Thomas & Kally

His understanding

2012-02-07T17:23:00.015+01:00

has reached a better level. After we told him we are taking him to the childcare, he started his crying already in the apartment. His cries were the loudest ever at the childcare. I called the dagis at 10am to check how he was. Apparently, he has been very upset and constantly needs to be carried. He cries himself to sleep at 9am :( despite having his longest sleep these 3 weeks yesternight.

Dad

2012-02-05T20:05:00.008+01:00

carrying the two little tigers.

大头娃娃

2012-02-04T20:00:00.028+01:00

One of the better lion dance performances around the neighbourhood. This one left Ian trying to imitate with a fan. He would ask to replay this video over and over again.

Grandma's 93rd birthday celebration was held a day earlier so we can attend.

Catch up at Poh Ling's

2012-02-03T19:39:00.027+01:00

It's really hard to measure about a year's time until you witness growth (see previous posting). Last March, we gathered at Poh Ling's place, and this time Yifei managed to joined us too. Enoch is sure one lucky lad, he has a total of 7 ride-ons, definitely enough for his mum to open a day care. Next gathering, the mums just got to gather at her place, while the kids run lose. There's enough to entertain more than the number of kids EFF churn out ;)

Toofdoctor @ Duxton

2012-02-02T19:24:00.015+01:00

The time came for dental checkups., and looks like my husband is very pleased with his since all he has was praise for my dr. friend Aiyan. Patient, explain things in detail, pretty etc etc. Thank you Dr. Lum, it's really nice catching up with you every few years.. haha. She is also one of the few friends who manage to carry Ian, since the boy is so particular with new people.

Date night

2012-01-31T21:21:00.002+01:00

Martinis at Morton's Bar and steak sandwiches.

Lo hei

2012-01-30T19:05:00.001+01:00

It's Ian's third trip to Singapore before he gets to see the busy Jane during her lunch. We had lunch at TCC before walking her back to her office. A picture at the Fullerton's lighthouse which is older than us.

For the first time at home, we had Yu Sheng, thanks to my sister who bought and prepared it. Ian certainly thought it was fun tossing food around. This is a new year dish symbolising abundance, prosperity and vigor. Different new year greetings are said while different condiments are spread.

Keppel Bay

2012-01-29T21:26:00.000+01:00

Today is the 7th day of the lunar year, i.e. the day where human beings are created according to legend, therefore also dubbed as everyone's birthday, so of course that's another reason for cakes. We met up with Adel at Prive, one of our favourite cafes as it is not overcrowded there.

We have always love Keppel Bay. With Adel, behind us the famous Reflections condominium in the background.

EFF Day by beach

2012-01-29T20:07:00.000+01:00

One of the most effective 2h spent. The beach date was at 9:30am-11:30am with 9 adults, 4 kids and 2 dogs at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa, and that duration is long enough to have a swim in the sea, play with sand, have a beer, a laugh and a shower. Huiying has touched her mummy by gulping down her ribena after Sookoon and I labelled her mum as naggy..simply adorable. Jojo is a princess just like her mistress, and prefer to sit around, though we must really thank her for guarding every bags since most of us are just down by the beach. Lleyton and Jaden have proven to really be non-identical twins with completely different characters, but pretty similar speech pattern like "no touch", "no kick" ... hehehe.

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

2012-01-28T16:17:00.002+01:00

Howard and Evelyn introduce us to a perfect water area for kids. After having a french brunch at Le Petite Cuisine in Serene center, we headed to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden at the Botanica Gardens for some play time. Ian seems to be having the time of his trip since finally the parents are well enough to take him out for play. He even takes it in good sport when some kid pours a bottle of water on him and laughs.

Bubbles

2012-01-27T09:07:00.000+01:00

a childhood activity since our times.

Journey 2

2012-01-26T04:38:00.030+01:00

I watched the first Journey 3D with my mum and brother in Malaysia some years ago, and now the Journey 2 3D is on the big screen in Singapore, so we have to watch it together as it is just amusing to watch 3D with my mum. My dad and sis were home with Ian. The boy apparently signalled to his aunt for milk, drank his milk and fell asleep without fuss before 11pm. He has been sleeping around midnight to 1am during his time here.

Ian's first lion dance

2012-01-25T16:58:00.016+01:00

It is always said that kids are either frightened by the lion dance or loved it. Well, Ian loves it, just like his dad when he first came to Singapore. I never ever fuss too much over it, even though one probably gets to see it only during the chinese new year period. This performance took place at a shop in the neighbourhood. Generally when shops opened after the chinese new year, they would like to invite such a troupe to usher in good fortune for the coming year. Ian basically keesp signalling to get out of the apartment to check out for more performances. One literally has to show him from the window or to bring him down just to convince him there aren't any more. Then of course came searching the performance in Youtube to cheer him up at times.

Ian and Jayden

2012-01-24T18:10:00.002+01:00

The cousins about 1.5 mth apart at granduncle's place.

Ian in his Chinese New Year attire, trying the Bruce Lee's pose.

Family portraits at the Istana

2012-01-24T17:45:00.000+01:00

Istana in Singapore is like the White House in the States. It only opens to public a few times a year. This year, we decide to take our CNY family photo (usually taken at home in the living room) there instead. Our little boy becomes one of the main attractions after he stripped to his diaper on the president's lawn. (Honestly, how many can be this naked without being taken away here?) He kept running to the fountain no matter how far we put him away, much to the delight of the many photographers.

春到河畔 River Hongbao

2012-01-23T17:06:00.025+01:00

After resting for an entire afternoon, Thomas is able to go out for a breather. My dad has been wanting to bring his grandson to river hongbao ever since he arrived but it either has been raining or both of us don't feel too well to be out. This is the first time the Martial God of Wealth （武财神）

is used. It is believed that the placement by the bay area will help stabilize the Singapore's position in this tumultuous global economy.

Around the neighbourhood

2012-01-20T18:01:00.042+01:00

The boy has been spending quite an amount of time around the neighbourhood since both his parents have been sick for the longest time with a deadly sorethroat virus. I get progressively worse since I arrived and finally resort to seeing a doctor and having antibiotics after losing my voice. Thomas got sick 2 days after. Thankfully, there are more than enough hands to take care of the boy here. The number of birds and cats roaming freely around here is very interesting for him. He loves to get down and check them out.

Another of his favourites got to be this "Dumbo". Can't believe it even play Chinese New Year music around this period. This must be one of the cheapest rides left in the country. For 20 cents (ca. 1 sek), you can hardly find them anywhere else. They cost easily 1-2 dollar in malls.

I love it

2012-01-18T08:43:00.000+01:00

when granny showers me. My family is crazy about giving Ian a bath/shower. He will be cleaned at least twice a day. His uncle even "doved" him up yesterday. Goodness! Thankfully, there wasn't any noticeable reaction.

16 month old

2012-01-17T17:23:00.028+01:00

Here's another cake for Ian simply because his parents and uncle and aunt love a good cake (from Rive Gauche) and need a reason to celebrate. What's more appropriate to do that on his 16 month, since he even happen to receive a present from auntie Emmeline today (Thanks for the intriguing billingual jigsaw). The boy actually gets too embarassed with all the attention even though he loves being celebrated, that he can't really blow his candle.

Jet lag

2012-01-16T18:21:00.000+01:00

This morning it was an hour later, the boy waked at 3am and pointed at the bedroom door, signalling he wanted to get out. We had to show him that everyone is sleeping. Still, he wanted to be up, perhaps got really awake after we changed his diaper and he pooped. The noisy birds started singing as early as 3:45am and the boy got quite a scare, and basically was hugging as like us like a koala bear. He hardly wants to be let down after that, so we decided to take him down to the market as business at the prawn noodle stall had started. He simply loves the fishcake. After the ultra early breakfast, they all managed to fall asleep, but I on the other hand could not sleep till way past 7am. Really old now, these trips down lately, I took a couple of days to recover from it.

This haircut is taking too long...

2012-01-15T17:25:00.000+01:00

We landed

2012-01-14T17:50:00.000+01:00

The boy is familiar with his grandparents and seems to have memory of their apartment. He is running around happily. Unfortunately, he refused to be let down when we are visiting our greater family and friends.

Lufthansa A380

2012-01-13T17:30:00.000+01:00

Perhaps no one really likes to travel on Friday, the 13th. Despite not being at the airport 2 hours in advance, there is actually no queue and flights weren't full so Ian actually has his own seat which is really comfortable. This is Ian's 15th and 16th flight. It seems we are able to match his months with the flight he takes. He fits the bassinet just right now, so it is unlikely we are able to make another long haul just before he turns 2 years.

Mama

2012-01-08T21:14:00.061+01:00

I told my cousin recently that despite the boy was able to say Mama, he hardly ever says it and the last 2 days, he was saying "Mama" non-stop. It meant a lot of things, it meant "I want to be carried", "Please help me", "I want to eat" (He meant to say mum mums), etc etc. It basically works cos it was so accurate, so earnest. He also hardly called his dad, "Pappa", instead he tried saying "Daddy". It is really random his choice of words. This weekend, we heard "Apa" (swedish for monkey) when he sees a monkey picture and that weekend with his cousin, he learned a Malay word from him in the short 2 days. He often said "BaaBaa" if he sees a sheep/lamb picture. A rather annoying behaviour in the morning is him wanting to skype, he would keep pointing the computer and waving. He used to be able to go to the living room and play by himself while his parents tossed around in bed, but these days, he mastered the art of pulling and dragging us, whinning if either one of us don't drag ourselves out of bed to cater to his demands. He started watching "Pluto's birthday" on youtube, and can be heard laughing. It's worrying how frustrated he gets over laptop and mobile phone and how near his eyes are plastered near the screen, we tried to limit and engage him in other things, but they are in so many corners of the house, that each time he saw them, he goes crazy. Thomas said, if we ever get him an ipad, we will never ever see him again.

Stomach Flu

2012-01-05T21:02:00.012+01:00

It felt like running a marathon the last 2 days, even though I never ran one before. Legs were weak. I have never been down like that, sick for almost a week. Besides the need to run to the loo, I was otherwise pretty ok, and was able to read mails and work a little. Really felt bad for starting a new job this way, considering we are going to have vacation soon.

Deadly darn virus and toad skill

2012-01-03T21:42:00.006+01:00

Ian had a fever free day. I was feeling much better as well. I was even prepared to go to work the next day. Late in the evening, after I told Weiying that I would see her at work tomorrow, diarohea started after 9pm.

The boy had a new pattern recently. If he did not get what he want, he would stand where he was, hunched down with hands on floor and wailed. It looked like he was practicing "Ha Ma Gong" (Toad skill) from one of the wuxia novels, The Return of Condor Heros, which we will strongly recommend if you would like to catch one of the good Chinese serials. Thomas loved it.

Now, I m down

2012-01-02T20:37:00.010+01:00

I felt bad trying to force the boy to sleep because I wanted sleep. Then again, it was probably my forcing that he was well fast. I never suspected my headache and my body call for rest was a sympton of going down. My day was miserable till my savior was off work. I was feverish, cold, and aching all over. Was this the winter vomit bug? None of us throw up? A viral fever?

What a start!

2012-01-01T20:11:00.035+01:00

Can't believe one of the first phone calls we made this new year day was to get an doctor's appointment. Calling for appointment making here is like calling to a game show since the day's appointments are limited and you would have to call the next day if it is full for the next day's appointment. At 8am, I called using 2 lines and just I was gleaming that I m at queue no. 1, my stupid touch phone hanged up just when the person picked up. Thankfully I have a backup plan, of the other phone being in queue no. 3. Despite the boy's high temperature of over 41 degrees and his constant pointing to his ear, and our worry that he has yet another ear infection, it turned out that it was just throat infection. Phew. Now, we really can celebrate with a champagne since on new year's eve, this has to be put on hold just in case we need to drive to the hospital after the call to 1177 left me in disbelief. The person advised that ear infection can wait, at worse the ear drum will burst, and this will normally make the kid feel better. Duh, why would I want to wait till my kid lands himself in this state? Surely, the ear drum can repair itself, but why does it need to be this way?

Leather anniversary

2011-12-31T19:51:00.057+01:00

Unexpectedly, Ian ran a temperature after dinner yesterday, so we did not have a good sleep. Thomas claimed we probably suffered from over-eating since we have to run to the toilet shortly after dinner. (Í googled, there is indeed something called chronic diarohea). In short, something was not right, but we did not know what it was. We were generally fine but the boy was not in his usual since he rejected a whole bottle of välling yesterday night and half a bottle this morning.
Nevertheless, we tried to make the best of what it is. After breakfast, we decide to go ahead with a really short walk just around the hills behind and was rewarded with some very fresh air

and a frosty experience. Winter was indeed here!

The boy either hated the outdoors, i.e. being put on grass or he was really not feeling well. He was so miserable when we took him out of the backpack.

We left for Kivik before heading back to Malmö but the musteri was closed despite the fact that we did checked their opening time.

Eat, eat and eat

2011-12-30T19:29:00.027+01:00

We took the day off for a short getaway to the Österlen. First stop was lunch in Malmö at Italia Il Ristorante before the drive. The ambience there was calm and pleasant with the right amount of people at the time we were there and lunch was enjoyable.

The final meal of the day, a 3 course at the gastgiferveri where Thomas had lamb and I probably tasted my first moose meat after all these years in Sweden. Before this, we went for spa separately since unfortunately, there was an age limit of 16years.

Happy Birthday brother/uncle Kelvin!

2011-12-29T19:58:00.000+01:00

Uncle Kelvin waited for his nephew to be back from his day care to cut his birthday cake. Ian gave him a smile or two and also quite a bit of attention while the birthday songs are being sang but his patience ran out after Kelvin seems to have an ultra long wish.....

We better watch out

2011-12-28T22:12:00.002+01:00

of what we do daily as the boy learns the most unexpected things. I was out from the shower and was combing my hair. The baby on seeing, wanted my comb, so I gave him his comb. He then walked to his little IKEA kitchen, "turned on the tap" and have the comb under the tap. Then his dad said, "wow baby, you learned from daddy, and wet the comb before using". Amusing that he does that all of a sudden, you never know when the little brain picks up information and when it decides to apply. By the way, the father never ever wet his comb under the kitchen tap, only in the bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is not intended for the boy to see fireworks this way. Lights were almost out in the apartment except the bathroom and his room. He was helping me to fetch the laundry from the machine to be hanged. As he was walking from the bathroom, he heard a BOM, and then a rather big splatter of lights bursts in the sky, i.e one of those nicer fireworks that last for a while. He got a bad fright, I could really see him jumped, ran towards me screaming. After which, he refused to be let down and was hugging me really tightly.

Leaving Småland

2011-12-25T23:03:00.050+01:00

1 year difference = 1 head taller :) One of the last few pictures with his cousin Erik before we leave to his grandparents to bid farewell and then home. Thanks Kenneth and Yenni for hosting us and all the presents and food. You can see how much Ian loves your food by the size of his tummy that night.

Home to open his last present. We know he is a bit young for it but he really loves food so...The recommended age is 3yrs so he is not tall enough and the magnets to the doors are too strong for him. (He could open those at Ikea easily but his dad has to tape these). Surprisingly though at 15months+, he actually knows how to add spices when given the spice container, and tries to serve. It's really adorable when you see him trying to balance the cups and bowls on a tray and walking across the living room to serve you. We must have pretend dinner for at least 20 times in that few hours.

Christmas

2011-12-24T19:30:00.001+01:00

Thomas was playing train with Erik while Ian joined his uncle in some construction work. His uncle even found him a little hammer, but his cousin quickly came over and said "It is mine". He must have said that phrase over 50 times in a day and thankfully Ian was not upset about that as he simply always moved on to his next toy.. hahaa. .

To Småland

2011-12-23T23:51:00.002+01:00

The drive to Småland was surprisingly calm even though Ian has slept 2.5h at the daycare. First stop was at his grandma in Sävsjö before continuing to his brother's at Vetlanda for the stay. Ian's cousin, Erik, has been waiting for him for a long time and seems really excited when we came, jumping around and screaming with joy. He even joined Ian in bed with his bottle of välling, sharing the same pillow.

Action room

2011-12-21T22:40:00.000+01:00

I told Thomas before that the boy does slide when I put him at the top of the slide a few days back but he did not believe me. While picking the boy up today, I m surprised he is climbing up to the slide by himself. It does seems a bit dangerous at some moments before the video was taken. We went Svågertorp today again to pick up two pieces of furniture from IKEA and ILVA respectively.

Grandpa see, Grandson do!

2011-12-20T23:30:00.004+01:00

Texas Longhorn

2011-12-19T22:56:00.003+01:00

Has come to Malmö. By chance we drove past and spotted it. This is one restaurant we associate it with the times in Linköping, so of course we need to dine there again since it is since 2005 or longer. I remember having grilled lobster the last time (yes sounds strange to eat lobster in steakhouse, but they have done it well). We made an impromptu decision and dined there after picking up rice in Möllan. It can be rather stressful as well as amusing seeing Ian demanding on what to eat. There go half of my half lobster within minutes and still he is pointing for this and that. Imagine both his parents catering him one after the other immediately. Exhausting and then he let out this “ahhh” after sipping water, and we could only laugh at his satisfaction.

6 kr brekkie for whole family

2011-12-17T21:54:00.000+01:00

For addition of 2 little warm sausage and a bacon, since it is free breakfast for members day. The boy simply loves meat, and he is picky enough to eat the sausage and spit the skin… wow. He is 15 months today.

Ian's childcare christmas party

2011-12-15T21:58:00.001+01:00

It's now Ian's turn for a party. Unfortunately, we were somehow really late as we understand that the party is anytime from 1730h. We saw the last bit of Lucia when we arrive, which means Ian is not part of it. Perhaps it is for the better since he is really shy and keep getting out of the dance later. Honestly, I have never seen such a chaos, as those kids are piling on top of one another and a boy even snatched Ian's bun right under my nose.

IKEA

2011-12-14T21:23:00.032+01:00

Thomas has julbord (christmas feast) today, so I took the boy to eat out as well. Somehow we ended up at IKEA since the weather was bad and that is the only place I can think of where the parking is sheltered. I have never seen so many people in IKEA on a weekday. It is really not easy managing the boy as well as getting food and getting a baby chair at the same time. Thankfully, for some reason the tray trolley seems to fit nicely into the other trolley Ian is on. Still, it is difficult to stop him from trying to eat from the tray. While I was trying to reply his dad's message, he started scooping lingon (cranberry). After dinner, he hanged out quite some time at the kitchen. I was surprised he can slide down by himself. I tried to take a video, but everytime I put him up, he slide down before I can turn the camera on my phone.

Goal!

2011-12-10T13:16:00.000+01:00

Where is everyone?

2011-12-09T13:06:00.018+01:00

The boy was really frustrated that there wasn't anyone online today. We experienced this a couple of times but never captured it. He just want an audience basically, cos once Skype is on, he will just walk away to do his own stuff. During his meal times, he will sometimes signal for Skype to be on. A few days ago, his dad has to be his video conference partner since everyone in Singapore has gone to bed.

We need to bring him out more

2011-12-08T21:12:00.002+01:00

This is the message I received at work today. Looks who's talking? I m always the one who wants to bring the boy out and brought him out alone at times.
K: Why?
T: He is so miserable.
K: Why is he miserable? (my experience tell me he normally enjoys outing)
T: He hate walking on the grass.
K: Of course in this weather and he is sick!! He should rest at home
Now a video of my poor miserable boy, I would be the same. It is like 5 degree outside and we are all down with flu.

Winter tyres on

2011-12-07T20:53:00.002+01:00

All prepared for snowy days.

Ear infection

2011-12-05T23:07:00.001+01:00

Video is taken at the waiting room, I don't understand how come Thomas told Ian it was a banana which results him in making the "fruit sound", when the boy even gestured star. As Ian was coughing a lot last night, I decide to try the vårdcentral again since I did not manage to get a time last week. Thankfully I did as he turned out to have ear infection. He did not have any trouble with the doctor checking his throat or ear, nor did he has any rejection towards his medicine which the doctor warned us against, showing us how we have to hold his head to sprut it in. In fact, he seems to enjoy it.

Julkalender

2011-12-04T17:06:00.000+01:00

Ian and mummy went christmas shopping while daddy went running. They came back with 7 packages, all for daddy. As daddy could use some of the pressies now and there's this Julkalendar (christmas calendar) tradition in Sweden where you get 1 gift on each calendar day in December all the way to Christmas, Ian gave him some to open. Daddy seems relatively happy with the presents and already tried them on.

Keeping the boys happy

2011-11-30T21:34:00.000+01:00

with Tintin toy from happy meal. Thomas is trying to solve the puzzles in the book while Ian is very happy with Milo.

French resistance ceremony

2011-11-27T21:16:00.018+01:00

On the way to the Mulhouse airport, we are fortunate to witness a little ceremony by the French resistance and also get a picture taken in a French tank.

At Basel airport, Thomas named my escargots casserole "The massacre of Snails" even though it was a peaceful lunch with the little one sound asleep. This short weekend, I have escargots at every meal except breakfast.

Christmas markets in France

2011-11-26T23:59:00.003+01:00

Probably a surprise

2011-11-25T21:39:00.012+01:00

when he found his parents dropping him at school today, and then picking him up earlier than usual. He did not even managed to have a bite at his cheese sandwich when we came and swept him off to catch the plane. The swissair flight was really pleasant despite an active kid (really harder and harder to fly with him), as we were offered an extra seat for the baby and a bretzel to keep him entertained for almost half the flight.

We learned that no matter how seasoned travellers we were, the senior citizens couple from Denmark just were a notch better. Wisdom probably comes with age. They not only did their homework and knew the price to the shuttle bus, they did not stupidly waited like us for almost an hour at the station. We waited for the Mulhouse train, instead of hopping on any train that goes to Strasbourg which would have stopped at Mulhouse.

Anyway, we arrived at the French Manchester way late, and only have dinner past 10pm. The boy was sleeping till we just started with the food of course.The boy simply loves hotel beds, he is always so happy whenever he is put on one on arrival.

So it was really "3 days fever"

2011-11-24T22:06:00.000+01:00

otherwise known as false measles in Singapore. No symptoms, just fever. Ever since he was sent home on Monday, he was running a temperature of 40 degrees, with record hitting 40.8 degrees yesterday night (it could be more since the thermometer doesn't seems so accurate). In the course of the 3 days, he did not have any ipren or avedon, since he ate well, and played well and today poof he is fever free, just in time for a short day tomorrow and the weekend. How well this was timed.

Rejecting greens

2011-11-22T09:35:00.011+01:00

In the weekend it was asparagus, today was peas. At least for now, if you hide them, he is not smart to shake his head. He is at home again today, send back on monday late afternoon due to high temperature.

Sleep-eating

2011-11-19T01:39:00.008+01:00

Ever heard of that? We think Ian just demonstrated that. We heard some noise in the next room, and Thomas check it out. There is Ian making some mouth munching movements with his hand to his mouth, and then another sound of cry, seemingly frustrated because there is nothing to eat really.

Grizzly

2011-11-18T22:21:00.000+01:00

Brought the boy to check out Grizzly since little Liv seems to like it there. By the time I walk one round in Burlöv alone with the boy, I have to head home. He is just too heavy. By freak accident, I have another burst vessel in my right knee by landing on a small sharp stone while trying to get him to wear his shoes...arggh. After dinner with Furstenfass's GALA red, I got into a cleaning frenzy, and dettol wipe the whole kitchen and dining floor. Now, my feet is singing.

HFDM again

2011-11-17T10:13:00.000+01:00

This time it is Thomas. He is feeling crap with a mouth of ulcers, 1 or 2 blisters on his hands. Ian is 14 months today and bad idea to let him taste chocolate mousse. He could not stop and get upset when could not have more.

Dinner for 3 at xxxlutz

2011-11-16T09:55:00.001+01:00

I like to dine at xxxlutz as just outside the restaurant, there are tons of toys to keep a toddler busy, also this is probably the one of the few places in Malmö where there are interesting desserts. Today is the first time we ordered a kids' set for the boy in Sweden, meatballs of course (you can pretty much guess the kids meal here, it is either this or spaghetti). Before driving off from home, he have a full banana. Looks how full he has become.

Skyping

2011-11-15T20:53:00.000+01:00

My parents' new Sony TV arrived, together with the Sony Skype webcam, and they are eager for us to test it out, so I video skyped them using my Xperia Ray while picking up the boy, so they can watch him live at the daycare. As amused as they were seeing him picked his boots, watching them sitting in a row kind of amused me as well since it is like a mobile video teleconference.

Model for Sony Vaio?

2011-11-13T23:16:00.000+01:00

Skyping singapore, looking every inch engineers' kid. He has 3 choices of drink on the table; välling (cereal), fresh milk and water but he has no time for any.

Duplo joy

2011-11-13T15:38:00.001+01:00

Playing with mummy's duplo farm set that is about 30 times older than me.

HFMD

2011-11-13T15:01:00.000+01:00

Can't believe they allow kids to go to the childcare center in Sweden when they have HFMD as long as they have no fever. Of course, other kids will get it. Many more blisters popped up today, 8 in total for his feet, 1 on the lip and 1 on the hand. He is generally well, just cries once in a while and very much last night. He starts to reject food around tea time.

Höstblåsor

2011-11-12T14:27:00.006+01:00

literary translation is autumn blisters. Thomas saw that on the board in the childcare yesterday about the center having it. I saw that a few days ago, not giving it much thought since the board normally contains information of what they do, such as they are going to the library etc. I thought it is some autumn thingie instead of associating it with a disease. That is actually Hand Foot Mouth disease, and as unfortunate as it is, I saw 2 blisters this morning, one under his tongue which Thomas thought it is some left over food that got stuck and one on his big toe. Crap. Now, we need to give him cool meals so it do not hurt, so some beehoon for brunch for a start.

Ian's right hand

2011-11-11T14:53:00.009+01:00

This sunday is Swedish's fathers day, and the childcare helps the kid to make something for their dads. Here's a very defined Ian's right hand.

Car 1st check up

2011-11-10T13:21:00.001+01:00

The front right lamp of the car did not chose a better time to fuse out, it burnt out the evening before our car check up today. We got the lamp 15 mins before the scheduled time and drove to the car test center. I went in to register seeing he was almost done with fixing it. He changed the wrong lamp! The digital billboard shows our car plate and the door of the garage opened 5 mins before our scheduled time. Thankfully in the end all went well, the next check up will be in 2 years.

Crêperiet

2011-11-08T23:39:00.004+01:00

The evening’s plan is to pick up the photobook from Japan Photo, and dine in Malmö since driving to and around the city always seems very much an effort. We dined at a new restaurant today, one we have been wanting to try but is always closed. Crêperiet it is called, and it is a very nice surprised the moment we went through that door. The ambience and the decor almost transport you out of Sweden. With the coldness and darkness outside, and the coming in to a warm cozy place, if you let yourself immersed by all the new surrounding, you will feel like you are in France wondering which galettes you should order. The prices are reasonable too. We have enjoyed ourselves and it certainly felt like “date night” even though our little boy is with us.

The mini with the mini trolley

2011-11-07T21:18:00.001+01:00

Malmö

2011-11-05T20:29:00.034+01:00

One of the rare saturdays where we actually get into the city. By city, I mean the shopping street in Malmö. We are supposed to pick up the photobook from Japan Photo but it is actually closed as it is a red day today, i.e. All Saints Day! Arrggghh and I did check their opening hours. We came across a new french patisserie in Davidhalltorg. Patisserie Ambiance is quite tastefully decorated and the pastries are reasonably price. We got flan parisien home to try and the boy loves it. Kristy and family were also at our place in the afternoon as 2 year old Liv wants to see little Ian. It's really nice of them to meet though they don't play with each other yet.

Ian and William

2011-11-04T22:37:00.001+01:00

Elisabeth and William came over this evening and Ian warms up to them in hardly 2 mins He seems to enjoy all the attention and is bustling around so happily that there is hardly any trouble putting him to bed. William is amazingly tall at the age of almost 15yrs. Heard lots of meat and MAX are some reasons ;)

Parents' Meeting

2011-11-03T23:27:00.000+01:00

We attended our first parents' meeting and Ian is the only kid there. A photo slide show is played and Ian is seen sweeping the floor, painting, carrying a handbag etc. According to the review, Ian likes food and pens. He also likes to sit in his pram and have his toys around him. Pretty amusing since I witness that twice this week; once was when he was outdoor, and kids were playing in the sand, he preferred to "supervise" from his pram. (well, if it were me, I would like to be comfy in the pram too in such grey weather rather than being dirty in the sand :D). Second time was yesterday when he was the only one who had the pram indoor and sitting in it looking at the rest who were bustling around. Looks like my kid has learned from young that one need to sit high to have a better view.

Seeing ghosts?

2011-10-31T19:21:00.000+01:00

Ian looked really shocked when we skyped his dad who was sitting in his room. This is the first time we tried to show him that the person you are skyping with do not necessarily need to be far from you. I got him down to walk to his dad but he just refused. Guess he is confused by all the interaction on the screen and yet when he turned back, he could see his dad there as well. In the end, I have to carry him to his dad and tried to show him he can see me as well.

Skeleton in Closet

2011-10-30T20:16:00.002+01:00

Theracough

2011-10-30T09:53:00.000+01:00

Heard that is effective but disgusting (the father has confirmed the disgusting part yesternight). Now, this is all captured in the boy's expression when he first has it. Now, we will have to think how to let him take it again. The good thing is at this age, he don't know how to spit, such as gurgling when brushing.

Kids and their trolley

2011-10-29T14:34:00.001+02:00

Ian saw a couple of older kids pushing the trolley and he wanted to do the same. Note that he stopped to applaud himself.

Fever free day

2011-10-28T22:31:00.003+02:00

One would have thought the boy must be aware of the 1 day fever free policy as it seems it were almost it is delibrate that he is running a temperature so low (no more than 37.5) on Thursday that allows him to play with so much vigour. He has managed to stay home for one entire school week, missing his first party at the dagis (probably not worth it after they change from a halloween to a teddy's party since they think 1 year old aren't familiar with ghosts). Guess what he has learned after a week home with his daddy??? He has learned how to ask to switch on the TV. Anyway, here's how the day unfold... in the morning, he has a skin clinic appointment for his eczema. According to the specialist, asthma and eczema are basically one family, and since both our families have background of asthma, that is probably the reason. Anyway, he will still be tested for milk and egg just in case. While I was sitting at the bed talking to the doctor, I felt being raised cos little Ian is pumping me up. The third picture shows an idyllic dog dagis not too far from Lund. I went with Sihua to pick up her after work as she was kind to give me a lift home. Then it was hotpot dinner at Kristy in Hjärup without poor Thomas who has caught Ian's flu since wednesday. Finally, it is a late rush to pick up Ian's prescription at the apotek before shopping and going round the whole Burlöv Center with a trotting little boy. That was tiring.

Ipren = I spring

2011-10-25T22:19:00.001+02:00

The afternoon dose of avedon did only temporarily bring down his temperature. 40.2 was his highest recorded. He was just lying around on us and pretty motionless, panting rather heavy. We called 1177 and I went out to get ipren. Just a dose, he is like before or even more active, springing around like crazy and refusing to sleep.

Watching from afar

2011-10-24T22:48:00.001+02:00

We took a moment looking in through the door to see what's our boy doing before picking him up. Thomas said he was rolling around with a girl. By the time I look in, within seconds, it almost seems he has telepathy that we were there, he looked up and started springing towards the door. During dinner, I noticed he wasn't as interested in his food as he was actually watching tv from afar!!! I just had to walk over to switch it off to make sure he did not learn such habits. Some time after we put him to bed, we realize he was breathing hard and suddenly he was down with fever again! Crap, we both left our laptop at work today as we totally don't see this coming. Thomas joked that he probably got it from the girl he was rolling with. He has to VAB tomorrow since I have meetings.

Indoor play area

2011-10-23T16:38:00.000+02:00

I found a rather nice indoor play area today at Caroli along with a newly renovated ICA Malmborgs. I did not manage to take my own sweet time browsing along the shelves since I took the boy out alone and I won't want to test his limit of being strapped to his pram. I even managed to have him not protest a wee bit while I check the sales out at Lindex. Since friday, he has new clothes daily.

Wooden harmonica

2011-10-20T21:00:00.001+02:00

The harmonica finally arrives, and the boy is like really happy for at most 10 minutes, then that become his other toys.

Skeptical look

2011-10-20T15:29:00.006+02:00

Are you kidding me? This is breakfast?

First one in, Last one out

2011-10-19T20:48:00.015+02:00

Ian is first one in the dagis today, and the last one out for his group. It seems we are really hopeless since every time we made it there, his section is closed and he has to join the other section's kids. Seriously, I really wonder if how many people place their kids for a full day, i.e. 8hrs or more since one is supposed to be able to work a full work day before the pick up of their kids.

Been over 5 years

2011-10-18T17:31:00.002+02:00

since I stepped foot in Skåne. It did felt a while ago when I attended the last company event, but certainly it did not felt like over 5 years. Nevertheless, Thomas kindly V.A.B. today so I can work and attend the company event.

V.A.B.

2011-10-17T20:57:00.000+02:00

means Vård av Barn (Care of Child). This can often be seen in OoO (Out of Office) messages and like it or not, there seems no end to this leave. I have been "vab-ing" since Friday. It is irritating how contagious children are. He is not even in dagis (childcare) for 2 weeks, and he caught a flu. I m on the way down too, even though I have been drinking Echinacea as a preventive measure. Seriously sick kids are just dirty and messy, there is no way to avoid any mucus/saliva contact. Ian is 13mth today, he also have his highest recorded temperature to date. Poor me, and of course poor him.

Guinness Stew

2011-10-15T20:42:00.000+02:00

The boy who had his dinner an hour earlier could not resist our Guinness stew, so he sits at the table again for his second dinner at 2032h. Guinness is supposed to be good even for the sick, and since there isn't any medicine for him, let's see if he has a better night sleep after this.

Boy is sick

2011-10-14T12:34:00.000+02:00

so I built him a tent to cheer him up, only to realise I have forgotten how big the tent is. I knew something was amiss when we pick him up at the dagis yesterday, but we try to think it must be too much outdoor playing in this under 10 degrees condition. Thomas called in to say the boy is sick today, and heard only 1 kid show up together as many were sick. I really wonder who is the irresponsible one that send a contagious kid to the childcare. Thank you Helen and Tommy for Ian's gift, the size is perfect.

I sweep

2011-10-12T15:19:00.015+02:00

It is really nice that the dagis takes pictures of the children in one of their many activities. In the picture with Ian is a boy only a month older. Kids here are really bigger in size than asian kids.

"Window" Shopping

2011-10-11T22:25:00.001+02:00

One of my new found internet hobbies is "window" surfing around Amazon for toys. Today, I was really amused by a new addition for 2010... the playmobil pool set (see bottom picture) where there is water slides, and the review even said the pool is quite deep for playmobil people..lol. Unfortunately, that is for 4 years and on. For Ian, he has to stick with "Playmobil 1.2.3" instead which is for kids from 1.5 years. These 2 sets look rather interesting since it would be possible to relate them to books. Currently, he is playing with my Duplo farm set, and I suspect that he is able to tell at least 2 of the 4 animals when I asked in different languages for them. He definitely knows the pig. I often try to show him the real objects, like banana, apple or similar figures toys like sheep, horse if we have them when he flip through the pages. Oh, there is also this new playmobil 123 set that I disqualify since I can't really tell or name the animals... hahaa.

Chores @ 1yr

2011-10-06T23:28:00.019+02:00

Thomas mentioned that the boy enjoyed playing with the broom at the dagis, and so we thought this activity could be extended at home. He might as well makes himself useful in his play, and collects whatever dust there might be right? Housework must be instilled from young anyway and it's never too early to start.

iSad

2011-10-06T17:11:00.009+02:00

Woke up to the whatsapp message that Steve Jobs has RIP. The boy starts at 8am this morning and he seems to wake up from the wrong side of the bed. It seems that he recognised the dagis's door and hissed a sign of protest when I enter the premises. He is just pretty upset and I did not manage to sneak away until more than an hour later. He keeps looking for me, coming for a hug or to be carried. When he could not spot me, he will start crying or going to the door and slamming it with tears streaming. It was not until his fruits time at almost 10am, that I managed to get away. The teacher only managed to lure him away after I get her to show him the plate of fruits. When I come back an hour later, the boy has fallen asleep on the teacher's shoulders, so I went back home for a quick lunch. Generally, the dagis put kids to sleep in their own pram outdoors regardless the weather. You can see the row of prams just outside the windows. They believe this is good and healthier for them. Here's an article on this rather common nordic practice.

Meatball lunch

2011-10-05T22:48:00.002+02:00

The third day of the "dagis" (daycare) is 3hours and he will get his lunch today. The first 2 weeks of this adaption period is called "inschooling". 1st day 1h, 2nd day 2h, 3rd day 3h, 4th day 5h ... It is a cliche that his first lunch is swedish meatballs as many would have teasingly thought. I left him for 40 mins, and it is said he has 2 portions of lunch, i.e. 4-5 meatballs plus a plate of couscous. He is amazingly meek at the table, which is pretty surprisngly since most of the time, he could not wait.

At home with his new bookshelf that his dad made him in the weekend.

Green fingers

2011-10-04T20:13:00.001+02:00

This is just one of the activities you won't really want to do at home and is what daycare centers are for :) According to his daddy, he cries seconds after these are taken when he saw his green fingers.

First day at Dagis

2011-10-03T21:34:00.014+02:00

It's our boy first day at childcare today, and like most parents, we have difficulty waking our kid up. He is supposed to be there at 9am. At 8.40am, he's still in bed. 3 mins later, we have to pour his cereal down his throat, and 4 mins to 9am, we strapped him in the car. At 9.00am, he is standing outside his class for mummy to take his first day picture. As a result, he's a minute late on his first day..hahaha.

1 year vaccination

2011-09-30T10:04:00.000+02:00

A few hours after we arrived, Ian is scheduled to have his first year vaccination. Surprisingly, he has not hit the 10kg mark, even though measurements in Singapore indicated that. At 1 year 2 weeks, he weighs 9870 grams, and have grown 4.5cm in 2.5 months. (I don't really believe the growth, I thought he was a bit stretched). Ian having a bath with his new pirate toys from both our cousins which he kept throwing out of his small tub :P. Thank you Shynn, Ken and Jaden!

Time to go

2011-09-29T21:59:00.020+02:00

After a late evening swim, and a round of local food from chicken murtabak, chicken rice to zinger, we are off to the airport. Thank you all for a good time. The boy did a sensational and emotional farewell inside the customs, he mirrored each hand of grandma, Kelvin and Kelda.

Sand-tosa

2011-09-28T16:51:00.006+02:00

Kelvin took the day off so we went Sentosa with the tickets Eve left us, mainly for Ian to play with sand. We settled for Tanjong Beach as that is quiet and actually have a tentage where we gladly settled ourselves under since my dad kept saying it is too warm for his grandson. So his first sand experience is in tropical climate with shade from the sun. And of course, he took a spade of sand and directly put into his mouth.

Squirrel Bank

2011-09-26T16:24:00.034+02:00

Ian is now a POSBkid and for a moment I did thought we have opened an account with Scrooge's bank. There is not even a squirrel moneybank like when I were a kid but a piece of cardboard where you are ask to fold into a cube and there is a slot where you can drop your penny. Perhaps they thought the dollar extra they gave when you open an account with them is more than generous enough. They probably forgotten that it cannot even get you an ice cream cone these days. Ian also has his first plain pocky sticks today.

F1 night race Singapore

2011-09-25T23:28:00.018+02:00

One of the reasons we came to Singapore. One of my oldest pals, enticed us with tickets of the night race if we were down. Even though we are not fans, we are glad for the experience. Thank you for that evening and spending time with us!

Marina Barrage

2011-09-25T16:08:00.006+02:00

is a pretty nice place that we will certainly go back there just for Ian to splash splash but perhaps in the evening or really early morning. Around 10am is already too warm.

Swimming with uncle and grandpa

2011-09-24T19:42:00.003+02:00

Kelvin has been wanting to arrange a swim together with dad since the day Ian arrives and finally manages at the last weekend at Safra Mt. Faber. He also came up with a new dive technique which I thought was rather smooth :)

Playing the harmonica

2011-09-23T19:21:00.002+02:00

The send off

2011-09-22T18:33:00.000+02:00

Today marked the fifth and last day of my grandpa's funeral. The send off was rather magnificant of today's age, considering he is not someone famous, just that he has many descendents. This was a send off he would have liked and wanted. It was the first time we went to Mandai crematorium and the first time I touched a human bone. It was also the first time I experienced at the end of death, what is left is really just no more than a bag of bones. There is not even ashes.