Stars For Toys

A few weeks ago, Meimei started a new stars reward scheme to promote good behaviour and teach 萱萱 and 阳阳 the value of money at the same time. The stars can be exchanged for a variety of toys, stationery and trinkets from a 'Mama shop' booth above the star chart.

Some of the key behaviours we are encouraging:

• No videos during meals
• Potty everyday
• Keep toys after play
• No peeing in pampers at night
• Sleep early at night

I would say it's been a success. The kids are behaving better in anticipation of the nightly stars reward. Also they have been able to 'buy' toys from the shop and that keeps them motivated. 萱萱 has been very prudent with her stars as she has her eyes set on a watch which cost 50 stars. It's good they are learning to save their stars and evaluating which items are more worthwhile for exchange and which are probably over-priced.

Slower On Scooter

Buoyed by the success of cycling, I quickly brought 阳阳 to try his own Scooter. It didn't catch on as well as the bicycle. He's more afraid of falling and could not grasp the idea of stepping on the back wheel to stop the scooter.

Nonetheless he gets full marks for style points haha. 阳阳 has pretty ok locomotive skills so probably a couple more tries and he'll be zooming around the basketball court.

A Natural Biker

It's always a dream of mine to go cruising the neighbourhood on bikes with my kids, just as I did in my youth. So naturally I have to get them acquainted with the most important tool of all, the bicycle. 阳阳 is 2 and a half now and ready to give it a try. I would have introduced cycling to him earlier if not for Covid. No matter though, he is a natural at it. First day and he is cycling around the basketball court as if he has been doing it for months. He knew how to apply the breaks and make turns around the court. Even a fall didn't deter him from getting up and giving it go again and again. Soon enough 萱萱, 阳阳, Meimei and I would be breezing along East Coast Park together on our bikes :-)

A Standing Desk Of Sorts

I miss my standing desk at the office. Its been more than 6 months since we were back in office and sitting at home has made me very lethargic. Thankfully Meimei had a great idea to convert a Muji shelf into a makeshift desk. Granted we cannot fit both the IMac and work laptop onto the same desk. But at least when I'm not working I can stand and surf the net. It feels so good to stand up again. The funny thing is that I noticed how my thighs feels weaker now after months of sitting at home. I think I need to stand more to build up the strength in my legs again.

More Water Gun Action

Besides the great fire hose water gun toy, we bought another set of water guns for the kids to blast water around the neighbourhood ;-)

The kiddos were very happy to get some play time before getting home. More so when it's water play!

Riding Around The Neighbourhood

萱萱 has not ridden her bicycle for some time now. We didn't let the kids out due to Covid so she didn't get a chance to practice with her 'new' bike. It's Sunday and 阳阳 is off for his afternoon nap so I brought 萱萱 down for a ride. Its hot in the afternoon so I decided we would ride at the void deck to avoid the sun. We have a good loop we can do around the blocks of flats.

Naturally she was excited to get out of the house to play. And quickly she gotten confident with riding and went faster. I like how she was riding better with this bike but I ended up running behind her.

I can see this becoming a regular activity on Sundays. Better this than letting her stare at the Ipad all afternoon. Plus I get a short work-out too haha.

Random Kiddo Pics Oct 2020

 

A Straw For Mama

Meimei was having a very bad backache last night. So much so that she couldn't stand or sit properly. We were in the baby room and Siti was helping 欣欣 rub her back with ointment. Suddenly 萱萱 ran out of the room and came back with a straw.

I'm not sure what got into me but I shouted "Why are you playing with a straw?!!" ... "I'm taking a straw for mama so she can drink water" 萱萱 replied softly. Oh no, a streak of guilt immediately shot through me. It didn't occur to me that 欣欣 could not bend her head forward to take a drink. Instead a little 5 year old had more awareness and kindness to notice that 欣欣 wanted to take a drink from her bottle but had difficulty doing so. I instantly regret my words and apologise to her. But the damage was done and she cuddled into a bundle and pulled a sad face. 

Sigh ... that was stupid of me. I should have been commending her for being so sensible and caring. Sometimes I forget how loving 萱萱 is and am trigger happy to scold her. Even 欣欣 sounded it out to me that I should be more tolerant of 萱萱 as she is showing good progress and maturity. Plus she tends to be very sensitive to reprimand, seeing it like a betrayal of sorts from people she loves.

Oh my darling little girl, I will improve on my temperament with you! *love love

Spraying Like A Fireman

Diaso just released a range of water guns. Amongst them is a very good quality fire extinguisher one which has a built in pump. The kids were beyond excited to play with a water gun. What's not to love when you can spray at flora and insects?

Short Hair

She looks better and more girl with short hair. I think its probably because she is still too young to know how to take care of longer hair. So it became very untidy and has lots of knotted ends. Shorter hair just makes it easier to maintain.

Children Art: My Garden

 

Snakes & Ladders With 萱萱

First game of snake & ladders with 萱萱. She got it from her classmate's birthday goodie bag. It took awhile for her to understand that the ladders help her move up faster and the snakes are bad. I played a couple of games with her and obviously didn't try very hard to win. 

阳阳 tried to join in but he cannot comprehend walking the boxes with the numbers rolled on the dice so he got bored pretty quickly. I like this simple fun, it reminds me of my youth and this helps to keep the children off the electronic gears and TV.

I Can Read Remedial Classes

We signed 萱萱 up for Reading class recently. She's not academically inclined at the moment so we thought its best we help her a little by having her join a reading class which runs for an hour and a half once a week. We hope once she knows how to read on her own it will spark her interest in knowing more through reading.

To entice her to go for class, we brought her to nearby restaurants after class as a reward. She was delighted to spend 'Me' time with Meimei and me.

阳阳 @ School

A random collage of pictures teachers took of 阳阳 in school.

Lantern Festival 2020

Tradition. 

Go downstairs to basketball court after dinner.

Light the lanterns and run around with them

Take some pictures.