Children's Garden at Gardens by the Bay

It was a long weekend last week. There was no classes for Janelle on last Sunday hence we decided to bring them for an early workout before we spent the rest of the day at home. I have heard many rave reviews about Children's Garden at Gardens by the Bay and we decided to bring the kids there.

My 'not-so-little anymore' girl running around the water play area

This is a funny shot that I managed to take when another kid ran past and splashed the water onto his face

The duo having fun at the water play area

That is my girl running all over the area on her own

My lil boy checking out the area as he took much longer to warm up

I know that there are many different zones for the children in Children's Garden but the weather did not seem friendly that morning. Hence we did not manage to explore the entire garden. The sun was shining fiercely on us when we arrived at the water play area (the first zone on sight when we reached there). 15 minutes later, it became cloudy and we sensed rain coming.

I loved that the play area has a washing area for the kids and adults. I showered the kids there and we spotted the Toddler Play Zone when we walked to the cafe. The kids wasted no time in running to the play area. Fearful that the rain may come anytime, we allowed them to play at the toddler play area for 5 minutes only.

Children's Garden is a great place to bring the kids to as there are plenty of space for them to run about and there are different zones catered to children of different age group and preferences. Admission to Children's Garden is free hence we can bring our kids there anytime or end the day there after visiting Gardens by the Bay.

It was a short visit to the Children's Garden last Sunday. But seeing that the kids had so much fun frolicking in the water and running about in the toddler play area, I will definitely bring them back for more fun soon.

A day at the beach

Yesterday we brought the lil ones to Palawan Beach, as promised. My girl held on to the promise that I have made dearly and was very excited when the day finally arrived.

She loved the sand and sea but it has been a while since we last brought them to a beach. The last trip was in last June. So finally! We made a trip to the beach again. Our friends joined us with her girl and my kids were thrilled to have company.

On the way to the beach #funwithexpressions #happiness

We decided to have lunch at the food court at Palawan beach which was a bad choice. We were aware that the food centre was undergoing renovation works since our last visit ages ago. Hence we trusted that the food court should be ready by now and our hopes held high as we saw signages "Makansutra" leading towards the food court. To our surprise, there was only one store operating apart from the drinks stall. Thus, we had to opt for the only choice ie chicken rice. And we were told that they have ran out of rice and had to wait for 10 minutes while they prepared the rice. Well, I guessed we do not have other options but to wait. We have to feed the kids before they start playing.

It was very crowded at the beach but we managed to find a space to park our stuff and the kids wasted no time in getting their play equipments out.

Janelle has become more daring as she wandered into the water by herself. In the past, we have to hold her hands and get her warmed up before she dared to venture further into the water. She had a great time as she played with the sand, rolled on the sand and even allowed us to bury her feet under the sand. My firstborn has grown up!

My boy took a while to warm up to the sand and the water. But soon after he was having a fun time with his sister and friend. He was very amused when he saw his feet being covered with sand by his sister.

   

Despite the wet weather for the past few days, we were blessed with a sunny day when we were at the beach (the rain came when we were about to leave the island). The kids were playing well under supervision so the adults stole some time for selfies and a ball game. 

Am very happy to have a shot of my hubs and I. Loving every moment spent together.

See! The sun was so strong that my girl could barely open her eyes.

My boy and I. He had fun despite that grumpy face.

My bestie and I. A rare shot of us at the beach. Usually we were busy taking pictures of the kids or running after them.

 

A successful shot of the kids together. Parents will know how challenging it is to take a decent group shot of children.

The girls were enjoying their ice-cream after their wash up. Spot the poor lil boy at the side. Well, the 2 girls shared their ice cream with him after they spotted the poor boy by the side.

It's Good Friday! Photo opportunity with Easter Egg

They were not watching any videos or playing any game. They were attempting to take selfie! It was so cute when my friend's girl pulled Jayven closer to be in the screen. Very professional indeed!

It has been an enjoyable day out though the adults were totally washed out. I was supposed to join my colleagues at night for a celebration party but I was down with a headache (too much sun!) so I slept in early with my exhausted kids.

Funtastic day out! Great catch up with friends! Life's good :)

Precious weekend

Back to work for 3 weeks. Been busy with a big scale event which finally ended on Sat late night. I got to spend time with the kids yesterday till late noon before I had to report for work and my girl asked why I have to work (I can feel my heart aching at that point). And I am so glad that I have a full day with them today. Too precious!

Didi said he was scared and this sweet girl immediately placed her arm over him and said "didi don't be scared. Jiejie will protect you". Awww... that was so heartwarming. And I am glad that I was there to witness this sibling loving scene.

Chomp chomp time while waiting for their daddy. One of the best methods to ensure that they do not run all over the place while the mummy can take a break from carrying them or running after them.

My precious Sunday! My kids having fun on the kiddy ride. I am loving their happy smiles.

Oh! And I just have to put it on record. I had to work till wee hours on Friday and Saturday and my hubs tucked the lil ones (not one but two!) to bed without fussing from them. Great job!

In the past when I had to work late, I will receive calls from him with loud wailing in the background as my firstborn will look for me at bedtime & she will wait for me to reach home. Any working mum will understand the kind of stress and anxiety that I had to face then. At least now I will feel relieved knowing that the kids will be well and will sleep on time even though if I have to work late (not often I hope).

Looking forward to the coming long weekend!

Feeling the love

It is a rainy day. I was on site for a meeting. No brolly. So I chose the easy way out, that is, taxi. As expected, it was the peak hour so there was a jam. Feeling tired, I closed my eyes and rest.

Reached home, opened the door & instantly I heard "Mummyyyyyyyy". Out ran my boy and girl. My girl ran over and gave me a warm hug and shouted "I miss you so much!" Awww!!! All my exhaustion are gone and I am feeling the love. Yes, baby, I miss you so much too! Thank you for that heartwarming hug and for telling me that I am being missed. That is the best welcome home gift!

 

Jayven turns 2!

My secondborn is 2 years old! Gosh!! He has grown so much? I can still remember clearly those times when he was such a tiny preemie in my arms. I'm so glad that I could see him reaching those developmental milestones everyday for the past one year when I stayed home to look after the kids.

At the age of 2, this cheerful boy is very cheeky and mischievous. He has ENDLESS energy that even I could hardly keep up with him now. I can get physically and mentally exhausted within half a day if I am out with him. My mum has already surrendered as she could not keep up with him at all. I really wonder where do those energy come from. But well, it is always a good thing to see our kids jumping and running about which means they are well and healthy. And that is all that matters :)

Last Saturday, we decided to hold a cosy and intimate birthday celebration for him with family and close friends with kids in our humble house. The theme was Elmo and friends and he really loved the decorations and the cake which he couldn't keep his hands off the cake toppers! It was a simple yet happy celebration for him. Seeing the house decorated with Elmo and with all his little friends to play with him, he was very happy that he even skipped his nap time without getting cranky.

While prepping the house for the party, the kids were getting all excited already

Simple buffet for the party. Perfect with the decorations

Birthday theme: Elmo!

Eating area for the lil ones

See the happy boy!

He has been insisting to feed himself ever since he attended childcare. Isn't he adorable?

Elmo birthday cake

Yes, I am trying my best to keep all lil hands off the toppers

Birthday boy with all the lil ones

The favourite part of the party: Singing the birthday song!

The happy family

Though I have just started working, I have applied for unpaid leave to spend the special day with my boy on his actual birthday. It is also a special day for me as I went through surgery to deliver him 2 years back.

With the season pass on hand, we brought him to Universal Studios to meet his favourite characters and have fun with those familiar rides. My sister also took leave so she joined us with my niece.

The cheeky face that I woke up to on his birthday

He simply loves to hold hands with his sister and cousin. Such a lovely sight!

The all-time favourite ride. Except this time, they decided to sit in the carriage instead of individual characters.

Watching the 4D show at Far Far Away

In the mini ferris wheel. Guess who they are waving to?

Spot my niece!

For the first time, we saw the Raptor being drove out for photo taking with the public. But the kids were not interested with having their photos taken with the dinosaur.

They were more interested in the flying dino at The Lost World

Selfie with my boy in the soaring dino. Pardon his grumpy face as the weather was scorching hot. He really enjoyed himself despite that grumpy face.

And his favourite yiyi bought a cake to celebrate his birthday at our house after the outing

To put on record, the little ones went on a new ride known as Accelerator in Sci-fi City with my hubs. They loved the ride so much that they went on it twice. And we went to watch the Monster Rock musical performance at Hollywood. The kids loved the show though the performers are supposedly to be spooky monsters. They clapped and danced in tune to the rock-n-roll music, loving every minute of the show.

It was a very tiring day. Everyone was exhausted especially the adults. But it was a great day out and I am happy that the kids enjoyed themselves.

Happy birthday my cheeky boy! Mummy, daddy and jiejie love you so much! Thank you for bringing so much joy and laughter into our lives. May you grow up healthy, happy and safe always!

An act of love

The night before Jayven turns 2. Dinner checked. Showered check. Time for fruits. And I was wondering why Janelle was playing with the grapes instead of eating it.

Me: "Janelle, what are you doing?
Janelle: Ï'm peeling the skin off for didi because he spit out the skin.

Ohhhhh!!!! Isn't that sweet? The sweet sister saw that the fussy brother kept spitting out the skin and she decided to peel the skin off for him! Such a heart-warming gesture. And I made sure that the cheeky boy did not spit out the peeled grapes as it is his sister's effort to peel the skin off especially for him.

The brother waiting patiently for the grape

And she ate up all the skin. I'm a proud mummy of a loveable, sweet and thoughtful girl!

The boy was having a runny nose and I told my girl that she must pamper didi as he was unwell and his birthday tomorrow. So she went over to hug him and gave him a kiss before they slept.

Awwww! Sibling love! Simply too sweet!