Multiparenting Cayen & Cayson

On some nights I have to sing so many lullabies before Cayen will finally go to bed. On some nights like this, I get inspired while looking at the night light. So here it is .. Night light night light,  won't you be my star tonight  Shine bright shine bright Shine with all your might  YouTube Video

Since young, we have not really signed him up for much classes save for two terms of music lessons. We usually spend weekends just exploring new places, playgrounds, museums etc. However, since he just turned 4, we figure it's time to expose him to more structured learning to hone his skills and more importantly character.  Earlier, I spoke on enrolling for Little Executive lessons. For November, we enrolled him in the Little Shaws holiday camp to let him do a bit of sports and taking a trial class at Yamaha. For the Shaws camp, it was interesting that kids got to not just try new sports, but also do a bit of painting and baking.  As he arrived earlier, after kicking and running for 5-10minutes non stop, he was already tired and wanted to go home, but eventually he was coaxed to continue and they did have breaks with non sports activities in between the 3 hour program.  While he couldn't quite blend in the first day because the other kids all seemed to alread...

At 32 months, he's more talkative than ever. And recently , he and a classmate started speaking some gibberish with the likes of "Ah ka wa ka .." When I asked him who taught him all these , he said he did. Not sure if he's speaking the truth but it's quite amusing though worrisome at the same time that he's weaving all these gibberish occasionally into his speech or songs on purpose. And he finds it funny so he would do it again and again.  Anyway, here's a more normal clip .. http://youtu.be/XnIBQo1BcYk

http://youtu.be/Hx1-DAcOHX8

祝羊年行大运！ 喜气羊羊！  http://youtu.be/mxZgQNrpWUo

He was trying to push the sofa in but he had no strength to do so .. At least not by using his hands to push... Before long, we saw him trying with his leg ... Muttering "I use my leg" .. Resourceful little boy ! http://youtu.be/tcsrpV-DD-c The other day , X was a bit wary of the cat lurking in the walkway and didn't want to walk through the walkway. We asked Cayen to try to be the big bro and bring him across. He took X's hand and promptly took the alternative route (detour) instead of trying to walk through the walkway guarded by the cat. Rather quick thinking I must say.. Even we adults didn't think about it - we were still rooting for him to guide X across the cat's path but we didn't think that he would consider the alternative route ! I'm not sure about how well he would do academically in future but he does have a little street smartness in a way..

One of his favourite activities .. Supermarketing! And this season, he dances to the Christmas songs playing in the background. YouTube Video - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

For quite a few weeks , we were left wondering what would be his performance item .. And if he might be some kind of tree / prop. After all, he's not the obedient and the 2nd youngest in his class. Today, he surprised me first with his willingness to have make up put on without a struggle (think the fact that it was his teacher Nana helped). When he went on stage, he spotted ah pa and I was scared that meant the end of the performance but I was pleasantly surprised that he managed to shout Ah Pa and still carry on swaying to the beat. So proud of you my baby. Here's some video clips and some behind the scene photos. Before During YouTube Video YouTube Video After Make up removal Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's nice when I can get home early to see him dance .. YouTube Video - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm impressed. I don't even know the lyrics to this song .. Except the first phrase as popularised by Stephanie Sun. YouTube Video - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

YouTube Video - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mid autumn used to be a fun event when we were kids. I used to remember putting candles on trees , throwing sparklers into trees and prancing around with lanterns. As we grow up, it becomes more associated with moon cakes eating and nothing more. I don't remember going to playgrounds or chinese gardens to view lights anymore as a teenager or young working adult .. Once you have a kid, suddenly you will find some energy to suggest a walk through the Gardens by the Bay even if mid autumn falls on a Monday and you still have to work the next day. All to let the little one have a taste of the wonderful childhood that you have had .. YouTube Video - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cayen's favourite toy is still the mop and the broom .. It has remained his obsession for the last one year and is perhaps the toy with the highest return on investment. Well, this is perhaps the best toy to introduce to your household. After all , you get to train the motor skills and you end up with a cleaner house. Anyway, apart from diligence, this boy has always nurtured a sense of diplomacy.. We liked to tease him .. " who do you like more? Ah Pa or Ah Ma ?" "Who is your favourite? Ah Ma or ah Pa?" He would always say "ah pa , ah Ma", "ah Ma, ah pa" or sometimes "ah pa, ah ma, cayen" He appears to know that we are a family unit and that we are all equal to him. Or perhaps he's just very politically correct ! Also, recently he likes to play pretend. Pretending to eat as though something is real delicious (imagine the slurps and all , pretending to fall asleep and pretending to make coffee .. YouTube Video - Posted using B...

Now with kids , spontaneity (for adult outings) is hard to come by as one needs to consider the babysitting arrangements etc. However, over this long weekend, I realised that spontaneity for family outings can be quite possible and most fun too!  On Saturday, we woke up at 8 plus am per Cayen's bio clock and was toying with the usual question ? What to eat for breakfast. Usually it's between going to the wet market or hawker centre for some local food or some brunch grub. At 10.05am, we were still grappling over the breakfast issue when suddenly someone thought of a movie. Yes, a movie sounds good!  So for which timing? 10.30am, 1.30pm or 3.30pm? Nearest cinema is Plaza Sing.  Intuitively, I wanted to go for 10.30am as it means that we could probably eat breakfast over entertainment and we can maximise our time since we had nothing to do then.  So we grabbed our stuff, dressed the baby and managed to get our seated at 10.40am, just before the sho...