Mama... Papa leh?

Bay had been asking me everyday where is Mark. Using his version - Mama... Papa leh?
Oops! so young can speak Singlish already hor!

Though Bay only get to see his dad once every few weeks and only for a few days each time, but Mark made quite a good effort in spending quality time with him. I'm pretty hands-off whenever Mark is around, so dad will also change his diaper, bath, etc... I'm only in charge of feeding, so I can get some rest while father and son catch up.

This shows the importance of spendinging quality time with the kids. Mark and Bay's close relationship will put some father to shame who sees their son every day and yet dont spend time with their kids.

Day out in Singapore - Kid's Kampong

We went to check out Kid's Kampong in Pasir Ris after lunch today. 
There is more information on their website.


Admission Charges
姨妈 Leela paid for the the admission and if I didnt hear wrongly, the charges are:

$10 per adult (with LongKang fishing) or $3 (without LongKang fishing) - unverified

The charges are not listed on their website, thus I can't verified it.  All admission includes 1 small packet of fish food (can be used for feeding the koi, chickens, tortises or ducks) and 1 small container of shredded carrots and some grasses for the rabbits


Getting There
The best way is to drive there. Alternatively, you can take MRT to Pasir Ris station and take a taxi from there. The taxi ride is about 4km and should take about 10 mins.


Facilities
The compound is not big. There is a koi pond with shallow sides so that the fishes can swim right up for feeding. There are some farm animals like ducks, chicken, rabbits and tortise, all confined or caged up.  A small pool for kids fishing (separate charges) and a fenched-up area for the longkang fishing.  Longkang = small drain.  There is a shallow meandering longkang with some guppies inside.  Kids can catch the fishes with a small net provided.  We didnt go for longkang fishing as we thought it is more suitable for bigger kids

Some drinks and titbits are available for sale but if you need real food then it is better to bring your own.
Limited resting points or benches, so BYO too... I mean if your little one needs to rest then its better to bring a stroller.  Things are a little run-down, but this is supposed to be a kampong right? hmm... manage your expectation hor.


Outing Review
My 21-months toddler and 3 year old nephew had fun meeting with the animals.  Kiiron just started to recognise these farm animals and what's better than to let him see them for real, not just from the pictures or TV.

When we were there, a birthday party was going on, so it was quite crowded.  It started to rain and we didnt stay for the pet show, so no comments on that.

One of the old man running the place was quite fierce.  When Kiiron wandered into a area where some tables and chairs were set up for the party (but at that time there was no one there), that man actually chased Kiiron out.  Come on! this is a place for kids right? Why so serious!

Another crappy incident was when we sat down next to some cups with fishes inside. (I suppose this is the end-product from longkang fishing), a mud came up to tell us that his children do not like people to sit so near their fishes!  Huh? Is that how you teach your kids? to be so intolerant? (shake head...)


Feeding the koi

Hello duck duck...

Kiiron and the "labbits"

Rating (2.5/5)

We are easterners and this place is very near to our homes. It is not worth to travel all the way from the other side of the island unless you couple it with other nearby farms or shopping in Ikea Tampines.

My 7 year old nephew was whining the whole time we were there, then again he whined in bird park too, but not as much.  Maybe we should have gone for longkang fishing which seems more suitable for older kids like him.

Most likely we will not go back to this place unless we have nothing to do for the weekends and there is no more new places to explore

     

A, B, "鸡"

They are so adorable at this stage... just before the start of the terrible two!
Kiiron loves to sing before bedtime and I managed to capture his version of the A, B, "鸡" song.

He is 20.5 mths now
    

It's a wrap for "milk milk"

Kiiron had self-weaned, it's been 1 week since he last asked for "milk milk".  To my surprised, there wasn't not much crying, just a little bit of whining.  I'm so pride of him.

I'm pride of myself too, I think I deseved it a little pat on my back or the front for this matter goes. The journey was a tad tougher for me as I'm living like a single-mum most of the time. Looking back at the whole 20 months and 1 week, it had not been all fun but the end result was so fulfilling. I left the breastfeeding lilypie tacker below my blog to remind myself of those sweet days and nights of my life. 

I had never thought that I could breastfeed successfully and for so long. People always had this misconception that big boobs are essential for breastfeeding. This is not true at all! When I go out with my 95% percentile giant baby, people will ask me which brand of formula milk he is taking, when I told them that he is on total breastmilk, they will first steal a look at my front and then ask "can meh?" or "enough meh?"

For those mum-to-be's who is willing to try to breastfeed, it is not easy to start. I told my sister during the first few weeks that breastfeeding is more painful than child-birth (ok I had epidural, so delivery was practically painless!). I remembered that time when I had to continue to pump with broken/chipped nipples until the expressed milk was bandung colour (tinted with blood!) and the pain from blocked ducts or mastitis! But it is even more difficult to stop… the closeness and bonding to your baby is second to none, only another breastfeeding mum can tell you how it felt.

There were fustrating times as well, fortunately there are many inspirating articles everywhere to help keep us like-minded going. I'm so glad to know that somewhere else there are people going through the same as me. I'm not the only mum who is nursing my boy to sleep, I'm not the only mum who can't bear to let my child "cry it out" so that I can have a full night sleep.

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/comfortnursing.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/momstories/nightweaning_jack.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/momstories/toddlers_do_wean.html

Kiiron only started sleeping through at around 20 months. Previously, he was walking up 2-3 times per night for "milk milk".  Mark had insisted that "crying it out" is the only way to train him but he's not here most of the time, I am so not going to do this on my own! Then again Mark also insisted that the only way to wean Kiiron off the breast is to apply Ruyi oil on my nipples! (that's what my MIL did and I suspect that is the reason why Mark is so afraid of medicated oil smell).

For the record

1. Kiiron didnt "cry it out", he reached the sleep-through-the-night milestone when he was ready.  All I did was to tell him 'milk milk' no more on one night, he whinned for 3 seconds and went right back to sleep.  I did the same for the next few nights and he started to sleep through after a few days.   
2. I didnt apply Ruyi oil or any other stuff on my nipples, he self-weaned when he was ready.  I started to nurse him only when he asked to, he asked for 'milk milk' less often after a few weeks

洁语录之:
Standby your believes. There will be trying times when people watched and said "see, I told you!"
Perseverance makes the rewards sweeter
  

First blood

Naughty boy cut his thumb today and it bled quite a bit. According to my mum who was the only eyewitness during the time, he was playing with a plastic sheet and he suddenly said "aiyo" and told my mum "yeeee" (refering to the blood)
  

He didnt wail but he did some whining. When I applied some 青草油 on the cut, he cried quite loudly. It is supposed to be able to stop the bleeding but it will really sting.  PAIN! PAIN!

Meet the teary boy himself, his "dudu" pouty lips are so 3D! 

He will show me his thumb when asked where is "pain pain".  At times he will show me his thumb and tell me "pain pain".  He is sticking his sore thumb up all the time and wants grandma to hold it for the whole day. Such a mimi boy.

  

Height Chart is up

The height chart is up... finally!

This was one of Kiiron's Christmas present from 二姨妈 and procrastinator mum only put this up in April.

I took Kiiron's stats from his health booklet as he would not stand still for the measurement.  The label is printed with Brother p-touch label printer.  Tham brothers are charted too.  Hoot!!!

  

失而复得

I'm in a streak of bad luck whereby I keep misplacing my things.

After our trip to the Jurong Bird Park on 18March, I realised that I can no longer find my car key! I thought I dropped it in Jean's car but she cant find it there.

Gosh! How should I tell Mark? He is very picky about anything to do with his car.
Oh well... I have to face the music sooner or later, so why not later? Mark came back last night and I finally had to drop the bomb on him!

After interrogating and grilling me throughout the journey from airport, it was concluded that I could have dropped the key in bird park.

Mark called the park this morning to check if there is any lost & found but the chance of finding something after 2 weeks is pretty slim... Guess what? the person called after 1 hour to inform us that they found our key!

Heng man... if not Mark will 跟我没完没了...

洁语录之...
Dont be afraid to explore any possibilities even if you think that the chances are slim. Like the saying goes, no harm trying.
    

Retrieving "stuff"

Kiiron always kicks up a fuss when his toys or balls roll under the bed, sofa or cupboard. Therefore some weeks back, Mark taught him how to use his golf club to "sweep" underneath the bed so that he can retrieve his toys or balls. He is able to execute such "rescue" work once in a while but most of the time, I will still have to help him.

This morning I saw Kiiron dashed out of the room, grabbed his golf club and run back in the room. I followed him and saw him trying to retrieve some stuff from underneath the bed and guess what is it?
  

January 2011 - Winter Beijing Business Trip

I needed to be in Beijing for 2 weeks to conduct a training and testing session for my project and mum agreed to go along to look after Kiiron. It was winter in Beijing with sub-zero temperature.

This is the taste of Beijing and I can never have enough of this!

Add caption

Bay thought that the 面饼 is a tissue for cleaning the table!