Skyler's 2nd Year Blog

To all Family and Friends of Baby Skyler,

Thank you for your faithful readership and for all your love for Baby Skyler. We’ve started a new Blog for Skyler’s 2nd Year. You can simply click on the link at the side bar on the right or go to http://www.skyler-2.blogspot.com/.

With Skyler’s birthday on 28th December 2006, this Blog, Skyler's 1st Year, is now complete. Please do continue to visit Skyler’s new Blog, and do leave a little message or two of love for our Little One!

Skyler’s First Birthday

Dearest Little Skyler,

IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!

You’re one year old today, Little One! Wow! Time has really flown by! Papa and Mama can’t believe that you’ve been in our lives for one whole year already!

It’s been a real experience for us, Little One. Being our first child, you really had to bear the brunt of our inexperience and ignorance. Thank God that our ignorance was ameliorated somewhat by the accessibility of information on the Internet! Mama spent so much time surfing the Net for all kinds of information about how to take care of you that we actually did not feel like we were unsure of what we needed to do most of the time! :D This is really a vast difference from when your grandparents had us. They depended almost solely on the experience of other Papas and Mamas during that period of time to guide them. And if they did not have any wiser, more experienced parents to guide them, they were left on their own to raise children with little information or none at all!

To round off your birthday celebrations, we brought you to the Globetrotters Restaurant in United Square for dinner. Of course you couldn’t eat the food there but Mama had read that this place catered for children i.e. they designed the place with families in mind - there was an attached playroom for children to play while the parents ate, they had dedicated children’s menus and the whole place was brightly lit. We had invited Kow-fu and Kow-Mo along as they really love you and wanted to be with you on your birthday too. Kow-fu got you a balloon to play with. We also took turns to bring you into the playroom to look around. (Mama and Papa were a bit discouraged by the look of the playroom so we took you out quite quickly - it wasn’t very well maintained.)

Surprisingly for Papa, Papa met up with his long-lost secondary school classmates and their families there. Uncle Sang Chong and Uncle Craig were Papa’s secondary school classmates and Papa had not seen them since we completed our secondary education in 1984! Papa and Mama had bumped into Uncle Craig and Aunty Samantha (Uncle Craig’s wife) a couple of times over the years but we never really had a chance to catch up with each other. Both Uncles have three duckies now. It was really cool for Papa to have met them. They were quite close friends of Papa’s when we were in school. :D

After we had had our dinner, we moved over to Swensen’s for ice cream. We had their Firehouse Happy Birthday Sundae in honour of your birthday. Mama fed you just a bit of it since it’s actually yours. :D But we were afraid that you might not be able to take it so we limited it to just a bit. :)-

Happy Birthday, Little One! Papa and Mama are so glad that you are our Little Baby Duckie!

Papa and Mama

Boxing Day

Dearest Little Skyler,

Today is Boxing Day, i.e. the day after Christmas. There are several guesses amongst us as to why it’s called Boxing Day but Papa’s guess is that this is the day the most people in the world who celebrated Christmas will box up all their Christmas trees, decorations, presents, etc. :D

Today was also the day we celebrated your birthday with our families.

We had your 3rd Birthday Party with Mama’s family i.e. ‘po-po’, ‘kow-fu’ and ‘kow-mo’. We were supposed to have celebrated together with Papa’s family but as ‘po-po’ could not make it at night (as per the original plan) we had to have a birthday lunch instead.

We had a log cake for your birthday cake. Then ‘po-po’, ‘kow-fu’ and ‘kow-mo’ gave you their presents! ‘Po-po’ gave you a jade chick and an ‘ang pow’ while ‘kow-fu’ and ‘kow-mo’ gave you an activity centre that made lots of noise and had lots of buttons for you to press. You were so thrilled by it. :D

Later in the evening, we had your 4th Birthday Party with Papa’s family (grandma, ‘ah pek’ ‘ah m’, ‘che-che’ Reika and ‘kor-kors’ Yujin and Kenji) plus ‘kow-fu’ and ‘kow-mo’ came back as well. Once again there was lots of food, noise and yet another cake! :D

Grandma gave you an ‘ang-pao’ and ‘ah pek’ and ‘ah m’ gave you a wooden castle (the kind where you had to move pieces along a wire frame).

So many people love you so much, Little One. This whole period saw a lot of rain every day and yet everyone took the trouble to come down to celebrate your birthday. :D

We love you, Little One.

Papa and Mama

Christmas Day

Dearest Little Skyler,

Today’s Christmas Day! :D Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ! As we’ve said before, this is not really Jesus’s birthday as we don’t really know when it is but the Christian leaders of long ago chose this date to celebrate His birth. You’ve heard the story of Jesus’s birth many times in the past month at Sunday School, Little Girl. We’re sure you didn’t understand what the Sunday School Teacher said then but we’re definitely going to make sure that you know it by heart when you’re older. :D

Today was also the day that we had your 2nd Birthday Party! Mama’s friends, Aunty Karen, Uncle Heng Yew, ‘che-ches’ Vera and Shana & Aunty Bili came to celebrate Christmas and your birthday! Godma Audrey was not able to come as she had gone on a holiday to Europe with Uncle Henry. Aunty Christina and Uncle Wei Lii had also gone overseas.

You spent the afternoon playing with the ‘che-ches’ but because you couldn’t walk properly as yet, most of the time you watched them move around and took part when you could. :D

We had lots of food and again ended the day with another cake cutting session for your birthday! You received so many presents today – Aunt Bili gave you a big ‘car’ for you to ride on and Aunty Karen gave you an alphabet train. You also had a couple of presents from Godma Audrey for both Christmas and your Birthday as Godma says that she will not shortchange you as they are two separate events that you deserve presents for. :D

Merry Christmas once again, Little One! :D

We love you!

Mama and Papa

Christmas Eve

Dearest Little Skyler,

Wow! Today is Chrismas Eve! The day before Christmas – the day that we celebrate Jesus’s birth! Remember, Skyler, that this is not really the day that Jesus was born. We don’t really know his exact date of birth - 25th December is just the day that the Christian world decided to choose to celebrate his birth. :D

We went for Christmas Eve Service today. We sang a few carols and had a sort of Christmas message delivered by pastor. At the end of the service, you received a ‘Mitsubishi Super Great Truck’ from a nice aunty. This was a small little model of a truck. It was a very nice gesture from her. A few of the ‘kor-kors’ also went around giving out candy that their parents had bought for that purpose. However, we didn’t take any as you can’t eat candy yet and we ourselves don’t really appreciate it so much. :D

After service, we headed off to Wheelock Place and had lunch at Fish & Co. There, we met a nice Che-che named June. She was one of the staff there. She was so happy to play with you that she kept on coming over when she didn’t have to serve other guests. She even carried you all the way to the counter to collect glasses of water for Papa and Mama and you let her! :D You are really very socialble. Just be careful in the future, ok? Not everyone is nice and safe.

We then went down to Borders to look for books to buy. We shopped around for quite some time as we wanted to get a Christmas present for your ‘Tai-pos’ as we were going to visit them and ‘Yi-po’.

It was raining quite heavily when we finally set off for their place. We arrived safely and spent some time there visiting before we headed home.

Papa and Mama used to go for the midnight Christmas service but we couldn’t this year as we didn’t feel that it was right to make you stay up so late. It’s usually quite a wonderful experience as the whole church would be packed with people and after midnight, everyone would wish each other a Merry Christmas. Never mind, we’ll bring you when you’re older and can take it better, ok?

Merry Christmas, Little One.

Papa and Mama love you!

Carollers @ The Esplanade

Dearest Little Skyler,

Mama and you met up with Aunty Seow Hwee today. It was a very interesting (and educational) experience I think for Aunty Seow Hwee. It seems that she has never pushed a stroller or carried a baby before and it was her first attempt to do both with you. :D

You all shopped around Raffles City and Mama had very little time to catch up with Aunty Seow Hwee because she spent so much time taking care of you. Later in the afternoon, they waited for Papa to come.

After we left Aunty Seow Hwee, we met up with Grandma as we were supposed to go to church to listen to some caroling. We went over to the location after dinner and we tried to feed you while waiting for them to start.

We got there at the stipulated time but slowly realised that that time was actually the start of their rehearsals for the day. So, we stayed there to listen to the rehearsals. After the event started, Mama and Papa decided to go off.

We all went over to the Esplanade as Mama had wanted to bring you around there the whole holidays and we were running out of time. While we were at the main entrance, we saw a sign that said that the ACJC Choir was going to perform carols at the Esplanade so we decided to stay to watch it. As we climbed the stairs to the designated performance area, you decided that you wanted to climb the stairs too! Of course, Mama had to help you up the stairs, but you were so determined to make it up yourself, taking big steps as you went along.

When we got to the top of the stairs, we sat around and waited for them to begin. On time, they came out and they performed several classical and contemporary Christmas carols and songs. They were quite good.

It so happened that the choir mistress was Mama’s school friend whom she had not met for years! It was quite a coincidence.

When the performance ended, we set off immediately as it was getting late and we had to send Grandma home before heading back to ours.

We love you, Little One.

Papa and Mama

Mama’s & Papa’s 14th Anniversary

Dearest Little Skyler,

Mama and Papa celebrated our 14th Anniversary of being together as a couple today. It’s interesting to Papa that Mama and Papa were together for 7 years when we got married and then it was another 7 years before we had you. We’re so happy to have you here to celebrate this anniversary with us. :D

We decided to go to the Zoo today as the weather was quite good in the morning. When we arrived at the zoo, it became a bit cloudy and Mama wondered if it would rain but it cleared up a bit so we carried on into the zoo.

We walked around to look at the residents there and as you are now a bit older, it was so much more fun as you reacted to the animals a lot more than when we brought you previously. We covered quite a big part of the zoo today and watched lots of the animals. There was also a vegetable patch in the zoo where we could see lots of local vegetables grown. It was quite fun for Papa as he’d never seen most of these vegetables in this form before. However, you missed out on this as you’d fallen asleep by the time we got there.

When you woke up, we headed for the Children’s section of the zoo as there was an animal performance about that time. However, when we got there, it started raining very heavily. Everyone there headed for shelter at the horse stables and we got to watch the ponies and horses close up. When the rain slowed a bit, Mama and Papa decided to head for the exit as it would have been pointless to stay at the zoo in that condition. And we also had to leave as we had dinner plans.

After we left the zoo, we took you to Kow-fu’s & Kow-mo’s as we had asked them to babysit you for us as we wanted to have a bit of private time for ourselves on our anniversary. Thus, you spent the rest of the evening with them while we went to Ritz-Carlton hotel for a buffet dinner. While we wanted some time just for ourselves, we were constantly thinking of you and wondering what you were doing, Little One. You’re so much a part of our lives!

We went back immediately after we’d eaten to pick you up and head for home. Kow-fu and Kow-mo told us that you’d not slept a wink from the time we left and you’d played with everything in their home! :D

We love you, Little Girl!

Mama and Papa

Skyler’s 1st Birthday Party with Mama’s Former Colleagues

Dearest Little Skyler,

We had the first of what turned out to be several birthday parties for you today, Little Girl. Mama invited her former colleagues to our home for a Christmas-cum-Your First Birthday gathering today. :D We’d invited Aunty Doo Guat and her son, kor-kor Matthew, and Aunty Rachel and her son, kor-kor Isaac. They were particularly special to us because they had helped to take care of you before when both of us could not be around. We’d also invited Aunty Patsy and Uncle Han Chung’s family (you remember them don’t you - we’d gone to the zoo with them and che-che Nicole and kor-kor Ethan) but they couldn’t make it as che-che Nicole was unwell.

It was raining quite heavily today but both aunties still took the trouble to come. And even though they couldn’t make it for the gathering as they had to care for che-che Nicole, Uncle Han Chung still came later in the evening bearing gifts for you and the other little ones! They love you so much!

We had prepared ham and cheese sandwiches for snacks and Papa walked out to get some heavier food for our dinner. Aunty Doo Guat arrived with kor-kor Matthew as Papa was leaving and Papa met Aunty Rachel and kor-kor Isaac on my way back. :D

After Papa got back, we laid out the food. Then Mama and the aunties caught up with each other while the kor-kors and you played. :D It was only after we had eaten that Uncle Han Chung came with their gifts. He could not stay as he had to get home to help care for che-che Nicole.

We then got out your first birthday cake and everyone sang you the Happy Birthday song and Mama helped you blow out the candle and cut the cake.

You were so tired out by then, Little One, that you went to bed quite immediately after our friends had left for home.

Happy Birthday in advance, Skyler. :D

We love you!

Mama and Papa

Skyler Can Sit Up

Dearest Little Skyler,

Wow! You can sit up from a lying down position, Little One! We’d come back from the hotel and placed you in your playpen and before we knew it, you were sitting up. We didn’t even see how you did it! We’re so proud of you! But it was also something that made us worried as the playpen height that you’ve been sleeping at is a bit high, i.e. you can easily tip over the sides from your sitting position. So, we had to change the height of your mattress in the playpen.

I don’t know if that was what caused you to not sleep the whole night. Papa had to carry you to comfort you but Papa’s strength gave out at about 3.10 am. Mama was awakened by Papa then to take over. Mama then woke Papa up again at about 3.40 am as she was exhausted too. You finally went to sleep at 4.10 am! Hooray! Sigh… Papa had to wake up two hours later to go to work!

Oh well…

We love you, Little One!

Papa and Mama

Holiday Hotel Stay

Dearest Little Skyler,

We went to stay over at a hotel this weekend, Little One. As I think I’ve said before, this is something that Mama and Papa like doing as it allows us to get away for a while. We decided to stay at the Swissotel the Stamford as we’d not been there before.

When we tried to check in they didn’t have a room ready for us. The desk receptionist informed us that we would have to wait an hour before the room would be ready as they were over booked and some guests had checked out later than expected. In the meantime, they allowed us the use of a waiting room. That’s where we went and we tried to feed you your afternoon milk. Godma Audrey came over then to spend some time with you and give Mama and Papa some time to enjoy our afternoon tea.

When we finally got to the place that served the tea, they told us that we had missed the tea session. However, they were willing to prepare an alternate selection for us and they gave us a table as well.

After the tea, we went to try to get our room but, again, it wasn’t ready so we were upgraded to a Club room. When we got there, it had two single beds instead of one big double bed for Mama and Papa. Thus, we asked for a change of rooms again. In the end, we got back the room that we were originally slated for. What an afternoon! :D By the time we were done and returned to the first room, where you were with Godma, Godma had already tucked you for your afternoon nap. You were so tired from playing with Godma that you fell asleep right after she put you on the bed!

Since Godma still had a bit of time to watch you, Mama and Papa shopped around Raffles City and bought novelty balloons for your birthday. We bought twelve balloons – one for every month that you’ve been with us. :D

Godma had to leave soon after as she had a dinner appointment. We fed you your dinner,

then took you out to walk around Raffles City.

We went to look at your favourite fountain in the basement too!

We then bought food for Mama’s and Papa’s dinner. We ate the food in the hotel room as it was more convenient than eating one at a time in a public place as you tended to want to play when we wanted to eat! :D

In the end, we had to take turns eating anyway as you couldn’t get to sleep. The cot that they provided was too small for you to turn around in. Everytime you turned, you hit the side and woke up. It was such a tiring night. Papa carried you for so long trying to get you sleepy. In the end, we gave up trying to get you to sleep in the cot and placed you on our bed in between us. FINALLY! You managed to stay asleep. :D

The next morning, we went down for breakfast. The staff seemed to insist that all families with little children had to go to a particular restaurant to eat – we think it was to minimize the discomfort for the other guests. Anyway, we had a very quick meal as you were fussy again.

Kow-fu & Kow-mo came later that morning to spend some time with us.

We spent the whole afternoon with them, even after we’d checked out. We had lunch then we did some shopping before we headed home.

We love you, Little One!

Mama and Papa

Kow-Moh’s Brother’s Wedding

Dearest Little Skyler,

We went for Kow-moh’s elder brother’s wedding dinner today at Yunnan Garden Restaurant, IMM. We had to pick Po-po up along the way.

So many people enjoyed playing with you there. However, you had a cold that day and were quite unsettled.

Mama and Papa took turns to bring you outside to walk and carry you as we didn’t want the dinner to be disrupted by the noise you were making.

In the end, we decided to leave early as you were really uncomfortable there because of your runny nose. We wanted to bring you home to rest, so we ended up buying a McDonald’s dinner before we left as we were both very hungry. What irony, considering we were at a Chinese restaurant having a yummy dinner! :D Oh well…

Here's a picture of you appreciating the pretty rose that Kow-Fu gave you before you left. You enjoyed touching the velvety petals so much! =D

We love you, Little Girl!

Mama and Papa

Bambi Given Away

Dearest Little Skyler,

This is the day that we gave away Mama’s and Papa’s first furry pet – our Rabbit Bambi. We had asked Kow-fu and Kow-mo to watch over Bambi for us from before you were born. After that, they continued to care for Bambi for the following year. However, as they are thinking of having a Little One of their own, we had to put Bambi up for adoption.

Papa had put up advertisements at both the Point and the City. Though we got calls from people who saw the advertisement at the Point, nothing came out of it. However, there was one phone call from someone who saw the advertisement at the City and he was the one who came to take a look at Bambi.

Before he came to take a look, Mama and Papa decided to send Bambi for grooming at the City as she had not had one for some time. It was also only fair to that guy if he really adopted Bambi.

While Bambi was having her grooming, Mama and Papa had lunch at Sizzler. We had not had such a meal for quite some time. We used to go to this place called Ponderosa who served much the same fare but it seems to have closed down in Singapore. And this Sizzler seems to be the only outlet that we’ve come across. We feasted there as the salad bar was open for a free flow of food. It helped that you were asleep for the most part so we could eat without worrying about you. J There was a tourist couple there who sat at a table next to us and the lady of that couple kept on looking at you, and when you woke up, played with you. :D

After our lunch, we went to collect Bambi and returned to await the arrival of the potential adopter. He came with his two teenaged daughters. The che-ches were very keen on having Bambi! Their eyes were practically aglow! There and then, they packed her off. Mama and Papa were quite sad as she was our first big pet together but we had to do it for your sake. Oh well… I’m quite sure Bambi is happy enough with her new owners – they seem like they will care for her well.

We love you, Little One!

Papa and Mama

End of Mama’s Exams & Vivocity

Dearest Little Skyler,

Mama took her last examination paper today, Little One! Hooray! We have Mama back again! Mama wanted to be in school early so that she could locate the examination hall and have a bit of time to revise her work so we brought her to school before noon today.

As we had some time before Mama’s examination ended, Papa decided to take you to his school to pass the time. Papa was also hoping that you would be okay for a while so that Papa could do his work but that didn’t work out as you wanted Papa’s attention all the time. Even when you were sleepy, you refused to sleep. Papa carried you for so long but still you refused to sleep. Thus, Papa didn’t get any work done at all. It was a good thing that no one else was in the room that day or we would have ended up disturbing Papa’s colleagues.

Papa then fed you lunch in the pantry and Papa’s boss happened to be there finishing her meal. She sat and chatted with us while you were being fed. She really likes you, Little Girl. She constantly comments on how well you behave and pretty you are. Hee hee!

Since Papa couldn’t do any work in school, Papa decided that we might as well go to IMM to do a bit of shopping. We then proceeded to purchase some snacks, a drink and a magazine for Mama because Mama would probably not have had anything to eat while she was in school studying and she would be hungry after the paper. We also did a bit of window shopping before we went to pick Mama up.

After picking Mama up, we decided to go to Vivocity to do some shopping. When we got there, we looked for a place to feed you your tea. Gloria Jean's, the coffee place, was fairly empty, so we decided to go there. Here's a picture of you with the milk bottle that we carry around for your feeds.

Of course, the funny thing is that you don't use it as a milk bottle but as a cup! You've insisted on drinking only from a cup, so we carry this bottle around as a measuring cup to make your milk and you drink from it as if it were a cup too! People usually give us funny looks when they see you having your milk like this!

After tea (Papa and Mama had a yummy slice of cake too!), we went around to different places from the last time we were there so as to see other things there. It’s really big and there’s so much space for people to walk. There are also a number of art installations there. Here's a funny one of a really tall and skinny snowman looking out towards Sentosa island.

At 6pm, we spent a bit of time watching a music performance outside. Some musicians linked wires from the stage to Vivocity and played on these strings like a giant harp!

It was all quite interesting, but the music was quite loud, so we went back into the mall after a while. Mama was able to spend most of the time with you as she has finally completed her examinations and she is now all yours again! =D

We love you, Little One!

Papa and Mama

Grandma the Whole Day

Dearest Little Skyler,

This is the last day before Mama takes her last examination paper tomorrow. Papa had to take you out again as it was very important that Mama could concentrate on giving a last burst in studying before tomorrow’s paper. Papa had actually intended to take you to East Coast Park to take in the beach and maybe meet up with an old Pre-U friend before meeting up with Grandma as she wanted to complete a chore. However, Papa’s friend could not make it. Thus, Papa decided that he will bring you to the beach any way.

While driving there, Papa telephoned Grandma to confirm the time that we would meet up and realised that she was still at home! Papa had thought that she had gone out. Since she was at home, Papa decided that we might as well meet up immediately and get the chore over with earlier, so we drove over to Grandma’s place to pick her up.

While there, we realised that Grandma needed something from Ah Pek to carry out her chore as she had left it with him. Thus, we needed to meet him. It so happened that he was at Ikea Tampines once again with Che-che Reika and Kor-kor Yujin. So, that’s where we went, once again.

We met up with them at Ikea Tampines and che-che and kor-kor were in the children’s play room. It looked quite big but as an adult Papa could not go in so I’m not sure how big it actually is. It looked quite fun though so maybe when you’re big enough you can go in and explore it.

We wanted to have lunch but once again we could not find any seats at the restaurant. It’s a huge restaurant but it’s simply crowded all the time! It’s amazing! In the end, Granma, Papa, Ah Pek and the others had to go to the deli counter to eat hot dogs for lunch. (You still cannot eat these kinds of food yet, Little One – next year, ok?)

After we’d had our food, Grandma, you and Papa drove to Sim Lim Tower to help Grandma run her chore. It took a bit of time but it wasn’t so bad because you got a teddy bear out of it. J The aunties there were very nice to you and they kept on playing with you.

As we still had time and Grandma had nothing else to do, we decided to go to Parkway Parade anyway. We parked at Parkway Parade and walked around for a bit. Papa had to feed you your afternoon milk. After that, Papa decided to bring us all to East Coast Park as the weather seemed okay.

We walked all the way across and sat on a bench for a while staring at the sea. You had fallen asleep by then and Papa didn’t want to disturb your sleep. However, the clouds started turning dark soon after and we quickly left to head back to Parkway Parade. The rain came down while we were heading back but by then, we were quite under shelter already so it wasn’t so bad.

Grandma and Papa then had a drink before we went back to Grandma’s place to feed you your dinner and then we also had ours. It was later that we went back home to Mama who had been studying all day.

Mama has been so poor thing these weeks, Little One. She couldn’t study during her term time as she had a lot of work to do. So, she had to rush her studies these couple of weeks to try to catch up with her readings. Therefore, even though we had to go out so much and tire ourselves out a bit as we couldn’t take naps properly, it was all worth it because we are helping Mama, ok?

Mama and Papa love you!

Popo the Whole Day

Dearest Little Skyler,

Papa had to attend a workshop today as part of his work so Mama invited Popo to come and play with you. I think Popo was very excited by that as she loves you so much!

Papa left early in the morning so Popo had to come quite early as well. Both of you spent the whole day together as Mama had to study. Popo just played with you and went through all your toys with you. Popo also taught you the action for a Cantonese children's verse "dim chung chung", which is a whimsical verse about children playing with bugs that later fly away. You learnt quickly and repeated the action after Popo to her amazement and delight. Papa thinks you must have enjoyed yourself as you had nothing but 100% attention from Popo. :D

Papa only came back later in the after and Popo could then go off to do her own things.

Papa and Mama love you!

Solo At Church & Suntec City

Dearest Little Skyler,

As Mama still has to study for her next examination paper, Papa took you to church by himself. We went to the Acts Centre and Papa took you to join the junior Sunday School group. The aunties there were curious about where Mama was and seemed quite surprised that Papa brought you by himself.

There were very few people who turned up for that class that day so Papa had the chance to listen to their chatter and learn the names of the aunties and their children. J The Sunday School auntie could not find the music CDs so she led us in three songs before she told us the story of the birth of Jesus as it is near Christmas and then gave us crayons to draw with. After that, we had snack time where Papa took you aside to feed you your milk breakfast. (Later on, Papa found out from Mama that this is exactly what they do every week as the children your age simply can’t do anything else.)

After the service, Papa still had to keep ourselves occupied so Papa brought you to Suntec City. We spent quite a bit of time walking around and window shopping. Papa fed you your lunch and then Papa kept on hoping that you would go to sleep so that Papa could eat. It took quite a bit of time but you finally did fall asleep. By then, we were already at Marina Square so Papa had his lunch there.

Papa had also come across these people who were advertising their bed bugs cleaning services and Papa signed up for a free demonstration. We had also bumped into Aunty Patsy, Uncle Han Chong and Che-che Nicole at the lift landing in Suntec City. They attend a church in the building.

Later in the afternoon, Papa brought us home to rest as we were both quite tired.

We love you, Little Girl

Papa and Mama

Aunty Carene’s Wedding & Aunty Pearlyn’s New-born

Dearest Little Skyler,

Yet another day, Little One, where we gave Mama space to study for her next Exam paper. Today, Papa brought you for his colleague’s church wedding. It was at a church that Papa had not been to before but Papa had a rough idea where it was and based on that rough idea, we set off.

When we got near where the church was supposed to be, Papa saw a sign board that said that we should park there for the church, so, that’s what Papa did. After parking, Papa had no idea which building housed the church, thus, Papa went around asking the people who happened to be around there. It was so funny because everyone Papa asked had no idea either. They all responded that they were new there as well. :D

Therefore, Papa decided to just head down the slope to the main road and see if we could find it. Thank God there was someone at the foot of the slope who pointed out where the church was! It happened to be in the building next to where we were and we had to cross a patch of grass to get there! Thank God the grass was not too long or Papa would have had to carry your stroller all the way! As such, Papa could roll your stroller along to get to the church. By the time we got there, Papa was dripping with perspiration! :D

We waited a bit for the service to start and while we were waiting for the bride to arrive, the MCs decided to rag the bridegroom by asking him stuff that are usually reserved for the wedding dinner such as how he proposed, etc. It was quite funny for this to be done in a church but it was definitely entertaining. :D

After Aunty Carene arrived, the wedding service started. It was conducted in Mandarin and that was a great big challenge for Papa to figure out what was going on. :D They also had a Praise song that was in Hokkien! That was the first time ever that Papa praised God in Hokkien! :D

Oh! I forgot to mention that Uncle Ravi had arrived before then and we sat together. Uncle Ravi played with you for a while and you allowed him to carry you. :D

During the service itself, you were quite fussy so Papa had to carry you to entertain you. We went to the back of the church hall so that we did not disturb the other guests.

There was a little che-che and kor-kor playing there. They were throwing small little pieces of crepe paper and collecting them together before throwing them again. While we were sitting there watching them play, the nice che-che gave you one piece of their crepe paper. She also told the kor-kor to give you one so that you had something to play with. You must learn from their example, okay? You must share what you have with others even when you don’t know them. It’s a nice thing to do.

During the lull in the service, Papa carried you again to near our seats. There was an Aunty who was sitting behind our seat who happened to walk back to her seat while we were standing there. She reached out for you and you happily reached out to her! You allowed her to carry you and she brought you to sit down with her friends (other aunties)! You just happily sat there with them for many minutes! You’re simply amazing! When you are in the mood, you’ll allow anybody to carry you!

After the service was over, we had a reception in a room behind the church hall. We sat with Uncle Ravi, Uncle Jeffrey, Aunty Hui Hon and Aunty Ailin. It was a while before Aunty Carene made her appearance at the reception as she had gone to change out of her wedding gown. She also carried you and you had a photo taken with her! :D

After we left the wedding service, we went to visit Aunty Pearlyn as she had recently given birth to her third child. We drove over there and spent about half an hour there. Aunty Pearlyn daughter was there too. Che-che is about 2 plus years old already. She doesn’t talk much yet but she practically towered over you. It was so funny at one stage as I let you stand up facing che-che and you just kept on poking her in her tummy! I had no idea what you were doing!

Aunty Pearlyn brought us in to see ‘di-di’ and he was sleeping on his front. He was so small – just like you were at that age! It still amazes both Mama and Papa that you were so small then and now you’re so much bigger!

After that, we came back home to rest.

We love precious Girl,

Papa and Mama

Mama’s 1st Exam Paper

Dearest Little Skyler,

Mama had her first examination paper today. We brought her to the examination centre early in the morning so we had to wake up very early. As both Papa and Mama had studied there before, we’d assumed that we knew where the examination hall was. We drove to where we had expected it to be and realised that it was not there! Papa then stepped out of the car to look at the campus map to try to locate the examination hall and realised that it was all the way on the opposite side of the campus! It just goes to show that we shouldn’t make assumptions about things that are important!

After we had let Mama off at the examination centre, thank God that we had factored in a lot of extra time for getting there in case anything went wrong (which did! :D), Papa brought you to his school (another lesson to learn – always factor in time for things to go wrong where important things are concerned so that you have time to remedy the problem if possible). Papa wanted to do some work but you were so awake that Papa ended up spending all his time with you. Papa fed you milk then brought you around to chit-chat with his colleagues to while away the time before we had to go back to pick Mama up. Finally, we left school and headed back to Mama.

After picking Mama up, we headed back to the Point for lunch. You had your first taste of Char-Siew Pau then! :D But we only fed you the skin and not the meat so maybe I should say that you had your first taste of Pau then as you didn’t have any Char-Siew. :D

Mama wanted to study so we left her at the library and we headed home instead as Papa was really exhausted from taking care of you by himself the greater part of the week. Papa had asked Mama for this favour as Papa really wanted to have a bit of a rest at home when you took a nap. However, Mama was also very tired and she came home soon after and we spent the rest of the day together.

We love you, Skyler.

Papa and Mama

Ikea Tampines & Students’ BBQ

Dearest Little Skyler,

Yet another day that we have to give Mama peace and quiet to study. Thus, Papa decided to take you out to visit Grandma and since today is the Opening Day of the Ikea outlet in Tampines, Papa thought that maybe we could just spend the day there. We went by to pick Grandma up with the intention of having lunch in Ikea.

We managed to get into the car park without too many problems. Papa was quite amused by the fact that they had car park lots meant for families with strollers! Papa had initially thought that the lots were for handicapped drivers but they had a picture of a family with a stroller painted onto the floor!

The place was very crowded as it was Ikea’s opening day. As we were trying to find the way to get in, we bumped into Ah Pek, Che-che Reika and Kor-kor Eujin! They had already done their rounds and were leaving! Anyway, we had to queue for quite some time in the car park before we could make our way into the building proper.

Once we got into the store, we headed straight for the restaurant. It was so overly packed that Papa and Grandma immediately gave up any hope of eating there. The queue just to get into the restaurant stretched beyond what the eye could see! Grandma was already so hungry and Papa felt bad that he had suggested eating there. So, we decided that we should make our way out and head back to Grandma’s place to look for food.

Along the way out, we did a bit of browsing. We realised that the layout was practically the same as the one at Alexandra! There was hardly any difference – even the sequence of the placing of the goods was similar. The only difference was the height of the ceiling; the shelves where the self-collection goods were were so high that Papa couldn’t imagine how the store employees would be able to bring the goods down to the ground level!

Anyway, we finally made our way out and headed back to Grandma’s.

Grandma and Papa had a quick lunch at the coffee shop below Grandma’s block before we headed up to Grandma’s to feed you your afternoon milk feed. After feeding you, Papa was so exhausted that Papa took a nap leaving Grandma to take care of you. It was a nap that Papa needed very badly as Papa had been exhausted bringing you out the whole week for so many hours each day!

After Papa had awakened and fed you your dinner, Papa and you went down to Downtown East Costa Sands Resort to visit his students who were having a chalet stay over and barbecue. They were nearby Grandma’s place so it didn’t take us long to get there.

While we were walking to the chalet from the carpark, guess who we bumped into? It was Che-che Reika once again. Ah Pek had brought both Che-che and Kor-kor there after we had met them at Ikea that morning and they had spent the whole day there.

We finally found the chalet that Papa’s students were staying in and we chatted with a few of them for while. They were totally captivated by you! They kept on playing with you and all the che-ches wanted to carry you and it was so funny because each of them kept on declaring that you liked them the most as you allowed them to carry you! You also played with a couple of the kor-kors. Papa didn’t stay to eat with them as we had to go home by then as Mama was waiting for us for dinner.

As we were heading out of the chalet area, we again bumped into Che-che Reika, then Ah Pek and Kor-kor Eujin. They were also preparing to head home.

After getting dinner, we headed home to Mama.

What a long and tiring day for you, Little One. You experienced so many things that day. And you behaved so well at Papa’s students’ gathering.

We love you, Little Girl!

Papa and Mama

Town ‘Mice’

Dearest Little Skyler,

Mama is still studying for her examinations and we have to give her as much time alone as possible to cover the overwhelming amount of work that she has to plough through. Thus, Papa decided that we would go down to town this whole week. As we had to spend so much time in town, Papa decided that we should take the MRT train down as Papa didn’t want to have to pay so much for parking. And this would also allow us to explore as much as we wanted without having to circle around wherever we would have had to park. :D

On Monday, we went down to Ngee Ann City. This is a big megamall almost in the centre of Orchard Road. There we managed to catch the Carebear and Strawberry Shortcake show. After that Papa had to feed you your milk so we went to the nursery on the third floor. I think it was strange for the people around there to watch me feed you by myself as it is not usual for a father to watch over his child by himself. That is, the children’s Mamas are usually around as well. Another thing that may have been weird for them was that you were using the bottle as a cup instead of using the spout. You are really advanced, Little One. Other babies usually progress through drinking from bottles using the nipples then they go on to spouts using training cups before learning how to drink from cups. You went straight to drinking from a cup! :D

We then walked around a bit at Ngee Ann City. There were several long moments where you refused to sit in your stroller so Papa had to carry you in one arm and push the stroller along with the other! It was so tiring! Especially since you were so wriggly!

As we were just shopping in the place, we decided to buy Mama something to encourage her in her studies. After considering so many things, we finally decided to buy a “Happy Feet” soft toy. This was a movie that was being shown in the cinemas currently. Mama was quite amused by the characters in the movie so we thought that having a toy next to her while she studied would amuse her. We bought the toy modeled on the main character “Mumbles”. Mama was so amused by it. Thank God! :D

Grandma came to join Papa for dinner later that afternoon so it was a bit of relief for Papa as Grandma could watch over you for a while and give Papa a bit of rest.

On Tuesday, Papa decided to bring you to Marina Square and Suntec City so as to have a bit of variety. Once again we took the MRT but all the way to the City Hall station this time. Then we took a slow walk all the way to Marina Square. Papa wanted to go to Marina Square because Papa and Mama had not really explored it after it had undergone a major refurbishment.

There was a small Little Robots toy fair going on at the central atrium when we got there. Papa decided to buy you a toy there. After that, we just kept on walking around Marina Square until there was little left to look at. Then we walked over to Suntec City.

We also walked all over until we arrived at Carrefour. Mama and Papa have started this practice of introducing fruits to you and this was what we did at Carrefour for a while. Papa let you touch and smell several fruits including Dragon Fruit. :D You were so thrilled by it all. :D

On Wednesday, we went back to Orchard Road. Papa decided that we would be a bit adventurous that day and walk down the whole of Orchard Road. We started our journey at the Orchard MRT station.

We walked over to Wheelock Place to buy Papa a book from the Borders bookstore. (This rounded off the buying of stuff for each of us. :D Mama got ‘Mumbles’, you got your toy and Papa got his book!) After buying the book, we crossed the road to International Building to collect Papa’s spectacles. Papa had to collect his spectacles once more as they had broken yet again.

After that, we started our long slow walk to Plaza Singapura. It was an interesting experience as Papa had not walked down Orchard Road for a very long time. We managed to see most of the Christmas decorations as we made our way down. As we were passing the Istana, the police stopped the pedestrian traffic. Papa was curious so we waited to see who was coming and I think we saw our President entering the Istana gates! :D

We then went into Plaza Singapura. After walking around for a short while, you were very sleepy and Papa took the opportunity to rest. We went down to the basement to look for a place for you to sleep and Papa to rest. We ended up at Carl’s Jr. Papa settled down with a drink to rest and wait for you to wake up. Time slowly passed and you didn’t get up. After almost an hour, Papa started getting a bit worried. It was such a relief when you finally got up!

Papa then had to buy dinner home for both Mama and Papa so we went up to the Kopitiam. While we were in the queue, you did something that made Papa feel both worried and happy. You allowed the aunty who was in the queue behind us to carry you and play with you. Papa was worried because you are so totally fearless in allowing strangers to play with you – what if you got carried off by someone and Papa lost you? On the other hand, being so fearless made things easier for Mama and Papa when we needed to leave you with someone who could babysit you if we were busy. Sigh… dilemmas of parenthood.

We love you, precious one!

Papa and Mama

Skyler Can Clap

Dearest Little Skyler,

Wow! You’ve demonstrated your ability to clap! We are so thrilled!

Papa feels a bit silly as both of us are so extremely thrilled by your demonstrating new skills but we really are! It’s always so amazing to see you do new things!

Keep learning, Little One! Astound us with what you have learnt to do!

We love you!

Papa and Mama

Aunty Serene’s Housewarming

Dearest Little Skyler,

Aunty Serene invited us to her housewarming this evening. Papa decided to bring you along as Mama still had to study for her examinations.

Papa thought that we were late already as we were supposed to have been there at 7.30 p.m. However, when we finally found Aunty Serene’s place, we realised that we were the first from Swiss Cottage there! :D We were brought over to the Function Room where Aunty Serene and her husband had set out the catered dinner. Aunty Serene’s friends were already there having their meal.

You were so friendly that night and allowed everyone to carry you! As Papa’s colleagues arrived, almost everyone took turns carrying you and they all remarked on how well behaved you were and how friendly you were! It was a good thing too as this gave Papa a chance to have his dinner. :D

We finally left at 9 p.m. as Papa wanted to get you home early enough for you to meet your bed time.

When we got home, Mama had missed you so much once again and we played with you until you were sleepy so we tucked you into bed.

We love you, Little One.

Papa and Mama

A Series of Aunties

Dearest Little Skyler,

Poor Little One! Papa and Mama were so busy this week that we had to ask several of Mama’s friends and Kow-mo to help us take care of you. Mama was very busy studying for her exams and Papa was very busy at work this week. We hope that we won’t have to go through all this again.

On Tuesday, we asked Aunty Candy to come. Aunty Candy has little experience with taking care of little children but she was courageous enough to try. She found you so easy to care for, Little One. Bravo! :D

This was also the day you showed your ability to do “twinkle, twinkle little star” with your hand! It was so cute!

On Wednesday, we had Aunty Bili come down. Aunty Bili is one of Mama’s best friends all the way from when Mama was in Secondary School. Aunty Bili is quite used to taking care of babies as her mother used to help babysit other people’s children. Aunty Bili also helps to care for her nephews. It was simply amazing watching Aunty Bili go around the house with you in one arm and helping us clear up the house with the other! She packed our place up with you in one arm! That was so cool! Aunty Bili had specially taken that day off to meet up with Mama and she spent it watching over you and packing our house! Thank you, Aunty Bili!

On Thursday, we got Kow-mo down to help once again. We are so glad that you like Kow-mo so much. But, on that day, you were so fussy so you made it very difficult for Kow-mo to care for you. But she managed to endure your fussiness until Papa got back that day to take over.

So sorry that we had to put you through so many different care-givers hands, Little One. But thank God that they were more than able to care for you. And that Mama has such great friends who were willing to spend their precious time helping us out! Thank you, Aunties!

We love you, Little One.

Papa and Mama

Promil Gold

Dearest Little Skyler,

Mama and Papa have started trying to wean you onto formula milk.

We tried to feed you different kinds of formula but you kept rejecting the first few we tried. Finally, you took to Promil Gold. We can’t blame you as it does taste quite nice indeed. Sigh… formula is really expensive though.

Another problem was that we realised that you cannot use milk bottles to feed from. You seem to dislike the use of the milk bottle nipples. Thus, we tried feeding you straight from a cup and you took to it! This prompted Mama to buy you a cute little chick mug to drink from and we have to say that it has worked very well indeed.

Bottom’s Up, Little One!

Papa and Mama

Drypantz

Dearest Little Skyler,

We have been trying to figure out what kind of diapers to use with you as we’ve been finding that your diaper seems to be wet after one night. As we’ve been using Pampers all this while for your night diaper, we were at a loss as to what else to try as it is said that Pampers is quite good for an overnight use.

Our answer was given via free samples at the Point over the weekend! People were giving out Drypers Drypantz samples outside the Point on both days of the weekend. As they were free samples, we decided to try them with you to see how well they worked. They worked really really well.

This diaper is almost like a pair of adult underpants (that’s why it’s called ‘pantz’). It is quite absorbent and seems able to handle your overnight wetting without any discernible leakage. This was the answer to our question!

Thus, thanks to their brilliant marketing tactic of free samples, the company who sells these diapers has made us believers thus we bought a whole bag for your use! We are even considering using these diapers all the time even though they are a bit expensive.

However, as long as your Pampers diapers remain slightly cheaper and the quality does not drop (they are very good diapers; though relatively expensive), Papa would still prefer that you use them as Papa thinks that they are more “breathable”. :D

We love you!

Papa and Mama

Childcare Leave

Dearest Little Skyler,

Poor Little Baby Girl! You were suffering from a very bad cold the whole weekend.

It was so bad that you could hardly breathe, poor Darling. Your nose kept getting blocked and no matter what we did to unblock it, it remained so. As a result, you were so totally unable to sleep as you would keep waking up from your blocked nose i.e. you couldn’t breathe. You also had a fairly high fever thus Mama and Papa got so worried! We immediately informed your Godpa and Godmas to pray for you as well.

We had no choice but to take you to see your doctor (your balloon uncle) who prescribed some medicine for you to take. We immediately gave you the medicine but it took a very long time to act. In the meantime we continued to be very worried.

The next day, you were still quite bad so Papa got permission from his boss to take Childcare Leave so that Papa could stay at home to help care for you. It was a good thing that things at work had slowed down a bit so Papa had nothing urgent to return to work for that day. This was the very first time that Papa had taken childcare leave. It was an interesting experience because Papa never had to think about such a thing before.

Thank God your temperature gradually came down and you began to be a bit better. Praise God for caring and thank God for caring Godparents who prayed for you throughout your illness.

We love you, Little Girl.

Papa and Mama

ACTS Centre

Dearest Little Skyler,

Today, we decided to try out a ‘new’ church. Actually, it is not really new as we had brought you there for their Friday night activity before. The church is an extension of the church that we have been attending this year. However, as its service started at 9 a.m., we had to leave the house earlier.

We felt so much better here. This church really cared about taking care of little children like you. They had a special Sunday School programme for children below three years of age so it was just made for you. The other church service that started at 9 a.m. didn’t even seem to welcome children your age much less arranged a Sunday School class for you.

This church also went to some pains to ensure that the seating arrangements in the room catered to families with young children – there was space for strollers and you were allowed to make some noise as it was expected that children could not be quiet indefinitely. Thus, all in all, they made us feel a whole lot more welcome than the previous church.

Oh well…

We love you, Little Skyler.

Papa and Mama

Uncle BC / Night Safari

Dearest Little Skyler,

As Mama had to go meet her group for a discussion today, Papa had to bring you out on our own. Papa decided that you should meet up with children about your own age to learn how to play with them so Papa asked if we could visit Uncle Boon Cheng and Aunty Jessie. Uncle Boon Cheng is one of Papa’s good friends from when he was Papa’s colleague. He has transferred to another school for about two years already but Papa still keeps in touch with him. Aunty Jessie was also Papa’s colleague and she also transferred to another school. But she has stopped working for a couple of years already as she wants to bring up her two children by herself – very much like Mama.

Uncle and Aunty have two children already – Kor Kor Joel and Che Che Grace. Che Che Grace is only two months older than you. When we were pregnant with you, Uncle Boon Cheng gave us lots of advice as they already had Kor Kor Joel and Aunty Jessie was then pregnant with Che Che Grace.

Anyway, we spent the afternoon with Uncle Boon Cheng and Kor Kor and Che Che. I think you enjoyed yourself playing with the two of them as they had many toys that they shared with you. I think it was also fun for you as you could play with people your age rather than just with Papa. Uncle Boon Cheng also gave you some bear-shaped biscuits and you enjoyed them tremendously! I think they had apple and cinnamon in them.

Mama joined us later at Uncle Boon Cheng’s in the afternoon after she had completed her group discussion. Aunty Jessie had also come back by then.

After we left Uncle and Aunty, we went over to the Night Safari. This was the first time that we had brought you to the Night Safari.

We got to the Night Safari a bit later in the night and at the entrance we managed to catch the tail end of a performance so we paused to watch it. They featured a few fire-eaters who blew great streams of fire! It was quite exciting. You were totally captivated by the performance.

We decided that we should go join the queue to watch the animal performances as Papa and Mama had never caught it before. The queue was so long! We had to join the queue immediately upon entering as it was a very popular show. Thus, we ended up in the queue for almost thirty minutes. We had to wait for the previous performance to end and for the crowd to disperse before we could go in. Mama and Papa were so worried that the heat generated by the crowd of people would make you uncomfortable but we decided to try. We would have left if you had shown any sign of distress but you were totally fine throughout the wait.

The performance was quite interesting and the host was quite good, I think. We saw many of the nocturnal animals doing their usual things but it was great as we could see it close up. We also had a big owl fly right above our heads and the Night Safari performers had put a big python in the crowd! It was all quite fun.

After the performance, we took a walk around the Night Safari proper. We saw all kinds of nocturnal animals. Some of them were hunting while others were just lazing around. As there were a lot of slopes, it was quite tiring. And as it was quite late, we had to leave half way through. You had already started falling asleep along the way anyway.

It had been a long time since we had come to the Night Safari. It was fun to have brought you along for the trip.

We love you, Little One!

Mama and Papa

Skyler’s Second Tooth

Dearest Little Skyler,

You’ve grown a second tooth! It grew right next to your first one! Now you have two teeth side by side! You look so cute! Now we can begin to feed you a bit more food as you have teeth now! :D

Papa and Mama will now have to start brushing your teeth as we’re afraid that they may decay if we’re not careful. Hmmm… have to buy you your first toothbrush already! :D

We love you, Little One!

Papa and Mama

Bobbing to Music

Dearest Skyler,

You’ve started to bob along to music!

Mama borrowed a book from the library entitled “Old MacDonald had a Farm” and she was singing the words to you and you started bobbing your head along to the tune! Mama was so amazed and amused by your enjoyment of the song that she wanted Papa to buy the book as you liked it so much! We tried to search for the book at one of our favourite book stores called “Borders” but they didn’t have it anymore. We will continue to search for it, ok?

Mama and Papa love you lots!

Papa and Mama

Papa and Mama are so busy!

Dearest Baby Girl,

This is such a terrible period of time for Papa and Mama, Little One. We are both so busy with our work! Mama has several assignments and presentations to rush through and she has a big collection of readings to catch up on once these are done. Papa also has one big assignment for his studies and lots of reports and such to prepare for work, besides marking students’ work as well. We are trying to rush through all these but still produce the best work that we can as we believe that as Christians, we are working as unto the Lord. "...Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the inheritance which is your reward. You are actually serving the Lord Christ …” Col 3:23-24

We are taking turns to take care of you because of this, Little Girl. So, if you only see one of us there at a time, it’s because we need to do these things as well. But, sometimes, it’s impossible for us to stay away from you. You are so cute! Even though we have all this work waiting for us, we will somehow still end up being with you together so that we can maximise the amount of time we can spend with you. And thus, our sleep suffers. :D You are the only one in the family who has such long hours of sleep! :D Thank God for that!

Even though we are so tired from trying to work only after you’ve gone to sleep, we will not exchange a single minute of this for anything in the world, Little One. Just being with you fills us with such great joy. Your smiles are the most precious in the world to us right now.

We love you, Skyler.

Mama and Papa

Time with Aunty Doo Guat

Dearest Skyler,

We had to leave you with Aunty Doo Guat today as both Papa and Mama had work to do. Mama had her usual lessons to attend this afternoon and Papa had to attend a meeting at his work place. Therefore, it was not possible for Papa to watch you this afternoon as he usually does.

We had wanted Grandma to come and watch you but she had already come on Tuesday and it is a very long distance for her to travel to come to you, Little One. Just one way would take Grandma almost two hours of travel time! So, we thank God that she is willing to make the journey at all. Thus, we had to ask Aunty Doo Guat to help out as she stays near Papa’s work place.

Papa picked both you and Mama up from the MRT station and drove us all to Aunty Doo Guat’s place after which Papa had to rush back for his meeting. Mama had to take a cab to her lesson. Papa only went back to Aunty Doo Guat’s place to pick you up later.

When Papa got there, Aunty Doo Guat told Papa that you had gone to sleep. She kept on saying how well-behaved you were and that it was such a pleasure to take care of you. Thank God you were okay that afternoon, Little Girl! And that you made such a good impression on Aunty Doo Guat! =D

We love you, Little Girl
Papa and Mama

Kow-moh’s 28th Birthday

Dearest Skyler,

We celebrated Kow-moh’s 28th Birthday today at the Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant at Liat Towers even though it was supposed to be only on Tuesday as we wouldn’t have time then!

Before we met up with Gong-gong, Po-po, Kow-fu and Kow-moh, we had gone for the 9 A.M. service at our church. It has been a long time since we made it for this service. Papa and Mama used to attend this service when it conducted at Victoria Concert Hall. It started at 9.30 a.m. then. Once the church extension was completed, the service came back to its home. :D But we hadn’t attended its services for a long time because we wanted to try something different and it was very early on a Sunday morning for us to make it. So, it was quite refreshing to go back again after such a long break.

After that we went around Raffles City looking for a birthday cake for Kow-moh. Kow-fu had suggested that we could buy it from a bakery named Panaderia next to the Jason’s Supermarket. We bought a fruit covered cake. We were a bit apprehensive about the choice but we wanted to try something new. Thank God the cake was delicious! It was light and fluffy and tasted marvelous! That’s it, Little One! This place will be the only place we will get our cakes from until the quality drops for any reason! :D

By the time we made it to the restaurant, we were very late. Everyone else had already completed their meal! :P Anyway, once we got there, everyone wanted to carry and play with you so Papa and Mama could tuck into the food. Soon after, we had the cake and everyone agreed that it was very nice though the fruit was a bit off-putting initially. :P

We gave Kow-moh a silver angel pendant for her birthday. This was supposed to remind Kow-moh that God has sent his angels down to protect us. (Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways…) We hope she likes it. Happy Birthday, Kow-moh!!! =D

Skyler, you must remember that Kow-moh loves you very very much. She has been coming over to help watch over you these past weeks because Mama has been busy with her studies. Kow-moh travels very long distances to come and play with you!

Papa and Mama

Hazy Days Are Here Again

Dearest Little One,

The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit 150 at 9 pm today, Little One. The haze is back. This haze is caused by the ash and such that is stuck in the air. The ash is from parts of Indonesia. Many plantations and farms are burning the vegetation on their land to clear it so that they can grow other kinds of crops. There are other methods to clear the land but burning it up seems to be the cheapest way. It is very terrible as breathing in this kind of air can pollute our lungs and make us unwell – especially for little baby lungs like what you have. These people do not care that they are slowly killing themselves or that people in other countries have to suffer for their callousness. Papa and Mama are very frustrated with the people responsible for causing this every year and the authorities in charge who do not do anything useful about it. In fact, they don’t seem to want to do anything practical about it except make silly comments about how we should thank them for the rest of the year because the trees they had just burnt down had been producing oxygen then.

We are especially frustrated now because we have you. When this first hit us badly back in 1997, Papa was made to exercise in the open as he still had his reservist liabilities. Papa was worried for himself but not terribly so as Papa is usually quite healthy. However, now that we have you, Papa is very angry with the people who do such things as the air can cause quite severe damage to you. That’s why Papa and Mama are very careful about bringing you out during this period of time. We continue to pray that the haze will go away quickly so that you will not suffer anything permanent from this.

We love you, Skyler. Remember that you must not deliberately harm God’s green earth, ok?

Papa and Mama

Papa’s Ranting

Dearest Little One,

Papa cannot take it anymore! Papa needs to rant and vent about other Papas and Mamas!

Papa cannot understand why other Papas and Mamas do not seem to care about the safety of their little ones, Baby Girl. Papa sees so many parents driving around with their kids either on their laps if they are really small like you instead of putting them safely in a child restraint (child seat). Or letting them fool around in the back seat without making them sit down properly with seatbelts on.

The one that Papa really really really cannot understand is the first one where a baby is placed on the lap of an adult in the car while it’s moving! What do they think will happen if their vehicle is involved in a collision? Why do they think that they can hold onto the baby then? Don’t they know that the physics of the situation always results in the baby being thrown forward – usually with disastrous effect? Or the baby will be the adult’s “airbag” cushioning the adult in a collision? Either way, it’s not going to be good for the little ones.

Another thing that gets Papa’s goat is where adults bring their children out and walk along the streets without watching out for traffic. It is bad enough that they don’t watch out for their own safety but must they endanger their little ones as well by moving around dangerously? Why are they totally oblivious to traffic? Papa saw a pair of parents pushing their little ones in strollers right in the middle of the road while walking back to their block of flats with cars right behind them!

Skyler, you are not going to be let loose in the car, understand? You will always have to sit in your car seat because Papa and Mama love you a lot and never ever want anything bad to happen to you. Just because we are careful when we drive, it doesn’t mean that other drivers on the road are as careful. We know that it may be uncomfortable for you and you want the freedom to move around and play but this is totally non-negotiable!

We love you very very much, Little One,

Mama and Papa

Children's Day

Dearest Little Skyler,

This is your first Children’s Day! And Papa and Mama tried to make it a special one for you.

We’d intended to go to church in the morning and spend some time with Kow-fu and Kow-moh but we were so tired that we couldn’t make it. First, you woke up and Papa tried to feed you your lunch so that we needn’t worry about that later but you wanted to go back to sleep half way through. Once I put you back to bed, Papa also didn’t feel like waking Mama. Thus, we missed our usual morning service.

Anyway, Mama and Papa then decided to go for evening service instead. And as Mama had told Kow-fu and Kow-moh about our intention, we found out later that they also were going for that service as well so that they could celebrate Children’s Day with you. :D

We gave you your Children’s Day presents of Blue Clue’s books – two story books and a riddle book. You were positively beaming with joy when you saw them. Papa can’t understand whether you really like them or not but Mama says that you are totally captivated by the programme when she allows you to watch it on TV.

Papa and Mama then brought you down to Popo’s shop in Chinatown to pay her a visit and also to pass her some stuff that Grandma wanted her to have. When we got there your ‘Sam’, ‘Sei’ and ‘Erm Yi-pos’ were there too. They all started fawning on you and were so impressed that you allowed them to carry you! Well done, Little One! We’re so proud that you are so secure that you didn’t feel threatened by being carried people who were not so familiar to you.

After that, we went off for church service and met Kow-fu and Kow-moh there. We adjourned to Raffles City for dinner and Kow-fu and Kow-moh gave you their Children’s Day present. We tried to get you to rip off the wrapping paper yourself like you shred tissue paper but you didn’t seem interested. Thus, we ripped it for you. Their present was a dress! Thank you Kow-fu! Thank you Kow-moh!

After that, we took a short walk around Raffles City and then we went home.

Mama and Papa hope that you enjoyed your outing on Children’s Day, Little One! Happy Children’s Day!


We love you,
Papa and Mama

Downtown East

Dearest Little Skyler,

We brought you to a place that neither Papa nor Mama remember visiting today, Little One. It’s a place called Downtown East – it is situated in Pasir Ris. The main reason for our going all the way there was the warehouse sale by Toys ‘R’ Us. We had hoped to get some toys at a lower price for you – as sort of a Children’s Day present. =D

The trip turned out to be a major disappointment. The types of toys that they had on sale were not suitable for you and the number to choose from was not that big to begin with. To make matters worse, they were not much cheaper than the standard retail price. The number of people who were walking around looking for toys was not very big either. However, the queue to pay for the toys was very long! So, you can imagine how inefficient the entire operation was – so few people shopping but such a long queue to pay for the goods. Oh well… Never mind, Mama and Papa will get you toys from other places.

MPH Bookstores were having a book sale as well next to the toy sale. We went over there as well. We managed to get three books – all Blue’s Clues! =D You were so excited by them. We were glad that we managed to get something for your Children’s Day celebrations! :D

After browsing through the ‘sale’, we took a walk around the rest of Downtown East and were further disappointed with how there hardly seemed anything worth looking at or visiting. There were several types of food outlets and some shops selling stuff but nothing out of the ordinary. Mama and Papa simply could not understand what the interest value of the place was. We kept on telling ourselves that people came to stay in the chalets and play at the Escape Theme Park and Wild Wild Wet but we could not convince ourselves that these places were actually worth visiting.

Well, Little Girl, this trip reminded Papa that there are many places that we can bring you to in Singapore. Some of them will be worth our time while others may not. Whatever the case may be, these places are still part of Singapore so Mama and Papa will bring you to visit them again when you are older so that you will have a better idea of what Singapore has to offer. We cannot be ignorant about our own country.

We love you,
Papa and Mama

Skyler’s 9 Months Old!

Dearest Little Skyler,

You are 9 months old today, Little One!

Time has really zoomed past very very quickly! You are so able to do so many things now. You’ve totally impressed both your grandmas with how you can play with them and how you are so aware of what is going on around you. You can sit by yourself without any support (but you really really scare Mama and Papa with your tossing yourself backwards while you are sitting. If we weren’t there to catch you, you would have landed on your back very hard which you have done a couple of times already). You can roll over onto your front and back to your back without any effort. You can snatch your Papa’s and Mama’s spectacles off their faces before they even realise it. You can sit in your high chair and eat your big bowl of cereal without any problems – unless you don’t want to eat which means that we take forever to get you to finish your meal.

Papa and Mama are both so glad that we chose to take care of you ourselves with minimal help from family and friends. This has allowed us to watch you grow every step of the way. We know your every expression and every move and this knowledge of and time with you has given us endless joy! This is why it is difficult for us to understand some parents who hardly spend any time with their own baby boys and girls. They ‘foster out’ their precious ones to their maids, parents or even infant care agencies. We feel that they are losing out on so much. I guess they have very good strong reasons for their decision and that they have their own sources of joy from their little ones. Mama and Papa simply can’t do that. We need to be with you as much as we possibly can.

And that is why Papa feels so bad. Papa has been extremely busy with school work and has been totally exhausted these few days. Thus, I have not been able to spend as much time with you as I want. Mama has been taking care of you herself and I feel so bad about that because Mama is very busy with her own studies and work as well. Mama has been going to sleep only in the wee hours of the morning because she can only start working after we have gone to sleep. This leaves her with very little sleep as well. But, no matter how tired we are, we will never exchange our time with you for anything!

Papa and Mama were going to celebrate your 9th Month Birthday with you no matter what! We went down town for a very short dinner this evening in honour of your birthday and Mama and Papa got you a slice of cake to celebrate. You may not remember it very well as you were sleeping when we ate it. :D

Happy 9th Month Birthday, Baby Girl!

We love you!

Papa and Mama

Popo's Birthday

Dearest Little Skyler,

Today we celebrated Popo’s birthday! We all went to Kow-fu’s and Kow-mo’s place for dinner tonight as part of Popo’s birthday celebrations! It was also a special night because Gong-Gong was around as well. You had not seen him since sometime in February as he had gone back to Hongkong.

Mama, Papa and you had gone shopping for presents the week before for Popo. Mama was wracking her brains to figure out what presents to get that would be meaningful and useful for Popo and we spent quite a bit of time walking around shopping malls looking and looking until we finally decided on a few items.

One of the presents was a bottle of Honey and Vinegar. Apparently, drinking vinegar is a new health approach. The vinegar is mixed with different kinds of other flavours and together they serve different purposes for one’s health. We also got Popo a bottle of Honey with Dates. Again, this is for Popo’s health. You must have figured out by now that honey is a very healthy component in all kinds of food, Little Girl. Lastly, we got Popo a pashmina. This is shawl made out of wool and it had a very nice pattern. So, we were well prepared for Popo’s birthday! =D Because Gong-Gong was in Hong Kong during his birthday, we decided to get a gift for Gong-Gong too. We bought Gong-Gong some Pu-er tea. The uncle at the shop explained to Mama that this is a tea that tea connoisseurs would enjoy. The value of this tea was supposed to appreciate with time too, much like wine. Interesting, isn't it?

We spent the evening at Kow-fu’s and Kow-mo’s and you were the star of the evening rather than Popo as everybody fussed over you both before and after dinner. One of the highlights for Popo, more so than the fact that we were celebrating her birthday, was your being in a pretty dress that Mama had bought for you. =D That really made Popo’s night.

After Popo had sliced her birthday cake, we brought you home as you were very tired by then.

Remember, Little One, celebrating family birthdays is a very important ritual. You must never miss attending any family member’s birthday celebrations as it is a time of bonding and sharing of love.

We love you,
Papa and Mama

Mâko has gone home... =(

Dearest Skyler,

Today is a sad day. Mâko and Uncle Peter have gone back to Canada. Their stay here was quite short and we only saw them a few times – two dinners, an outing to Sentosa and a Sunday (lunch to dinner). Now they’ve returned home and we won’t be seeing them for the next three years. While it is a sad time, Papa and Mama are also very glad that they did get this chance to meet with you before you became much older and bigger.

We had a farewell dinner last night at our usual coffeeshop near Grandma’s as Uncle Peter did not want to have any restaurant food. We were celebrating his birthday a bit early so he got to choose. Besides, Mâko and Uncle Peter missed simple Singapore food. The whole family once again had turned up and everyone fussed over you – even your cousins Reika, Yujin and Kenji. Everyone wanted to carry you and play with you!

Mama and Papa had brought gifts for almost everyone as well. We got Uncle Peter a gospel music CD by Paul Baloche, a pendant for Mâko, lanterns for your cousins (as it is almost the Mid-Autumn’s Festival), photos (one of them was a 5R print of the big family photo we had taken on Sentosa the previous Saturday) for Mâko, Tua Pek and Grandma. We had also brought along a couple of mooncakes for everyone to share.

After dinner, Mâko and you had a fun time playing and dancing together, and Mâko even let you walk on a pebble path below Grandma’s flat! You enjoyed Mâko’s company SO much, Baby Girl!

Papa and Mama were thinking of seeing Mâko and Uncle Peter off the next morning as it would be the last chance we had of seeing them for three years, so we went home after that. You were very tired by then as you had not napped for some time. Their flight the next morning was supposed to take off at 8.30 a.m. and they would be there at 7 a.m. However, we ended up sleeping quite late that night. When it was time to wake up, we were too exhausted as we had had very little sleep the whole of the week as it was a very busy and exhausting period of time for both Papa and Mama. So, sadly, we had to give up the idea of going to the airport. Oh well…

We miss them very much, Little One, because they are family and we hardly get to see them. This is one of the things that Mama and Papa think about often – whether we can let you go stay in another country and be away from us. We are so attached to you that we cannot imagine letting go of you, so NO, we’re not letting you get away from us. We love you too much! =P

Love,

Papa and Mama