Bubble Corridor

The great thing about having neighbours with kids about the same age as yours...a natural playgroup!  We've lately started to have bubble playing sessions in the lift lobby.  It's great!  We can blow as many bubbles as we please without worrying about having to clean the house! :)  And more kids mean more excitement when playing with bubbles :)  So, hooray for HDB living!

Bubbles galore!  My neighbour has the automatic bubble blower thingy.

Asher trying to jump and catch the bubbles

The kids chasing the bubbles all around

Doughing It the Second Time Around

Asher wasn't too keen on dough the first time we played with it.  Suspecting that it was because it was too wet, I tried again, this time being careful to mix just a little water each time such that the end result was quite dry. 

Helping to mix the flour and water

Kneading the dough

Shaping the dough (well, I did the shaping, he told me what to make)

Decided to bake the dough to set it so that he could paint them.  He really enjoyed this second bit.

Dog, man (was supposed to be 'Daddy', but it looks so unflattering I just called him 'man'), fish, and a poor rendition of Ernie (think the ears should have been more to the side, but anyway, they fell off after a while and he became Elmo)

Master Nair at work

Getting more paint on his brush

Yellow fish

Yellow everything else.  When everything was painted, he decided to paint the newspapers!

Thoroughly engrossed in his art work

An out-of-point remark - his eyelashes are so long! *jealous*

It was a successful session I think, and when I've time we'll try it again with a different colour or two :)

Cheeky Chimps

Now, aren't the little ones just adorable?? :))

Hanging out

Newest addition to the family

Swwwiiinnngggg

Checking baby's foot for bugs

Vesak Day Picnic @ Botanic Gardens

I love public holidays.  I doubt anyone will disagree with me.  Public holidays mean Jon's on leave.  It means we have a day outside of our usual weekend routines.  It means a day for special plans! 

The plan?  Picnic at the Botanic Gardens with my parents and Aidan :)  I'm sure I've said this a million times, I love the Botanic Gardens!  And what a perfect day to go.  It was breezy, sunny, but a little cloudy so it wasn't too hot.  It wasn't that humid too.  Clearly many families had the same idea cos the Palm Valley was quite crowded. 

And there was something funny about the valley that day.  It was covered with little bits of white, almost as if someone had torn tissue paper and thrown it all around.  But it couldn't have been cos there was just so much of the tissue-like white stuff.  Then Papa solved the great white-fluff mystery.  The cotton tree's pods had burst open!  The field was covered with cotton!  I've never actually seen cotton fresh off a tree before.  I feels so soft, like wool but without the oily feel.  Yes, yes, I know that's why they call it cotton wool...but this felt more wool-like than cotton wool. 

Can you see the cotton on the field?

Papa bringing Asher for a walk to look at the fishes

A picnic has to have food.  What did we bring?  KFC breakfasts!  Convenient, no need to prepare anything, and I like the wraps, but it always feels like they're finished too soon.  Hmm..

The cosy party

Happily munching away on Cheerios

There was a little yellow butterfly that seemed to like my father very much.  It keep settling on him much to our amusement.  And Asher was most fascinated with the little creature. 

Asher poked it here and left a bit of the, I don't know what you call it, the powdery stuff from a butterfly, on my Dad's shirt.

It was then quite cute to see Asher take a piece of tissue paper nearby and proceed to wipe the spot! 

This was voluntary.  No forced child labour here!!  And how shiok for my father!!

Back from the boys walk.  My mum and I lazed on the mat while they strolled off somewhere.

Being pampered by his Nai Nai.  Aidan was quite hot cos it was getting warmer. 

He ain't heavy, he's my grandson

Daddy and Son

Since the boys came back from their walk, my mum and I decided to bring the little boys for another walk, but this time on their strollers.  We came across this lovely area of hanging red ivy which the boys loved.  It was intriguing and I was quite fascinated too.  It was fun to walk through the ivy again and again (and again).  Thought it was very interesting that they did this 'display'. 

Where's Por Por/ Nai Nai?

Asher was so contented and tired out by noon that he actually fell asleep while being rolled back to the car in his stroller!  That hardly ever happens!  Has it ever?  I can't remember the last time it did!!  We should soo do this again.

Heather

Meet the latest member of the Quah family!  Heather Quah arrived on 18 May, making my brother a proud father of two :)  Didn't manage to see her when she was first delivered cos I was ill and didn't want to spread the germs.  It was only a week later that Asher and I paid her a visit at home.

I've forgotten how small and fragile newborns are, and honestly I was a little bit hesitent to carry her cos I'm so used to how I can just not think too much and pick Asher up and swing him around. 

Sweet little Heather

We went in the afternoon to say hi, then left to meet my friends, but went back again for dinner.  My aunts came over to see Heather too. Cos Aidan was still out, Asher helped himself to all of Aidan's toys.  Cooking up a storm with the masak masak, pushing Thomas around, getting acquainted with Chuggington, stacking wooden blocks, playing with a schoolhouse toy, etc.  But once Aidan was back they had a nice time pushing each other on the riding toy.  Aidan's so strong he can even steer Asher while Asher's sitting on the toy! 

Everyone made sure to give Aidan enough attention so that he wouldn't feel neglected.  And I think he was very much indulged that day with a lovely outing with his grandpa, great-grandma and uncle :)  Then the aunties, grandaunt, and great-grandaunt were playing with him when he came home.  No shortage of attention that day :) 

Riding around the house

Who's steering??

Sleepy Batty

Now how often do you get to see something like this?  A little fruit bat flew into my FIL's house the other day, and was so sleepy (cos it was daytime) that all he wanted to do was to find a little corner to sleep. 

Asher was intrigued for a while and patted the little fella (under great supervision, lest he squash the poor bat who's really quite fragile), but since the bat wasn't that responsive, Asher quickly lost interest.

In the end he curled up and kiao kar-ed in the rim of an up-turned plastic tub :)  Quite a cosy and safe spot to sleep in.

Cook. Eat. Play.

Popped over to LMG's place for a play date.  Asher hasn't met Austin in a while, so we thought it would be nice for the kiddos to meet up again.  How different this play date was from the previous occasions!  They were speaking and interacting a whole lot more!  I thought that you could genuinely see that they enjoyed themselves.  Between pretending to be chefs and cooking up a storm, sliding down Austin's personal slide, stacking blocks, and playing at the piano, the two boys shared many laughs and a couple of hugs to boot.  And they found time to eat too.  Watermelon to their heart's content and a yummy concoction of mashed potato with cheese. 

Sharing recipes?

Sharing hugs

Playing with some of the many toys

Catching!

Checking out the very heavy rain

More hugs :)

Duet!

I loved seeing them jabber away and play with one another. It really was so different from that first play date they had last year! They've grown and, honestly, they've become much more fun :) I love this age! There may be lots of other issues that accompany their budding independence, but all-in-all, I'm lovin' it. I guess as one of the characters in the movie The Back-Up Plan said, "it [can sometimes be] awful, awful, awful, and then, something amazing happens, then it's awful, awful, awful, then something amazing happens again" (additions in brackets mine). He ended by saying something along the lines of how it's all worth it. I know, I know, how many times have we heard that line. But I think it rings true.

I notice that I keep reminiscing about how Asher was like when he was younger.  I guess I'm just amazed at the changes, amazed at how quickly children develop, how quickly he's growing up, and how I want to treasure not only the present moment, but all the special moments before that led to now.  He may just be 18-mths plus, but there may come a day when "Mama/Mummy" won't be the first person he'll call to for comfort/help/etc.  He may not need me like he does now.  So I'm just gonna treasure all this while it lasts :)