February came and went in a flash, because we were so busy with all the CNY visitations and gatherings, and boy am I glad that THAT is over (for the year, at least). This year, I was too lazy to do any CNY shopping, so Noah didn’t get a new outfit, and wore the traditional CNY costume from last year’s Racial Harmony Week celebration that he had in school. He has tons of clothes anyway, and I figured he didn’t need any more.
In the build-up to CNY, we had to work on a lantern together for his school, and Noah loved the fish lantern so much that he asked to make another one for our home. He also stuck the small fish on a painting of the sea that he made one day, and that was the only other CNY decoration we had in our house. Noah made a CNY-themed craft in school too, and showed it to me proudly when he brought it home. I’m going to need a larger container to store all his crafts and drawings!
With his fish lantern
Fish in the sea
CNY craft from school
Posing with his fish on Day One of CNY
We had our reunion lunch with my god-family, and the youngest member of the family slept through the entire meal. Well done! Our actual reunion dinner was at my parents’ place this year, and my dad cooked up a storm as usual. It’s good to have so many people at the table together, because it means we get to have more dishes! The two little boys enjoyed the Lo Hei, though Noah flung a huge chunk of vegetables onto his cousin’s head. Sigh. Guess he needs a lot more practice with the chopsticks!
Reunion Lunch
Reunion Dinner Spread
The boys getting ready to Lo Hei
My dad cooked my fav fried instant noodles for breakfast on the first day of CNY, and we had a good breakfast to begin the new year! Took our family photo there too, since my parents did a better job of decorating their home for CNY than we did. Heh.
My fav noodles!
Happy CNY from the Tans!
Noah also had fun playing with his cousins, some of whom he met for the very first time this year. He loves playing and running around, so the boys were all playing as though they have known each other for ages.
Hanging out with his cousins
We brought Noah to visit the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum for the very first time on the morning of CNY eve, since we figured it wouldn’t be crowded, and we were right! We were able to explore the place leisurely, although Noah got really excited and kept running around exclaiming, “Wowwwww! Wowww!” He did get scared during the dinosaur light show, because of the sound effects, but apart from that, I think he really enjoyed his visit there.
The stars of the museum
Another highlight of our February was getting to meet Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo at a bloggers’ event (which I still haven’t blogged about), and Noah shamelessly asked her to carry him when we were getting our photo taken with her. It was quite an interesting session for me, to hear the concerns of other parent bloggers, as well as those of the government.
With Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo
We’ve been playing some new games together, and apart from KeeKee the Rocking Mockey, we’ve tried Hoot Owl Hoot! and Finders Keepers (it’s no longer in print, but we managed to get a set from My First Games). Games are a good way to keep Noah entertained, and to make learning fun, so I’m always on the lookout for interesting games for him.
With KeeKee again
Pleased that he helped all the little owls get home
Working on his observation skills with Finders Keepers
When I’m unavailable to play with him, Noah still plays with his blocks and Lego. He loves building with them, and I love that I can get some peace and quiet when he’s focused on his building toys. I came across a blogpost suggesting that we make big shapes on the floor for the kids to fill up with blocks, but after we worked on the heart-shaped one together, Noah hasn’t really shown much interest in it. Oh well. He can also work on his jigsaw puzzles quietly now, without asking me for help, so I sometimes leave new puzzles out for him to discover and work on.
Filling the “empty heart” with blocks
Lego tree for Daddy
No idea what he built, but he was so proud of it
Working on his jigsaw puzzle
On Valentine’s Day, we got together with our friends at East Coast Park so that the kids could go scooting together. Noah and his favourite Aly JieJie had so much fun together, running around hand-in-hand, and whispering away to each other. We kept saying that we should go out together more, because the kids can entertain each other while we relaxed.
Out on a Valentine’s Day date
C went to Jakarta for a short business trip, and by short, I mean he left in the evening, and came back the following night. In the past, Noah never had any issues with C being away, so we thought it would be okay to bring him to the airport. Big mistake. He was super clingy to C, and started tearing when C entered the departure gate. A few seconds later, the tears developed into loud bawling, and I looked like I was trying to kidnap him, because he was crying, “I want Daddy! I want Daddy!” I kept telling him that Daddy would be back the next night, but he absolutely refused to leave the departure gate, and insisted that I called C on the phone. I had to FaceTime C, and when Noah saw C’s face and heard his voice, he just cried even louder. In the end, I resorted to bribery: something I had never done before and usually frowned upon, but it was the only way I could distract Noah enough to get him to stop crying, and walk to the car.
Crying his heart out
Finally in the car with his bribe
Speaking of C, he had a health check-up recently, and found out that his blood pressure is too high. We got a blood pressure monitor so that we could better track his blood pressure, and he’s been trying to exercise more regularly. It’s honestly quite worrying, and if you’ve got any good and proven methods to lower high blood pressure, do share them with us!
Our latest gadget that I would rather not have
We celebrated my dad’s birthday at Hua Ting Steamboat Restaurant, and liked that it didn’t leave us smelling like we’d been sitting in a poorly ventilated hawker centre after that. The food was pretty decent, albeit slightly pricey, but the atmosphere was nice, and I think we won’t mind heading back there again.
Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
On the last day of February, I decided to give Noah a special Leap Year treat: his first ever McDonald’s ice-cream cone. I tried explaining the concept of the leap year to him, but I think he couldn’t understand what I was saying, especially after I said “ice-cream”. Anyway, he was so happy, but it was such a messy and slow affair that I kinda regretted it.
Leap Year Treat
That’s about it for our February! How did yours go?
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