Sleep face

I was browsing through my phone which has a ton of pictures (I think about 85% of them are of Kate) and I realised that when her eyes are shut, she looks pretty much the same since birth! The same slitty eyes (the husband's), and that mini frown (mine).

Sleeping Kate @ 6 months

Sleeping Kate @ 2 years

Dear Kate

Dear Kate,

It’s been a while since Mommy wrote to you and I’ve been wanting to, but just not had the time to do so. You are such a joy nowadays! I mean, you’ve always been our lovely princess but with your rapid developments, it’s such a joy to be with you. You are sooo chatty (I’ve always known that your strength is in your speech) and it’s amusing and amazing to hear some things that you spout! When we play masak masak, we get berated when we eat with our hands “NO NO NO cannot use hands!”, you ask us “Mummy, what you want?” and decide what you wish to prepare for us “I cooking porridge ok? OK!”. You imitate the things we say and you also string together words on your own so that they make sense and it’s truly fun that we’re able to talk to each other.

You are terribly stubborn (!!) and that is a pain to deal with. You’ll whine and cry to get your way, refuse to do things when we tell you to if you do not wish to and you’ll rather suffer some smacks than give in! Such stubborn-ness in a tiny 2-year-old is just too much! You’re definitely a character and I can only hope that over time, we’ll keep teaching you the right thing to do and some day, you’ll learn that being stubborn does not always pay off; that there are ways to get about it so that life is smoother and better for you and others.

While it’s true that you never had to share with anyone most of your life, I believe it’s part of development that you are possessive. But having said that, you do need to learn how to share. It really annoys me to see you snatch toys, or take everything that another child touches. This mostly happens at home when cousin Lukas comes over, and I can only imagine how much more touché you may be with your little brother. However, you do understand the concept of waiting your turn – when we go to the playground, you know that you have to share the swing/slide and if it’s occupied, you’ll say “must wait!”

What really impresses me is that you have this sweet, understanding, empathetic side that really melts my heart. You know it when you’re being told off and you astutely feign ignorance and attempt to distract us. When we tell you that we’re sad, you tell us “don’t be sad, be happy”. The other night, I cried and you looked at me and said “you cry? Why you cry? Don’t cry!” And darling you then gave me a tight hug and said “Kate hug Mummy you happy?” You don’t like to see others sad/cry and it affects you. When you know that Nainai is unwell and unable to carry you, you tell her “No, Nainai cannot carry me” when Nainai asked if you wanted to be carried. Such an understanding girl – this sort of behaviour just melts my heart, goes to show what a sweetheart you are. Generally, I think you’re quite a ‘people-person’ and I like to think that you inherited those genes from me!

In line with the sweet girl that you are, you have been great with baby Jake. From very early on, you’d reacted pretty fine when we asked if you wanted a baby brother/sister. You don’t seem to grasp the concept of a baby boy/girl yet but you aways respond with a “yes” each time. Over the months, you seem to have adjusted well to the idea of my growing belly. You join me in my nightly ritual of “sayang-ing didi” (when I put on my anti-stretch mark cream) “I also want to sayang didi”; though you get confused and say “I sayang baby” when we put moisturizer on you! (hah) You are a doll and agree whenever we ask you to “talk to didi”. You speak to my tummy and by now, you know that didi is called “Jake”. I try to involve you further, by asking you if you will help me: “if didi cries next time, help me sayang him ok?” and you always respond positively. It really makes me very happy that you’re so loving and welcoming of our little addition to the family.

You’ve grown so independent and I know that you’re ready for school. We have enrolled you and December will be your last month of carefree life, before you begin school (for the next 20 years!) starting January 2012. You can eat on your own, put on your socks and shoes on your own, you can walk and run and play on your own and you're also pretty much toilet-trained! (Safe for some minor accidents)… you’re truly what they call in Mandarin a “small big person” (mini adult).

Our next few months ahead will be terribly exciting – first up is our Hanoi holiday over Christmas, and we’ll be moving into our new home in the next two months too; you’ll begin school in January and we’ll celebrate Chinese New Year; in Feb we ought to be more settled in our new home and routine and we then welcome Jake in March. Exciting times ahead!

The other night, we went through some old videos of you off Facebook and it's amazing to see how much you have developed through these months. You really bring so much joy to our lives, dear Kate and I truly love you with all my heart. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have you as my princess, and I cannot imagine life without you.

Love, Mommy

One year

Today marks the one year that I’ve been working in this (not-so) new job.

I still remember me sussing out the building & environment when I first came for an interview. I tried to picture if I could imagine myself working here, trying to absorb the ‘qi’ in the place to see if I could feel anything good/bad…

The ride this past year has been mostly good than bad, I think. Of course, there are times that I feel like slitting my wrists, but these occasions are far less than in my previous job! The culture of this place is different and I’d like to think that I’ve settled in rather nicely, but sometimes, I still pick up pieces of gossip, uh, information, that makes me go “eh?”?! The key reason why I sought to change jobs was the long, grueling hours – while I loved being in advertising (oh, the adrenalin!), the hours were cruel and not possible after I became a Mom. I think many will agree/understand that the advertising industry is extremely fast-paced and despite it being very thrilling and challenging, and great for growth & learning (I probably learned the most I ever have ever since I stepped out from school), my priority as a Mom was way too important and much to ignore and I had to find an alternative where I had more definite hours at work.

I got a pay rise when I switched and that helped, but while I’m cracking my brains as to why I had to switch jobs, the hours and the need for me to be able to lead more of a life was the one major thing. Other things included a change in environment, wanting to try a different industry, to learn new things; the usuals.

I’ll like to be thankful and say that it’s been a decent year for me here so far (I’m being thankful so I’m not going to harp on the bad stuff!), and I must remember that my key reason has been met. Here, I get to leave punctually on most days and I’ve gotten used to this life where I get to have dinner at home & spend some time with Kate playing/eating together.

So, one year.

"Being an adult is so stressful"

That's what the husband said the other night and when he said so, I was slumped on the chair, resting my achey back, rubbing my swollen belly and feeling, well, rather tired. The MIL is unwell and the husband and I decided that we ought to alleviate her discomfort by dropping Kate off at my uncle's so that she doesn't have to worry about Kate at all. We'd been discussing the car/logistics arrangements and even before we embarked on the actual act, we're already slumped out!

We have been very lucky in that we have the MIL helping us look after Kate since her birth. The fact that we live together really makes things so much easier as we do not have to worry about shuttling, extra logistics and any of the other things that come along with needing to shuttle. The MIL is reluctant of the (temporary?) childcare arrangement because she says "my legs are painful anyway whether Kate is around or not". But the other reason (I'm guessing) is that she misses Kate, and she's probably used to Kate's nonsense no matter how tiring it is (as all parents and care-givers should understand).

But because we figure that her resting is more important (and no pressure at all if Kate isn't around), we made arrangements to drop Kate off at her "playland". Kate loves the company of her little uncle & aunt (they are 7 & 5) and rather looks forward to going over. So I'm happy that at least there is no emotional burden of Kate being unhappy; but it's just the physical strain of doing the shuttling.

As I complain, though, I'm aware that we are still fortunate because the husband's workplace is near my uncle's home; and we at least have this childcare option for Kate.

.... being an adult is so stressful.

Our first Christmas party for 2011

Time really flies by and we're fast approaching the final month of this year. A whole year has whizzed by and this year, because of Poo's travelling schedule, we had our first Christmas party early, last Saturday on 26 November - still within a month of Christmas!

I woke up really early that day - I think I was actually excited at the prospect of making food - okay, so it's only salad but for those who know, cooking is not my forte and to make something on my own is really quite amazing! Here's a picture of my finished product!

Lettuce, shredded cheddar, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, corn, picnic ham (I pounded almonds but forgot to throw them in. Ah well!)

Before leaving the house, we had a morning visitor!

Kate, with Jaz who finally KO-ed for her nap

After which the bestie and I had some time to just talk and catch up about nothing at all. I then prepared for Kate and I and we headed to Eve's for the party!

Kate and Charlotte - look into the mirror in the bkground; notice how Charlotte has her arm around Kate?! So cute!

We stuffed our faces with food from my salad to pasta & pie, to baked wings & herb-chicken fillets; to mini tarts and we finished off with a deliciously rich choccie cake - yums!

The afternoon was really relaxed and we girls & our partners spent the time just talking about what's current, what's not, what's past, what's coming up next. We have been friends for (let me count now...) 14 years (!!) and we've had plenty of adventures along the way. Now, 3 of us are married with kiddos and I really hope to hear wedding bells soon for the 4th! I love how our friendship has strengthened over the years with us seeing one another through key milestones in our lives. I love my girls! I don't have a pic of us girls, but I did capture one of the girls all Xmas'ed out.

I love December!

No more exams

(Again, another dated post but I really want to have it all written down!)

After a whole month of intense mugging, the husband finished his exams last Tuesday. During his month of study leave, he'd send me to work and head off for breakfast before parking himself at a library to study. He'll then come pick me up from work and some days, we'll go for dinner on our own before heading home; or we may head straight back.

In between this arrangement, the husband will do bits & pieces of our home - meeting with contractors, reviewing emails on the house, setting up electricity etc. Because of my pregnancy and the hearsays of how I should avoid being involved because of it, the husband has undertaken the sole duty of doing up our house. I'm happy to allow him to have free-play of the home, and I think he's enjoying the process of it. All I can say is, this is a pretty intense period for the husband; having to juggle so much at one time.

So. I arranged to take a day off last Wednesday so that the husband, Kate and I can all sleep in and spend the day together - and we did! It started with us sleeping in. I cannot remember for sure, but I think we slept till 9.30am/10am? Pretty good!

We headed to town for a luxurious buffet makan session where we all enjoyed ourselves. I really enjoyed the leisurely meal and just being with Kate and the husband.

My little girl who loves to eat (it's genetic! hurr)

After the satisfying meal, we walked about the mall for a while. We were on the lookout for winter clothes for Kate as we expect that it may be slightly cool in Vietnam (HOLIDAY!!) but after scouting around, we decided not to get anything yet. I figure that we can borrow clothes; though I did end up buying some long-sleeved tops for Kate, a set of pyjamas and a pair of sunglasses!

Here are some fun shots of her trying on some winter wear at North-something where there was this bridge which Kate totally enjoyed playing with.

Warm as a bun

Flapping her wings, the little penguin. "I want to cross the bridge!"

The little adventurer sets off

The day ended with me going for some me-time at facial and the husband bringing Kate on a bus-ride. Though she fell asleep for 90% of the ride, the husband feels that they bonded which rocks!

I love family time!

Bedtime story-telling

I try to be consistent and read Kate at least a story every night before she sleeps. There was a period of time where I stopped doing this and I felt bad. But we started doing this again and I'm glad to do so. She's become more receptive to stories and I notice she picks up phrases from stories even if she's heard them once only. This happened when I overheard her saying (incoherently) "Rapunzel, Rapenzel, let your hair down!" When I first made out what she was saying I was really amazed. Cos I only read that story to her once before! Goes to show how quick and amazing their little brain works.

Anyway, this entry is really about her recent obsession with Goldilocks and the three bears. I think I mentioned this before where she went through a (very short) Princess phase. We're still going at the same fairy tale book I mentioned before and we'd done some princess tales, the three little pigs and we got to Goldilocks, or in Kate's words, the bear story.

I think it's been a whole week, but every single night, she wants the bear story! No matter that we read it the night before, no matter that I already read it to her one time in the night, she will want the same story, several times.

I get so tired of reading the same story (!!) but she really loves it. I then go into different ways of telling it. Sometimes I just narrate the outline and get her to fill in the storyline. By now, she knows to make the deep, growly voice for Papa Bear, the gentle voice for Mama Bear, and the little voice for Baby Bear (though the voices for Mama & Baby bear sounds largely similar but I was very amused when I realized that my character voices paid off when she imitated the different-pitched voices!) Oh, and sometimes, she calls the bears Papa, Mama and Kate (ala Kate bear. Hah!)

So last night, we settled down to read and (again!!) she says "I want to listen to the bear story" I try to distract her and entice her with other stories but I fail. I then tell her "but Kate, what about didi? What story does he want to listen to?"

She looks at me, then talks to my tummy "Didi, we listen to bear story, ok? OK!"

She then looks at me and says "Didi want bear story."

...

I read her the bear story.

Our weekend last

So it's already past mid-week, but I don't want to forget our weekend, so here it is. It seems ages since I had time to myself what with work on the weekends, so this weekend was exceptionally great because I had time with my loved ones.

On Saturday, the husband and I had a date! We booked tickets to An Affordable Art Fair which seemed a reasonable event to go to since we're on the lookout for items for our home. The day came and after dropping Kate off at my mom's, we headed out for a couple lunch at the Singapore Flyer. I'd been before but the husband hadn't and I think generally, the ambience and intentionally-rustic furnishing makes the place quite interesting. After filling our tummies, we walked over to the paddock club where the fair was.

While the fair was interesting, we didn't actually end up buying anything largely because of budget (or rather, lack thereof). In the husband's words, "we cannot afford anything even though it's an affordable art fair." I think the pieces were interesting, and nice to see, but the truth is, even if anything was cheaper (the average price range was in the thousands), I didn't actually see anything that truly caught my eye. So though we didn't actually get anything, I enjoyed the afternoon because I got to spend time with the husband. He took hours off from his studying for that afternoon and it was nice to just walk about with him hand-in-hand, talking about idle matters. I loved it!

On Sunday, the husband resumed to his mugging and I planned a day out with Kate to take her out of his hair. The day started with brunch/lunch with the sister and the boyfriend. We went to Epicurious cafe where I had a normal fare of Eggs Benedict; the food was so-so but the company of course, as always, was fantastic! Here are a series of funny pics of the princess.

Sweeping her hair back, ala Jon-style

Ballerina balancing a napkin on her head. I love how her hands are poised

Cheesy smile - notice the necklace around her neck? She just decided that she wanted to wear it!

After paying, we walked past another side of the cafe where there was a kiddy area. Kate - bored - on the unexciting rocking horse

She then moved on to "draw draw draw"

Serious stuff - looking for another coloured marker

Her masterpiece

After allowing her some time to complete her drawing, we headed to the nearby supermarket for a walkabout. We idly just shopped around for nothing-much-at-all and it was time for Kate to nap when we said our goodbyes.

I drove the princess around to lull her to sleep and after a refreshing hour's nap, I brought her to my friend's where we had arranged a play-date. I had a good time catching up with my girlfriends, and Kate had a good time too playing! I know for certain because at one point in the afternoon, she ran to me saying "Mommy, I have fun!" Haha, I love how simple her life is at this moment.

Besides plain playing around, we were all engaged in a short session of craft where we made Christmas cards. Here's a nice shot of Kate (& I) at work!

The whole group (from left): Samantha (Sumin's), Kate, Quentin sitting on Cherie's lap, Yahn (standing, Ming Yuan's) and Lauren with Teng Mei.

The kids are all about the same age within 6 months of one another and it was very nice to see them playing together. Baby Q has plenty of toys, more than enough for all the kiddos to play with and I really enjoyed the afternoon of catching up with friends, talking about any topic, engaging in some craft with Kate and seeing her have fun and interact with other children.

That pretty much ended our lovely weekend.

Pregnant face

People say that a woman's face changes when she's pregnant. And while I feel that when I was pregnant with Kate, my face didn't change, I did become rather chubby and fishball-faced due to the weight I'd gained.

This time round, especially because I'm carrying a boy, I'm more conscious about my face. Besides the usual weight gain (groans) I observe my face often to check if it's changed. This is because they say that a mother's nose grows/changes due to the hormonal confusion of testosterone & whatnots.

I don't actually think that anything has changed, though I must admit I've become a little roly-poly (+6kg). But. Over the last two days, I've heard comments from two different parties that my face has changed! That I look pregnant! That I am carrying a boy (just by looking at my face)!

In the sisters' words, "but uurrreee pregnant!" - hmm, I guess that's true (heh)

But what's most comforting and important to me are the husband's words "No la, you look fine. Your face nair change. And that's what matters right?"

Right!

Growing tall

So the pic is very grainy and not great, but these are the markings of Kate's height growth on this little panel of wall behind our room door. She's grown markedly in a year and I'm always happy to add a new notch. Because we're moving soon, these markings will no longer be available at our new place. Perhaps we can start a new one at the new house. But unless the house undergoes a fresh coat of paint (unlikely), these markings will still be there!

Jake

Yesterday, we went for our 25th week visit and it was with great joy and (actually, more) laughter that we saw a rather clear view of how our son looks like. He has a little round face with a short (and distinct) chin! When that image popped up on the screen I let out a gasp in amazement as I could really make out his face! My heart let out a burst of happiness as I felt the excitement of receiving another life, the love result of the husband and I. Truly, I'm quite prepared to stop at two so I remind myself that this is the last time I will have this swollen belly.

I remember when the husband and I were ready for a second child. Kate had turned one and we were saying not-so-seriously that we should have number two soon. That "soon" didn't actually happen until ten months later. It was a combination of reasons - the fact that I changed jobs, that we weren't very serious and generally letting nature take its course. I remember during those months of (kinda) trying, I'd feel a pang of wist when I heard of anyone being pregnant. That reinforced the fact that I was ready. Having two seems the most natural thing in the world for us and I cannot thank the stars enough for the husband because yet again, this was something that we agree upon. I know of friends whose view on having children differ and it is not an easy one to tackle. It is a subject that is so tender, intimate and life-changing that it really makes the entire experience ever-so special especially if both people are involved. And I am a lucky woman to have the mutual support of the husband.

This pregnancy has been somewhat similar to Kate. Broadly, my first trimester for both were equally bad. I lost 4-5kgs and the entire 2nd-3rd month was truly un-fun (to say the least)! I was fortunate to recover when I tided through the yucky period and I am pretty much cruising through the second trimester quite comfortably now, as I did with Kate. My appetite is good, I eat plenty (too much sometimes, wouldn't hurt if I exercised more discipline really). The past week, I feel a spike in my energy levels. Maybe it is because I have a fairly fixed routine going ( sleep by 11+ and up abt 730) but I suspect the happy hormones play a part too. My back is more achey this time compared to the last but I guess it is only natural since I believe that my body is less strong after having gone through labour before. I experience pelvic aches now (thankfully they come and go) which is earlier than with Kate. I exercise not at all this pregnancy which is awful! With Kate, I swam very regularly and walked more too. With Jake, I have less time and honestly, I'm much lazier. I do walk where I can but I think we will both benefit with some exercise *guilty.

O yes, my tummy growth! I feel that my tummy showed earlier with Jake (loose abdomen), and I think my tummy is shaped differently too! With Kate, my bump was flatter and more spread out. But now, I feel that my tummy is more pointed. Just like how the elders guess a baby's gender by looking at differently-shaped bumps - I do think it is true (the husband thinks I'm mad though). I feel very fortunate and happy to be able to experience pregnancies carrying different genders - somehow it feels like a complete experience.

Dear baby Jake, as the days pass, Papa and I get more excited to see you. You have more than doubled your weight from our last visit (350g to 850g!) and I was very tickled that you, Kate and I share the same face shape! I love you very much!
Love, Mommy

We are going on a holiday!

Travelling and agreeing on a place to travel to has been rather tough of late because of many reasons. The inpossibility of taking leave (me), studying (him), being pregnant (me), dislike of hot weather (us), too-low temperatures (her), over-priced tour packages (Christmas), inavailability of flights/hotels/etc ... the list goes on.

So to be able to match what we are able to do given the time and the every-f*n-other-factor that we have to take into consideration, planning a holiday has not exactly been a stroll in the park. Of course, to those who know, it actually takes effort and time to plan these things unless you have no concern of leave (woe be to all of us who are working ants) or budget (who is this fortunate?!).

I don't think I ever shared publicly my recent, very upsetting cancelled trip to Bangkok. In short, it all started with my need to go on a holiday before Jake arrives. A date was tentatively set aside but when it neared, the husband couldn't go away because of his exams. I then did a holler out to my gfs who responded and after much deliberation, we decided on a short trip to Bangkok (that deliberation was tedious and painful because we had to decide on budget and number of days as two out of three of us are mothers...) BUT of course the course of life never did run smooth and what happens before our trip? The floods (Roars). So what happened then was a saga of cancellations and fighting it out with the travel agents to secure a refund as it wasn't our fault that the country was in dire water states?! In essence, I didn't get my holiday.

With the husband's exams partially over, his mood and ability to think beyond his papers over the past week made it possible for us to talk about Christmas and the need for a holiday crept upon both of us as we (tried to) recall the last time we went away together. Gasp! Too long ago!

That prompted us into action and after another round of stress and talks and the whatnots, it is confirmed! The husband booked our flights last night and I'm currently researching on the hotel; and we (four) are set for Christmas in Hanoi.

WHEE!!! Hanoi, hereeeeee we come!

One of the best moments in a day

Before the hustle and bustle of a work day, before my feet touches the ground and continues pounding at the ground through the day, before my forehead creases (naturally - that's where I'm going to get wrinkles aplenty), before I do anything that will naturally stress me out; I lay in bed with my princess, listening to her rhythmic breathing, watching her angelic face, her Asian-lashes that stick straight up, her little button nose, her pretty little lips that sometimes twitch as she dreams in her safe haven.

Love of my life

Autographed

The sister had mentioned this before and I guess it may/may not have happened but well, it did yesterday.

Kate autographed my bag

Complementary

While helping the husband with his exam revisions over the weekend, I made a discovery.

Where he is athletic, nimble and quite a physical champ; I’m clumsy. (I mean, I run and rock-climb like a whiz - really! - but I’m admittedly not that great on the psychomotor front.)
Where he is a strong thinker and logical mostly, I’m emotional.
Where he’s good in mathematics and science and theories, I’m lousy in all of the above.

On the flip side, I’m good in language, whimsical stories, singing and playing music; in organising and planning ahead of time; which are not his strengths.

I was rather startled by this realisation – I mean, where our strengths are concerned, we are complete opposites! I then remember that when we took the MBTI tests some years back, our traits were completely different. That test covered areas such as where we draw our strengths, how we absorb and process information and how we manage tasks by time.

When I raised this difference between us, the husband jumped to this deduction – maybe that’s why we got married and we have a good relationship. His theory is that we each have our own areas of expertise and we do not clash in opinions (say, I’m going to let him do the maths and not debate that he’s wrong since I can barely add). While there is some validity in that, I think that it is not entirely true. After all, it is a couple’s maturity level and how they communicate with each other – they may agree to disagree and co-exist harmoniously.

I think what makes the husband and I tick is that we respect each other; and I also think that our foundation is similar. We have similar values of respect, filial piety; we appreciate family time and we agree on many things because we think alike.

We are complementary.

Dear Jake

Dear Jake,

I hope you enjoy spending time with Papa and I alone, because these couple of weeks, we have been enjoying more time on our own with him sending me to work and picking me up. And it's also very enjoyable because we suddenly decide to run our own errands and go to dinners all on our own. As much as we love Kate cheche and you, we need time on our own; but because you are such a special part of me at this moment, you're lucky you get to come along with us/me always!

Your movements are becoming more and more defined and I strongly believe that you'll be as active and nearly as out-going as your sister. What I find odd though, is that though I may feel a huge somersault inside, it doesn't always show on the outside; I guess you just prefer to snuggle against my innards. We have been eating relatively well, though dinners are generally tougher because I'm usually not hungry by mid-day. What a pity; cos I love eating and I recall my appetite being a lot healthier with Kate; though it may be a good thing as I'll put on less weight (hopefully!).

Anyhow, today, we enter the 6th month of this pregnancy journey at 24weeks. Another 16weeks before we meet - that's a really short time considering how quickly time flies by and as the days go by, I cannot help but start imagining how you look like; your eyes, your lips, your nose, your face, your chin... and on a random note, Papa and I had differing views about whether dimples look good on a boy over dinner conversation yesterday.

We'll get to see you again in a week's time when we visit the doctor. I'm down with the flu but am unable to rest fully because I need to work, but I'll keep feeding myself so that you can continue to focus on growing; you're doing great baby so keep it up!

Love you heaps, Mommy

So tired

Kate is slightly unwell with a nose that's running a half-marathon and temperature that is fluctuating. I've developed a sore throat overnight and suddenly my cramps and backache and headache has worsened too.

Sucks.

Over the long weekend

I think this weekend was a good mix of doing much and nothing. Friday night started with an evening of good company over Indian food with minimal discussions with friends on Christmas this year.

Saturday morning at East Coast beach - cousins bonding.

Two cheeky monkeys, sitting on the "bicycle" (though it really looks more like a vehicle really)

The little girl transforms into a bumblebee. This was Kate's second time at the beach and sand and she's really enjoying to play with her sand-toys compared to 6 months ago.

Bumble-bee wings!

Approaching the waters. Kate hated it.

A shot of us

After the half day at the beach, Kate and I spent the rest of Saturday at Mom's where we ate and slept and played all day. The day ended with us having dinner at Kallang Food Centre where Kate tried flower crab for the first time.

Loving it

Sunday and Monday were also long days of food, fun and play - more for Kate. I wish I took more pictures to capture more of my girl, but ah well, here's what we have.

And here's back to the blahblahblah of work today.

Afternoon playtime

I ring home. Kate picks up, "Hello?"

Me: Hi Kate
K: Mummyyyy
Me: What are you doing?
K: I tuck tuck tuck and I cannot find you
Me: You tuck tuck tuck and you cannot find me?
K: Yes
Me: What is "tuck tuck tuck"? I don't understand. I want to talk to Ah-ma, pls ask her to the phone.
K (hollers): MAMA! MUMMY! Nah.

MIL comes to the phone and is very tickled that K was able to understand me and pass the phone to her correctly. I then asked her what K was doing.

She was playing with post-its and "tucking" them everywhere! Haha!

Time with Princess

Not sure how and when it started, but Kate has begun to enjoy being called a "princess". At night time, she'll insist that I say goodnight to "Princess Kate"; Kate alone ain't good enough.

For her birthday, she received a book of fairy tales which I started reading to her as bedtime story. She doesn't always sit through the whole story (last night was a fail - she was too distracted), but on days that she's more engaged, she will point at the illustrations & make commentaries such as "princess sleeping" or "dress mei mei"; and also marvel when I make funny voices for the different characters. So far, we have covered Jack and the beanstalk, The Frog Prince, Rapunzel and we never finished Sleeping Beauty (yet).

It is an effort to introduce new things to her (she's always so distracted!) but she's becoming more receptive to this new fairy tale book since we've been at it for a week. Gotta love my princess.

My special time with the princess

An evening of us

The husband is on study-month. Which means he's off work, but in study mode. Not sure if I've said this before, but I admire his determination and (mostly) discipline in accomplishing his assignments and sacrificing much-valued leave from work to mug for his exams.

So anyway. This means that he's absolutely free to do whatever he fancies. And it's rather timely because as we step into day 2 of the month of November (November?! What?!), this is also the time that we embark on an exciting journey of assembling our new home. So while he goes about piecing things together, and doing his revisions, he also shuttles me to/from work (YAY!) This means that we've had time together in the mornings, and in the evenings, which is rather valuable because it's just us and I love us-time.

Last evening, after he picked me up from work, we headed for a quick dinner followed by curtain-selection for the home which was a rather enjoyable process. I see how the husband puts things together in his head, how he's focused and charges towards what he is absolutely certain will look nice, and with the company of a hilarious friend, the entire process was (although very long) fun & enjoyable.

It was very nice spending that time together.