Madison is embarking on her journey of the spoken word!
I know the time is right for her to start saying some words, but boy, does it take you by surprise when it does happen.
Out of the blue yesterday evening while I took her for a walk she pointed at a bird and said "bird"! And she would now say " ball", "star", "pear" ,"purple" and "pa pa" very clearly. Madison can bring things to me as well and seems to understand what I am trying to say to her. Whether she actually follows through with instructions depends on what she is supposed to do! Naturally she would agree to going out rather than brushing her teeth or changing her clothes.
Madison walks well now unaided and she is able to stand on one foot for short periods as well. Her favourite activity has to be pushing carts and strollers around. When she is not strewing her belongings all over the house. Its amazing how much mess a little being can create in a really short span of time. How quickly an open drawer can be divested of its contents! And how things go missing really quickly once she has laid her eyes on it!
Fortunately Madison seems to have slowly accepted Warni over the past few weeks and we still have Maria to help us put her down for naps in the afternoon. Warni is unable to do that still at this stage.
Now my challenge is to stick with the Glenn Doman program, which I am not doing very well at this stage! And to spend more time in MANDARIN... argh... it really is not easy for me! Already she doesn't seem to understand what I'm trying to say in Mandarin...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Cars cars cars...
The Honda Stream is finally getting fixed after my little mishap a week ago trying to get to the Botanic Gardens..
So today I was supposed to be carless but having Madison means I get to use Chris' car ( aka Chai's car)!
Having packed everyone up in the car, we were just about to set off to drop Chris off at work... when.... THE CAR WOULD NOT START! I could not believe my luck! The car worked fine just last night.
Chris ended up taking a cab to work today.
And I had to decide how best to organise my day. First to get Michael, our family mechanic to help us transport the car for a replacement battery and routine service. Then to transport my daughter to the Novena house. Then to transport myself to work at Joo Chiat.
Thank goodness Michael was punctual at 10 am to pick the car up.
After the morning's saga, which included trying to clean our airconditioners while trying to entertain Madison, I was exhausted and decided to take a cab over to the Novena house. But OF COURSE, just as we crossed the road to hail a taxi, a bus pulls up and I think :" hey! It might go to the bus stop just on our street ! " and up we go.
And of course the bus had to be the wrong one and we ended up walking in the searing hot sun back to the house!
Finally to get to Joo Chiat. My grand plan: take the MRT then a bus and hopefully get there in 1 piece.
But I was 'saved' by a hapless construction worker... who'd somehow got cement splashed in his eye and was adamant about not going to the opthalmologist. I had to get there fast so into the taxi I went. And boy was I glad I did that! The heavens poured just as I left !
I did take the "mert" ( MRT) back home though. Even though the entire public transport trip took an hour to complete, it was nice not having to worry about traffic and getting into accidents. I even got to "stopover" at Bugis junction for a quick bite and wander, which I'd not done in ?years now!
All in, a fruitful day.. but time is of the essence and a car is still a neccesity!
So today I was supposed to be carless but having Madison means I get to use Chris' car ( aka Chai's car)!
Having packed everyone up in the car, we were just about to set off to drop Chris off at work... when.... THE CAR WOULD NOT START! I could not believe my luck! The car worked fine just last night.
Chris ended up taking a cab to work today.
And I had to decide how best to organise my day. First to get Michael, our family mechanic to help us transport the car for a replacement battery and routine service. Then to transport my daughter to the Novena house. Then to transport myself to work at Joo Chiat.
Thank goodness Michael was punctual at 10 am to pick the car up.
After the morning's saga, which included trying to clean our airconditioners while trying to entertain Madison, I was exhausted and decided to take a cab over to the Novena house. But OF COURSE, just as we crossed the road to hail a taxi, a bus pulls up and I think :" hey! It might go to the bus stop just on our street ! " and up we go.
And of course the bus had to be the wrong one and we ended up walking in the searing hot sun back to the house!
Finally to get to Joo Chiat. My grand plan: take the MRT then a bus and hopefully get there in 1 piece.
But I was 'saved' by a hapless construction worker... who'd somehow got cement splashed in his eye and was adamant about not going to the opthalmologist. I had to get there fast so into the taxi I went. And boy was I glad I did that! The heavens poured just as I left !
I did take the "mert" ( MRT) back home though. Even though the entire public transport trip took an hour to complete, it was nice not having to worry about traffic and getting into accidents. I even got to "stopover" at Bugis junction for a quick bite and wander, which I'd not done in ?years now!
All in, a fruitful day.. but time is of the essence and a car is still a neccesity!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Perils of motherhood
Sigh... another car accident...
I really hate to blame anyone else but myself but really! I've had more car incidents ever since Madison was born in the past year than in the past decade that I'd been driving! Call it post partum brains, distraction, perpetual rushing around or whatever.
Today I had to make a decision. Take Madison to the Botanic Gardens to feed the fish and birds ( which she loves) , or leave her with the maids and go do my own thing before work. Of course I chose the former. To my peril.
Things started out fine, thank goodness I had some foresight and decided to pack everything up ready for work before we left.
Then we hit peak morning traffic. I was shocked. In the past few weeks we'd gone around 8 AM, traffic was heavy but never congested to a standstill. We were inching along the road and I was telling Madison a story. Of course the cars were back to back. Just when traffic started to move the car in front suddenly stopped and just my luck, I had to be the one to slam the brakes ( thank goodness it was at a turtle speed of ?10km/h.
Crap. Now the logistics of it. Stop car. Indicators on. Get Madison out of car. Get pen/ paper/wallet to exchange details. Never mind that the car was hardly touched.. the technicality was that I'd hit him and he would get the entire bumper changed plus whatever he could do to the back half of the car..sigh.
To give the guy a break, he seemed ok, but then he told me this was the THIRD time he'd been hit in the back.. argh. Why me!!! Apparently another car cut into his lane and he'd braked to prevent an accident. So I was the lucky one to pay for it. ( what kind of driver keeps getting hit in the back??!!!)
Now I have to spend the rest of the day sorting this mess out. Go to IDAC to report. etc etc.... there goes my day...
I really hate to blame anyone else but myself but really! I've had more car incidents ever since Madison was born in the past year than in the past decade that I'd been driving! Call it post partum brains, distraction, perpetual rushing around or whatever.
Today I had to make a decision. Take Madison to the Botanic Gardens to feed the fish and birds ( which she loves) , or leave her with the maids and go do my own thing before work. Of course I chose the former. To my peril.
Things started out fine, thank goodness I had some foresight and decided to pack everything up ready for work before we left.
Then we hit peak morning traffic. I was shocked. In the past few weeks we'd gone around 8 AM, traffic was heavy but never congested to a standstill. We were inching along the road and I was telling Madison a story. Of course the cars were back to back. Just when traffic started to move the car in front suddenly stopped and just my luck, I had to be the one to slam the brakes ( thank goodness it was at a turtle speed of ?10km/h.
Crap. Now the logistics of it. Stop car. Indicators on. Get Madison out of car. Get pen/ paper/wallet to exchange details. Never mind that the car was hardly touched.. the technicality was that I'd hit him and he would get the entire bumper changed plus whatever he could do to the back half of the car..sigh.
To give the guy a break, he seemed ok, but then he told me this was the THIRD time he'd been hit in the back.. argh. Why me!!! Apparently another car cut into his lane and he'd braked to prevent an accident. So I was the lucky one to pay for it. ( what kind of driver keeps getting hit in the back??!!!)
Now I have to spend the rest of the day sorting this mess out. Go to IDAC to report. etc etc.... there goes my day...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Terrible 2s!
I think the era of the terrible two's has arrived!
Somewhat early for Madison, but our little princess seems capable of expressing her wants very clearly. And loudly too. So its an ongoing daily negotiation with her, although the grandparents tend to give in more readily.
Yesterday was a busy Sunday. Well, busy by pre-baby standards. No relaxed late morning brunch, cuppa coffee etc... we were all up by 7 am( as usual ). First stop, the Singapore Botanic Gardens for brekkie. The gardens is a really wonderful place to bring kids, with its lush greenery a break from the scorching Singapore sun, huge fish to feed, plenty of people ( and dog ) watching, fantastic Casa Verde cafe, close to us and its free!
So Chris, Madison and I had our breakfast, the fish in the pond had theirs, and by the time the sun was high in the sky we were ready to go home. All this before 930AM!
Feeling ambitious, we decided to take Madison to the zoo. A new section recently opened, the Rainforest Kids world. I'd heard raves about the wet water park so thought we should go check it out first. So... Madison had a quick bath by daddy, while I packed her lunch and the 2 adults managed to squeeze our shower between us.
AND no wonder the place was so raved about. It was FANTASTIC! The water play area made the Jacob gardens at the Botanic Gardens seem tiny! Madison didn't get to play in it yesterday but I think we will return another day better prepared. The large rubber play area had water CANNONS, water slides, ringing bells and a giant pail like contraption that was suspended, and repeatedly filled with water until it spilled its contents in a tsunami like fashion over the screaming kids.
The rest of the park had goats and miniature ponies for the kids to pet at various times of the day. There were at least 4 mini playground areas spread around the park. My only gripe was the lack of decent child friendly food, apart from the usual suspects of KFC and Ben & Jerry's.
Of course Madison was exhausted by the end of it and I barely had time to squeeze in her lunch before she crashed asleep in the car. So, thinking we could transfer her to a stroller while we ate lunch somewhere else, we continued out. Unfortunately the minute we were seated in Cedele, just about to place our orders her eyes fluttered open and my heart sank. Sigh. No leisurely lunch. Shortened nap... which meant she needed another one to tide her over to dinner.
But... Madison had fun, and she was happy... we'd spent a pretty fulfilling day as a family...never mind that dinner was another battle that day, the grandparents drove us up the wall and dinner was sweaty and quick.
And in a blink of an eye, its Monday, and order is restored. Or so we hope.
Somewhat early for Madison, but our little princess seems capable of expressing her wants very clearly. And loudly too. So its an ongoing daily negotiation with her, although the grandparents tend to give in more readily.
Yesterday was a busy Sunday. Well, busy by pre-baby standards. No relaxed late morning brunch, cuppa coffee etc... we were all up by 7 am( as usual ). First stop, the Singapore Botanic Gardens for brekkie. The gardens is a really wonderful place to bring kids, with its lush greenery a break from the scorching Singapore sun, huge fish to feed, plenty of people ( and dog ) watching, fantastic Casa Verde cafe, close to us and its free!
So Chris, Madison and I had our breakfast, the fish in the pond had theirs, and by the time the sun was high in the sky we were ready to go home. All this before 930AM!
Feeling ambitious, we decided to take Madison to the zoo. A new section recently opened, the Rainforest Kids world. I'd heard raves about the wet water park so thought we should go check it out first. So... Madison had a quick bath by daddy, while I packed her lunch and the 2 adults managed to squeeze our shower between us.
AND no wonder the place was so raved about. It was FANTASTIC! The water play area made the Jacob gardens at the Botanic Gardens seem tiny! Madison didn't get to play in it yesterday but I think we will return another day better prepared. The large rubber play area had water CANNONS, water slides, ringing bells and a giant pail like contraption that was suspended, and repeatedly filled with water until it spilled its contents in a tsunami like fashion over the screaming kids.
The rest of the park had goats and miniature ponies for the kids to pet at various times of the day. There were at least 4 mini playground areas spread around the park. My only gripe was the lack of decent child friendly food, apart from the usual suspects of KFC and Ben & Jerry's.
Of course Madison was exhausted by the end of it and I barely had time to squeeze in her lunch before she crashed asleep in the car. So, thinking we could transfer her to a stroller while we ate lunch somewhere else, we continued out. Unfortunately the minute we were seated in Cedele, just about to place our orders her eyes fluttered open and my heart sank. Sigh. No leisurely lunch. Shortened nap... which meant she needed another one to tide her over to dinner.
But... Madison had fun, and she was happy... we'd spent a pretty fulfilling day as a family...never mind that dinner was another battle that day, the grandparents drove us up the wall and dinner was sweaty and quick.
And in a blink of an eye, its Monday, and order is restored. Or so we hope.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Remains of the day
It's been 2 weeks since the last post.
And a crazy 2 weeks at that.
The new domestic helper has finally arrived to my rescue, assisting in household chores and putting our ship back in shape. Chris has been rather busy at work and between the 2 clinics, setting up the 3rd, planning family meals and trying to keep in shape has left the household work pretty much at the back burner. We have been managing on the minimum since Nancy left us, with Chris doing the laundry before work, and me juggling the general cleaning over a few days to keep the apartment respectable.
We're fortunate that my parents have been rather supportive and Maria, their domestic help has been somewhat of a godsend. She has stepped up to the challenge and helped me through this sudden 'crisis'( as those who have had domestic help would appreciate )
Madison is growing up too, and now seems to understand simple commands and some reasoning. But as with toddlers, she requires repeated reminding of the consequences of her actions eg " wet the floor and you will fall" , " smelly poo, time to wash " and " fingers at drawers, clip clip --ie fingers get jammed ". Of course most of these are AFTER she has suffered the consequences herself!
It is now impossible to do anything much while she is awake so the rest of us take it in turns to occupy and watch her while trying to fit everything else in between. Of course it doesn't help that she is now becoming increasingly more resistant to napping, despite having a regular routine for the past year! It seems that she needs 1.5 naps a day, and taking the first is a real struggle but without it is even more of a challenge when she becomes grumpy and overtired. So the compromise is a shortened nap of 20minutes in the morning, prior to which has to be some form of activity eg stroller/car ride/ swing to keep her still and make her drowsy!
Geok is due in a month's time and she is getting into the final paces of preparation for motherhood. Unfortunately she has reached some obstacles in hiring her domestic help. Otherwise everything else seems hunky dory for her.
Oh... Madison is due for her last Prevenar shot this month....argh...
And a crazy 2 weeks at that.
The new domestic helper has finally arrived to my rescue, assisting in household chores and putting our ship back in shape. Chris has been rather busy at work and between the 2 clinics, setting up the 3rd, planning family meals and trying to keep in shape has left the household work pretty much at the back burner. We have been managing on the minimum since Nancy left us, with Chris doing the laundry before work, and me juggling the general cleaning over a few days to keep the apartment respectable.
We're fortunate that my parents have been rather supportive and Maria, their domestic help has been somewhat of a godsend. She has stepped up to the challenge and helped me through this sudden 'crisis'( as those who have had domestic help would appreciate )
Madison is growing up too, and now seems to understand simple commands and some reasoning. But as with toddlers, she requires repeated reminding of the consequences of her actions eg " wet the floor and you will fall" , " smelly poo, time to wash " and " fingers at drawers, clip clip --ie fingers get jammed ". Of course most of these are AFTER she has suffered the consequences herself!
It is now impossible to do anything much while she is awake so the rest of us take it in turns to occupy and watch her while trying to fit everything else in between. Of course it doesn't help that she is now becoming increasingly more resistant to napping, despite having a regular routine for the past year! It seems that she needs 1.5 naps a day, and taking the first is a real struggle but without it is even more of a challenge when she becomes grumpy and overtired. So the compromise is a shortened nap of 20minutes in the morning, prior to which has to be some form of activity eg stroller/car ride/ swing to keep her still and make her drowsy!
Geok is due in a month's time and she is getting into the final paces of preparation for motherhood. Unfortunately she has reached some obstacles in hiring her domestic help. Otherwise everything else seems hunky dory for her.
Oh... Madison is due for her last Prevenar shot this month....argh...
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