Happy 2nd Birthday!

Sophie today you turn two. It's an age where you're no longer a baby although I still call you that at times. It's also an age that most parents dread as the twos have been given a bad name, often associated tantrum throwing, fighting for your independence amongst other things and hence the term "terrible twos". We'll try to reframe our mindset and call them the terrific twos and hope that you'll live up to it!

Here's a list with nuggets of memories of how you are at two.

1. Your favorite color is purple despite mummy's constant bombardment of all things pink in your wardrobe from dresses, socks, shoes, etc...
2. Your vocabulary is expanding and you're getting more vocal day by day. And just because you add a "please" loudly in your sentence, you assume you'll get whatever you want.
3. You are like a cat before bed time when you insist on scratching me before you sleep. You can't even be fooled when I replace my arm with the bolster.
4. You may look chor lor but really you're a real princess at heart and can't walk barefooted on grass and especially sand.
5. Your favorite cartoon character evolved from Winnie, to Barney, to Elmo and the latest craze is all things Mickey. I couldn't keep up that's why you had an Elmo cake.
   
6. You’re learning to count but always miss the number “5”when counting from 1-10.
7. I wish that potty time (more specifically poo poo time) will soon be an easier time for you and me!
8. You’re an avid reader and likes all books as long as there are stories of animals in them.
9. You may only be two but you’re so thoughtful when you tell me we have to save the fruits for Daddy who’s driving and cant snack at the back of the car with us
10. Last but not the least, you're the sweetest, funniest, cutest, cuddliest toddler who has attitude with a personality to boot! And I pray that you'll grow in confidence and bring joy and laughter to all those who around you!

Happy Birthday my National Day Darling!

My do, my do

Sophie is turning 2 in about 1 week's time! Just a year ago, she just learnt how to walk and now she's running and jumping all over the place. While we're excited that she's reaching another milestone with another birthday, we're hoping that we can by pass the terrible two stage that has already began to rear it's head in the form of nasty tantrums as she displays her independence.

Of course she does have her very cute moments too. Have I ever mentioned how good she is at "acting"? Like the other day when Alexis told her she can only have one tissue. She understood it and then kept hinting that the table was wet and went on and on, until Daddy finally told her that she can have another tissue. And of course how she tries to fake a cry just so, she can be carried. Or how she always misses her "5" when counting from 1 to 10?

But we're most amazed at her language and speech development which I believe is a result from attending a playgroup. Just a few days ago, I asked her if her milk was too hot, she replied, "No mama, it's warm". It wasn't even not hot, but warm. Power vocabulary or what? (That just sounds like terrible Singlish).

And after I came back from Bangkok with all kinds of present for her, she was so pleased with her new Hello Kitty school bag and she proudly told her teacher, "Mama bought me new bag". Past tense okay, Bought not buy. Don't play play!

But of course these are just a few of her power England. Most days it's

• "Mama carry you, Mama feed you"- when it should be me
• " My do, my do, - when it should be I do

It's also great that she enjoys reading so we'll make a trip to the National Library at least once a month for her to pick out the books she want. Of course at times, we also pick out cool books like these and have some fun at home.

And yes she's likes her parrot now, always mimicking us when we talk so we really have to watch what we say in front of her.

The day Justin Bieber saved the day

I never thought I would have to "negotiate" with my 23 month old toddler. Turns out I was wrong, very wrong.

Today she insisted on bringing her tricycle downstairs when I told her that I have to grab some groceries from the provision shop downstairs. She relented only after I promised that we'll bring her out to the playground wearing her Mickey Mouse t-shirt later in the afternoon.

When it was time for nap, she had a bagful of trick up her sleeves. First, she insisted that Daddy and Mama slept in the room with her. Then after Daddy excused himself, she tricked me that she needed to "shee shee", and then it progressed to "poo poo" and made face like she was in pain. Since she was willing to sit on the potty, I let her out of the bedroom only to find that she was only interested in running to the living room to play.

After we peeled her off from her toys, we told her that as a weekend treat she could sleep on our bed but that didn't keep her in bed for more than 3 minutes before jumped and climbed on our bed and then exclaimed "poo poo" again. But we anticipated that from her and pulled out the potty that was already in our room. That made her angry, very angry and she kept pointing to the bedroom and shouted "outside, outside".

By then it was already 3 plus in the afternoon. I was so tired and relented so out of the bedroom she went and I left them to their own device while I try to catch a wink.

They both ended up not sleeping at all but at least she made herself useful by helping Daddy with the laundry. So by 4:30, we decided to not let the weekend go to waste and packed up to head for MacRitchie.

3 minutes in the car and she fell asleep.

Since she was sleeping, we changed our plans and drove to East Coast instead. Half way there, it rained and then poured... So all plans to cycle got scrapped and we ended up at Parkway.

Anyway to cut the long story short, she was a brat at dinner time and refused to sit on the high chair and told me she was tired and wanted to sleep on my shoulders. Which of course was far from the truth... By then I begin to feel eyes from the people sitting around us who must be thinking that I cant even take my daughter in my own hands.

And then she needed to poo, which in these days is accompanied by a lot of crying, screaming of "I don't want" and kicking and shoving. So to save ourselves from more embarrassment, I carried her to the toilet. But shit didn't happen...

Thank God Alexis saw my look of exasperation after we returned form the toilet and offered to take over since she didn't look the least interest in finishing her dinner. After they left, I could only slump my face into my palms and take a deep breath....

And then I heard the music playing, ....

Baby, Baby, Baby ohhh, like

Baby, Baby, Baby, no....

Then I remembered how adorable Sophie is when I taught her to sing the chorus of this song and slowly the frustration I felt melted away with the song. This has indeed been a less than perfect day but being angry will not make it better too. Alexis knew it too well when he came back with her and told me, don't get angry with her....

And yes I didn't stay angry with her anymore too.

Sophie at 22 months

In another 1 month, Sophie will turn 2! How did the little babe that I brought home from the hospital grow up so fast.

I'm enjoy her toddler stage now as she's so chatty and so much fun! In fact she's able to form sentences and is able to pronounce her words clearly to get her point across. And I think the school has done at great job at encouraging her to read. Just the other day, she wanted me to read a book at her that she went, Read book mama, read book mama, like a broken record. I was so amused and teased her by saying no reading Sophie, no reading Sophie and she just roared out laughing.

She's also discovering what humor is and is starting to say funny things to tickle us.

What my colleague said is very true about having a good age gap between kids so that you enjoy the first one in their "prime" before you get busy with a new baby. And no, I'm not pregnant though we are starting to think about having a second one before age catches up.

But for now, we're definitely enjoying every bit of Sophie.

Weekend with an active tot

Sophie's blog has been growing cobwebs after I started my new blog at ajugglingmom. So while I keep ajugglingmom to all things related to mummy affairs, I've decided to keep blogging about my dear girl in this blog that is dedicated to her.

These days it's hard to keep Sophie occupied at home during the weekends. She's in the phase where I call it "non-stop action". If it's not the good action, eg running around the house, climbing up on the sofa, it's the drama that we have to deal with, the whining, screaming "I don't want" like a broken record which can drive even the coolest parents bonkers after a while.

So Alexis and I decided that on either Saturday or Sunday, we'll take her outdoors and get her to release all these pent up energy she has. So it was off to the East Coast Park for us.

It's been a long time since Sophie went cycling with us and I did worry if she will enjoy it as much as she did the last time. But my worries were unfounded as she got buckled up and was all ready to go.

And I must add it was a very good call made by Alexis since I was the party pooper earlier as I announced that the weather forecast predicted rain in the late afternoon. Which to my defense is really of no fault of mine.

Although cycling is a passive activity for Sophie, she did get to people watch, dog watch and nature watch as she took in the many sights at the beach. I think her mood was also generally better when she's outside which is a good thing for the tired parents.

Sophie in a very awkward pose

So mummy here has planned a very packed weekend for the whole of June from catching Sesame Street, to picnics and Sentosa (a first for Sophie!). I sure hope she enjoys the weekends ahead!

Pony tail beauty

I was surprised to find Sophie's hair tied up in a pony tail when she came home from school one day. Since then she's allowed me to play with her hair like how I imagined I would when I have a little princess of my own.

These days she never leaves home without reminding mummy to put on a hair clip for her.

My little pony tail beauty

Demanding Toddler

With 4 months to go before Sophie's 2nd birthday, I'm already dreading having to confront her terrible two tantrums that's rearing it's head. Some months ago, I decided that I'll have a more positive attitude and look forward to her independent ways when she turns 2. After all life should be easier when she learns how to feed herself, express herself with words, use the potty, etc.

While she's done a great job at feeding herself, no less from the sheer motivation of food, she's become very demanding of late. Her latest chant- "I want, I want." With her ability to communicate with us, it also comes with an expectation that things must be done and given to her quickly, immediately, NOW!

L: Not wanting to hear "No" for an answer when told she can't have calamari R: Still angry because she got fries instead of calamari

In a better mood after she gets more fries from Daddy

Just the other day, she demanded to have her snacks that I was packing for her school. When I flatly refused, her tears started flowing freely, leaving me to wonder just where did this little drama queen learn that from? Thankfully, it's still relatively easy to get her distracted now but I can only imagine things will get better worse from now.

But meanwhile, I shall remember that all this is part of her growing up. Her independence doesn't mean she's deliberately being wilful or naughty. After all, she's starting to realize that she's a serperate person from us and is exercising a mind of her own, something which I've to accept and not loathe. And my job as her mom is set the boundaries for her so that she don't hurt heself as she flex her indepenance muscles. And remember to face each tantrum with a deep breathe, a cool and level head and perhaps a sense of humor too.

Ready for the big bed

Over the weekends, we decided to pack up Sophie's cot as she's not been sleeping in it for the past 3 months.

She's turning 20 months in 2 week's time and many would argue that she's not ready to make the transition to the big bed as the recommended age is at least 2 years old. By then they'll be able to understand that they have to stay in bed and not do a Houdini escape act. While others recommend going by these signs

• they start climbing out of the cot
• they are being toilet trained and it helps them to get to the toilet easily during the night
• they should not be staying in our bed or
• the arrival of a new baby who needs the cot

Out of the 4, we're battling with no 3. It was somewhere in the beginning of the year that she started to join us in bed. At that time, we reasoned that it was because she was going through a phase of separation anxiety and would cry out to us in the middle of the night. At first, we would go into her room and give her a little pat or use our voice as a reassurance and she'll go back to sleep. But the night wakings got more frequent and we caved in and carried her to room to sleep with us. We regretted not sticking to our guns and am now paying the price for it as we have to take turns to sleep with her on our bed while the other gets banished to her room as there's simply not enough room for 3 on a queen size bed! (Sophie rolls around the bed too much)

Sophie enjoyed her cot in the early days

You can tell that she's no longer interested in sleeping in the cot

Since she's no longer sleeping in the cot, we decided to pack up the cot and focus on making her room more inviting to sleep in. Now we just got to decide when we're prepared to start the sleep training since I had a surgery not too long and it would be too exhausting to get up a few times in the night. After all, we don't want to make this another futile attempt as we endeavor to teach the dear daughter independent sleep.

Bed times

When Sophie was younger... much younger around 1 year old, we used to wonder if Sophie would be a early sleeper. The reason we were doubtful was because after she turned one month, she was very colicky and would cry and cry. So we tried everything in the books, white noise (hair dryer), baby wearing, rocking. On some days, some of these methods were effective, on other days, oh don't even remind me. We would be so frustrated that we were short of packing her in the car and driving around the estate, which trust me, I've heard tales like that from desperate parents.

And as predicted, after she turned 3 months, things improved. But as she didn't used to be put to bed early (it was usually round 10 after all we tried), she didn't get into a routine of going to bed early.

Fast forward many months ahead now....I do think that she's better with a bed time routine. These days she has dinner in school and sometimes joins us for a small bite while we eat, followed by some playing or reading, then a quick shower and a bottle of milk before she drifts to dreamland. If we're lucky like today, she asked for her milk at 9 and slept at 9:35pm. But most days she'll sleep at 10pm.

Playing before bed time

Between Alexis and myself, I've become the dedicated one to put her to sleep. I would like to think that she enjoys having "little conversations" with Mama while she drinks her milk and I ask about her day, sing her lullaby, plant kisses on her cheeks and say a prayer for her. Most nights she has one hand on her milk bottle and her other hand is stroking my arm like a little kitten or when she simply holds my hand to just be close to Mama. What I enjoy the most is when my little girl pulls me close to her and showers me with her sweet little kisses. Awwww.... Makes it all worthwhile to sacrifice TV personal time.

But one questions does linger on my mind. Just when will she learn to sleep on her own again? Due to my surgery, we have just decided to let her sleep with Daddy while I sleep in her room so that she wouldn't kick me in the middle of the night. Should we start our sleep training again?

Sense and Sensibility

There are times when I'm pleasantly surprised by Sophie. But she's really surprised me by her sensibility when I had to go for an operation last week. Before the operation, Alexis and I have been prepping her for it by explaining that mummy's stomach pain pain and needs to stay in the hospital for an operation, so she needs to stay in Tampines with Daddy and Nai Nai. Sometimes she'll just reply "No, No, No.." other times she'll ignore us, leaving us to wonder how much she understands.

The night before my operation, I decided to let her sleep with me, after all I wouldn't get to do it for a while after my op too. Once again, I reminded her of what's to come for the next few nights without mummy to put her to bed. Of late, she's been more particular and will only want me to put her to sleep so I was really worried if Alexis or my mom in law could handle her at night. That night after her bottle of milk, she pressed her cheek next to mine and nuzzled me, like she understood that mummy's not going to be around soon and was giving me encouragement and reminding me that she loves me. My heart really melted.

The next day, she got up very early and saw me dressed up so she refused to go back to sleep. After I explained to her that mummy and daddy have to go to the hospital, I asked my mum to bring her into her bedroom in my attempt to avoid a tearful farewell. Subsequently, my mom told me that after we left and they came out of the room, she looked around the house for us but didnt make any noise when she didn't see us and proceeded to wear her uniform and got ready for school. She was such a responsible girl that she even reminded Grandma not to forget her bag as she pointed to it and went "bag, bag". I'm so proud of her!

Even though I missed her dearly after my op, I didn't want her to see me in pain so I only saw her on Sunday, the 4th day after my op. When she arrived she was asleep in Daddy's arm and when she woke up she was curiously looking around to see where she was. She sure was happy seeing me and lunged forward to ask me to carry her. But when we told her that mummy's tummy pain pain and cannot carry, she didn't insist anymore. She pointed to the plaster on my arm and scrunched up her face and told me "pain pain". Then she started being her cheeky self and was squealing in delight and running around. When it was time to go, she just waved bye bye to me and left.

That evening when Alexis went back, she ran to him and called out Daddy Daddy and raised her hand and called Mama, like asking why I didn't come home with Alexis. Alexis reminded her that Mama's stomach is still painful and has to stay in the hospital, she just carried on playing.

Sophie unwrapping her present from Mama

Figuring how to play with her new toy

Learning the letters of the

alphabets

How I love my sensible toddler. I'm hearted that she's so understanding and was relieved that she has been behaving very well at my in laws place. This little baby of mine is no longer a baby anymore but a fine little girl growing up :)

Little talking machine

Sophie's 18 months going 19 months and of late she's been more vocal. This was also noticed by those around like my mom, and also the teachers in the child care. The teacher told me this morning that initially when she went to the new child care, she was rather quiet, if not she'll be rather whiny or sometimes crying. Now that she's adapted to school in the past 3 weeks, she's shed her inhibitions and starting verbalizing what she wants and how she feels.

Family members: Daddy, mama, yeye, nai nai, por por, yiyi, jui jui, gu gu

Activities: mumm mumm, walk, carry, brush, bath, poo poo, draw, throw, beat, wash

Food: bread, apple, banana (nana), cherry, carrot, rice (ice), cheese, biscuit, bao

Toys: bear bear, elmo, rabbit (air bit) , pig pig, pooh bear (poo poo), car, train, ball, ballooon, bubbles, book, star,

Body: eyes, head, hair, teeth, nose, ears, hand, toes,

Animals: cat, dog, duck, cow (moo moo), owl, panda, lion, crocodile (dial), bird, bee, butterfly (fly), fish,

Other: NO! (almost automatic for all kids), hello, bye bye, kiss, please (peas), thank you (Q), milk, more, no more, open, close, up, shoes, socks, diaper, baby, mei mei, boy, pram, flower, tissue, pain, push, oh no (when she drops something) aiyoh, towel, on, off,

These are about the words that she can say now. And there is also so much more that she understand but cant verbalize yet. Like when I ask here where is her tummy, hand, finger, leg, she can point to them but cant say the words yet.

But one thing about my girl, is that it depends on her mood if she wants to entertain you with her new found vocabulary. Oh yes and now she know numbers too, like 2, 5, 9, 10 which I think she learnt in school as they count while they wash their hands.

And of course there was been some funny moments when I teach her new words too. Like on Monday when I taught her how to pray and end with Amen.

Me: Sophie when you finishing praying, you say Amen. Say A....

Sophie: Apple!

I cracked up so hard that I probably shocked her with my behavior when here my little one is thinking to herself, isnt A is for apple?

And till now it beats me why she calls Alexis Daddy and me Mama.

As I'm typing this entry, Alexis is reminding me to speak to her more in Mandarin. Which I try to remember too from time to time. Sophie now respond to her Mandarin name, 佳宣 so I do think we're on to a good start :) Oh and she can tell you that her name is "Fi". We call her Fifi at home :)

Spot Fifi in her classmate's celebration!

Sophie only wants Mama

At 18 months, it's not unusual for toddlers to go through a phase of separation anxiety. And for Sophie it was no different. But the intensity of it heightened last week when she was ill, was growing two new teeth and had to adjust to her new child care centre. That can be a lot for a little kiddo to handle!

Sophie used to be such a Daddy's girl and would call out to Daddy in her sweetest voice that Mummy here often got jealous. But lately she just wants no one but Mummy! Of course it can be endearing but what this also means is that she's so worried when she knows I'm not around. Like last Sunday when we left her at Grandma's place. She was pointing at the door and looking for Mama. My cheeky niece even tricked her that I had returned for her when it was really Sophie's aunt who came back. And to express her dashed hopes, she bawled her eyes out! It was only I came back that she was more relaxed and would play with everyone and resumed her chirpy self.

Now Sophie only wants Mummy to put her to bed and she'll happily bid Daddy bye bye. This morning she wouldn't even want to drink her milk until she see me.

Daddy lending a hand to bathe Sophie

I hope she grows out of this phase soon. But nevertheless I've been reassuring her every time I'm out of her sight that I'll return. So what helps is telling her where I'm going, eg.going to the bathroom, to the kitchen, going to work and promise her that I'll come back and when I see her again, I'll tell her, "see mummy promise to be back and I'm back now."

So far this week she's much better except when it's time to go to school in the mornings. I spoke to soon about no tearful goodbyes last week and now every morning she'll be crying, whining and kicking a fuss when I leave her at the child care. But I'll remind myself to remain calm and explain to her that after work I'll come back for her. Tears or no tears, it's out the door I go, otherwise she'll learn that she can hold her hostage with her tears. Anyway the teachers tell me that after a while she'll stop and will be okay in the company of her friends. But it's quite a different story in the evenings when I'm there to pick her. She'll be so engrossed in her coloring (a typical after school activity) that the teachers have to hurry her along to go home.

Hair all wet after her evening nap in the car

But for every stage that Sophie has progressed from I thank God that she remains a healthy and cheerful baby!

Sophie goes to her new school

Today marks the 5th day that Sophie is attending her new school and I think she's adapting well.

Sophie has to wear uniform to school now

I was a little apprehensive about how she'll take to the new school, new environment, new teachers and new friends after being in Cherie Hearts for 14 months since she was 4 months. So I started her on just half day for the first day. She was her usual curious self and decided that she'll explore the school instead of paying attention. But it's not a big deal, after all it was her first day and she's not used to a classroom setting. There are a total of 5 toddlers in her playgroup. It did take her a while to get used to the routines in school from lining up to go to the bathroom to wash their hands to having lesson time for reading, etc. She did slowly warm up to her new teacher and even lie down for her diaper change which I was surprised.

Feeding herself porridge

Meal times was of course a breeze knowing how my little one loves her food. There was a morning tea break which we brought from home and lunch was porridge. Sophie just fed herself with little help and finished her lunch in no time. I decided to leave her there with the teachers for a bath while I grab lunch since she was doing so well. But when I came back, I found her crying in tears :( Poor little one must have thought that mummy has abandoned her.

But things did get better on the second day when she was participated more in the class. Guess it will take her a while to get used to the idea of a structured class. I left her there for lunch on her own after the second day and the teacher told me that she went to sleep after having her milk and after some patting.

At the end of the day when I went to pick her from school, she was so excited to see me that she shouted "Mama!" loudly and ran towards me. I feel so loved by my little daughter.

Carrying her bag which is too big for her. Not stopping her nevertheless

I know that in no time, Sophie will be able to adjust fully into the new school. The teachers there told me that she's learning to be more independent and will want to do things on her own like eating and even having her way. Lets just hope that she'll be happier in her new school too.

So far my verdict for Sunflower Kiddy House

1. Like that the centre manager is very hands on with the children. She's often involved with the kids and will have some interaction with them in the morn. On the first day she was teaching them how to 拜年. On the second day, she was reading to them. She also mentioned to me that she helped to pat Sophie to sleep too.

2. There is a set of routine for the day which helps the kids learn to be structured and know what to expect.

3. The teachers follow through with what they say and mean it when it comes to discipline even for the toddlers. Of course no serious punishment, but they make the kids who jump around when they're supposed to sit quietly stand in a corner. So it helps to instill discipline in the kids too.

4. The size of the whole centre is kept small so the teachers managed the class more efficiently.

5. Kids learn to wait in simple acts like waiting for their turns to wash their hands and waiting for their friend's turn to finish before they all head back to their class.

6. This is more for my benefit, the school serves dinner- which saves me a headache on what to cook!

The hubby said that I've been singing praises about the new school but I do believe not every school is as good as this one. So I'm glad I made the right choice for Sophie.

Happy Bunny New Year

At my great grandmama's house for CNY.

New school for the new year

After spending 14 months in Cherie Hearts, it's time to bid farewell to join a new school, with new friends and new teachers after the Chinese New Year.

If you remembered I wrote an entry just when she started to go to infant care.Sophie has been attending infant care since she was four months right after my maternity leave ended. I can still remember the roller coaster of emotions in the first two days when I entrusted my little babe into the hands of strangers who will spend more hours in a week taking care of her. The feelings was so mixed that on the second day after I left her I was weeping and asking myself if it was the best decision.

Her favorite activity in school, gym time!

But now fast forward 14 months later, I can truly say that infant care option does have it's good side. With her being constantly surrounded by teachers and older toddlers, I believe she's more vocal that some kids her age. Also she's more independent and learning how to eat on her own is one of them. I would like to think her infant care environment has taught her social skills which explains her friendly disposition. And she's also learnt that she's not the queen in the school as there are other babies that the teachers have to tend to as well.

Playing with the toys in school

So it is not as cruel as some people think it is. In fact this arrangement has worked out pretty well for us since the child care is near to both our offices... minus the fact that this option has been financially taxing.

She's had many memorable moments in school I'm sure as she went through so many of her first there, first time eating solid food, first time walking, talking, waving her hands, etc...Gosh in fact because I'm a full time working mom I have not always been the one to witness all these milestones for her but to rely on this blog to remind me of these significant moments. Of course I also recall the times when she's gotten complained, like when she was teething and bit two of her friends (gasp!), when she throws tantrums and refuse to let certain teachers take care of her, when she can only take her naps if she's on the bouncer and when she behaved all princessy and cried when doing hand and finger painting.

Sophie's name right on the top, meaning she's the oldest toddler in her infant care group!

The teachers joked that with her now gone, they'll have to wait for the next class monitor to rise up as Sophie is their little helper in school. Because she's the oldest and can remember all the kids names, she'll help the teachers bring the bottle of milk to the babies or the teachers when it's feeding time. When I went to her school on the last day I was impressed that she could tell me the names of her friends name by looking at the photo of them. Of course she cant pronounce all of them clearly but you can make out who she's referring to!

With one of her teachers, Teacher Farhana who dotes on her

Saying good byes are always so bitter sweet. And even though I'm not her, I know she enjoyed the time she's spent in Cherie Hearts and will surely miss her teachers and friends whom she's grown up with. I hope that she'll be just as adaptable to the new school and will come to enjoy her next phase of growing up years.

First holiday for the year

We went for our first family holiday of the year 2 weeks ago. Quite ironic since I did say that I'll think twice about bringing Sophie on the next holiday soon since the trip to Penang was well...not as enjoyable. But here we are after Penang, going to Malacca and then just very recently going to Club Med Bintan for 3D, 2N.

It wasn't planned as it was an incentive trip for the sales guys for my company but a colleague resigned not too long so I get to "take his place". And besides no work involved, so I went for it and brought my two dear babies along.

Sophie was the least affected by the ferry ride and was quite okay despite a very choppy ride when we came back. Guess there is nothing better than to just munch your way on the ferry :)

We hit the monsoon season so couldn't do any of the sea sports like kayaking or snorkeling that I was looking forward to. But the most fun activity we tried was the flying trapeze from the circus school! Though Sophie didn't have a chance at that, I did make her tumble around on the mats which she enjoyed a lot.

Club med is really kiddy friendly with a kiddy club from kids as young as two. A pity that Sophie was too young for us to leave her there. They have programms for the kids that keep them pretty busy too, going to the beach to build sand castle, swimming, room with toys and books, etc, provide theirs meals and also get their nap time. And at the restaurant, they have a section for baby food, like bottled jar food and baby yogurt. Our room also came with the basic playpen and even a steam sterliser, bottle warmer, baby bath tub, baby powder and baby oil. Very well equipped.

But I guess after this trip, me and Alexis should just make plans to go on a holiday without Sophie. A holiday that will be more carefree and less stressful. Yes meal times are so stressful for me now.. Another post on this perhaps.

New skills for the new year

Sophie like all kids go through phases with their toys. It's hardly surprising that she gets fascinated with new toys especially those that she receives on special occasions like her birthday or Christmas. Other days just a simple balloon or coloring pencils will have the same mesmerising effect on her too.

She has a little toy corner in the living room. Her basket of soft toys. Her huge Pooh bear that she calls "Poo Poo". Whoops.

Her box of mega blocks together with other masak masak her slam dunk basket ball hoop amongst the many others. We recently kept some toys away as she has out grown them like her rattle, walker, and some other baby toys.

Recently she has taken an interest in the shape sorter that we got her when she was around 6-8 months. Back then one of my friend commented on her Facebook that her daughter could identify the shapes and fit in into their respective shapes so I thought it may be fun for Fifi.

But she was not in the least interested in it. Now at 16 and a half months she has managed to fit the circle piece into the correct shape all by herself! Of course there are times when she doesn't get it and will get frustrated and throw the toy or pass the toy to us for help. So we're teaching her to try and try again rather than rush in to do it for her.

Here's the video of her fitting the circle piece. Haha hear her go "Aiyoh" after the piece drops out after she pulls it apart. I think I may have used that one too many times.

First the circle, next the square, then star, triangle...

Way to go Fifi!!