Can't wait to grow up

I remember when I was a child, I thought to myself, how nice if I am 10 now. And when I was 10, I thought how nice it would be if I'm 16. And when I was 16, I can't wait to be an adult and go to work (so I don't have to study). And when you finally become an adult, you wish you were a kid again! Such is the irony of life.

And I now see this in SW as well, she likes to do "pretend play" and once, Anna (who is the co-ordinator of the playgroup and also has 2 kids going to the same kindy as SW) told me that she saw SW & her girl-friends playing in their kindy classroom stuffing dolls in their shirts and being a "mummy"! We had a good laugh about it. They know about "the bun in the oven" because there are a few mummies at kindy who were/are pregnant.

Then few nights ago, as I was preparing to go to bed, I went into the room to have a peek at her. I saw her fast asleep..... with her dolls (Makka-paka & Iggle-piggle) stuffed in her shirt! She must have been pretending before she went to sleep and fell asleep without taking them out. I roared with laughter and summoned Meng to have a look. She cracks us up!

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.

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)

Puzzles

Continuing from her fascination with puzzles, she has been trying to tackle more "complicated" pieces. Since last week, she will sit down quietly & patiently piecing this 48-piece puzzle that my brother and his girlfriend got for Shean Wenn.

That day she came running to me displaying proudly her finished work! Well done. This, is definitely not from my genes because I never liked playing with puzzles, I have no patience for it & will give up before I even start the job. Nevertheless, I am so glad she isn't like me in this case!

"Look mom, I did it!", I heard her little voice say as the pitter-patter of footsteps came running over.

48-piece puzzle

"Now you do it!" - she seemed to be saying (not that she really said it out)
Lest you think this is amazing, I have heard my friend telling me that her daughter (who is now almost 5YO) when at around SW's age, finished a 100-piece puzzle all on her own.

The REALLY NOISY fishing game!

4 April 2010 : Shean Wenn @ 33 Months Old

This weekend being Easter Long weekend (Good Friday is a Bank Holiday* & Monday is a replacement holiday for Easter Sunday), saw us spending our Friday in a shopping mall. Meng went "mad" shopping for Shean Wenn at the toy dept.

Toy 1 : This "create & play" toy from ELC.

(Request of the day 5 Apr 2010 : A dog!)

It consists of chunky shapes, nuts & bolts and you can assemble & create various designs with it - the box gave many different ideas such as a robot, trucks, a car, shopping trolley & a wheelbarrow!

When we got home, SW excitedly told us she wants to build a car. Meng taught her what is a screwdriver & a spanner. And she helped out Meng with the whole project and was very very enthusiastic with it too. The next day, she asks daddy to make a truck for her. After seeing that there is a shopping trolley that she can also build with it, she requested us to help her build one. So, this time MUMMY dearest - the "engineer", had to help her out. I sat down with her & taught her the nuts & bolts too. The good thing is, daddy also taught her a system to arrange the nut & bolt together so she was very good at it. We build ourselves a nice looking trolley, but obviously not nice enough for her because she then "demanded" that I should put flowers on it. She looked for the flower petals in the box - and found it (I told her they didn't give it to us, but not satisfied with my answer, she rummaged until she found it!).

(Shean Wenn's very own shopping trolley - created with help from mummy!)

Toy 2 : THE VERY NOISY FISHING GAME!

Oh boy, the title says it all. Actually I have been telling Meng that Shean Wenn will sometimes swing her scribbler board by holding to its pen. When asked in horror what is she doing : she replies she is FISHING! Where did she get the idea from? I really don't know. But I was SO afraid she might swing it and it accidentally fly off from her grasp & hit herself, or the tv, or me! So Meng says let's just buy her a fishing game if we can find it. We managed to find one in Smyths and bought it straightaway . Meng also bought a Hello Kitty DVD, and 2 Wiggles DVD for her.

This is a video of her "fishing" - this was taken this morning, her first morning playing with it! She is very excited because everytime she comes home from outside, she will run to find it and sit down & fish!



NOTE : * Bank Holiday = Public Holiday

Funny faces

23 Mar 2010 : 32 Months Old
One day short of being 33 Months old and she's still the cheeky little girl that she's always been.

This morning whilst I was still in bed, Shean Wenn came running into my room saying "Mommy look!! Funny face!" - she had a cheese stick that Meng gave her in the morning across her mouth forming a "smile" (he makes her milk & sometimes give her her junk food breakfast before he leaves for work). There was once, months ago, she used the banana that I gave to her as a "smiley" on her face saying the same. I think she is imitating her fav CBeeBies character "Mr Tumble"/Justin.

Today is filled with many "Funny faces" moments.. later she did these.

Funny face #2 : Starry-eyed.

Funny face #3 : Her drawing of a face with stickers - nice touch eh?

And my favourite photo of Shean Wenn with my grandma taken last December when we went back for a 2-week holiday (which is too short. Holidays with family should be at least 1 month! How I miss my family.)

**** Developmental Updates *****

Verbally, she is very expressive & can speak in complete sentences describing things in detailed. I must remind myself to take a video of her one day. When asked about what she did today at the nursery, she can describe accurately to her dad.

Sometimes without asking, she will like to share what she thinks of something, for example how do you eat beans and bread (not toast because I don't have a toaster) or what Timmy (the sheep) is doing on tv. "Timmy is playing in the park mommy. Timmy plays with his friends, got doggy, cat, caterpillar. Timmy is so naughty, look, he is pulling out the flowers! What a naughty Timmy. Now they going on the bus... whoooooooo..... "

She also likes singing and knows the lyrics to alot of songs. I remember while in Port Dickson (Msia, holidaying with my parents & brother), she impressed my brother so much with her "entertainment" of kiddy songs for an hour. Hehe!

Chinese songs : I bought a chinese songs DVD while in Malaysia and put it on for her about 3 or 4 times a week 2 months ago. I think after listening to it less than 15 times, she could sing some of the songs. She even dared correct my "lyrics" (I made some up because I am not familiar with chinese songs) saying "No mummy!!! Yue guang guang, zai hu chang". Now she can recite most of the songs there pretty well. She may not understand what it means but she certainly knows her lyrics!

She can explain to me what a few of the songs mean because I explained to her once. I must say she has very good memory too. It is quite funny how she will sing "Ni shi lan duo chuong x 2, ni de yi shen dou shi tong" (Translation : You're a lazy bum x 2, your whole body is in pain) explaining to me that the Koko (boy) is having tummy pain because he never exercise! Meng says this song is for me - The nerve!

Creative Play : Giant Butterfly

2 Sep 2009

Yesterday afternoon as I was lying on my bed resting, I heard Shean Wenn talking excitedly, "Butterfly butterfly!! Fly... Up im de kai (Up in the sky)!". I sat up and turned around and saw the biggest & most beautiful butterfly I have ever seen!


The GIANT BUTTERFLY in my living room. Does it look familiar? Yes, but of course it is none other than Shean Wenn donned in what seems to be our Ikea laundry basket (she helped me unload all the washes in the morning and hence it is empty and she could play in it) - carefully & creatively strung around across 1 of her arms.

Now, who says kids need expensive toys to keep them happy & entertained?

"Discover" - The Story Making Centre

28 July 2009

Shean Wenn & I made our way to the appointed DLR station to meet with the organiser & other moms as this is a day-out organised by the Local Surestart Centre (government-funded centre for kids's welfare & activities, every borough has a few centres for the convenience of parents). We had to take the DLR (again) to get to the last station which is Stratford, walk for 15mins before reaching the destination - DISCOVER, "the story making centre".

Just the day before as i was casually informing Meng that I'd be bringing SW out to Stratford for a "Discovery Trip", he asked me what was it about? I scratched my head & didn't know how to answer him because frankly, they didn't say much on the itinery. I replied him, "It'll be fun!! Furthermore, Jessica (my friend & her daughter & another kid) will be there".

And what a perfect day it has been! The day exceeded all my expectation, in terms of "fun" factor & also, SW's behaviour - she was SO well behaved the whole day being her chirpy self. I was so impressed. I definitely had alot of fun bringing her out although I was knackered by the time we came home (and had to cook, not forgetting!).

Discover Centre is like a mini-playground attraction for kids, indoors & outdoors, there are alot of funt hings to be dicovered by kids - ageing from 1YO to probably 7YO.

Let the photos speak for itself. (Click on photos to see the full version)

(This photo is taken off their website, and it shows the downstairs where they converted it into a "Pirate" land. Story telling area is on the "ship deck" while the kids can also explore the surrounding "Island" with nooks and corners where they also can find treasures)

Upstairs, the fun begins!

Downstairs in "Pirate" Land/Ship. Shean Wenn is Pirate "Yellow Bandanadee" for the day :) Look at the yellow bandana & blue scarf that mummy put on her, thereby transforming her into the Pirate of the Day. Later on, they proceeded to next door where they could paint their own flags. They provided an apron for her and lots of colours & brushes. While the paint were left to dry & fixed to a rattan, we had snack time and also face-painting. Sadly I didnt allow SW to do face-painitng because frankly, I just didn't wanna wash off the paint from her face. And also I remember MIL telling me last year not to let her do face-painting because of her eczema.. Maybe when she is older she can do that.

It was almost 3.30pm when we were done. We then went upstairs again where the kids played. This is a "ship" area and look how enthusiastic SW is at having a go at the, umm.. what do you call the ship steering thing? Well,.. yeah, you know what I mean.


Waving their flags around - SW LOVED THIS!!! She couldn't stop waving her flag. She found this action very fun! I guess it is pretty fun looking at how the flag waves... (Photos below show Shean Wenn with friends Xin Yi & Matthew)

(Inside the room upstairs where more toys await them).

Just before going home, Jessica & I brought the kids outside to play at their playground. It isn't a very big playground but it's got loads of fun equipments for them to tire them out.

There was this slide which is REALLY high (photo below) and without any hesitation, SW climbed it without me knowing! How I realised was when she called me from the top ("Ha-know mummy!!" - Hello mummy) before proceeding to slide down! Oh my, what a brave little girl. The slide looks like a green monster. Shean Wenn on top of the "green monster" slide!