Evelina Baddely

15 January 2012: Seb in a Booster Seat

2012-02-14T09:21:00.001+08:00

This morning we had a simple breakfast in our room at the Doubletree in Kuala Lumpur, then headed out with the kids for a little walk and shopping at the low-end mall across the street. It had some great finds. The everything shop there had some of those tennis racquet-esque mosquito zappers (why didn't we buy some? They're the most fun) and also a spinning top for Seb (the packaging said "Fun and interesting toy that will never get wearily." True!), which we did purchase. I also picked up some fake flowers from the much fancier (but new and nearly empty of tenants) small mall underneath the hotel lobby. These will go into my unused galoshes and become a feature of our front stoop, as I refuse to throw the galoshes out so now must justify their existence as decorations.

We met up with part of the crew for an early lunch at the hotel's Italian restaurant, Tosca, which was pretty decent (much like when we stayed at the Renaissance in Malacca on the way back from Cameron Highlands, these Malaysian hotel Italian restaurants do surprisingly good thin crust pizzas), then packed up the car and headed, with Ranjini, south to Singapore. We did NOT get lost, as the signs were thankfully quite clear to lead us to the main highway between KL and Singapore.

The drive back was fairly uneventful, and after we got home Mano headed to gt some take-out sushi while I worked on the unpacking and cleaning up before everyone heads back to work and school tomorrow. This sushi dinner also gave Seb his first opportunity to try out the booster seat that Ranjini selflessly stuffed into her luggage and brought to Singapore after I ordered it online. He's officially graduated from the high chair at home and into a big boy chair.

12 January to 14 January 2012: Genting Highlands

2012-02-13T06:16:00.000+08:00

It tooks months of planning, but the Ramakrishnan family finally managed to coordinate this year's family holiday. After several options were suggested, vetted, discarded, resurrected, discarded again; and after a near-disaster with Roy's presence needed at a meeting in China, Mano and his siblings and his parents and all spouses and children and our sis-in-law Anna's parents agreed upon.....a Malaysian roadtrip to Genting Highlands. Yes, because our last roadtrip in Malaysia went so well. Still, I was keen enough as this was the only remaining Malaysian highland I had yet to visit (we did Fraser's Hill back in 2009 and our semi-disastrous trip to Cameron Highlands was last year).

We packed off Thursday morning for the drive. Ranjini rode with us while the rest of the Ramakrishnans took one of the many chartered buses that flow between Singapore and Genting Highlands. Roy, still in China, would join us on Friday. The first part of the drive was uneventful. Rox slept, we stopped for a stretch and to get Rox a feed, Seb was nicely entertained by the ipad and fairly well-behaved.

Seb and Ranjini stretch their legs at a quiet rest area, with the Malaysian countryside in the background

Of course, once we had to bypass Kuala Lumpur, we got lost, which is what happens every single time we drive through KL. It's a combination of us not having a proper map and the fact that the Google Maps print outs invariably mismatch with directional signage in Malaysia. Malaysian roadsigns can be infuriating. Rather than telling you, for example, the name of the road (e.g., South Ridge Road), or, when applicable, the route number (e.g., Route 84), the sign will tell you where the road is going (e.g., Painesville), although you yourself may be trying to head somewhere entirely different (e.g., Burton), but need to use that road for a small part of the trip. Google Maps, of course, doesn't take this charming Malaysian habit into account, and tells you the road name and route number only.

So we missed some road we were supposed to take, ended up cutting through central KL, then ended up on some KL equivalent of Route 20, only much more crowded and poorly maintained. We were very near where we were supposed to be (thanks to Google Maps and Mano's calm driving), but it added an hour to our trip after we finally admitted defeat, stopped at a gas-station, and asked one of the kind attendants for directions (incidentally, she told us repeatedly to follow the signs for Kuantan, which is on the opposite coast of Malaysia and no where near the mountain highland station we wanted to get to; but she was right, following the signs that pointed towards Kuantan got us back on the right road. Malaysia.....). Fortunately the kids were rock stars throughout, with Rox sensing that it was best just to sleep until the whole thing was sorted out. Once we started the mountain ascent, the back and forth of the car sent Seb joining her.

We got into the hotel parking lot not too long after the rest of the family had arrived by bus. Owing primarily to no available rooms at the allegedly better hotel, Resort Hotel, we were staying at First World Hotel, with it's 6,000+ rooms (true). You can see pictures on the wikipedia entry and more flattering ones on the official Resorts World Genting website (all of Genting is controlled by a single enterprise, which means they run several hotels, with no incentive to make any of them particularly nice, since there's no competition; Macau used to be like that - see Stanley Ho). Yes, it looks like a rainbow vomited on it, but I was mostly focused on the sweet sweet relief being offered by the highland weather, which felt like high 60s. O sweet autumnal notes.

It doesn't take long for one to figure out that the First World Hotel is not quite first world (Mano was the first to say it, repeatedly followed by "Next time, we're staying at Resort Hotel"). It's there to hold as many people who want to gamble as possible, since the main draw of Genting is the casinos. The secondary draw, the attached amusement park, is more family-friendly. Still, the entire complex seemed in desperate need of a good washing down. I initially could not be sure if that was because things were so old or because they're just never washed or because the air pollution is such that keeping things clean is impossible, but when one can clearly see that replicas of KL's famed Petronas Towers are integrated into the massive lobby, you know the dinginess isn't because the place dates back to the 1960s (note: the Petronas Towers were completed in 1998):

The rooms are also a bit dingy, but as long as you don't touch the curtains it's pretty much fine. They had a pretty nice crib for Rox, unlike the expensive and over-rated Singapore Marina Bay Sands (o no, they'll never live that down for me):

After getting our luggage sorted, we met up with everyone in the food court area of the hotel, where one of the stalls is vegetarian. Seb was again very well-behaved, sitting nicely in an adult chair and eating well. By the time we were all finished, it was getting well-on into the afternoon. We did want to check out the amusement park a bit, so we investigated and broke it all down. There are two parks: one inside the First World Hotel in the large plaza area, and one outside. You can buy per-ride tickets for anything indoors, but to get to the outdoor park, you have to pay a standard entrance fee and get a bracelet that gets you on all the rides (indoors and outdoors). With most of the day gone (the outdoor park closes at dusk except for Saturdays), we opted just to try out an indoor ride as a warm-up.

Now, I probably don't need to tell you that this isn't exactly Cedar Point. It's quite small and most of the rides seem a bit lame. The ones that aren't lame seem a bit unsafe. Even some of the ones that are lame seem a bit unsafe. To illustrate, we opted to ride the Reindeer Cruiser. Basically a small monorail ride that takes you by some fun statuary in the indoor plaza. But a person can easily climb out of the sleigh and fall down two rather high storeys if they wanted to. And we are talking about rides inside a casino, where people may have just lost substantial sums of money and be feeling depressed about it, you know what I mean? Not to mention what can be accomplished by determined toddlers with climbing skills. Which reminds me, ferris wheels are really unsafe too. Everything is unsafe when a toddler is involved.

Ranjini and Mano's folks trail us on the Reindeer Cruiser

Statuary. Yes, First World Hotel is verrry tasteful.

By this time, we needed to start deciding on a dinner place. Since the entire posse was four grandparents (Mano's folks and Roy's mother- and father-in-law) four adults, three kids aged 6 and under, and one infant, this was obviously not entirely straightforward. We ended up at Pizza Hut, which was a safe, if not exactly gourmet, option. They had some disgusting festive pizza on offer, like mayonnaise sauce pizza with tempura shrimp and chicken floss and pineapple, and we ordered one of those (being vegetarian, Mano and Seb and I had our own veggie pizza, but it was fascinating to see a real live disgusting pizza). Pizza Hut is the master of disgusting festive pizzas in Asia. For Chinese New Year, the Pizza Huts in Singapore have some pizza that has "fortune bags" on it, in addition to chicken floss. I can't picture anyone in Perry, Ohio ordering a pizza that features little mini-baggies on it. TLS may not be right about all pizza in Asia tasting funny, but she may be right as far as Pizza Hut tasting funny. I digress.

Sleeping was ok. Seb took a long time to settle, as he's tended to do in hotels now, and Rox wasn't the biggest fan of the crib, but it was otherwise fine.

In the morning, we got up to catch this view out of out hotel room window (during most of the day, the highland is truly in the clouds and you can't see very far through the mist):

The amusement park and another hotel in the foreground, then the hills, then Kuala Lumpur in the distance. Near the right edge of the photo, you can see the twin Petronas tower spires rising double height past the rest of KL's skyscrapers.

We did the buffet breakfast that is reserved for hotel "members" (which Mano's parents are, we did the hotel booking under them), which is allegedly a step up from the normal buffet. While we got to eat in a clean, relatively cafe area on a high floor with nice views from the window instead of a massive mess hall and people climbing over each other for food, I can report that the food selection and quality was something like this:

Which is also how Rox felt about her rice cereal most of the trip. Fun for me.

But we're not here for the food, we're here for the fun. First up was a photo-op to record this magical stay at First World Hotel:

Seb with his cousins and Ye Ye

Then it was off to the amusement park for the kids. Being under three, Seb was actually free of charge, but could still go on a number of the rides (accompanied by an adult). We started him off easy on the double deck carousel, which did all of two revolutions a ride. Rox rode it as well, tucked in the ergo as I sat in one of the stationary carousel seats. Seb was in need of a warmup and preferred a stationary seat as well. He then watched in awe-struck rapture as his daddy took on the thrilling swings (called the spinner on the website's ride guide):

Our 6-year old niece Ava rode this as well. She's so hard core, it didn't even impress her.

After that, Seb was ready to ride the carousel for reals:

Moving deeper into the amusement park, I tried to take Seb on the teacups, but they shuttered them to replace some light bulbs. Boo. Unfazed, we headed to the rocket ships (ok, the Astro Fighter). I rode with our nephew Ayden (who was very well-behaved) while Seb and Mano rode in the ship right behind us. Magical toddler moment. As you may know, Seb is obsessed with outer space and astronauts and rockets and aliens. So riding in a rocket ship was blowing his mind. He gets in the little ship and sits down so serious-like and grips on the steering wheel. I wish I had a good picture of his very very serious expression, but I left the camera with others off the ride. Mano's mom did get a decent shot with her camera, which I've cropped and blown up to try to give you the "I'm concentrating hard on a very important space mission" expression on his face. It's a bit blurry, but LOVE it:

I've no idea what Mano is saying here. Maybe "Gongxi niiiiii aaaaa rocket alien, gongxi ni fa cai!"

Rox enjoying the day out despite only getting to ride the carousel

Seb and Mano then rode the Flying Jumbo elephants, which are exactly the same as the rockets, and right next door to the rockets, except they are elephants instead of rockets:

This gives you a good idea of the the mist that you see in the highlands most of the day. We're a very very slow 5 minute stroll's distance from the hotel and it's rainbow vomit is nearly obscured.

After that we headed to one of the on-ground play areas, where Mano's mom scored this great shot of the three big kids jammed in a slide:

After moving on to another, larger play area, I left the group to head back to the room to make another failed attempt at feeding Rox rice cereal. During this time Mano allegedly made an attempt at the Flying Coaster, which I believe was successful, but not before he witnessed the coaster break down while he was waiting his turn. He was already strapped in at that point, so decided to go through with it, but was distressed by the fact that the staff did not seem very "surprised or perturbed" at the coaster's failure. I can only assume he completed his ride safely, but I did scold him for attempting a thrill ride in a non first-world country. In any event, I met back up with the group for lunch and then later, as it had started raining outside, we took on some of the indoor amusement park rides:

The mini-train

The Rio Float, like the Reindeer Cruiser only you hang below the rail instead of riding on top of it. We rode in a whale.

They also have a carousel indoors, which Sebastian enjoyed with his Auntie Ranjini:

For dinner we met up at the nice Chinese restaurant in the hotel, which billed itself as an abalone restaurant, but it actually had some decent vegetarian options. Dinner itself was a nightmare, however, as Seb, having refused to nap earlier in the day (typical of hotel stays) was overtired and acting hyper. Further, the dust in either the room, the hotel in general, or (as Mano claims) his gortex jacket had sent Mano on an allergic sneezing bender the likes of which haven't been seen since Washington DC pollen season 2006. Serious. Not even a shower or drugs did any good. Needless to say we ate as fast as we could and then just tried to get everyone to bed. Bath time was particularly fun as Mano was too discombobulated to shower Seb and the room does not have a bathtub, only a large stand-in shower, so washing Rox wasn't easy, but I've done it before (yes, at Marina Bay Sands).

Fortunately, Mano woke up in an improved state on Saturday. We spent the morning packing up and enjoying one last amusement park ride, the monorail, which starts from inside but winds outside and around the entire amusement park very very slowly, giving you a chance to see all that there is to see. Best thing to see in Genting Highlands? The Starbucks in the hotel lobby, where the cool cool weather allows one to enjoy a hot choccy in bliss.

An especially unflattering shot of me on the monorail.

Then it was time for our exciting adventure to continue in Kuala Lumpur. Our sister-in-law Anna had arranged a corporate rate at the Doubletree, less than a mile away from Petronas Towers, for us to do one afternoon and evening in KL. The only problem would be getting there. No worries, we thought, as we switched Ranjini out of our car and Mano's navigational expert dad into it. While the rest of the family had arrange a minivan taxi to ferry them down, we drove out and got lost almost as soon as we came down the mountain. We never had a chance, see. We needed to turn one direction onto an expressway. But the other way (the wrong way) on the expressway said "Kuala Lumpur". No North South East directional information. Obviously, since the way we actually wanted to go on that road was labeled as "towards this town none of you know and is not on your map" we headed "towards KL." Which was wrong. Even though we wanted to head to KL.

Long story relatively shortened: While we approached KL from the northeast, we ended up doing a half-loop around the larger metro area and entered it from the southwest, with a lot of slow traffic. This was stressful for driver Mano, I imagine, but as a plus, it made sure both kids got an afternoon nap in. When we finally got into KL we used a mix of "there are the Petronas Towers over there," Mano's dad's knowledge of the area and the major roads (did you know some of his mother's relatives used to live in a big old house on Jalan Ampang, right where the Petronas Towers now stand?), and the Google Maps print outs to navigate our way to the very very nice, very new, legitimate first-world hotel. We found the decent sandwich shop in the lobby. We even found the hotel pool, which had a toddler wading pool to boot:

Mano says, "The water is FREEZING"

Rox took a quick leg dip, but you know she likes warm water only. Seb doesn't care, though. I think his lips even started to turn blue.

After the kids all got swims and showers, Mano and I, with the kids, his parents, and Ranjini in tow, took the proletarian route and decided to walk to the Petronas Towers. A mile in the late afternoon, so the heat was not too intense (note: coastal Malaysia is somehow even hotter than Singapore. It's like there's no air). Street-level KL, even around Petronas (one of the fancy spots downtown) is very Guangzhou-y still. So it felt oddly familiar.

Success! - This was one time we didn't get lost in KL

While the upper floors of Petronas are offices, the lower, public areas are a massive and fancy shopping mall, Suria KLCC. The signs at the entrance note a very strange rule about photographs. Evidently, inside the mall, you can only take pictures in the central atrium area and NO WHERE ELSE. Duly noted, we headed inside and started scoping for dinner options. We decided to check the menus of a few places up on the 4th floor (decidedly less crowded up there, the ground floor was jammed). On our way up we passed by the Harrods, which had a giant teddy bear dressed up in uniform at the entrance with a sign that said, "Please Dont' Touch Me, I'm Working." Mano and I wanted a picture of me next to this bear bearing one of my life mottoes. But NO PICTURES! The bear wasn't anywhere near the atrium, and despite being a guard bear, he had a human guard guarding him (I can only imagine how many times he had been touched while working). Boo.

In any event, on the 4th floor we decided that the Thai place, Chakri Palace, had a menu that would be the most suitable for everyone in attendance (four grandparents, five adults, three children, one infant). It also had a nice long table and was relatively peaceful (well, until we got there). It turned out to be a great choice. Perhaps it is because most of the food I'd had over the past 48 hours had been fairly uninspiring (see picture, above), but this was some of the best Thai food I'd ever had. They had an extensive vegetarian selection, including some kind of Thai self-roll lettuce wraps. But instead of lettuce, it was some tropical leaf. Mano zeroed in on that in the menu and ordered it (I'd never seen them before) and the waiter almost seemed to discourage us (he turned the menu to a page with the wraps' picture to make sure we knew what we ordering, like we didn't know what we were getting into or something). They were incredible. Sebastian ate well (he also enjoyed the wraps) and earned himself an ice cream dessert.

After a very satisfying dinner, we headed to the park/fountain plaza area of the towers complex and Mano took a few family shots, with this particular one coming up the winner:

Styling

Instead of walking back to the hotel, Mano and I opted to give Seb an extra reward for his good dinner by taking the KL underground rail (there is a station underneath the towers and a station just across the road from our hotel) one stop. It only took a bit less time than walking, but we scored points with Seb, who loves a good train ride almost as much as a good rocket ride. Back at the hotel, we were able to give Rox a bath, despite the rooms only having stand-in showers, because this being a proper hotel they had baby baths that you could request from room service. And Rox enjoyed her crib just fine.

3 January 2012: Rox Goes to School

2012-02-12T15:18:00.002+08:00

I resume my adjunct teaching duties next week, which means Rox is starting daycare. Sad, I've enjoyed spending one-on-one time with her in the mornings. She'll be doing mornings at school only, just like Seb, and at the same center as him (it covers infants up until kids are ready to start formal schooling at age six).

I took her in this morning with Seb (he has been pleased at the prospect of her joining him at school for some time now) and stayed on for one hour to see how she settled in. She was less than thrilled:

This is a bit of a contrast to Seb, who, when set down on the floor of the infantcare classroom for the first time, got a look in his eyes that said something like "New people! New toys! Fabulous!" Of course, Seb was seven months old and crawling when he started daycare, and Rox is not yet six months and not yet mobile. This makes a huge difference, as the non-mobile infants are only in the free play area (with mats and toys and things to climb on like a big, padded obstacle course/jungle gym) if they are being held by a teacher (the infant to teacher ratio is 3:1, but the teachers are often feeding/changing/bathing/soothing someone, so they can't be holding the non-mobiles the whole time). Mobile infants, therefore, have a lot more options for fun and entertainment.

They do have options for Rox, however. They have an exersaucer and two bumbo chairs (Rox is a bumbo fan):

A moment of contentment

Plus they have reclined baby chairs, like the one she's so peeved about sitting in up above in the first picture. Still, I do hope she gets mobile soon, as I think she'll enjoy herself more. According to the staff, she did take some of her bottle of milk today (she's has not been a bottle fan for a long time, so we just sort of gave it up except for when needed, like when I ran the half-marathon last month), and she did sleep some as well, but she also showed some separation anxiety. She was very excited to see me when we went to pick her up, however, and reached out for me. Mano took this shot of me snuggling her at pick-up time:

Rox has continued to smile and reach her arms out to me at pick-up every day

Hopefully she'll settle in soon. She's such a pleasant little lady, I'm sure she'll be charming the teaching staff at daycare in no time.

31 December 2011: New Year's Eve

2012-02-11T14:52:00.001+08:00

New Year's Eve in Singapore. What does an exhausted person with two small children do? I suspect I may end up in bed before midnight, at the very least. Still, with Chinese New Year coming up hard on Christmas' heels this year, it very much seems like a way to mark the end of the holiday. The Botanic Gardens agree, with New Year's Day being the final day that they are displaying their Trees of the World (various embassies, schools, community groups, and private enterprises decorate a huge number of potted trees along the main thorough-fares in the gardens, with top prizes given out for best decor). You can see pics of several trees at this other blog. With that in mind, we set out, meeting up with Mano's brother's family (all in town for Christmas and Chinese New Year from Shanghai).

While the fun decorated trees were the main attraction, the Elephant Parade continues in Singapore, and Seb cozied up to this one not far from the visitor's center:


Information on this elephant can be found here

The older kids had a great time running around Palm Valley, which, typical of many Saturday evenings, was teeming with picnickers, families, and kids with balls, bubbles, and dogs. The afternoon shade makes it a really great place to give the kids space to run without being sun-cooked.

Rox, with a line of decorated trees behind her

Seb with his favorite tree, courtesy of the Russian Embassy. It's theme was "First Man in Space" and it had various stars, planets, astronauts, and rocket ships on it.

After the gardens, we headed to Onaka for dinner. The chef, who we've chatted with several times before, came out near the end to talk and mentioned they are revamping their menu in the Spring to add even more vegetarian and "elimination diet" selections. Wicked.

By the time we got home, it was already well into Seb's bedtime, and I admit I sacked out as soon as Rox did. Maybe Mano stayed up until midnight? I know it's lame, but I plan to fully re-engage my limited fun side sometime after the kids are out of diapers. So perhaps a future New Year's resolution.

29 December 2011: Christmas Day Five

2012-02-10T09:36:00.000+08:00

A package arrived from Aunt TLS and Uncle J today, full of even more Christmas goodies for our enjoyment.

Sebastian opens the box and pulls out...the outstanding rotating Santa suit!

While Rox familiarizes herself with the role of Santarina, Seb bonds with his loud talking bird (Mano LOVES loud toys!)

Rox as a full-on Santarina. Awesome!

Seb a wee bit wistful he can't fit into the suit, but he was happy to wear the hat for a while

27 December 2011: Army Museum of Singapore

2012-02-05T16:10:00.001+08:00

Today we scored a visit to a place that had been on my list for a while, the Army Museum of Singapore out in the far west. A scandalously under-visited place, in my opinion, although I suspect it must be packed with students on field trips during school hours. Pluses: Free parking, cheap admission (especially compared to the museums in the city center), serene surroundings (a big pond, and outdoor sounds that come close to approaching that thing so elusive in Singapore - silence), and a free simulated firing range experience with every ticket purchased!

Here are some highlights:


A video inside a simulated airplane on the hijacking and rescue for Singapore Airlines flight 117, a highlight of Singapore Armed Forces bad-assary.


A bit on "Fathers and Sons" - National Service as a family and national bonding experience.

I don't have any picture of us in the shooting gallery, unfortunately, but I can report that Mano claims there was some sort of "flaw" in his rifle. I believe I later used the same rifle and scored an 8/8 for target shooting. I believe the shooting gallery may have influenced Mano's opinion of the entire museum.

Mano and Seb also went to the 4-D theater (when a helicopter in the film lands and stuff, they have fans blowing wind, etc). Seb found this to be one dimension too many, so Mano brought him out to sit with me and Rox while Mano finished the short film on military operations. Then we headed outside, where they had a fun obstacle course set up that Seb was quite set on mastering:

Video:

They also have a number of army vehicles and tanks on display, which kids can climb all over. Seb really enjoyed this one:

Beep Beep, who's got the keys to the jeep?

All in all a nice afternoon out, which I believe we followed up with......Jurong Point Din Tai Fung. Mmmmmmm.

27 December 2011: Rox in a High Chair

2012-01-10T10:12:00.002+08:00

Feeding an infant solids for the first time while they are sitting on your lap (instead of secured in a nice high chair) is tons of fun, but now that we aren't camped out at Goodwood Park Hotel anymore, Rox is making herself familiar with the Mano household high chair. She seems to prefer this arrangement:

26 December 2011: Christmas 2

2012-01-06T10:29:00.001+08:00

Christmas continues here in Singapore. We stayed at Goodwood Park Hotel for a second night, which meant that I got to enjoy Rox sleeping poorly for a second night in a row. Not that it bothered her at all:

I'm too cute to sleep properly!

Before checking out, it was key for us to take advantage of the hotel pool. Goodwood has two pools. The main pool can be seen from the hotel lobby and cafe and is larger and more open, while the Mayfair pool (in the Mayfair wing), is smaller and has more greenery surrounding it. We opted for the Mayfair pool, which our room overlooked, and it was empty pretty much the entire time we were frolicking about:


Mano and Roxy get some snuggle time in while Seb and I went fishing and splashed about and played various water games

We checked out just before lunch and, asking the front desk to recommend which of their restaurants could best accommodate vegetarians, they recommended their Chinese restaurant, Min Jiang, which I've wanted to try for a long time. Mano's parents and our niece Ava joined us as well. We were impressed and surprised to find that they carried a wide vegetarian selection, including vegetarian roast duck, which they presented tableside and wrapped into pancakes with sauce and cucumber:

Sebastian enjoyed the veggie Peking duck

Both service and food were great, so now we've got another nice restaurant option when we're out on Orchard Road. Because we party on Orchard Road so often, you know.

Once we got home, we did our best to whisk the kids off to their naps, past the Christmas tree which was full of presents from both family and Santa. Success. After naptime we were rushing of again to a Victoria Junior College reunion with some of Mano's former classmates. A classmate currently residing in the U.S. (we met up with her in New York City in October, in fact) was in town with her daughter. Lots of kids and food (chocolate cake squared and fizzy drinks!).

We finally had time after dinner, in the short window after Seb's bath but before his bedtime, to have a go at the presents under the tree

Tractors!

Buzz Lightyear Adventures!

Rox tries to eat her First Christmas ornament

A wicked baby girl outfit - Rox will be well-dressed for the next 6 months

Legos!

Getting Rox into playing dress-up early

Mano finished up the night by taking these two great Christmas booty shots of the kids:

25 December 2011: Christmas in the Tropics

2012-01-06T10:25:00.001+08:00

O dear, I've officially fallen a month behind in the blog....

Christmas morning! In a hotel! But Santa came and filled the stockings (I'm sure he put the rest of the loot under our tree at home), so it was present time soon after we woke up at Goodwood Park. I wasn't particularly well-rested (Rox was not the biggest fan of the hotel crib, my she can be a bit picky sometimes), but was happy to see the kids enjoying themselves:

Seb putting the booty out of his stocking

Roxy making a reach for her big gift

Hello Christmas, says Rox

Seb shows off his Kung Fu Panda DVD, the very DVD he asked Santa for a few weeks ago. Brilliant!

Rox looking a bit overwhelmed at her fruit puree squeezie pouches

Rox opens her big present. It's....it's...it's rice cereal!

Let's give it a try, girl! Rice cereal is nice!

Rox disagrees that rice cereal is nice

Rox "enjoying" her first taste of solids

Looking a little more interested when Daddy wields the spoon

After opening the kids' presents, having some breakfast on the balcony, and getting everyone dressed and ready to go, we walked down the street to the MRT to go a few stops away to the National Museum of Singapore (which was featuring free admission on Christmas Day). Excellent.

Entering the Singapore History Gallery, where they play a constant feed of Singapore life in a day

We did a walk through the Singapore History Gallery, and we also, more critically, got in early at the special exhibit they are having of art from the Musée d’Orsay (I believe that the wing where the art in question is normally displayed is under renovation or something, so they sent the art out on tour). A lot of Monets and other pretty things. Whenever I see or hear the word Musée d’Orsay, I think of MMS, and her high school French Club trip. Then I think of Toulouse Lautrec, flying buttresses, and how Paul Russell is a ninja, no one can see him! And I wasn't even there. Why do I know these things, still, 20 years later?

Seb and Mano in front of a Monet

After the fabulous French artwork, Rox and I took a meal break, and Mano took Seb for a walk around the museum and the surrounding grounds (it butts up against Fort Canning Park) for some photo opportunities:

I'm excited!

I'm philosophical.

I'm in front of a red hot chili pepper!

After the museum, we headed over to Mano's cousin's house for Christmas lunch, which is conducted much in the same way Christmas is conducted in the Schlauch family - everyone shows up with a dish or two for a late lunch and a lazy afternoon of chatting and drinking - we brought some pre-prepped chicken curry from LingZhi. Then all the kiddies get a few presents to open. It felt quite familiar to me, which was nice.

24 December 2011:Christmas Eve and Orchard Road

2012-01-06T10:18:00.001+08:00

Despite living in Singapore for more than 3 years now, this will be our first Christmas here. While you're hard pressed for real snow, the ample air conditioning of the Orchard Road shopping core can make you feel frosty enough to long for some hot chocolate. With visions of festive lights in our head, we booked into Singapore's Goodwood Park Hotel, located just off Orchard Road and boasting of Raffles Hotel-esque heritage at a fraction of the price. I love Goodwood's durian festival treats and have long wanted to try out their guest rooms, so this was very exciting. Before we headed out, however, Mano and Seb did a Christmas Eve trip to West Coast Park together, and Rox took a happy ride in her jumparoo:

While Mano and Seb settled down in the room (lovely, with a great balcony overlooking the pool) to attempt a nap, I packed off with Rox to check out the last minute shopping crowds.December is part of Singapore's cooler rainy season, and I found the shoes I was wearing a bit slippery, so I spent much of the time searching for some cheap shoes with good soles and, at Mano's request, a nice umbrella for the car. Rox and I did several turns at Ion Orchard, where the crowds were incredibly thick, but Rox spent most of it asleep in the ergo so didn't much mind. After nearly giving up, I finally spied both the Converse store (cheapest sneakers in the whole mall - I went with red low-risers after doing the black high-tops all my formative years) and the Muji store (I swear, the only place in the entire mall that was selling umbrellas).

Last minute shopping done, we headed back to hotel to wake up Seb and Mano and get to dinner. Goodwood is very nicely appointed, a short walk not just from Orchard Road, but from the Orchard Road LingZhi. Christmas Eve dinner, mmmm.

Me, Rox, and veggie satay

After dinner, we decided to walk down Orchard Road for a bit to take in the lights. The lights were pretty, but the crowds were insane. I knew we wouldn't be the only people thinking it might be nice to spend Christmas Eve on Orchard Road, but I had no idea that EVERYONE else in Singapore would think it was a good idea as well. The crowd was a bit terrifying. In some places you could manage a little personal space, but many of the malls had performances going on outside, which led to crowds around the stages and very little room to walk. Rox was in the ergo, and Mano was somehow making progress pushing Seb in the stroller. He reports he ran over more than a few toes.

About halfway through the walk, we stopped at the outdoor Ben & Jerry's kiosk (which amazingly, had several tables available) for a Christmas sundae (the Christmassy bit was a green-stuff covered waffle cone turned upside down on the sundae as to approximate a Christmas tree). Delicious.

Sundae time

Seb demolishes the tree and is now badly in need of a bath

Near the Orchard-Scotts Road junction

Back at Goodwood, Mano and Seb took some poses in front of the hotel's main Christmas tree (which had no crowds around it, unlike all the trees along Orchard Road), before we headed back to to room to settle down for the night (and get Seb clean from the green).

I had brought the kids' stockings, to make sure that Santa would stop by, but even tales of naughty and nice children (nice ones being those who go to bed so Santa can come fill their stocking) didn't get Seb to sleep particularly early. Fortunately Santa had all night to stop by.

23 December 2011: Snow City

2012-01-06T10:15:00.000+08:00

To officially kick off the Christmas holiday weekend, Mano thought it would be a great idea to go to Singapore's Snow City, a gymnasium-sized destination next door to the Singapore Science Centre where there is allegedly snow. I pulled out some cold weather clothes to layer the kids up and we made a late-afternoon trip with Seb's grandparents, his cousins Ava n Ayden, and his Aunt Anna.

At Snow City, you can rent coats, snow pants, boots, mittens, etc. We got some mittens for Seb, which repeatedly fell off, but he didn't seem to mind. They don't permit photographs inside the "snow chamber." This is allegedly for safety reasons (they don't want people standing at the bottom of the sled hill trying to get shots of their friends and getting slammed by another sledder, for example), but it also allows them to turn a fine profit as they've got a number of official photographers walking about inside taking photos for you (they then give you a number card so you can purchase the photo outside later). So no pics to share, sorry.

Truly though, I shouldn't have doubted it when people told me Snow City was a sad place. Look at the state of the polar bear outside the snow chamber:

Inside doesn't fare much better. It is cold inside, that's for sure, just below freezing, and wet. As a result the snow had packed down and turned quite hard ages ago. There was precious little stuff you find to scrape and turn into a snowball, but there was still stuff to be done inside. Like pose on a jetski disguised as a snowmobile for a picture. But it wasn't all lame. There were two small snow slopes for kids like Seb, which he enjoyed enormously. There was also a large sled hill which Mano, Anna, and Ava all tried (I had Rox in the ergo, and she was asleep for most of our time inside the chamber, enjoying the cool air, so I did not take a turn).

It probably didn't help that Snow City closes about 5 times a year to basically defrost and then create fresh snow. I saw from their posted schedule that one of these times was coming up in early January, so we were probably there when the snow was getting quite old and nasty (again, Seb didn't mind at all). I'd be curious to see their fresh snow conditions, though.

Afterward, we walked next door to the Science Centre (quite treacherous, it was absolutely pouring out, which didn't help as I was actually quite cold and damp from being in the cold and damp snow chamber) for dinner at the small cafe outside their IMAX theatre. Disaster. Seb was in a very uncooperative mood and did not want to eat or sit still. Hopefully he's gotten all that negative energy out, because Santa is coming in just a couple of days and he'll need to turn it around if he wants that panda bear video won't he?

Backtrack to 10 December 2011: Seb's first Santa

2012-01-06T10:14:00.000+08:00

I know I need to get my act together and get the blog updated for the holidays, and I'm already behind so it's terrible of me to backtrack, but it would be even more terrible to not record Seb's first visit to Santa Claus. We were running errands around Little India and happened into City Square Mall. They were just finishing up a Santa session, so there was no line. Mano tried to get Seb up onto Santa's stage, but he did that thing toddlers do where they turn into 2 ton screaming objects that super-glue themselves to a spot. Then Mano relented and took him down from the edge of the stage, in front of the stage, where Santa waved very nicely to Seb, and then Seb very happily and calmly agreed to sit on Santa's lap (but, evidently, was still unable to look at the camera properly). Santa told us that Seb said he wanted a panda bear for Christmas (he's been mentioning "panda bear video" lately, I think because he's been seeing posters for Kung Fu Panda 2 at the DVD shops and such). We'll see if Santa comes through.

16 December 2011: Five Months

2011-12-19T15:39:00.002+08:00

Rox is growing up so fast, five months already. I'm pleased to report that she is still a very happy, but calm and easygoing, little lady who continues to rise to the challenge every day (be that napping in her crib while her older brother is shouting on the potty a few feet away or stretching that extra bit out so she can get a complete and firm grasp on your hair and give it a good pull). She also continues to be able to soothe herself to sleep at naptime and during overnight wake-ups more often than not, for which I continue to be incredibly grateful.

In new developments, we've graduated to the ergo baby carrier, which I personally find more cuddly and comfortable (it basically puts you and the baby in a constant hugging position, so nice). Rox is working on sitting up unaided, and can do so for rather short periods of time. She continues to work at getting toys that are out of reach, and has just shown interest (after actually being shown) in our Leapfrog Spin and Sing Alphabet Zoo. I see from Sebastian's fifth month report that we were doing daily sessions with his Nerdy Baby ABC cards - o dear, we haven't done these once with Rox! Fear not, however, Rox gets daily book readings, so same same, but different. As before, she'll sit with rapt attention for most children's books. We do yoga occasionally, which she enjoys, but we seem to be on the go a lot more often than when Seb was an infant, which reduces the opportunity. Which is fine, since she loves loves loves going out. In fact, this evening she partied down in Holland Village, where a professional colleague of ours was having a going-away meet-up (he's moving to Sydney). We winded down afterward with her typical warm bath and massage.

11 December 2011

2011-12-19T15:38:00.003+08:00

Rox enjoying a book:

10 December 2011: TV in 3D

2011-12-19T15:36:00.001+08:00

Santa brought Mano his Christmas present early, in the form of a new HDTV with SmartTV (ie, internet) and 3D options:

A nice bonus was that the package deal at Harvey Norman included the purchase of a Blu-ray disc player at reduced price. Two thumbs up to the service staff at Jurong Point Harvey Norman (Jurong Point is happening! We bought the TV last night after having dinner at the always delicious Din Tai Fung), probably some of the better service I've seen at the electronics stores here in Singapore. We bought the TV at 8:00 PM and it was being delivered shortly after 9:00 PM. True.

3 & 4 December 2011: Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon

2011-12-07T10:12:00.001+08:00

If there is one sporting event Singapore really pushes, it is the Standard Chartered Marathon, held every December. This year, there were about 65,000 participants across the different race categories: Full Marathon, Ekiden (6 people run the marathon distance in relay team format), Half-Marathon, 10 Kilometer, 5 Kilometer Fun Run, and 750 meter Kids Dash. Back in July or August or something, I decided to sign up for the 10k race as a way to challenge myself back into shape. Unfortunately, all of the 10k spaces were taken up by the time I got around to registering. So I signed up for the Half Marathon. This was of course foolish. I knew from having Seb back in 2009 that it would take a serious surge in motivation and outside support for me to be properly trained up. I think my 10k performance a couple of weeks ago demonstrated that neither of those things has happened. O dear.

The day before the race, we headed to Marina Bay Sands for the race expo. At that point, I still wasn't sure if I would actually run or not. I felt a bit like I had a cold coming on and I knew I wasn't well-prepared, but I figured I should at least get my running singlet and race pack, which included a Nature Valley granola bar - I had paid for them, right? The upside of having to head to Marina Bay Sands is that we got to have lunch at Pita Pan. Mano is in agreement with me that the place has no chance of staying in business. The food is incredible, the falafels are great, but the entire time we were there the only customers were either partially or wholly composed of white people. You can't get by in Singapore if your only traffic is white people, there just aren't enough of us. At least they are getting customers, though, so maybe they'll hang on long enough for us to go there several times. Their happy hour is from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with cheap margaritas! Why is it not overrun with customers?

Anyway, while I wandered down into the depths of the Marina Bay Sands Expo area with Rox in the Baby Bjorn, getting my race pack and purchasing some PowerBars (finally, GNC hasn't had any in stock for MONTHS. Thank you, Athlete's Circle, the only place in Singapore that reliably stocks them), Mano and Seb explored the Elephant Parade currently on display at Marina Bay Sands (as well as elsewhere in Singapore):

Title and artist info for this particular elephant can be found here.

I also ran into Mano's cousin, Neville, who was picking up a race pack on behalf of a friend (he did the half marathon last year). Curses! Now someone knows I've signed up and I'll have to run.

At dinnertime, we headed to the second birthday party of Seb's second cousin, Davyynn. I scored some decent pre-race eating fare: Lots of pitas and hummus. MMMMmmmmm. Fruit kebabs, Mmmmm. Chocolate cake, Mmmm. More relatives found out I was planning to run, and Neville (also in attendance) gave me some insights to the course based on his experience last year. So now I really had to run the next morning. No choice, as Singapeans say. As an aside, Seb had a great time at the party and Rox charmed, as always.

Rox with Sharon, enjoying Davyynn's party

We packed Seb off to Mano's parents for the night, so Mano would only have to handle Rox while I ran Sunday morning. Rox, too excited, was awake from about 4:00 AM (too much chocolate cake?), but I was getting up just before 5:00 anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

OK, race details. The bonus for me in the half marathon is that it flags off at Sentosa Gateway (heading onto Sentosa Island) right by Vivo City (therefore very near to our place). The marathon flags off at Orchard Road (at 5:00 AM, they turn all the Christmas lights on), and the other, shorter races all start at the Padang (which is where all the races finish) in the city center. As an extra bonus, the pubic transport companies ran overnight train service, so all Mano had to do was drop me at the Haw Par Villa MRT station and I was sorted for race transport - it's just a few stops to Vivo from there. Rox was in her carseat in the back cackling furiously. Yeah, she knew it was funny for me to run a half marathon.

The course covers half of its 13.1 miles by winding the runners around Sentosa Island (scenic!), including Universal Studios Singapore, then moves onto the Expressways heading to Marina Bay, where we merge with the marathon and 10k runners (who start at 7:15 AM), wind around the Singapore Flyer, then up around the Padang to the finish. You can see the course map here.

The half marathon starts at 6:30 AM (I wish it started even earlier), and about 19,000 of the 65,000 expected participants for the day were half marathon registrants. So there were a lot of people around. I was so far back from the start line I couldn't see it (the Boston Marathon is the same way, although there you are assigned to your starting paddock based on your qualifying time - here it was first come, first to the line). I was fine with that, though, since I was, again, just planning on jogging. I didn't even get too pissy when it took me five minutes after the flag-off to cross the start line and start my little jog. What did tick me off was that a mere 10 minutes into the race (and that is with me jogging like a granny), we bottlenecked. What the?

If they were planning on bottlenecking so early, they should definitely narrow up the start line, to thin the crowd from the very start. I was either standing and NOT moving or walking SLOWLY for 5 minutes during the bottleneck. I overheard a woman next to me say to her running partner "Sentosa is the biggest craphole! Why did they do this?" I wouldn't call Sentosa any kind of hole, but agreed on the questioning of race course designers' sanity. There were a few other, minor bottlenecks on Sentosa as well, which was really annoying. If I had trained properly and was really trying to hit a good time with this race, it would have been impossible based on my starting position. And I got to the start line (or near it, rather) 15 minutes before the race started. I'm not sure how early you'd need to get there to get a good starting position.

Anyway, I'm jogging along, and the highlight of the half marathon course is where you go through Universal Studios (where I've never been, as I refuse to pay the ridiculous $68 entry fee for a place that only has 24 rides AND attractions in total and is only open until 7:00 PM ; Cedar Point has 17 roller coasters, and that's just roller coasters, 17 doesn't include all the other rides, not to mention attractions, and Cedar Point keeps late hours, with entry for 2011 at $50). My personal objections aside, since I was in the race I got to jog through and check the scene. They were running the Battlestar Galactica coaster cars (peopleless), and the grounds were well stocked with staff cheering you on, including a number of people in costume. This year they had the Lion from Madagascar, Woody Woodpecker, Frankenstein, and, at the Mummy's Revenge ride, several well-abbed young men dressed up like pharaohs. You soon pass from Universal Studios to the lowlight of the course: Running through the gigantic basement carpark of Resorts World Sentosa in order to reach the exit drive that takes you out of Sentosa, back to Vivo City, and in towards the city. Right by Vivo City was the halfway mark, which also allegedly included the energy gel station at the water station (I saw no gel, there was no gel to my knowledge, but it was evidently there. I want my free gel!)

So halfway point, I'm doing my little granny jog, and I'm mostly in a crowd (as I have been from the beginning) of other granny joggers and walk/runners. Since my goals are to (1) finish and (2) maintain a running form the entire time, I don't succumb to the walk/jog peer pressure. But Singapore seems to have a lot of walk/joggers in races. Do these people prepare for races even more poorly than I do? Do they plan to walk/jog from the outset? We take the on-ramp to the expressway, which heads us into the city over several kilometers. Around this point my bad knee starts to tighten up a little. I hadn't even considered taking precautions for my bad knee, as it has been years since I've run far enough or strenuously enough for it to act up or even remind me that I actually have a bad knee. I keep my little jog. At around 15 to 16 kilometers (so about 3+ miles left to go), my knee starts to lock up more. Fortunately, while energy gel was hard to come by, Tiger Balm Active muscle rub was not - the course was regularly dotted with race volunteers whose latex gloved hands were covered in the stuff, just waiting for you to come grab and glob it on you. I scored some from a friendly volunteer and managed to wipe it on my knee tendon while still running. Almost immediate relief. My knee loosened up and stayed that way pretty much the rest of the way. Drama.

I continued on until around 17 kilometers, where we have to take a long, slow uphill on the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, which takes us up over Marina Bay. At this point, we've merged with the marathon runners, and I can only imagine how awful taking such at hill when you've already gone more than 20 miles must feel for them. It wiped me out pretty bad, I came very close to walking (everyone around me was, the peer pressure was terrible). We wind down off the expressway and begin to loop back around the Singapore Flyer, so you can see a lot of the people ahead of/behind you on the opposite side of the loop. I see some official pacers for the marathon distance (they run in yellow jerseys and have helium balloons with their pace time on them, so people who are trying to run a certain time for the marathon can just tag along with them). Their balloons had their marathon pace time on them: 4:15. I'd guess they were at least three minutes behind me when I see them, and, shortly thereafter, I pass a big sign that says that we are 2000 meters (or a mile and a quarter) from the finish line. I look at my watch and figure I'll finish around 2.5 hours, which seems about right based on my 10k effort a couple of weeks ago. We turn up and run past the Esplanade and this seems to be a very very long 2000 meters. We turn and run across the Esplanade Bridge, past the 10k/5k/kids run start line toward the Fullerton Hotel. I hear the announcer calling the 10 to 12 year olds to the start line for their age category 750 meter dash.

We double back after crossing the river and cross back, to get to the Padang. At this point, It's been 15 minutes since I passed that 2000 meter left sign and I still haven't finished. The 4:15 pace runners, who had been well behind me, jog right past me with their little balloons. Curses. We finally turn a corner and I see the finish line. Saved! A bunch of 10 to 12 year olds whizz by me. I finally finish, running the whole time (exceptions being the forced bottlenecks early in the race and the 3 water stops I used, where the crowd around the 100Plus tables forced me to stop in order to get to the cups). Very slowly. Two hours and 40 minutes. Sad. Mercifully, it was overcast for most of the race; but it was still too hot.

Looking at the results, despite being very very slow, I still finished 3557th out of more than 13,000 finishers and 817th out of more than 4700 female finishers. So, as with the 10k, still top 25%. Knowing that with some hard work I could get myself onto the podium at events here is a little motivating, so hopefully finishing this sucker will be the start of my new era of fitness.

I work my way through the refreshment stations (1 bottle of water and 1 can of 100Plus per athlete) and get my finishers medal (yet another reason I actually ran - I want my medal!), then walk very gingerly out and start heading towards City Hall MRT station. Waiting at a crosswalk, I see a mother with her two young kids, heading towards the start line for the younger kids dash categories (there is a 3 years and under category, Seb is SO doing it next year), they are so cute, they have official race jerseys and everything. Something for me to look forward to next year.

My main discomforts taking the MRT home was not being able to sit (I was soaking wet) and my shoes were too tight but I couldn't go barefoot (I threw them in the washer after the X Trail run and I think they shrunk up a bit; it looks like I might lose a couple of toenails). It took me about 30 to 40 minutes to get home, around 10:00 AM. Mano was chatting online with Roy and Rox was relaxing on her floor mat, happy as could be. Excellent.

After a shower and feeding Rox, we headed to Haig Road to pick up Seb. On the expressway, there were still marathoners out (mostly walkers). Walking a marathon doesn't seem like fun to me. They had been at it for more than 6 hours when we passed them. We scored some Veganburg for lunch (Seb actually ate most of his kids meal! They put them in happy meal-esque boxes now, which increases the appeal. Really cool). I was a bit tired, but mostly just sore in my knees and lower legs, so standing was uncomfortable.

As a vaguely related update, the Salomon X-Trail Run organizers have posted race pictures on their facebook page (but not the official website). I didn't check closely to see if I am in any of the shots, but a quick skim can give you a good idea of the different trails we ran. Some nice shots in there.

26 November 2011: Upper Seletar Reservoir

2011-12-06T08:26:00.001+08:00

The first Saturday after Thanksgiving is a time for Christmas shopping and Christmas tree hunting, but since we already have our tree and I try to do a lot of my Christmas shopping online, we were free to do as we pleased. So this morning we made a pilgrimage to one of the parks/nature reserves in Singapore that we have not yet checked out, Upper Seletar Reservoir Park. Across the reservoir from the Singapore Zoo (you can't spy any animals, but you can see the zoo boat ride docking at the kids play zone), it offers some really nice views over the water, a chance to climb an observation tower disguised as a space rocket (or is the other way around? Hmmm), see multiple military helicopters in flight from (I assume) nearby Sembawang Air Base, and, best of all, get attacked by aggressive monkeys.

The monkeys are aggressive in some of the nature reserves here because people feed them. Despite the numerous, large, clear signs that advise against such practice (which clearly explain, in several languages, that it makes them aggressive) and the threat of a fine if you are caught doing so, it still goes on. I don't get why people insist on flouting the law on this one - is throwing a bag of chips at a monkey such fun? Is it worth looking like an idiot and getting fined $500?

Anyway, we get to the first parking lot next to the reservoir, and Mano keeps trying to find a spot with the best shade and I keep wanting him to park furthest from the monkeys. Which became irrelevant, since the monkeys would bounce on over to wherever we parked. These aren't huge monkeys, mind you, so I finally said, just park, I'm bigger than these monkeys and I'll get them to piss off. I get out of the car, and a monkey is standing a few feet back from the bumper. He looks at me, I wave my hat, he learns forward and starts to move for me. Yeah, I'm not going to play chicken with the monkey. I bolt out of the parking lot, Mano drives out and picks me up, we surrender and park further down the drive, in a monkey-free parking lot.

This monkey is very unfriendly! Don't be deceived!

Our main objective was to get to the observation tower, which is a tremendous, 1960s-ish rendition of a space rocket, with the steps to the observation deck at the top winding up inside. Awesome. To get there we had a good quarter-mile walk along the shore of the reservoir, and Seb showed some serious potential as he ran most of the distance instead of walking (I, carrying Rox in the Baby Bjorn, was left in the dust).

Seb pauses long enough to pose for a photo with the space rocket

At the top of the observation tower, we got some good views of helicopters (at one point we spied 4 at a single time) operating in the area. Seb, however much he enjoyed checking the helicopters, kept his eye on the prize. If we were in a spaceship, then Buzz Lightyear must be nearby. In fact, when Mano said it was time for us to walk back down, Seb indicated that he would prefer to stay at the top and "wait for Buzz Lightyear." Fortunately, he didn't protest when we left anyway.

One of several helicopters that passed overhead

We walked along the tree-line instead of the shoreline on the way back to the car, skirting along the jungle, then rested on some benches reservoir-side before heading back to the car just as some rain clouds rolled in. A good morning walk.

24 November 2011: I finally get Tofurky done right

2011-11-29T15:34:00.001+08:00

Since moving to Singapore, I have had various tofurky experiences. Back in 2008, the only recipe I could find involved cutting tofu into thick slices, marinating it in turkey-ish seasonings, and cooking it for an hour or so. So it still looked like tofu, and it basically still tasted like tofu as well. In 2009, I lucked onto a (now defunct) health food/organics kiosk at the Suntec City Carrefour that was selling actual Tofurky roasts. Delicious. In 2010, I found a bolder, more advanced tofurky recipe, which, despite following the directions exactly, led to a very ugly (although fairly tasty) glob. This year, I found a keeper of a tofurky recipe, which contained that key missing ingredient - vital wheat gluten (thank you Cold Storage for stocking random Bob's Red Mill offerings, you've saved me so many times!). The recipe also had a video where the author showed you all the steps, with varying degrees of personal sarcasm on her part (vegetarians are so often sarcastic hipsters as well), so you knew exactly how things were supposed to look at each step in the process. It also used a more contained tofurky format of a loaf pan (I finally scored a glass loaf pan at ToTT this year; these are inexplicably rare in Singapore, even ToTT only had one to choose from, and they have the biggest variety of cooking and baking equipment I have seen in Singapore). So no globby tofurky blobs this year, whee hee.

Seb is ready for dinner!

Our humble feast (tofurky loaf in the center, butternut squash near, green bean casserole far)

Despite having my best tofurky recipe yet (it was so tasty and easy, I feel like making it on non-holiday occasions as well), we had fewer people to enjoy it with a fairly small Thanksgiving this year: just our immediate family and Mano's parents. This made dinner prep much easier, though. In addition to the tofurky, I made a blueberry pie (pretty easy with canned blueberry pie filling), butternut squash (just bake, scoop, and mash), and green bean casserole (mmmmmm, classic). The only complicating factor is that our oven, never a prime specimen anyway, decided to default on its temperature sensing and regulating abilities yesterday. Now the oven is either off or on. When on, it just keeps getting hotter and hotter and hotter, which means everything will burn unless you turn the oven off for five minutes, every five minutes or so, and then back on. Of course, this only works if the item being cooked can be cooked "around" 350 (fortunately, all the Thanksgiving recipes fall in this category).

To spice up the day, this year IKEA released their Swedish Christmas Trees on Wednesday, November 23. So yesterday morning I went to IKEA with Rox. And, with Rox in the Baby Bjorn, I lifted a bound, 160 cm tree from the bin, put it on a flat push-cart, paid for it, wheeled it to the car, fit it into the car (while still leaving room for Rox in the backseat), drove it home without incident, and got it upstairs, sawed off the dead bit of the trunk, watered it, unbound it, and put it in the tree stand all by myself. You should be impressed. People should have been watching me and taking notes.

Thanksgiving morning, in addition to making blueberry pie (while doing oven temperature regulation every 5 minutes and caring for an infant), I got the tree cleaned up and moved to a clear space in the living area. This set us up to decorate the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner, which I thought was a nice ritual which I intend to repeat whenever I can score a Christmas tree in time. A nice closing of the autumn season and kicking off of the holidays. This year, Sebastian showed keen interest in the decorating process (and, in fact, as soon as he saw the undecorated tree on the balcony, he had correctly identified it as a Christmas tree), which made it more fun.

Sebastian supervises the placement of the garland

Seb's favorite ornament this year: The Fisher Price Family Farm that "moos" when the barn door is opened

20 November 2011: Salomon X-Trail Run

2011-11-26T16:49:00.003+08:00

This morning I celebrated my increasing middle-aged-ness by running a 10k with embarrassingly little preparation. I had discovered the existence of this race, the Salomon X-Trail Run, when looking for a good post-partum exercise motivation opportunity. Nothing to whip you back into shape like the terror of humiliating yourself over 6.2 miles. As my training efforts continued in their pathetic-ness, however, I pushed off registering for it until the very end of the registration cut-off. Even then, I wasn't sure I was going to actually run it.

In the end, I figured the humiliation of doing poorly was less than the humiliation of not doing it at all. Also, I knew that even with minimal training I could finish it, so I dragged myself, Mano, and Rox (along for the ride) up early on a Sunday morning (Seb was spared and got the bonus of a sleepover at Mano's parents' place) to make the long (for Singapore) drive to Tampines (o, Tampines, another world).

Last year, the race (which boasts to be the only all-trail race in Singapore - the Real Run is half-and-half) was at MacRitchie Reservoir, which I would have loved. This year they moved the course out to the Tampines mountain bike trails, a park I'd seen on the map and though was terribly random (is there such a demand for mountain biking in Singapore that a dedicated park exists? I pondered). Turns out the venue was actually the site of the Youth Olympics mountain biking competition, so the course was top-grade (for mountain biking, that is). A generously-sized grandstand also faced the mountain-biking course, perfect for Mano and Rox to hang out.

At the start line (see me stretching out just back from it, in this pic to the side), the organizers mentioned that the course was muddy from the previous night's rain. O was it.

Aside from the start, finish, and a small portion in the middle that were all on a strip of pavement in front of the grandstand (shown in Mano's video), the entire course truly was nothing but trail. The first half of the course covered the Olympic mountain biking trail, which wound along a series of hills with extreme turns and double-backs (you can see a hint of it in the top right hand corner of Mano's pic of me at the start line to the side here). The terrain was either mud or very rocky (but concealed by long grass), which made for terrible footing and there were unending short, steep climbs and treacherous, slippery downhills. In a word: fantastic. I stumbled at one point and scuffed up the palm of my right hand. Bonus.

After we passed in front the grandstand (which was maybe 1/3 of the way through the race, and as you can see from Mano's video here, at that point I was already just doing a relaxed slow jog), we moved into some back trails that were in a wooded, less grassy area. So it got even muddier. And more awesome. In fact, the only negative I would say about the course is that it was really difficult to pass others except when we weren't on the bike trail, as the bike trail itself was single file, with very poor footing off the trail.

My normal routine for 10ks the last couple of years has been to have a set of increasing difficulty goals, which generally include: (1) finish, (2) maintain a running form the entire race, (3) complete the race in less than 1 hour, (4) be competitive. I definitely finished, I have the finisher's medal to prove that (Singapeans LOVE finisher medals). In terms of maintaining a running form the entire time, I would argue I met that as well. There were four times in the back trails where I was in a tight single file trail situation and some obstacle (massive mud puddles, usually) caused all the pussies in the race to walk, thus forcing me to stop and walk, too. So I did have to walk (including this one time when we crossed a stream, and another girl - a hardcore girl - in the pack started screaming at all the men who had stopped to walk and were therefore slowing us up "Boys RUN! RUN! RUN Boys RUN!" Really, shouldn't crossing a stream be good fun for runners? Why would you walk there? There were even sandbags to provide even footing and they still walked. Pussies), but it was never voluntary on my point. I had no place else to go.

Time-wise, it was probably around the 3 kilometer mark that I realized that we were going to be switching-back, climbing, clawing, mudding, and stuck in single file for most of the race. Up until that point I was all, "o, once this crowd thins out and we get through this rough patch, I'm sure I'll get on pace." Turns out that was never happening. After I understood this, I focused on having fun and accepted that when a good 50% of the race was going to be me slopping in the mud, I was not going to finish in under an hour with the sad, sad training I had done (as those in Perry may have noticed, my training just one month prior had consisted of 20 minute sessions on the NordicTrack. Not the stuff of champions). Still, I managed to stay consistent (running about 7:00/kilometer instead of the needed 6:00/kilometer) and finished at an hour and ten minutes. Sad. True.

In terms of competitiveness, the race results page of the website says I finished 36th of 254 women. That's top 15%, which I think should be considered impressive when one takes into account that I'm walking around with a 4-month old baby, 5 extra pounds (still, I'm so stuck there), and a very poor training regime (2 miles every other day....sometimes). For whatever reason, the official website hasn't posted any general results - just a place where you can look up your individual place and time. So I don't know how far-off I was from the top 10 (who all got prizes). There weren't a lot of ladies around me, although. From about 3k onwards I was mostly running with the men (who, it should be noted, had started 5 minutes ahead of Ladies and Masters Men, so I was running with guys who were even slower than me). I would guess that the 35 women ahead of me were quite spread out (Mano thinks the top female came through around 45 minutes after the gun).

Afterward I chugged two cans of 100Plus, we walked back to the car, then drove to pick-up Seb (who'd had a great time on his sleepover). With previous 10ks, I'd often then trashed the rest of the day sleeping, but although the desire was there, the opportunity wasn't. Too much to do around the house when there's 2 kids, plus I had to run to the store and get butter so I could make frosting for my birthday cupcakes and we had 6:00 PM dinner reservations at Pizzeria Mozza (pizza was good, Seb was a terror, Rox was less than thrilled as well). The next morning I did not feel too wrecked, however (although on the day off everything below my knees ached - the course was really really hard on the ankles).

Overall, a very enjoyable experience and if the opportunity arises next year I would totally run it again (hopefully much much faster....Mano thinks the key to running faster is to only wear a sports bra and no other top; he says all the fast women only wore sports bras. But I like a tank top to wipe my face with - it's a conflict). I enjoyed the fellow racers (a bit more serious than the typical road race participant, I would say, except for those pussies who walked across the stream), like the red racing t-shirt I got and enjoy that the bag I scored as part of the race pack is actually a toiletries bag, complete with hanging hook. Actually useful.

18 November 2011: Triple-Os. O. My.

2011-11-26T15:12:00.015+08:00

One of my favorite things about Hong Kong, Triple-O's, has arrived in Singapore. Truly, with all the white people migrating to Singapore, it was only a matter of time before this happened. To start, they've opened in a food court in one of the new skyscrapers in the central business district, Asia Square, but they claim that they will open in Holland Village (Holland Village, now only a short and direct MRT-ride away!) next year.

As a reminder, Triple-O's is a Vancouver-originated burger joint that serves delicious veggie burgers, thick fries, and even thicker milk shakes. After a particularly hard morning of playing plumber, Mano suggested that we head into town and I have some Triple-O's as a reward. No arguments from me. I drove the kids to Mano's office and we took the MRT from there to Raffles Place. May I remark at this point that to my complete shock, despite being rush hour and packed trains heading in and out of town, people got up and gave me the reserved seat on the MRT (I had Rox in the Baby Bjorn). This almost never happened when I was pregnant, which means that in the minds of the typical Singaporean, they can pretend that the lady is just fat, not pregnant, but they can't rationalize a baby away. Either that or they've magically become more gracious (there has been a lot of public awareness lately, and I'd previously seen people in the reserved seat ignore mothers carrying children).

Anyway, we managed to make it downtown, against the tide of fleeing workers, and get our Triple-O's. We even ran into a couple we know who had also expressly come by to try Triple-Os. I will say the taste is a bit different from the Hong Kong branches (the burger itself is better I think, but not the bun), but I am simply grateful that they're here. Sebastian loved the milkshakes (a treat I rationalized allowing him to have because it is made with real milk and real ice cream and we also got the blueberry flavor, so....fruit):

Sebastian, not learning how to share

I eagerly await the arrival of the Holland Village branch. Mmmmm. Fatness.

16 November 2011: Four Months

2011-11-19T16:05:00.011+08:00

Rox has changed so much in the last month. She's gotten a lot bigger, of course, and continues to show a keen interest in others - turning to a voice, turning to see what Seb is up to that is causing so much noise, or turning to watch Seb's videos. However, the biggest thing is that she's been rolling from her back onto her belly since late October. This has had a few consequences. First, I spent about two weeks too terrified sleep at night because she was, of course, using this new skill to sleep on her belly. I finally got over it.

Second, she is now able to put herself to sleep, which is magical. I hope that keeps up. For her daily naps, I generally set her in her crib at the times I suspect she's getting tired and more often than not she's asleep (after some grunting and rolling and whining) in 15 or 20 minutes. Third, as part of her self-soothing to sleep, she is sucking her thumb, which is new to me as a parent (Seb never showed much interest). Fourth, since she can now self-soothe, she is reliably sleeping through the night.

In other major developments, she is reaching for and grasping toys, and she is able to bring them to her mouth to chew. I previously doubted the power of Sophie Giraffe, but she loves that thing. She also likes Seb's handed-down Nûby chew ring quite a bit, as well as this cute hedgehog-shaped teether from Mano's cousin's family. She is also now, as noted in a recent post, loving the jumparoo at various times of the day. In the Baby Bjorn, she still rides inwards, as this seems to be her preference over facing out (Seb loved facing out - checking the scene at the grocery store was regularly the highlight of his week), and she'll hopefully grow into the more cuddly and comfortable ergo carrier soon.

Rox and her Sophie Giraffe:

Another interesting development is her eating. When Rox turned 3 months old, a switch turned off inside her somewhere, and she went from eating 8 times a day to 6 (sometimes 5), with her doctor's approval (when I asked him, he looked at her delightful plumpness and said, "She's obviously thriving, just feed her whenever she wants.") As a contrast, Seb did not drop down to 6 feeds a day until well after he was 6 months old and reliably on rice cereal and fruit/veg purees. This girl is like a camel. She eats around 9:00 PM before going to bed, and no matter when she wakes up in the morning (often 6:45 ish when the house starts getting noisy, but she'll just as often put herself back to sleep until 8:00 or later), she has no interest in eating until around 9:00 AM. Trying to feed her much before that is often futile (as I just learned today, again, after trying to feed her at 8:00 AM).

Overall, Rox is very easygoing (although she can get cranky when she's tired, just like the rest of us) and remarkably calm much of time. I can sit her on my lap and read a her one of Seb's "long" children's books (like The Lorax or Roadwork!) and she'll appear to remain attentive the entire time. She's an absolute delight and we're all excited to see what her future will bring.

13 November 2011: Rox Enjoys the Pool

2011-11-19T16:01:00.003+08:00

This morning we met some friends at the NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House toddler pool for a morning splash around. Seb had a great time here and, later, in the play room and Rox was content to peacefully float around in the pool:

8 November 2011: Bath Time, Happy Time

2011-11-19T13:34:00.001+08:00

Now this is the water temperature that Rox enjoys

6 to 7 November 2011: Marina Bay Sands

2011-11-07T16:52:00.047+08:00

At home on a Saturday afternoon, minding my own business, Mano suddenly discovers a last minute promotion for Marina Bay Sands, the architectural wonder that the Discovery Channel and the Singapore Tourism Board would have you believe is "iconic". If that means "ruined a previously beautiful view across the bay," I agree. But I harbor no ill will! At least, not enough to boycott the hotel or the Shoppes (yes, Shoppes, not shops). So Mano booked us for Sunday night (Monday is a public holiday in Singapore - observance of Hari Raya Haji). So what of it?

From check-in a little after 4:00PM until we departed the room for dinner a couple of hours later was all it took to confirm that the substantial price a person normally pays for a room is for (1) access to the Skypark and Skypark-level infinity pool and (2) a nice view of either the city or the ocean. The price does not seem to include any 5-star service that would warrant Marina Bay Sands calling itself (as it does on its homepage) "The Most Spectacular Hotel in Singapore." With its billions and billions of rooms (ok, around 2500 rooms, I'm told) and high rollers somewhere to concern itself with, the hotel just has too many guests to be managed well by the people who are currently managing it.

Examples:

A. The lobby is a sea of humanity - some people are guests, but I suspect most are gawkers (in contrast, the Raffles Hotel lobby does not permit flip flips or shorts, and they also forbid picture-taking - this drastically reduces the crowd). Offering a drink to me as I wait to check-in doesn't make the crowd magically part.

B. The rooms, while large, are unremarkable. Our bathroom door was broken (it normally slides open and shut, ours seems to have fallen off its track and jammed), and while, to be fair, no one got stuck inside the bathroom as a result (unlike what happened to George in Krabi), we weren't even offered much in way of an apology when they came to fix it and certainly weren't given a bottle of wine.

Rox reigns supreme on the bed

C. They were out of cribs. I suppose I should have been prepared for that to happen eventually, but this is the first time and it shouldn't be happening at a place that bills itself as top-tier. Since having children, we've stayed at Sentosa Resort & Spa, the Grand Mercure Roxy, as well as the Marina Mandarin in Singapore. In Asia we've stayed with kid/s at hotels in Kuala Lumpur (twice), Bintan, Batam, Penang, Port Dickson, Krabi, Hong Kong, Cameron Highlands, and Melacca. Further afield we've stayed with kid/s at hotels in Washington, DC (twice), Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, San Francisco (twice), and New York City. In these places, we've stayed the full range: Fancy hotels (like the E&O in Penang) to far more run-down operations (ahem, Batam). We've stayed during tourist low seasons and stayed over peak holiday weekends. Still, the is the first, the FIRST time that we have ever been denied a baby crib/pack n play.

Let me break it down for you, Marina Bay Sands. When someone is paying more than $300 for a room (and that is the discounted rate) and they want a crib and you are out of cribs, do you know what you do? You send someone across your little double helix bridge to one of SEVERAL shopping malls (all featuring Mothercare, Toys R Us, and the like) that are RIGHT there and you BUY a pack n play. Then you have an extra one for next time you are in this bind. You don't shrug your shoulders and decide it is not your problem. Again, not offered much in way of an apology (including no bottle of wine).

D. I had read newspaper reports that the infinity pool area was crowded and that Marina Bay Sands had actually stopped permitting those who had bought the $20 (cough, gouge!, cough) ticket to the Skypark to view the pool (because hotel guests were rightly put off by scores of people crowding around the pool, staring, and taking pictures). Even with this ban in place, though, it was packed. The pool was packed, the deck chairs were packed, the walkways were packed. Again: a billion rooms + a hotel pool designed more for a normal sized hotel = too many people in the pool (despite being "the world’s largest infinity & outdoor pool at that height" - a rather pathetic level of specificity; do you still get to be the world's largest "at that height" if in Dubai they build a pool a titch bigger, but also an inch higher?). You are supposed to show your room key to staff to access the pool area, but security (and crowd management in general), was fairly indifferent and not particularly well-organized.

At the infinity pool

E. Further, signs at the infinity pool and the neighboring toddler pool indicated that non-potty trained types had to wear rubber diapers in the infinity pool and anyone under 5 had to wear water wings. Water wings don't fit on Rox-sized infants. Does this mean she can't go in the pool even if she is wearing required diapers? While this is perhaps a rhetorical question, what really got me is that all water wings have printed on them, in big letters, that they are NOT life-saving devices by any stretch of the imagination. So how can you require them for "safety" (as the signs indicated)? All of these questions are irrelevant, since it was obvious that neither rule was being enforced. Again, clear inability to properly manage your staff to manage crowds (although I would argue the water wings rule is stupid).

F. Minor point, but the bath toiletries should be more chi chi - not some generic brand in cheap packaging. You have a Banyan Tree Spa on site, have some class!

Enough complaining, on to the good stuff

So after checking-in, checking out the room and doing a walk-through of the pool/Skypark area on Level 57, we headed down to the Shoppes (again, double p and with an e, ooo) at Marina Bay Sands for dinner. We tried a relatively new Mediterranean, healthy vegetarian falafel & pita place (translation: awesome and will be out of business in less than a year), but Sebastian was a grump during the entire thing (he's got a bad cold, cut him some slack).

After dinner, we went to the lower basement food court and I scored a cup o mousse (although more delicious in terms of mousse and choccy cake quality than the legendary Quincy Market cup-o-mousse, it was a fraction of the original's massive size, and, of course, twice the price). We also did some browsing (evidently we're thinking about buying a 3D TV?) ahead of the 8:00 PM water and light show extravaganza (same as last time we went in May, but fresh for Seb just the same. He got a kick out of the bubbles). Then it was upstairs for showers and baths (no bathtub in our room, so Rox took a bath in the generously-sized sink) and bed. Seb didn't finally knock off until 11:00 PM or so, the little demon (hotel rooms infect him with insomnia now) and we set him up on the fainting couch of sorts that was in the room (which we pushed up to the bedside), so we could put Rox between us on the bed for co-sleeping.

Exhausted by the late hours, we slept in until after 7:00 AM, had some breakfast snacks in the room, then headed up for a morning swim in the pool (reasoning, correctly, that it would be far less crowded in the morning) sometime after 8:00 AM.

Pre-swim, Rox horses around with her daddy

"Razzzzzzz!"

Pretty posing

This is an important moment: Rox's first swimming experience. When Seb was an infant, I had held out to make his first swim our trip to Bintan, so it could be in the sea. With no trips to majestic beaches on our horizon, the 200 meter-high, 150 meter-long "world’s largest infinity & outdoor pool" seemed to be an equally good first swim locale for Rox. (See, before I was sneering at their specificity, but now I'm playing it up).

The water in the pool was cold cold cold. As we hit the toddler pool first, I theorized that it was perhaps because they had drained and refilled it overnight (as they should, everyone knows that kids pee in the pool), but we later discovered the main infinity pool was pretty frigid as well. Seb didn't care (he loves water that much), but Rox has long been a fan of being warm and cozy, and typically likes her baths a bit warmer than the recommended temperature for infants. So, poor thing, she was a bit peeved to find herself being dunked into an ice bath. Eventually, however, she was OK being dipped waist-deep.

O it's cold!

You can see the length of the infinity pool behind us (and also see how peeved Rox is)

Waist-deep is painful!

Seb looking serious overlooking Singapore

Seb looking playful overlooking Singapore

Rox continues to despise her first swim

Rox accepts the cold water for a moment

A good shot of the full length of the infinity pool

Rox says to her daddy, "What are you doing?! I said I didn't like it!!"

Daddy

After some splashing and photo-ops in the toddler pool, we took turns escorting the kids to the edge of the large infinity pool for pictures, as you can see below. As I said before, this is really what you are paying for if you are staying at Marina Bay Sands (that and close proximity to the casino, if that's your thing). It is an amazing view.

Me, Sebastian, and Singapore

A wider shot

Me, Rox, and Singapore

Sebastian peers over the edge (no worries, it isn't a real edge, all part of the infinity pool illusion)

I took Rox back down to the room for a shower-off and feed, while Seb and Mano spent some more time splashing around the toddler pool. After getting everyone showered and dressed, we went back up to check out the rest of the Skypark before checkout. Here's where you can walk to the tip of the "ship" that is perched on the Marina Bay Sands' three towers. Again, some incredible views. And good breezes.

Marina Bay, with the Fullerton Hotel and the Merlion

We're higher than the Singapore Flyer.....so what is the point of the Singapore Flyer again?

The tall building is the Swisshotel and the cluster of red roofs to the right of it is Raffles Hotel

So many ships

Red floppy hat!

Family

After check-out, Mano suggested that we have a try at Pizzeria Mozza - the best pizza in Singapore, reservations strongly recommended. It was just before noon, it wasn't open yet, and there was already a line formed outside their door. Figuring it couldn't hurt to try (if rebuffed, we would just go back to the pita place), we scored one of the last unreserved tables (although we had to sit on high stools, not ideal for Seb). It's a fun feeling, being in line, wondering if they will be out of room by the time you get the to the front of the line. Like lining up for concert tickets, only you're lame and middle-aged.

It was mild chaos with Seb in a foul mood (he didn't sleep much last night, recall, and he is still getting over a cold), a bad seating situation, and Rox, of course, soiling her diapers and her outfit, but it is still the second best pizza I've ever had (the first best being the last time we went there and everything went much smoother). We've got reservations for dinner there for my birthday. Oooo. Mmmm.

Pizza!

So good it hurts (wow, the lighting here is doing me no favors)

Heading home, we encountered one last customer service snafu. At check-in yesterday, we had been directed to their overflow parking area - one of the expo halls. The signage had indicated the fee was $6 per entry, cash only. However, when we parked, no one approached us to collect the entry fee, nor direct us to where we should pay this fee. Then today, upon departing, an attendant raised the gate to let us out of the expo hall, but did not ask for (nor did he seem outfitted to collect) the parking fee. Again, poor crowd management. At least this time it worked out in our favor. Overall: Glad we stayed and got to experience the really incredible infinity pool, but would not bother staying there again and would never pay full-price to stay there. They've been open more than year and should have their service act together by now.

29 October 2011: Jumparoo!

2011-11-07T16:52:00.039+08:00

O yes, Rox has developed enough head and neck control to start rocking out in the jumparoo. This is her first ride. She was a little confused at first, but has since delighted in some pretty enthusiastic bouncing. She's also taken an interest in the attached toys, all of which adds up to a happy Rox.

26 October 2011: Deepavali at the Botanic Gardens

2011-11-07T16:52:00.038+08:00

Today is the Hindu holiday of Deepavali (aka Diwali), which is a public holiday here in Singapore. It's the Hindu festival of lights, so a person could argue it is like Western December holidays (which have much to do with darkness and light) mixed with Thanksgiving (because it marks, among other things, the end of the harvest). Or maybe it is Hindu Halloween. In any event, we took advantage of the holiday by using the new, fully operational Circle Line MRT, which now can take us direct from Pasir Panjang to the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The MRT exit for the Botanic Gardens is at what I would call the far end of the gardens - the point furthest away from the main entrance gate which is adjacent to the fru-est of the fru-fru Tanglin embassy district and Orchard Road shopping area. So not really the business end of the gardens in many respects, but now far more popular than before thanks to the MRT entrance. We left the house relatively early (thanks to jetlag, we're all up at 5:00 AM here), but the place was already buzzing when we got there around 8:45 AM. A nice bonus of the far-flung MRT location is that is actually not far from the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden - previously an unwalkable distance from the main entrance (or at least unwalkable when you have a toddler who wants to walk "by himself" but generally takes one step forward and then two steps back to look at that really cool thing and then three steps sideways just to annoy you).

As with the rest of the Gardens, the place was buzzing with activity and families. Here are some of Seb and Rox's highlights:

Singapore has its own bouncy bridge

Turning the crank to make the demo sun shine/have the demo tree suck up water from its roots/activate photosynthesis in the demo tree/expel oxygen from the tree

Rox enjoys the gardens in her own way

Afterwards, snagging a drink at the cafe outside (they discontinued the veggie hot dogs, boo!)

Posing with Singha, the Courtesy Lion (who could teach Seb a thing or two about sharing and gentleness....)

23 October 2011 to 26 October 2011: Jetlagged

2011-11-06T08:20:00.008+08:00

21 October 2011: The High Line

2011-10-29T15:12:00.006+08:00

With a bit of time this morning before check-out, we headed to New York City's nearby rail-to-trail, the High Line (it was an elevated rail track), for a morning hike. Evidently the last train was used on the track back in 1980. It was a good opportunity to let Seb burn off some energy before the very long flight tonight:

Rox enjoyed the hike as well, though mostly because it gave her an opportunity to have a nap in a baby carrier, which is one of her favorite ways to nap:

If you look carefully you can see Rox, slumped to the side in slumber

After check-out, we took a cab to Brooklyn, where on of Mano's old junior college friends lives with her husband and year-old+ daughter. They live on a beautiful residential street, all old townhouses. We were surprised to be greeted by gourmet offerings (we had nearly grabbed sandwiches somewhere before our arrival) - quiche, beet & avocado salad, tomato & farro soup, fresh bread. Amazing. Right before 20 hours of airplane food, this was deeply appreciated. The visit gave us a chance to catch up with a friend & fellow parent, as well as get the kids quick baths. Quite perfect. Rox, however, had evidently decided she couldn't handle another new place and was a grump for much of the visit. Both she and Seb (who hadn't taken an afternoon nap) passed out in the car on the way to the airport. Seb remained so after being transferred to the stroller for check-in, the grabbing of some pre-flight snacks, up until we had to take him out of the stroller to pass through security.

The flight back to Singapore was much smoother, Seb-wise, than our flight to the U.S. a few weeks ago. We had invested in the full version of an app on the ipad that he was loving, Phonics Island. Between that and us finding some children's television programming (Elmo) on the in-flight entertainment system, Seb's awake time was fairly well occupied. He also slept for a solid "overnight" period on the plane, which included our transit in Frankfurt, where he was comatose on the airport seats, letting Mano and I enjoy some quiet time stretching our legs and enjoying hot choccy. Oo hot choccy.

20 October 2011: New York City

2011-10-29T15:03:00.011+08:00

On the way back to Singapore we've stopped in New York City for two nights. Our arrival yesterday was fairly gloomy. Grey skies, rain, a skeevy transfer from the airport (don't cross Mano, NYC, he knows which office to complain to and he enjoys it!), and a cold drizzly walk from our hotel (the perfectly satisfactory Wyndham Garden Hotel at Times Square South) to dinner at Tofu House in Koreatown. As a plus, despite the loud, pulsating music and conversations at dinner, Rox pretty much slept through it (she didn't miss much, the bi bim bap was middling).

However, today was fantastic. We're a group of five adults and two kids - me, Mano, Mano's sister, and his parents (all up from DC, where his parents are currently staying), toddler Seb and infant Rox. In New York, there's not a lot that a group of that size and diversity in age can do cheaply, in a short amount of time, or gracefully. So we tempered our expectations and ended up on the winning side.

For our morning activity, we decided to take the subway down to the Staten Island Ferry for a ride. For nearly 15 years now, the Staten Island Ferry has been free (it used to be 50 cents), and from it you can get views of the city, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and of course, Staten Island. It's massive and, for a free mode of transport in a country where much of the public transport is not in the best shape looks-wise, incredibly nice and clean. Incredibly. And the ferry has an elevator on it. And the ferry terminals are really nice, too. We were very impressed.

Seb riding the ferry with his Aunt Ranjini and 奶奶

On the deck of the Staten Island Ferry

Ferry rides are exhausting things, so on the subway ride back to our hotel, Seb passed out so hard that we were able to transfer him from lap to stroller, push him in the stroller back to the hotel, transfer him from the stroller to the hotel bed, and then eat some take-out lunch wraps in front of him - with Rox there the entire time making standard infant noises. In fact, we finally had to wake him up around 4:30 so we could do our second activity of the day: Central Park.

Central Park, like the Staten Island Ferry, is also free. We got there at 5:00 PM, just when dusk was starting up, and wandered from Strawberry Fields (where there were a few of the expected crazies) down to Sheep Meadow, where I wanted to give Seb a chance to stretch his legs.

Seb and Mano imagining all the people living life in peace

Walking from Strawberry Fields to Sheep Meadow we're winding down a path, and I notice two people who appear to be abusing a tree. Pulling on its branches and shaking them down. Bizarre. With expertise drawn from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, they must be strung out on drugs, right? We get closer. The culprits appear to be clearly middle aged or older. Odd. They're dressed....not like drug addicts. Strange. They're.....Chinese immigrants shaking the nuts out of a ginkgo tree and collecting them in a plastic bag. O the hilarity, the stereotypes, the audacity! I can't describe it. And I can't believe I didn't stop to take a picture.

At the corner of Sheep Meadow

I love love love this picture of Seb running in the meadow

Daddy time

Sunset reflecting off some of the buildings

Some of my vocal emphasis on the dangers of Central Park after dark had enduring comedic value as we strove to avoid the rapists, murderers, and (as Ranjini reminded us) drug pushers that, according to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, unrelentingly prowl the area. Fortunately for us, we walked along one of the main routes, with dozens and dozens of other pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists. Phew.

We then walked down to the Uniqlo world flagship store that had just opened. Ranjini's dream coming true, she disappeared into three floors of cashmere sweaters in every color imaginable. As all the gear on offer was for the advancing autumn and winter weather, there was clearly nothing for me, and so Mano and I took the kids back to hotel for a quick clean up before dinner at a highly regarded pizza place nearby.

At Capizzi Pizza in Hell's Kitchen, with a surprisingly spacious layout and laid-back staff

The pizza was pretty good, and it was nice to have a fairly quiet, relaxed meal before heading back to the hotel to try to get a solid night of sleep before our long flight tomorrow. Rox, evidently reaching her limit for new and strange experiences like a hotel pack n play, had some difficulties and, unfortunately, did not finally go down until nearly midnight. Poor thing.

18 October 2011: Last Day in Ohio

2011-10-29T07:31:00.014+08:00

To wind down our visit to Ohio, we did a fairly subdued morning walk back at Lakeshore Reservation. This time, Seb was more enthusiastic about jumping around on the bouncy bridge, but still declined contact with any and all woolly bears.

Tracking a woolly bear

Overlooking the lake

Beachside, very blustery

Seb and his daddy overlooking the lake

After a morning walk, we picked up some of Mano's favorite, Papa John's, for lunch. Sebastian also proved to be a fan of the better ingredients, better pizza, eating quite a lot before his afternoon nap.

Post-nap, we headed to visit Seb's cousin Alden at his paternal grandparents'. This time, Seb was much better with Alden, and Alden seemed to have forgiven and forgotten Seb's uncool behavior from last week.

Playing nicely

While Alden and Seb played, Rox enjoyed hanging out with Grandma Bradshaw

At home later, it was time for one last important autumn activity: Carving the pumpkins. Seb's Best Word Book Ever uses a jack-o-lantern to represent the letter J in the alphabet, so he's been familiar for a while with the concept. Still, I was surprised at how well he took to the activity.

The pumpkins are prepped

We enlisted Grandpa's help for the cutting, as he's much better with a knife than me

Seb was a pro at scooping out the guts

The finished products!

Seb trying to blow out the candles inside, as though they were birthday jack-o-lanterns

MMS stopped over with Wes and Jill - the rest of the Peters clan had soccer practice - and we got in a bit more sister time before the Manos head off tomorrow. After Seb's bath, he also got in some final quality time with Grandma, as she read him his Curious George book (a new gift from his daddy):

Overall, as ever, a great trip to Ohio, too short, and the next trip can't come soon enough.

17 October 2011: Pumpkins and Apples and Cross Country

2011-10-29T05:44:00.016+08:00

Today, with the help of some nice weather after a dreary weekend, we packed a whole autumn of family-bonding and memory-making activities into a mere few hours. I was really impressed with myself. Bonus points to Mano and the kids for keeping up.

First, after breakfast we headed to my grandparents' for a visit. Seb was, as usual, all over the place. I, as usual, was all over the candy bowl. Rox was willing to sit still, however, and pose for some beautiful shots with her great-grandparents.

Whee-hee-hee! Great-grandpa and Rox share an inside joke

Rox says, "I like this guy. This is a funny guy."

Rox cuddles with her Great-grandma

Our intent immediately after the visit was to pick apples nearby in Madison, but as we approached the drive of the orchard, I saw their sign indicating that apple picking was strictly 1 to 5 pm. So we proceeded on to Secor's for pumpkin patching, with the intent to come back for the apples after lunch. Sorted.

At Secor's, Seb acted like a kid who'd been haunting pumpkin patches for years (that is, his head didn't explode), but still thought it was awesome. And he understood that it was a massive photo op.

Smile for the camera!

Seb and Rox inspect the giant pumpkins

Seb was tasked with picking out a regular-sized ($5) pumpkin for himself and a small ($2) pumpkin for Rox (side note: Upon returning to Singapore, pumpkins sized in-between these two options were being sold at Cold Storage for the bargain price of $25). To help Seb decide, I asked him whether he wanted a tall & skinny pumpkin or a short & fat one. Seb said he wanted short & fat and then indeed selected what I must say was a rather fine short & fat carving pumpkin for himself. He then picked a similarly lovely pumpkin for his sister (who, at this stage, is not quite ready to render opinions on pumpkins....only people).

Pumpkins loaded, we went home for a quick veggie pasta lunch, then scooted back out to door to do some apple picking - something I have no recollection of doing in my childhood, but a top Mano suggestion for fun autumn activities. I had suspected it would go the same way strawberry picking had this past spring, but lo, Seb has matured in the past few months, and he was not angered and annoyed by the concept of picking an apple and putting in a basket (versus eating it immediately). In fact, after listening to the farmer's picking instructions at the outset, he did make an effort to "twist-twist-twist" properly when picking his apples and enjoyed running up and down the rows.

Mano and Seb review the apple trees

Twist-Twist-Twist: Seb still needs some work on selecting apples of good quality, but his picking technique is above repute.

Mano shows Rox the apple trees while Seb races to catch up

All-in-all, big family fun for about $6 - not to mention you get to keep the apples and eat them.

At this point, we were pushing into naptime. With a very busy morning behind us, the kids were unsurprisingly ready for a rest:

But there's more - we roused Seb a bit early from his nap to head down the street to the Outdoor YMCA for the 2011 CVC Cross Country meet. Seb, Rox, and I had taken a really lovely hike at the Outdoor Y last week (we walked all the way down to the river and back, and we even spied a little orange salamander on the trail), but today was for serious sport viewing. I explained the maximal viewing tactics to a vaguely enthusiastic Mano, and we found a good spot for catching the start and finish, as well as getting a decent vantage of the lower loop. Seb did not seem to grasp the momentousness of his very first ever cross country meet, but I did get him to pay attention to the start (which unintentionally led him to become enamored with the starting gun and saying the word "gun") and he did show some mild interest in the running as well:

"Go go random runner girl!" says Seb

The meet itself had been postponed from Saturday (when overnight and AM torrential storms had evidently flooded parts of the course.....pussies), and I can say that although it squeezed our Monday schedule up, it was a crisp, sunny autumn afternoon that made for excellent meet watching. I didn't get to run around as much as I would like, as I was carrying Rox in the ergo, but I was pleased as anything to get the kids exposed to the sport. The only downer (besides Perry not having particularly strong teams this year) was when a Perry athlete mom struck up a conversation with me and then asked which school my daughter was running for. It took me a few seconds to get that she was not talking about which school Rox would run for in the future, but that she believed I was the mother of a teenage girl who was competing. I know having two small kids is rough on a body, but do I look old enough to have a teenager? Technically I could have had a kid back in 1996, but I was kind of busy with college at the time. I am so old. Sad!

16 October 2011: 3 Months

2011-10-29T05:30:00.005+08:00

Rox celebrated her third month in Ohio - so a trans-world trip was a big part of the last month for her. Beyond mastering international travel, she's become even more social. She definitely likes to cuddle and make eye contact, and enjoys smiling at people. As before, however, that doesn't mean that she can't relax on a blanket on the floor by herself for a while, a skill that's been a huge help as I get Sebastian his breakfast and lunch here in Ohio. She's been pretty versatile, willing to sleep on the go, in the airplane bassinet, in the crib at her grandparents' house, and on the floor. Despite having her routine all over the place with our trip and dealing with jet-lag as well, she's kept her relatively calm and friendly demeanor (with the exception of the couple of hours before her bedtime, when she can be a bit touchy), which has been lovely.

The big activity for today was an extended family dinner at MMS place, where my Aunt & Uncle, their two kids, son-in-law, and granddaughter came over. Before the dinner got going, however, I got to do my favorite thing with Seb and the other kids: Play with Legos.

14 October 2011: Fancy Red Dress Party

2011-10-29T05:18:00.005+08:00

The lovely early autumn weather has turned on us, and we've been forced indoors. As MMS has expansive indoors with lots of toys, we were over there this morning, which nicely coincided with a visit from April, who also had her youngest daughter in tow. When I discovered the Bumbo by creeping around MMS' basement, I brought it up for Rox and Wes to try out. Rox was pretty cool with it, but MMS tells me Wes is not a fan yet.

Seeing a baby in a Bumbo made the big girl improvise with a booster seat. Imaginative and clever!

Rox enjoys the Bumbo as Dread Pirate Wesley looks on

The big feature of the day, however, was the bridal shower for my cousin Maggie. As our visit to the U.S. this time does not intersect with any formal holidays, this was the primary chance to catch up with a lot of the ladies in the family and give them a chance to see Rox (ladies only! Seb was going to be left with a very very kind and zen Uncle Scott).

Rox rests up before the shower

Party dress! The shoes lasted about two seconds - they're still a titch too big and just fell off.

Rox and her great-grandma at the shower. She was chill for a huge chunk, then suffered a spontaneous freak-out, but calmed down enough to return to the party.

It was nice to see family, if only to quickly say hello. It was also fun to see Maggie opening her wedding gifts, especially since I've managed to miss every single wedding shower, wedding, and baby shower since sometime in 2006. So sad!

11 October 2011: The Schlauch Compound

2011-10-29T05:09:00.008+08:00

Today we spent a beautiful morning up at the Schlauch compound, with Seb having more space to run around then he ever dreamed possible, and more things to get into and make mischief with than he could imagine.

In my grandparents' backyard, just getting warmed up

My dad took Seb, Rox, and I through a short walk in the woods, past the sugar shack, to inspect the remarkable rope and pulley system he had created to access the sap of some of the maple trees that are down a somewhat troublesome ravine. Ingenuity at work.

Seb running through the woods. He should run: Much like his father, Seb is a mosquito magnet. At least the mosquitoes in Perry don't have dengue.

In the rear field of the Schlauch compound, Seb started straggling a bit. Too many dandelions to pick?

Hanging out with great-grandpa by the barn after the short walk, things ramped up a bit when Seb got his first ride in the golf cart with his grandpa, when the two of them towed and dumped some brush in the back woods:

Rox didn't get left out, as she and I joined in for a ride at one point to head off to another part of the compound to inspect a snow-blower attachment.

Then, when he wasn't emptying out the contents of the golf cart, Seb helped his great-grandpa pick up the masses of butter walnuts in the backyard:

Seb, little assistant

Great-grandma got back from her morning shopping, and she, Rox, and I hung out on the deck (and later, in the sugar shack, where I got a tour of the expanded facilities) while the men got down to some real business. Golf carts and tractors were started up and put to use to drag some logs. Seb was impressive, riding in the cart next to his great-grandpa as though working on the Schlauch compound was old hat, except for when he tried to run great-grandpa over by releasing the parking brake. Ahem.

9 October 2011: Farmer Seb and Sailor Seb

2011-10-28T03:25:00.009+08:00

Today was Seb's day for trying all sorts of new things: Tractors, 4-wheelers, sailboats, and strange tricycles. First up, Aunt Katie called to let us know that Uncle Rick was using the tractor, in case Seb wanted a ride. So Seb's grandpa took him up the street. Aunt Katie took some video as evidence:

Sweet. Apparently he liked the experience very much, and also took a ride on the 4-wheeler that is at the property. I love riding the tractor as a kid, too. We used to blaze down River Road between the Schlauch compound and our house on the designated adult's lap. I'm sure it was totally safe and legal.

Meanwhile, Rox took a nap with her grandma:

Then, after more than a year of talk-talking about it, Seb got his ride on his grandparents' sailboat today. I thought it would totally blow his mind - perhaps it did. As you can see from the photos, below, he has a look of concerned concentration on his face the entire time. No excited squealing. Strange.

Making a vague attempt to be helpful and hold a line as we motor down the Grand River

Chilling next to his grandpa on Lake Erie

Attempting to commandeer the ship

After losing interest in the deck, Seb's grandma encourages him to not spend the rest of the sail below deck. I understand, it is pretty cool down there, with lots of corners to explore.

Rox, chilling the entire time

Post-sail, my dad took Seb for a ride in what I would describe as a reverse tricycle. Apparently it belongs to one of the other sailors at the yacht club and is communally used when one needs to transport heavy/bulky items up and down the shore-length. Seb enjoyed it very much:

8 October 2011: Perry Rec Soccer

2011-10-15T20:40:00.009+08:00

Soccer day! Brad and Cal play Perry Rec soccer in the autumn, so today was our opportunity to go check out their skills. Elementary school soccer is fun. The parents all stand on the sidelines and yell, and it is fairly obvious that 99% of the time, the kids are totally ignoring them. I know, I remember when I was an elementary sportswoman and ignoring my t-ball coaches while drawing in the dirt with my feet.

Before the match, Seb checks out the goal box with Coach Uncle Scott while Brad and Cal look on

Seb enjoys the suburban American lawn chair

Rox got toted around by Grandma (as pictured here), Great Grandma, and Great Aunt Katie

On-field action - there were a few exciting bits that got the parents shouting quite a lot

Alden (along with T & J) came partway through the double-header event, and he and Seb (along with some other younger siblings out supporting their teams) played with some toy trucks the MMS expertly brought along. Alden's "O, trucks!" face was priceless.

For dinner, we all got together over at MMS' house for Joey's, where Seb suddenly decided that it was more fun to be mean to Alden than to play nicely (earlier that afternoon, they had seemed fairly fine together, as the above picture demonstrates). Alden picked up on this pretty quickly, and soon dealt with every approach of Seb as though he was Carl Monday (why isn't there a youtube clip of this? There is a cute mash-up with Dilbert and the library porn story, though). Poor Alden!

We of course took the opportunity to get a group picture of all of the grandchildren. Special thanks to Brad and Cal for taking on big boy baby holding duties. I picked the one where Alden has the best O face.

7 October 2011: Penitentiary Glen Hike

2011-10-15T20:28:00.005+08:00

Family Unit Hike! This morning MMS took Jill and Wes and I took Grandpa, Seb, and Rox to Penitentiary Glen for a forest walk. Penitentiary is my favorite of the Lake Metroparks because of my fond NERC race memories from there. The weather was great and Seb was straggling.

Into the woods we go

We unfortunately missed the mini train rides by a week, but we did hike down to the creek and check out the Stoney Brook Falls. And Seb walked all the way back-up the stairs without any help. Yes, he did it himself.

Creekside

"No want help!"

Afterward we went to Baker's Square for lunch. OK, I was there for the pie. I passed up my usual banana cream for the charitable Pink Ribbon Chocolate Strawberry pie to benefit breast cancer research. Tasty, and topped with pink ribbon-shaped sprinkles.

5 October 2011: Lakeshore Reservation Walk

2011-10-14T04:58:00.006+08:00

Seb was feeling chipper after a full night's sleep, and he took it out on his sister, holding her hand and being generally pleasant:

Still, if there's one thing Seb needs every day to maintain his mood, it is a good burn of energy. Today it took the form of a walk at the Lakeshore Reservation Lake Metropark. We started out on the loop in the older section of the park, which skirts the lakefront and features the bouncy bridge that was a highlight of the summer cross country practice sessions. Along with his cousins Jill and Wes, Seb was off and running:

Rox, not pictured, rode in the ergo

We then hit the trail in the newer section of the park, and it was delightfully infested with Woolly Bears. This led MMS to do an imitation of Scott's imitation of Dick Goddard promoting his Woolly Bear Festival. Funny stuff.

Jill was a little saint, saving the woolly bears on the path from certain death by underfoot crushing. Seb, in contrast, was keen to look at the woolly bears, but he refused to touch, tossing the only woolly bear we managed to get him to hold after a millisecond. He was willing to pose with Jill holding the woollies, though:

Seb says: "Want Jilly hold woolly bear"

4 October 2011: Family Visit

2011-10-14T01:42:00.007+08:00

This morning we went up the street to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house for some visiting. Seb was not much into cuddling or resting, despite having been up since 1:00 AM, but Rox was just pleased as anything to get a squeeze:

Rox particularly enjoyed chilling with Great Grandpa. After some conversation (pictured, below), she ended up falling asleep in his lap. Precious. Seb did not take a cue from his sister and continued running around the house until we left.

Seb did, however, take a nap at his normal afternoon time, giving me hopes of getting him over his jet-lag fairly quickly. He was angry at his normal wake-up time, clearly wanting to rest some more, but I got him over his grumpiness by taking him to see his cousins Brad, Cal, Jill, and Wes. After his normal shy period, he was quite pleased to get back to running around and being crazy. He also promised me he would sleep through the night, and he did, straight through until 5:00 AM. Now we just have to work on Rox....

2 to 3 October 2011: A Very Long Flight

2011-10-12T03:30:00.005+08:00

I would not recommend air travel with a very active toddler, but the lure of autumn in Ohio is very strong, especially when delicious treats like Tostitos Blue Corn Chips are to be had. The important thing is that we all survived and no one threatened Sebastian with violence.

Sebastian in transit at Frankfurt Airport, enjoying a pre-flight snack

Roxy, who should be approved by the FAA as a long-haul flight cuddle and comfort device, chilling on the airplane and enduring the indignity of a sticker on her forehead

2 October 2011: Discovering the Circle Line

2011-10-12T03:06:00.005+08:00

I have been waiting three years for this day. When we first moved to Pasir Panjang in 2008, the promise of a Circle Line MRT subway station a mere 3 minute bus ride from our apartment seemed like a reality so far off in the distance. Today, however, Haw Par Villa station was open to the public and fully operational. Sort of a soft opening, rides between the stations that were opening for the first time today (most of the western half of the Circle Line) were free and there was entertainment and activities going on at many of the stations.

At the new station, with the rest of Singapore now available, no parking necessary

We rode from Haw Par Villa to Holland Village, a cafe and people watching spot that has long been plagued by inadequate parking. Walking out of the one of the exits, we were just a few meters away from one of our favorite restaurants, Original Sin, which serves delicious Mediterranean vegetarian food. We don't get there often, however, because parking is such a hassle (and because it is not cheap). To be able to take the MRT there was awesome. Even better, however, was that Seb picked out his own lunch off the children's menu (pizza) and then ate it more neatly than he has perhaps ever eaten anything before. No mess. Amazing.

We then took the MRT home again. While waiting for the bus outside the station, and looking out towards to entrance to Haw Par Villa, I snapped this shot of the sea of people flowing into the long, long neglected tourist spot. I've never seen so many people there before. It's an interesting place, and while I recognize that the new station opening in front of it can only give it a temporary surge of this size, I do hope that the convenience of the station means that it at least gets more regular visits in the future. I also hope that the often lonely and sad snack stand and souvenir shop on-site were prepared for today's crowds:

17 September 2011: Lego Table

2011-09-28T12:12:00.017+08:00

Seb loves his Lego table, as evidenced by his fake smile-for-the-camera smile here. He is quite good at sitting and constructing all sorts of towers and helicopters and ocean liners. He seems to have so many Legos (and each time he successfully uses the potty, he gets to pick a Lego from the hidden Lego stash), but there also never seems to be enough Legos. Mano has taught Seb how to clean his Legos up at nap/bedtime, too. Excellent.

16 September 2011: Two Months

2011-09-28T12:12:00.016+08:00

Ha ha, Rox is two months old! In the last month she's developed great head and neck control and is able to visually track all sorts of things, although people are her favorite. She smiles at me quite a lot and enjoys watching Seb play. She's pretty good at chilling independently as well. For our morning routine, she rarely complains about taking a ride in her swing while Mano gets ready and heads to work and I get Seb out the door to morning daycare, clean the kitchen, and shower. Usually, she checks the scene for a while and then falls asleep until her next feed. She'll also hang out on her activity mat or watch the mobile in her crib. She has shown some interest in TV - there have been a few times when she seems to have been watching Baby Einstein when Seb is watching it with his evening milk.

Unlike her brother, Rox does not demand constant physical activity when she's awake (o, that was so exhausting). Still, she does like many of the Itsy Bitsy Yoga moves that Seb enjoyed as an infant and is quite also happy when we get out of the house - she really likes looking around and checking things out. As a result, she rarely falls asleep when riding in the Baby Bjorn at the grocery store. Why would she? Too much to see and take in! After a blissful week of sleeping through the night, she has just reverted back to one, usually brief, wake-up per night. Manageable, and I'm generally well-rested. On nights when she sleeps for at least 6 hours straight, I stay up after her feed (as I've gotten the 6 hours of sleep as well) and go for a morning jog.

Rox at 2 months bears a strong resemblance to Seb at two months, although her resemblance to Mano is greater than Seb's was (Mano and Rox have identical chins). Also, best we can tell, she's bigger than Seb was at the same age. She's just starting to wear her 3 to 6 month onesies (such as the one in her two month picture here), and a few weeks ago I packed away onesies that Seb was still wearing at 2 months+ (Rox no longer fits into the onesie Seb is wearing in his 2 month picture). As soppy as it makes me feel for her to be growing so fast, it really is in her best interest - the faster she gets big and buff, the sooner she'll be able to fend off Seb's over-excited head-butting herself.

15 September 2011: Uncle Roy, Baby Whisperer

2011-09-28T12:12:00.011+08:00

Uncle Roy was in town again and stopped by to say hello and give Roxy her evening bottle. Much like her brother, Roxy showed initial enthusiasm towards her evening bottle (sucking it down and getting angry when it was finished) followed mere weeks later by complete and utter rejection (getting angry when we dare try to give her a bottle). Clearly we did something wrong to invite this result a second time, but somehow, the power of sweet Uncle Roy can overcome all anger and error. Take note, this picture could record the last time Roxy finished a bottle of milk:

11 September 2011: Lantern Walk

2011-09-19T14:43:00.008+08:00

Mano had both of the kids cuddled up nice this morning:

Today we're nearing the apex of the mid-autumn festival, which culminates with a lantern walk (a favorite with the kiddies). Mano's mom gifted Seb a "modern" lantern (quite popular for the kiddies), which is basically an inflatable impregnated with a little lightbulb. Seb's is in the shape of an airplane (being flown by aliens of some sort - strange). These lanterns also, invariably, play music. When shopping for it, she asked the shop proprietor for the "least noisy" lantern. To appease, the shopkeeper covered the speaker of the lantern with tape. It was still plenty loud.

After dinner, we packed off to West Coast Park so Seb could walk around with his lantern in the dark. The park was nicely buzzing with families who had strung up lanterns around their picnic spots as they enjoyed some mooncakes. A number of other children were also walking around with lanterns. The after-dark element, out trekking element, and sweet mooncake element makes lantern walk a good replacement for Halloween (which generally only drunk, horny young adults celebrate here).

Seb shows off his lantern

A very brief video, but you can catch a glimpse of Seb walking with his lantern and hear a few notes of the lantern's delightful tunes:

10 September 2011: Lingzhi + Durian Mooncake = Forbidden Doughnut, Arghhhummmmm

2011-09-19T14:17:00.007+08:00

In celebration of Mano's birthday, today we had a family lunch at Singapore's favorite fancy Chinese vegetarian restaurant, Lingzhi. Since it was lunchtime, we got to dig into the dim sum offerings in addition to the main menu. Delicious bonus. Seb, who never misses a thing, knew exactly what dim sum was the one he wanted (the banana custard rolls) just by looking. How he knew they were the sweet dessert when everything else was savory, I don't quite know (unless he remembered from last time we did Lingzhi dim sum back in April or so). Rox contributed her delightful smile and cuddliness to the proceedings:

Rox making me not remotely mind handling chopsticks left-handed

We had a bonus dessert as well. For Mano's birthday, his mom had sought out special Mao Shan Wang durian mooncake. I've eaten so much mooncake this mid-autumn season, and it's still not enough.

4 September 2011: Tofurky!

2011-09-16T06:33:00.005+08:00

You may recall I've had trouble scoring Tofurky around these parts before. Therefore, imagine my shock and awe when, while running errands at Vivo City this week, I spied Tofurky deli slices at Cold Storage. I stopped and stared with the kind of dumb amazement I would normally reserve for discovering that Robbie Williams has been shrunk down to pocket size and made available for purchase. O yes, we bought some.

Now, I like being a vegetarian. It's cheaper than being a meat-eater and I never have to worry about salmonella contamination on my cutting board. Still, one of the things that I miss as a vegetarian (besides Big Ed Burgers from the Winking Lizard.....sigh), is how easy it is to whip up lunch with some bread, some deli meat, and a slice of tomato. So it was with a certain amount of glee that Mano and I prepared some Tofurky sandwiches for lunch today. We also got to give Seb his first taste of Tofurky:

Seb take aim at his sandwich

I can report that since the deli slices showed up, 3 varieties of Tofurky pizza have also appeared at more than one Cold Storage. Fingers crossed that this Tofurky import is not just the result of something falling off of a truck (sometimes I feel that way with things that show up at the grocery stores here and then disappear forever again....like the Linda McCartney veggie sausages o how I miss you) and that come Thanksgiving, a Tofurky roast or two might be found. If not, however, I'm stocked up on the deli slices.

4 September 2011: Rox's First West Coast Park Outing

2011-09-15T15:11:00.007+08:00

This morning we introduced Rox to West Coast Park. She wasn't terribly interested, but didn't seem to mind, at the very least, the nice breezes and eventually fell asleep in her Baby Bjorn

The return of the the floppy red hat

Sebastian tries to steal a little girl's kite.

Rox asleep at the seaside

3 September 2011: Cute Picture of the Day

2011-09-14T14:46:00.007+08:00

While assisting me with the dishes today (and by assisting, I mean chilling in the Baby Bjorn), amid Seb spreading chaos in the living room, Rox added to the fun by donning on of the paper crowns left over from Seb's birthday party. She seemed to rock it right:

Until it fell off:

2 September 2011: Roxy Enjoying Her Activity Mat

2011-09-06T18:25:00.007+08:00

She isn't always in the mood for it, but when she is, this mat has been a real winner - especially the crinkly elephant ears.

30 August 2011: Big Boy Things

2011-09-06T18:15:00.010+08:00

Today is a public holiday in Singapore - Hari Raya, ending the fasting month of Ramadan for the Malay population. Yesterday, when Seb was at daycare/napping/in bed for the night, I put together a table and chair set for him, courtesy of his birthday gift vouchers from Mano's family (who specifically meant for them to be used for a table and chair). We went with a wood table from Imaginarium where the table top can double as a lego slate. Since Seb isn't big enough for the little legos that work with the table yet, we're just starting it out on the wood side up. He thought it was pretty cool when we surprised him with it this morning:

Wowee, my own table and chair

Seb takes a seat

Since Mano was off work today, we took a family trip to the Singapore Science Centre so Mano could treat Seb to his first ever ticketed movie: Born to Be Wild, showing at the Science Centre's IMAX theatre. Mano says that Seb did OK for most of the movie (a 45 minute documentary about rehabilitating orphaned elephants and orangutans to be returned to the wild), but got restless at the end. In the meantime, Rox and I hung out at the Science Centre's educational, interactive outdoor garden area, which we explored further after we reunited with the boys:

I don't recall the science lesson these chairs were supposed to teach - something about proportion maybe? - but they reminded me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Seb has been enjoying a board book version of the story lately)

28 August 2011: Sebastian Eats a Monkey

2011-09-06T17:33:00.006+08:00

This afternoon we stopped by the first birthday party for the son of one of Mano's cousins. It was a nice set up at the SAFRA club out east, with lots of toys and balloons and such for the kiddies in attendance. Seb, as usual, was very interested in the cake cutting ceremony. The cake was fairly impressive, with various animals made out of frosting perched on it. Once the candles were blown and the cake-cutting began, the adults began handing out the frosting animals to various kids. Somehow, Seb scored a monkey made entirely of frosting, which he proceeded to bite the head off of. Sugar!

After Seb had managed to make off with the entire monkey head into his mouth, I rather enjoyed Mano's comment of "I think that's enough":

27 August 2011: A Cool, Cool Presidential Election

2011-09-06T17:25:00.006+08:00

Today Singaporeans island-wide went to the polls to vote for their next president. Another exciting election, as a presidential election that is actually contested by more than one candidate has only happened once before. The outgoing president had been elected, uncontested, twice. Can you imagine only one person running for president of the U.S? While Singapore's president is largely a ceremonial role, it was still an exciting lead-up, with the chance that the candidate clearly (although never overtly) preferred by Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party might not win (as he has in all previous elections....yes, all "he" presidents so far).

Earlier in the day, we were at VivoCity and got a view of the massive mooncake market in the main atrium. Yes, it is mooncake time again!

Seb overlooking the mooncake market

A number of malls set up mooncake marketplaces during the mid-Autumn Festival season, where bakeries, restaurants, and hotels with mooncakes to peddle set up stalls. While last year we went modern with Swenson's ice cream mooncakes and Goodwood Park Hotel snowskin varieties, this year we did a mix of modern and traditional. Today, we picked up some traditional lotus paste with melon seed (but sans egg yolk and also lower sugar) mooncakes from Victoria Peak. We also scored some snowskin mooncakes with a variety of paste fillings (including durian paste) from Bengawan Solo. Why so many mooncakes, you ask? We were heading to a Ramakrishnan family gathering over on the east side for a late tea-time gathering to see Mano's cousin Suman off (she's heading back to the UK) and, of course, to gab about the election.

It rained most of the day here in Singapore and, incredibly, was almost kind of sort of cool out. I was still fine in a skirt and a loose (but partially sleeved) top, but Rox is a cozy type and I actually ended up putting pants on her. Pants, outdoor in Singapore! Rare, indeed. She was initially dressed in a onesie with matching pink pants. I hate pink, but Rox can rock the pink better than me, so she did look cute. I wanted to take a photo of it, for evidence of her being comfy in pants in Singapore, but a poosplosion prevented that, sad to say. I did redress her in another pants outfit though, although not pink:

No sweat!

As the election results came in overnight, Tony Tan (the government's clearly preferred candidate) ended up winning by less than 1%. The Economist referred to the result as "tantamount to a humiliation" - consider that in the past, Singaporeans were so unquestioning of their leaders that they didn't even dare run against the preferred candidate, let alone not vote for him. The other three candidates (all, confusingly, also surnamed Tan) took about 65% of the votes, leaving Tony Tan as a minority victor. Shocking! Most exciting for me, however, was that after never getting to vote before (because the elections were not contested), Mano has now voted twice in one year.

23 August 2011: A Visit From Uncle Roy

2011-09-06T17:20:00.003+08:00

Seb and Rox's Uncle Roy was in town for some work meetings and was nice enough to stop by and catch up. Seb has always been fond of his Uncle Roy and it looks like Rox is, too:

20 August 2011: Snuggle and Smile

2011-08-27T15:44:00.004+08:00

"Psst! Do you have a flag?"

16 August 2011: One Month Old

2011-08-19T09:21:00.005+08:00

Rox is one month old today and I have (sniff sniff) sentimentally packed away her newborn clothes.

Rox loves to stick her tongue out, and each time she does it she reminds me of Eddie Izzard's bit about the British conquering the world through the cunning use of flags (she sticks her tongue out exactly the same way Izzard does when he hits the punch-line "Do you have a flag?"):

Rox at one month

Rox now weighs more than 9 pounds and continues to fill out nicely. She seemed to have had a rather painful 24-hour growth spurt where her onesies went from fitting well to being too tight, her diapers did the same, the need for an extra head support in her carseat went from clear need to no need at all, etc. This was accompanied by a couple of nights of VERY fidgety, poor sleep, which hasn't done wonders for me, but its nice to see her coming out the other side of it.

Rox appears to have smiled a few times in reaction to things other than her own satiation or digestion; A master baby conversationalist friend of mine stopped over for a visit recently and Rox really seemed to respond happily to her. She also continues to contentedly things like her mobile. She can hold her head up somewhat steadily when placed on her belly, although when I gave her an inaugural belly-time opportunity in her activity mat (a gift from Egon Zehnder, who, whenever Mano refers to them, I always think is some professional colleague with the coolest name in the world, instead of what it really is, a company that Mano works with regularly somehow that is NAMED after the founder, who has the coolest name in the world), she was more interested in sleeping in it than demonstrating her gross motor development skills.

14 August 2011: One Month Birthday Part II

2011-08-19T09:19:00.010+08:00

This morning Seb tested out a gift he received from Mano's cousins at Rox's party last night - a serious bubble blower:

Good times. This evening we held Rox's second one-month birthday party, hosting Mano's maternal family at NUSS' The Scholar Chinese restaurant. We go there regularly because it is just up the hill on NUS campus, the prices are very very fair for the quality of food and service, and they have a decent vegetarian selection (as we recently discovered, both corn soup AND fake shark fin soup - which incidentally is likely more delicious and nutritious than actual shark fin, since it is made with mushrooms instead of tasteless coagulation).

Seb and Titus (Seb's second cousin) make nice

Uncle Kinny

Auntie Judy

Cousin Dawn

Rox was fairly content about being papoosed-up and passed around to the various aunties, uncles, and cousins. And although she did not get to partake of any of her pandan birthday cake, Seb made sure he enjoyed blowing out the candles on her behalf.

13 August 2011: One Month Birthday Part I

2011-08-14T14:27:00.007+08:00

At Mano's request, Rox dressed in pink for the occasion

Today we celebrated Rox's One Month with Mano's paternal family at Onaka. The friendly staff there set up a corner of the alfresco area for us and did a really lovely dinner buffet spread of sauteed brown rice with mushrooms, a nonya-inspired vegetable and tofu curry, vegetarian steamed dumplings, tofu 'n' tempeh skewers, chicken, and cupcakes (with pink Rs on them). For drinks they made a minty lemonade in addition to their already above average tasty water (I know they add lemon slices to the water, but it seems they do something else to it as well).

Rox poses with her cupcakes

A close-up of her centerpiece giant R cupcake (all R's were edible, even that big one)

Seb, like so many toddlers, enjoying the frosting and ignoring the cake bit

A lovely time was had by all. Rox enjoyed being cuddled by the likes of Mano's cousin Rena and his Aunt Shobi (until she got hungry/tired near the end of the dinner proceedings). Seb enjoyed the play area (complete with playhouse) that Onaka has next to the alfresco dining. And we all enjoyed the food. Truth to Papa John's signature "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza" line, Onaka's use of organic ingredients and healthy/natural approaches to food preparation meant that although the food was basic, it was all really really tasty. Excellent.

Seb and Mano's cousin Suman having a deep talk

Rena and Rox enjoying each others' company

After returning home and enjoying her evening bath, we introduced a bottle to Rox for the first time. While it took us several attempts with Seb back in 2009 (probably due to inexperience on both sides at the time), Rox easily ingested the very small amount that was on offer, then was so pleased by it, she fell asleep. Further celebrating her graduation from being a newborn, she slept in two four-hour stretches overnight, reducing, for the first time, my overnight wake-ups down to one (from the previous two to three). While I didn't feel vigorous enough to tear off a door the next day, it was a step in the right direction.

11 August 2011: Happy Baby

2011-08-11T15:18:00.004+08:00

Rox has seemed to be able to perceive her mobile ever since she came home from the hospital, but here is a picture of her enjoying some mobile viewing in her crib, with a hint of a smile:

10 August 2011: Fun Embassy Outing

2011-08-11T15:15:00.009+08:00

This morning we did the exciting deed of applying for Rox's U.S. birth certificate and passport. The best bit was that, shortly after we pulled out of the driveway, I realized I had forgotten to pack a spare outfit for Rox (I was trying to pack light). This of course guaranteed a massive, massive diaper incident during the drive to the embassy. So massive that her blanket was also spoiled. This left me with a diaper, a Baby Bjorn, and a nursing wrap. Fortunately, when she was in the Baby Bjorn, most of her was concealed (because, truly, my main concern was avoiding comments from others that I had brought my baby into the heavily air conditioned embassy in nothing but a diaper). Then when she was nursing, I managed to hide most of her under the nursing wrap. Afterwards, as she napped, I used the nursing wrap to swaddle her. Situation salvaged.

For her passport, we had a variety of pictures for the staff to chose from. I was hoping they might pick this picture:

Or at least this picture:

But picky as they are about size requirements, they selected the one that most clearly violated them (I myself had measured carefully with a ruler and deemed her head too close to the top of the photo for acceptability) and was, furthermore, not nearly as fun.

That afternoon, Rox managed her first successful tummy-time, achieved by positioning one of Seb's high-contrast picture books in her line of sight:

She spent about 10 minute on her belly looking at the book (with a few page turns) before getting annoyed, which at less than a month old I consider to be a smashing success.

Somewhat less successful was my scheme to get Seb to take in more milk (as recommended by the doctor to fatten him up, as his weight continues to linger in the lower percentiles and his 24-month and 2T shorts still fall off of him). I made some banana cream pudding. Seb certainly seemed to like it very much, but shortly after I passed watch-Seb-finish-his-dessert duties over so I could feed Rox, Seb decided that it was more fun to wear the pudding than eat it:

Pudding in his hair, on his face, on his arms, all over the high chair tray, and not in his tummy

9 August 2011: National Day Birthday Party

2011-08-11T15:12:00.008+08:00

Today is Singapore's National Day, which we kicked off this morning by attending the 3rd Birthday Party of a son of some friends of ours - the second birthday party in less than a week. Hostess/mother Dora gave the kids some thrills with her balloon skills - she can make a dog and a hat. Seb was a fan of both varieties, but really rocked the hat:

The party was at the Cafe on the Ridge alfresco dining area at the Kent Ridge Guild House , which is right by the indoor playroom of the guild house that Seb loves. He enjoyed himself there, but did manage to tear himself away long enough to also enjoy the cake-cutting (another fabulous home-made effort to create a digger truck):

Seb claps his hands (lower right hand corner) at the conclusion of singing "Happy Birthday" and eagerly anticipates his piece of cake

After a busy morning, Rox joined Mano for some family nap time:

We then headed to Vivo City to run a few errands and get Seb some thunder tea rice for dinner. It was crowded, but not as bad as I expected for a public holiday - I suspect because like us, many people were hurrying home to catch the National Day Parade on TV. We got home just as the military review portion of the parade was finishing (we had spied the Chinook helicopters toting the giant Singapore flag along the southern coast on the drive home from Vivo) and the more dramatic portion of the parade was beginning. Seb is evidently extremely patriotic, as evidenced by the following photos (plus video) of him enthusiastically wielding his Singapore flag:

As you can see in the background, Rox has not yet discovered her own Singapore Spirit. Near the very end of the parade, they recite the Singapore National Pledge, and invite all Singaporeans worldwide to join in. In response to the hosts' calls of "Are you Ready [to recite the pledge] Singapore?" Seb proudly said "I ready!" So much fervor, but not much follow-though as he didn't actually say the pledge. Maybe next year.

7 August 2011: Birthday Party - Cars Theme

2011-08-11T15:10:00.007+08:00

Today Seb attended the first of several birthday parties in the coming weeks. Today was for the daughter of one of my coworkers from Guangzhou, Ulla, now based in Singapore. Her daughter is really into the Pixar Cars stuff, so that was the theme of the party, including the games and the cake. Seb was really great about showing respectful interest in the games and the cake (he waited patiently and didn't grab at things) and enjoyed the cake and snacks on hand.

A version of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, only this was stick-the-tooth-on-the-Mater. I was very proud to watch him politely allow Ulla to put the blindfold on and gamely work at sticking the tooth to the pin-up. Rox was less interested in the proceedings, but happy enough to chill in the Baby Bjorn.

Seb is acutely interested in birthday cakes now, and was especially keen to get a good look at the tremendous, homemade Lightning McQueen cake

Feasting on some cake

6 August 2011: Cute Pictures

2011-08-11T15:07:00.004+08:00

Seb still seems to be finding Rox a cute photo posing partner, as evidenced by his cuddling with her today. Furthermore, Rox has become a calmer model as well, which produced some nice pictures:

Later, Mano tried to recreate an Anne Geddes situation by posing Rox in a basket, which Rox was game enough for, but her expression was one of bemusement more than the sleepy serenity Mano was hoping for:

30 to 31 July: Staycation

2011-08-03T10:59:00.010+08:00

With Rox just a couple of weeks old, we made the insane decision to have an overnight hotel staycation at the Marina Mandarin in Singapore's Marina Bay area, giving us access to viewing the fireworks for the National Day Parade rehearsal that was taking place Saturday night. At the very least, it would make for good practice for when we finally do attempt to travel with two small children (shudder).

First, Saturday morning Seb was being very cute with Rox, and showed off to the camera how much he likes to hold her hand and such:

Seb gladly accepts a kiss

Giving Rox an affectionate pat of the head

Taking a tight grip on her hand

Packing for two, even if it is just for overnight, takes longer than packing for one, and so we ran a little late checking in and getting lunch (we went to Tambuah Mas at Marina Square, mmmm), but still expected/hoped that Seb would be happy to take a nice afternoon nap in a big, fluffy hotel bed. Not so much.

One of Seb's favorite things about hotel rooms: complimentary fruit

Seb tossed and turned and jumped up and down and ran all around and fussed and fretted and never took a nap. Meanwhile, Rox says that she likes hotel beds just fine.

Despite the total nap fail, Seb was in fairly good spirits as Mano's parents met us and we headed to nearby Millenia Walk mall for dinner at Seven Sensations. The original Seven Sensations is in Little India, which makes it an often inconvenient destination, so it is nice to know they now have a second outlet in Marina Bay. I got an avocado sandwich that was served on some really nice focaccia bread. As a bonus, after dinner, we scored some Frolick yogurt. They had passionfruit flavor today.

After dinner was the main event: Catching the fireworks portion of the National Day Parade rehearsal. Mano had earlier scoped out the pool area of the Marina Mandarin as an ideal viewing location. We missed the first half of the fireworks heading down to the pool from our room (our guessing time as to the fireworks start was about 10 minutes later than reality), but fortunately there were some encore fireworks that greatly pleased Seb, as well as some laser light shenanigans.

Seb says: Fireworks very nice!

The last of the fireworks trickle down

Laser lights coming out of the top of the Marina Bay Sands building

After the fireworks was another highlight: Big bathtub bath (our place does not have a bathtub, so whenever we stay at hotels or other places with actual tubs, this is a nice treat for Seb). We used the opportunity to create an embarrassing picture opportunity, and gave Seb and Rox simultaneous baths:

No hint yet of how much both of them are going to hate me for this when they're 15

While nap time was a total fail, Seb settled down between us on the bed (and Rox in the crib) fairly easily (although much later than his normal bedtime, despite skipping his nap). He was sitting there quietly watching the series premiere of The Walking Dead with us (A winning parenting decision: letting your toddler watch a zombie drama. However, big thumbs up to the Singaporean version of NBC for picking this up and bringing it to Singapore free-to-air less than a year after its U.S. debut) and then suddenly he was quietly asleep (and zombie-nightmare-free to boot). Also, while I was expecting the overnight to be awful, with all of us (Seb, worst of all) being woken up by Rox (who of course is no where near being able to sleep through the night), she was remarkably quiet about her overnight demands and we all got a decent amount of rest. Well, Mano and Seb did, anyway. I'm weeks away from escaping my own zombie nightmare.

In the morning, we spurned the opportunity to pay $32 ($32!) for ONE full American breakfast at the Marina Mandarin and instead walked over to Swenson's at Marina Square (more than 3 years in Singapore and I've NEVER eaten at a Swenson's until now - the closest I've come is buying their ice cream mooncakes). They had some remarkably decent breakfast sets (including kid meals). After breakfast, Seb noticed some of the coin operated rides outside of Swenson's (he's been noticing these more and more, unfortunately; I can still remember my own love of these things as a child and therefore it makes it even harder for me to say no). A father was just putting the coins into the mini-carousel for his two kids and openly invited Seb to join in for free:

Of course, afterward he wanted to go again, and then wanted to ride all the other ones as well, and then had a total meltdown. But his serious manner of taking on the carousel ride was priceless.

After we got back to the hotel, Seb enjoyed another swim in the bathtub and then it was check-out, thunder tea rice lunch for Seb (Mano scored me some delicious sesame-tofu popiah), and home. Overall, it went smoother than I expected and I was happy to see Seb have such a good time. Days later, he is still talking about the fireworks. On National Day proper (9 August) we plan to just watch the parade (and concluding fireworks) on TV, so we'll have to see if that gives Seb anywhere near the same level of satisfaction.

25 to 29 July 2011: Belly Binding

2011-08-03T10:57:00.006+08:00

Not a lot to report. The second post-partum week is when ladies in Singapore tend to do their post-natal massage and binding sessions. I had a good experience with it last time, so opted to try it again. Scheduling an hour+ massage and binding around a newborn's feeding schedule and a toddler's daycare and nap schedule (not to mention making sure that there is someone in the house to address the newborn or toddler should either require assistance during the massage) is a huge hassle. Furthermore, I was down with a fever on two separate occasions this week, making myself and everyone else miserable and eliminating any motivation I might have had to take pictures. Finally, spending the rest of the day after the massage covered in oil and cinched up is not ideal. However, the massage itself is really relaxing, and, most importantly, at the end of the week you do feel significantly more put back together in the tummy:

All bound up

Mano was on half-days this week, giving him the time to chill with the kids:

23 July 2011: Changi

2011-07-25T10:14:00.003+08:00

This morning we packed off to Changi Airport to see off Mano's brother and family, who are heading back to Shanghai after spending about a month in Singapore. Saturday morning at the airport in Singapore means air conditioning, peace and quiet, and space, glorious space. This is a picture of Mano and Seb running around the main departure hall of Terminal 3 at 10:30 AM (well after we'd seen Roy and family off, but why waste an opportunity to not be cramped, crowded, and hot?):

22 July 2011

2011-07-25T10:04:00.003+08:00

Not much exciting to report here, we mostly chilled at home today. Rox's doctor appointment yesterday went well and her jaundice appears to be clearing and she enjoyed accompanying us out to Raj for lunch today during a rain shower that helped to further exacerbate the crazy fact that right now it is much much hotter in Ohio than in Singapore. Who thought Singapore could be a place sweaty P-towners might want to come cool off?

21 July 2011: Seb Fills His Tummy With Thunder Tea Rice

2011-07-22T13:45:00.006+08:00

Like her older brother, Rox sports the long toes. Excellent.

This afternoon, we decided to pack ourselves off to Vivo City, to get Seb some thunder tea rice for dinner and get us all out of the house as a family. Before that, though, Mano tested Seb's modeling professionalism by running him through a photo session with Rox. Fun.

Seb surveys his modeling partner. Hmm, he thinks, she doesn't seem very focused.

Seb's winning smile and affectionate arm around the shoulder gives the illusion that Rox is enjoying this

Seb, the consummate professional, maintains his pose despite Rox's complete freak-out meltdown.

Out at Vivo City, after Seb devoured massive amounts of thunder tea rice, then also snatched a good amount of Mano's grass jelly ice dessert and my pomelo mango ice dessert, we did a very very short walk outside on the rooftop park:

Seb took advantage of some of the grassy knolls to practice his running skills:

20 July 2011

2011-07-22T13:44:00.003+08:00

Today we relaxed at home, which gave us the chance to take Rox for a short walk outside in the morning (before it gets too hot and sunny):

I also relaxed by preparing myself a giant chicken jug of lime cordial, to encourage hydration by presenting it in a fancy way:

19 July 2011: First Outing

2011-07-22T10:35:00.003+08:00

So we just get settled home and we have back to the doctor for a scheduled jaundice check. Singapore seems very conservative about jaundice, but as it is also the country with the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, I can hardly question their wisdom. Fortunately, though a bit yellow, she's not requiring phototherapy yet. Excellent. I held Rox this morning as the nurse pricked her heel and took the blood sample (Mano always did it with Seb). She was not pleased about the pricking.

While at NUH, we also took the opportunity to process Rox's Baby Bonus paperwork at the patient service center, which made us feel all fat cat like. Because we were both sick with Seb's cold and exhausted (Rox let us know last night that she is not Seb and that she would prefer us to do certain nighttime things differently, thank you) and starving (it was already 3:00 PM and neither Mano nor I had eaten lunch) and feeling spendy with no huge rush to get home (Mano's mom was minding Seb during Rox's appointment), we splurged on a late lunch at Onaka, Mano's NEW favorite restaurant (so sorry, Raj).

Rox was quite amenable to napping in the cool shade and nice breezes of Rochester Park, where Onaka is, and Mano devoured his Caribbean veggie burger while I, after patiently waiting, got to enjoy a quite delicious falafel and tabbouleh dish - interestingly, the tabbouleh was made with quinoa instead of bulger grain. I felt this was an improvement and may try the same thing at home sometime. Mmmm.

When we finally got home, Mano's mom mercifully fed Seb his snack, took him outside to play, entertained him and gave him a bath, allowing Mano and I to take a nap, very very slowly make dinner, kind of eat dinner, and vaguely restore our sanity. Fortunately, sleep this evening was markedly improved. Progress.

18 July 2011: Home

2011-07-20T10:31:00.007+08:00

Although I initially felt like it would be nice to settle into my bed at NUH for a few more days, waking up in the hospital this morning I finally started to feel that the bedsheets were getting grosser than me (thanks to a few showers and changes of clothes on my part) and was looking forward to being discharged. Plus HBO was playing My Stepmother is an Alien for like the 3rd time in the 2 days I'd been in the room.

Just before leaving for home

Welcome, Rox. Home you enjoy heat and humidity (her response so far? No problem!)

We got home shortly before Seb's post-lunch daycare pick-up, so we were psyched that he would have a surprise waiting for him. While Seb gave Rox the Sophie Giraffe yesterday, I also made sure that his little sister was getting him a gift as well - and made sure it was something "bigger" (therefore, in a toddler's mind, "better") than the Sophie Giraffe:

The latest addition to Seb's jungle friends collection? Let's see what he thinks.

Although very pleased with Zebra, this was as close as Seb was willing to get to Rox to pose for a picture. Perhaps he's a bit afraid that she is delicate? Not sure.

Like her brother before her, Rox enjoys some Boppy time

After Seb got up from his nap, he became a bit more confident about interacting with Rox, and specifically sought her out in her crib and gave her some gentle pats:

I don't like to get soppy about pictures, but that picture of Seb, with such a serious little face, reaching out to pat his baby sister, makes me feel all soppy. Apologies.

For napping, she seemed to like (so far) being swaddled in these incredible aden+anais bamboo muslin swaddle blankets that I saw at Mothercare, balked at the price of (marked up even more here in Singapore), and then in a moment of helplessness, purchased and then instantly felt guilty about. But if you could FEEL them. So soft and breathable and cool, she can be swaddled in Singapore's weather sans a/c and not be remotely hot. I now feel like I've made a shrewd investment, for if this keeps up, think of the cost savings of not having to use air conditioning for swaddled naps (not to mention that its of course more environmentally-friendly. Sniff, sniff, do I smell smug?).

After Seb got settled down to bed, we tackled the business of Rox's first bath (the increasing fluffiness of her hair during our stay at NUH made it evident that she was being bathed during her spells in the maternity ward nursery, but we hadn't witnessed her taken to water yet). Both well out of practice bathing a newborn, the NUH staff had fortunately done a refresher demonstration for us yesterday with a dummy doll.

A little higher and to the left please: Rox momentarily shows enjoyment of her spa treatment

Post-bath, having a serious conversation with Daddy

17 July 2011: Some Sibling Bonding

2011-07-19T21:28:00.008+08:00

Today, Seb came to the hospital again, but in less hectic circumstances, so he was a bit more interested in checking out this new little sister of his. He was also sporting cold symptoms (after seemingly recovering late last week), which made him a bit more contemplative and quiet.*

First, Seb presented Rox with a present, a Sophie the Giraffe. Seb loves all of his "jungle friends" stuffed animals (among them is his favorite, a stuffed giraffe), so I though a Sophie would be the kind of thing Seb would pick out as a nice gift for a baby sister:

Seb very politely presents Sophie to Rox

Although Seb's cold has prevented any significant contact between the two, Seb is quite happy with sitting near Rox and contemplating her cuteness:

Seb and Rox with their 奶奶

Although I do hate to see Seb upset/confused at the fact that his mommy isn't home, I do enjoy the effect it has on his willingness to cuddle with me a little:

Tonight is also the night when the maternity ward presents the new parents with a "candlelight dinner," a fun little perk where they wheel in a little round table with white linens and fancied up hospital food. As I was already feeling rough from catching Seb's cold (indeed, I had actually developed a mild fever), I personally enjoyed the delightfully bland Chinese vegetarian selections that were a part of our meal (Mano, not yet sniffling, enjoyed the spicier Indian vegetarian half of the meal):

Root beer and sparkling Ribena toast

*A fun diversion. Seb was home from school on Thursday, the 14th of July, with a cold and fever, but seemed better by Friday morning. Mano and I reflected then that it was a very bad time for him to be getting sick - true! Seb gave it to me and Mano is also now developing symptoms. A fun bonus to having a newborn with a toddler - all of the sleep deprivation and chaos, with the added benefit of crippling colds.