Den-den playing in the 'ball house' for the first time.. he doesn't quite know what to make of all the colorful balls around him and just sat there blankly for a while (while I took photos) until he toppled over and decided that he does not like to be in there!

Jailbreak!!

I was quietly taking photos of den-den when he broke out of 'jail' (aka his play yard). He happily and confidently made a beeline towards the bedroom where he could hear his daddy and big brother (Mark was bathing little bun).

Hershey was puzzled by this new 'breed' and went to hide under the dining table!

Little Bun is 25 Months Old!!

Today, the 'keeper of my heart' turns 25 months old! 25 months ago, a baby burst into my life and since then, nothing has ever been the same - my daily routine, my sleep, my relationship with Mark, my lack of social life, my patience, my outlook of life.. the list is endless. 

He is my 'teacher' in many ways, and not a single day goes by without me feeling this enormous balloon of gratitude and happiness welling up inside me when I kiss him.

Now that we are officially into the stage of the 'Terrible Twos', Mark and I have to constantly keep a very watchful eye on him. He is becoming cheekier by the day.. I was giving him his lunch and when I turned around I saw what he was doing with the spoon (and he was proudly showing me his new-found 'achievement'). 

Didn't know whether to cry or laugh, so I took a photo instead! 

Brought little bun for his little playgroup on Saturday. As he will be going off to school next year, we have decided to stop his Saturday classes after this term ends. At least he will have 'off days' on the weekends. My poor kid... I didn't start school until I was 5, and my poor boy is starting it at 2 years and 3 months (ok, 3 years old by calendar year). 

The process of trying to enroll him into a childcare of our choice was no easy feat (like I was trying to gain entry to some top-notch university instead of a childcare!!) and I think it was mainly cos I was way too laid back by local standards and didn't start looking around until a year before he was due to start. One whole year should be ample time to get my child into somewhere right? Wrong!! I was told that some parents register their kids and put them on the waiting list immediately after the child is born or once the birth certificate is ready. (WTF??!) Singapore is such a pressure cooker and it is ridiculous what parents do to get their kids into the childcare/kindergartens which are perceived as 'creme de la creme'. (Not to mention that they charge an arm and a leg!!!!)

I was and still very much am against this mentality/ behavior, but one gets sucked into this nonsense regardless of whether you like it or not cos it has become a norm. If you don't jump into the bandwagon, you are royally screwed (as I have since discovered).

Anyway, by some stroke of luck, we managed to get little bun into a childcare that was my first choice due to its proximity to my parent's home (3 min walk), and also because it has a large outdoor play area and an established reputation (read: expensive). I had originally given up all hope of getting him in there since he was like number 28 on the waiting list and they only have 1 class with about 14 kids to cater for his age group. Obviously the class was already full. I was resigned to sending him to another one which was much further away (20 min drive) and only had late morning classes available. Even for this 'back up' option, Mark had to stand in the queue for 4.5 hours (I couldn't join him as I was almost due to give birth to Ayden then) from 7am! He told me the queue was very long and only the first few people in line managed to confirm a spot! My 'issue' with this other option is with transport as my parents don't drive, but the upside is that it costs a third of what my preferred choice charges. 

Then out of the blue, the principal at the school that was my preferred choice called me in early October and told me that they are opening up another new playgroup class in 2014 and invited Mark and I to pop over to check it out.   They are looking at taking in another 10 kids and availability will be on a first come, first served basis. By another stroke of luck, we managed to book one of the first appointments available (the admin lady made a mistake initially and gave me a slot a week later without realizing it fell on a public holiday.. when she realized the mistake, the other slot which I wanted was already taken. Somehow she managed to squeeze out a slot the following day at lunchtime and this is how I was moved up the waiting line!). 

We went, met the principal, toured the school, liked what we saw and paid for it pronto. Whooohooo... We can drop him off on our way to work in the morning and my mom can pick him up after class! At least my logistical nightmare has been solved.. 

While we were waiting for classes to start, father and son ended up playing some silly game on the phone!

Hehehe.. don't know why den-den was looking so worried/ puzzled!! This is actually one of his classic expressions and I am glad I managed to capture it.. He has this blur/worried/confused look about him which I find so adorable!

Little Bun #2 is 8 Months Old!!

Mr Sunshine aka Baby Sumo (as one of my friend calls him) is 8 months old!! 

I was telling Mark that I feel bad cos we seem to be taking den-den for granted and his baby days seemed to have just slipped by without us realizing.. Because he has been so easy-going and happy-go-lucky, we tend to neglect him somewhat. When little bun was at this age, we were on our toes and anxious with every little thing. Perhaps now that we are 'seasoned' parents, we have adopted a more relaxed attitude with den-den (which could in a way have led to him being a more relaxed baby??).  

Whatever the reason is, we are just so blessed with this ray of sunshine in our lives as part of our little family unit. Till today, Mark still asks me every once in a while - "So how did Ayden come about?" (Poor man is still puzzled by how we could have conceived den-den without me going through the rigors of fertility treatment).

Finally, our family feels complete - 2 blessed parents, 2 guardian angels, 2 happy & healthy boys and 2 dogs!!

Standing steadily on his own now!! He pulls himself to the standing position every time we make him sit so it's becoming quite a challenge trying to keep this little baby safe and out of trouble. Got a nagging feeling this one will be a handful! 

Father and son bonding before brunch was served.. 

Notice little bun's annoyed expression when I made him look at me? It's the same expression that Mark has when I make him do things that are against his wishes!

Some bun is growing up to be a little vain pot like his daddy! He's been asking for his cap whenever he sees his daddy putting one on. After we put it on for him, he'd adjust it and say 'nice!'. 

He looks so grown up with the cap on.. had a sudden sinking realization that my baby is no more a baby...

Pulling funny faces for the camera!

Daddy's Boys

Both boys want to be carried by daddy at the same time. I have a feeling that we will see a lot more photos of this nature in the years to come... :)

Mark needs to grow an extra arm if we ever intend to have #3!!

(Err... I wonder why Mark looks the happiest among the 3..)

Presenting little bun #2 - Confined in the play-yard which we have brought out from its temporary exile in the storeroom! At least it keeps him out of harm's way when we need to put him down for a while. 

Merrily chewing on the Mickey that I bought for him from the Hong Kong airport during my recent business trip

Barney has found himself a new best friend!!