Mommy and Daddy are Home

Home at last…

After 15 days of shopping, sleeping and eating out, it really does feels good to be home and cuddled with Caden again.

He woke up at 4am when I sneak into his bed and called my name a few times and asked me if I had bought him things I had promised him before. ^_^

It took him quite sometimes before he dozed back to sleep.

We woke up as usual at 6.30am and he immediately asked for his ‘share.’

I brought him out to the living room where I had placed the items for him to find.

I promised him an Elmo kitchen set, a green crocs and a harp just like what David (in the Bible) had.

He was so pleased with them.

I was told that Caden was a little bit off the day before I arrived. He was very cranky and refused to hear any instructions from anyone. A friend said, it’s time for mommy to be back. He needed to be recharged. Hehe…

Well, I am home….

Mommy's Note

In Los Angeles, California

It’s been the longest twelve days I’ve ever experience.

I wonder all the time what Caden is doing in Singapore.

I wonder if he misses me a lot and if he coping well.

I wonder if Oma plays with him and accompany him enough.

I wonder if Suster is taking care of him as much as she should be.

I wonder if he is behaving well at school.

I did wonder a lot of things. But feedback that I received from Suster, Ii Ani, Oma, friends and even his teacher are good.

I am glad for that and thank all the people around him to make that happen.

Only 3 more days to go, we can do it!

Lunch at Crystal Jade

Mommy had asked Oma to bring Caden out for lunch today. So off they went to Crystal Jade for lunch.

Caden had his usual chicken porridge and refused to eat anything else.

Nai-Nai and Kongco, who has been here for almost 2 weeks for check-ups, joined as well.

Botanic Gardens

This morning, before school, Caden went out with Ii Ani, Sasya and Oma to Botanic Garden to feed the swan.

It was going to be the last trip with Ii Ani and Sasya as they are going back to Jakarta in the afternoon.

Mommy, who was in San Francisco, hoped that Caden will be alright as there was still another 9 days to go before I came back home.

How I wish Ii Ani and Sasya could stay longer.

I had told Oma to play with Caden as much as she can. I am so glad that I have people to help me take care of Caden while I am away.

Showing Sasya How To Go Underwater

Opa's Birthday

A quick Happy Birthday song for Opa before he went back to the airport.

Happy Birthday, Opa. May you have many more healthy years ahead of you.

Interesting found out...

I found out that in the US, kids from 12 months onward are supposed to be out of bottle; i.e. they are suppose to start drinking their milk from a cup.

And if they don’t, the pediatrician will make sure the parents do that.

There is no formula for babies more than 12 months of age in supermarkets. Unlike here where you could find formula milk for children up to 10 years old easily in any of the supermarkets, in the US, you will have to purchase it online and have it ship to your home.

So as young as 1 year old, children are no longer drinking formula; instead they drink regular fresh cow’s milk everyday.

For Caden, he still drinks formula everyday (between 1.5 Liter to 2 Liters per day) in a bottle. Not included his milk-snack, which are: fresh milk, fresh chocolate milk, milo, and soya bean milk.

He is still a very picky eater, but I can see some improvements on him. At least he now is willing to try on new things, things that he used to scream when it was placed near to him, let alone near his mouth.

He also picked up a few new things that he likes from friends. Although his favorite is still Cheerios, he is able to consider a few new crackers as one of his favorite.

Caden's First Piano Concert

Mandeville Music School 'Concert'

[I am so sad that I missed this moment]

Today is Caden’s last day of his Baby Music Class. From August onwards, he will be in Baby Graduates class which has fewer kids and smaller class size.

They will have mini-concert today to show off skills that they has been working on for the past 3 terms.

I had told Suster and Ii Ani, who had agreed to take Caden to the class, to take tons of pictures and videos.

I was told that Caden did great and that he had won the best outfit of the day where Ii Ani was the judge. ^_^

[Well, actually I am not too sure about that! I had specifically told Suster to wear white bow-tie with white suits, but I guess she forgot. It looks kind of weird to me.]

I have to make sure that I will not miss the mini-concert for his Baby Graduates class next year.

Today: To the Zoo!!

Build A Bear Workshop

For the longest time, I wanted to bring Caden to a ‘Build a Bear Workshop’, but couldn’t find the right time.

Until a week before I left for US. I thought it would be great to ask my sister to take Caden there, to make him feel happier that day.

So, my sister brought him there after the Singapore Flyer ride.

[Fyi, there is a Build A Bear workshop in the Singapore Flyer]

I was told that Caden chose the light brown color bear right away and named him David (after the David character from the bible).

He helped to stuffed David with some cotton and bathed him.

Hope this will make his day.

PS: I kept calling the nanny and asking my sister how was his reaction and asked if he actually excited and happy afterwards.

Singapore Flyer

Thank you Ii Ani and Oma for bringing me to one of my favorite ride in Singapore...

Ii Ani and Sasya in Singapore

At breakfast time

I am so glad that my sister is coming to Singapore.

She and Sasya came a few hours after I left for the airport.

I know their presence will help Caden to ‘forget’ me for a while. He will be super busy with his favorite auntie and sister coming for a week.

Changi before good-bye...

Minutes before we have to go inside the immigration.

I didn’t know exactly how I feel.

Definitely will miss him very much and hope that he will be alright.

We ate McDonald breakfast at Terminal 3 and opened a new toy that I bought from last year’s trip to US. It’s a submarine to accompany him when he is swimming or taking a bath.

I know whatever I give him today will not replace me.

I pray GOD will protect him and keep him safe.

Going to the Airport at 7am

All of us, including Caden and suster, are going to the airport at 7am.

My flight is at 9.40am, but I want to spend a little bit more time with Caden before I am gone for 2 weeks.

So my plan is, I am going to bring him with our regular maxi-cab driver, Adeline, at 7am. Then after I check-in, we are going to McDonald for breakfast together.

Then at around 8.15pm, Adeline will drop Caden and suster at his school.

I pray that there will be no tears from him and I hope he will do just fine in school.

Baby K

Caden meet with Baby K for the first time today. Both the mommies have been friends since we were in primary 6.

Both of us hope that next time when they meet, they can play together and hope to capture that in photos.

Come to Singapore more often ya, K!!! ^_^

I am going to miss sending him to school

Today would be the last time I can send and pick up Caden from school. The next time I can do this is next month.

Mommy and Daddy are going to US tomorrow for 15 days.

I am really going to miss all about him.

I am so happy to know that Ii Ani and Sasya are coming tomorrow as well for almost a week! They will definitely fill Caden’s days with a lot of laughter, and I hope they make him forget all about me for this 2 weeks

Oma is totally ready to accompany Caden in Singapore. She has committed herself not to go back to Jakarta while I am away.

I am still very very worried, though. I really need to pray hard for him.

I used the last year tactic again this time. I told him Mommy has to go to buy Caden toys. I told him I will buy him a harp, just like the one David – from the bible story David and Goliath has. I have bought it online from Amazon.

I also told him that I will buy him a kitchen set. I saw this cute Elmo and Cookie Monster kitchen set that has the mike and the fake fire that makes sounds online. I have bought it and sent it to my friends place in the US.

Now every time I told him that I have to be away for a while, he asked me “Mommy wants to buy harp for Caden?”

I hope this will work this year. I hope he will patiently waiting for me for those toys.

Please be good when mommy is away, ok? I am sure you are in very good hands.

Meet the Cast

Today was a special day for Caden at the Zoo. Not only Daddy was joining us for the trip, Caden was able to meet ‘Babus’, the bad character in the Rainforest Fights Back show, up close and personal.

Since Caden is in the school from Monday to Friday, it is hard to find a time to go to the Zoo anymore. I used to hate it going there on the weekends as it gets crowded, but now I have to choice.

Luckily we always go there early morning and home before lunch time, where the crowds has not really coming in yet.

Progress on Numbers

Caden can count from 1 until 40 easily, but he didn’t recognize all of the numbers yet. He only knows the number 1-9; he is a little confused when it comes to 2 numbers that are together.

Currently, when I show him number 13, he would say that it is number three, not thirteen.

Emi's 3rd Birthday

Emi is Caden’s friend from The Little Gym. They met for the first time when they were only 6 months old.

Toothless, tiny, cannot walk, cannot talk, and sleep close to 20 hours a day.

Now, they have grown so big. Very talkative, always run, all tooth has emerged, very determined to get what they want, and sleep lesser and lesser each day!

Time flies so fast….

Today was our few last time to see Emi and her family. They are moving to Tokyo, Japan next month for good.

We really hope all of you still come back often to visit us.

Breakfast Part Two at Tiong Bahru

Everyone was ordering the fish porridge, only Caden ordered the chicken one.

Hihi…I was laughing to see how he ate the cakwe, he only bite the outer part of it. Whatever it is, I am just glad that he was willing to try out the new food.

Popo, Kung Kung, Kung Kung Frans and Yeye are going back to Jakarta this afternoon.

Have a safe trip! We hope to see all of you again very soon.

Ragoon Road Bak Kut Teh

Popo, Kung Kung, Kung Kun Frans and Yeye had tried the famous ba kut teh before, but it was the first time for Paul, Caden and I.

Of course Caden refused to even try the (weird) black color soup, anyway it was a little bit spicy from the pepper.

Caden was super bored there. He was also a little bit restless. Then someone had an idea to continue the food journey to Tiong Bahru market famous porridge.

Caden was so happy to hear that we were going to eat porridge soon.

Toys to Bring

Now, I have to bring something every time we go out. Caden gets bored easily, and when he is bored, he will do all sort of funny stuffs.

Although we do have the portable DVD player which always do wonderful job making Caden sit still for a long time, I don’t want to make it a habit for him to watch while eating.

[I let him have it when we are travelling, but not when we are in Singapore or Jakarta]

I rather bring him his small cars toys, books, drawing paper…anything other than movies.

I still limit his watching time to less than 45 minutes a day.

At Singapore General Hospital...

...to pick up Kung Kung and Popo

Popo and Kung Kung Visit

Din Tai Fung - Paragon

Popo, Kung Kung, Kung Kung Frans and Yeye were here for 4 days for health check-ups.

Caden and I will be busy this few days to bring them around Singapore.