[teddy bear teddy bear, i am sick; call the doctor quick quick quick]

remember the children's game we used to play? this post is all abt parenting woes ...

It's only when we have our own children that we understand much more about our own childhood and the way each of us have been brought up. Last weekend, we visited the zoo again but what marked this visit was that Gracie had a fall and grazed her knee. Perhaps because of my own experiences growing up, i didn't really react in an overly concerned way. I feel that falls and grazes are all part of the process of growing up, not to be too fawned over and protected, as that defeats the purpose of them learning through the process. Vic thinks i'm slightly too extreme, as gracie is afterall just 18 months old, and she was practically screaming her head off when the antiseptic was applied to the open wound. Maybe i am.... and i do realise that she is still afterall a wee baby, so i did capitulate and give her all the cuddles and kisses and basically make her feel like the princess that she is. I realise that being parents, we are constantly learning new things. More importantly, we might disagree about certain parenting styles, but eventually, i hope we stand united as a solid foundation that gracie can rely on. We are also discovering more about each other, which i feel really contributes to us being closer as a couple.
It's just been a day since her fall, and already Gracie has forgotten all about it, and is skipping, running and hopping about like she does everyday. :D

Here's some pics of our sweet little princess:

running with joy

one, two, buckle my shoe

soap and bubbles - o what fun!

catching the bubbles

pure magic

[quality time]

went to the zoo with gracie and my parents over the weekend. It was just after a little shower and i just love the smell of rain in the air and how the green look so much greener against the rain-soaked earth. I think the animals loved it too cos all of them were out and about! Here's some pics of those fun times!

[melts my heart]

gracie started saying her first few sentences yesterday:
daddy came back home
mummy come here
mummy goes to toilet
goodnight por por

and my top fav

mummy loves gracie!

heehee.... so sweet. Love watching her scrunching up her face and really thinking about the sentences she wants to say. Then the satisfaction when we understand her full sentence! Really adorable :P

[missing u]

how do you explain to an 18th month old what it means to be overseas?
Gracie really misses daddy, mostly late at night, just before her bedtime. Tonight she asked me again where is daddy? I replied - he's working in Korea. I think she's starting to put all the pieces of the puzzle together - here's what she said -
daddy.
plane.
airport.
work.
bus.
see you! BYE!

lol... dunno if that means she understands? But it is really fun talking to her nowadays. She will repeat conversations i'm having over the phone. and she's started to link words up. her double words lately -
clever girl (when she gets a puzzle right)
clever baby
clever mummy (sometimes)
blue mummy (when i'm wearing blue)
walk here
sit here
come on!
one boo boo (her bolster)
mummy's 2 peee-low! (all joined up - like one word)

cracks me up! :D

[for the record]

Something to cheer me up when vic's in korea - i got selected as the winner for challenge #14 at the HMITM website. For non-scrappers- this is an online site hosted by a group of really cool international scrappers, and the challenges are really awesome! I'm so happy to be selected!! :D - this was the layout i submitted -

On another note:
I've started up a small business dedicated to creating keepsake albums for young parents like me who are too busy to compile everyday thoughts and pictures of their children growing up. We all know that our children just grow up too fast, and I'm happy to be able to put down little snippets of memories as and when it happens through this craft.
I will also be available to create keepsake albums for any other type of occassion - engagement, wedding, baby shower, graduation etc. One off gifts also make very good presents for baby showers, wedding presents etc.

This is the website where prices and examples can be seen ->For the Record

pay me a visit and add any comments!!! :D

[guest appearance...]

first off - the guest appearance of gracie's double eyelid on her right eye. When she was born, she didn't have any double eyelids at all. I think the left eye started to develop a double lid when she was around 6months old. When she's very sleepy, her right eye sometimes makes a guest appearance with the double lid. Right now, it's
been happening for the past few days, ever since she's got the flu. I hope it's here to stay!



next - how did she ever get such nice wavy hair! As far as i know, i had a whole thick shock of hair as a baby, never so fine and definately not wavy! Vic also had very little hair as a baby. But wow, look at gracie's curls! They are breathtakingly gorgeous (ok, this is my biased opinion as her mum :P) and they look especially pronounced just after waking up from her nap! :D



second last - a little game that vic invented - sticking buttons between toes. It's something gracie loves doing - combining both her favorites - TOES & BUTTONS.. lol. She gets hysterical when we put buttons in between our toes too. :P


lastly - guest appearance - 2 guests to be exact. Yuta and Erika came by this afternoon for a little play date with gracie while me and jas caught up on our business -> my kids party



O and vic's gone to Korea for work for the next few days, so it's moving house time to camp over at mum & pa's :P

[when 2 worlds collide]

With an energetic 18 month old, everyday is a list of accomplishments with her physical skills. Not only can she walk, she's running everywhere, skipping across the grass, climbing up and down the sofa and bed! Even more amazing is to see her develop intellectually.

Just last night, we both witnessed a little spark that goes off in Gracie's brain when she grasps the concept of something. It was a jigsaw game that Auntie Chengee gave her some time ago. The past few months, she's been able to identify the 2 different parts of the puzzle that fit together, but has never been able to fit them together herself. It was just last night that she understood the positive and negative of the puzzle worked together, and that you needed to lay them down on a hard surface like the floor or table to fit them together properly. It was a joy to see her feel so happy to accomplish the task and to do it at high speed over and over again! :D






* photos taken last weekend when we visited the national museum new extension.

[SAHM -wannabe]

It was a lazy friday afternoon. I had a lot of fun playing SAHM to gracie. It was great fun experiencing gracie's everyday activities with kong kong and por por. We sat on a bus, played with slides in the indoor a/c playground (great place for kiddies!), took her evening stroll with her - including visiting all the houses on the route with dogs or cats in them! Gracie loved showing me all the things she does during the day, she definately seemed really happy to have me tag along! She's such a big girl now, and i love how she holds her own conversations with us. Right now, the 3 top favorite things are - Miao Miao; Buttons & Pens. :P

[playschool trial]

gracie went for her 1st playschool trial day on friday. It was a momentous occassion, not for gracie - she just happily played with all her new friends! - but for me. I was commiserating with the other mom waiting for her child in the same playschool - it's not really a trial day for the kiddies, more for the mummies! We all have the same anxieties- will she be happy, will i be guilty, will it be the right thing to do. I must admit, gracie didn't really miss me very much - she looked for me a few times, but mostly was quite happy playing with the other kids or listening to a story being read to her. I was really impressed that she actually follows instructions, even things that she normally doesn't do at home - like pack up and put away the toys - she does without a word of complaint or a whine!

Here's some pix of the fun times - i felt like paparrazi snapping these shots without her seeing me!


carwash


making dough cakes


bubbles for gracie


sigh..... no more a baby? :P

i LOVE weekends!!!

Yup, another 2 days gone by! Time always seem to past by so fast when it's the weekend. Anyways, it was a really good weekend, did so many things in 48hrs ~ had a great dinner at ml's (thanks for the fantastic spread sp); cropped, shopped and yakked at TVC; finished a good book (thanks ps); finished a baby gift for a friend; made some progress with my wedding album; started (again) on the donut poof for gracie's room (gotta get stuffing - anybody knows from where??)... hmm,and yes! visited the zoo :D *and made muffins as well!*; learnt a new song from cbbc (boom boogie woogie); got reacquainted with my piano ~

so, here's some of my fav pix:





lately, gracie has been saying this before she sleeps:
mammie-kool. daddie-kool. pi pi-kool. miao miao-kool. *heh* we're all cool! :D

life is a balance

been very busy at work lately, hence the inertia to update my blog. Also, life's been pretty low these few days.

so, just to remember the little things of which i'm grateful for today-
1. gracie - she makes me smile the moment i open my eyes and hear her call out 'mammie'
2. family - my mom and dad crack me up everyday with their mundane msn conversations. vic being always there - i love our quiet breakfast moments.
3. friends - wat will i be without them: my daily friends - the funny emoticons are great cheer me uppers; the overseas friends - who drop that occassional postcard and phonecall; my forever friends - whom i can't stop talking with once we've gotten started.
3. scrapbooking - the whole creative adrenaline when i create a page. And of course the immense pride when people leave nice comments about them.

here's to finding that balance in life!