My nephew, Joshua

Terence tried so hard to get this picture right. Joshua was only interested in sucking his thumb and Kai, who was originally in the picture, only wanted the Little Einstein book which we took away so it wouldn't distract him.

Standup comedian

Kai has learned what humor is about, and he's been 'cracking' a lot of jokes lately.

Here's one of him entertaining his grandad and I.

If wishes will come true

After Peter Cincotti's highly energetic concert yesterday night (as part of the Singapore Sun Festival), I went home dreaming about how my son will grow up to be cool, good looking, jazz singer and pianist.

Like Peter C., he'd learn how to play the piano at age 3, then he'll live in a hip place like New York, I'll go on world tours with him, and watch him become a babe magnet.

Horror of horrors. I've become my parents!

# # #

After coming out of the daze, knowing full well I won't make Kai learn anything he doesn't wish to, Terence brought me back down to reality further by suggesting Nasi Lemak for dinner in Tanjong Katong.

It's called the Pungol Nasi Lemak, and you can find it along the Tanjong Katong stretch. There's always a long queue, and Terence swears that the food is always fresh. Think of it as the Fong Sing of the east.

Picture perfect

I finally have some time from the weekend madness for myself. Love the quiet evening, with just the sound of the water trickling down the landscaped stream outside the house.

I bought Kai a set of colour markers about a year back, but it's only recently that his drawings^ are starting to mean something. And so it was timely that the September 2008 issue of Parents wrote about how your toddler's drawings are "a window into his growth and development".

Between the age of 24 to 30 months, art now has a name. Toddlers in this age group can describe what he's scribbled, and he's more likely to name his artwork. According to the expert that the magazine interview, this is a very big deal, as the child understands that what he has drawn stands for a real object.

He calls this "circles". (Note the big green swirl.)

The magazine also recommends that parents resist the impulse to label their child's drawing (i.e. "Is that a car?") or even ask what it is. Instead, focus on the colours and shapes that you see (i.e. "Why did you use blue?").

He absolutely thrilled me with this painting^. He started off with the purple dots, and said "rain". I think it was because I pointed out how the rain looked as it landed on the glass ceiling of the museum this morning! ("Look at the circles and dots," I said.)

Then he did more circles thereafter.

This two masterpieces are now available for viewing in the artist's room.

Priceless II

Things that give you joy in your heart, bring a smile to your face

Are common, everyday objects seen in a different light

Priceless

My MMS to Terence re. the Sun Mobile that's on loan to the company read: Wanna ride?

His MMS reply: sorry I am busy having fun:-D

Breakfast at the museum

The weekend would come around and my mind would go into a haze. We like to expose Kai to as many interesting things as possible, and so we're always cracking our brains over what to do. Terence suggested going to the National Museum over the weekend and it was such a success that it's going into one of my "weekend to dos".

Breakfast at the spacious, ^airy, well-lit Novus cafe turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The last time I was there was for lunch with Eva and it was newly launched. It only had a paltry sandwich menu and the serving was so sad that it left me hungry. They have, however, expanded their offering since then and everything that we ordered was in good portion and yummylicious!

I ordered a chicken pie under duress (Kai insisted) while Terence had a carbonara. The pie crust turned out to be surprisingly soft and flaky, and the filling was moist and packed with chicken and came with an egg! YUM. Kai sabo-ed me and clamored for pasta in the end, which was YUM too.

But buyers beware the pricing of the drinks. If my reactions could be recorded, it'd read:

Muffin. S$4,50.

Latte. S$6.00.

Orange juice. S$9.00.

Reaction. Priceless.

 

I don't know what possessed Terence to agree to buying Kai an orange juice. This is what kids do you, I guess.

We ended the cultural morning by visiting two photo exhibits. Kai enjoyed the place tremendously; he just liked the fact that there were plenty of space for him to run around. So all in all, the museum is quite a good option for a lazy weekend morning!

Calling names

I called an insurance hotline to ask to speak to an appropriate agent for my needs this morning:

Agent: Oh, I'll refer you to 'Tavis'

Me: Excuse me? You mean Travis?

Agent: HA HA HA! No! That's the rock band. It's T-A-V-I-S.

Me: *stumped*

# # #

I sms-ed another insurance agent to ask her who else can I speak to in her absence:

SMS reply: Please speak to my staff Atalie...

# # #

What's the world coming to.

Bedtime reading

When Terence went into Kai's room this morning, he found three books in his bed. This meant he woke up sometime in the early morning to grab more books from his basket.

How cute...

His favorite things

While other kids fall asleep clutching a favorite soft toy, Kai insists on having a Little Einstein book next to him on his bed.

He's really my boy.