Night Safari

We visited the night safari over the weekend. It was our first time at the safari and the experience was amazing!  I like the fact that it happened at night and it makes the journey into the animal Kingdom a lot more mysterious, minus the dreaded tropical heat. Jie jie was kinda afraid of the dark as Flash lights were not allowed and the atmosphere was almost pitch dark with soft lights shining into the animal dens. Hyena and asiatic animals like the deer, goat,  buffaloes,  Tiger,  elephant,  hippopotamus etc seems to dominate the safari. Of course individual trails which allows you to walk closer to the enclosures makes the night ever more adventurous since this was their first time Travelling in darkness.

I must say being pregnant and travelling with young children had its privilege.  We had priority treatment throughout the trip. . Priority boarding without having to queue for the tram rides and reserved seating at the amphitheatre.

Overall great experience and will go again with baby 3!

Children's activities at Cafe Mosiac

High tea at Cafe Mosiac, Carlton Hotel, great food and children's activities including balloon sculpting and cupcake making and not forgetting great company with Daniel and clan.

1st JMC assessment

The first asessement passed with breeze and surprisingly when children didn't know what's instore for them they are more at ease. Perhaps it's one on one without the stress of having to face a group of eager audience, Natalie performed well and responded to the examiner's enquiries in a more light hearted manner.

She sang the "lullaby of the stars" and listened attentively as the teacher tested her listening skills. She was assessed on 3 song pieces and I must say she aced all 3 of them - "little red shoes", "lavenders Blue" and "the Dove".

Session ended within 15 minutes and she felt it was too soon.  I was glad she didn't even felt a tinge of fear and this bodes well for her as she advance further in music.

Baymax

Big hero 6 was about the sacrifice of a talented elder brother for the sake of a renowned scientist who had gone astray in seeking revenge for his daughter, leaving the brilliant minded younger brother(hiro hamada) who ultimately discovered the truth about the professor as he formed a team to fight him off. Baymax, the medical giver robot, who possessed the like mindedness of his elder brother, intending to do good for people ended up as a member of hiro's team under the pretext of providing treatment and counselling for the grieving boy. 

Nathan enjoyed the show but ultimately gave it a bad review as he didn't understand why the elder brother and Baymax had to end up sacrificing themselves. He was saddened by the fact that they had to leave the younger brother in order to save others. 

Natalie felt sad for the sacrifices that were displayed in the show as it's atypical from the usual storyline on princesses and way heavier as a life learning topic that transient beyond time.

Gong gong the storyteller

The babies made gong gong tell them a bed time story today.... The three little pigs! Nathan insisted that gong gong finishes the story before he is allowed to leave for the night.

Name for baby

Oh boy!  Kinda stuck on the names for our second boy.  There are not alot of names starting with N out there and us wanting to keep to the tradition of Nats and meaning that our children are gifts from God, the search just became more limited. Our short shortlist as follows:-
1. Natanael
2. Nathaniel
3. Noel
4. Nigel
5. Nicholas
6. Nash - think this is more a last name then first name.

My current favourites are 1 and 3. Got to make up my mind soon!

Lunch time joke:-

Natalie: "let's call baby noodle ng."

Nathan: "yes... so he can eat all the noodle that I prepare for him! "

Lol!

Elsa's dress

It had been a year since the launch of the frozen movie but elsa has yet lost her magical touch with the kids.

Christmas and it's association with snow and icicles simply didn't help and rekindled the obsession within Natalie. Of course beautiful designs of elsa's dresses which are rampant in the market now makes it even more difficult for parents to brush off the request that easily either.

Daddy being a big fan of his daughter was not able to restrain himself from giving in to the pleas of his only daughter. He gave in at the first request and set the weekend aside to shop for that perfect elsa gown.

Natalie was not the only one who was pleased with the new dress. We allowed her to wear it immediately upon purchase and it was a head turner for many kids. Couple of dads even approached Chris to ask where he bought the dress.  The proud daddy was so pleased with his find, particularly when it was reinforced by desperate dads who were still searching for that perfect gift for their daughters.

Natalie was so happy with her gown that she kept wanting to look at it when it was being dried and made plans to wear it next week during her first piano assessment ☺ and she will match it with the white princess crystal - heeled shoes from Laura Ashley (another one of her priced possession from daddy! )

Lion's novelty race

Attended a Lion's Event jointly organised at ITE Simei this morning. As we were the only family who registered for the novelty race,  it was a clear walk over!  Well at least the kids spent the morning running around, and had fun engaging in the rest of the activities.

Nathan's separation anxiety

Nathan: "Mummy why is it that didi can go to work with you everyday and I can't? Can he come out and I follow you in your stomach instead?"

He looked at me innocently and I could tell he really wished  he could be the fortunate sibling who follows mummy everywhere everyday. This little boy of mine will kick up a big fuss every morning looking for me in the toilet and wanting me to lie down with him for the entire morning so that I won't go to work and he stays with me all day. 

He will cry uncontrollably every morning when I bid him goodbye at the door wanting a zillion hugs and kisses before I could struggle from his reign and rush out of the house. Chris and Grandpa always had to play the bad guys who raises their voices at him in order to make him stop his crying and prepare for school. It gets more dramatic each day as I grow bigger in size and losses the ability to carry him for as long as he liked. Poor little boy. He just wants his mummy and circumstance had to force him to separate away from his favourite person each morning!

Sensible jie jie tried asking him why he liked to be scolded every morning and had to cry "Can't he learn to listen and understand the fact that mummy needs to go to work and the kids go to school." My little Natalie is not little any more! I was so impressed by her. . And yes we couldn't have said it any better. Hearing it from someone who had to go through the exact same predicament kind of helped him in his assessment of the situation but the end result is still not to his liking. As I still had to leave the house each morning. .. leaving him behind.

Work stuff

Had to do a tough presentation today that is relatively technical. By technical I mean engineering and technology based as it covers strategies of telecommunications in the next 5 to 10 years. Today's presentation was made to heads of department and ceo. We had to run through another for board of directors in November which includes subject matter experts and veterans! Super stressed! Tried withdrawing myself out of the team as it is bonus and annual increment period now and my c&b team is so stretched at this moment. .. but futile. Am really not the sort who is ambitious can't they tell since I am expecting a third kid?...

Well I am glad at least when I am out there on my own conducting the presentation. .. Baby is there with me.. standing by me all the time instead of me fighting the battle alone.

Concert Rehersal

Natalie is super pleased with her concert costume this year and thereby led to her seriousness towards today's rehersal.

She studied the circulars issued to parents in detail. .to the extent of memorising the itinerary! And came up with instructions for helper and myself to ensure that everything flows smoothly for the day.

Nat: "mummy, you should wake up real early on 27 Oct cause it's the day of the rehearsal. Make sure you use the toilet and shower before me. I will wake up at 630 to wash up and by 7am you can help me with the make up. My costume has rainbow colours this year so Teacher say we need to apply pink and blue for the eyes and tie up our hair to the right. My hair may not be long enough so you will need to buy Black pins(Bobby pins) to pin them up. It has to be black and no other colours. .. like the ones you used for dinner..... have to buy them on Sunday if we don't have it at home. I can go opposite with you after music class to get them..."

And on and on she rattles. Told my helper the same set of instructions last Monday upon  returning from school and even called me on the mobile to convey the details. I was so amazed when I first heard this. Hubby didn't quite believe a five year old could plan in such details. .lol! I am so happy to know that my little girl has matured and becoming independent. .. Suppose she can start looking after herself really soon! I will miss her growing up stage!

The little one

Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS)

We've been told that baby's Nachal translucency measurement is on the high side..and been recommended to do a CVS. Procedure will provide a clearer picture of causes to explain the high NT result.

Frankly, this was the scariest procedure which I've undergone.. was told not to move, laugh or cry during the insertion of the impossibly large needle ( similar to a basketball pump needle, only longer) with a giant syringe like that of a balloon pump! For the first time in my life i was overcomed with fear and cried uncontrollably in front of the medical staff, imagining the excruciating pain that I had to go through. 

Doctor Tony Tan was fortunately extremely reassuring.. like a dad..telling me it's ok to do it later and only when I am ready. i struggled to find equilibrium, held my breath and tried to control my tears. Chris held on to me throughout the procedure, and constantly reminded me to focus on my breathing. I couldnt have remained motionless during the extraction without both my hubby's support and the deft hands of the Doctor. 

Results will be out in 3 days, we will have to keep ourselves distracted with the kids in the meantime.

Having gone through the process we come to realise how blessed we are to have two healthy kids! We prayed hard that the little one will be just as healthy as his elder siblings. This was an emotional turning point for us as a family unit, where we grew stronger as a couple, hoping for the best together!

3rd Addition

Well.. something new is brewing.....we are expecting a third kid!! Cant imagine going through that 12 months of nursing phase again but yes that period will pass!! Now what worries me most is the health of the child since I have passed the 35 milestone and statistics are going sound even more scarier than my last delivery. Well we pray that he/she will be just as healthy similar to the siblings =).  Chris is fretting over the names since we we hope to continue with the tradition of Nats but seems like there arent many options left!

Gardenia Bread Factory

Gardenia- one of Rachel's favorite names and she even thought of naming her kid after her favoirite brand of bread. Whoever came up with this beautiful name for a loaf of bread must be a genius! *lol* 

Well Nathan's enrichment school organised a Gardenia factory visit during the school holidays and we grabbed the opportunity to visit our favourite brand of bread! The drive was long and our nose led us right to the door steps of the delivery factory! Ever stepped in a bakery where the aroma of freshly baked bread overwhelms you? Well imagine the olfaction intensity tripling or quadrupling.. even your hair will have this wonderful scent of bread! I wound down the windows and let our noses lead the way...

It was the first time we visited a bread factory and that visit left me with a deep appreciation for the workers working at the factory and making sure that the loaves of wonderfully baked breads are delivered fresh daily.  According to the organiser, 200,000 breads are baked every day and freshness guaranteed. Each loaf has an expiry of 5 days, but for those who stores bread in the freezer, it could last up to a month. In event if customers find that the breads didn't taste as fresh, Gardenia also guarantee exchanges, no question, asked and delivered straight to your home!

Of all the activities Nathan enjoyed the factory most. We saw the entire baking process from fermented dough to baking and cooling followed by bagging. Work conditions wasn't exactly ideal as employees had to battle with the sauna effect of the gigantic ovens. Loaves and loaves of freashly baked breads will sit in a tall cooling tower to 'cool down'. None of the breads will go to waste. Debris and crumbs collected are sent to the zoo each day to feed the animals. . Lol the ah mengs too enjoy wholesome goodness of the fresh bakes each day!

Such an enriching experience! Our appreciation for the loaf enhanced and next time we are certain that there wont be any wastage!