Duck Tour

Gabe's waipo got us all tickets join the duck tour her church was organizing. So last Saturday morning, we marched out into the clear skies and began our tour.

Enroute to Suntec City. Fueling up before the journey begins.

With waigong at the Duck Tour counter. Fortunately waigong didn't end up buying the duck beak, cos they gave it out free of charge at the end of the tour. Now, we have three sitting in the house.

Yeah! Up up up the stairs!

And on to the tour bus!

Back row fits us just right. Derod joked that we'd probably die of the exhaust gas (pipe's located directed behind us) but yee yee quipped "better us that the oldies", who were occupying about 90% of the bus.

Argh... too loud for little ear drums...

Duck into the water!

Not too interested in the Merlion, nor the Esplanade...

Highlight of the trip: The Singapore Flyer. Visible almost the entire journey, gabe didn't quite stop "wheeel"-ing through that one hour.

Frustrated by Love

Gabe is a happy boy, generally. He seldom cries, and other than being hungry and sleepy, is seldom on the grouchy side too. He's fun to play with, crackling with laughter and saying things that catch you off guard.

But that's a picture that many others do not see. You see, gabe's right smack in the middle of a phase of stranger-anxiety, meaning, he starts freaking out when "strangers" (those whom he doesn't see on a regular basis) want to/ carry him. So we get a fair bit of "bad behaviour" when we meet with members of the extended family, and on Sundays when we go to church. A tip for those patient ones: gabe 吃软不吃硬 ; go for persuasion and entice him with things he loves e.g. let's go see taxi, bus, bird, walk up the steps, etc. Otherwise if you try to yank him out of his comfort zone, he'll give you a vocal session you won't forget, not to mention some aching ear drums to go along with the package.

Speaking of comfort zone, there're his two fingers and their signature position between his lips. Gabe sucks his fingers for comfort when he is sleepy, in need of calming down, in the pram or car enjoying the joyride. Sundays are usually bad for his morning nap; there's so much adrenalin pumping in him that he cannot get to sleep.

Lack of sleep + stranger anxiety + too many people trying to grab him = very grouchy gabe

And how does the kiddo comfort himself? Yup, in pops those two fingers. So when well-meaning people walk by to tease him by forcefully pulling those two fingers out, you can imagine the resistance. There were situations where the above happens, I take so much time and effort to calm the babe who refused to be comforted, and 20 metres later, the cycle repeats. The record must have been like 3-4 cycles?

Please do not misunderstand me. I am one who is usually amused when people jibe at gabe. And these very people are the ones who love us and our child very much to want to play with him. They do not irritate him with bad intentions, and the next person in line did not know what had happened earlier. But when it happens in waves, gabe is badly affected, and the mother is driven to the edge in trying to calm a screaming baby for an extended period of time.

But I suppose that these issues of living together shows us what it means to live in a family, whether related by blood, or by the blood of Christ. So I pray that derod and I will find understanding and support in our families, and that we too will learn how to ease gabe out of his walled-up boundaries to embrace those who love him.

Step by Step

It's difficult to say when gabe actually started walking. He has been taking those couple of steps between one piece of furniture to another, and always lounging towards his destination, so it's not really considered walking.

But in the last week, things have progressed pretty quickly. Those few steps became steady ones, and he was able to walk a short distance to me from the coffee table at the beginning of this week. That was under instruction.

Yesterday, I caught him walking in the living room on his own initiative. Doesn't matter that the distance was pretty short but it showed that this very cautious boy was confident enough to do it on his own.

Today, his waigong, waipo and yeeyee came over for dinner and kiddo was practising walking from one person to another, always giggling while heading for his destination and giving a hearty laugh once there.

Ah... a new phase has begun.

My Redeemer Lives

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'.

The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.

They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Mothers' Day Celebration

Derod and I took our families out for dinner together. It has become an increasingly regular thing where we just kill two birds with one dinner. The in-laws enjoy one another's company and the atmosphere is always very amiable so it works out very well for us.

We took to Vivocity's HK Kim Gary's (thanks to han&karen's recommendation some time back which got us drooling at the thought of the pork chops ever since) for a simple dinner and a walk around the shopping centre thereafter. It pretty much felt like a tour guide leading a pack of tourists; nine adults and a kiddo, plus constant stops to look at things along the way and to pass the Bundle from one set of arms to another. But eventually we did make it to a car roadshow where gabe got to do his vroom vroom behind a set of wheels, and to check out a pair of sandals for his very fleshy and large feet.

It was a good evening. The oldies enjoyed the meal, gabe gave the uncle/ aunties many hearty laughs in return for their attention, and derod and I got a good breather since there were seven other people playing "pass the gabriel" that night *wink*.

"Practising my walk with my gonggong and waigong."

"With my ah ma and waipo!"

"Why must we take a family picture? I want to playyyyy..."

"Yeah! That's more like it."

"Ah pek!!! He's the first person I can address on the paternal side of the family."

"Gugu knows I love to splash around. Doesn't matter gugu's all wet. I'm sure she enjoyed it as much as I did."

"Better be careful..."

"Hmmm... looks safe, and fun"

"It is fun! SPLASH!"

My Day

It's Mothers' Day again! How a year passes. Last year, gabe was an angel since he was immobile and lying quietly on his bouncer almost all the time. Papa did him a favour and got the mummy some nice flowers.


This year, he's a different kind of angel: the kind that can make you cringe in embarrassment and frustration but also capable of tugging at your heartstrings in an instant. And again, thanks to papa, mummy got a piece of handmade craft from the kiddo, customized with my very own name on it. They made it at the toddlers' class at Sunday school. The blue heart is a gift from the church.


I said "they made it" because papa was trying hard to get him involved. By keeping the glue and scissors away, by getting him to do small little things, and by helping him write his first message to mummy. Check it out!

Zoo Trip

Papa is home, and while he's got a day before starting work again, we took a trip to the zoo. I have to say that though gabe could recognize some of the animals, he really wasn't too keen on them. Case in point: at the water animals show, he was more excited at the ball that the sea-lion was fetching than at the sea-lion itself. Nevertheless, both derod and I thought gabe enjoyed the day out.

"Cow! Mooo..." That was our cue.

Hydrating before the trip begins.

Not too keen on posing with croco.

Otters are preferred : )

Do zebras fly?

Highlight of the trip: the keepers were going on a one-week trial period where visitors get to feed the giraffes. Gabe was cool throughout; absolutely no sign of tantrums or fear of the large animal, which he calls "oh-laff".

White tigers? *yawn*

A father-son moment.

Proof of our visit!