Catching!

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Dave LUUUURVES catching games...it's his favorite, just like mummy's.

Family Bath Time

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"More Pur-leeeeze!"

Mmmmm...Da Poalo's Gastronomia is now opened at Great World City. Finally succumbed to the temptation and bought myself and j one of their delectable-looking desserts. For $7.00 a box or what i deem as two servings, it's a steal. I must have "window-shopped" on at least 4 previous ocassions before finally making it to the cashier on this one. Almond Pistachio Cake...It appears sickeningly creamy but is actually generously-packed with nuts and whatever cream there is, is delicately flavoured with just the right amount of rum; Not at all hard on the gut. Mmmm....grazi!

Dave "Sayangs" 4-Month-Old Baby K

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Napping with Friends

 

Dave has a bedtime routine for his furry "friends"...He shushes so everyone will keep it down, feeds them water from his water bottle and pats them to sleep....just like how mummy and daddy does with him.

K and Dave

CLICK HERE to see K and Dave Kiss

CLICK HERE to see K and Dave Hug

"Dutch Lady" Impersonator

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David found a new use for diapers.....

Lesson in Anatomy

Dave is learning the different parts of the human body......

Dave, Simpsonised

OK, I decided to, "why not go overboard and simpsonise J and dave as well?" So there.

My hubby, Simpsonised

What I Would Look Like As A Simpson Character

I found that out when i got myself simpsonised...real easy, go to the website and upload a photo of yourself. V fun...

http://simpsonizeme.com/#

Happy National Day

 

The extended family celebrated National Day (Happy Birthday Singapore!!)at the beach. When we arrived and saw the crowds, J commented, "O my gosh, half of Singapore must be here!" Anyway, Dave had fun with sand and we tucked in on McDonald's. Later, the Chong threesome camped out at Marina Bay to wait for the fireworks. We hunted down a rare parking space, dodged questioning policemen, sat out for more than an hour with grass n mossies and skipped much-needed sleep(dave)...ALL for five precious minutes of fireworks. We video-ed it for some friends out of the country...island and michy, this is for you. :) Click on "fireworks."

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_147060.html

A Grandfather's Love

 

CLICK HERE for Video.

It never fails to amaze and touch me whenever I witness dave's grandparents' love, protection and doting of him. Here's grandpa doing a "horsey ride" for dave...

Domesticated Dave

dave is becoming such a great little helper to mum. He helped mummy to hang the damp laundry, cleaned the sofa of breadcrumbs (the mess he made himself) and even helped mum with dinner. Look at how lovingly he picks the mint leaves for tonight's carbonara pasta.

Dave's Latest Headgear

Watch out for the next big thing to line up the Paris runways in headgear fashion...

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Godiva-licious!

I always thot the brand "Godiva" must suffer quite a bit from its unclear sexual identity - whether to be a god or a diva. Apparently, if I understood correctly from it's marketing literature, "Godiva" happens to be a long-haired, horse-riding legendary being. I still don't know what relevance it has with great-tasting chocolates...I didn't have the patience to read on. BUT look what I've got! A whole box of godivas waiting to be offered to and sacrificed in my mouth. Even tho' "esta cuesta un ojo" compared to supermarket brands, it may well be worth it. Good dark chocolate is like medicine to me. A good book, a good CD, a good company and a good chocolate completes a good afternoon.

David is Belly Confused

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This episode made me roll unto my tummy for quite a while...dave comes up with the most innocent confusions. Here's where he thot dada's belly button was...

Kissy Kiss Kiss

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A typical conversation to negotiate a kiss from dave goes like this:

Mummy: "David baby, KISS KISS mummy please."

Dada : (whispers to dave) "David, go kiss mommy, go go..."

David :(distracted and runs to play with toy truck)"..........KOK! KOK! KOK!"

Mummy: "David Shooooooo-gar, c'mon kiss mummy, c'mon.." (puckers up)

Dada : (whispers to dave)"C'mon buddy, go give mommy a kiss..."

David: (distracted,runs and points to door)"....DOOR! DOOR!"

Mummy: (begs pitifully) David, PUR-LLLLLeeeeeeeeeeSE..."

David: (finally patters over and plants a wet one) "....muarck!"

Mummy: "heeeee......."

And all's well that ends well.....:)

Growing Pains

Dave's got a haircut today. As usual he screamed his head off....
We've started bringing him to "Junior League" for his haircuts about 3 months back. It's IMPOSSIBLE to give him a DIY at home these days. He wrestles me like a champion. The "hair-dresser aunty" there is efficient, skillful and sympathetic. I suspect she feels like a villain every time she gives Dave his cut. She tries to cajole the tearful boy with balloons and sweets. Dave, upset as he is, usually flatly declines. Poor thing. I mean the poor aunty. Anyway Mummy at least is happy with the result. Yipppeeeee! I had been wincing each time I laid eyes on Dave's static afro-like hair in the past 2 weeks. Right now he averages about one trim per month. If the pattern stays, he'll probably get used to having his trims and will grow to love the electric shaver in no time. Fingers crossed......

The Yummy Fist Pump

Some do it after they score the winning shot (ala Michael Jordan), others do it after they hit a home run, and for the local flavor... some do it after they score a goal.

David does it after he eats something he considers, "yummy". Thanks to Grandpa Toh, David's latest gesture is the "Yummy Fist Pump".

Above he demonstrates after eating a bit of cheese.

"Is it yummy, David? Is it yummy?" someone asks.

David's reply is usually then, fist pump - fist pump - and then a big grin.

Hogs Breath Rocks

MMmmmmm...I would recommend the Hogs Breath Cafe at VivoCity. Good service and great food. We had Chicken Dijonnaise and Hogs Breath Double Cheese Burger. Sorry we forgot to take pics cos we dived in the moment they were served. Chicken breast was grilled just right without dehydrating the meat..amazing, as I don't usually fancy breastmeat. These ones were joooo-cee. j had the burger and we liked how the beef patty was dark pink but wasn't so underdone that it would "moo" at us. Major PLUS points goes to the fresh and hearty side-servings of salad. Fresh, fresh, fresh ingredients! It always does 90% of the job for me. We'll return for more.

P.S> For those lugging young children around, they've got clean baby highchairs and an accessible balcony area with a great view of the sea with boats, monorails, trucks and people....if you've got antsy-pantsy toddlers who INSIST they wanna run around after dinner.

Friends with Fish and Roos

Weather was perfect today so OooooooFF to the zoo!! Grandma and Grandpa tagged along this time round. They were such good sports playing with dave that i began suspecting if he enjoyed their company more than that of the animals.

What really jazzed up his excitement though were the upclose and personal encounters with some friendly animals at the Singapore Zoological Gardens..an award-winning zoo by world standards. He said "hi" to his all-time favourite fishy friends. Kept pointing at them saying, "Ah! Ah!" Then while dada was handing out roo food at the kangaroo enclosure, he gave a couple of 'em some good whacks on their backs in his delirious state (it's his way of making friends u see..he hasn't learnt to be civilised just yet).

Aside from his borderline-violent behaviour to some poor roos at the zoo, I can really see his love for animals developing. :)

These Shoes are Made for Walkin'....

TAH-DAH!!! Dave's first real pair of shoes. Cute aren't they? "KAH-WAH-EE NEH!" Got them at Vivocity's Mothercare outlet. These were the biggest sized pair available for its kind...specially for pre-walking stage. Soft leather, easy to wear and balance in. $35.90....hope they turn out to be a worthwhile investment...dave's feet grow so fast. Fact is, every part of dave is growing so fast. He's gonna have some fun in these shoes tomorrow!! Probably bring him out on some excursion. Zoo? Botanical Gardens? Sentosa Cable Cars? It's been raining "kittens & puppies" these days if not cats & dogs. We'll see.....

My Little Leader

Just before his bedtime, dave searched for my hand, grabbed it in his and pulled me along with his unsteady gait towards the bedroom where dada was waiting with the bedtime story. I felt unsure as to what to do at first cos I had my heart set on finishing up some chores. But I decided to let my little scout lead the way for mummy...and yup it felt nice.

Tried and Tested Ways to Cut A Toddler's Hair

I used to not understand why mothers would wail about giving their toddlers their monthly trim. NOW I know why. It doesn't help either when dave, thanks to his wonderful genetic inheritance, has loads of 'em since birth, resulting in war-like proportions type of haircuts. And O, did I mention his next one is due soon?

The first two haircuts were a breeze. All we needed were his jumbo baby seat, a bowl of water and a pair of scissors. As he grew in awareness though, he got suspicious of the apparatus and learnt to distrust them near his ears or the back of his neck....all hell broke loose.

Next, all forms of fathomable bribes and bribery were unashamedly offered, especially things that he isn't usually allowed to touch. Remote controls, mobile phones, calculators, expensive CD jackets and their jewel cases, my painstakingly-put-together scrapbook pages, daddy's underwear, etc.

Other times, we switch on the TV and turn up the volume to maximum to hold his attention (j's idea) on the screen while mummy snips sneakily away. When we are troooo....ly desparate, we hit the channel for Arts Central where the Bollywood hunks and damsels are gyrating away. The strange-sounding foreign language arouses dave's interest and distracts him from our hair-reducing mission. (Also j's theory)

Now, for the tried and tested, proven methods....at least for us. Here's what has worked...

1. Cut his hair while he is napping on the big bed. (yes, there's lotsa cleaning up afterwards but i found using a sticky lint-remover roller does the trick. Just roll along the bedsheet and voila!)

2. Cut his hair outdoors or along the corridor where he can socialise happily with neighbours. We've tried this only once and haven't tried again since cos we were too embarrassed to "book" an appointment with our neighbours. But if you are on super-friendly terms with yours, use them!

3. If your toddler is a greedy one, tempt him with a cookie or other finger food which he can chomp on relatively non-messily. We give dave "Wang Wang Baby Bites". It's low in sugar btw.

4. Divide the "salon experience" into 2 sessions or more. It's more bearable this way for toddlers with little patience to hold still for too long.

5. Most importantly, STOP when your little one is genuinely crying in distress. We did so when we found that david hated the sound of the electric shaver. Attempt another time with good'ole, manual scissors.

Of course, I know that what works now may not work the next minute, day or month. That's the amazing thing about young children. They teach you to think out-of-the-box, paradigm shift and manage crisis-control. And all this without prior warning or convening a meeting. Oooooooo....I deserve a session of serious spa treatment.

Having said all of that, I MUST add that this hair-cutting experience for me, albeit a hair-raising one, has evolved into kind of a love-hate relationship. It's stressful l but there's this irresistable intimacy also that forms and grows with little dave everytime I give him his trim. Think about it, how many people's hair have you cut or even touched? You don't walk away feeling the same after this sort of interaction. It's starting to feel like it's a priviledge to cut his hair...much like it feels a priviledge to be his mummy. Awwwwwww.........

Anyways, time for me to get friendly with the neighbours!

Head-Spinning Feat

April 21, 2007

dave's newest trick is to twirl himself around while seated on the ground. His bum firmly on the ground and feet propelling him in one direction, he finds it fun going round and round, giving the bedroom floor a good polish at the same time. I think it all started with his fascination of our bedroom ceiling fan. He stares at it for yonks and it lulls him to sleep on his daytime naps...a hypnotising effect. What's best about this spinning feat is on completing a 360-degree turn, he gives himself a round of resounding applause. Clap! Clap! Clap! CLEARLY this is an early attempt at building his self-esteem. Lately, in an attempt to show Dave what involved parents we are, j and i have begun joining dave in his twirling acts. So there goes the Chong family twirling themselves on their bums and clapping their hands in unison on the bedroom floor. How else to spend an otherwise mediocre, eventless Saturday afternoon? Clap! Clap! Clap!