Noddy & Sesame Street Show

View from 2nd Level

So tired that we sat on the floor while queuing.

Celest looking intently/ YN & Xander

Brought Celest to watch the Noddy show @ Forum yesterday. The show started 1pm and we were still at home at 12.50pm as Celest was having her nap. Haha... Managed to flag a cab fast BUT the driver was driving vvvvvv slowly as he just picked up a call while driving off. I was like hmm, i was rushing for time and there you are, talking on the phone and driving slowly. As soon as he hung up, I told him to drive faster as i was rushing for time. He did drive slightly faster but slowed down in the end. There wasn't much traffic yet he drove slowly. By the way, when I mean slow, I really mean very slow.

By the time we arrived, the show was in progress. I brought Celest to the 2nd level to watch as the platform level was crowded. On the whole. the show was nice and lively. It captured Celest's attention wholly. After the show finished, I went to look for Yen Ni & Xander and met Celest's GUG classmate Stella. Stella's mummy said that it was their 2nd time there as Stella loves Noddy very much.

Saw a lady started to queue up for the Meet & Greet session already and we followed suit. As Yen Ni was queuing, I fed Celest's her lunch- cereal. Wanted to feed her at MacDonald's but it was very crowded as the show just ended. We ended up sitting on the floor at one corner and fed her there.

It was not really a good day for me. Celest poo poo and I went around, searching for a diaper change room. Managed to find one in the toilet but it was the plastic, wall-mounted type which Celest dislike it. She was wailing during the diaper changing and I had to be firm with her by scolding her as well as rewarding her with biscuits when she behaved better.. Haiz.

After feeding Celest, I bought a chicken burger for my lunch. Been busy & rushing etc, finally got a chance to relax a little. We were given the Photopass @ 2.30pm and soon led into an area to sit down. We are Family no. 2. Finally Noddy, together with other characters, came out and when we walked up the stage for phototaking, Celest started crying and shunned away from the characters. She must be overwhelmed by their 'big sizes' as well as moving around. The emcee asked us to come back again later. Same thing happened to Xander as well. We waited till all 40 families had their photos taken before we made our 2nd attempt. I asked the emcee to get the 3 character to stay still so that Celest would not notice them, something like a backdrop. This time yielded better results and managed to take some pics ( not perfect lah of course, better than nothing after queuing for so long) Haha.

Our next show was the Sesame Street at Takashimaya, 4pm and we met up with Dal and Fi. Managed to secure a quiet corner to stand and it was tiring to carry her for so long. The music/volume was quite loud though since we were standing close to the speakers. Hopefully, Celest won't suffer any ear drum damage. The show was rather lengthy, about 40mins. Celest was excited when Elmo and Cookie Monster appeared and they definitely attracted Celest's attention.

Actually, she does not have any favourite character as mummy have not introduced. Haha... A pity that we didn't manage to get photography chance with them. Hmm, maybe can go again. Haha. Don't think daddy is going to entertain this. After the show, we went to a cafe for a drink as well as feeding milk to all four toddlers. Thankfully, Celest was cooperative and she slept for about 40 mins after her milk intake.

Daddy joined us after his course and we had our dinner at Ichiban Boshi, Wisma Atria. Think I still prefer Waraku. :P

Getting More Agile

Punishment! Pull Your Ear


Loves Playing With My Camera



Opening Ceremony! Just started her on arts and craft at home. See how she held the pen. Always got angry when I tried to correct her. Anyway, just learned that we shouldn't correct her at this point. Give her free rein..

Last time (not that long ago actually, maybe about 1 month back?) when playing the "Your Baby Can Read" VCD, Celest would sit still on the sofa and watched the show, allowing me to do my chores. Nowadays, you can find her running about ON the sofa. Never failed to give me a scare whenever I saw her standing close to the edge. I even contemplated of removing the sofa and all to sit on the floor! Hahaha

By now, she knew how to operate the music player which is placed on my bedside table. I would usually play some soothing music when she sleeps. There was once when she accidentally pressed the 'play' button and music came out. Since then, she knew how to operate it and she would fiddle with the player everyday before being chased out of the room by me.

Busy Buddies Trial on 24th Nov

Xmas!

We went for the trial together with Duffybuff, CutieZ and Paula. I was abit late as Celest was sleeping till we left the house. It was not good for Celest to be late as she missed out on the freeplay time which enable her to have the time to settle down and warm up to her surroundings. It was there and I knew that the class was a Busy Bods class, meant for 18mths onwards. Haha.

Celest was rather quiet that day and kept close to me. It took her some time before she ventured out to play with other toys. Then came Tidy Up Time. She managed to keep one to two items successfully. Her 'keep' means that she threw the toys into the box with gusto.

During the greeting time, teacher handed Celest a piece of card, with her name stated, and asked her to paste it on the board. She refused initially to get the card from teacher and I have to take on her behalf. She then walked over and pasted it on the board. Not bad!

Throughout the class, she roamed quite abit and kept going to the 'sink' to fiddle with the knobs. For the art & crafts, they had to draw their 'handshape' and did the no. 5 . Couldn't managed to get Celest to place her hands on the paper for me to draw. As usual, she didn't really like arts sessions. For the no. 5 work, I had to help her to complete the work.

The teachers took out storybooks for them to read on their own leisurely while they prepared the snacks. Celest loves the 'cereals' prepared by the teacher that she finished her second helpings. But, she didn't touch the apricots. It's back to more books time, followed by bubbles and time to say Bye Bye. On the whole, I didn't really enjoy it as I felt it was messy and abit rush. Maybe I am too used to the JG & GUG style.

After the class, Paula drove me to Takashimaya as they were going to do some shopping. Abit paiseh that I took the front passenger seat as Paula said that she needed to sit behind with Kelly. As usual, Celest was fiddling around and grabbed two spectacles even at one time! We went to the Food Republic @ Wisma for a break and ordered 'Cheng Teng' dessert since I was tired and thirsty. Don't think that I could have a proper meal before my help arrives.

We parted ways at Takashimaya, Nursery room. Brought Celest around to look at the toys and looking out for pokemon cards which I promised to buy for Ryan as his birthday present. My help finally arrived. What a relief. Managed to make Celest sleep and we went to the foodcourt to have my lunch at 4pm+.

We then walked to John Little as I wanted to buy some Crayola stuff on sale. Followed by Centrepoint Robinson. Saw the FP Kitchen set that was on promotion but daddy said don't buy now. :( I left her with sis to play with some toys at an area while I went looking around. Halfway, Strawberry Shortcake appeared. Haha. I quickly brought Celest over so that Mummy could have a good excuse to take picture. Celest was afraid and started crying, maybe due to the character's size.

Hahaha/ What a Big Hat! Ops, Mummy you close your eyes!

While walking to Plaza Singapura for our dinner, Joanne asked me to go shopping with her at G2000 for her birthday present. Guess where? Yes, it's Plaza Singapura as well. Fed Celest the tofu, 'bai cai' etc from my Yong Tau Hu bowl for her dinner as mummy didn't bring her's out. While at the G2000 fitting room with 'YIYI', she kept picking up those dirts to eat from the carpet floor. Haiz! Was sooo tired by the time we got back home. :P

The Xmas Tree In Front Of PS

Stacking Cans!

Busy Picking Up Balls

Ice Cream No Good!

Actions

Outing Day!

Last Thursday, we went to Ikea @ Tampines to buy Celest's table & chair. Decided to let her have her main nap there which was a wrong move. Had a hard time making her sleep as she was excited of the surroundings. Whenever I tried to put her into the pram, she woke up and wailed, making me to carry her while she slept. I find that this occurrences frequently happened lately. It always made me very frustrated and tired as my hands are aching from carrying her for too long. We had our lunch at the cafe. I ordered a kids spaghetti for her but she didn't like it as she spat out everything... Guess it was too sourish for her and in the end, I fed cereal to her.

There was a kids play area at Ikea and the staff said that the height requirements for kids are to be at least 90/95cm tall... Well, Celest has a long way to go before she can enter as she is around 75cm currently. Went to Giant, which is nearby, for some grocery shopping but Celest was at it again. Slept for a very short while before she was woken up by loud noises and refused to sleep after that. We left soon as I got no mood for any shopping there. Decided to go to East Coast Park since we got a car now as it was quite inaccessible without a car (according to my hubby). It was a windy day and Celest squealed at the sight of the sea = WATER! Took a short walk by the beach before going to MacDonald's for an ice-cream treat. Celest, we will come again soon ok. Then we can ride on those bikes & mummy ferry you around.




At MacDonald's, I tempted her with ice-cream but she rejected initially. So cheeky! After she had her first taste, she kept wanting more. I had to hide in order to eat my ice-cream. Each time, she took a lick, she would shake her head. See her 'cat' face in the video. We went back to our parent's place for dinner after that.

Forum Playground Visit 3

Happily Picking Up Balls/ Peek-A-Boo

Eugene Smile/ Bought @ Twinkle Thinkers

It has been a long time since Celest went to play at the Forum playground. Since it was daddy's off today, I decided to bring her there. But, we went with Auntie Gillian and Eugene, without daddy, after a change of plans. There were many caucasian kids when we arrived and I tried to put her into the ball pool again.

Celest struggled and rejected violently as it has been a long time that she last played. She must have forgotten of the fun that she had in her last visit. During her 2nd time there, she loved it so much that she refused to leave. What a big difference!!! She ended up going around, busy picking up those balls that were thrown out by the kids inside. I tried to put her in again a few times but were unsuccessful. Maybe she was getting timid as her surrounding awareness increases.Hmm...

She spent most of her time walking around and looking at other kids. It was school holidays and that explain the presence of so many kids there. I was worried that she would be knocked down by those boys riding the bikes as they were cycling in a fast and furious manner. We went to Macdonald's for a bite while Celest had her milk and slept there.

After she woke up, we went into "Twinkle Thinkers" for shopping. The lady introduced some 'beads thingy with metals curve' (not sure what is the actual name but it can be seen at those PD's clinic etc..) to me and Auntie Gillian. Celest was clearly facinated by the toy and she played with it for a while. Nobody realised the price till I checked. Oh gosh! The small one that Celest played costs $149 while the bigger one, which Eugene played, costs $189! The price is considered steep for some metals & beads..Haha..

At one point, Celest was pushed and 'bullied' by Eugene but neither me nor Auntie Gillian did not witness the incident. I was walking towards the two kids and I did not see exactly what happened. I noticed Celest appeared upset and her eyes were turning red. She hugged me and "buried" her face into my chest, seeking comfort. I think she was on the verge of crying but she was trying to hold back her tears.

Anyway, I didn't really like the sales assistant inside as she was persistent who kept recommending those expensive stuff to us when she knew that I was looking for some Crayola stuff, and paints. She recommended something that costs around $90 which I didn't even bother to look at it.

The sales assistant then recommended some painting books, saying it is more suitable for children at my age (those that the colours will appear once in touch with water). Sigh... Kept giving us the different titles and keeping us to buy. Relented, I bought the Crayola Fingerpaints and those bag type. Regret man. Now, there are 20% discounts at some malls.

We then went to ELC to check out their paints as mommy learnt from some mummies that the products are cheap and good but the packaging were found to be abit different. Only then we know that they changed their packaging and up their prices slightly. As usual, it's so hard to shop with Celest around as I had to look after her constantly before she wanders off.

That was once when I realised that she was not at a certain place. I went around looking for her and found her at a corner where there was an electric piano on display. She was fidgeting with it and she appeared perturbed that the piana was silent when she hit on the keys pads. (Note: The power switch was not switched on).. She seems to like the piano very much as she expressed her unhappiness when I pulled her away.

I bought a bubble blower but it was not the type that daddy wanted. Daddy wanted the type whereby he just need to press a switch and bubbles will be blown out. The type, which I bought, had to be dipped first before bubbles can be blown out. Not much difference to what we are having now except that they need not blow out the bubbles manually.

After buying the bubble blower, we were ready to go home and as usual, she was cranky since she was hungry and tired. Auntie Gillian and myself initially planned to walk along Orchard Road to enjoy the christmas light decoration but too bad... I was tired after handling her for only those few hours.

How To Get Celest To Share?

That day, Auntie Patsy brought Perle over to play with Celest who seems to be possessive of her belongings. Celest threw tantrum by pulling her hair and screaming when Perle touched the toys back. She only stopped once the toys were back in her possession.

Perle had no chance to play the toys as Celest was constantly monitoring Perle's moves. Luckily, Perle is young so she was oblivious to Celest's behaviour or maybe she has a kind heart... If not, we will have 2 screaming tots to handle. How? How? How can I change Celest's bad mentality? Hmm...

Celest is getting tougher and likes to throw her weight, err.. I mean things around. There was once when she threw the 'animal sound book' and hit on Perle's head. Thankfully, Celest did not use much strength or else Perle will be injured.

There was also once when Celest was holding a metal tsp spoon and I had a feeling that she would use it to hit people... I changed her "weapon" to a plastic milk powder scoop before the "attack". True enough, she used it and hit on Perle's head *faint*.. I thought of putting her to play with older kids so that she is unable to 'bully' others but what if the other way round????

My Xmas Present From Daddy

Auntie Daphne


Celest is feeling better and she is back to her old naughty self again, doing things that angers me. Sigh.... She still cough occasionally but Dr Lim advised to stop giving medication to her on Mon so that she can recover on her own. Hmm. I told daddy about getting the EYS 'Hou Ning' powder from "Eu Yang Sen" as Celest seems better after taking that previously.. But it does not come cheap, telling you.....

We went to "ToysRus" at Vivo City as I wanted to buy a kitchen set for Celest as christmas present. The store was crowded and her eyes shone when she saw all those toys. At one point, we were trying to open a 'mini stroller' as daddy wanted to buy one for Celest. Then suddenly, Celest went "missing" when I turned my back on her for a few seconds. Ah boy, am I panicked! Just when we were about to hunt for her, she came back with a ball in her hands. Phew. Apparently, she saw the ball from afar and ran towards it when I turned away. Is she fast!!

I saw some kitchen set, in particular the Dora type, costing $200+... kinda expensive for Celest's at her age. Oh well, I just wait for the Mattel Warehouse sale then. Daddy reluctantly bought a Hello Kitty Supermarket Cart for her after much nagging from me. Hahaha


At the cashier, we bumped into Auntie Daphne and Uncle Mervin. They bought a Transformer toy figure. Guess how much that is. It's $150!!! Can't imagine our reaction if Celest spoil a toy of that value. We had our dinner at "Swenson" and the concept and menu were different from other usual outlets. We had clam chowder, crayfish & seafood pasta & banana crumble for dessert. The pasta was very yummy and Celest had kids meal - Omelette for dinner. As usual, Celest charmed the people seated at neighbouring tables with her trademark smiles and facial expressions. When leaving, she readily waves 'bye bye' to them & blow kisses to them now. What a cute little girl.

Outside the restaurant, she was free to run around the complex. Guess what? Haha. Her pull-up diaper dropped down to the floor. Not once but twice!!! Guess her diaper was heavy with all her pee. People who saw this were laughing and I was embarassed by it. We then returned home after dinner as daddy got to report for reservist duty. :(

Day 2....

Celest felt better after a good night sleep and she breathe better although her voice was abit hoarse. Daddy asked grandma to come over and helped to look after Celest so that I could rest after an eventful night. Celest was still rejecting her milk and porridge for lunch. She was getting tired and irritating again. I decided to bring her and see Dr Lim for review.

At Dr Lim's clinic, Celest cried when she saw Dr Lim was trying to listen to her lungs with his stethoscope. But it was a different experience compared to Dr Cheong and it is no wonder that a PD charge higher consultation fee than GP.. Both me and Dr Lim had enough time to settle me down and Dr Lim gave detailed instructions to us on feeding the medicine to Celest.

The MO at KKH, on the other hand, appeared to be apprehensive and it took a while before he reached to a conclusion. Possibly due to lack of experience.. But you are still better than Dr Cheong and I'm sure you will be a good PD, as time goes by...

Come night fall, Celest was feeling very much better, except for her phlegm... Hmm.. I wonder what could have attribute to her phlegm.....

Sick Sick !!

Celest was sick again today when she was supposed to go for her MMR jab at polyclinic. Looks like got to delay again. I was disappointed as my plans have gone down the drain again. She woke up crying and her voice was hoarse, sounding very bad. Expectedly, she was very cranky and emotional. Whenever she talked, her voice sound as if there was something stucked in her throat, much to her irritation.

We brought Celest to see a General Practitioner, Dr Cheong, which seems to be a wrong choice. The doctor was not only impatient but was rude. She rushed through the consultation and asked me whether I had any questions when Celest was still crying and didn't even listen to her lungs.

Celest appeared to be scared of the stethoscope and she would cry when she see one. She needed time to settle down but the doctor prescribed the medicine based on my information. When I asked doctor about it, doctor said these... "Let's ASSUME that it was this..... Anyway, it's ok for her to take those medicine...there's no harm in taking them....." Wah, doctor, she is the one who is going to take these medicine, you know....

Daddy was visibly very angry and his face was very "black"... We were totally disgusted with the doctor's attitude and professionalism. I got to know later that we were not the only one who have that kind of impression of the doctor....

I did not feed the medicine to her immediately and I contacted the previous PD for a 2nd opinion. In the late afternoon, her condition worsen as her breathing was getting labored and loud. I was hoping that she can bear with it till the next morning when I bring her to see Dr Lim. Her appetite was very poor and she could not take in any milk.

At around 1.30am, Celest woke up crying very badly. We tried all sorts of methods to calm her but failed. We then brought her to KKH, A&E Dept. By then, her breathing was very loud and labored. She appeared to be gasping for air as she had difficulties in breathing, which was worsen by her crying. Her voice was very hoarse and she was getting weaker. KKH was so near yet so far as we made our way to the hospital by walking and her crying (of course).

We were showed through the 'red' door at once. The MO diagnosed Celest of having Croup. It was the first time that we heard this term. She was given neubiliser and medicine, much to her violent struggle especially during the adminstration of neubiliser. She was so violent that we have to restraint her with the help of a nurse. She could only cry towards the end as she had no strength to resist. The MO instructed for Celest to be placed for observation for the next 2 hours which she slept. Doctor asked us whether we wanted Celest to be warded which daddy was not in favour as he wanted Celest to see Dr Lim in the next morning.

Celest was subsequently discharged and we reached home around 5am+, sleeping till the next day. But poor daddy.. He has to continue with his reservist duty in the morning despite not having any sleep at all.. Sorry daddy...

Hide & Seek

This is her favourite game at this moment and she know all about my possible 'hiding' places by now. I had so much fun in seeing her finding me and screamed out in laughter. Haha... Just hope that she won't have any nightmares from my 'scaring'.

There were times when she could not find me and started to get angry with herself by throwing tantrum and screaming at the same time... I tried to encourage her by spurring her on to keep on finding me by calling out her name so that she could be lured with my voice.

Talking Alphabet School Bus

I gave a new toy for her to play and the toy is "Talking Alphabet School Bus", which I bought for $25 during the last Mattel warehouse sale. Haha. I am looking forward for the next sale so that we can buy more toys for Celest to play.

Celest loves the song - Wheels On The Bus very much and she would sway her head and body from side to side with the rhythm. She pressed the button numerous times just to listen to the song...especially the first few days...

Getting Well...

After much rest, Celest was getting better now and of course, so does her temper. Heehee. Her running nose has stopped and she could drink up to 200ml of milk. But it will take sometime before she revert to her usual milk intake of 260 ml. I am abit worried with her 'big' tummy as I still find it quite big and I felt hardness when I pressed on it... Hmm, could it be wind or more than meets the eye? Wonder if baby "Tui-Na" will help...

Well, Celest is teething again and this time, her lower gums are red and swollen, with whitish tips can be seen. It is her molar tooth but can see that her canines coming out too. Maybe all these are causing her to be temperamental. I brought her to visit granny yesterday and we stopped by at NTUC supermarket at Bedok. Celest saw some plastic balls which looked similar to what we have at home. She kept pointing at the balls, telling me to buy for her. But I could not understand a word coming out from her mouth... Sad... Nevertheless, she can now point to things that she want to see and the directions where she want to go.

When the house phone rang, Celest would help to answer the phone when I asked her to, depending on her mood. So, if you do not hear any sound initially, do not hang up as she need time to bring the phone to me or daddy. Time really flies and she is turning 18 mth soon on 26 Nov 2007. It is something of a milestone - of age to enter to childcare. We are still thinking on her future and her younger sibling when he/she comes. Maid? Childcare? Work? Headache now....

What A Thursday!

My day started off on a bad note as Celest has wet her bed due to the tapes were loosely secured resulting in leaks. I confronted daddy who insisted in fastening her diaper the night before. Auntie Patsy also mentioned that the tapes could have loosen on its own. Hmm...

Celest drank about 60ml of milk but only to vomit out all. To make things worse, She threw up on our bed and the floor. I was upset as I cleaned up the mess and changing the bedsheets.

About one hour later, I fed her 140ml of milk, using spoon but she vomitted out ALL of it again. This time round, it was at the living room. Haiz. I was so tired after cleaning up the mess while waiting for Dr Lim's call. It was then her nap time and I prepared 100ml of milk for her. She refused to drink which I think due to her vomiting and she went to sleep.

Dr Lim asked to see Celest later in the afternoon. I fed her with mashed potato with cheese, which she finished most of the food and we made our way to see Dr Lim. Just when I thought that Celest was recovering, she vomited out all the mashed potato in the taxi, making a mess of the taxi interior! Celest cried and screamed while I was busy cleaning myself, her and the taxi up. I apologised profusely to the driver who did not respond. Guess he must be cursing his luck in picking up passengers like us. Sorry uncle for dirtying your taxi. I changed Celest into a new set of clothings and I felt bad when alighting from the taxi. The driver said that he will clean up. Haiz.

Dr Lim inserted an anti-vomit medicine into her anus for fast relief to her vomiting. He also took some mucus sample from her nose for testing. When we reached home, I fed her with some milk before she went to sleep. I'm glad that Celest did not vomit after that and I hope she will recover soon.....

Zoo Zoo Zoo!

@ the water play.

Getting cranky..

Finally managed to get the 3 of us to sit down & take a shot
1st time on swing.

Last Friday, brought Celest to the zoo by taking public bus and worried that I cannot handle her crankiness as daddy was not around. We left home at around 7.20 am as we were supposed to meet at Zoo at 9.00 am. I think Celest overheard about the zoo trip the night before, excitment got over her and she woke up earlier than usual. Due to time constraint, I just changed her clothes and diaper without bathing.

We boarded SBS bus, Service No: 980, at 7.50 am and I started to worry that we will be late, given the long journey ahead. Surprise, surprise! We arrived at zoo at around 8.35 am, after changing to another SBS bus, service no: 138, along Upper Thomson Road at 7.20am. Darn! I could have slept for another 30 mins. Oh Well...

YN came shortly after us and I tried to pat Celest to sleep for a while but she was too excited to sleep. While on our way to the zoo, the sky drizzled a little but the sun came out when the rest of the group arrived - Amy, Lyn, Dal.

The mommies decided that "Children's World" would be our end destination and there we went, making our way there. Along the way, we watched polar bears were fed and resting by the shelter at the lion area. We saw many animals, such as monkeys, gibbons, otters, flamingos, polar bears, white rhinos, zebras, and giraffes (just to name a few) at the zoo. Celest always shouted 'OH OH' (imitating dog braking sound) to the animals I saw. Haha. Celest could only make out the sound for dog barking and cat meowing.

We finally reached KFC and I tried to feed her with milk but failed. Sigh.. She then saw those waterplay outside the restaurant and wanted to go there. I placed her in the swing which she enjoyed herself very much. It was her 1st swing but it was not long after that she saw the waterplay again. I carried her away to a quiet corner in a bid to make her sleep but she struggled hard.

I gave up and brought her back to the waterplay to join the rest. She had fun playing with water and leaves. She seems to be wary of water as she stayed still by the waterside and did not venture into the middle for safety sake.. I had difficulties in bringing her as she was angry and throwing tantrum then. She appeared tired but she insisted in playing. When making our way out of the zoo, she fell asleep in my arms. Haiz. This is my greatest fear when bringing her out on my own, her crankiness! The whole trip ended with a bookmark souvenior.

We went to rest briefly at Lyn's house and Celest got to taste Aloysius's yummy lunch. We then went home, by taking the mrt, to rest and wait for daddy. It was a very tiring day but I am planning to bring her for another zoo trip and hopefully with daddy next time.