Elric's First Lollipop! A Christmas/Birthday Treat!

Elric tasted his first lollipop on 24 December 2012!!! 

my precioussssss...

And his second will not come too soon....  :p 

yum yum... this is a delicacy!

Some said I am depriving him of nice food but I don't think so!
Those of you whom have met Elric would know that he is an active little chap. Why would I want to feed him sweet stuff to make him more excited than he already is?
 
Also, Elric is only learning to brush his teeth. In order to delay tooth decay, it's best not to introduce to him these sweet stuff too soon.

What's more, how long will I be able to control his diet? He will have his time to eat whatever he wants. Meanwhile, Mummy and Daddy shall take charge and feed him the healthy and nutritious food. I prefer to build up his constitution from young.


Due to all the birthday and Christmas celebrations, we received quite a number to snacks like chocolate, sweets and crackers. It seems a little too strict for me to stop him from trying any of the goodies, hence I allowed him to eat a lollipop!!

An organic one. 

Muahahahaha! 

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipop!

 According to what I read, this lolli is made with real fruit extracts. 

No worries about chemicals and preservatives! :) 

Good stuff!

 For now, he will not try the other types of candies yet. 

I am sure there are many other wholesome treats available for him to try!

"Mummy, what is this?"

XO, 

Mummy Kaye

Merry Christmas Alphonse! I knew you would like your gift! :P

It's Christmas time!

How was your Christmas shopping? 

I had a hard time thinking of what to get for Alphonse. My creativity is running dry!

What does my hubby like?!? What have I NOT gotten for him yet? 

(O_o)"

When I finally decided what to buy, I felt SO PROUD OF MYSELF because I was certain that Alphonse would like it a lot! :D

I bought the present during my lunchtime, and I Watsapp Alphonse immediately to let him know that his Christmas gift was on the way. I was kind of disappointed that he COMPLETELY ignored that message. :< 

?!?!HOW COULD HE!?!?! 

But the first thing he said to me once I reached home was, 'What did you buy for me?'

:p Heh heh heh... curious lehhhh....? 

I made him play the guessing game. He thought of all kind of things like bag, wallet, belt but no where near. hahaha... He gave up!

I wrapped the gift with two layers of wrappers to make it even harder to guess! :P 

As expected, Alphonse was excited to open the present!

I quietly placed the gift on his table when he wasn't watching.

There you go!!!

It's a track jacket from Manchester United!

Alphonse has been a Man Utd fan for the longest time. 

He owns a few Man Utd jerseys and still wears them. 

Since we got married, he never bought any Man Utd items even though he likes them very much. 

(He has been very trifty... clap clap clap) 

Definitely deserve a special present!

This is a very cool looking training jacket. 

Sad... my lousy mobile camera is not doing it any justice. :p 

You can find the information and pictures from HERE!

Oh yes... I wanted to buy a Man Utd T-shirt for Elric too. 

However, the smallest size available is size 8, which according to the sales person, fits a 5 years old. :( 

I will probably start searching online for it. :) 

I hope I are enjoying your Christmas celebration, giving and receiving of gifts!

During the fun and laughter, do still remember the meaning of Crhistmas! 

That is...of course, the birth of Jesus Christ! 

May God bless you with a great 2013 & 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

XOXO, 

Mummy Kaye

Elric's New Clothes!!

I bought new clothes for Elric again!

Kids really grow up very fast. He has out-grown many sets of clothes which I used to think were oversized!

"Grandma complaint that Mummy didn't dress me up nicely! She said there isn't a need to buy expensive clothes... but they have to look good!" 

We were more inclined to buying rompers for Elric but both his grandmas are not very pleased. They think he should wear shorts or pants even with the rompers. 

Oh well... as they wished...

 

I ever bought Elric a tie but he didn't like it and insisted on removing it.
This long sleeve top has a cute print-on tie and it came with a vest that can be worn separately. Very suitable for the cooler weather recently. :)

Look at the cute badges printed on the long-sleeve T-shirt.

Cute!

Just some time back, I bought for Alphonse a few sets of clothes too.
One of them was this nautical-style T-shirt. I can imagine how cute it will be for the Daddy and son to wear matching clothes!

 

When I came across this T-shirt, I picked it up without second thought.
They will look super cute when they wear these together! heh heh heh...

I like the little details like the printed sunglasses and X_X smiley face. 

I bought this white pants as well to match with the top!

Gave it a nautical feel too!

SLEEPWEAR
These are important! They need to be comfortable and not be overly colorful that it over stimulate the brain.

This set is simple and basic.

The T-shirt and pants below are from Gap Baby.
Elric likes this Octopus! Whenever he sees it, he calls out, 

"Oct-Pus! Oct-Pus!"

Matching shorts!

Apparantly, the size chart says 4T, but it fits Elric just nice. 

So it is important to purchase children's clothings according to measurements. 

Don't rely on the sizing charts!

Alright... Alphonse LOVES to see Elric in rompers. 

No way to run away from that. So we bought this Winnie the Pooh rompers for him. :)

LASTLY...

I love this one!!

 It consist of a long sleeve romper, long pants and the outer vest.

I thought he looked really good in it!
heh heh heh...

*Pat my own shoulders*

I showed my mum the clothes I bought for Elric and she like them too. (muahahaha...) 

I hope they won't complain anymore!

Happy Kaye

Water play

Many parents know what negative effects electronic devices can do to their little ones. Yet they continue letting their children indulge in playing games and watching videos on the phones/tablets because they ran out of ideas to keep the kids occupied.

Channel News Asia carried an article recently, cautioning parents not to let toddlers below three be too familiar with mobile devices. Instead, parents should allow their children interact with the environment.

Let me suggest an alternative! Allow your toddler have some fun with water! It probably will not replace the time on iPad fully, but it is a much healthier activity.

Water/sand/play dough/bubble play are very common playtime activities in childcare centres. These are the sensory-play. Teachers let the children explore the items with their own creativity.

Water play is good for a child's cognitive and physical growth. The act of pouring, cupping the water and sprinkling will improve his eye-hand coordination and develops his hand muscles. Be surprised by other little things he can learn through a simple activity like this.



Some parents would choose to allow their child soak in the tub while playing. I prefer not, in case he catch a cold.




Here's a short video of Elric's first water play session!







Things to Note:

1. Supervise ALL THE TIME:
Kids are kids. They do not know the danger. Even if the water level is low, drowning can happen. Be cautious all the time.

2. Water temperature:
I prefer keeping the water warm to prevent him from catching a cold. You can always choose to use cold/tap water.

3. Play music:

I personally like to play instrumental music while Elric play with water.
This is especially good to calm the children who tend to be more active.

3. Toys:

Here are a few toys I use to add to the fun.



I love these Munchkin alphabet bath letters! When wet, these letters will stick to the wall. Elric enjoys playing with them while I reinforce to him what the letters are. :)





Yes! This is a sponge! I bought it for washing dishes but decided to modify it for him to play. :P Sponge is a very good play toy during water play. Kids can explore soaking them and squeezing out the water. Elric would lift it up and water the water flow down.





This cute turtle is one of Elric's favourite as it sprays out water!





Finally, these are stackable cups with holes. Your child can scoop up the water and see it flow though the holes. :)


There are many other types of toys you can make use of during water play such as rubber ducky and flowering pot. For older children, you can include bottles and funnels for them to learn pouring.


There are also water play sets available for sale. Some of which combines water with sand play too!


Hope you will find this post useful!
Do let me know if you have other ideas so that I may explore them too!


Cheers,
Kaye

6th Wedding Anniversary

It was Alphonse and my 6th wedding anniversary on 18th November 2012!

Time really flies.

Still remember the late nights I spent, doing up the video slideshow for Alphonse last year. It was so difficult to give a surprise since we were always in the same study room.

This year, we just had a simple dinner at CHISO ZANMAI located that The Central (above Clarke Quay MRT).

 

CHISO is a pleasant dining place serving Japanese buffet.

I like that it is spacious and it wasn't really noisy during their peak hours.

Wondering why we chose a buzzling buffet place instead of having romantic candlelight diner?

There...

Why would anyone need candlelights when there is such a BIG light bulb?

:P


Neither could we bring ourselves to let Elric into a restaurant with romantic ambience to... make noise...

or dance the Gangnam Style.... 

HAHAHA

"I'm sure you won't leave me with grandmas... Right??"

Dinner was enjoyable although we couldn't stay for long.

I guess that's alright.
What's more important was that we had good time together. ^^

Tots about Marriage

Some friends told me they didn't want to enter into marriage. They said that man are not trustworthy and women (themselves) may not be any better. Some who are married said they wouldn't keep their vows if not for the kids. 

It's a saddening trend and it's really by God's grace that Alphonse and I are still going strong.

We argue. In fact, we argue quite a bit. 
That happens when two persons have different personalities and preferences. We each have our opinions and we often forget to show love by giving in.

When that happens, you have TWO CHOICES.

1. Forgive out of LOVE
2. Quarrel and fight further

Of course, this has got to go both ways. You can't have one person giving in and forgiving all the time while the other takes advantage of it.


It's my prayer, that our marriage will endure through testings and till death do us part.


With Love,
Mummy Kaye

I asked Elric...

As Alphonse and I bring Elric to the library rather often, we want to ensure he understands the need to lower his volume whenever he is there. (Or even other places where he should remain quiet) The universal sign would be the easiest to teach, so we would put the index finger on the lips and say, "ssshhh..." whenever we want him to lower the volume.

We would also renforce it when we see children running around or crying in the library by showing Elric the sign.

Out of jest, I asked Elric, "What would you do if a baby cry?" and "What would you do if a baby scream?".

I was very amused by his response! I wonder if he really meant it. hahaha...

So far, he hasn't walked away when he heard screams but it would be funny if he really did that. :P


Alright, hope he brought a smile to your face! :D


Cheers,

Mummy Kaye

Brush my teeth!

Elric's growth of teeth is very slow.

Most of the kids at his age would have had all their milk teeth but he still has some missing ones. In fact, he skipped his lateral incisors and grew the molars instead. I have no idea why. :(

Anyhow, I have started Elric on the routine to brush his teeth. It is important to teach him care for those little jewels in his mouth!

No Elric... That's not how you brush your teeth.

Now that's better.

See my wide smile!

Watch this video if you are teaching your child to brush his teeth too.

I thought it was pretty helpful. 

I have also found a "Brush you Teeth Song!' 

haha... gonna sing for Elric so that he remembers the importance of brushing his teeth! :P 

Isn't it cute? And Elric likes cats too!

If the incisors still do not appear in the next few months, I will have to bring him to the PD for an X-Ray. Hopefully that need not happen!

Cheers, 

Mummy Kaye

Hot date with my son!

I decided to let Alphonse take a break from Elric during the long weekend. Since he has been facing him all the time, I thought he needed some time off on his own. I, on the other hand, really wanted to spend some good time with my son.

I planned many activities for Elric and brought him out in the mornings so that he could breath some fresh air and explore the nature!

I'm so glad I did that and I'm sure he enjoyed himself! ^^
This was taken on our 'date' on Saturday.

Mama watch me!!

Woooo... I can slide down by myself!

Mama! Let's go explore further!

Guess What I'm doing...

I found some leaves!

Hiding under the shade!

I took the opportunity to give Elric a science and math lesson about plants!

hahaha...

Observing the leaves...

1...2...3... (count the leaves!)

Observing the flowers!

Don't worry. I didn't allow Elric to pluck the flowers from the plants.

I picked those which already fell onto the floor. :P

This was taken on Hari Raya Haji.

Ahhh... And why did I say it's a HOT DATE!?

Because the weather was super hot lah! I equiped myself with his hanki, baby wet wipes and his water bottle, but I didn't prepare anything for myself!

hahahaha...
Oh well, I guess that's the life of a parent.
:D