Multiparenting Cayen & Cayson

Every day when I come back , I would ask him if he's a good boy. Did you hit anyone in school? Do you fight? (This is after he had a bout of fighting incidents in school) This week, he told me that he's a good boy and didn't fight.  When Ah Pa put him to sleep , Ah Pa asked him again in confidence : Pa: 今天有没有乖乖？ C: 有.. Pa: 真的吗？ C: 没有，没有乖..  Pa: 为什么? In a resigned tone and with a Singlish twang  C: 打架咯...  被老师罚咯  Pa: 跟谁打架?  C: 加君咯.. Asher 咯..  他们打我咯.... Not sure to what extent it's true Cox I've seen how he would initiate a fight when someone snatches his toy or intruded into his comfort zone. But we were just amused by the tonality of the entire conversation.  ----- That day Ah Pa locked the bedroom door to lay the Alphabet mat on the floor and thereafter, he went to bathe. As such, Cayen couldn't go in and he was slamming on the door and crying for quite a while for his Ah Pa to open the door.  That night during be

TV has big influences on children .. And given that the TV is always on in my house , it's no wonder that he will squeal in excitement every Saturday night together with the audience 百倍百倍!! during the Sheng Shiong game show .  Today, when he returned home, he looked at the clock and exclaimed , " 七点半，118！” I laughed out loud.  Then suddenly he started to pull down his pants, followed by his diapers and mumbled to himself ,"我刚刚出去玩，裤子脏，臭莫莫 （in hokkien), 有尿尿大便要换 ，哎哟！”  We all rolled on the floor laughing. 

Today we came home early enough to take Cayen for a walk after dinner .. To Ah Pa and Cayen's favourite haunt - Ntuc.  I think he must be the kid that frequents NTUC the most, there once was a time he went there every day. In the last two weeks, we have all been swamped so there was a hiatus from Ntuc for a while.  Anyway, as usual, Cayen wanted to have his own basket that he carried or pushed skilfully. He was keenly looking out for favourite things to buy like pork floss and fruits. As usual, we had to pick those items out from his basket when he's not looking. I pretended to ask him to help look for some food in the dry food section so I randomly muttered I was looking for beans. He actually picked out a packet of soya beans and I was impressed that he could do so though I'm not looking for soya beans.  Anyway , after shopping, we proceeded to the counter to make payment. I see Cayen reaching into his pants and was afraid that he was up to his antics of pulling down his

It seemed like yesterday when I was sick on my birthday and had to miss all the dinners. This year, I decided to make up for all the lost time. This year, though I took leave, there were quite a few calls I had to join so I was working half the time but I decided to make time for a haircut halftime and go for a good dinner thereafter. Da arranged a well curated dinner at Da Luca despite his test the next day. While it was a little carbs heavy, I must say the risotto is one of the best I've had and the steak was very juicy and delicious too, I think most people would swoon over the cold pasta which the chef had generously lavished with Cavier at his initiative (though I would have much preferred the giant scallop) but I guess it's good to try something different for a change. Had a Brunello to top it all up..  http://youtu.be/28UXhZ9U_XA On Saturday, went to NOX for a dining in the dark experience that I had wanted to try for a while. While I think the e

A toddler's vomiting is very traumatising ，not only for the kid but also for the adult. And unfortunately Cayen puked two times this weekend , on Saturday in a cab and on Sunday at the entrance of 海里捞. In the first instance, I was carrying Cayen in the cab and without warning , he simply started vomiting. Intuitively, I cupped my hands and tried to catch the vomit. Ah Pa scrambled to find a plastic bag. Taxi Uncle didn't flinch and even volunteered to give us some tissue paper and plastic bag. When we apologised, he kept reassuring us that it's okie. Things happened and it happened for a reason. At that moment , he didn't know the extent of damage yet he was so understanding and sympathetic. Thankfully I managed to limit the extent of spillage largely to my shirt and his. But still, the puke smell was horrendous. When the driver said that he would just wind down the windows , he said it very kindly and without any angst. That's when I really felt true Kindness

We've all heard about the terrible twos ..  But I didn't know that means that my baby would regress back to his hitting and scratching ways. And not to mention his nightly unwillingness to sleep in his room and the waking up in the middle of the night. (On the last point, it could be because we have changed night duties where I would do the reading instead of Ah Pa.. So I will try to rough it out for another week or so.)  Last week, he hit some kids, this week he scratched two teacher , yesterday he tore a book .. All despite punishment and coaching by teacher and at home. While his eloquence has increased by leaps and bounds, his understanding of boundaries has been lack lustre.  Given that Ah Pa and I were not always home and the grandparents tend to give in to his whims and fancy , I think it's hard for him to even know what his true boundaries are. Even if he has some inkling, enforcement is not consistent.  I don't know how to deal with it as yet -  most books poin

Cayen likes the playground and recently we brought him to Polliwogs at Suntec and I realised that he really likes to dance along ..especially the songs that he knows.. Looks like school has done him some good ..   And his memory is very good, because we went back again three weeks later, he still remembered the songs and danced along to it ...  http://youtu.be/YZ1MPj3p73s

We parked at Far East Plaza carpark as Orchard road is blocked on the first Saturday of every month. As the carpark is very old, the lanes are very narrow at every turn and I was cringing and making funny noises after we spiraled downstairs as they all felt like close shaves as we were very near the walls. After a few turns, Ah Pa was quite annoyed as he noticed that Cayen was mimicking all the noises I was making .. He seemed to understand what I was apprehensive about. Actually, it was quite funny as his tonality was exactly like mine. After we finally emerged from the carpark, Cayen exclaimed "no more!" Cayen also received his Christmas present that evening so he was super exited to open them. I couldn't quite open so I had to look for my scissors to try cut them open. After cayen saw me cut open the present, thereafter when he had trouble opening the other present, he went through his stack of toys as he's trying to find something. After a while, he emerged triump

Today he wanted to run into the restaurant when we were hanging out at Ion 55th floor.  I told him, you need money and I don't have. So you better go to Ah Pa. To that , Cayen said "Ah pa , I want money to go to restaurant !" I was stunned by his grammar and sentence structure.. School must be doing a good job or he's quite good in absorbing such stuff from our usual conservations. Anyway, we did a SG 50 family portrait before that .. It was rather fun to sketch our portrait .. And be part of the SG portraits ... 

This pretty much sums up my New Year's Eve.. Pretty much missed the entire display of fireworks by sleeping at 11pm but I was so tired. Thankfully we managed to have a collagen Hotpot dinner opposite Our house to at least do something on New Year's Eve. Had a gathering at Becky's place and had a good chillax time with the gang and the little ones. Miss the good old days where we were all neighbours in university and could just pop in and out anytime. Time really flies and we are all parents with kid(s) now .. Before we know it, they will all be grown ups and raring to go. Anyway, just realised I don't have a photo of Julian ! Argh.. Watched a ghost show today that also reminded me on how fragile life is and how we should not take any day for granted.  For 2015, I wish for peace and good health to my family, my friends and their families. Let's live every day like it's our last and spend time with those whom we care for. Also, to thos