The cheeky boy plonked his head on the tray of his high chair and peeked at me through the hole in my dining chair. Now you see me…!!
宝贝’s turn!
Hey! It’s me again!! *giggle* peek-a-boo!!
Her doodling on a serviette while we were waiting for our meal to be served.
I love all her freestyle drawings. Untutored, simple, a true reflection of her state of mind. Comparing these to the ones she drew in art class, they look raw but more real. The “art class” pieces were also produced by her but under the guidance of the art teacher who instructed her to draw shapes until they formed pretty pictures. In a way, they were not reflections of her mind, although they were drawn by her.
All the animals and stick people in her freestyle doodles are always smiling. 2 beady eyes and an upward curve for a mouth. She’s a happy child (most of the time). A reflection of her sunny disposition in the doodles.
The 2 animals look like they have the same basic templates, with additionally features. If you haven’t guessed it, the one on top is a camel. The one at the bottom is a giraffe and the stick person is a farmer(?! Don’t ask me why he’s a farmer and not a zoo keeper. That’s what the artist told me. =.=”)
I wonder how her drawings will develop as she grows older. The unknown is exciting, as every child’s potential lies untapped.
Her beading interest started last year. I assembled a beading kit for her Christmas present. But we only do it for special occasions because she takes an awfully long time to complete one.
She’s come a long way from the day she started her first beading project. She’s learnt patterns in school this year and she’s been putting it to practice in her beading. I will still measure out the thread for her.
She plans her own patterns and colours without any prompting from me. She lays them nicely in a row before patiently threading them together.
Her birthday present for her friend. She spent the whole Sunday morning fashioning this. Matching bracelet and necklace. Good enough to sell… Haha… Evil mom thinking of ways to make her daughter pay for her own expenses. Maybe she can make enough to fund her own tertiery education??? Taking orders! :p
It is so hard to take decent photos of 宝贝 nowadays. She will not stand still for photo taking. Everything turns out blurry. Or she will stare at all directions but at me and the camera.
Or else she does this…
We found an old box of puzzle. 54 pieces. 宝贝’s been pretty pro at assembling the 20 pcs jigsaw puzzles. I’ve been meaning to buy more complicated ones when I’ve the time. So, as you may have guessed, time is never enough. This box was from Auntie Evelyn.
宝贝 assembled it all by herself. That means I’ve to go and find an even more “chim” one for her…
From sitting upright, posing with the floor puzzle to….
She claimed she’s all tired out from the intensive puzzle assembling. ? sigh…. Strawberry generation. ?
Yesterday evening…
宝贝：Daddy can you come home earlier tomorrow night?
Hub: Ok. I’ll try.
宝贝 ：(she thought for a while) can you come home at 11 o’clock? (She usually sleeps at 8).
Hub : Erm. Ok. (Turned to me and whispered) I thought she said early. She used to tell me to come home at 6. Why did she say 11 o’clock this time?
Me : Well she is not an idiot. It shows how low her expectations of you has dropped to. And you never get home by 6 anyway. All the disappointments she suffered every day. (I gave a dramatic sigh.)
I swore he looked a trifle guilty.
Me : (giving him a final punch) the next thing you know, she’ll point to you in surprise and say, “Who is this 怪叔叔 (weird uncle)??”
Hub : ok ok! I’ll come home earlier.
Today… She’s already asleep. Still not home yet!! Fine! The scare tactic didn’t work at all. *mutter* I must start getting her to call him 怪叔叔 tomorrow.
怪叔叔来咯！
We woke up to a cool Sunday morning. Dashed was our morning swimming plan. Alternatively, 宝贝 practised her calligraphy. Looked more like drawing to me though.
A very serious calligrapher she was.
My mom has been practising with her on this word for a long time. Can you make out what it is? Her surname – 梁. A lot of room for improvement.
She’s better with her ABCs.
Next year she’s supposed to be able to write her full Chinese name. She’ll need lots of practice. Thanks to her sadistic parents.
The first time she did this, I attempted to correct her.
“No no! 1 plus 1 is 2! What the heck is kiyomi?! 2 plus 2 is 4!!”
“Noooo… (In a distressed wail) it’s KIYOMI!!”
“What kind of word is that?!”
“Mama it’s CUTE!!!”
Huh?!
After some consultation with younger friends on whatsapp, I realised that it’s another one of those Korean pop craze thingy. That reminds me of the last time she came home from school galloping like a pony and called her brother “sexy baby”. ?
For a little girl with no contact with the tv and smart phones, she’s surprisingly well informed….
For the clueless parents like me, I’ve done a google and compiled a gwiyomi (or kiyomi) survival kit. So that you don’t attempt to tell your child that she shouldn’t be sucking her fingers when she chants 6 plus 6.
Gwiyomi wiki for the studious parents.
For the visual parents, check out the following image. Do practise a few times before you perform it with your child.
If you want to bond with your child over smart phone and “buddy” with them, there’s a message version of it.
Check out my 宝贝’s version. ?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4vkgUnjxoE&w=560&h=315]
Move over “kawaii”! Here comes “kiyomi!!
“Mommy… All my friends’ Mommies and Daddies are always there, during the field trips, except mine…” Big eyes teary, little mouth quivering. (She’s honing her guilt trip skills.)
“Ok ok! I promise that I’ll be there for your next field trip!” Sigh…
So there I was. A parent volunteer for her Hort Park field trip. It’s only when I was there and I talked to a few mommies that I realised I’ve been taken for a ride by a 4 year old. Only a few Moms were there. ?
As a parent volunteer, I was basically assigned 4 children and I just needed to keep them in line, help them with toileting etc. Easy Peasy.
The kiddos were armed with their hats, water bottles and well slathered with sunblock and insect repellant. That’s 宝贝 right in front, beaming under her Japanese soldier cap because “her Mommy was there”, she proudly proclaimed to all her friends. Taking the day off was worth it, since it made her so happy. They were lining up, ready to make their way out of the school to board the bus.
Swinging her arm with her partner-of-the-day, Siya, at the entrance of Hort Park.
All looking very serious for a very important part of the trip…..
The picnic! Before the walk even started… ? Tucking into their buns and apple juices.
With the children well-fed, the educational walk began.
Edible plant section – Okra! My favourite!
Brinjal, pretty in purple!
Hello, Mr Scarecrow!
This was where we tried to take a class photo. Mission impossible!!
Taking off her cap and fanning herself with it. Now I know why it’s called Hort Park… It was bloody HOT. Ok. Bad pun over there. But before long, I was drenched in perspiration as well…
The kiddos were getting restless from an overdose of plants and sun.
All were ordered by teacher Yvonne to put on their caps.
Soon, the complaints starting pouring in. They sure can complain, considering that they are only 3-4 yr olds.
“I can’t walk anymore. I’m soooo tired”
“Where’s the bus? When are we boarding it??” (Bus = air con)
“Where’s the air con??”
We, parents, were commenting, “all these pampered kids!!! Terrible!” I couldn’t really blame them. I was yearning for air con myself. ?
Cheer up! Sunflower!!
Playground!! The highlight of Hort Park wasn’t the plants but this!! Suddenly, every one of them was no longer hunched while walking, no more complaints. They tapped into the secret source of energy within themselves to sprint to the playground.
Her gleeful grin at the top of the slide.
Snoozing in the bus?? Nah! She’s just pretending.
Is it a trend to stick plasters on themselves? Look at their legs…
A moment later, chatting with Siya in some Russian coded English. I couldn’t figure out what’s so funny that they kept giggling during the entire conversation. It takes a 4 yr old to understand another 4 yr old. I’m overaged…
Back home, totally fatigued from the hot sun and long walking. The bed was beckoning, but I had to drag myself up to change and go for work. Work eventually ended at 10pm that night. I was ready to faint from fatigue….
