about a boy

We decided to visit the airport on the spur of the moment. And I think Jayden loved it. It was not his virgin trip there but it was one where he probably had the most fun. At Harris’, he met a new friend and they chased each other round the cd racks whilst we watched on in amusement.

The girl’s mum and aunts (we think!), us (Jayden’s parents duh!) and the various shop assistants were amused by their antics. The girl was older at 2.5 years, and articulate enough to say “this way!” as she rounded the cd racks and navigated the narrow aisles.

When it came time to part, Jayden trailed after her for a bit. He thought the game of chase had not ended.

We finally settled back at Sakae at T2, after a convoluted journey (boarded the wrong sky train) and had dinner there. All three. I think maybe staff have been specially trained because they seemed more attentive to the needs of the kiddo, coming armed with cutlery and chair. Even his lil cup came filled with water (which he promptly spilled on himself).

I don’t think we quite get the same service elsewhere. Anyone else has had good experience with service staff, specifically whilst dining with kids?

karang guni!

Little fella was running amok with three empty cartons. Cartons he had specially selected from the recycle pile. It is times like this that I wish they came to collect once a day. Or place a bin downstairs for us to sort our recyclables.

Is it really so hard to want to save the earth and not be a karang guni in the making?

Yes, I use only Johnson’s baby lotions. Nothing else comes quite close. They have a variety of scents too. My favourite is the bedtime lotion. Oh yes, they come in handy sizes too! Like this one… Good to go. Easy enough for me to grab and go. See? Light, easy to carry. Oh and even easy to open for small hands. I vote for Johnson’s anyday!

The real reason behind that less than glamorous shot of the boy. And no, he was NOT doing any interview. We were at a nearby coffeeshop for a quick bite before church when erhmm, young Master Ng decides his companion of the day shall be the trusty baby lotion bottle. It is almost empty but he holds it like its some treasure. And no, he did not lose it. Both boy and bottle came home safe and sound.

Enuff said. I mean, really, what do you want me to say about this erhmm, particular ‘caught in the act’ photo?

So since we have gotten the Kura bed all fixed up, Jayden has his own bed to sleep on. No more baby cots. He is a big boy now.

Nevermind that he has been showing up in our bedroom at 5am like clockwork (for the past two days). Bolster in one hand, whimpering face all around, he stands at the doorway as if waiting for permission to enter. Once in he flops himself on the bed, asleep.

And then wakes much later to find himself back in his own room.

What a cycle. Me thinks the weather is warm, causing him to wake and long for company.

Ah Seng you call ah? What is it neh? Huh, want to go playground later ah? Onz ah! Wait a minute wor, I write down. Too many appointments liao. Wait forget lor…

Jayden in a classic ah beng look. He had his right hand to the ear and left leg up on the chair. His other hand was reaching for the pencil and looked every bit like a junior bookie too! But let’s not go there… Assume Ah Seng called.

Playing musical chairs furniture right now on the large scale and Jayden has gotten into the swing of things. He shifted his own chair, aligned the plastic storage box and got a small makeshift table and chair set for himself.

When the music finally stops, we would have a proper bed, table and chair set for him. In his own room. I personally think IKEA is great for kids. It is rather affordable and well, it would be time to change the furniture by the time he outgrows them. They are not known for being durable but the ingenuity is pretty awesome.

Like this bed! We saw three different set ups. One at the as-is corner, without any frills. Just the bed set up for you to browse (and hopefully buy). Then in the mockup sets, there was one with the bed in the ‘upright’ position with loft bed in place and area underneath turned into another sleeping area with bed laid on the floor. And then flipped over, with the bed shielded with a starry sky canopy.

And to top it all off, I love this idea of turning the sides into a blackboard. Submitted to IKEA Hacker.

You really got to make room for ideas.

With the Olympics Opening Ceremony being so extravagant (and kind of long), we spent some time spotting countries that Jayden appears to be able to name. Jayden babbles a lot. And some of the baby talk he has sounds like “Portugal”, “Uruguay”, “Paraguay” to name a few.

That kept us entertained whilst we counted ’strokes’ and waited for the Singapore contingent to appear.

We missed the appearance though as we made our way home from the ROM dinner.

New home? Not!

Jayden spent his first National Day in Singapore! But he was not being patriotic in the strictest sense. He was driving us nuts by running amok at IKEA Tampines. Although too small to enjoy the children’s facilities, I think he thinks the WHOLE place is his playground.

He wandered around. Climbed up the beds, and the sofas, fiddled with all the cupboard doors, hugged a poor pitbull (soft toy) to death and carried a grey trash bucket around. He was quite content walking around on his own. He didn’t even notice we had sneaked off to hide behind a pillar to observe him as he played at the triangular play stations. Very strategically placed, they did their job of capturing the attention of the young ‘uns as the parents work out the delivery details.

Oh, in case you were wondering, he did not mind one bit that we were out of visual sight. Brave or absurd, you tell us.

Shortly before entering the restaurant area, we sneakily hid the dog and thus managed to separate boy and toy. Thus avoiding another soft toy added to the huge collection we have at home. Said toy was, however, immensely useful to steer him along the path at IKEA. Especially since it was the only thing he responded to. He, erhmm, followed it doggedly. We did get something for him from IKEA. A bed.

Happy 18 months Jayden!