Bubbletime!!

I love bubbles, especially when they are flying into my face. I got to catch some again last weekend at Uncle Salleh's Hari Raya celebration. He has a big, beautiful house with a big garden. Mummy sure looked envious of the space they have. :)

Uncle Vinay carried me to catch the bubbles. I think he enjoyed himself too even though many bubbles burst in his face. And I think he must have felt quite soapy after that too.







I can't see!! There are too many bubbles!!














Yay!!! I love this!!














This will help you lose some weight you've put on eating all those goodies, Uncle Vinay! More, more!!!














You've been great, Uncle Vinay!!

Daddy and Mummy had a lot of fun catching up with their old friends from university. The food was really yummy too!! Next year again, Uncle Salleh?? With more yummy goodies? :)

Makan Session

Last week we went to Uncle Kelvin's house for a get-together and also for crabs, pizza and hokkien mee. I didn't get any of those as Mummy had cooked some delicious noodles for me. I had a great time playing with Joshua and Keke Evan. Sadly Mummy didn't let me play with Keke Evans's guns and swords. :(







Mummy was happy that I'd finished my food, so she let me have some yummy hokkien mee.













Joshua was telling me some jokes. :)















Posing for the camera!!

Good Parents? Bad Parents?

I actually do not have much experience in this topic, being a parent for just 15months. But being a teacher for about 7 years did teach me a thing or two about parenting. I've come across many children and looking at how they behave, I truly believe that a child needs to be nurtured more than to depend on his or her nature. In my opinion, maybe 15% is nature and the rest nurtured.

I asked Leo and Celest today to ask their parents if parenting was this difficult during their time. Nigel hasn't been acting himself for the past few days. He is driving almost everybody in the house up the walls. But how do we as parents deal with a difficult child? Do we spank without giving any chances? Do we reason with them and just wait for them to turn around one day? Or do we just ignore such bad behaviour and hope that it is just a phase which will pass?

It is very difficult being a parent. Leo said that it may be due to us being exposed to too many sources which tells us what we should and shouldn't do, and what are expected out of us as parents. Sigh... it is a never-ending debate. Many feel that the cane works the best, including Fred. Their reason was that we were caned when we were young and we turned out fine. Fred's favourite phrase is "Just whack!!" That is not my stand though... I was told that I've spoilt Gabriel by only scolding him when he does something naughty and I should smack him a little so he remembers what he is not supposed to do. If not I'm smacking him too softly. Due to this kind of pressure from people around me, I am resorting to physical punishment more often now. I am not proud of myself for succumbing to such pressure and I always feel bad after that. I am not sure if I should risk being called a bad parent or risk having a child who is labelled "spoilt". Being a parent to one child is definitely more difficult and more challenging than being a teacher to 44 kids!! So, what is my stand then? Talk first, five warnings, let him know of consequences and if he still does whatever he was told to stop doing, I will smack him on his hand. Takes up a lot of my patience and tolerance. If I was very tempted to raise my hands, I will just walk away and ignore him for a while, just to cool down. Kids are really energy-zapping wonders. :)

Human beings are famous for giving labels. Children are often labelled naughty, mischievous, spoilt, etc, etc. They are being condemned for their behaviour, their parents, teachers, schools and people who are related to them are often not spared. Condemn the act, not the child. No wonder some kids have very low self esteem and low confidence.

I feel that our job as parents these days, besides providing the best we can for them, is to shape positive behaviour and atttitudes, to instill good morals and filial piety .... I am sure our parents had the same responsibilities back then. But I guess pressure from society to have world-class children was not that important then. Singapore is all about GEP (Gifted Education Programme), LSP(Learning Support Programme), PSLE, SAP (Govt Aided School) etc, etc.

Am I a good or a bad parent then? I don't know. Guess we'll have to wait another 30 years to see how Gabriel turns out. :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today is my Daddy's birthday. I heard he is now in his thirties, but I think he has just turned 21. (He chases me around and plays with me like a 21 year old)

Happy Birthday Daddy!!! May you stay young at 21 forever!





This is me and my Daddy...














I love you, Daddy!!

What's Cooking?

Since we came back from Austria, Gabriel's eating habit has never been the same again. Sigh... it means that he is now quite choosy of what he wants to put into his mouth. No more big mouth for every spoonful of porridge which I spend a long time making in the hot kitchen. No more eating his food in less than 20 minutes. No more easy to clean Gabriel and the area around him.

Not only does he love noodles, he also wants to eat it with his hands and fingers. Thankfully after a while, he has widened his food range to include pasta and also rice, all using his hands. Imagine the mess around him and on him!! Half the food ends up on the floor, his clothes, his hands and his face. (probably saving some for supper..) And half the time he is enjoying himself with the food, playing I mean.

After a week or so, now he is totally obsessed with forks and chopsticks. He eats his noodles with a fork now, with my help, so that the mess is minimised. He has always liked chopsticks. He picked that up from Vienna when he saw us using them to eat. Just today he was using them to eat cheerios. He poked the chopstick right through the centre of the cereal. Smart huh? Other times, he would just poke his chopsticks everywhere. My food is definitely not spared. So now, instead of slogging for an hour in the kitchen cooking porridge which he doesn't want, he just eats whatever I eat. If we are out, I would have to order a noodles and soup dish. No more laksa or curry for the time being. At home he eats rice and some dishes. Porridge only once in a blue moon when I feel that I have to replenish some nutirents for him.

Gabriel is also growing fast. He only needs to look at you doing something once and the next thing you see is him doing the exact same thing. There is always something new from him everyday. It is really nice of course, for me to witness these development changes in him. But he may just shock me with something outrageous as well, like him putting his whole hand into Fred's aquarium that day. Thank goodness Fred doesn't rear pirahnas. :)

I lurrrve noodles....

but I need to eat them with my hands!!! I will only hold a spoon to pretend but these noodles taste the best eaten with hands, fingers, thumb....






Yummy... yum yum.
















Gong gong, you must try some too!!










Mummy is going crazy every meal time as I will only eat from my hands and fingers... imagine the mess I create everytime. Heehee... She is even more mad as I don't want any meat or vegetable or fish or the soup, just plain noodles. What to do... I am a boy who loves my noodles. She will probably cook plain noodles and rice from now on. Yummy...

I will ask Daddy to put up the video he took of me eating soon... so see you all soon!!

Comfy comfy...

Hmmm... these chairs are sure very comfortable. Can you buy them for us, mummy?






Oh, you mean they are Daddy's legs?? So comfy I don't want to move and I'm sure Shannon is not moving as well. :)

Things to do in a plane when you're bored

Here are my Top 5 fav things to do in a plane when I'm bored.

5. Take a nap (Of course crossing your legs is optional.)


4. Sit on someone's lap.. Ooh.. (This is Mama's lap!)


3. Pick up the skyphone and call someone (Hello? Gege Nigel? Can you hear me now?)


2. Scan through all the movies at high speed (preferably using a touch screen system)


and.... drum roll please..
number 1. Get off as soon as possible!! (The other choice was flirting with the stewardesses. I blew so many kisses on the flights and got my cheeks touched and pinched by so many of them!)

Of course the plane had better be on the ground! Hee hee!

Planes are fun! Maybe I'll be a pilot in the future!



Here's a picture of my view as I was checking the port side engine to see if it was running well.

See you all soon!

I can, can I?

Whilst in Salzburg, we went up a fortress and had a tour of the rooms. There were audioguides given out at the beginning of the tour. Daddy, knowing from previous experience, got me an audioguide too.


Many people were tickled at the fact that I wanted to listen about the history of the fortress and how it changed when it changed hands from Bishop to Bishop.


Daddy got a severe backache that day, since he carried me the whole of the guided tour in the fortress and also all the way down in the fenicular cable car. I'm not that light anymore, Daddy!

I'm growing up fast and learning new things every day. I love surprising people with my new knowledge! It's fun!

See you all soon..

Progressions

Today, whilst Mummy was cutting her nails, I walked up to her and gave her my hand so she could cut my nails too!



She was so surprised that I was able to stand still and watch her cut my nails.



In fact I enjoyed it so much, I didn't want it to end. When she was done, I kept pushing my hand toward her. She didn't get it that I wanted the sharp edges to be filed off using the back of the nail-clipper handle. I tried to file my nails myself after that, but Daddy thought that the clippers were too dangerous for me and asked Mummy to take them away.. Hmmph!

Maybe I can have my hair cut soon too and surprise everyone!

Thank you Mummy!

Sticky or chewy?

There are times when Gabriel only wants me to carry him, especially when he is tired and grouchy. He will cry and cry until I pick him up. He doesn't want anybody else, including Fred. This frustrates some people around us very much. They feel that Gabriel is being naughty and is spoilt. I am not sure if that qualifies for those categories. Does he deserve a spanking because of that? He is not rejecting anyone on purpose. He just wanted someone he is comfortable with. That's me, someone he sees everyday from the moment he wakes up til he sleeps. Is that sticky?

I try to leave him home with whoever who is at home whenever I need to run errands. I want him to get used to being looked after by someone else other than myself. He will be fine until he sees me of course... I can somehow set an emergency alarm in him. He will be running towards me frantically. Sigh...

On being chewy, Gabriel is extremely chewy these days. Thats because his pre-molars are cutting through his gums and I think he is either in pain or super uncomfortable. He is chewing and biting stuff, including my arms and shoulders. I have bitemarks on both my shoulders. I know he can't help biting but I do smack him on his backside if he bites me.

Home Sweat Home (Part II)

Ended the previous entry quite abruptly. Sorry..

So, when will we travel again?? Of course! Waiting for another opportunity to come by. :) I'm not too sure when that will be but we will definitely do it again. (Fred has been talking about Vancouver for the past one month already) We will just have to plan everything properly, from what food Gabriel is going to eat, towhat to occupy him with especially in the plane and of course to what places to see and visit when we get there.

Many people we know shudder at the thought of travelling with a baby. Truthfully, it is not that bad. It was easier when he was younger, as I didn't have to worry about his food. (I was still nursing him when we were in Spain.) Even so, I just had to wake up earlier than everyone else everyday to cook for him. Some people feel that I shouldn't have to slog so hard with his food now that he has teeth and he can eat what we eat. Well, I don't really want him to eat so much of our flavouring-laden food just yet. To try and experiment on a little is fine but as a meal, no, not if there is a choice.

Well, right now we are recuperating from the loss of sleep. No jet-lag for me thankfully. I can't say the same for Fred. Gabriel is sleeping the same, better if he is on our bed of course. (I don't know why) I will be dreaming of the next trip for now. :)