Happy Birthday, Dragon girl!

The girl is 2!
I can still remember lying on the cold OT table waiting for Dr B to cut me up.
I was very calm the entire time, imagining the layers he was cutting away to bring this breeched baby into the world.
And when she finally arrived, she announced it by peeing all over her mother. Sheesh....
And from that moment, I knew she is going to be a dramatic one and I was right. They don't call it maternal instinct for nothing.

She was this scrawny, dry looking baby but I was drowning in loving maternal hormones.
So, naturally I thought she was beautiful.
Looking back, nah, quite ugly actually....hihi. Sorry, my princess, must be honest laaaa...
But now, she is so darn cute, chubby, funny, cheeky and sweet.

I made this collage when her kakak complained that I forgot to compile one for her :p

This is going to be a photo overload post.

You know, for when I am old and I want to feel young again.

For Dragon girl's wedding.

For my grandchildren...

Oh God, I am going to cry.....they grow up so fast......

*wipes tears*

For her 2nd birthday, we went on a one day trip to Amverton Cove.

This is the monkey girl who loves to pretend she's driving.

That face....I so geram, you know!

Obviously she's got my eyes. 

Have you seen my hubby's eyes?

Pfffttt...

Looks like me, a little...from the side...whatever la....still my daughter.

 

 We went to the indoor playground immediately.

There were all these slides and balls but  all she wanted to do was cook :)

"Don't help me"

 

We went swimming in the evening

Too brave for floaties.

She cried when hubs tried to put her in the float with seat.

Only took me about 20 minutes to blow it up....no biggie.

We brought a cake with us and she blew out the candles herself.

The rare smile for the camera

 

Another rare shot with a hint of smile.

Some 'model' shots hubs took :)

I look at her and I wonder what the future holds?

She is one of those kids with tons of attitude and fire.

 

 So independent and brave.

She is an artist. We paint every single day.

So, I bought this easel and created an art corner for her.

One day, while Tiger and I were reading outside, she went into the room by herself for sometime.

I expected her to be painting but to my surprise, I found her at the table.

She may look like she is reading but look closely and you will see

she is studying the picture intently.

Nope, still not reading.

She still leaves a trail of mess wherever she goes.

I guess that's how creative minds work.

Must learn to accept and embrace the mess....ohmmmmmmm

C.A.N.N.O.T

I must have frowned because she got up, grabbed the broom and started to sweep,

creating a bigger mess.

Tiger nearly cried when he saw his precious cards all over the floor.

Cognitively she is not as advanced as Tiger but socially, motor skills and 

creatively, she is way ahead.

Still not potty trained.

Still unable to recognize ABCs

Still as playful as ever.

Baby, you are so lucky you are not my firstborn.

Love you just the way you are.

Little Tiger a.k.a. The Abandoned Child

Poor, poor Tiger.... my abandoned boy.

With the new baby taking up all of my spare time and energy,

I simply had no time to plan Tot School.

He asked for school all the time but after 5 minutes of trying to do some work,

 the baby would start crying or whining.

During my confinement, he spent a lot of time on the Ipad.

Mostly playing with games like matching memory, etc.

Surprisingly, he wasn't keen on Disney channel ...hehe..

I did plan ahead by moving one of his shelves into my room

Here are some of the stuff we did:

Some line tracing, colouring, and mandalas

We tried to keep up with our right brain practise.

Ermm, not very consistently, I'm afraid.

These are his mommy-made photographic memory games

Physical activities:

He rolled the floor mat and monkeyed around

Stacking his Brainstorm blocks.

We did a lot of puzzles

My little multitasker:

Babysitting little sis and playing with his Ipad simultaneously ^.^

The boss...well, he kinda has been demoted by his lil sis..

He is more like the boss's assistant now.

From week 4 onwards, Tiger tagged along with hubby and I whenever we went out.

That includes going to Daddy's work place. Not a good idea!

I tried to spend some one-on-one time with him which usually meant walks,

ice cream or going to the bookstore.

Nothing that requires a lot of mental/physical work.

This post is my pledge to be a better mom to Tiger soon.

People kept saying that it will get easier..I shall have faith and be patient.

Tot School: Montessori-Inspired Week @ 24.5 months

As usual, Tiger was very excited to see new materials on his trays.

He enjoyed most of the trays this week.

Me?

Not so much.

It is difficult to sit on the floor cross-legged or in any manner at 38 weeks..

Then again, I can't say "No" to my boy

This is the favourite tray by far.

By the end of the week, he was handling the pot with both hands and minimal spillage

^.^

His continuous obsession with the alphabets.

Enjoying his write-on Alphabet Book with Crayola markers.

I found out that he is able to trace dotted lines this week.

Funny boy trace alphabets from bottom to top...hehe..

Fraction tortoise.

He needed help with this.

No screen time week

The desktop's motherboard broke down and hubby took it back to his shop for repair.

So, we are screen-free for this week.

I kinda like it :p

Right brain

His flashcards

Other right brain materials that I keep in the file holder.

This would hold his ESP, memory games, mandala, etc.

Life:

Celebrating Grandma's birthday.

Speaking of birthdays & presents, Tiger already broke his remote control car.

Fun:

Enjoying his water gun...very, very much.

Here, we were shooting bubbles from the bubble machine.

Okay, I enjoyed myself too...

The gun is a little big for his chubby toddler hands, so he shoots by palming the trigger

^.^

Next , we have the option of doing either Zoo Week or Water Fun Week

2 Teaching Mommies have a new mini Preschool pack for Water Fun.



Linking up to 1+1+1 =1

Organizing: Nesting Part 3 {Playroom}

Playroom

This is where Tiger spend most of his time when I am at work.

I can't wait for Lil Dragon to share the room with him.

In order to create more storage,

we bought a cheap beech coloured cupboard from Giant to replace the chestnut bookcase.

I was planning to vamp up the cupboards but that's for another day since there is so much to do.

I finally moved the IKEA glass cabinet into the store room.

The moving resulted in pelvic pain to date..hmmph...

I moved my old books and files to the top and covered them with thick blue cardboard cut into waves.

Now, we have more a little more space and definitely more organized.

Bliss....

I don't know about you but I feel exhilarated after a massive organizing spree..

Hehe, psycho, I know...I am for hire if you need someone for organizing.

Heck, I'll probably do it for free.

 I was saving the parking garage for after the arrival of Lil Dragon so that Tiger will be kept busy but

I caved in to his incessent "Open, open, PLEASE!"

While I was putting it together, I was so glad I did not wait.

It took 2 hours and a bloody thumb.

That's how much of an idiot I am at doing stuff like this.

Here, Tiger was doing his happy strumming dance 

^.^

 He absolutely loved it!

According to Tiger:

Mama: red car

Tiger: blue car

Daddy: black car

^.^

It fitted nicely onto his train table which I covered with black felt and some large puzzle pieces.

We also added some trees and petrol station for fun.

Organizing: Nesting Part 2 {Study room}

 Study room

I have a confession to make.

Little Tiger's study room is my favourite room in the house.

I suspect it's his fav too

since it is the first thing he ask for in the morning

^.^

Just because Little Dragon's arriving soon doesn't mean my boy gets any less attention.

No way!

In case I end up getting butchered (so crude, I know),

I decided to make the study more Tiger-friendly.

<<< >>>

We love the little IKEA table and chair set despite 2 mini accidents, so far.

He has since learned that sitting in a civilised manner would decrease further incidents.

The little pink MAMMUT stool is "Mama tool"

Nobody else is allowed to sit on it  ^.^

We do most of our painting/writing/stamping/right brain memory work/flashing on the desk.

His Tot Tray Shelves have been moved to the side.

He is now Montessori-ed, hehe, the mats are a MUST for trays.

In order to provide more space for Tiger's books since he is able to handle paperbacks now,

I added the another bookcase (from his playroom).

Actually, the help did most of the heavy lifting since my pelvis is killing me.

His Panda Chair has been promoted to the study as well.

I am not sure if the new arrangement is refreshing or it tickles his fancy

but he definitely love reading A LOT more,

much to my delight.

The upper shelves are reserved for his right brain materials and mommy's papers.

More organizing is needed here.

Last but not least, Tiger's fav bookcase.

His puzzle storage...

L.O.V.E.
I have since rearranged the items so that the favoured ones are easily accessible. 

Next up: Playroom

Tot Trays: Montessori Trays at 24 months

In order to save time so that I have more time to prepare Tiger's right brain material,

we are doing montessori work trays this week.

Music:

Picture: Vivaldi with facts

Tuning fork and bells

Pouring:

Cute little watering can and a little bucket.

The can is just the right size for Tiger and oh-so-cute!

A small hanky for wiping spills

(Psst...he loves this!)

Numbers/fractions:

A little tough for Tiger but we shall try

Mini knobbed cylinder

If he finds this too easy, we will add another block.

Stamping and alphabets

Brought over from last week since he enjoyed it so.

Tweezing sponges
The sponges came from an old sponge bomb I made earlier.

He gets to do some sorting as well

I forgot to take a pic of the globe and map/flags :p

Nesting:

Mommy have been nesting like mad and this is part of it.

He is able to handle the paperbacks with care now, so I moved them down for easier access.

More on nesting madness and right brain materials soon!

Letter: Happy Birthday

Letter to Tiger

Dear Tiger,


Happy Birthday!

I cannot believe you are actually two...how time flies!

Here's what mommy posted on Facebook (which is a social network created by an American named Mark Zuckerberg. If you can do the same, I would be very happy).

My little birthday boy is 2. 

Dear Tiger, since you came into my life, not a day goes by when I don't feel blessed and contented just by looking at your little face. Your hugs fill me warmth every morning. Your "I love you"s and kisses completes me. 

Everyday, I ask myself' "What have I done to deserve you?" It is a question that I cannot answer. 

Thank you for bringing love, joy, hope and meaning to my life

 I mean every single word.

You are such an awesome little man that the presents started coming on the eve of your birthday. I am posting your gifts so that you will remember to be grateful for all the little luxuries in life that you are in no way entitled to, just very blessed to have. 

Here's one from my boss's missus who haven't even met you in real life :)

Here's the gift that YOU picked and  'forced' ku ku (hubby's sis) into buying.

She was planning to get the Mini Cooper which was half the price of this gorgeous blue one.

SPOILED!

Yes, you are...I wouldn't have allowed it if I went along....

 Mommy took the day off to spend the special day with you and Daddy decided to join us :)

See how blessed you are? I hope you will enjoy yourself on your special day...Mommy's off to bed now...

Just for the record, this was when you were 1 year old: 

 

 Love, 

Mommy