Royce

This morning Dad and I walked to Liang Court and took Brandon to Royce Gym. Today, Brandon was very fascinated by the train set. He enjoyed pushing the trains on the track and saying, "Weee!"

Brandon also ventured over to the book station to read. He was so happy when he found a book with pictures of balls!

Dad and I took turns at Royce today with Brandon. I love playing with Brandon, but it was nice to have a short break to walk around for part of the hour. I walked down to Starbucks, grabbed a snack, and read a magazine. Ahhhh...

This evening we just took it easy at our apartment. Can't believe it's already the weekend!

Have It Your Way

This morning, Dad, Brandon, and I took a cab to Chinatown. We spent some time walking around the streets looking at the temples and shops.

We decided to take the train home from Chinatown. However, once we arrived at the Dhoby Ghaut stop, we decided to get off of the train rather than transfer to the red line.

We went into Plaza Singapura and made a stop at Carrefour for some diapers and bread.

Before heading home, we stopped at Burger King for some lunch. Funniest part of today for us was the sign that we saw while sitting in Burger King.

"You have the right to have what you want, exactly when you want it. Because on the menu of life, you are "Today's Special". And tomorrow's. And the day after that. And... well, you get the drift. Yes, that's right. We may be the King, but you my friend, are the almightly ruler."

Hilarious.

See the king, Brandon, in the picture. Also, see that Brandon is learning that we don't quite subscribe to the BK motto in the Bierly household. Son, you may be the king, but Mommy and Daddy are the almighty rulers! :)

This afternoon, we spent some time at the pool with Jo, Jessie, Jake, and others. Jo and the kids are leaving tomorrow to go back to Australia for a month. :( Happy for them, but sad that they will be gone on holiday for a while. We will miss them so much!

A new thing for Brandon - He now pats Mommy. It's so sweet. When he hugs me, he pats me on the back. Awwww... It feels so great to be hugged, patted, and loved by my son!

Flood

Today was a strange day...





This morning it was pooring rain. Usually when it rains here, it rains in the afternoons. Also, it mostly only rains hard for a short time. Today, the rain continued to fall for a while.





We were hoping to do something outside if it was overcast today. However, due to the rain, we decided to go to the Singapore Science Center.




We called a taxi cab to pick us up, and we headed out. Brandon was starting to get fussy this morning, and by the time we got in the cab, he was having a meltdown. I thought that once we left the house, he would calm down. Didn't happen. Brandon continued to scream in the cab, so ten minutes into the cab ride, we told the driver to just take us to the Forum. The rain was still coming down hard, and the road was down to one lane. The traffic was horrendous! About fifteen minutes later, Brandon was still going ballistic. At that point, we just told the cab driver to take us home. So, we spent about 45 minutes and ten dollars to go nowhere. Oh, well.



When we got home, Brandon was still throwing a fit, so I took him in his bedroom, and he fell asleep. So strange. He was sleeping by 11 am, and his nap isn't usually until 1 pm or even later. This was the fussiest I think Brandon has ever been. Of course, I worried that he was sick. But, after his nap, he was so hungry that he just kept eating all afternoon. I think our little man might be going through a growth spurt. He is probably just more tired than normal.




www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOFzJ940Bt0

So, we got about 100 mm of rain in 2 hours (about 4 inches). That is more rain than Singapore averages for the entire month of June! Orchard Road flooded, as the video link and picture show. I think we definitely made the right call to skip the science center. We'll definitely go another day. It wasn't a good day for Brandon, and it wasn't a good day to be out needing a cab.

This afternoon, we walked to Clarke Quay and took Brandon to Royce Gym. When we got home, Jo, Jessie, and Jake stopped by for a short visit before bedtime.

Just a very weird, but good, day!

Singapore Botanic Garden

This morning was overcast and rainy. We decided to take this opportunity to do something outdoors. It wasn't raining too badly when we left the apartment, so we took a cab to the Singapore Botanic Garden.

This was my third visit to the garden. I love it there! Today, we went through the rainforest. This was my first time through this part of the garden, and it made me forget that I was in the city. Very relaxing.

We also walked to the children's botanic garden so that Brandon could play in the water sprinker area for a while. He had a great time, and he was so happy to be out of the stroller.

Later this afternoon, we went down to the pool. I also let Brandon run around on the tennis courts with Jessie and Jake.

After we cleaned up from swimming, Dad, Brandon, and I walked to Great World City. We had some dinner there and made a quick stop at the grocery store.

It's so nice to have an extra pair of hands here! Really enjoying having Dad here with us.

Camden Medical Talk and the Forum

Today was the New Moms' Support Group Camden Medical talk. I was interested in attending as the speaker was a dentist. She was there to speak about caring for babies' and toddlers' teeth, as well as your own adult teeth. Since we didn't have any other plans, my dad, Brandon, and I decided to take part in the NMSG function.

Steven took a cab with us to the medical center, and then he went on to work from there.

I really enjoyed the talk. I was able to talk to the doctor for a bit before the presentation began, and Brandon was able to play on the floor with the toys and other children.

We stayed at the talk for an hour, and then we decided to walk to the Forum so Brandon could play for a bit. Grandpa D got to see one of the playgrounds that Brandon enjoys and frequently visits.

After our naps, we went down to the pool for a while. We've been enjoying the pool more lately as there have been many people down there in the late afternoons. Brandon is entertained by watching the other children. He also enjoys playing with all of their pool toys (sand pail, shovel, balls, kick boards, etc.).

After the pool, Dad, Brandon, and I walked to Somerset 313. We had a nice dinner at Din Tai Fung. My dad commented on how much better the weather feels when the sun is not out. We walked home just as it was getting dark. Much nicer than it was earlier in the day!

New for Brandon - He is now working on throwing the ball one handed. He has been watching Daddy and Grandpa D shoot the ball with one hand. It's so cute to watch Brandon grasp the ball with one hand and then launch it with as much power as his little arm has. :)

Asian Civilisations Museum

Yesterday, I think we did too much in the morning. I told Steven that I wanted to take a cab this morning instead of walk, and I wanted to only stay out for a couple of hours.
We stopped by Jo's apartment on our way out of the building. My dad had met Jo, Jessie, and Jake yesterday when they were down at the pool. Today, we stopped by to show Dad their apartment. It is huge!


We took a cab to the Asian Civilisations Museum (UK spelling), which is located near Parliament and across the river from Boat Quay. The museum had many exhibits spanning from ancient civilizations through parts of the 20th century. We didn't realize how many different cultures there have been in this part of the world. It makes us wish we would have been taught more about Asian history in school.

The special exhibit currently at the museum is "Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals." It was a very nice exhibit. There were many stone carvings, as well as very impressive jewells. We saw one emerald necklace that was over 500 carats! Steven, do you remember that our anniversary is coming up in just over a week? :) They also had a coloring station in the special exhibit. What a great idea! Brandon was entertained with the crayons and paper while we took turns enjoying the exhibit.

Again, today, when Brandon took his nap, the rest of us took our naps.

It was overcast this afternoon, and it rained for a very short bit. We took a walk to the Paragon to get out and to let Brandon play for a while. I visited Toys-R-Us to buy Brandon his very own toy, blue Comfort Cab. Such a great souvenir to take home from Singapore!

This evening, we all went down to the pool for a refreshing swim. So needed! Jo, Jessie, and Jake, as well as many others, were down at the pool this evening. Jake said that it was like a party!

So glad that I will have some company this week while Steven is at work!

First Day with Grandpa

Grandpa D arrived safely in Singapore! His plane arrived about 15 minutes early, and he got to our apartment at about 12:40 am. Yay!

In the morning, we decided to go for a walk to show Dad the neighborhood. We walked to along Paterson to Orchard Road, past the Ion, and down Orchard to the Somerset train station.

It was still early in the morning, so we decided to take a train ride down to Steven's work. Brandon and I had never seen Daddy's office, so Steven took us up to his office on the 43rd floor. Steven has a great view from his office. We could see the ocean, and we could see our neighborhood. Brandon made himself quite comfortable in Daddy's office. Oh, no! Not another lawyer!


We left Steven's office and walked along Boat Quay to Clarke Quay. We stopped at Brewerkz at Clarke Quay for lunch, and then took a cab home.

Such a busy morning! We were all exhausted by the time we got home. When Brandon took his nap, the rest of us did too!

In the afternoon, we were all still tired and groggy, but we still decided to take a short walk to Somerset 313 for an ice cream dinner and some grocery shopping. Yum!

Back at home, Grandpa cleaned up Mommy's kitchen for her while she took a nice, quick swim at the pool.

It is so nice having my dad here in Singapore! I think he is enjoying his time here so far, although he is still adjusting to the time difference and the heat. (Grandpa said that it was 92 degrees F when he arrived in Singapore at nearly midnight the night before!)

When Brandon got up this morning, Grandpa was the first one to go into his room. Brandon looked a little confused and shocked, but when Grandpa turned to leave, Brandon cried for him. When Mommy got up, Brandon was playing happily with Grandpa. Brandon has a new best friend!

Grandpa said that Brandon looks close to the same size as when he saw him last at the end of March. However, Grandpa said that Brandon seems much older! Can't wait to see what the Grandmas think of our little man!