Indoor Playgrounds

There are a LOT of indoor AND outdoor playgrounds everywhere in Singapore! But back then, I used to think indoor playgrounds are a little impractical because why go indoor and spend around at least $20 when there's more fun outside? Well, that changed!

Another reason was Simone's age.  When she turned 18 months, I started to get interested and searched for indoor playgrounds but didn't have the time to go, until last wednesday, which was a holiday. I had been eyeing Polliwogs in Vivo City but great thing their new brach at Suntec had just opened. Talk about perfect timing!

I asked hubby if he can follow her around and confidently said yes. But after one round, haha he was so exhausted already.

 Videos are better:)

Style: Starting Young

"She didn't want to wear the uniform." Hubby informed me as I saw her uniform still hanging in her closet when I got home. Hmm, that's fab, I think she's starting to realize that she can choose what to wear! And from there it begins! But first it started with the footwear:) ugh, just recently I got her some metallic "mandals" and she doesn't want to wear it! (update: now, she loves it)

Mandals from Cotton On

Arte  pose

She loves florals!

Right after she showers and enters the room, she would go immediately to her closet and see her clothes! Last saturday she saw her blue dress from H&M and said, "Blue, blue." I told her, "It's a little chilly, please wear this." , while holding her long sleeve dress.   She took it and wore it on her head. I'm glad I have a limited but great clothes for her to choose though! I think this is a good time to let her choose from clothing stores. But no, not going to spoil her, just see what she likes. I buy her clothes, and she chooses from her closet. Mama still has to approve and is still the stylist haha!

ps.
This post was meant to be for November 11! Oh myyy

xx,

shiela

Happy Halloween!

Every year i look forward to this occasion! It's the time to really dress up your kids!! Last year, I already saw this Wonder Woman costume but there's no size for Simone. I told my mom to keep checking (haha) the store since she frequents that place, and finally one day, she sent a photo of the costume. She bought it already yay! My problem was the boots. Ugh, I don't want to spend money on red boots. Thank God for Pinterest again for saving my life-- I found a cute pair of pink Barbie  rubber boots, bought electric tapes and wrapped it up! 

Voila!!!! 

When Simone saw it the next day, she threw a tantrum and attempted to remove the tape!!! Her reaction was priceless. She loves her boots and wears it everyday haha!

Anyway, Simone was cranky (at first) at the trick-or-treat due to mama's lost in translation, I mean, lost in TRANSIT haha! As usual, I missed the stop but I thought I rode the correct bus, but I'm supposed to take the opposite side bus! GRR. The place was at Woodgrove in Woodlands.

Welfie with cranky Wonder Woman!

I love seeing so many people in costumes! And decorated houses!

Simone cried and ran to me super scared! She saw this zombie murderer guy. Wahaha.

I promise next year I will dress up too! 

In case you noticed, there are more foreigners, particularly Americans because this is an American community. I wish I live in this estate! The houses are so beautiful! Like Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives) I miss living in a house though.

Happening.

Dogs too! I saw a lot of dogs dressed up!

Hi again;p

Dinner at Loy Kee!

This kids sure knows how to pose.

Trying to..but can't! bwahaha

Ok fine, as long as you don't go in and out of Loy Kee!!!

Running to save the world...

But first, let's shop at Fair Price!

spell A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E

Simone was starstrucked with a full grown Elsa! LOL

There were a lot of little girls dressed up as Elsa, and Simone would only identify Elsa, and sing Let It Go! hahah

Simone was scared by this.

A lot of people. Did I mention a lot of Filipinos too?

Haggardo na.

With cranky Cinderella.

Hiiiii

Flying? No, she's lifting her spag straps that are falling off her shoulders LOL

Hi Wonder Little Woman!

Best.Photo.Ever. Bwahaahah! One for the books.

Anyare sa damit mo? hihi

Cuteness overload on this family!!! 

This car's trunk is where they give out sweets.

huhhh. Well, that was a popcorn and a Starbucks drink. Fail shot LOL.

Some puppetry. If you clap, it will dance. cute.

There are a lot more but I wasn't able to capture them anymore. Seeing and admiring them was enough. Hmmm so what costume will be next? Can't wait for next year!!!!

Happy Halloween Y'all!

xx,

Shiela

Potty Training: Week 1

After a couple of months from her failed potty training (due to childcare adjustment and well, refused to sit on her potty), I decided to try it again. It's working! It has been exactly a week and wow, I must say that there's a tremendous improvement! Read my previous post on my first attempt here

Day 1 & 2 was when I still needed to clean and mop the floor, but day 3 onwards... NONE AT ALL! 

I started on a weekend. I let her wear big tops or dresses and underwear. Sometimes, no underwear at all. But then I realized that she has to practice taking off and putting on underwear whenever passing urine/motion. Wherever she is in the house, I will always put her potty nearby so in case she pees, I won't have to run her all the way to the bathroom. The key point for now is making her pee on her potty. I watch the time. Every 15 minutes, I ask her if she wants to make weewee or poopoo and make her sit on her potty. I don't force, but convince her to do it. I entertain her or give her something to do/eat so she will sit still. When she finally did it, her potty played music and i jumped and danced, gave her a high five AND a kiss AND a hug (basically make it a big deal) plus gave her favorite green tea (hitting 2 birds in 1 stone-- reward and to make her pee more) 

"Uhh. Mom. Privacy please."

When I knew that she can hold her pee longer, I tried to extend the time interval to 30 minutes, and there she got it. Monday was the first day she didn't wear a diaper in school after nap time all the way going home, that's from 3pm onwards. I picked her up at her great grandma's house at 8pm (late, I know) she peed one time on the floor before I arrived. From their house, we took a bus going home, and keep telling her "Simone when we get home you weewee okay?" Then when we got home (whew!) I immediately put her down and helped her remove her undies and there just as I sat her on her potty she peed a lot!! Thank God!!!!! She happily took the bowl, brought it to the bathroom and poured everything inside the toilet bowl and passed the bowl back for me to wash. I flushed the toilet then she said "bye!" and "no more!". And that became the routine.

Last night, my hubby and I were surprised that there's pee in her potty. Nobody put her there. When hubby checked her undies, it was dry... Ha! So it meant she did take off her undies and peed by herself! I also caught her going down from the bed and sat on her potty, got up, and checked her pee:) "Baby, you're already wearing a diaper because it is bedtime! But very good still!" 

And so today was the best part yet: hubby told me that when Simone woke up, she told him that she wants to poopoo. Hubby helped her take off her undies and she sat on her potty and pooped! Thank.God!!!!! 

Some tips for mommies:

1. Make sure she is comfortable in the potty ( she had 2 previous potties that were too big for her hence, she would slip inside haha)

2. Make her drink lots of liquids (it's okay to give her favorite drinks so she can pee)

3. Prepare yourself: a ready absorbent hard foam mop and disinfectant, a lot of undies, and trips to the bathroom to wash. ;)

4. Consistency.  Watch the clock and the look on her face when she suddenly stops and give you that weird look. Quickly plant her on the potty. It's very obvious, you can't miss that!:) (I'm always beside her)

5. Patience. A lot. It's not going to be easy. And if within a week you don't see an improvement, try it again at another time.  But try to let her be diaper-less for at least a couple of hours a day and always remind her and say words pee and poopoo (whatever you want to call it) and potty! I have downloaded potty videos for Simone to watch (she likes Potty Time by Sesame Street)  or you can buy books about potty training.

6. Show her how it's done. I slowly introduced it by showing her how i pee/poop (oh, she is so interested btw!) I bring her inside the bathroom so she could see. :)

Happy potty training! Think positive<3 

Happy mama, 

S

And Before You Know It...

She starts to construct sentences!

"Mommy.pen.the.door." (Open the door) As we were approaching the house, and me getting the house keys. I don't really know if this is her first sentence, I only realized it when I was about to open the door!

"Mommy, poo-poo?"

-"Poo-poo?" I go and check her diaper and there was none. "Hmm maybe you just farted?" haha. Then she says it again. I checked again and there it was. OH. Right. You were telling me that you wanna poop. I should have brought her to the bathroom! Grr. (I also saw her attempting to sit on the toilet seat. I think she's really ready)

"Mommy, brush teeth?"

"Mommy, shower?"

"Mommy, cooking?"

"Mommy, wash hands?"

"Mommy, open?" (asks me to open a snack) I follow up with, say "Please?" and "Thank You"

She can finish a sentence or a word in a song/nursery rhyme! Like, "Twinkle, twinkle, little _____?"
"STAR!" all the way until I finish the song.  The Wheels On The Bus is also a popular one.

This is the best time (at 21 months) to really converse with her! She can repeat or copy everything I say or do! haha. I love it when she uses the F sound, like "Effant" (elephant) cuteeee! No quiet moment with this munchkin, either she is talking or singing!

xx,

shiela

20 months and moving forward!

This month i must say.. My baby girl is now turning into a little girl!

Nowadays, she doesn't cry anymore going to school and happily says "bye!" to her dad even if he's still carrying her! 

She can also eat by herself now, scooping food using her spoon.

Sesame noodles. She loves tofu! 

She can follow dance steps and pick up words faster. Currently, she can identify all shapes and colors already

She can understand and speak mandarin!

She knows how to appreciate things already, like "nice" and "pretty" when she sees a dress or clothing at a store, or when she wears one. 

She knows when to say "sorry" and "thank you" and says it often. "Please" is a little difficult for her to pronounce, but we'll work our way on that.

Starting to like Japanese food yay!

Two more days til she turns 21 months I hope I can focus again on her toilet training! :p 

xx,

Shiela

Day Care = SePanx

I wasn't sure whether Simone is ready (or I myself) for child care but I gave it a shot. I wanted to enroll her so that she will learn:

1. Discipline that can't be taught at home (being with kids, and doing things together)
2. Interact with her fellow toddlers (socializing).
4. Break from me. We are together 24/7 (nothing against it, i love it!) but I believe in her having her own time with other people, or else she might become too isolated.
5. I need to have my own time too. At least for a few hours to do chores or errands properly. and rest a bit:)
6. Prepare her days without me as I'm looking forward to work again. Not that I start work then all of a sudden I'm gone and she cries looking for me. 
7. Be independent (eating on her own and so on)
8. Sometimes I couldn't handle her kakulitan (naughtiness) and I need a break!!! (I'm alone with her the whole day)

I think location is STILL the number one factor when choosing a daycare. It should be near to your house. 

I couldn't help myself but cry on her first few days (or a week!ha!) because she was crying everytime I leave her there. Of course, that's super normal, I keep telling myself.I felt so guilty. Why must do this? She can just stay at home, blah,blah, blah, all over again.  She wakes up late, and if you wake her up, she'll be very cranky, so I wait for her to wake up, eat, play a bit, and prepare her for school... The night before her first day, I told her that she will be going to school, and guess what? She woke up super early like 7am (unusual!) and woke me up, saying "Cool, cool?" haha! excited.

First Day High

She has to reach at 10am because there's outdoor play. Lunch is next, shower, milk time, and nap. Teacher informed me to stay and accompany her inside (but not in the classroom) and take half-day for a few days and slowly lengthen the hours. So we are there for 2 hours and go home by 12 noon. After a couple of days, she fell asleep noontime so I went home, and came back at 2:30 pm for tea time. I peeked and saw them at the dining table having snack. cool. She can cope already. A bit. There it goes, picked her up at 3pm. Pretty soon, she was okay, but still cry before I leave her.

There was a two-week trial period which was crucial for me. I thought of pulling her out because she cries a lot, and I'm too concerned,  the routine is very simple and can be done at home instead. But I realized that yeah, that's why it's called a child care. I asked for opinions, and both my moms agreed that it's okay to put her there because it is better to discipline them early:) I have friends who also thought that Simone is still too young (I thought so too) but thinking of Simone being at home the whole day at hubby's grandmother's house (where she will spend her day when I start to work), I don't think her day would be as fruitful as being at childcare where there's a learning experience and fun-filled activities with friends every single day. 

After a week, I got over the separation anxiety and did my own thing, and by the time I pick her up, I felt so good because I was able to finish all my chores, and had my me-time, and next thing we'll do is go to the playground, then home for dinner, and pretty soon, bedtime! What a balanced life! Yay! I also noticed that her sleeping schedule has changed (she sleeps early now yay!, eats more on her own, and less television watching!)

I don't want to pressure/stress Simone too much, I started with 2 hours, slowly to 3-4 and finally 6-7 hours. Morning is strictly mandarin, with a Chinese teacher of course, and afternoon is English. She is at school by 10am and I make her stay until 5pm because Phonics, Fun Mathematics, Music and Movement, are taught in the afternoon. I think that's fine. 2-3 hour classes are good too! But I think they start at 2 years old, so maybe later, we might also consider that.

Mommy tips I can give:

1. Don't pressure! Take it slow. If not, pull her out and try at another time.
2. Always talk to her about school (What did you do in school?, How was your day in school?) basically make her feel that school is cool LOL.
3. Health. Make sure to give vitamins and give healthy food (I mean balanced meal= (orange+green veggies) + fruit high in vitamin C + berries + grains + nuts + seeds)) to avoid sickness and spread the virus, or get easily passed on)
4. Make up for "lost time" (in school) by going to the park or somewhere afterwards to bond and relax :) So they have something to look forward to after school.

On another note, I still do wish I have a work at home job and take care of Simone!!!! Nothing beats that!

It's never too early to learn!

xx,

shiela