Our family vacation start now......

Today mark the start our 3 weeks family vacation....

One Day....... and Counting: Time for family, fun togetherness

 

Finally, after months of waiting, sis and brother in law will be arriving Dallas on Saturday Morning. Just in time for Labour Day weekend sales...

 

 

Looking forward for our ultimate family vacation!

 



Lemon Madeleine (French Butter Cakes)

28 Aug 2013

New bake of the week... 

Super weelicious 

Next on the list - swiss roll... 

Back to School

27 Aug 2013

Xavier's first day of school after 2 weeks of summer break 

luckily, no whining, no tantrum and no separation anxiety

He loves to go school now 

Hugs and kisses when I drop him off school 

Love :)

Fun time @ Party City

26 Aug 2013

Xavier will be turning 2 in October and we are planning 2 birthday parties for him 

- one at home and the other in school

Lots of planning to do ... so brought him to party city to get some ideas! 

First, we have to decide on the theme.... 

Monster?

Mickey Mouse?

M & M?

Evening stroll @ Park

25 Aug 2013

Last minute decision to take Xavier for a stroll at the nearby park (Andrew Brown Park)

Xavier was thrilled when we brought him to the newly constructed wooden playground

It's definitely a place to keep a kid occupied

Posing with his fav animal 

After the stroll, went Long John Silver for dinner...

My 2 boys... Super love this pic!

BBQ @ GV

23 Aug 2013

Thanks Meiling for organizing a BBQ gathering... 
All of us had fun :)

I am in love with his body and arm floats
with this, he can float and swim all by himself 
He likes the independence

Happy 24th Birthday, Judee!

22 Aug 2013 

Happy Birthday Judee 妹妹!

Hope all your birthday dreams and wishes come true! 

Cake cutting with Oaks RC ladies  :)

Lunch @ Uno Restaurant

2 Aug 2013 (Friday)

Hubby's base lunch gathering @ Uno buffet restaurant 

First time there, there were lots of varieties

nice food at a good price 

definitely will go back again!!! 

Photo taken by Winnie's daughter...these photos aren't perfect 
lighting isn't ideal and blur 
But I must say these were the most perfectly imperfect pictures :)

Happy 48th Birthday SINGAPORE!!!!

9 Aug 2013

9 Aug, is a special day. It's Singapore 48th Birthday!

So just want to do a very short post to wish Singapore happy birthday

Being overseas during Singapore's birthday, there were no performance, 

no fireworks, nothing at all... SO BORING!!!

Just a little celebration at hubby's workplace

Oaks RC ladies... super onz all in red and white!

7 Secrets to Raising a Happy Child

Nature and nurture are in a never ending battle to claim the disposition of our children. While it’s true that the apple rarely tumbles too far from the tree, it is also true that there are a multitude of things we as parents can do to safeguard the childhoods of our children, limit their exposure to the more damaging elements the world will see fit to introduce in time, and do our best to raise a healthy and happy child.

We might not be able to help the variety of our branches, but we are the ones who control the nutrients in their soil and the sunlight in their sky.

In addition to the obvious things such as making sure your child is consuming the right nutrients, staying hydrated, and getting the quantity of sleep and exercise a growing body needs, here are 7 secrets that can help you raise a happy child.

1. Let your child know you are excited to see them when they enter the room. Let them see the light dance inside your eyes when their gaze drifts into yours. Be mindful of their presence by showing them your smile and greeting them warmly. Say their name out loud. Not only do children love to hear the sound of their name, they also long to feel validation from their loved ones. Think about it from an adult perspective – wouldn’t you love it if the face of the person you loved most lit like a holiday parade every time you entered the room? Your child loves you the most, imagine the returns after a childhood filled with such affection.

2. Teach your child it’s okay to be bored. As parents, it’s often our instinct to entertain our children each and every waking hour. When we don’t possess the time or energy, it is all too easy to allow the glowing blue babysitter in the living room to do the heavy lifting. But when we rely on television, or any other form of autopilot attention, we succeed only in limiting our child’s development. Children have vivid imaginations that flourish upon nurturing. But without the opportunity to coax their creativity, it will only whither on the vine. Allow your child idle minutes to develop their creativity with hands-on activities to stimulate their thought. A few sheets of paper and a box of crayons can keep a well rounded child busy for far longer than an episode of Dora.

3. Limit your child’s media. Related, but not limited to number two. Limiting your child’s exposure to media isn’t only a positive move for promoting their creativity, it is an excellent method to broaden their attention span while grooming their ability to stay calm. Your child will have plenty of exposure to more than you want soon enough. During those precious years when you are the designer of their decisions, you must make sure they are learning to live a life independent from the over-exposure that is often too easy to rely on. Yes it is difficult, but we owe it to the next generation to search for the right road rather than the easy one.

4. Let your child know they are more important than work by giving them eye contact and attention. Your child doesn’t just need you around, they need you present. Play with your child, interact with them, find out what is important to them by asking questions and listening to their answers. Your child deserves at least a little bit of you each and every day, at least a few minutes where you are not considering your email or allowing your thoughts to wander over what’s been left sitting on your desk. Letting your child know they are important is like giving them an insulin shot of happy.

5. Let your child make a few of the rules. You don’t have to make them the boss to let them feel empowered. Often, power struggles with our children are the direct result of them feeling a loss of control. You can easily curb these instances by allowing your child to feel like they are part of making up some of the protocol. By at least appearing to give your child some of the control, you are helping them understand household law inside and out. This will lead directly to a willingness to follow.

6. Teach your child – don’t assume it’s all happening outside the house. Home schooling is every parent’s job. Whether your child attends public or private school, or receives all their schooling at home, it is essential to the world’s best future that parents are the ones to fill in the blanks. There are plenty of skills not taught in school that play a massive role in determining who your children will grow up to be. Children are not raised in tupperware, and when they finally leave us to enter the world far away from our watchful eyes, they must have the sharpened tools that will help them be the best that they can be.

7. Model appropriate behavior. In my opinion, this is the most important item on the list. Children do as they see, not as they’re told. If you want your child to be mindful of others, you must be mindful of others yourself. If you want your child to by happy, you must smile without hesitation. There is no one more influential to your child than you. At least for now.

Raising a happy child is hard work, but it is something that can and must be done.  Once you focus on the needs of your child and ensure you are doing all you can to meet them, your efforts will be rewarded. You will have a healthy and happy child, fortunate to have been raised in a family where childhood wasn’t permitted to simply fade away.

Xavier is snap happy :)

Xavier begs to hold our camera 

He's obsessed with the buttons and the settings

And of course the flash

He likes the independence and expressed so much happiness and excitement while trying to take the photos

I love observing him as he concentrates to reach "perfection" and tries and tries again 

22 months old

2 months to go until my cheeky boy turns 2!

I can't believe he is going to be 2, where did my little baby go?!

He's developing his personality even more, expressing his needs/wants and just charming the heck out of everyone around him. He's so fun and mischievous with a grin that tells us he's thinking of doing something he's not suppose to. He's such a chatterbox and always on the go, yet he still love cuddles with mama and papa :)

I love when he look at me and say sweetly "please mama", I can't help but give him what he wants. He seem to have inherit my stubborn streak and hate having to do something he don't want to do. He's also demanding on who does what for him.

Lately, if he don't get his way he'll do a whiny cry and throw a tantrums, at this point he get put into time out corner until he settle down. I think the terrible two have officially hit :( He's also into hitting. We are trying to break this habit really quick. He actually hit me good in the face once and it took everything inside me to stay calm and reprimand him! Naughty Naughty! 

It's so exciting to see him start stringing words together, making sentences and even able to have our daily little conversation together.

I can't wait to see what adventures we can get up to this month! 

Papa and Mama love you so so much *Mucks*