Letters To My Happy Suns: Dreamworks Day Run June 2017 - Reagan's First Race

Dear Reagan, you had no response, not even a single facial muscle twitch after I announced that I've signed you up for a run this June Holiday. It is the 800m Kids Dash at the Dreamworks day race. Mummy knows you have never been a sports-lover and hates the sun like me. You went like "Orh ,ok." Like how you always react when I told you that I've signed you up for another enrichment class again. Hoping to get more emotions from you, I described what you can expect to see during this Dreamworks race and how fun it would be. The only thing that get you that little gleam of excitement was when I mentioned that your best friend Ean ,is going to join you in the race as well.

On that day you were more thrilled to see your friend than the race itself. I was so damn looking forward to this day so it was quite disappointing that The DreamWorks Day Run this year was not as well-organised as I expected. Most parents were confused by the different long queues there and because parents were not allowed to join in the run, they have to wait at the pick-up point for their kids after they completed the race. And that was the problem because no one can give us a good answers where the pick-up point is and that frustrates a lot of parents there. Ean's mummy and I got a little nervous as well, mainly because it was the first time we signed you both up in a run without any adult companions and there were no one there to assure us that despite the minor "chaos", our kiddos will be"returned" to us safe and sound. We reminded you both countless of times to stick together and not to get separated during the run. It was quite amusing when you both asked what if you can't win the first place? We didn't expect to see that unseen competitive spirit inside you boys. I was secretly praying that it'll be very good enough if you can actually complete that 800m distance without giving up midway!

We watched and tried to run along with you boys amidst the crowd of enthusiastic parents. It didnt take long for you boys to head towards the finishing line, tired and panting hard, but you both looks so cute still holding hands and persist on with the running. Halfway the race, you boys got lost from our sight and so we tried to find our way back to the end of the race track, hoping to catch you both dashing through the finishing line. Although we didn't make it in time, we were lucky to have Ean's daddy recording that wonderful moment right with his handphone. Yup he happened to be standing at the finishing line waiting and cheering for the boys too.

I'm not gonna lie. While watching you putting that medal over your head, I was secretly trying to suppress that tears of pride and joy overflowing inside me . Damn it...thinking about it made my eyes watered again.

 It may means nothing to most parents since any kids can receive this medal as long as they finished the race. But, it means a great freaking deal to me. Five years ago , you were this little skinny preemie kitten gasping for every breath and fighting to survive in the ICU. It worries me so much when every of your physical milestones was delayed when you were a baby and you only started to stand on your own when you past the two years old mark.  And now today at five years old, I've just witnessed you raced half a stadium! My darling precious Reagan, you never fail to surprise me with all your amazing abilities and reminds me what an awesome boy you are. Mummy is always gonna be so proud of you, for just being you.

Letters to my happy Suns - Celebrating Easter 2017, the long weekend

Yeah , you guys knew that the school holiday is here and so that brings the triumphant joy on your faces haha! As promised, mummy lined up this Easter with a few fun activities for you guys!

First, we started off our day with an impromptu brunch at Birds Of Feather , a hip cafe that serves fusion food along Amoy Street. 

Mummy loves the comtemporary avant-garde decor of this place, but the price of the food was more towards the expensive side. Dada wasn't prepared to pay $90+ for breakfast today...haha!

A quick picture outside the cafe with mummy.

Afternoon is the play-date with your buddies at a new indoor playground that we've never been before, Playkeroo. 

You guys are inseparable every time you met. It always remind me how much you all have grown and the increasing love you all have for each other. 

And next we hopped to another cafe called NOM, to have an early dinner, and also to have a quick first birthday celebration for Isaac, one of the new member that joined your "gang"! 

On the Easter Sunday, mummy planned to take you guys to Cafe Melba for their Easter's activity. It's a regret that they refused to take in any reservations and the queue was ridiculously long when we reached,so we skipped to the nearby La Barca cafe to have our brunch instead. They too offer some kids activity there too like the Easter egg painting! You guys wanted to join in the Easter egg hunt but sadly all the eggs had already been picked up by the other kids. Reagan, mummy watched how you and your didi Kyrian continue to search for the eggs around the park even though I've already told you guys that there were no more eggs left. You guys were determined to complete the task! I guess probably next year mummy will organised our own Easter Egg hunt ok?

That evening, you boys followed us to have ramen dinner with all your favorite uncles and aunties. I wonder why you guys can get so excited just to be around mummy and dada's friends and never fail to pester them to entertain you boys. 

When there's food, there's happy Kyrian!

Auntie Nic promised to get you boys chocolate and you both went gaga over her haha! It's so easy to bribe you guys.

and Reagan, you didn't hesitate to pick a Hershey's chocolate bar!

Lastly we end our night with ice-cream waffles for dessert!

That night, Reagan you asked me when is the next outing with all the uncles and aunties again and mummy knew that you and didi did have alot of fun today!

Letters to my happy Suns : A visit to daddy's hometown in Shenyang during winter

Darling Reagan and Kyrian, mummy is now going to write about our recent trip back to daddy's hometown in Shenyang, China. We were supposed to visit grandma (nainai) and great grandma (tai lao) during the Chinese New Year, but the tickets were too expensive , so in the end we postponed the trip to the end of the new year month without telling great grandma (tai lao) so we can give her a surprise there!

This was taken right outside the express train which was going to bring us from Beijing to our destination Shenyang. Reagan, you were supposed to be sleeping in the stroller but you woke up instantly with your sparkling eyes wide opened when we told you that we were going to board the train.

Daddy upgraded our seats to the first class cabin so you boys can enjoy the comfortable and private space.You are still so obsessed with trains and got so excited bouncing up and down inside the cabin.

It was almost -5 to -8 degrees in Shenyang and also the very first time you boys encounter snow!

Reagan you were so eager to scoop up the snow when you see them.

At first we thought that being born in a tropically hot island like Singapore, both of you be freezing cold and couldn't wait to go back home, but we didn't expect to see you guys enjoying the cold snow so much!

On the 2nd day, daddy took us to Beiling park which is very popular among families with kids in Shenyang. During the winter, most families brought their kids here for "snowplay"! Mama bought you both a "snow scooper?", some tool that can be used to scoop the snow and shaped them into perfect snowballs! 

Yes a perfect snowball just like this! Kyrian, there are many times I've to stop you from touching the snow with your bare hands because I was afraid you may get frost bites. Mummy had to make you wear your gloves and remind you many times not to take them off!

There were so many interesting activities to play here, and we were all eager to try every one of them. This was the first ride we took! They were inflated floats pulled by a truck! Kyrian you were on mama's lap and I grabbed you very tightly with my knees because I was so afraid you'll get bounced out of the float during the ride. After the ride ended, I was shocked to see so much ice and snow on your face ! But you swiped them off like a man and told me that you want to ride it again!

These are metal skiing chairs and we use two poles to drag and move them on the smooth ice. It is not as easy as it looks but you kids were yelling for us to go "faster faster!"

After that we rented our own inflated floats to take you boy on a spin on our own!

Kyrian you were squealing in delight the entire time!

Reagan you were quite intimidated by the inflated float and refused to ride on it by yourself. After much coaxing and watching didi having so much fun on it, you gradually give it a try. 

But the look on your face made me burst out into laughter!

Daddy challenged the snowslide with you boys! We struggled to get you boys out of the park because you both had so much fun until you both refused to leave!

Another highlight of our trip was the time spent at a nearby Japanese hotspring. It had been a really cold winter and finally we can dress in something light and enjoy a long nice hot bath.

Our China trip was awesome and filled with many first-time experience for you both.

I have to type in simple sentences so Reagan you can read and understand better. 

My darlings Reagan and Kyrian, mommy and dada promised you both that we are definitely continue to have more trips in the future to collect more precious memories together!

Letters to my happy suns - August is all about the fun with friends!

August has been an exciting month for you boys, with playdates and activities all lined up!

With most parents' busy schedules, playdates are not really the easiest thing to plan but your mummy is so blessed to have really good friends who also have kids at your age. And that means there's "instant" play-mates for you guys haha!

 I never fail to emphasize the importance of having regular play-dates and the numerous benefits reflected on a child's growing up, either by exposing them to new environments or encouraging them to build relationship with people outside the family. Children can learn so much through play. It gives them the opportunity to be themselves, to imagine ,and to improve their social and communication skill when they learn to cooperate or collaborate in a game. And because children always learn from one and another, their imagination grow to include other imagination from their friends and that promotes a higher level of creativity for them to think out of their box. I simply enjoy watching my boys at play with their friends and listening to their funny conversations that usually cracks me up most of the time!

So let's playback our August, the month of fun with friends!

On the first week of August, we spent a day at Sentosa, taking the monorail tram , cable car and basically just loitering around the Island with your friends. There's always so much fun, joy and laughter during every kids gathering.

Playing with the mist fountain

Beautiful view from the cable car

The following week we had our favorite activity of all time again... picnic at Marina Barage! We love the breeze, the good weather and the huge open space for you boys to drain away all your energy!

Kyrian, as usual you amused me so much when you approached other strangers for their picnic food! I think generally Singaporeans are pretty nice and friendly as they're willing to entertain you. A few times I spot you eating together with strangers on their picnic mat and I've to apologize and carry you away, kind of embarrassing though haha!

Once again Reagan, you and your best friend Ean enjoys each other company so much. Both of you are just like superglue when you guys meet, totally inseparable ! May your friendship remains as close as this even after you both grow up and enter the next phase of life. 

August is also a month of birthday parties!

At your friend Gwen's birthday party, you still remember the rainbow jelly pop that she offered you.

 Also, I noticed that you were more initiative this time and automatically called your friends to join you at the pool. You even agree with me now that having friends is so much fun!

Next is our gathering on National Day 2016. We made you guys dress all in red and prepared a cake to sing a birthday song for Singapore together!

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Coincidentally, you guys also happened to be wearing MAN-U jerseys so Uncle Des was very thrilled to have a photo taken together with you boys. Hopefully years down the road, you boys can mimic this photo again with old uncle Des.

Near to mid-august, you boys were invited to Imm's 5th birthday bread-making party where you guys get to learn how to make your own bread. Reagan you were so interested in the activity and stayed throughout from the start of the session to the end. You even constantly remind Aunty Addy to check on your bread and asked her repeatedly if your bread is ready to eat. I knew you cannot wait to eat the bread you made because you've added lots and lots of chocolate chips in yours!

Dear Kyrian, during the birthday song session I've to stop you many times from blowing out the candles! We've to repeat the birthday song a few times so Imm has a chance to blow his birthday candles instead of you !

Lastly is Aunty Annette's birthday gathering! Once we reached her place, you were whining non-stop for us to open the chocolate cake from Chocolate Origin , which is also one of your favorite brands.

(a grainy low-quality photo of you happily singing the birthday song loudly for Aunty Annette)

Lastly a group photo with mummy and dada's friends!

Above I've mentioned about the benefits of children having friends and playdates, at the same time, parents also do need the same stimulation as the children too! We too really need a break from everyday life and the fastest and most convenient way of de-stressing is definitely a fulfilling gathering with friends. While the kids at play, the adults get their well-deserved quality time with friends too. We do treasure the time spent with our friends and each meet up does rejuvenates us for the week. I'm also pretty sure that we make better parents if we're having fun as well! In this way, we also show our kids how we foster good relationship with our friends and this indirectly teaches them to value personal relationship beyond their family too. 

 I truly believe that happiness is relatively linked to social connections. Therefore I shall end this post with an interesting article written by a handsome fellow, on the fastest way to make new friends in Singapore. Do check it out :P

Letters to my happy suns, Reagan - The Week without your Dada (24-05-2016 to 31-05-2016)

The idea of starting to write letters to my children comes when I noticed that each time when I'm at my computer typing away, Rboy enjoys peering over my shoulder and "kaypo-ly" read out whatever I'm writing about. At times, he would ask me to show him my blog via my cellphone, so he can read up and view the photos and talk to me about the event again, especially that particular blog post on his 4th year old birthday party. Rboy is an avid reader and he is interested in his mom's blog, so what is a better time than now, to start writing to him!

This is my first letter to the boys and I hope I can keep this routine going...Sometimes there's just so much going on everyday and so much I wanted to say and so much I want the boys to remember Hopefully when his younger brother BabyK grows older, he will appreciate this letter-writing as much as his older brother. 

Dear Reagan , 

This is the first time that your dada is going overseas alone and you boys will not be seeing him for one whole week. Reagan, because Dada bathes and sleeps next to you every single night so I was worried that you would be the one having difficulty with the absence of Dada. Which also means I expected you to drive me crazy for the next seven days. However my fear was uncalled for because it turned out that your behavior was the most awesome this week! Surprisingly no cries and whines at all. You wake up early without struggle and prepare fast for school. At night, you didn't make any fuss either when I make you sleep in ahma's room. During the day, getting you to complete some work was such a breeze. You were able to finish the primary one vocabulary assessment book and all the simple addition sums practice all by yourself.  It was then I realised that you behaved so much better without the presence of your dada. I know that's because he's the only person in the house who succumbs to your cries and whines. Without him around, you truly understand that the best option is to just listen and obey my every rules haha! You are indeed a smart boy!

 

Every night after bathing and getting you boys into your pyjamas, we would sit on the bed and read the first set of Junior Young Scientist series together. Both of you love these magazines so much and made me repeat them again even after I've finished. Especially Kyrian ,your baby brother whom you always refer to as your "baby bombom". He can remember all the names of the characters and tell us which is his favourite part of the story.

 

Today mummy thought it'll be a good idea to take both of you to the Singapore Art Museum and spend a nice noon there together. 

 

"Under the sea" theme

We took quite a few photos so I can wassap dada and let him know that we were having a great time together without him haha!

 

Ah ma has been nagging non-stop for me to do something to your hair because they were too long and covering your eyes!

 

Therefore mommy bought you to Parkway to have your hair trimmed. You told mommy that you love your new hair! I also realised that without your dada around, you tend to give me more compliments than ever. Telling me how much you love me , or how beautiful I am compare to Elsa and agreeing to every single thing I said, lol.

 

After our lunch, I took you for ice-cream and once again you swore your everlasting love for me haha.

 

On Friday, mommy took you to your new Chinese enrichment class which I signed you up a couple of weeks back. You never had interest in Mandarin and always try to convince us that you don't need to learn the language. You always ask me why you need to learn and speak Mandarin? Mummy told you that you have to learn because your nainai and great grandma can only understand Mandarin, so you need to learn the language to speak to them in Mandarin, right? You cheekily replied, " Don't need, then I teach them English.." You never fail to surprise me with your witty reply at times.

However Reagan, mummy wants you to understand that Mandarin is as important as English, and one day you will do very well in Chinese too.

 

During our Uber ride, you leaned forward and asked the driver if he had the song "Oppa Gangnam Style" in his car. The driver was very amused by you. I had to explained that it is your favourite song that your daddy always play in his car for you. The Uber driver was a really nice guy, he played the song on his handphone and sang loudly for you! He made you laughed and bounced on your seat all the way till we reached home. Before we left, I made you thank the uncle again for making your day a wonderful one :)

 

On Sunday, Aunt Ella invited us to her new house and you boys were so excited to meet your friends there! We forced all of you to play this scary growling dog game and everyone's reactions were hilarious!

 

Next, we visited the playground first to drain all your energy before we go back.

 

I know you had a great time with your friends, so do I, haha!

 

On the last night of the 7th day, I guess you could no longer hold it anymore. You miss your dada so much and started crying for him to come back now. Dada had to talk to you over the phone to soothe you to sleep. You even made me promise you that you'll get to see your dada tomorrow right after you wake up, and that kinda touched me a little. I didn't know you were missing dada all along, because you've never mentioned or talked about him for the whole week, well until today. I'm glad this week is over too because I too cant wait to see that look on your face when your dada appears in front of you tomorrow!