I can use a fork

Thaleia has made some good progress on her self-feeding. She's got the concept of "poking" the fork into her food before bringing it to her mouth.

Realised that Chwee Kueh is a very good "training material" for practising the use of the fork as it sticks. Well done, my little one! Mummy can sip her morning coffee and happily read her Straits Times while you enjoy your "chwee kueh kosong" at 8am on weekends.

My First Kite

Thaleia and I had the luxury of spending our Monday this week with two wonderful Jie Jies, flying kite at Marina Barrage. Have heard so much about the place and I realised why it's such a hit amongst teenagers, kids and parents alike. The view of the dam, casino, singapore flyer and the wind can make one forget about all the blues in the world and focus on the lovely blue sky God has created instead. We tried to fly the kite 3 times but the wind was not strong enough to keep the kite up. But still, it was good fun to frantically pull back the strings when the wind speed drops and then frantically release the string when the speed of the wind picked up again.

The REAL highlight of the trip for her was the water play area and the water fountains. She ran straight into the water, made herself totally comfortable by sitting down, shouting "bubbles! bubbles!"...Boy, did she have a splashing good time! Marina Barrage is so going to be one of our frequent hangouts. And this time, Mummy will bring the swim diapers.

Hopelessly In Love with Bears

Thaleia has developed a love and attachment for bears. It probably started with a first mini carebear from Aunty Dawn. Last Friday, we left her purple carebear at Aunty Anna's place over Christmas and had to buy a new one to tide over the days. Good thing she agreed to get a different color, a red one. And, we cannot leave the house without it so bears are regular passengers on her carseat.

Here's a video of Thaleia identifying and saying the names of some of the animals from one of her favourite books,,"Brown bear, Brown bear, what do you see?". Now the animal she says most clearly and with most enthusiam is the word BEAR..hear her say it at 1:44.

This is the most wonderful time of the year

Over this Christmas, we headed for a "staycation" in a hotel around Parkway Parade, which is near to the East Coast Parkway. On the 25th, it rained a good half of the day so all of us ended up just relaxing in the cosy indoors. Then on Boxing Day, the warm sun came up! At 9am, armed with 3 picnic mats, drinks from Ya Kun Kaya Toast, bee hoon, "char siew baos", we set up our breakfast table by the beach and really enjoyed the sound of the sea, the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze. Thaleia was so engrossed with sand play, she ignored everything else around her for about 30minutes...

Playing with sand is SERIOUS fun!

Dig Dig Dig...

Time to wash my feet!

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." - Burton Hills. How very very true!

Out with Uncle Patrick

Self feeding

After a good one week away from home, Mum is back to serious business in training the little precious in self feeding. Bought a huge toddler bib to faciliate this. Thaleia was all smiles when she saw her bowl and spoon laid in front of her. She enjoyed herself thoroughly but we can't say the same for David who had to clean up the mess!

The art of using a spoon takes years to develop..it's a long way there. Next thing to do tomorrow to buy a better training spoon and a floor mat

.

Feeding the Giant Tortise

Headed for the zoo with a single objective today: To feed the giant tortise! This giant tortise weighs 270kg and is 70 years old..so it should be going through mid life crisis now since these giant tortises have a life expectancy of 150 years! Was an enjoyable trip..walking amongst these special animals with such extraordinary longevity..and watch them munch on apples.