Oliver's bird in the sky

Oliver and his wobbly legs

I thought we will torture Oliver by bringing him to Bukit Timah Hill again, this time without his pram, and make him walk the first part of the trail, which is extremely steep. Since he likes to walk so much. But from the car park, even before he reach the barrier near the Visitor Centre, he stumbled several times and again bruised his knees. Oliver was having wobbly legs that morning. Sophia had to call off the whole mountaineering expedition even before it began to save Oliver from further bleeding.

So off we went to the adjacent wood-paved trail which leads to a playground. Here, it is surprisingly less crowded except for a few monkeys loitering. Real monkeys I mean, as well as Oliver.

March issue of Young Parents

Special Appearances:

Ee nin

Adam (father) and Cheyanne

Raidon

Siti is not leaving

What good news! Boon Heng and I are both relief to hear that Siti is not leaving Del-Care afterall. Like I say, she is a wonderful fairy godmother to Oliver. I am glad now that Oliver will not need to feel lost and heartache at such young and tender age. Considering that they spend so much time in the hut together in school. haha.

Whatever the reason Siti decides to stay, I hope she is equally happy to be in Del-Care as Oliver. I can tell how contented and happy Oliver is. Every evening, when Boon Heng and I go to fetch Oliver, he seems to want to linger a bit longer in Del-care instead of just rushing to us to go home.

Feb 2008 is a mad month

While keying this, I am still having this headache as an aftermath effect of what happened for the last few weeks. Too much too many events which now finally ended but it doesn't seem to help me sleep any better. Last week was quite a stressful week for me and my colleagues from marketing section. We issued 3 media advisories in a week - survey on singles' behaviour during dates, Weddings at Chingay and Speed dating at MRT. All garnered positive publicity and coverage in CNA. I am fortunate to have my colleagues who are capable and I need not spend many hours going through their work. Weddings at Chingay is probably one of the major projects which I decide to personally take on the role of chairperson. I cannot remember the last time I was the chairperson of a major event. I was probaby quite mad to make this decision especially at this point of time. But now that the event is over, I am quite happy and proud of myself. I believe those of us who are mothers or father would understand.

As a single, I have all the time to submerge myself in work, go through my work many times until every single mistake is spotted and corrected. As a mother, it is whole lot of differences. I don't have the luxury of time. Back home, spending time with Oliver take priority over work. The time I spend with Oliver is shorter than the time I spend at work. Or put it this way, he is too cute for me to resist. It is not a matter of choosing one over another. It is just him I want to spend time with. I don't want to look back one of these days and regret not spending more time with him. Life has already taught me many previous lessions on the importance of spending time with those you love.

It is strange really as I read what I wrote now, because I can finally understand how it feels. It is now 1.30 am and if you think you are confused by what I wrote, I probably having a mental block and probably feeling a little bit emotional.

My message here is really... Oliver, thanks for being so sweet. You hug mummy when I am feeling grumpy, let us "bully" you when we are stressed, make us laugh when you make funny antics. And to Boon Heng, thanks for bringing Oliver out for walks so that I can catch up on my much needed forty winks and looking after Oliver when I need to work. I am also very grateful to Boon Heng's mum and his sister Serena for spending their precious time to look after Oliver while Boon Heng and I need to work. = )

Oliver & The Magic Broom

Ants everywhere

"3 fat ants"

This is the masterpiece made by Oliver in his school. I marvel at the creativity of the teachers in school. Now, I can see fat ants and tiny ants all around my house. Thanks to Oliver's talent of leaving food bits around.

Bob the Builder

We bought this Bob the Builder toy dashboard a while back for Oliver to keep him occupied while in the car. It was a belated gift from Oliver's late great grandma actually. Often when we strap him in the babyseat, he will instinctively want to reach for it. This toy is really value-for-money and is one of the best investment, as Oliver has short attention span with most things. The dashboard comes with a steering wheel, a keyless ignition switch (more hightech than my car), a gear lever, and some buttons that sing the theme song of Bob the Builder or the lines of some of its characters.

One thing good about this toy is that after a minute or two of inactivity, ie if no button is pressed or the steering wheel or gear is not touched , Bob will call it a day and yawn and sing his last song. The toy will then auto shut down, apparently to save battery as well, but will spring back to life once any of the buttons etc is pressed again.

Recently I've come to notice one peculiar thing about Oliver. He will not touch the buttons or knobs for the full one minute or so, so that Bob can do his yawning. Almost immediately after that, he will deliberately meddle with it again to resuscitate Bob back to life. Very funny. To see him pressing a button nonchalantly without looking at it.

At first I thought it is a coincidence, but after Oliver does that repeatedly, and on all journeys, it is quite obvious that he knows what he is doing.

Celebrating a quiet Lunar New Year

Oliver celebrates his second Lunar New Year. Although today is the first day of LNY, somehow I feel that the new year mood is different, or perhap, it will never be the same again. Last year, we went to my parent's place at around 10 am, spent an hour there and left together to my grandma's place. I would see my cousins and eat the vegetarian food prepared by my grandma and fourth Auntie. I would see my playmate cousin Hong Hoon and her family, catch up with her for around one hour and then head towards my dad's elder brother's home.

This year, we did not made our way to my grandma's place (uncle's house). Since my uncle is the youngest and that my grandma passed away, it is not longer appropriate to go to my uncle's place. So we just made our way to my parent's house and then my dad's elder brother's place. Strangely, we did not see anyone other than my uncle. The whole household was having a very serious "meeting" upstair, and they were too caught up with their affairs to say "hi" to us. We sat for an hour, playing with their house pet and watching my cousin's wedding on TV. Still no sight of my cousins and auntie, we decided to go home. By the time we reached home, it was past 3pm. Even Karen sms me that she will be leaving her house soon for dinner at Aung's place. Around 5pm, we left for Tampines to visit Boon Heng's parents and her sister. The house was also empty except for Boon Heng's mum and her sister.


Is it really LNY? I have not felt the mood yet. It is a quiet LNY, and it makes me feel sentimental. Oliver, I miss your great-grandma very much and wish she is around today with us.

Okay, gonna think positive, at least the reunion dinner at Prima Tower and Legend Gardens were great. Although, you had fever at Prima Tower, but glad to know that you have enjoyed the ramp at Legend Gardens - judging by the fact that you walked at least 20 rounds on the ramp.

At Prima Tower

Oliver looks kinda huge with his grandma

Oliver's cousin - Jian Xin

Oliver with Aunite Serena

P.S. Even our clock in our living room stops moving at 715am this morning.

Oliver, do you know Siti is leaving?

I am just too sad to pen anything. I think Oliver will be lovesick when Siti leaves Del-care at the end of the month. Will you be okay without Siti? will you still be your cheeky self when I leave office to fetch you home from Del-care? Will there be a empty hole in your heart?

Siti, probably nobody else's peg will fit in Oliver's life ever after you leave.

What is the date today?

It is rather tough sometimes to make decision, even when they are easy decisions like "you prefer to eat Steamboat or Malay food at Kampong Glam?". Often, I would want to please Boon Heng and choose a place that Boon Heng likes. Likewise, Boon Heng will do the same thing. Sometimes, we ended up throwing a coin to decide our fate. Often than not, we decide not to follow the fate set by the landed coin.

Recently, we decide to use the date to help us in choosing the place to eat. Today is 1st Feb, and 1st being the odd number, Boon Heng will decide. I will decide if the date is an even number. Bingo! So far, it has worked really well for us. Surprisely, our little Oliver seems to find it working for him too. He will alternate Boon Heng and I to be his preferred friend of the day. Day 1, Oliver will shake his head vigourously when I attempt to carry him. He wants only Boon Heng to carry him. Day 2, he will stick to me like a koala bear, and yells if Boon Heng tries to carry him. He is quite fair, isn't he? I wonder what is his date tomorrow.