"Look, I'm so strong!" Rawrrr

Donned in her safety helmet, knee pads (she calls them "knee knee pad") & elbow pads, she strikes a pose while shouting for my attention "Mummy! Look at me.. Look at me, I'm so STRONG.. "

Yes, we bought our clumsy tot the pack for her scooter riding because well, she is learning and we reckon she may have a few tumbles here & there. The moment she put the gears on, she strike out this pose. I thought it was hilarious - just look at how serious she is, trying to look "strong" & tough. Oh boy, I wouldn't mess with her if I see that face in the playground.

On the other hand, she really is our brave girl. Two weeks ago, she ran a fever for 4 nights and I was pretty worried so brought her to see the GP 2nd time and she advised me to bring her for a blood test - which I did in the same afternoon. We took a cab to the hospital and they had to give her an anaesthetic cream to apply, then wait for 55mins before going back to them to do the blood test. After the test, the kind nurse (a kind middle-aged man who took her blood, he looks like santa claus) gave her a plaster and then with a pen, he started to draw a funny face on it. That made SW laughed! (Oh, I love how she laughs) She was brave throughout the ordeal although she did complain to the nurse that she was afraid of needles, to which the man said "Oh no.. no needles, only butterflies!" And he took out this needle drawing equipment which looked like a butterfly with 2 yellow wings. Bless him. He is great with my child (and i'm sure many kids). It was a stress-free & pleasant blood test at the Newham Hospital.

(She is fine now, the fever went on for 5 nights in total)

Here she is at home.

Spring has sprung!

It seems Spring this year came early. We have been enjoying sunshine with mild temperature for about 2 weeks now. Here is Shean Wenn's version of a Spring!

Shean Wenn's drawing of what seems like a Spring day, Sun is out and all the insects are out too : the butterflies, spiders and even a tortoise (in red, next to the red butterfly on the bottom left).

I've also been waiting for Spring for a long time, because I was planning to photograph all the British Wildflower (they start to flower in Jan, infact). Snowdrops were seen in early Feb and daffodils started to blossom late Feb. Right now, I see some daffodils have wilted. But luckily my trusty camera & I managed to captured some beautiful daffodils in the park last weekend.

It was a Saturday, and she was really tired out so slept in the car while on our way to the park. We decided to just chill in the cafe while she get some good rest. Saturdays are particularly busy for her as she starts her morning with half an hour of ballet (9am) before rushing off for a 2-hour Cantonese class (they break for 20mins at 11am).

(Comfortably sleeping in daddy's embrace)

We quietly sipped tea and watched the world around us go by.. then when SW woke up, she went for a scooter ride around the park.

Who can resist a taking a photo of a field of daffodils??! SW plucked 3 daffodils before I stopped her, cautioning her not to pluck so many incase we get caught. Yes, I read an online newspaper about a young family who were given a warning for doing just that. Their little boy (or was it girl) was plucking daffodils in the park when spotted by a council member who promptly called the police, she was given a stern warning saying that her parents may go to jail for it. Obviously the toddler is very upset from the incident.

Humoresque by A Dvorak & concentration

Shean Wenn & I (Nov. 2010)

So my aunt forwarded a link to me the other day, asking me to watch a boy of 3 conducting the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony (I have no idea what I just said :P). Which is available here:

Wow.. such a magnificent & passionate child. I thought he just had a very fond appreciation of music. I went through his (parent's) youtube account and discovered that this child, Jonathan also plays the violin. Not just to any simple song, but a complicated song such as Humoresque by Antonin Dvorak (again, it doesn't ring a bell to this tone-deaf & musically-challenged me). I was so blown away by it I asked Shean Wenn to watch it with me.(Copy the link onto your browser)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61ZIYeyggOI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

(There is another video of Jonathan playing the violin to Allegro at 3YO - look how happy and delighted he is with playing it! He looks natural with the violin)

She was quickly mesmerised by Jonathan - and upon further coaxing, she told me she prefers to learn the piano than the violin. At this point, I was a little disappointed (yes, I have a thing for the violin for quite some time) - but still, Piano is still a good skill if she can hone her musical talent and master this.

It made me think : How do parents of such prodigies train their kids? Did they realise their child has an innate musical talent/ear for the music, or did they plan it meticulously (ie since in the womb or at a very young age) so that they are exposed to the fine music*?

Talent aside, after watching Jonathan and a few other child prodigies : I noticed the biggest hurdle they need to cross - not getting distracted. And for a child that age, concentration certainly is not something they do very well. It must take a lot of perseverence & concentration to be able to sit down and learn a musical instrument - to listen, appreciate, and regurgitate it by practising it at hours on end. Looking at Jonathan performing the violin to Humoresque at 4YO infront of a big crowd just blew me away - not only he needed concentration to perform, he has the confidence to perform in front of a big crowd.

With Shean Wenn, I have observed that she can be good at focussing on a task - in fact, when she was barely 10 months old, she was so determined to figure out how to "clasp" her carseat that she would be on it everyday, for minutes on end just trying to find a way to clasp it. After few months of trying, she finally succeeded.

But at 3years old, her concentration seems to have dwindled. I know they go through phases but I was just telling the hub that I am frustrated to the point of tearing my hair out at her lack of concentration at simple tasks : something like sitting down on the dining table and finishing her food from start to end. She is bound to find an excuse to bolt down and walk around. It is very important to me that she can focus on this basic task - because to me, when you can master concentrating on small "matters", you will be able to tackle bigger tasks. And in life, you REALLY need to have a tight rein on finishing what you set out to do. Tell me, am I just being a paranoid-android/worry-wart or I'm just fussing about minute stuff? I know right? The things we parents worry about.

*fine music is classical music to me. The very posh type. Not the Beyonce, Jackie Cheung type of music.

New ride

Shean Wenn has a scooter and a bike, but they are both at the grandparent's place in Melbourne. We bought it for her last year during our trip back and thinking that we will definitely return to Melbourne, we should just get those stuff for her and left them there. Well, a year later and we're still here, and SW is still not utilising them. Recently, I noticed a new brand of scooter around (Actually they are not so new and have been around for a few years, but I only just happen to hear & see it now) - the Micro Scooter, a product by a Swiss Company. It is actually an ingenious design :

1. Made of sturdy materials, and yet
2. Lightweight
3. 3-Wheel lean & steer mechanism (it can steer to the left or right when you lean in that direction)
4. Removable steering bar (for easy storage in the car when you bring it out for family outings)

5. The deck is made of fibreglass

6. It's got a braking system (at the back) - way cool.
7. It is cool!

I managed to persuade the hubs to get her a new scooter with a few reasons :
1. Riding is an important skill to master, esp at this age. (Scooter or bike, take a pick) And it helps her agility & balance too.
2. This scooter is DIFFERENT from the Fisher Price one we bought because it has all the good points stated above.

We made our way to John Lewis over the weekend and after test-driving it, the hub bought it for SW. It isn't easy to make him part with his money so I bet it was a sound investment. :)

At almost 4 years old, this is only the 2nd time she got onto a scooter. She is still not very adept at riding it but I am sure she will be a pro at it in no time! I have been trying to bring her out for practice whenever we have time. The weather has just gone chilly again (feels like 0-2C with wind-chill factor) but I brought her out on Wed in the afternoon after our lunch. It was a sunny day but again the sun has fooled me. Without wearing gloves, I felt cold in under 20mins. Brrr! Shean Wenn also complaint of cold after about 30mins and urged me to go home and give her a cup of Milo.

(Always have time to smell the flowers)

The daffodils are out again - first signs of spring but yet temperature has dipped to wintry cold. Hope next week will be a better week.

PS : In case you are wondering, the cover on her head is a ski mask. It is wonderfully useful for her mornings & afternoon playtime in her kindergarten. (They play outside for almost 2 hours in the mornings and another 1 hr or so in the pm, so I think it is very useful protection from cold for her)

Self-portrait : 3Y8MO

She still likes drawing portraits, whether of herself or of us, or of her friends. Today she came up to me and said "Mommy, can I do some drawings?" I said "Sure", anything to get her to do something on her own. She showed me the happy smiley face she drew of herself and asked me to help her sketch a dress - I drew a triangle dress (shown in photo below) and she was very happy. She then added her own details.

The video below shows some of her extra work (She added a bag) and gave an explanation of her work. I am attempting to capture more of her in videos because it suddenly dawned upon me that I haven't done so for a long time and I know I will miss her at this age. And true to what everyone has been telling me since she was born : They DO grow up so fast! I remember hoping she would turn one soon when she was born.. and now, with a few blinks of my eyes, she is almost 4. (She will tell you "I will be 4 in June. My birthday is in June").

Postcard from the future!

My mother-in-law is an amazing woman! She really is.. when we were in Bangkok for holiday last year, I was waking up at 7am some mornings and when I go out to the living room, she would be halfway mopping the floor.. and have already washed a load of laundry (sometimes it may even have been hung up to dry).

But this really tops the icing! Last month when I opened the mailbox and found this.. A postcard from the future. Shean Wenn has been collecting all the postcards that FIL & MIL sends from their trips everywhere. :)

Gong Yee Wat Tsai : Happy Chinese New Year 2011

It's the Lunar New Year again!

Shean Wenn knows more about the Chinese New Year this year, but only the things I told her, which are :
1. She must behave well during CNY
2. She must greet everyone (at least the chinese people/friends) with "Gong Yee Wat Tsai" - Hainan for Gong Hey Fatt Choy/Gong Xi Fa Cai.
3. She gets an ang pow from her mom, and one from her dad. (She has been bugging me this evening to give her "THREE hong bao, mummy??" - doesn't work that day, Shean Wenn).
4. We go to the temple on 1st day of CNY.
5. We bake some peanut cookies for CNY - she has been telling her teachers about the "Chinese Cookies" she helped mummy made. Funny! I told her it's Chinese New Year cookies.. and it's peanut cookies.. but she intepreted it as that.

Meng has also bought a CNY CD by the Malaysian girl-group "M-Girls" for her to watch. Actually she has been watching them on youtube previously (last year) and since she loves their songs so much, Meng bought the CD for her. Whenever we put it on, she will try to follow the dance steps to her favourite songs in the album - she has a few fav. And the video below is her MOST favourite from the CD : A song called "龙头大队贺新年".



So here's wishing everyone, especially my family (The Lim family & the Wong family) a prosperous, healthy and safe New Year of the Golden Rabbit!

(You can watch the original video of the M-Girl's track here)

First swimming lesson : at 3.5 years old

In mid-Dec, as soon as the slots were opened for booking, I quickly chose a day for Shean Wenn to start swimming. In London they have swimming schemes for all its borough for kids & adults. Swimming classes start for babies as young as 3MO. Aquatots 1 is for babies 3MO to 3.5YO and will require an adult to accompany them. The reason I haven't done this is because I didn't feel like going into the pool every week. Aquatots 2 is for kids 3.5YO to 5YO and does not require an adult to accompany them.

After making the booking, I briefed SW about it telling her that her swimming class is on every Mondays. She was really excited and happy! Afterall, she always enjoys paddling in the pool.

So when term started on 10-01-11, which coincided with her 1st day of school, she went to school knowing full-well about the schedule for the day! After coming home from half-day school, she is supposed to rest a little and I will "call her up" at 3pm. She went to our bed and I was outside on the computer. I could hear her rolling about in bed but couldn't sleep. Then, about every 5minutes, she shouted to me "Mummy!! Is it 3 o'clock yet? Can I go swimming now?" And everytime I told her, "Not yet! Close your eyes and I'll wake you up at 3 o'clock". Well, she's a persistent girl and at 245pm, I told her, ok, let's start to change. I put on her bathing suit and she was clearly delighted - you can see she's been waiting for this time for a LONG TIME!

(This is the sort of grin that I see on her face the whole time she was in the pool)

We took a bus there and were a little late but it's ok, there were 3 classes happening that day so I asked for the swimming instructor. The instructor told me to grab a swimming cap and let her come into the pool. As soon as she hits the pool, Jamie the instructor gave her two boards and told her to kick. She then turned to me with the BIGGEST GRIN shouting, "Look mummy!!! I'm swimming!!". That expression is so priceless I wished I could capture it for Meng to watch. I was so overcome with pride - yes, my daughter is so grown up now and she's really enjoying this.. much more than I had anticipated.

Jamie was teaching them "blowing bubbles" - a basic and crucial breathing technique for swimming and I could see Shean Wenn being so passionate about it. She blew the water so hard until her face turned red! What a funny bunny!

The kids were also taught how to hold onto their board and "kick" - so far I see SW kicking with her legs in the water. I am not sure how he had wanted them to do it, but I can see some of the kids enjoying themselves although Jamie had a tough time controlling these kids. Well, not surprising as at this age (3+), they may not truly know how to grasp instructions yet.

They were also told to climb up on the side and sit down, and then Jamie goes to each of them and hold both their hands and ask them to "jump" into the water - he used the "humpty dumpty" rhyme to make it more fun!

Towards the end of the class, SW was still very cheerful. Infact, she didn't want to come up from the pool and even bobbed her head up and down in the water and telling me "Look mummy!!!". In the end, I had to pull her out with the help of Jamie and I bribed her telling her after she showers, she can have hot Milo and her cheese bites which I brought from home. I made some hot Milo and put it in a thermos so she could drink it after the class - also because I know it will help warm her body from the cold.

She had alot of fun that day and I'm so glad I booked the swimming class for her! I think she is already looking forward to next week's class. :)

(Her new Hello Kitty swimsuit, her new swimming cap and a body warmer- which I suspect will be disallowed because they would prefer kids to go into the water without "bulky" suits)

*Squigs and prawns

Pointing to the bowl of baked beans with eggs for our dinner tonight, Shean Wenn tells me :

"Save some for papa, ok?"
"It's ok, we can finish it because he's not coming home for dinner tonight"
"Huh? Then he is going to buy food?"
"Yes"
"Squigs and prawns???""
"I think so"
**Claps her hands!!** Yes, I am not kidding, she actually clapped her hands in excitement.
"Ohh.... I'm so excited!"
"What are you so excited about?"
"I'm very excited mummy! Are you excited??!"
>.<
"Daddy's buying SQUIGS and prawns! I'm so excited."

This is what she has been coveting from her dad's dinner. Salt & pepper squids or prawns, or both!(Salt & pepper squid, image from www.roboppy.net)

Snow in November

We woke up to a light dusting of snow in the morning. I made Shean Wenn's milk and after that prepared her for school as usual. The hub volunteered to drive us to school, so he went down to get the car. 2 minnutes later, he called to say it's better to stay home today because he was afraid it'll snow all day and I'd be snowed in and not be able to go get her from school later. Yayy! A "holiday" for me, i suppose.

The last time it snowed was last year, in February. This has gotta be the coldest November ever!

Since we're all changed, I brought Shean Wenn down to look at the snow. She REALLY LOVES IT!!

Assessing the situation : She is fascinated by the snow!

Loving it!

Touching snow...

Smile for another photo : before I ask her to head back home - didn't want my camera to get soaked.

On the way back home, she told me this :

"Mummy, later can I make a snowman? With carrot nose, raisin eyes and a big smiley face"

"That sounds nice, but what about his hat?"

"Oh! Umm.. I can give him my hat! He can wear my hat, see?"

It is still snowing as I'm writing this but no, i'm not going to bring her down to make a snowman. Frankly there isn't enough snow anyway, but even if there is, I'm not bothered. It's too cozy to just stay at home. Snow isn't my kinda thing. Gimme the sun & beach anytime!

She's still bugging me to bring her down to make a snowman.. I foresee it'll be a long day trying to find something for her to do while we're at home.