Water Fun at the Zoo

Today was our third visit to the zoo but our first visit to the kids' part of the zoo.

Brandon and I shared a cab to the zoo with Polina, Daniel, and her helper. There, we met Jasmine, Cheng-Hoon, and their helper.

We headed to the kids' world first thing.

Wow! There was an amazing water play area for the kids. There were tons of fountains. There was also a large water play set with stairs, slides, etc. There was a large bucket above the play set that continually filled with water. Once full, a bell would ring, and the bucket would dump the water out onto all of the people below. So much fun!

There was also a pet station in the kids' part of the zoo. They had guinea pigs, bunny rabbits, goats, and ponies. Brandon was hesitant at first, but he did end up petting the guinea pigs and bunnies. So soft!

I love going to the zoo in the early morning. We get a few hours in before it gets too hot. Plus, we have a membership, so we can always go back! And, we will!

This afternoon, Wendy and Sofia came over for a bit. They will be leaving Singapore in three weeks. As I said, people come, and then they go...

Jo, Jake, and Jessie also stopped by for a bit. Then, they headed back to their apartment for dinner. We met them at the pool a little later and had a short swim. We haven't been going to the pool much lately. It's hard for me because Brandon is more interested in walking around the pools, and it's hard to keep up with him. He is also too brave. He would jump right into the pool without me if I didn't have my hands on him at all times. Scary...

Can't believe that I weened Brandon from nursing one week ago. The weening process was faster than I thought, and it was pretty smooth. Steven helped out tremendously last weekend when Brandon woke up in the middle of the night. It made me sad for a couple of days, but then I realized that Brandon is still my baby, and we can still snuggle. At night, he often likes me to still cradle him. He snuggles up to me and puts his hand over my heart. I watch his little eyes get heavy as I sing to him. I love you, my baby boy!!!

Tiong Bahru Market

Jo and I decided to brave our first wet market today. A wet market is an open market that sells fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. You can also find clothes, toys, personal and household necessities, and flowers for sale.



Tiong Bahru is the closest wet market to where we live, so we took a cab to this one.



I was a little nervous about going to the wet market. I worried that it would be dirty and the smell of meat and fish would get to me. However, I really enjoyed the wet market, and I found it quite nice. I thought that the fruit and vegetables looked good. The fish was quite smelly, but it didn't bother me. The fish and meat also looked very fresh. I wasn't brave enough to buy any meat at the wet market today but maybe another day. I did purchase some fruit and vegetables and some beautiful stems of orchids. The flowers were cheap. I got three stems of orchids for SGD$2 - less than $2 U.S. I love having fresh flowers at home!



After the wet market, we took a cab to Great World City to get a few more items at the Cold Storage grocery.



When we got home, Jo brought her blender up to our apartment. Since I am having a hard time getting Brandon to eat vegetables, I thought that I would make a fruit and vegetable puree. I'd prefer to not have to puree Brandon's food now, but I'll do it if it means he'll eat vegetables. I threw into the blender a banana, some blueberries, a large carrot, a handful of spinach, some strawberry yogurt, and some whole milk. I steamed the carrot and spinach first so that it would puree well in the blender.



When Brandon got up from his nap, I had my new concoction ready. Brandon ate a large cup full! Yay! I'll have to make some more creative fruit and veggie smoothies. Yum!


This afternoon, Brandon and I walked with Jo to pick the kids up from school. They were surprised when Brandon showed up at their school! Brandon was so happy to see them too!

This evening, we went down to Jo's and ordered pizza. I fed Brandon some chicken sausages beforehand, so he wouldn't only eat pizza for dinner. It was a very nice night and overall a good eating day for Brandon. This makes Mommy happy. I never thought that I would spend so much energy thinking and worrying about Brandon's sleeping and eating habits. Just want the very best for my baby!

Tonight Jake gave Brandon a small bite of pizza. Brandon took the bite and said "thank you". It was so cute. It even made me smile because I didn't tell Brandon to say it. He did it on his own. I hope my baby stays this sweet forever...

The Singapore American School

Last night I dreamt that I was in Chicago. I woke up in Singapore. Such a vivid dream. Such a strange feeling. In my dream, I was hanging out with many of my ETHS friends back home. They were all busy trying to finish up school work for the end of the school year, so they didn't have much time for conversation with me.

At the end of the dream, I jogged home in the dark. Kind of a sad dream.

I'm sure there are lots of reasons for my dream. Homesickness, missing my friends, the end of another school year, my upcoming visit to the Singapore American School (SAS). Who knows?

My friend, Neetu, picked me up this morning, and we drove out to Kristie's house. The three of us met through the AWA playgroup. Kristie lives in the Woodlands, which is where the Singapore American School is located. Kristie has three older children who go to SAS. It was about a thirty minute drive out to the Woodlands. It definitely felt more suburban there compared to where we live.

Kristie has a lovely home! She and her family brought most of their belongings from home when they moved here from Texas over a year ago. So, their house felt very much like a home. Comforting. Unfortunately for me, Kristie and her family are relocating to Madrid in a couple of weeks. That's how things go here though. People come, and then they go...

We let Brandon, Zayden, and Michael play for a bit at Kristie's house before walking to SAS. Kristie's house is located in a neighborhood just behind the school.

I was very impressed by the building and facilities at SAS. SAS is the largest international school in the world. It currently has 3,800 students (pre-K to 12) and is located on 37 acres. There are 343 professional staff members at SAS. An amazing fact is that the school started in a private home in 1956 with just 105 students.

We walked around the grounds for a bit, but we weren't able to visit any classes. One, we had our children with us. Two, the high school students were taking final exams. This is the last week of classes before summer vacation.

I plan to go back in the fall when classes resume. I'd like to go back for a full day without Brandon, so I can observe some math classes. I did speak with one woman who was the head of the preschool and kindergarten. She mentioned the emphasis that they put on creativity and building with blocks. She commented that they work on this to improve children's math skills later. I was very impressed by this comment.

http://www.sas.edu.sg/

We grabbed some Subway sandwiches at the school and took them back to Kristie's house for lunch.

I was pleased that we made it home from Kristie's without Brandon falling asleep in the car. We brought Brandon's infant carrier car seat to Singapore with us, and today was the first day we have used it. It was so wonderful to sit in the front seat of a car and not have to hold Brandon on my lap. I was also thrilled that Brandon tolerated the car seat without a fuss. After more than two months with no car seat, I expected him to fight it. He didn't though. We did face the car seat forward which I'm sure helped.

This afternoon, Laura and Tabitha came over for a playdate. As seen in the picture, Brandon loved to cuddle Tabitha!

Jo, Jessie, and Jake also stopped by tonight. Brandon and I both love having company!

And, by the way, Jo had already stopped by early in the afternoon to bring Brandon four Singapore t-shirts and a magnadoodle. She is unbelievable!!!

I also forgot to mention that yesterday Brandon said "fish". Sounded like "ish". Cool. :) Brandon loves animals right now!

Baby Shower Playgroup

Today, Brandon and I went to our Monday playgroup. The playgroup was also a surprise baby shower for our friend Michelle. Michelle is due with her baby in five weeks. She also has a daughter, Bea, who just turned two years old.

The playgroup was wonderful! Lots of our friends were there, and Vanessa was an amazing host. Sandwiches, veggies, fruit, yummy cupcakes, etc. Also, Trudy made a beautiful cake.

After our naps today, Brandon and I went down to Jo's aparment. It rained this afternoon, so it was nice to get out of our apartment without having to leave the building.

Overall, it was a sweet Monday and a good beginning to our week.

Movie Date

We have had an amazing weekend! So much needed family time!



We walked to Great World Mall this morning and hung out there for a bit before church at St. Bernadette's.



We put Brandon down for his nap a little earlier today (12:45 pm). The last few days we have had to wake Brandon up from his naps at 4 pm. And, today we had special afternoon plans at 3 pm.



Brandon woke up at 2:45 pm, which was perfect. Jo, Jake, and Jessie came up right after that, and Steven and I took off for our movie date! What a special treat! It felt so nice to go out on a date. It was also only a ten minute walk to the movie theater. We live within walking distance of about everything you could need.



We booked our tickets for Robin Hood online ahead of time. When we booked online, we also picked our seats in the theater. I liked this. Not in a rush to get into the theater early to get good seats. (I think several of the theaters here are like this.)

I meant to take a sweater to the theater because I had heard that they keep the theaters cold here. I forgot and then figured that it might feel good to be cold for a change. It was chilly in the theater but not too bad. And, it did feel really nice! When we walked home after the movie, it wasn't too hot out, and it felt nice after the cool theater.

Things went well for Brandon while we were gone. He played with Jessie and Jake. They even gave him a bath, and he was in his jammies when we returned. Jo did comment on Brandon's strong will. She said that he thought that Jake was strong willed until she had Brandon for the night. She said that every time she would try to mess with him, he would scream "no" at her. Oh, no! He wouldn't let her feed him. Only Jake or Jessie could feed him. She also said he didn't want her to hold him or put his clothes back on after the bath. He just kept telling her "no" all night. So funny to hear how Brandon acted while we were gone. Wow. :)

Jo was so nice. She went out and bought some baby snacks and some blueberries just for Brandon. We told her that we will pay her back with some babysitting whenever she needs. Hope she takes us up on the offer sometime soon, so we can pay her back for all of her extreme kindness.

What an amazing three day weekend!!! Can we have another now?

Lyo and Merly Sightings

This morning after relaxing, playing, and Skyping, we left for a walk to Somerset 313.

Steven was desperate for a haircut. My friend Amanda recommended a place for haircuts called QB House. Her husband has been there and has been happy with his haircuts. There is a QB House at Somerset 313, so we grabbed some toast at Ya Kun Kaya Toast, and then headed down to B3-17 of the mall.

Here, the stores in malls have numbers, for example, B3-17. The first number tells you the floor in the mall the store is on. The second number tells you where on the floor the store is located. It's very convenient. If you're looking for 17, and you're at 10, you know you're not far. I guess the malls here need a system like this as elaborate as they all are.

At QB House, Steven slid a $10 bill into a machine, and he received a haircut card. Good price! Even better than back home.

Brandon and I ran around the mall for a bit while we waited for Steven. Once Steven was done, we grabbed some lunch on B3 before walking over to the Paragon.

On our way to the Paragon, we saw Leo and Merly, the two mascots for the Singapore Youth Olympics.

Lyo (pronounced "Leo") is the "Lion of the Youth Olympics". Legend has it that a prince visited a lovely island years and years ago. On the island, he spotted a beautiful lion, and therefore named the island "Singapura", which means "Lion City". Today, the five million people of Singapore have adopted the lion as their national symbol. Lyo's mane represents the passion and spirit of youth. It also refers to the tagline "Blazing the Trail." Lyo's paw is shaped like the island of Singapore.

Merly gets her name from the word "mer" ("sea") and "ly" ("liveliness" and "youthfulness"). Merly is a merlion, a mythical sea creature that is part lion and part fish. She represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village and Singapore's folklore. Her paw is shaped like a heart.

Steven and Brandon posed for some pictures with Lyo. Brandon was so fascinated with Lyo, but he wasn't a big fan of standing so close to him. He grabbed for Daddy's neck!

At the Paragon, we took Brandon to the new playgym. Not too large, but very nice. Only thing that was annoying was that it was so crowded. It's usually crowded on the weekend. The best time to go is during the week.

We walked home from the Paragon. At this point, we were all exhausted. Brandon, Steven, and I all took long naps. It was wonderful!

When Brandon woke up, we thought about going to the pool. However, we didn't want the pool water to irritate his boo boo, so we decided to pass. Instead, we took a cab to Plaza Singapura. Steven had never been there. He was amazed by the sight of another big mall. We spent some time in Carrefour, where we learned that we will need to start saving some money for piano lessons. Our little Brandon loves music. He wasn't very happy when the other little boy tried to play the piano with him. He told him, "No!" :)

Tonight was family pizza night. Jo and Jessie also stopped by for a few minutes.

Now, Brandon is in bed, so it's Mommy and Daddy movie time. Yay!

Vesak Day and Underwater World

Okay, so I love Vesak Day!

Vesak Day is the public holiday celebrated by Buddhists. It commemorates the birth and enlightenment of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) and his entry into Nirvana. Vesak Day is known informally as "Buddha's birthday".

Why do I love Vesak Day? I love it because on this particular day, Steven didn't have to go into work!

We decided to leave the house early (9:30 am) and go to Underwater World at Sentosa. Underwater World is Singapore's aquarium.

We took a cab to Sentosa. Just more convenient that taking the train to Vivo City and then taking the monorail onto the island of Sentosa. This was our first trip to Sentosa.

While we have seen the beach in Singapore from a distance, we haven't really been to the beach here yet. I've heard that most people go to Sentosa for the beach. Sentosa has beaches and resorts. They also just opened a new Universal Studios on the island in the last month or so.

When we arrived at Underwater World, we walked along the beach across the street for a while first. People were out playing volleyball on the beach. It was nice to be at the beach, especially as a family on a Friday.

We all really enjoyed Underwater World. It wasn't as large as Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, but there were many neat features. There were stations where you could reach in the water and touch the fish. There were also stations where you could feed the stingrays and some sharks.

We saw many large and unique fish and sea creatures. See the picture of the Japanese Giant Spider Crab. Ewwww! We also saw part of a dolphin show. (It was too hot to be outside at the show for long.)

My favorite part of Underwater World was the underwater tunnel. An 83-meter long travelator moves through the tunnel made of 6 cm thick glass. We found out that the thickness of the glass made the fish, stingrays, sharks, and other creatures appear 30% smaller than they actually are. Wow! They already seemed so large! We also saw a dugong. (See the picture below, which we didn't take but pulled from the internet.)

On our way out of the aquarium, Brandon and Steven took the opportunity to be kings of the snakes. My two men are very brave! I only briefly touched one with the very tip of my finger.

We left Sentosa today without stopping to see any other sights. There is a butterfly garden that I really want to see, but we try to do a little bit at a time. We will be back to Sentosa, and none of us want to overdo it in the heat.

This evening, we went to Tanglin Mall for dinner. Poor Brandon got a boo boo while we were there! His little pinky got pinched in the escalator. After the bleeding stopped, we bandaged it up with some medicine. Poor baby keeps holding up his whole hand. It hurts! I guess it's a good time for Mommy and Daddy to start kissing the boo boos. :(

Steven and I talked to Marcia, Dan, Caroline, Gabby, and Grandma and Grandpa B this evening. It had been so long since we have seen the Ayalas. They are down at Grandma and Grandpa's for Memorial Day weekend. Jeremy, Jen, Adam, and Zach are headed down to Indiana too for the weekend. It's usually our annual family Michigan weekend. We really miss hanging out with family this weekend at home. Hopefully, we can all talk more on Skype this weekend while everyone is in New Albany!