Something different...

Daddy suggested driving down to Geylang for "dou jiang you tiao" on morning instead of the regular hike. Breakfast ended early at 9.30am and the tennis court looked exceptionally empty probably due to extremely hot day in the morning.

Mummy decided that there was sufficient time for a workout before Lleyton attend his class at 11.30am, thus promptly got ready the gears and off they go!

Both kids were overjoyed as they were free to roam around the court with the balls and rackets . Don't they look like professional players (except that they were holding "badminton" instead of tennis rackets)?

18th months leanne and 3.5 years lleyton

The months of April and October often call for some kind of celebration, as they mark the 0.5 years development and birthdays of both the kids. Time flashes past and now Leanne has reached the age of attending childcare. Mummy registered her in the same school as Lleyton and she will start full day playgroup in a few weeks' time.

Meanwhile, she has turned demanding in many aspects, more fussy, more stubborn.. She also recently got her very first hair cut since birth. Lleyton has physically grown taller, talks non-stop but sometimes with intelligence, and replies his age as " I am three years old, going to four years old". At times, he will start his baby-ish language just to imitate his sister and irritate his parents.

Nevertheless, they are a bunch of joys and definitely takes the tension and stress off work after working hours. Happy 18th months Leanne, and Happy 3.5 years to Lleyton!

The kiddos' development

These kids are definitely growing fast.. with Leanne eating almost the same portion as her brother, and playing games that her brother is playing. That is the reason why the big brother has been reminded several times that he ought to set good examples for his little sister.

For a change, besides building his Thomas the train set, Lleyton now prefers to do his writing exercises and maths activities nowadays, and has taken an interest in spelling. His usual phrase: "Mummy, XXXX (e.g. truck) - A B C D is what?". What he meant was to find out how to spell a certain word. To date, though he can spell only a couple of words (i.e. Lleyton, apple, cat, cap, car, brush, bus - almost) on his own, it is still a good attempt. He has been teaching Leanne new words as well. Glad that they are helping each other.

Flyer accomplished again!

... the hike that is (after the 1st attempt in 2008), and one of the more challenging routes as the "less vibrant" stretch along the Kallang River and F1 track makes the route seem longer. Fully equipped with the proper footwear and the right gears, the family set out towards the destination earlier than usual on A Sunday morning. The kids appeared seasoned on such hiking trips, as Lleyton's stamina has built up with less complaints and requests to be carried. In order to keep to a more consistent pace, Leanne has the benefit of being carried at times.

Breakfast was at CBTL, Millenia Walk. As Lleyton was running late for his class, the decision was made to take the MRT back home. That definitely pleased the kids!

Mummy certainly looked tired from the late nights (watching Guess X3) and having to wake up in the early morning. Oops.. no pictures of the flyer? Disclaimer: The pictures were collated from different hikes as Mummy just can't recall which Sunday the hike took place.

Usual CNY family shot

An attempt to capture a family shot, something which has been done every year after everyone has dressed up and right before leaving house to bai nian. Leanne was resisting so badly throughout the session, and the helper has no idea how to hold the camera straight, those are the outcome of the series of CNY shots for this year.

In the end, only one shot seemed reasonably acceptable (in fact, it was the very first shot after the photo was cropped to remove the part of the finger image that blocked the lens)

Happy Lunar New Year!!

Another day at USS

To make good use of Annual Pass, the family braved the weather and proceeded to USS as planned. 天不作美 indeed, it started to pour and the entire place was flooded. Fortunately, Lleyton and Leanne were both well-equipped and shielded themselves from the rain with the matching raincoats. A good half hour was spent watching the 4D Shrek Show, followed by the "Flying Dragon Car" which was Lleyton's 2nd attempt since his visit last Nov.

Leanne giving the look: "Huh? USS again?"

Don't they look like 2 little ducklings in rain gears?

The rain makes everyone hungry.. 20'' pizza almost entirely finished (except for one piece) by the family of 4, including Lleyton and Leanne who had their fair share

The hikes

Lleyton and Leanne went on a few hikes with Daddy and Mummy, but the real agenda for Lleyton was to have the chance to take the "Thomas" or the bus.

Beach Road Prawn Noodles and National Library
Lleyton went on the same route almost exactly 2 years back. Look at how the two kids enjoyed the delicious prawn noodles. In order to fulfill Lleyton's request to take the bus back home, Daddy planned a longer route towards National Library such that the bus ride is more "worthwhile".

See the same boy 2 years ago.. yummy!

A change of clothes after the prawn noodles. Looks like she is posing.. her expression looks exactly like Mummy when she's young (or that is what Mummy thinks)

To Paradiz Centre and Plaza Sing

That week's itinerary was to take a stroll down memory lane towards Plaza Sing. Daddy and Mummy has ran out of ideas on urban hikes especially when Lleyton insisted that he wants to take the train. The difference was that Leanne doesn't seem to fall asleep like Lleyton in the Baby Bjorn carrier, and remained curious and alert throughout the entire journey.

Not that many photos taken until the last leg of the trip.

A comparison against half of the same route 2 years back.

The next challenge will be the hike to the Flyer!

A morning at the beach

One Sunday morning, Daddy drove the family to East Coast Park for Lleyton to practice cycling. Thereafter, the family proceeded to the beach for some sandplay.

Both Leanne and Lleyton looked wet and sweaty after the morning of fun!

Updates on the kids

What's up?
Mummy received numerous comments that this website has been rather inactive... yes, it is true that the posts are held back by Mummy. She wonders if anyone will even come to this site for an update after the long silence.

There's nothing too exciting within these fews months.. except that both Daddy and Mummy are so tied up with work on weekdays, and too lazy to blog on weekends.

The kids' development
Leanne has started walking very steadily since the beginning of December, to the extent that she could even play "catching" with Lleyton. Very cheeky and playful girl.. and lotsa laughter from her. She can say quite a few words but most of the time only Lleyton and herself what the conversation is about.

Lleyton has progressed to N2 and comments from his N1 teachers were that he has been rather vocal in school and can mix very well with almost all his friends in his class. Lleyton is FINALLY toilet-trained in the day (err.. most of the time at least.. with some accidents especially on rainy days?) He had his 3rd birthday celebrated in school and performed in the year-end concert.

Daddy trained them to sleep by themselves in their room after having milk. He claimed that this was made possible due to the Mummy's late nights at work (i.e. not around to disrupt the routine).

Leanne learned that the "naughty" corner was meant for "naughty" people. She has proven the point it by walking to the corner automatically upon Lleyton saying the words "naughty mei-mei". In actual fact, Lleyton was the naughty one but accused Leanne of being naughty.

Daddy reprimanded Lleyton firmly that he should never tell lies. Though not entirely sure, he was taught the hard way to speak trufully at all times.

The trips
Spent 3 days 2 nights at Festive Hotel, Resort World. Visited USS 3 times during the trip with the use of the Annual Pass. Lleyton loves the "yellow" accelerator. Daddy & Mummy went again all by themselves on their 5th year anniversary.

Went on a few hikes with Lleyton and Leanne, to build stamina and "walking" skills.

-The not so pleasant

A few trips were made to KKH: -
1) Lleyton hit his head against the edge of the TV console. Left for KKH with bleeding wound. Though a little swollen after the blood dried up, the doctor convinced Daddy and Mummy it should be just a superficial wound.

2) Leanne diagnosed with dengue fever after 5 days of persistent high fever. Surprisingly no mossie bites on her (more bites seen on Lleyton though). No admission required, thank goodness.

3) Had 4 jabs at a single visit (including a blood test to follow-up on her dengue). Nothing too unpleasant. Slight fever and back to her usual self.

Photos
Shall be posted later.. in a separate post. Watch the space...

Photos & Videos from Lleyton & Leanne's Birthday Party

Here are some of the better shots and clips from the event last Sunday.

Lleyton having fun before the event begins, trying out his tricycle, remote control boat, and bouncy castle in quick succession.

The stars of the day