Jay at the Singapore Zoo

We did it! We went to the Singapore Zoo this afternoon. One of our concerns was the scorching afternoon sun these few days, so I purposefully went over to get some sunblock for Baby and me, in anticipation of the hot day at the Zoo! Amazingly, when we reached at about 2.20 p.m., the weather was divine. The sky was overcast, and at times, a few fat drops of rain would fall, but due to the heavy foliage in the zoo, we were more or less sheltered. What a blast we had!

One of the first exhibits we went to was to see the pygmy hippo. And just before that, we saw this … ugly scary slow-moving right out of a Stephen King movie fish. At least I think it is a fish. And Jay was enthralled by this ugly creature! The scary funny thing? That thing fish was stationary in the water. Absolutely stationary. I didn’t even see a fin move. Till Jayvon walked away. And. The. Fish. Followed. Him. Shudder….

On to nicer animals… We practically walked through the entire zoo. I kid you not. I reckon we got our money’s worth, cos we took in about 70-80% of the exhibits!

Here’s some pictures!

Nic & I took turns to carry Jayvon around. Not because he can’t walk. But whenever we set him down, he’d always give me a mini-heart attack by reaching down to the floor and grabbing some damp leaves. And giving them to Nic. And taking more leaves… So for my heart’s sake, we just took turns with him. And it was great having a fellow burden-carrier. I mean, baby-carrier. Coughcoughcough…

Remember in my previous post, I was looking forward to the Rainforest Kidzworld!

As we entered, this site greeted us.

Daddy: ”Wah…”

Mommy: “You’re going in.”

Daddy: “You didn’t tell me it would be like this!”

Mommy: “I told you to bring extra clothes…”

Daddy: “Did you bring a towel?”

Mommy: “Of course!”

Daddy: “I meant for me?”

Mommy: “……… coughcoughcough………”

 

He enjoyed it… Until…

The giant elephant tank that would periodically fill up and splash like a ton of water did so. And the force of the splash (though Jay wasn’t that near it anyhow) “blew” him a couple of steps and covered him with cold drops of water. That was when he started bawling.

Ah well… Back to the animal exhibits then! To think I was still considering settling down at Ben & Jerry’s for an ice-cream cone! Hahaha!

2 1/2 hours later, arms aching and feet throbbing, we finally hailed a cab back home. Phew! What a tiring day!

Oh and our new domestic help’s here! *fingers crossed*

We’re Going To The Zoo-zoo-zoo!

Yeap! We’ll be trudging down to the Singapore Zoo tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to it!

Together with some close friends, we went for the Night Safari some weeks back, but Jay didn’t enjoy it terribly cos it took him some time to see the animals and he didn’t take to the anyone else carrying him. So it was an arm-aching exercise for me!

So this time round, Nic will be around too, and I think my boy’ll have a blast! He already enjoys watching the animals on Animal Planet!

Oh, and the one place highly recommended by other parents as a must-go when going to the zoo?

Definitely the Rainforest Kidzworld! Check out some pictures here! How fun!

Tyrant Prince Of Ice Cream Land

Yes, I am he.

Deny me not my ice cream. When I want it. How I want it.

Just because Mommy felt a teensy bit bad for being so busy with work the past few days that she took me to Swensen’s for a nice treat, it does not negate my tyrannical princeship in ice cream land. I am Prince in ice cream land.

Rule #1 in ice cream land: Do not try to take photos of Prince and Ice Cream together. Just. Feed. Me. NOW!

What are you doing, Mommy? Stop it! Feed me now!

Rule #2 in ice cream land: You shall be prompt in feeding the prince. Let not your hand be weary. Move it, move it!

(He’s upset cos I lingered and dangled the ice cream in a bid to get him to smile. Ugly photos, yeah? I really wanted a nice smiley one, but I guess the Prince wasn’t in a posing mood.)

Rule #3 in ice cream land: Because I am Prince, I can shout at you to be quick on your feet, and feed me now I say!

(See the video! He is really “barking” at me when he feels I am too slow!)

Jay at Swensen’s from Sandra Tan on Vimeo.

It was a stressful week for me at work, and I felt Jay was shortchanged in terms of time spent with me. And the time he had with me was with a grumpy, short-fused Mommy. When I found myself so frustrated I actually asked my 14 month-old, “What do you want? Just tell me!!!!!!” I kinda knew I (and baby) need a good break! Hahaha!

So I wanted to spend some quality time, make him happy! Haha! So I brought him for a quick break

Fun Play At Kids@Play

Over the Easter weekend, Jayvon & I were at Expo from Friday to Sunday.

So, in a bid to keep him happy and entertained through the long hours there, we spent a fair part of each day at the Kids@Play area in Hall 8. Now, Jay’s a little bit too young to officially play at that fantastic area, but that doesn’t stop him from trying!

Check out this huge playground!

There’re small rockers…

and funky slides…

and it runs three storeys high…

with Jay’s great love – the ball pit…

 

But he is often stuck on the outside, longingly staring in.

So he has to make do with the smaller Little Tikes playground beside. And boy, does he love this!

   

Oh, and here he is – running straight at my camera! Heads up!

Expo Kids@Play from Sandra Tan on Vimeo.

Bubble Fun with Gabriel

Ready… Get set…

Bubble time!!!

Jayvon And His Engine

What an eventful Good Friday!

I took Jayvon to the SME Fiesta Trade Fair before the 5.30 p.m. Easter service, and we had such great fun there!

For Mommy, it meant a few good buys! Haha! I went to Cindy’s CreativeMoodz booth, and took advantage of an Instant Eye Lash Fix – finally learning how to put on falsies! I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do it, but never figured how to do it well! Took back a small stash of make up goodies as well. I’m going back to the Trade Fair later today, to support Yvonne’s Miss VonJo booth as well. A little birdie told me a big stash of her new clothes are coming in today! 🙂

For Jayvon? He had a fantabulous time too!

His little heart was captured by a train ride! I was a bit hesitant to let him take the ride at first. “What if he falls? What if he wants to stand? What if…..” You know, the usual scaredy-mommy thoughts. But I finally relented cos he was tugging away at my arm. He had a blast!!! So much fun that when Debbie saw him, she too wanted to ride (she was reluctant at first)! Jay was sooooooooooooo “high” on being the train conductor!

Jayvon And The Engine from Sandra Tan on Vimeo.

Living Through His Eyes

Having a kid really makes me see things in a new perspective each time. Jay is an adorable boy, super inquisitive and super cheeky! Of course, he needs to “warm up" when in strange company, but once he does, smiles and giggles soon abound. He is open and affectionate and I thank God continually for such a wonderful boy! Seeing the wonder of the world through his eyes, in small things like chirping birds and stray strings on the floor and even his own feet, is refreshing and makes ME see them in a different light too!

I bought Jayvon out for a walk after work on Wednesday evening. And it was just the two of us, so I decided to bring him over to Parkway Shopping Centre.

First stop, the toy section, of course! And he zeroed in on some toys that caught his eye.

First off, it was the keyboard! He stood there for about 10 minutes, and check out his fingering! Haha! He looked so pro! Unfortunately, we were alone and there was no way I could lug the big box this piano came in AND carry Jayvon at the same time. Thankfully, he found fun in the smaller version too!

This was an easier toy, and a quarter of the price – so yeah! I got this toy for him!

After the toy section, I decided to bring him to one of my favourite childhood hangouts – Sam’s Pet & Aquarium, located at Marine Parade Central! It was Jay’s first time in a pet store, and he actually wrinkled his nose at the funky smell at first.

Then he saw the rabbits.

 

And he was absolutely captivated by them.

Absolutely captivated.

He could hardly bear to take his eyes off them! And when one rabbit came up near the glass and started wriggling its nose at Jay, guess what? Jay started wrinkling up his nose at the rabbit in return! I was so amused!!!

This was my two quality hours spent with Jay, and it was so fun! It is amazing how a toy piano and some rabbits made Jay’s day so exciting and joy-filled!Daddy was stuck in his Easter rehearsal (and will be till next Sunday!), and was suitably jealous of our little adventure – wait till Easter’s over, and I am sure Daddy will have his turn with Jay too!