Little 时旭

We’re off for a bit of a holiday break between 23 Jan~ 28 Jan 2010 .
Finally we were here - Hong Kong Disneyland !!

The weather was cool and cloudy which made our trip a lot more enjoyable.But it could be chilly when the wind blows .


Shi Xu was so excited ,he couldn’t keep his eye off .He enjoyed himself immensely in Disneyland .


Fantasyland

It brings the magic and wonder of famous childhood stories to life.The disney characters, the lighting, the firework , the small small word, the cinderella carousel (his favorite) ,the spinning teacup, dumbo the flying elephant,sleeping beauty castle brought joy to him . In his world, it's all real and it's magical .


Magic had turned mummy to be a minnie mouse ! ^_^


and Shi Xu got the chance to take photo with Disney main characters - Mickey and Minnie mouse !! He was so excited to tell me that Mickey mouse hi-five to him and said goodbye to him after he took photo with them!


Tomorrowland

Shi Xu squealed in delight when he saw this racing car . He couldn't wait to sit in and "drove off " the car !



and mummy was busy "saving the earth " .hehe .. see how strong i am ..


Shi Xu got the chance to take photo with Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters as well .


Adventureland

We started our journey here by taking a raft tour in the waterways to get to Tarzan Island, climbed the branches of Tarzan's Treehouse and cross the suspension bridge.

We also took the jungle river cruise which is an adventurous journey through an African jungle where we could see elephants frolicking in water, quaking temple ruins, invading gorillas etc .Shi Xu was scared in the cruise .


The hotel we stay

We stayed in Disneyland Hotel .The hotel is gorgeous and Victorian elegant .The room is spacious and service is excellent . A highly recommended choice to families with very young kiddos.

The view at all corners of the hotel is just spectacular . We LOVE this hotel very much . (Shi Xu Kept saying that is "his house " )

That is the garden + sea view from our room .

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Sorcerer's Lounge and enjoyed the music playing in the background .

After many rides on the Dumbo flying elephant , carousel, spinning teacups and in & out of the small small world, it is time to say goodbye to Disneyland . It's not complete without trying the Disneyland Train . So we took the lovely mickey mouse train and bid goodbye to Disneyland .
**Shi Xu @ 30 months

Shi Xu has yet to stay overnight with anyone other than his father and I.Last night was FIRST time he stayed overnight (at other place) without us .We would have something to do up to late night , so we decided to put him at his granny place . Daddy talked to him why he would be staying at granny house and ask him should behave well at granny house . He nodded his head and said he had understanded .

I'm not sure if he's ready for sleepover and how thing would turn out .So this morning i gave my in law a call .I was relieved that she told me he was faring well .He did not even ask about us(every evening he used to ask when we will come while waiting us coming to fetch him ) .He seem like understand that this day he would be staying with granny and we would not come to fetch him as per usual .

Actually the little fellow missed us so much but he just kept it in his heart because he understand that we only left him to stay overnight with granny with no choice . When he was on bed and almost dozed off to dreamland , he finally spoke out his mind , he told granny softly "I want papa and mummy " .Then right after 1 mins , he fell sleep ..

In fact , daddy and mummy miss you too .You truly deserve an applause because you neither get cranky nor whine when we were away .my little sensible boy !

** Shi xu @ 30 months

Shi Xu has always been an inquisitive child , he constantly bombard us with questions and some questions I even need to think hard to answer.

He likes to ask the WHAT, WHERE, WHY ,WHO questions.When we about to go out , he would like to ask WHERE we are going ,WHAT we are going to eat for lunch or dinner ;When he get a new thing , he will ask WHO buy this and that ; when daddy stop his car ,he will ask WHY daddy stop the car , WHY daddy turn his car to right or left .When we angry with him due to his misbehaviour , he would ask WHY we angry with him ; and he loves to ask us WHY we do this , WHY we do that .I try to satisfied him by answering all his questions and make him understand .

He loves to ask what the objects name which is easy peasy to answer,but sometimes it could be difficult as well . Last week we took taxi home , he kept asking the taxi driver the name of the objects in the taxi , from booking machine , credit card machine ,receipt printer ,to taxi driver name tag ,acupuncture car seat (what funny was the taxi uncle had hard time to explain the acupuncture car seat , the taxi driver could not name out the name of this , he just simply described it , the answer did not satisfy the curious kid , so he kept asking again "这个是什么" hope that can get the name of this object ,the taxi driver ended giving up to answer )

Well,I think probably is time to get him one of those children encyclopedias.^_^

**Shi Xu @ 30 months

Happy birthday !!( to myself ) .

Last saturday i celebrated my birthday with my loved one .My husband and my little ShiXu .We went to Hollywood Dinos followed by a hearty meal in restaurant at Orchard Central rooftop garden ( yeah ! I loves the great view there )
At night , we had a small celebration again at home with cake .

Last year birthday i was blessed hearing Shi Xu(when he was 17.5 months old) said " HAPPY " in my birthday .This year I can never be happier hearing he sang the whole verse of birthday song to me and greeted me happy birthday with kisses .Well , what should i expect (or hope ?) in next year birthday? Perhap a birthday card designed by Shi Xu ? hehe .. we shall see ..

We ( 3 of us) had a great time singing the songs ,blowing out the candles ,making wish and cutting the cakes TOGATHER.I truly enjoyed myself and beaming that the father and son did too .

**Shi Xu @ 29.5 months

We went to the Hollywood Dinos ,the first Dinosaur show ever in Singapore and Asia that is only available in limited period : 12 December 2009 – 21 February 2010 .The life-sized dinosaurs come alive on Hollywood-inspired sets with lighting and special effects. They can move, growl, blink their eyes and even walk !



I did not manage to take many photo as Shi Xu got panicky once he saw the dinosaurs ,he thought they are real and he refused to take photo with them and get closer with the dinosaurs .

In fact , there are not so many variety of dinosaurs (perhaps I dont have deep knowledge of dinosaurs) and i found that the features are not as adventurous and thrilled as it advertised .

"anyong haseyo "( How are you in korean )
Do we look like Korean family ?haha ...

We had a special Korean experience at Korea Plaza @ Samsung Hub .It was an outright fun experience dressing in hanbok (Korean Traditional Costume .)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaLittle Shi Xu in Hanbok ....

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaKorean family portrait ^_^

** Shi Xu @ 29.5 months

Are you the fan of Alvin and chipmunks? Well, I am not Alvin fan , however on the thought of Shi Xu would like this pretty cute fellow , we brought him to catch this movie on Sunday morning . Anyway this was not the first time we brought Shi Xu to cinema(His first movie was Monster vs Alien ) .

Shi Xu was so excited of having chance to catch movie in a big theater again .When we sat in the cinema theater , to our unexpected , Shi Xu asked "Where is popcorn?",Where on earth did he know cruching popcorn is a norm in cinema ?

I was relieved that he could sit still and enjoys the show . He loves the singing chipmunks-> the mischievous leader Alvin, brainy Simon, and chubby, impressionable Theodore . He even danced with them !

He started getting restless after one hour of the show.However we still managed to finish the show as everytime we used to be ^_^

Happy New Year !Welcome to the new decade !

We spent our new year at Zoo in the morning and Changi airport Terminal 3 at night .A simple yet great celebration .

Wish all of us a very Happy New Year 2010!!

**Shi Xu @ 29.5 months

On the weekend ,we made a trip again to Hort Park, a park which is perfect hangout for families .We strolled down the Floral Walk lined with blooming flowers,appreciate all the natural surroundings.

Shi Xu was fascinated by the hairy caterpillars crawling around ,we tried to walk carefully to make sure we did not step on the caterpillars crawling on the ground . Apart from that , We also spotted some huge and beautiful butterflies flying around the flowers and some funny plants .

The weather was getting scorching , we strolled the remaining bits of the park and headed home .

Christmas is a very special time of the year.I love Christmas because Christmas come with presents !^_^
We went to zoo (as Shi Xu requested ) in late afternoon and had our Christmas dinner at Sembawang shopping centre .

At night ,we celebrated our Christmas night with the glow of our Christmas tree ,pressies and yummy log cake .

This is the pressie from us - Scooter ! Shi Xu loves it to bits !
I have one "extra " gift for him , a personalize T-shirt printed with Shi Xu's birthday . I like this RED color "Christmas attire" , Red is the ruling color for Christmas. It stands for happiness, joy, and love. Isn't it nice ?

Merry Christmas !!

** Shi Xu @ 29 months

We will be celebrating Winter solstice festival(冬至)at my in law place .Winter solstice festival usually falls between 21 and 23 in solar calender,when sunshine is weakest and daylight is shortest (it means this is the longest night of the year! ) .This year the festival falls on 22 Dec 2009 .

It is said to be the Chinese Thanksgiving of the Chinese Calendar,I was told by my in law that it is widely celebrated as an event that is more important than the Chinese New Year at China and Korea .


Mother in law had prepared the dough to make the gluninous rice ball for tomorrow .The Children ( Shi Xu and his cousins ) got excited as they had the chance to play with the coloured dough.

I pinched off the dough into smaller bits and guided Shi Xu how do roll the dough in between his palms and rolled them into balls. Shi Xu always rolled the dough into a long strand like a snake (but he said that is catipillar ) .To be more creative , we made pyramid ,ring with diamond ,mashmallow ,snow man etc(just for fun ) . Everyone did enjoy this fun activity .We looked more like playing Playdoh than making the glutinous rice ball . Haha....

Winter solstice festival is a very beautiful tradition where family members get together to have a meal. The roundness of the rice balls signifies a wholesome, complete family as well.

Happy Winter Solstice festival !

In celebration of 150th anniversary , Singapore Botanic Garden invites schools,embassies, companies, and community organisations to decorate 150 christmas trees planted at botanic garden.

The 150 christmas trees that lined the walkway look decent ,it stretches from the Visitor Centre to the Bandstand.We did not managed to take photo with all the christmas trees ,thus we only choose some catching our fancy then we headed on down to Symphony Lake , where outdoor concerts are always held there ,a peaceful yet tranquil lake .

The Lotus flowers are blooming beautifully in the pond .Shi Xu spotted some red dragonflies flying around the lotus and show them to me ,unfortunately i failed to snap a shot for them . When Shi Xu looked back the lotus photos , he asked me where the dragonflies were . I bet he was a bit dissapointed that i fail to grab a shot for him .

**Shi Xu @ 29 months

One year ago , we paid a visit to Jacob Ballas Children Garden . After one year , we were here again . That is not much changes in the garden .But Shi Xu has changed to be less adventurous.He was not in the mood to play in the garden today .Last time when he was 16 months , he has no fear of crossing the suspension bridge,but today he has fear of it and requested daddy to carry him crossing the suspension bridge .
Today he show no interest to play at the tree house , Magic of Photosynthesis and water play as well .It just full of lazy bone in him ! We only went for A-MAZE-ing play to experience different twists and turns .

The garden actually has different type of plant species ,it comes alive as a living Classroom.i introduced some plant species to Shi Xu and let him discovered the other plants .I just wanted to let him explore and have fun with them .

After a short stroll in the garden ,we headed off to botanic garden .

** Shi Xu @29 months

Christmas is around the corner(in fact it is just few days away!) .We decide to do some christmas craft during this festive season .I got some idea from internet and it is very simple to make a reindeer .most importantly , it has a deeper meaning than just mere craft work as it uses childrent's footprints and handprints .I bet it sure will give us some fun when we look back in future and laugh at how tiny his hands and feet used to be .

Here is what we did :
-I put Shi Xu's hands firmly on colour paper then we drew the outline togather ,we used these handprints for the reindeer's ears .
-trace one of his feet on other colour paper for reindeer's face .
-then we cut out the handprints and footprints and paste them on a A4 size white card.
-to finish off , we drew the eyes,nose and mouth .
-we also drew some star and cut it out and added in as decoration .

We were happy with our first product ,Shi Xu involved in all the steps with our help and had some fun .We were having a wonderful bonding time to do this craft togather .

Merry Christmas ,every one !

**Shi Xu @ 29 months

A few months back , Shi Xu only managed to pledge about 60% of chinese version national pledge .Now he is able to FULLY recite the pledge

我们是新加坡公民，
誓愿不分种族、言语、宗教，
团结一致，
建设公正平等的民主社会，
并为实现国家之幸福、繁荣与进步，
共同努力。




And this is his school song and "patially " national song .



He makes us gleaming with pride.

**Shi Xu @ 28.5 months

I am forced to cancel my long leave during the Xmas and year end season for the projectSS.However I have other holiday plan cooking ..hehe .. We have just booked our family of 3 (yes , Shi Xu has equal share of the fun too ) to Hong Kong from 23 Jan ~ 28 Jan 2010 .

We definately will visit Disneyland ( that is our highlight in our trip ) , daddy is busy planning our itinerary now . I am very looking forward to our upcoming trip ,so is little Shi Xu . He has been telling others he is going to Hong Kong .

Guess it's time to quickly get packing for warmer clothing if we gonna fly in one month's time . ^_^

**Shi Xu @ 29 months

We went to botanic garden this morning .i still remember Shi Xu was just 8 months old in our last visit ,and we still need to carry him .How time flies !Now he can run , jump and ride his own bicycle .

The sun wasn't too harsh today ,we enjoy our leisure stroll within the garden and immerse in the lush greenery , get some fresh air, and enjoy the life as it should be.

** Shi Xu @ 28.5 months

It was a special day , Shi Xu got to perform in his first school mini concert! I just couldn't wait to see him perform and wonder how things would turn out on that day.

My mood today was a thrilling roller coaster ride .Daddy was away for business trip . My mission was to video down our little one's performance .

The teacher took the children out to the stage . All the PG1 students seem like unexpectedly became open to a larger group.All of them were stunned and didn't know what they should do when they stand in front of the audience,so was Shi Xu ,he looked uncomfortable ,occationally waving his hand (he seem like wanted to perform but remain hesitant on doing so as no one performed at that time ).Non of his classmate perform when the music was playing .Some of them cried , some of them just stand still , some even not knowing where to stand . They just stand on the stage till the music was over .Haha..

I would like to share the video here .Turn on your speaker and enjoy his school mini concert (he was at the first from left ,kept moving his hand ).Hehe ...

At night , when left only 2 of us at home , Shi Xu got the mood to host his personal concert .He made me chuckle with delight and he enjoy the 100% attention i gave .
I am proudly present his "personal mini concert" here

Christmas is around the corner ,how time flies!! It is time to put up our christmas tree again.It make me relive our old day of celebrating our every christmas with this tree for the pass 4 years !

2005 - we bought our very first christmas tree and decorated our new house EXCITEDLY!
2006 - I was pregnant ,we decorated the tree togather (3 of us ! Shi Xu was still in my worm of course )
2007 - Shi Xu was 5 months old , we hosted a very first christmas party in our home with the decent christmas tree and LOADs of presents ! I definately miss that party.
2008 - Shi Xu down with Influenze A virus and just discharged from hospital ,so we just had a small celebration at home with our christmas tree .
2009 - This year Shi Xu can't wait to decorate the christmas tree by himself !He was more than thrilled to decorate it with bits and pieces,we have snow flakes , stars , angels, lights,christmas balls, presents etc .He likes santa clause , reindeer , christmas tree , christmas ball,jingle bell,christmas song ,presents ....every items you can name in christmas season . I think i could hardly find a kid who doesn't like christmas , isn't it ?

Meanwhile , i am busy sourcing for a special and meaningful presents for my love .It can be tough to find a perfect Christmas gift,however ,i have idea in my mind now hehe ...

**Shi Xu @ 28 months

Hari Haji fell on Friday , it was a long weekend . We had planned to go back to KL as my sister just delivered a baby girl .However we got to scrapped our idea due to daddy's passport is going to expire .So we got to spend our long weekend in singapore.

We headed off to East Coast in the morning ,cycling at the East Coast park ,playing the sand and collecting the shells .With the cool light breeze by the beach, the calm blue sea and the warm sands,we spent a lazy day at the shore .

**Shi Xu @ 28 months

Having our Sakura buffet @ Admiralty Park.
What made the father and son thumbs up happily? Were they impressed by the yummy food ? No!It certainly not .

In fact ,Shi Xu thumb up to his COLD soft drink and ice cream !With these food around , we can enjoy our dinner in peace (what a bad parents :P) .His face beaming with joy and happiness while he was drinking and eating all up to his heart's content (i still controlled and made sure he didn't go beyond my limit) .You could always hear "very good!" when he thumbs up to his favourite food . The savory sweetness definitely light up his day.Ice cream and soft drink truly can make the world go round .hehe ...

I bought a Samsung Camera in sample staff sales .The cameras and MP3 sold like hot cake !!Within 5~10 minutes time , all the sets are gone . Luckily i still managed to grasp one ->Samsung IT100 ,a 12-megapixel compact camera with HD movie capture ( this is the features impress me ).

With a 5x optical zoom, and 28mm wide angle lens(i love this feature too) , the IT100 also boasts a 3-inch TFT LCD screen, dual image stabilisation and high sensitivity up to ISO 3200 for shots in low light.

What feature i like the most ? It was "children" scene mode .With this features i am still able to snap a clear picture for my little Shi Xu while he is jumping ,running or moving around ( It is indeed an uphill task to keep him stay still to let you snap a nice photo ) .These photo were taken while he was jumping on the bed ! he was getting excited when we "doll him up" with funny costume ( The "hat" he was wearing was his pyjamas pant:P ) .I still able to see his toes and fingers clearly though he was jumping while i snapped the photo ,not like my previous Canon Ixus , the toes and fingers and even his face will all look blur if he jump or move around .

Anyway , i would say “money well spent “ ,it was just $140 afterwall (in staff sample sale) hehe .... I am not professional in photo shooting , with all these features , it is pretty enough for me .

Admittedly , children are becoming more tech-savvy nowadays because they are the generation born into a digital world.Without a doubt,they are digital content natives,seamlessly navigating digital sources of media without missing a step.

Just like big kids , my little Shi Xu is using my Mp3 player to watch his "little lamb" animation video .His eyes beamed when he watching his animation video .Technology devices are always never fail to occupy him for a couple of minutes.

**Shi Xu @ 27.75 months

Last weekend Shi Xu down with fever , cough and cold again .Haiz .. After sending him to childcare , the chances of him catching bugs are higher ,we average visit our PD once per month!!

As usual when he is sick , Shi Xu was neither crancky nor groucy ,he would be just on food strike (food strike again!!) due to his poor appetite .I could hardly feed him any food and drinks .Admittedly , i am a very impatient and hot-tempered person ,I lost my temper and scolded him when he refused to eat ,and I didn't bother him with just shutting up my mouth .

When we were about going out for dinner , Shi Xu said in soft tone "Can not make mummy angry ".Upon hearing this , my heart melt instantly and i went towards him to give him a tight hug.I was too touched that i could hardly speak a single word .On the other hands, i felt very sorry to him that i had blown my top to him though he behaved well but just refused to eat because he was sick ( sickness will cause poor appetite ,I know that! but i just lost my control and outburst my anger ) .I regretted badly i did such silly thing on him . I should look after him when he was sick ,I should coax him to eat , I should shower him with more love ,I should not lose my temper with him . Now he still need to humour me and bear with me and even said "sorry" to me . Yes , indeed , i feel very bad .

I should control my emotion and don't let it take over my actions and words next time . Shi Xu ,mummy should be the one who say "sorry " to you ,you are such a lovely and sensible boy , mummy love you !

In the journey of parenting , I am , of course , still learning to be a good mummy ....

**Shi Xu @ 27.5 months

Like father like son . This improper posture of study truly resembles his daddy .I always emphasize to sit up straight on chair while study but seem like my words are not convincing enough .

The scene does look fun to me though . ^_^

Betta fish (Siammese fighting fish ) was added in our pet list after the guppies and cricket died . We got it from QianHu again and they cost $3 each only.

The red color Betta was chosen by Shi Xu while the blue one was chosen by daddy .so here they go and have their own pet to manage ( Let see how many days the fishes can survive this time hehe ... ) .The fishes can occupy the father and son for hours,they enjoy seeing the Betta from time to time .

I wonder what's after the Betta fish ?Tortoise would probably be the choice because of its long longevity haha ...So next time if you see the tortoise in our tank ,you will know what had happen to their Betta fishes ^_^.

**Shi Xu @ 27.5 months

We made a trip to QianHu（仟湖 )fish farm last Saturday .There are so many types of tropical fishes there .My little boy was very excited looking into each fish tank and running around.

Qian Hu provides fish spa service and "longkang" fishing in its Agro education centre . Longkang fishing is something different which use small fish net to scoop the fish from the fish pond instead of using fishing rod .Longkang fishing is not free , it cost SGD5 per pax for 30 mins .It comes with a small fishing net and mini fish tank.The good thing is you can keep the fish tank and fishes that you manage to catch afterwards.

We had lots of fun with our first "longkang "fishing at Qian Hu .Shi Xu was busy scooping here and there though he failed to catch one .He is thrilled to no end with his fishing adventure there .

Finally we managed to catch around 15 guppies and they naturally became Shi Xu's first pets . He loves to see the fishes eating and swimming in his mini fish tank.He intensely engrossed in seeing the fishes swimming in the tank at ANYTIME,after his shower , before and after his nap,before and after his dinner ... . He just love them to bits .

It was too bad that they all died after one day (*sob sob*) ,perhap the PH of the water is not suitable for them . nonetheless , what matters most is the experience for the kid.

Qian Hu is definitely a place worth revisiting next time .Shi Xu is asking when is our next trip now . ^_^

How do get there :
Closest MRT station: Choa Chu Kang
Bus Service: free shuttle bus service available on Sat, Sun and public holiday from Choa Chu Kang and Boon Lay MRT stations.
Taxi: from Choa Chu Kang station, around S$8, 10 mins
Opening hours: 9.00am – 6.00pm (Monday to Thursday)
9.00am – 7.00pm (Friday to Sunday and public holidays)

**Shi xu @ 27 months

Sometimes Shi Xu will blurt out some words which not supposed to be spoken out from a 2 years old toddlers .That is funny !

Shi Xu:" Accident! Car car OVERTURN . 死了!"
He knows the consequences of an car accident .
Accident happen->car overturn->passenger die .Whew!

He used his finger to made a shape like flute and told me that "mummy ! You see! INSTRUMENT !" ( he was telling me that he was making a musical instrument)and he held a CD on his hand and pat it and told me that "Tambourine !" (he told me that he was playing tambourine)

I was watching <<学警雄心>>Hong Kong drama and that had one scene the police from Police Academy were marching through the field ,he looked so excited and told us "Marching!"

Shi Xu can differentiate "spill " and "splash " very well . Shame to say that daddy and i fail to do so .when were asked , we would also say "the water(in his bottle) splash out "(sorry for our poor English,hehe..)
However , Shi Xu can differentiate them very well .When Shi Xu enjoys his shower time and has his water play , he will say "splashing" while he splashing the water. however , when he is drinking water and he will remind himself don't "spill" out .

"Accident,overturn , die ,instrument ,marching ,tamborine,spill vs splash "the words that come out of his mouth truly set me in awe .



Shi Xu @ 27 months

Shi Xu has been enjoying finger play since last 2 months . He has lots of fun making different type of shapes like triangle , square , oval by his fingers .And he was delighted with the Incy Wincy spider finger play as well.

Since last month , he started doing more complicated finger play .He hold up his fingers in the shape of a gun by lifting up the thumb and point out his index finger and say to us "Gun!shoot you !, "Bang!died already“ ,"Police!Bang!" and sometimes we will just join in his pretend play by saying"Arrgh" and pretend is dead .

And recently , he like to use his "body language" to comment when he finds something is good .like as usual he only says "hmm, very good! ",now he also thumbs up by uprighting his thumb(sometimes he still fails to upright only the thumb but most of the time he can do that)

Now he is practising to make the V sign (victory hand gesture ) .He has great fun in his finger play .

**Shi Xu @ 27 months

Children will use the language they are exposed to and familiar with. If family members,friends and teachers use Singlish, he will likely pick up the rhythm and speech patterns that make up Singlish .

Shi Xu is one of the example . He has learnt to speak singlish . I have no idea he picks up from us or the teachers in school . Anyway I do feel that we should start our children off on the right path and teach them to speak proper English at this young age. We have to be more mindful of language now .

Here are some of his singlish
Shi Xu :"Where is my handphone leh ?"
Shi Xu :"be careful ah !"
Shi Xu :" Dont move ah ! "
Shi Xu :"Wait ah ! "

**Shi Xu @ 27 months