Little drummer boy

Nature or nurture ... we're not sure. But Aaron loves the drums, and has definitely picked up a few tricks from his drumming-bonding time with Daddy!

Aaron's baby steps to independence

Last Sunday, Aaron carried his own little bag to church!

The night before, he pulled out this purple Crocs bag that Uncle Mel and Aunty Wendy had bought for Jie-Jie. He happily carried the bag around the house. So Mummy decided that he shall carry his own bag to church, especially since he really didn't need to bring a lot of things - just diapers, wet wipes, water and some biscuits. Yes, it ended up being quite a heavy bag for a little fella like him, but he carried it without a word of complaint.

Yay! No need to carry a big diaper bag anymore! And thank you Uncle Mel and Auntie Wendy for choosing a purple bag (purple's actually one of Nadine's favorite color!) and not pink!

Nadine goes to Children Church

1st Sunday of January, Mummy brought Nadine to Children Church. She hung on to Mummy like a koala bear, cried intermittently, and kept saying she didn't want to be there. Refused to wear her name tag, and Mummy had to stay with her throughout.

2nd Sunday, she was just as uncooperative, and wailed like there's no tomorrow when Mummy handed her to Aunty Helen, her teacher. Daddy went to check on her half after worship, and saw her dancing happily to the worship songs. When Mummy picked her up afterwards, she exclaimed loudly, "I had so much fun!"

3rd Sunday, went to the registration counter, she picked up her name tag, obediently wore it, walked into the hall without looking back. Mummy had to shout to her, "Bye Nadine!" then she looked back and waved goodbye.

Just like that. And now, Nadine looks forward to going to Children Church every Sunday.

New bed for the kids

Daddy and Mummy finally decided to get the kids a bed (they've been sleeping on mattresses laid on the floor, and/or our bed so far).

We went shopping in Ikea, and Nadine chose this low bunk bed. Its lower deck is not elevated, so is perfect for 18-month-old Aaron who loves to roll around all over his bed. The upper deck is also not too high. Safe enough for Nadine to climb up and down, and for Aaron to attempt to climb too.

The kids were so excited the day the beds were delivered. Even more so after the tent was attached!

Aaron feeding himself

At 18 months, Aaron has become quite good at feeding himself. Not sure if he's left-handed, or possibly ambidextrous!

Nadine cycling

Nadine's 2nd milestone after turning 4 - ride the tricycle!

Aaron - 18 1/2 months

Aaron can now say many words/short phrases:

go there

over there

let's go

sit

stuck

open

yes

eat

bus

airplane

bowl

cup

blanket

poo-poo

bye

no, no, no

pleasssssse

He now knows how to tell people that he has pooed, and when he wants to drink milk, he'll get his formula out from the cupboard and bring it to Bibi.

A few weeks ago, he was in a phase whereby if he couldn't get what he wanted, he'd sit down and cry. But that lasted for only a short while. Now, he just moves on.

We love it that when Jie-Jie snatches a toy from him, he'd go to her and say "pleeeeassse" nicely. A few times. If Jie-Jie still refuses to give the toy back to him, he'll then snatch it back. A gentleman who's not a push-over!

He's obsessed with his blanket. Needs to bring it around the house with him. Sort of like Linus from Peanuts! Very cute.

His favourite show at the moment - Cars! Very boy!

He's still very much a good-natured boy and he's been since birth, except when he's super sick. And that's happened twice in the last month already. First, he was down with a variation of HFMD, with a whole mouth of ulcers and a stubborn fever. A week after recovery, he's now down with bronchitis. Poor boy! Must find some ways to strengthen his respiratory and immune system!

Swimming lesson

A day after Nadine turned 4, she started her first formal swimming lesson. We were not sure how she'd react with the coach, and in a class of students at different levels of competency. But she responded pretty well, and had a very good first lesson. The coach did something that Daddy had not managed to do - get Nadine to dip her head into the water.

This coach, Uncle Vincent, has been teaching swimming in our condo for many many years, and apparently a lot of the youths here were taught by him. 

We could see why he's been here for so long. He interacted really well with the kids, and could definitely connect with them. Can't wait to see Nadine swimming solo!

Nadine turns 4

Nadine is 4! It seemed like just a little while ago when she was a tiny baby that we could carry with 1 hand, needy and totally immobile. She's so grown-up now, and has her own mind about everything.

At the moment, her love language is act of service and physical touch. She loves to help around the house, especially serving drinks to Daddy, Mummy, and guests who visit. And she loves to hug Daddy, Mummy and Bibi.

She's very expressive. In fact, a little too drama-mama at times!

Recently, Daddy started her on Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. And she loves all of them! Daddy is sooooo pleased.

As with last year, we organized a combined birthday party with Marcus, whose birthday is 1 week before Nadine's. This year, we threw a baking party for them and their friends.

The Gans

Our family 

Trying to get a group shot of the kids ...

Some dropped out ....

And yesterday, Nadine celebrated her birthday in school. When asked what kind of clap she wanted, she answered, as expected, "princess clap".  

Nadine goes to nursery

Nadine starts nursery this year. She's no longer the youngest in school, and has been promoted to wearing the "dress uniform", which she loves to bits.

It's been a very long school holiday. First few days of holiday, she kept asking if she's going to school that day. Halfway through the holiday, she started to say she missed school. But on Tuesday, day before 1st day of school yesterday, she cried about not wanting to go back to school.

We thought if she just have a good night's sleep, she'll be ok in the morning. But no, it was a major drama getting her to dress up. Daddy had to bribe her with a McDonald's meal after school, plus a trip to Toys R Us to buy her birthday present. After school, she was back to her usual chirpy self, and had obviously enjoyed herself in school.

Today, she made a 180 degree change. Woke up happy, and all ready to go to school, and insisted that Daddy wore her shoes for her. Such a Daddy's girl!

We hope she'll continue to enjoy school for the rest of the year, and the rest of her schooling days!