Nigel and Tong Tong ...

Our Lil Professors

Tong" Auntie Jo taking photo of Pretty Me !!"

Tong "Tat's MINE !!!!"

Tong "GO AWAY !!"

Tong Tong and Nigel have a Love-Hate relationship. They love each other lotsa, always kissing and talking to each other. But when it comes to Toys... Well... It's everyone for themselves. But Tong always seems to win cos the moment she screams, Nigel will be really scared !!

Age of Bumps and Bruises

Lil Nigel is really active now. Crawling, climbing, touching.. He can't keep still for a single second. I wan to die of tiredness chasing after him. So tired that I have not updates my blog for a really long long time.... But Worst still is the heartache looking at his injuries.. Sighs.. it seems that almost everyday he will fall, bump his head or knock into something. Poor Boy !!

Nigel and His iPhone

I have gotten an iPhone few months back in March. Not for myself to use but for Lil Nigel actually. There is lots of Apps available for Him to use. I downloaded 3 pages of Apps just for him ! Lots of free ones and Paid ones. My fave and his have is Kids Machine and Baby Piano. After 2 months of using it, Lil Nigel has figured out how to use it all by himself ! He knows how to unlock the phone, go the correct page and choose the App he wants to play !! After he's tired of it, he will just exit and choose a new one !! And of cos throwing the phone away after playing ! Luckily I have gotten an anti-shock protector for his iPhone...

Turning Point .....

It seems like after Nigel has turn 1, something in his Lil Brain woke up. He seems somewhat different to me ..
1. He's more active and vocal suddenly. He's very vocal and active before. But now, he talks more. He's active in a different way .. Really hard to explain but he seems to developed an understanding of how certain things function. For example, he will actually put things back after he has played with them. He learn butter-trade. The other day, he hand me one of his fave toy. After I took it, he point to my IPhone !! Another time, last friday, he was holding on to my keys and refuse to return them to me. I gave him my IPhone for my keys !
2. He learn to put himself to sleep !! No One taught him how to !! He just refuse to let me rock him and want to lay on the bed. He toss and turn around a few times and he slept ! Happen a couple of times already.
3. He will actually hold the bottle and feed himself. He already know how to do it but was too lazy to.. Hahaha .. But these few days, he's been doing it all on his own and acutally drank more !
4. He's on training cup now and he love it ! He will hold it, push open the cover and drink ! And after that, he will put it back and the table. And he will clap his hands cos he knows he has done something well !! So Cute ! But I think he love to bite the straw actually ...

And the list goes on.. It's really odd that so many things happen in just a week from his Birthday. He has learnt to crawl too and loving it now. He's everywhere now ! Can't imagine when he walks. He will be a terror definitely. He's learning to walk now. But it seems more like Cat-Walk! He's getting better everyday, thanks to my Dad and Mum. They have patiently taught him the act of crawling ! SighS.. Nigel is growing up so fast.. Too fast. Most of the time I'm at work to be there to watch him grow up. But at least he's in capable, loving hands. Hopfully in near future, if everything turn out ok, I will be SAHM ! Definitely lots of plans for Nigel, music lessons (will be teaching piano on my own), brain development classes (hopfully can sign him up for GUG but time is hard to arrange now) and of cos flash cards... Sounds like a lot of stress for Nigel but trust me, Nigel love it ! He love to learn (more like play).

Nigel's 1 !! Part 2: First Birthday Bash

Lil Nigel using Tong as his target practise.....

Lil Nigel's 1. Frm Bakerzin ...

My Dear Buddies.. But Ting is not here.. SobS

Lil Nigel's First Birthday Bash is held on his actual birthday 08.05.2010. My Dearest Uncle has kindly offered his home to hold Nigel's party. It rained twice that day but thank heavens everything turn out just fine !! Nigel got loads of Pressie and Hongbao. Thanks all Uncles and Aunties !!

Some of the Pressies !

Drum Set

Nigel is 1 (Part 1)

Nigel is Big 1 !! Still cannot believe my Lil Baby is now a Toddler. He finally can crawl, all thanks to my Dad who patiently taught him. But he still prefers to walk but obviously he can't. Crawling is his last resort. I have recently discovered that Lil Nigel loves music. He can hum Twinkle Twinkle Lil Star !! And my Dear Buddy Ting have gotten him a lovely wooden piano as an early birthday present which he totally enjoys playing. I will get more of the lovely Pressies he has received in a later Blog ( still in process of taking photos and uploading...). He can say :Papa, Mama, Carry (in chinese), Take (also in chinese) and loads of gibberish.

On the Big Day, after lunchie, we had a little ritual First Birthday Ritual. We had him choose from a variety of items. The first he pick was suppose to be what he will be. We had red eggs- Cook, Piano-Music, Calculator- banking/accounts, abacus- money and ruler-engineer ( i think). First we arrange the stuff in neat line which was a bad idea cos Nigel will just crawl to the stuff nearest to him. So on the third attempt, we just jumble the stuff together and same as the first time, he choose Ruler !! WHY ??? Hmmzz ....

Will update more stuff later on.... (hope I have to time)..MeanWhile Some pictures ..

Since Young, Nigel like to sit Like a TowKay

Nigel and Shawn In Matching outfit

Love Swimming Still and hanging by the side of the tub

Nigel Loves Rocking Horsie

Nigel is K for Kawaii !

Lil Nigel's 2nd magazine appearance. Nigel went for a Photo Shoot Last month for Women Weekly. It's sponsored by Guess Baby. He's the youngest model. Look out for him in the May issue page 176

Lil Nigel is Sick ...

Poor Nigel is Down Down Down with Fever. I suspect he was sick on Sat already. He was crying for my mum in the middle of the Night so I had to carry him over. He fell asleep really fast the moment my mum carried him. Next morning, Shawn and I pop over my Mum's to see him before We leave for work but the Lil Guy was still sleeping which was odd but we thought he was just tired. Later on I receive a call that he had fever. I was really worried but No PD was open unless I want to bring him to KKH. But I dun really trust the Doctors there plus with all the sick patients there. So decided to wait till Monday to bring him down. Luckily my manager changed my Off for me to Monday. Shawn and I brought him to Dr Teoh at 10am yesterday. His fever was gone. Everything was ok. The moment we got home, my Dad realise tat his Fever has came back. It kept creeping higher and higher. At 1130pm, it was at 39.2 ! Poor Boy.. Shawn and I couldn't really sleep the whole night. Luckily Morning at 9am, his fever drop to 37.6 but can feel he's starting to heat up again. Dr Teoh told us to bring him in immediately if his fever went up again or if he start to vomit.. Now at 3pm, he seems fine. **cross my fingers**

Lil Notti Nigel Again

Lil Notti Nigel calling me Mum Mum (I think). He has started to get really talkative now. He can say Hello, Hi and Papa too. He can sit up by himself, Butt Walk a bit and Push himself up. Really Dangerous now. But he still refuse to crawl ! SighS. Good and Bad thing... At least no need to worry about him hurting his knee caps.

Flash Cards and A Road Trip to KL

I went to a talk in KL on the 223/3 with Shawn, my Sis and Her Hubby. It's a talk by Glenn Doman's son on Childhood education. It's the first time in a long long time that I actually went overseas ! Pretty excited. It was a fruitful trip overall. Really learn quite a lot about swimming, exercising and educating my Boy.

I have been teaching Nigel with DIY Flash Cards for 2 months now. Using a bit of Nero Tree Method with Glenn Doman Way. His progress is pretty amazing. He can really tell which is which just after one try. But how much does he understand ?
So I came up with a plan. I made some small portable flash cards. I showed it to Nigel first, then the physical object. He love snacks. So I decided to start with that first. Apparently he understands. I put a few cards on the floor and ask him what he wants. He choose snacks and kept choosing it !! After a while, He choose Pacifiers and Dou Dou !! And he went to sleep ! Wow !! The next day, he choose snack again and Papa. So Papa gave Nigel some snacks to eat! This will really help a lot in terms of communication. Slowly I will teach him more. I will add in Water, Milk, NTUC, Grandma and Grandpa. More Day to Day items for this portable flash cards.

I'm 10 months old !

Camera Loves me ! I look sooo Handsome !

Yoz !

Splash Splash !

I love my Little Cousin cum Sister

Chicken Backside Face !!

Nigel is 10 month old. Time really flies. In another 2 months he will be BiG 1 ! I'm planning his birthday party already. Will be on 08 May at my Little Uncle's place.

He still only has one tooth.. Really wonder when the rest is coming. It's been more than a month since !! He refusing to crawl still. TOo lazy. He just points or wails and the stuff will fly to him !! But now he's trying to move with his butt.. Butt Walk. Hmmz.. He love making Faces, the most infamous is the Chicken Backside Face ( Grandma Monica name it).

He been going to Little Neuro Tree for lessons everyday Friday. So far so good. I'm using Flash Cards to teach him too. I have Flash Cards from Baby Einstein and made my own Flash cards using White Paper and red Markers. It's really tiring, imagine drawing and colouring Circles, words and numbers. I have done 1 to 10, expressions, body parts and some common items, more than 70 pcs. I can't imagine when I do 100s. SobS. But when I see Nigel learning and making progress. It's all worthwhile ! He can recongise his own Name! I'm thinking of using it as a tool for him to communicate with us since he can recongise quite a number of words already. But I haven't totally figured out how yet.

In the meantime, Lil Nigel, Grow up strong, healthy and Most Important, Be Happy Always ! Everyone Loves U !

Penny for my Thought: Lil Nigel started School

I have started Nigel at Little Neuro Tree at Hougang Branch. Little Neuro Tree Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based early childhood enrichment educator, which specializes in neuro-linguistic brain stimulation and development for children.
http://www.littleneurotree.com/

Cost: $550 for 12 lessons (weekdays). It's every Friday, from 1030 to 1130. He had his first lesson yesterday. It was in Japanese. There are 5 babies in his class. 3 girls and 2 boys. Oldest is 13 mths and youngest is 8mths. All in all, it went well. Nigel is responsive and attentive. He was dancing and clapping. Only thing is he refuse to return the learning tools after we are done ! And he took the eggs and throw at his teacher !! Hmmzz... There are also a small fight going on with him and the Lil 8 mths old Baby Girl beside him.. I thought he will be exhausted after the lesson as it was his nap time but instead he was even more energetic.

Many people think I am a little mad to bring him to school at 9mths. Actually, I wanted to start even younger but had no time. In fact, I'm already looking around for a playschool for him. Shawn and I have decided to go for Character Montessori.
http://www.cm-preschool.com/
Cost wise, $652.50/mth after Govt subsidy. He's going to start either Dec or Jan2011. It's really popular so Shawn and I have to book a space in advance for him.

Why so Kiasu? For language and right brain development, it's important to start at a young age as they can absorb faster. Before the age of 6, kids will be mainly using their Right Brain which is creativity, long term memory, language skills, etc. After that, will be left brain. My aim is to build a strong foundation for him so it's easier for him to learn. Also, for Character Montessori, the teachers teach the kids not only their ABCs but patience too. Shawn and I are pretty impressed with the kids there. They actually keep their toys properly, go to the toilet on their own, wash their hands and throw the rubbish away !!! If Nigel can behave like them, definitely worth every penny !!

Nigel is one smart Baby. He learns new things really fast. I just want to maximise his potential. But I don't need him to be a top student in class or get a PHD. Most important things is he enjoys learning. If he's unhappy in the class, I will definitely not force him to go. I just hope that these classes that I'm sending him to (and paying for fortune) will help him to be able to help him cope better in future. Of cos I will not cramp so much classes for him !! I wan him to enjoy his childhood. You are only a kid once. Anyway, the next school I'm looking for will be TaiChi for Kids.... hehehe .... Health is really important too. It's important to start him at a young age and TaiChi will teach him patience and to relax.

9 mths old, CNY And One Clingy Baby

It's ALL MINE !!

Little Drummer Boy

Tong: " I wan to Kick Nigel !!"

Tong: " Mummy ! Dun Stop Me !"

Yumps !!!

NTUC baby ! Nigel Love going to NTUC.

Nigel In RP shirt from Uncle Terence. Nigel "driving" to Ye Ye's Company Dinner on CNY 3th Day.

Nigel In BurBerry Romper

Nigel In Gap Romper on CNY 2nd Day.. Going to Airport to Met up with Daddy's frens

Nigel In OshKosh, Courtesy of Hello! Compass Point. At Great Grandma's place.

Nigel Turn 9 mths a week ago. Busy Busy Me have no time to update my Blog till now. Lil Nigel has learn many new stuff but still doesn't wan to crawl. He can stand for a Lil While on his own. he attempted to walk once. He can call "Papa" and "Mama" but will do it only when he really wants something and only when crying doesn't help. He love drums! He can spend more than half an hour playing with his drums. It's the best thing I have gotten !! He has cut his first tooth on 22 Jan but the second one is still long in coming... He can hold the teething Biscuit and feed himself but most of the time, he wants me to do it !! Lazy baby !! And today, I sign up him up at Lil Nero Tree. He will start his first lesson next Friday. Auntie Pam has kindly volunteered to bring him if I can't make it. All in all, One busy month !!

This is Nigel's first Chinese New Year. Loads of Hongbaos for Lil Nigel ! One Little Rich Baby. I had 5 off days in a row, starting from CNY eve to the 4th day. But I felt more tired than working for 5 full shift straight in a row. Dragging a Baby around visiting is really tiring. Plus Nigel gets fussy. Can't blame him too. I wanted to take more photos but seems impossible cos he's cranky plus I'm always the one carrying him !! He suddenly become really clingy to me. It started 2 weeks ago. He always wan me to carry him. I practically had to hide and keep quiet so I can get some rest. Even Shawn or my Dad tried to carry him away, the moment he sees or hear my voice, he will start to cry for me. In a way, I'm happy but it's tiring. SighS....

Anyway, on the first day back at work, I gotten scream at by a Customer.. And Someone was making a big scene at the shop too and all the printers went mad !! Really had a bad day on the first day at work.. Is it an Omen ?? Hmmzz...

"What a Pain ! "

Nigel is one smart Baby. He learn stuff really Fast. Grandma Monica has taught him many tricks. He Knows how to Gong Xi, tap his head, fan us and many more !! But whether he will do it anot depends on his mood .....

A Penny for my thought: What should I do now ?

Nigel is not around tonight. Bunking over at my Mum's cos I'm sick and also tired. But somehow unable to sleep. Too many thoughts running thru my Brain. Maybe by penning it down, I will be more relax. Quite a few Major stuffs going on at the same time. Lots of uncertainty, Lots of Risk and Lots of Planning to do which is still yet to be done.
One major issue is of Cos Money. My family situation is pretty bad in a way. My Dad just lost his job due to a certain corrupted overseas G*** (which I better not mention, dun wan to get arrested). My second Sis is also jobless. My brother is starting his Uni soon. My mum lost her babysitting job. So only Me and my Youngest Sister is working. Plus the new Biz is going to be up and running. Some of my Spare cash have to be going to the Biz.
Another Issue is Time. It's hard to have a full time job and do so many things at one go. Just this week alone. I had to co-ordinate a few orders while working my my full time job. On Monday, I was bathing Cranky Nigel and at the same time trying to co-ordinate some last min deliveries ! Plus my Full Time job is not smooth sailing. Got 2 fraud case, appointment and order problem. Can't even spend my off days in peace from work. I even had nightmares ! Just yesterday, I had nightmare about my stupid Job !! MioHome, Appointments, bad customers all at one go !! Had a bad headache when I woke up. Luckily, Nigel was smiling at me. So all is Bliss again. So Shawn and I decided that One of Us may have to quit. But Who ?? Not a easy decision. Shawn's Job is getting worst. Lots of Overtime, Loads of work, Pay getting lesser Plus Lots of people resign, and A Horrible Top management who have nothing better to do but come up with crazy policies. But Shawn is still Fine with his Job. For Me, pay is more or less stable. But I hate my Job. From the Business aspect, Shawn is good with getting more sales and brands. For me, I'm better at planning and logistics. So How ? SighS.
It seems like a really bad time to start a new business which none of us has experience in except for Shawn's Sister, Julie. Most of my family being jobless and with Nigel to feed. It seems like a big risk to take now. But it's a golden chance with a big potential to grow. A chance which will allow all of us to be release from our current situation. Too much at stake to give up but also much to loss if fail. Will The Lotus Bloom or Wither? I guess it's really up to all of us involved in this to give it our best shot. I believe in Fate. I guess there is a reason why bad things are happening together. It could be a blessing actually. To push us forward cos we can't look backwards anymore. May the Lotus Bloom....

Nigel and His Pranks

Nigel and Shawn in the same pose

Shawn carrying Nigel with the Baby carrier for the 1st Time. Notice Nigel's frightened look..

Nigel Smiling while Poor Daddy is Sick with Fever (laying on the background)

Sweet Lil "Angel"

"I Love my New Drum !"

Nigel is full of tricks and pranks. One of his Latest is pulling table cloth. He got into his Lil head that if there' something on the table that he can't reach, he just have to pull the table cloth towards him !!! You can see it on the video....

Sometimes I really can't imagine what's going thru his lil mind. He really does things that amazes us. Lately he love car rides. So if he sees someone getting out of the car, he wants the Driver to carry him cos he know that person owns the car !! He knows Who he can Bully too ! He always bully my maid and Shawn. He will throw stuff and let the 2 of them pick up for him repeatedly but he knows with my and my parents he can't do that ! He loves making "music" so I have gotten for him a Alphabet Drum and a small Lil Drum. I will play with one and he will play with the other one. He will follow my beat !! And so many other clever Lil tricks he has. He can Gong Xi Gong Xi, Wave goodbye (depends on his mood). Lately he crys when I go to work..SobS....

Is he a genuis ?? All I know is that He's just one Playful, Notti Lil Boy who love to torment his Parents !