Introducing to you the very handsome
ALBERT & ROBERT!
And yes, they are Joey's brand new pets! Clever Papa Isaiah bought them for Joey, knowing that tortoises generally live a long & tough life, so there is a higher chance of survival under Joey's care (and terrorising).
(Don't ask me why these 2 obiang names, because I just thought of them. Just like that!)
Let's hope Albert & Robert can last a little longer than the parrot. :)
Today is the 1st of the 5 annual days that Joey's childcare centre will be closed for teachers' training. And so, I took leave to be at home with Joey today. Naturally, I have to think of activities to occupy her. :)
And so, I decided to do pasta painting with her (cos I can't find her painting brushes).
Secured a big piece of mahjong paper on the floor, so that there's ample space for her to draw.
Using pasta to paint has its advantages. They're hard and doesn't crush easily under Joey's strength. And we just paint & throw them away after that! The paints cost only $1 for all 6 colours. How economical!
Hard at work...
Our masterpiece!
If you have a toddler kid, you know what I mean.
Some mornings are great because the kid has got ample good sleep the night before and wakes up feeling happy & satisfied. Other mornings are not-so-good because the kid refuses to get out of bed and you have to scream & shout & drag her out of bed and into the shower and finally into her school uniform.
It was a GREAT morning this morning. :)
I love mornings when Joey would stir & wake up on her own 5-10 mins before the alarm clock actually goes off, and she would climb onto my bed from her mattress on the floor, and laze next to me for a while She would look at me, and when she saw that I'm also looking back at her and smiling at her, she breaks into this mesmerizing sweet smile too. Then she would give me a very loving morning kiss. Perfect morning.
I love my baby Joey. :)
If your kid is like mine, always interested in things happening on my laptop, then perhaps you may wish to start some online exercises with them as well. :)
My Joey can stay glued to the laptop screen for the longest time (even if it means viewing her photos for the xxth time). And so, i reckon I might as well get some learning done while she's watching the screen. These are some interesting websites I let her visit, just to stimulate her interest in sounds, music and phonics (my current focus since I want her to improve her english pronunciation). Of course, these are the educational ones, in addition to usual Barney and Sesame Street websites. Heee...
PBS Kids
StarFall.com
Scholastic
FunBrain
Click on screenshots to view the websites!
Mummies out there, if you have other interesting sites that you use, please share with me too! :)
Joey's having a Carrot's Day in school today, because she's gonna learn about 'C for Carrots'!
Joey's teacher left a note in her jotterbook a few days ago, informing me that I should let Joey bring a carrot and a packet of carrot juice to school on Friday for the exercise, and so I went to buy those things for her to bring to school this morning.
The carrot juice I packed in her bag today is from Fruit Tree fresh and she's never drank it before. Hopefully she likes it.
Let's see what she will tell me tonight when she comes home... :)
post-script: Joey mentioned nothing about her carrots day when she came home. I think it was not that fun afterall. =P
I think it’s in her blood.
Joey is a downright Chinese girl who loves to eat rice, loves speaking Mandarin and loves to use the chopsticks during meal time.
Maybe it’s still something fun for her, and everytime she manages to pick up some food and deliver them to her mouth, she’ll be thrilled! =D hahaha…
Yesterday we went to have dinner at the Newton Food Centre, and Joey had fun practising her skills on her fishball kway tiao soup.
The fish ball kway tiao soup
Making an attempt
Sometimes help from the other hand is required
Ta-Da!
Quickly send into the mouth before it slips away!
mmmmm……..
Happy and satisfied with yet another successful attempt
Mission Accomplished. :)
OK some update on how Joey's doing in school!
Mornings are much easier nowadays, and I am amazed at how the 'if I don't go now, my boss will scold me' excuse still works every time. Haha....
Joey is pretty vocal about her school life, so it's possible to imagine how her daily life is just based on what she tells me. She would tell me that her favorite teacher is Teacher Janet, and how her classmate Gwen has got the same slippers as her. She could also name a few of her classmates (mostly boys), even the japanese boy called Teiru. Hahaha... There is also an ang moh boy in her class, so it's pretty well mixed with different nationalities.
She brought home a clear folder the other day, and inside was some exercises that she did in school. Quite interesting, the stuffs that pre-schoolers actually do... :)
Even something as basic as following dotted lines needs to be learnt. It's something adults all take for granted!
Chinese New Year happened so long ago, but up till today, she still sings the '每条大街小巷。。 每个人的嘴里。。。 恭喜恭喜恭喜你啊。。。 恭喜恭喜恭喜你！I was so amazed at how accurate her pronounciation was! She learnt that song during the CNY season in school.... =D
The latest thing she learnt and 'taught' me today was how to sit 'apple sauce'. I was bewildered when she told me she will tell me a story ONLY IF I sit 'apple sauce' (makes no sense mah!) Apparently, to sit 'apple sauce' means to sit cross legged. How was I supposed to know that??!!!! I think it must be a game she played in school.
I am learning new things everyday.............
GOOD MORNING!!!!
Every morning we got to find something for Joey to do during her journey to school, so that she doesn't get bored and start climbing up and down. And this morning, I taught her to do some simple drawing!
Gone are the days where she will be happy just drawing circles and dots. Now, she would demand that I teach her to how to draw some specific objects. This morning, we learnt how to draw an apple, a house and the sun. =)
The house is alittle more challenging, I must admit, because it consists of lines and squares (Because she insists there must be windows & doors!). The apple and the sun are relatively simpler, and she could draw a decent replica of what I held her hand to draw. =D
That's a nice looking sun, don't you think?
Drawing is alot more fun than having to read the same storybook for the 150th time. =P
There used to be a season when my Joey loves to play with cars, trains and planes that I was, quite frankly, a little concerned.
She wouldn't take a 2nd look at teddy bears or dolls, and showed absolutely no interest in them. At one point, she was even scared of curly hairs of dolls. haha..
But the season has passed now and my girl is now a very girly girl who loves dolls, bears and cute pink stuffs! =D
She got this baby doll from Fang for Christmas and she has been treating her like her baby since. She strokes her hair, feeds her milk and talks to her even. Haha... What a good training for her as an elder sister!
Currently, it's the doll she brings to school every morning, though she would leave it in the car when we reach, so that it doesn't run the risk of being snatched away by other girls in her class. :) Before we leave, she would tell her doll gently that she's going to school and would see her later at night. =)
I think maternal instincts are inborn. =D
There are obvious differences between my 2 pregnancies.
For Joey, I found out about the pregnancy only when I was approaching the end of my 1st trimester. Too busy to notice anything then. For Number 2, I was paying attention because of my first experience, and I confirmed the pregnancy when I was slightly more than 1 month pregnant.
For Joey, I developed a hatred for coffee. The thought of it puts me off completely, even though I was a daily coffee drinker before that. For Number 2, i drink alot more coffee. The taste still puts me off sometimes, but I actually crave for it from time to time.
For Joey, I developed a high tolerance for spicy food. No spicy-ness seemed potent enough for me. For Number 2, no such tolerance. I can't take over-spicy food.
For Joey, I felt hot most of the time and I could go sleeveless in my supercold office. For Number 2, I feel cold most of the time. Most likely because my body is not as strong as 3 years ago.
For Joey, I drank zero amount of cold drinks and definitely no Coca Cola at all. For Number 2, only one phrase can represent: Hack care!
For Joey, I ate alot. My appetite was hearty. For Number 2, I lost some of my appetite. Now, I hardly can finish one usual portion of food. Most of the time, I have some leftovers.
For Joey, I felt her kicks in my tummy only when I was about 7 months pregnant. For Number 2, I started feeling the kicks at 5 months. Now at slightly more than 5 months, I could feel her almost all the time already.
And I am starting to get concerned about the amount of weight I am putting on. I remembered for Joey at the end of the pregnancy, I had piled on almost 20 kilograms! But up till now, more than halfway through my pregnancy, I had only gained a total of 3 kg! That's really little ya? And people around me have been commenting that my tummy looks really small for a 5-month plus pregnancy. Then again, for Joey, my tummy really ballooned only during the 8th month. Maybe it's gonna be the same for this one as well. I actually think it's better cos the backaches will come only much later in the pregnancy. The later the better. :)
I am starting to wonder if Number 2 will look like Jie Jie Joey when she was still a baby....
awwww...so cute..... =)
You know when I was much younger, I always witness similar incidents of parents who tell their kids that if they do not behave, the policemen will come and catch them, and I would think to myself, 'Policemen are good people what, why want to confuse the kids like that? I would never tell my kids that.'
But I am so very guilty of that.
I tell Joey when she misbehaves or when she refuses to listen to me, that the policemen will come & catch her. So much so that I think she probably thinks the policemen are the bad guys now. Haha!
Ok, so I am sorry. I should have said things like 'the bad people will catch you', but because bad people generally don't wear a particular 'uniform', it's hard to instill an image into her mind. A policeman in dark blue uniform is so much more recognisable. =P
At least I am better than those others who say, 'The bengalis will come and catch you if you don't behave!' Me no racist, ok.
Now my favorite line when I try to get her to cooperate in the morning at the childcare centre so that she would wave goodbye to me willingly is to say, 'If papa and mama don't go off for work now, our bosses will scold us!'
Now our bosses have also become the bad guys! =P
Not bad at all! Joey is starting to show her jie-jie instincts!
And I am glad we decided to go for Number 2 when she is 3 or 4 years old, because that's the age toddlers generally start to like babies, and I was hoping it would ease her transition to be an elder sister.
Baby Nigel came visiting and Joey couldn't keep her hands off him!!!!
She kept insisting on carrying him that we had no choice but let her sit down so that Baby Nigel can rest infront of her.
Baby Nigel sure didn't look very comfortable, but we could only pray that he was not too traumatised by the whole 'Joey-loves-Nigel' experience. =P
It is actually quite amusing to see Joey asking Baby Nigel to 'shhhhhh' when he cries, and doing all those things an elder sister would do to 'discipline' the younger sibling. It kinda reminded me of how I behaved around my younger brother when I was a little kid. haha.. somehow, you feel you have the responsibility to 'teach' them to behave, just like what your mummies did to you. Haha!
