Went to parents’ new place on Saturday and the boys had a great time running and playing at the common area(pool, playground etc). I would have to say that for such a small area, the layout is excellent. Although it may appears small, but there are many hidden areas and every space is well utilized.
The boys were playing near the massage pavilion and it had a small area of wooden planks floor, great place for the boys to run barefooted. Dom and bry were really running, dancing and singing, climbing over a small granite bench. It was so fun to see them enjoying the simple act of just letting their hair down.
There was a small water feature nearby and I told the boys to touch the water. Okay, that was probably a bad idea as bry took it as an invitation to try empty the feature. He was splashing happily, scooping the water out and getting himself soaking wet! The best part was that he wasn’t bothered by his wet clothes and thoroughly enjoyed himself! You would probably never see dom do that.
We had a great laugh watching the boys running and splashing. No one has moved in yet and we virtually had the whole place to ourselves. Probably would have to tone down once the residents moved in.
Bye Bye SGB1512P (3 may 2010)
The time has finally come for us to bid a fond farewell to our car.
Now that the boys are bigger and we are so near public transport facilities, we have decided to sell the car. It would be pointless to keep it as we seldom drive and the saving will go a long way.
CW has put it up and would probably part with it by mid May. So we had a photo session with it on Sunday, just some memories for us to look back.
Back To School (3 may 2010)
Dom has reported back to school today, after a break of 2wks. He was happy to be back with his friends and showed off a new colouring book, Ultraman.
I am not too worried about him as he enjoyed school and apparently a teachers’ pet. As long as he is comfortable with the environment and people, he is fine. His Chinese teacher actually wanted him to help her in her teaching assestment on Friday but dom was running a temperature. She told me that dom is very bright and well spoken, a perfect candidate to help her. I would love for dom to help her out but unfortunately he wasn’t 100% well yet.
Not to brag but dom is really popular with the teachers, his excellent memory and observation skills have made him 1st choice when it comes to public events. Plus he has excellent language skills, the perfect #1 choice.
Dom even remembered the lifts of our block, which is Lift A and Lift B, has been able to correctly identified the faulty while inside the house. Most of us would have to probably report and identify the faulty lift while standing in front of it but not dom.
Da Jiu & Family (17 may 2010)
Da Jiu and family are back for a short holiday!!!
it has been a while since we last saw Sin Yih and what a beauty she turned out to be! girls are always so cute.
there are lots of activities planned, dinner on sunday (16th, the day they arrived), family portrait on tue (18th), followed by dinner and probably another dinner before they leave on the 22nd.
sad to say that compared to the boys, Sin Yih is so much better behaved. dom has developed a bad habit of speaking like a 2yr old and is being constantly being "scolded". worried that it will be a permanent thing. the boys really go wild when they start to play and can get rather out of hand.
conclusion: girls are so much matured in both thinking and action. boys are forever stuck in their childhood, even in adulthood!
Bry Share Share (17 may 2010)
bry is a rather naughty boy... constantly being complained either verbally (teachers) or written (communication book). now my biggest headache is potty! he has a bad habit of not wanting to poo in the school toilet and probably will only tell the teachers after the deed is done. he is ok at home and would poo in his potty. solution: trying to get him to poo every morn and evening. there is a designated time, twice a day, for the boys to try to poo. so far no such luck with bry.
*sigh*
having said all the "negative" things about him, he does have a rather loving character and is always willing to share his food and toys. a big difference from dom. he is trying to share the crayons with po po.... unfortunately po po didn't want to take it...
Star Wars: Sengkang Version (24 may 2010)
yes! it has finally arrived.... Star Wars: Sengkang Version, with never seen before spaceships that are lovingly crafted by dominic aw.
we are faithfully watching the Star Wars:Clone Wars every saturday evenings and dom simply love the series. it is anime and 30mins long, full of funny looking characters and awesome spaceships. dom is always very excited to watch it and ask lots of questions about each episode,
most importantly, he is very inspired to build his very own Star Wars spaceships!
we bought some shapes that could be joined together to form different things, the boys used them to make guns, train tracks, supermarkets and now spaceships. the shapes do not allow for very complicated designs (supermarkets) and most of their works are single level designs.
dom managed to come up with rather complicated spaceships with no help from us. we simply left him with the shapes and he made all the different spaceships within 30mins. we are impressed by the design and complexity of each and couldn't resist to take some pics. so enjoy!
2 Cents = Millionaire? (30 may 2010)
Singapore To infinity and beyond!
with all the hype about the upcoming Toy Story 3, i have re-watched the first 2 installments of Toy Story and i feel sad for all the old toys that i used to have.
everyone has a "woody" in their life, it could be a toy, book, photo etc. something that you will hold on to, something that will forever be in your life. so what is your "woody"? i have mine and it is a old toy dog named "ah pound". i had it since 16th nov 1986. funny how i could never remembered dates, numbers but the 16/11/1986 seems to be engraved in my mind.
ah pound belongs to the "poundpuppy" soft toys and there was a cartoon in the late 1980s. i remembered watching it. as with all toys fabs, it had it's 5 min of fame and faded away. i managed to buy a pocket sized poundpuppy, named "junior", in 1999 or 2000. that was the last i ever saw of "poundpuppy".
i still remembered the theme song "poundpuppy sad and lonely; take him home and be his one and only; poundpuppy the one and only puppy dog".
a poundpuppy in box. looks nothing like mine
Zoo Trip 19 Jun 2010
went to the zoo on 19 jun 2010.
dom was so excited and ah gong wanted to buy him a book on animals but he wanted animal stickers instead. so the boys got a set of stickers each, dom's tigers and bry's doremone, and a file with animals' pictures.
while queueing for the tickets, counter only open at 8.30am, we decided to rent a little push cart(tiny xplorer) for the boys and dom spotted a peahen walking around. i didn't get a good look but got him to take some pics, which didn't turn out too well.
we managed to see the otters, white tigers, wild boars, emu, kangroos, baboons (no pics), african goats (no pics), elephants, polar bear, rhino and an animal show on saving rainforest.
it was breathtaking to see the white tigers and polar bear. dom was very happy and he insisted to visit the polar bear. he took a video (polar bear2), it was amazing to see it swimming around and we were only separated by a glass panel.
the animal show was educational but bry was frightened by the loud sound system. the poor boy started crying and ah gong had to bring him out. dom was engrossed with the storyteller(lady) as she had a snake around her neck. i think he was more curious about the snake around her neck. he kept asking me where is the "jie jie" with the snake.
dom wanted to see some other animals but couldn't as we had to leave, promised him that we will be back soon and this time round we may just buy the tram tickets instead of walking around. there is even boat rides available, the zoo has really transformed itself and the trip was enjoyable even for a big kid like me!!
Sin Yih & Dom (20 jun 2010)
this was from Elder Bro and family trip. group photo.
this is cute little SinYih.... so cute!!!
SinYih and Dom. so cute the pair of them.
你在玩水har? (24 jun 2010)
it has been a while since we last saw Sin Yih and what a beauty she turned out to be! girls are always so cute.
there are lots of activities planned, dinner on sunday (16th, the day they arrived), family portrait on tue (18th), followed by dinner and probably another dinner before they leave on the 22nd.
sad to say that compared to the boys, Sin Yih is so much better behaved. dom has developed a bad habit of speaking like a 2yr old and is being constantly being "scolded". worried that it will be a permanent thing. the boys really go wild when they start to play and can get rather out of hand.
conclusion: girls are so much matured in both thinking and action. boys are forever stuck in their childhood, even in adulthood!
Bry Share Share (17 may 2010)
*sigh*
having said all the "negative" things about him, he does have a rather loving character and is always willing to share his food and toys. a big difference from dom. he is trying to share the crayons with po po.... unfortunately po po didn't want to take it...
Star Wars: Sengkang Version (24 may 2010)
we are faithfully watching the Star Wars:Clone Wars every saturday evenings and dom simply love the series. it is anime and 30mins long, full of funny looking characters and awesome spaceships. dom is always very excited to watch it and ask lots of questions about each episode,
most importantly, he is very inspired to build his very own Star Wars spaceships!
we bought some shapes that could be joined together to form different things, the boys used them to make guns, train tracks, supermarkets and now spaceships. the shapes do not allow for very complicated designs (supermarkets) and most of their works are single level designs.
dom managed to come up with rather complicated spaceships with no help from us. we simply left him with the shapes and he made all the different spaceships within 30mins. we are impressed by the design and complexity of each and couldn't resist to take some pics. so enjoy!
2 Cents = Millionaire? (30 may 2010)
A very unique situation, collecting 2 cents will eventually make you a millionaire or billionaire. Interested? Here’s how. Okay disclaimer first: you are not actually collecting 2 cents of money/currency but 2 cents of worthless advices; and you will have million if not billion worth of worthless advices.
Was speaking to another professional staff on child caring. Many lamented about the falling birthrates thru out the world, especially in Singapore
Okay, so how “healthy” is my own 2-cents account? Very healthy indeed. There is a major contributor who has never stopped sprouting utter nonsense and there isn’t any way to shut this person up. Sometimes I really wondered who died and made this person the “world # 1 expert”, does this person actually has a brain or something similar (slugs and snails would probably make more senses) and if this person has any sense of guilt of what the kids are being subjected to.
Conclusion? Is there one to begin with? To retain the sanity of the parent, who are actually being driven to murder, there should be a law to stop all these contributors. Agree?
Learning Hokkien - Lee Si Simi Kia (3jun 2010)
I Am Not KS (8 jun 2010)
i really want to bang my head against the wall!!!
dom asked me the other day why i did not buy him any puzzles books, he cited his classmate having a puzzles book and it was very interesting. my 4.5yr old is feeling the peer pressure to have the same items as his friends. OMG!! anyway, i told him i bought lots of books for him but he loses interest in them very fast and there is no way i am gonna allow myself to join the "books race".
later that day, i was out and there was a mini book fair by Kiddy Palace. spent some time looking thru the books and got 3 for dom, science and IQ books. thought these would last me for at least a month.
showed dom the new books and he was thrilled, kept flipping thru the pages and asking about how to do the activities. i gave him 1 book and kept the other 2. he brought it to school and finished the entire book in 1 day!!! unexpected!! he and his friends took turns doing the activities.
so now, poor mother me, has go "book hunting" again. i am really not into the book race, but didn't want him to feel left out. *sigh* poor me, poor wallet.
on the other hand, he seems to understand the problems/activities and could give the correct answers when i went thru with him. so it is still money well spent!
Bt Batok Reserve (14 jun 2010)
We hiked to the abandoned quarry where we are greeted by more of nature surprises and beauty. I personally like this tree growing by the quarry wall. It seems so amazing to find a strong tall tree standing proudly there, God’s creation. We saw many dragonflies and managed to capture one on film. It was rather docile and stayed on the leaf even when we were so close to it. Dom and ah gong saw a green dragonfly and he proudly announced that there are 2 coloured dragonflies around. A couple of kids were feeding 2 tortoises, there doesn’t seem to have any fishes living in the quarry pond.
As we hiked down to the carpark, we saw some durians husk but didn’t see any durians up in the trees and saw a jackfruit. My favourite. I took some pics of flowers but the greatest discovery was the “White Crested Laugh Thrush”. We did see other kinds of birds but didn’t manage to capture on film. This is the best nature reserve trip.
this is rather overdue. brought dom to library during his 2-wk MC and had it made. everything is so high tech and instant. just need to key in his BC number and name, wa la the card is made.
Who Needs A Gym? (17 jun 2010)
Ok, my family and I don’t need any gym. We are being trained intensely by our very own trainer, who is using a new technique that doesn’t require any weights. Bry has started this technique to ensure that we will have strong arms and leg muscles, carrying him. His weight will be the weights and it will change from time to time, depending whether he gains or loses weight.
dom asked me the other day why i did not buy him any puzzles books, he cited his classmate having a puzzles book and it was very interesting. my 4.5yr old is feeling the peer pressure to have the same items as his friends. OMG!! anyway, i told him i bought lots of books for him but he loses interest in them very fast and there is no way i am gonna allow myself to join the "books race".
later that day, i was out and there was a mini book fair by Kiddy Palace. spent some time looking thru the books and got 3 for dom, science and IQ books. thought these would last me for at least a month.
showed dom the new books and he was thrilled, kept flipping thru the pages and asking about how to do the activities. i gave him 1 book and kept the other 2. he brought it to school and finished the entire book in 1 day!!! unexpected!! he and his friends took turns doing the activities.
so now, poor mother me, has go "book hunting" again. i am really not into the book race, but didn't want him to feel left out. *sigh* poor me, poor wallet.
on the other hand, he seems to understand the problems/activities and could give the correct answers when i went thru with him. so it is still money well spent!
Bt Batok Reserve (14 jun 2010)
Went to Bt Batok Nature Reserve (BBNR) on Saturday, highly recommend to all young families. The paths are paved and there is no dirt tracks, unlike Bt Timah Nature Reserve, most visitors are there to jog or walk, no danger from cyclists. The best part is there are so many different kinds of birds there and there is also an old quarry where you can stop and admire the beauty of nature. Plus parking is not a problem.
white crested laugh thrush from internet
We went up the path and were soon greeted by 3 “White Crested Laugh Thrush” forging in the undergrowth. Dom saw the birds and was so excited. I tried to capture their photos but didn’t turn out too good, so there are 2 from the Internet. The birds didn’t pay much attention to our (mostly mine) excited cries and went about their business. They are probably used to urban folks’ loud exclaminations. Encouraged we kept our eyes peeled for more nature surprises.
Dom soon spotted a dried leaf caught in a spider web, this is the pic taken by him, he was so eager to show everyone his find.
While dom was off to explore the area around the quarry, bry has made himself comfortable with pop o, eating apples. He wasn’t very happy to be hiking and virtually stuck himself to ah gong, poor ah gong had to carry him most of the time. Once he started eating the apples, he began to smile and took notice of the place.
We also saw squirrel running down a fruit tree, not too sure the name of the tree, and it was full of berries-like fruits. There were so many birds picking the berries and flying back to their nests at the quarry wall. We also saw a monkey and heard their cries in the tree-top.
We had lunch at Lot One Shopping Mall. The boys love the dessert, Tau Sau and Cheng Theng, which weren’t too sweet and full of goodies. The food court has been declared, by dom, the best food place which will is after to Ikea (their #1 favourite place).
Dom's Library Card (14 jun 2010)
He Is My Brother (17 jun 2010)
Dom was told off by Papa for not obeying instruction. Dom probably felt wronged, he was in the wrong, and started to cry.
Bry, who was in the kitchen to supervise how his milk was being prepared, immediately ran to dom’s side and asked who made him cry. Bry must have heard Papa scolding dom and asked if it was Papa who made dom cried, he (bry) then proceeded to tell Papa not to scold his Gor Gor. Bry then tried to comfort dom by telling him that he (bry) had already “scold” Papa.
Dom ate 3 pieces of bread/snack before coming home and was unable to eat most of his dinner. I scolded him for stuffing himself when he knows that it was close to his dinner time. My point being that there is nothing nutritious about the snacks and too much will make him sick, there is always fresh food for dinner and this is what a growing body needs. He became upset and bry stepped in to defend his brother.
This is probably one of the rare displays of brotherly love between the boys.
Dom has been very good in helping take care of bry, encouraging and watching over bry while we are busy other tasks. Have been telling him that he is the older brother and has the responsibilities to help look after bry, esp during mealtimes when I have to feed bry. Dom is a more disciplined child who is able to listen and see the big picture most of the time.
War (17 jun 2010)
War has broken out, everyone takes cover.
I was informed by bry’s teacher that he pushed another classmate, J, during bath time. J, in turn, waited for bry outside the toilet and bit his arm. This is not the first time I have witnessed the pair of them having a go at each other.
There was another incident where bry was seated on the floor and J walked passed. Bry tried to hit J but she moved away, took a turn back and tried to exact her revenge. Sad to say, bry was hit lightly.
Bry has also recounted an incident in which J was hit by another classmate, cried and fell on the floor. Bry then tried to comfort J but was “attacked”. Pls bear in mind that this is his version of the story and who knows if he had mixed up few incidents into one.
Anyway, I told bry to stay away from J. J is a girl that will pack a punch.
Dom also had his fair shares of hits and misses. He bit 2 classmates, a boy and girl, on 2 separate occasions over some petty issues.
As for bry, I scolded him not to push anyone, if the other kid hurts his head then we are in big trouble. Kids will be kids, I am fine as long as the war doesn’t get too serious.
He used to walk to school in the mornings and sit on the stroller back in the evenings. Ever since his last bout of illness, he has been very clingy and now I have to carry him to and fro school, plus his and (sometimes) dom's bags. Even at home, he would want to be carried esp after Papa finished his dinner. On Saturdays, he requires ah gong to carry him around.
This morning he dropped his box of raisins while on the way to school, we were very near the school, I put him down and told him let’s walk to school but he insisted that he must be carried. Whenever he sees that the floor is wet, he would again insists to be carried as he doesn’t want to slip and fall.
Really a big baby now.
Rats (17 jun 2010)
This is an unfortunate incident that occurred at the childcare yesterday, a rat entered the school thru one of the gates and created a buzz.
According to dom, (he had called it a big black mouse) it came thru one of the gates near the K2 class and started running around from class to class. I asked if there was lots of screams and he said yes with one of his classmates standing on the chair. Rather cartoon-y. the supervisor chased the rat out with a broom.
This is a close encounter with the rodent family. I told dom not to touch anything the rat touched and he thought I meant not to touch the rat. Well, I would have freaked out if he touched it and would have brought him to doc immediately.
Last yr, dom’s teacher brought tortoises and snails to show the kids, think it was part of their nature/science lessons.
Hope that the school will keep up its cleaning schedule.
Toy Story 1-3 (17 jun 2010)
everyone has a "woody" in their life, it could be a toy, book, photo etc. something that you will hold on to, something that will forever be in your life. so what is your "woody"? i have mine and it is a old toy dog named "ah pound". i had it since 16th nov 1986. funny how i could never remembered dates, numbers but the 16/11/1986 seems to be engraved in my mind.
i still remembered the theme song "poundpuppy sad and lonely; take him home and be his one and only; poundpuppy the one and only puppy dog".
Zoo Trip 19 Jun 2010
went to the zoo on 19 jun 2010.
dom was so excited and ah gong wanted to buy him a book on animals but he wanted animal stickers instead. so the boys got a set of stickers each, dom's tigers and bry's doremone, and a file with animals' pictures.
we managed to see the otters, white tigers, wild boars, emu, kangroos, baboons (no pics), african goats (no pics), elephants, polar bear, rhino and an animal show on saving rainforest.
dom wanted to see some other animals but couldn't as we had to leave, promised him that we will be back soon and this time round we may just buy the tram tickets instead of walking around. there is even boat rides available, the zoo has really transformed itself and the trip was enjoyable even for a big kid like me!!
Sin Yih & Dom (20 jun 2010)
this was from Elder Bro and family trip. group photo.
this is cute little SinYih.... so cute!!!
你在玩水har? (24 jun 2010)
Bry has a habit to sit at his bedrm door before sleeping. We usually have to tell/scold/threaten him to go sit or lie down on his mattress.
One nite Papa accidently spilled some water outside bry’s room, bry was “sitting guard” at the door and I was sitting with him (sort of keeping an eye on him). Bry immediately asked Papa whether he was “playing with water har”(mandarin: 你在玩水 har?). Papa replied that he wasn’t and he was “careless”(mandarin: 不小心) and accidently spilled the water. Bry went on to confirm that Papa was not playing with water and that he was careless(mandarin: 你不是在玩水har. 你 不小心har).
Think bry will make a good detective, or he will question you to death. Or you will be “har” to death.
This Is You Last Question (24 jun 2010)
Recently dom asked me what happened to all the rubbish collected by the garbage trucks, Papa has already explained to him that the rubbish will be burned in the incinerators, so I told him the same thing. He then went on to ask what happen to all the burnt rubbish, my reply they will become ash and may be used to reclaim land, the reclaimed land can later be used to build flats.
Bry decided to post the same question on evening during dinner and being a big brother with lots of knowledge, dom informed me that he will answer bry’s questions and I need not answer. Bry kept asking how happen to rubbish, why burn, what happen to ash etc over and over again. Dom replied rubbish burn, burn to produce ash, ash can used to build houses. Okay, dom got bit confused with the house part, I told him ash used to reclaim land for houses and he got it mixed up (with a bit of Bob Builder) and tot it was for building houses.
Bry just kept asking and asking. Dom kept explaining and explaining. It was like watching a tennis match with words flying between the boys. Soon dom told bry that he will only answer 1 last question and he will not answer him anymore. Still bry just kept asking and dom kept answering.
Finally! Dom had enough and told bry that he has already given him(bry) the answers and he(dom) no longer has the answer with him(dom) as the answer is now with bry.
Finger-Licking Good...NOT (24 jun 2010)
Bry has developed a bad habit to put his fingers in his mouth. The more we tell him not to do so, the more he would do it.
Dom never had this problem, except when he was teething, so I tot bry was also teething when he first started his fingers-in-mouth routine but now it has really become a bad habit. Just like some kids who need pacifiers 24/7, bry’s finger problem is not that serious and he only does it when he is bored or nothing to do.
The BIG problem is that he is ingesting germs…. He will touch anything and everything, afterwhich he would “lick” his fingers. It is impossible to watch him all the time at home, dun even mention what/how often he is doing this in school.
In the end, he is falling sick. This is hardly surprising but very troublesome. Seriously hope that he would outgrow this bad habit of his. Until then just have to watch him like a hawk with pepper!
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