Our Favourite Books

Thought it would be nice to keep a record of our favourite books and see how that changes from year to year.

Zachary's Top 5 Requested Books:
1. The Usborne Big Book of Big Dinosaurs (Alex Frith & Fabiana Fiorin)
2. The Snail and the Whale (Julia Donaldson)
3. The Circus Ship (Chris Van Dusen)
4. There is a Bird on Your Head (Mo Willems)
5. One Lucky Duck (Alison Maloney)

Eli's Top 5 Requested Books:
1. The Fish Who Cried Wolf (Julia Donaldson)*
2. That's Not My Monkey (Fiona Watt)
3.
4.
5.

*Eli mostly looks for the mermaid ("mah-met") and the fish ("pishees") in this book and isn't really listening to the story at the moment.

Eli is 1.5!

My little bean has grown into a sturdy little sprout. He's an adorable bundle of mischief who's lightning quick and as explosive as a bundle of firecrackers. A small fry he may be (yes, he is still low on the weight/height chart for his age) but he more than makes up for it with personality. He knows what he wants (or rather what he doesn't want by saying "NO" very firmly and loudly) and makes sure to get it whatever the method.

He loves his big brother and follows EVERYTHING he does and plays with whatever he's playing with. "Kor kor" is the first thing he says when he wakes in the morning and charges into our room to look for his favourite playmate. This proves to be a challenge when refereeing the 2 while they play. Naturally, fights break out and tears are shed but at the end of the day I'm so moved to see my babies loving each other.

It's much easier to bring Eli out now that he pretty much eats whatever we're eating and loves walking/running around. He's gotten a little suspicious or new faces but once he warms up, he's a charmer. I've noticed that he doesn't take to new places as quickly as I thought. Elevators and water theme parks scare him at the moment. He really really likes playgrounds and when he's outdoors, he's in his element.

He's speaking and picking up new words so quickly and I even notice that he's approximating how to say certain words faster everyday!

Happy 1.5 Birthday Eli! It's a thrilling, exciting and wonderful experience being your mummy and daddy. We love you!

Eli is 16 Months!

Happy 16 months little peanut!

You're a ball of fun now that you can walk a little more steadily on your own and you're picking up all sorts of words! It seems that you take to words starting with "b" more quickly than others. You do know how to mind your 'p's and 'q's which is adorable to hear. You FINALLY say mummy which sounds a little more like "meh-mee" just like how you say daddy as "deh-dee".

You follow your big brother around like a little duckling following his mummy. He's not so welcoming to all this attention sometimes but he does love you very much and really wishes you'd hold his hand a little more. Zac loves to wrestle with you and you love the rough-housing so it's a real pleasure to watch.

Here's to more walking and talking!

He said it!

Eli finally says "Daddy" and "Mummy". (yea in that order)

This after having said
"bubble"
"ball"
"Bah"
"kor kor"
"Opa"
"Mama"
"Ah Yi"
"apple"

He also managed to say "thank you" today too!

My, How You've Grown!

Zachary at 4 Years Old

Zac with his best "fierce dinosaur" look
in the dinosaur robe I made him for Christmas

My little man is already 4 years old and it seems that after you turned 2, I'd neglected to record your "progress" and how much you've grown!

No longer just obsessed with cars, you've now gotten hooked on dinosaurs. Able to recall the name of more than a dozen different dinosaurs by looking at their shape, I think you're even able to memorize how read their names too! Now that we've made it a habit to read books (books about dinosaurs top the list of most-requested) before bedtime, it seems to have opened up a whole new world for you. Even though you're not much of a fan of school or any class for that matter, you typically have a good time anyway. You astound me at least once a day by the concepts and expressions you've picked up when I'm not looking.

Zac and his new Ceratasaurus, Cerati

More often than not, you prefer to do things yourself like put on your school shoes, eat your meals, use the toilet and wash your hands after but some days you like to revert to being mummy's baby and have me do them for you. You're great at using your imagination and it's always a pleasure to see what new creation you've come up with using Play Dough and Lego blocks.

Here are some of the things I know about you right now:

Favourite food: Ebi tempura sushi and noodles
Favourite activity: Relaxing at home or going to the playground to dig up "bones"
Favourite colour: Blue and green
Quirky: You put stuff you really like into plastic bags to be toted around

Eli is 13 Months Old!

Happy 13th Month little bub. Now that you've had a taste of walking, upright, you can't seem to get enough! A little more confident and much much steadier on two feet since your first birthday, you even manage to walk holding with just one hand!

Your new favourite place to be is the playgroud where sandplay is a must and walking around barefoot just seems natural. It's only a matter of weeks or even days before you'll take your first steps solo.

You've hit the language-development phase and it's amusing and so very thrilling to hear you try to form your first words ("ball" and "opa" are still favourites). It's obvious you understand a lot of the things we're saying like "open" and "close", "please" when we want something you're holding. We are always pleasantly surprised at how quickly you catch onto what certain things are and what they do - eg, hairclips (you try to put it in your hair), cups, bowls (you say "mamam").

Besides loving the water and swimming, you certainly love a good tune. Your body readily moves to a catchy beat and you bop your head along to any song you fancy.

You're a hoot to have around though sometimes you do have quite a loud and expressive way about you, we can't get enough of your lovely face and sunny disposition.

He Swims!!!!

We started swimming classes with Teacher Sumiko in August and it felt like we were on an uphill climb. The weather was not cooperating and the boys kept getting sick so there were lots of missed classes in between. I brought Zac for our first swimming lesson of the year and he surprised me with this:

How awesome is that?! He willingly, without needing cajoling or bribery put his face in the water and attempted to swim! Now that he's doing that, it's just a matter of time and practice before he'll be able to hold his breath for longer periods and swim for real.

PROUD!

He's Discovered TV!

Sticks and Stones

Oh the joy of collecting! Zac and I were at the playground the other evening for the sole purpose of digging up "dinosaur bones and teeth". Of course, my dear paleontologist-wannabe son wanted to bring his collection home for safe keeping. I love this stage in life when everything is amazing and new discoveries and fascinations come out of the simplest of situations.

Things to Come?

I check to see what my boy is doing and I find him at his daddy's desk with headphones on (not plugged to anything mind you) and hard at "work". He looks up at me with the most serious expression and says "I'm very busy mummy!" in a go-away tone.

Should I laugh or cry?

Last Day of N2 ... ALREADY?!?

Is it me or has he GROWN?
(Ignore the fact he's putting his shoe on the wrong foot!)

Goodness how the year has flown. To think this time last year we were stressing out about getting Zac potty trained in time for school. No longer a Sunshine kid, he graduates to Rainbow 4 next year and I'm suffering from whiplash from how quickly we got here!

Some quick snaps I managed to take on the last day of school where everyone got to come in party gear. Of course, my son does the unexpected and decides to go in his new favourite outfit much to daddy's delight!

Pity I didn't manage to get a nice group shot of Zac and the Green Group. They've created a mini-family all on their own with Zac being the Angry Bird Daddy, Emma AND Claire both being the Mermaid Mummy, Leroy is the Ben Ten Kor Kor and Jude is the Transformer Baby! Cute.

Look Who's Cruising

Laughing All the Way

Eli climbed the stairs today laughing and gurgling all the way. Sadly I wasn't there to watch since I was waiting for Zac who was at Berries today.

Happy 10th Month Eli!

My little sunshine, you're just 2 months shy of your 1st birthday and you're already fully capable of escaping from your cot ninja-style. You're positively fearless and love dangling off the side of the bed much to your mummy and daddy's horror. You're teething again and that means a runny nose. I hope the little suckers will come out soon and not cause you too much pain. (Right now, it causes mummy more pain since you've been using me as a teething toy! OWWW.)

You're loving your food and seem to be eating all the time! Curious and very determined, you'd lunge at anything you're offered or attempt to grab it on your own. We had a newspaper photographer come by today to take some pictures of us for an article about children and drinks. I have a sneaking suspicion that your big brother will be the only one in the limelight since you're only drinking milk or boiled water at the moment.

The past month, you've been cuddling up at night with Zac and mummy since daddy's been needing to work late in your room - not that you're complaining. It's almost as though you've claimed your spot on our bed because you instantly calm down and fall asleep without much trouble. Zac loves waking up with you near by and is always sneaking a cuddle even though you're still asleep and mummy's told him not to wake you!

Now that you're a little steadier and can hold your own in a high chair, we've been bringing you out with us a little more often. You're still not enjoying your car seat and don't take to sitting in your stroller for very long so our Ergo has come in really handy! You do love being out and about with the family and get really excited when you're brought into the car.

There's lots more to see and do my little one!

Happy 9th Month Eli!

My little bug is a sweet baby with 4 teeth! You wake up sunny and smiley at 6.30AM every morning almost without fail and seldom sleep in. It's like you have a built-in alarm clock that tells you when it's time for bath, nap, play and meals. The past few weeks have been somewhat sniffle-ridden but thankfully it hasn't affected your mood much.

You recognise people - family in particular, very well and yell "ah" when you want attention or as if to say "hey! Look at this!" It seems you are particularly fond of your big brother and get really excited when you hear his voice. You know who your mummy and daddy are and flap your hands in glee as if it will bring you closer to where we are. We love it when you clap your hands when asked (most of the time) and can wave bye-bye though we know you probably have no clue what that means yet.

Not quite content to stay in our arms all day, you love your walker and scoot around the front deck with the greatest of ease. Even though you're not crawling just yet, you get around just fine using your belly, arms and head as though you were a baby harp seal. I think you just might skip the crawling stage and head straight to walking since you seem to know how to put one foot in front of the other when held up by your arms.

You're super energetic and can't keep still so it'sa good thing you eat really well and seem to be liking the formula we mix with mummy's breastmilk. Even after a full dinner, you are still able to sit with us at the dinner table to have mashed fruits (you like mango and papaya) or a little snack. I'm amazed by how you can put it all away and am relieved that you feel like you've put on the much needed weight. We haven't weighed you but my arms tell me you're growing nicely!

Cars 2!

We watched our first movie (Zac and I) today with his classmate Leroy and his family. Little Patti was awestruck when he saw the giant "TV" we were going to watch the movie on. He sat through the whole movie and really enjoyed most of it though I'm not sure how much of it he understood since some of the content was a little too deep for little kids. All in all, a good first experience.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Zachary!

Our little one turns 4!

Like Len said, we had a huge birthday party to celebrate Zachary's 4th birthday yesterday. The theme? ANGRY BIRDS! I've been planning this party for a whole month now and have had many sleepless nights thinking about the cake. From the get go, Zac's wanted to have a party at home so no McDonald's, KFCs or what have yous. Since it's the first time he's getting a party like this (and possibly the last for a while!!), I wanted to go all out. Brunch seemed to be the best timing for us and for most of the guests coming. The guest list included all his friends from Sunshine 5 and more totalling 25 children and their parents! WOW.

Calm before the storm...

What did we feed our guests? Homemade scones, beef shepherd's pie, cheese and bread casserole, hash brown, sausages, charsiew pau, mee siam, satay and fruit salad. We had an assortment of milk, juice, coffee, tea and cereal too. As with tradition, we worried that there was not enough food but there was more than enough to go around and even left overs for some to take home in doggy bags and for us to have for breakfast!

Kids were kept more than busy with Zac's cars, mini kitchen, crafts (pompom angry birds and spinners) and the big hit - our sand pit!

We also managed to play 2 games - Pin the Beak on the Angry Bird and Marshmallows on a String. Fun stuff.

Pin the Beak on the Angry Bird

Marshmallows on a String

I think Zac was so overwhelmed by everything going on, he barely ate anything. Mid-party, he took a little time out to eat a charsiew pau and enjoy a little peace indoors. He's never been keen on games but he enjoyed playing spectator instead.

I think his favourite part was the cake I made for him. There were a few tears because some quick little hands removed the toys on the cake before he got to them but all was well once they were put back in place.

Eli doing half-time show while I was comforting a bawling birthday boy.

Actually, THIS was his favourite part...

Thank you everyone who came and made this celebration so memorable!