One Week Later

**long post ahead!

It’s been a week since Blake started school, and so much has been happening! The progress my big boy is making in school, me getting a kick start back at working on my random projects, having more me-time and couple time with hubs – just to name a few.

So here’s a quick one week report of how things have gone so far. Not many pictures as I have not been able to capture any shots of Blake in school.

Read the full details of the first day of school here and here J

18 June 2012: After returning from the weekend break, it was Blake’s second day of school! The day started out pretty much the same as the first day of school. Only difference is, Sean joined us J

Blake cried the moment he got out of my dad’s car. When my dad drove off, he attempted to run after it, which Sean and I found rather hilarious. Sean then carried him into the school, and handed him over to his teacher, 蒙老师 (Ms Meng). We left shortly after.

After their lunchtime, I sent a text message to 蒙老师, to check on Blake’s progress, and to seek her advice as to when to pick Blake up. According to 蒙老师, Blake did not cry as loudly and as long as the first day; It was still on and off crying though. He also did not eat much for lunch, but when they gave him Honey Stars cereal, he ate away happily. That was what the children had for breakfast, by the way. Haha. Next thing I know, Blake had fallen asleep during nap time. 蒙老师 actually patted him to sleep. Such patience! I don’t even do that with Blake anymore!

When we picked Blake up, after their tea time, he looked really dazed. It was as though he went through some time-warping machine, but it took him less than half an hour to be back to his normal self again! We rewarded him for job well done in school with some playtime at the swimming pool!

19 June 2012: Blake did better than on the second day (which was better than the first!).

He did not eat much for lunch, although he did eat whatever snacks I packed for him. I was truly shock when I opened his bag, and realized that the snacks (except one) were gone! He was also more active, and went running around the classroom and hall after his afternoon nap, while others were still sleeping. Haha. 蒙老师 had to accompany him and play with him during this period. I can only imagine how tedious that must be!

When I went to pick him up, I stood at the door to his classroom, with his back to me. He was busy playing with a toy, the only child with a toy, might I add. His teachers called out to him, and I called out to him, but there was no response from him at all. Then his classmates went, “Blake, your mommy is here!” on and on and on, and finally, Blake turned around to see what the commotion was about. The moment our eyes met, Blake looked like he was about to burst out crying. He got off his seat, and ran towards me. It was a very ‘awwww’ moment.

Rewarded him with a bubble bath that day! :D

20 June 2012: The fourth day saw much improvement in the crying department.

Half an hour after I left the school, 蒙老师 sent me a text message to say that Blake has stopped crying! Huge improvement! During their naptime, she sent me another message to inform me of what Blake had eaten for lunch – sandwiches (about the same amount as all the other children. Blake’s the youngest in the whole school, by the way), and a whole banana! He did not take the fried egg, as it is not exactly one of his favourite things to eat. I’m guessing cos it’s pretty tasteless on its own. Hehe.

When I went to pick him up, I took a peek through his classroom’s window. This boy of mine was holding a Lego brick in each hand, going around the classroom trying to fit the pieces into the Lego pieces in front of his classmates. Everyone else was seated. Again, the teachers called out to him, to inform him of my presence, but he made no response. His classmates then joined in to make the announcement. In the end, one of the teaching assistants had to carry him out so that he can see me clearly. Haha. Looks like he’s beginning to enjoy school a lot!

Rewarded Blake with water play after school!

21 June 2012: The fifth day had quite a hilarious start for us adults. The moment my dad turned into the small road to Blake’s preschool, Blake started crying. He cried really terribly, and my dad asked, “Wow, you decided to just cry earlier?”

When we reached and got off the car, my dad and younger sister said 'goodbye' to him, and through his loud crying, Blake waved and said, 'bye' twice. This made everyone laugh really hard.

We entered the school gates, and 蒙老师 came out to receive us. Blake immediately leaned towards 蒙老师, and tried to reach for me after she was carrying him. It looks like some kind of standard procedure for him to react the way he did. While 蒙老师 was taking his temperature, I said ‘bye’ to Blake, and again, amidst his crying, he raised his hands, waved and said, 'bye' to me twice. This had me burst out laughing again. 蒙老师 could not contain her laughter too, and laughed till her face went red. Haha. This boy of mine! Too cute for words sometimes.

蒙老师 sent me a text message a little later to let me know that Blake only cried for a very short while after I left, which was an improvement. Yay! She also said Blake is very smart! Double Yay!

蒙老师 left a note in the parent-teacher communication book, saying that she’s very happy that the time Blake spent on crying was much shorter than the day before. It’s such a great feeling to know that your child’s teacher is as happy as me, the mother, about Blake’s improvement in adjusting to the school!

Went to pick Blake up from school, and he got really excited when he saw me through the window. Hehe. He rushed out, dragging the assisting teacher behind him. When he reached my arms, the assisting teacher told me in Chinese, “Must hold his hands! He’s very active! He will run and climb everywhere! That’s good!” Oh boy! Haha! Needless to say, we rewarded Blake with some fun at the swimming pool!

Seeing how Blake is adjusting better to preschool day by day, and how he enjoys going to school (even though he still cries when I drop him off), I feel really happy! Looks like grooming him to be an independent boy paid off :D

* * *
P.S. Regarding today, most of Blake's schoolmates went to visit the old folk's home. He's too young to be going, so he had a whole day of play with the other students who did not go as well. Sadly, he developed fever suddenly, and I had to quickly finish up my errands (had a meeting to attend, and my camera to collect from the care center), and rushed down to pick him up. Thankfully, Blake's fever subsided, and he's now napping to recuperate. Hopefully, the fever will be all gone by tonight! *fingers crossed*

UPDATE: Took Blake's temperature after he fell asleep, and it was 36.1°C. Took his temperature again this morning before breakfast, and it was 36°C. Blake's fever is completely gone! :D

P.P.S. for those who didn't know, I'm currently in my second trimester with baby number 2 :) Hence, the bulge in the belly area in some of the photos. Hehe :)

Mini Post #1

23 February 2011: Tummy time as a family! ♥

4 April 2011: Good morning, Sunshine! :D

Blake's First Day of School - Officially a Student!

The earlier post ended with us reaching his preschool. Read all about it here.

*wordy post ahead as I was not able to take photos during the time I spent in the school.

After saying our thank you and goodbye to my dad, we entered the school gates. A lot of children were already there having their breakfast and morning exercise.

Blake clamped up the moment two teachers came out to receive us. He refused to let them take his temperature, or even look at them! One of the teachers helped remove his shoes, and I carried him in. We went into his class, where most were having their breakfast.

His Chinese teacher, 蒙老师 (Ms Meng), told me to pass him to her so as to help ease the transition of joining the school. She carried him, spoke to him, and basically pawed over him like a loving mother would to her own child. It made me feel safe, knowing I chose the right school for my son.

She noticed that Blake was about to start crying any time, and tried to distract him with toys in the classroom. I told her to use the pacifier in his bag when necessary, as it was the only comfort item I brought along. When he rejected one toy after another, she continued to take more to distract him with. She never stopped trying. Eventually, Blake could not hold back any further. He burst out crying really loudly, but 蒙老师 did not flinch. She immediately tried to calm him down. No, she did not attempt to shake my boy at all to calm him down. All efforts were futile because Blake really wanted me to carry him. I went to take the pacifier out, and gave it to him. That calmed him down quite a bit, and I thought I could go settle all the paperwork during this period. Alas, the moment I stepped out of the classroom, Blake burst out crying again.

Even after I got into the Principal's office, I could still hear Blake crying loudly. At one point, I asked if Blake caused another child to cry (for some reason, some children will cry when another cries), cos it sounded like there were two children crying. And the reply I got, "Erm, no. It's just Blake crying." Oh my! That's some loud crying my boy was making!

I quickly got the paperwork done, had them check and make sure I could make my way out without Blake noticing me. I sneaked a peek at where he was (he couldn't see me), and was relieved to know that he has stopped crying. They had assigned another teacher to take care of him (one-to-one), while the rest continued with their normal lessons. I then left to run some errands, while being on standby to bring Blake home.

About an hour later, the school called, and the teacher (sorry, haven't gotten all their names!) told me that water play was cancelled due to an activity that had to be done! I was so shocked, cos I have been telling Blake that there will be water to play with at his school, on the first day! But she quickly told me that they have filled the outdoor pool with some water for Blake to play with, and though hesitant at first (he was wondering why he was the only one playing), he soon became very happy, and even attempted to go swimming in his school uniform. She then told me that I could leave Blake there till at least lunch time.

For the next hour or so, I received no phone calls, so I called to check instead. The teacher who picked up my call told me that from the time he played with water till shower time, Blake did not cry at all, and he had half a bowl of chicken rice for lunch! :D

The crying cycle started again when they showered for him, but they said the cries were much softer now. They then said to try to push the pick-up time till after nap time.

During this period, I went home to rest and have my lunch. On my way back, I received an sms from 蒙老师.

She told me Blake fell asleep immediately, so I have nothing to worry. About an hour later, she messaged me again, and said that I should pick him up after nap time. She was afraid that if we push our luck further, Blake might dislike attending school. So I quickly had my lunch, took a short rest, and headed down to the school to pick my boy up!

When I got to the school, most of the children had already woken up, and I heard no crying! When I walked in, Blake heard my voice, got up from his seat, and ran towards me to hug me. Very rare! He usually teases me, and would turn away without hugging me. Chasing behind him was the assisting teacher. She called after him in Chinese, "I haven't cleaned your mouth!" She came forward to cleaned his mouth for him, and told me that he cried when he woke up, and she gave him a piece of bread, thinking he might be hungry. He was halfway through the bread when I arrived, so I guess he was hungry. All of them then gave me a full report of his progress, with 蒙老师 telling me that overall, he did pretty well for the first day of school :D

I told Blake to say thank you and goodbye to everyone, and he waved and said, "bye!!" before urging me towards the gate, but not before 蒙老师 passed me a parent-teacher communication book, and the father's day gift they made in school that day. (point to note: send child in just before mother's day so as not to wait a whole year for gifts from your child!)

We said goodbye again, and left. The whole way home, Blake was nothing short of amazing. He held my hand all the way, waited patiently at the bus stop for the bus, and walked the whole way home on his own! I only carried him up and down the bus! I rewarded him with a bubble bath, then we both fell asleep on the sofa shortly after. Hehe.

So proud of my boy. He managed 6 hours in school, on the first day, without throwing a single tantrum (crying is different)! Yup! That's what the teachers and staff all said :D

Blake's First Day of School - Getting There

Preparation for Blake's first day of school started about at least a month ago. You can read about it here.

A month before the first day of school, I've been trying to adjust Blake's sleeping time. He sleeps really late at night, and sleeps though till noon the next day on most days. But if he's going to school, waking up at 12 noon is definitely a big no-no! He'll miss all the important classes!

One month of trying to adjust obviously failed, because Blake slept really late the night before the first day! I didn't get much sleep either, even though I was down with a cold, cos I was too excited! Hahaha!

June 15, 2012

7am: My alarm clock rang, I got up to get myself ready first, and to make sure I've packed all of the items into Blake's school bag. I was so excited and nervous that it took me 30 minutes to get ready, with most of the time spent staring at my wardrobe wondering what to wear! Yes, I know, female woes. Haha.

7.30am: I woke Blake up and gave him his milk. He was happy to see his milk, but drank with his eyes closed until he saw me taking photos of him.

Can't a boy have his milk and sleep at the same time in peace?

While Blake was drinking his milk, my dad messaged to say he'll be over in about 5 minutes to pick us up for breakfast, before sending Blake to school. The moment I received the message, I panicked. How was I to dress Blake, wear his shoes, and move him out of the house, and down in 5 minutes when he has yet to finish his milk?

Thankfully, he finished his milk pretty fast, and he co-operated when I changed his diapers, and wore his school uniform for him. He attempted to fall back asleep, but I quickly picked him up.

I know, late already but still want to take photos. Haha :P

Brought him out to the living room, and the moment he saw his shoes on the floor, he brightened up! He quickly sat down, and waited for me to wear it for him. After which, he ran to the door and waited for me. Hehe.

The minute I opened the door, Blake started "jogging on the spot", moving his hands wildly and getting all excited. He probably thought we were going out to play. Haha. Opened the gate and he ran out (I was holding his hands already). I could tell he was really excited, but stood still whilst I locked the door and gate. When I turned to say, "Let's go!" He took off! (still holding my hands, don't worry!) He ran towards the lift and pressed the button and waited for the lift's arrival impatiently.

Reached the ground floor, and pointed out my dad's car ahead, he ran promptly towards it. I think he thought we were going to the swimming pool, cos my dad always gives us a lift to the swimming pool at club.

But when he got in, he saw my mom, and my brother, then he started to get nervous. I guess things like, "uh-oh, I'm not going swimming or to play" ran past his mind, cos he grabbed my fingers really tightly for a good part of the journey! He only relaxed for a bit when I told him we're going to have breakfast.

After breakfast with my parents, my mom left for work and my dad drove us to school! Blake was pretty nervous throughout the car ride.

Yes, he got pretty annoyed with me and the camera. It's been in his face the whole morning. Haha.

Wondering what happened in school on the first day? Look out for it in the next post! :D

Before Attending Preschool

Prepping for Blake's first day of school started as early as a few months ago.

First order of business, to find the preschool that's comfortable with Blake and us. We actually had a list of schools we wanted to enroll Blake in, but most of them were pretty far from our house. On top of that, some did not accept children younger than 30 months old, while others were already full.

Then I remembered there was a preschool near our place (about 5-6 bus stops away). Only problem was, I have no idea what the school was called! I only know the location, and that it was really near a bus stop, and main road.

So, I went onto Google Maps, searched for the road name, and went into street view. Zoomed in to the location where the preschool stood, and ta-dah! I got the school name! Haha.

With the preschool's name, I went to google for the school's website. (I LOVE GOOGLE!) Called to enquire, and subsequently, went down twice with Sean and Blake - first to check out the environment, teachers, program etc, and second time to confirm Blake's place in the school.

Once we have confirmed his place at Honey Tree (that's his school!), and bought his school uniforms, the first thing I went to look for was a school bag. I had so many choices (and all at different prices!), but alas, it was when I was at Takashimaya that I came home with Blake's first school bag. It was really by chance. I was in the area, and went there to pack lunch home, only to find that there was a bags and luggage fair! :D

After getting his school bag, the next thing on my list were name labels. From shoes to bag, uniforms to bottles, I needed labels for everything he was going to bring to school!

Searched the internet high and low, and found this company called Stuck on You. They do labels for many items, focusing mainly on children items. I'll have to put a little warning here though, it does not come cheap. But, their products look really awesome and cute! The best part is, you can personalize it with the many icons, colours, and fonts available. Chinese character printing can also be done (only on selected labels).

I bought the Orientation Value Pack (bag tag not featured above), and added a slap band for when he has school excursions. I didn't dare to order too much as I was just trying out their products. I have to say, after receiving the labels and using them, I found the quality really good too! Definitely worth the amount paid.

For this first batch of labels, I specifically designed the labels to follow the robot/alien/outerspace theme. I have just ordered another bag tag and slap band to match his school's excursion bag, and this time round, I went with the animal theme! :)

So awesome to be able to get some retail therapy done along the way, even if it's not for me :P

My next post will be on Blake's First Day of School, a month after all the preparation has been done! :D

First Trip Out (on my own)

I almost forgot about this particular milestone!

In the first 3-4 months of Blake's life, I never dared to bring him out on my own. Not until a friend who finally returned to Singapore asked me out for lunch.

Alex (that's what I call her) hardly ever returns to Singapore since she went over to USA to study, not even during her school holidays! So, when she finally came back (due to some dental issues, if I remember correctly), I couldn't say no to meeting up! The idea of bringing Blake out on my own at that time was pretty terrifying, but I told myself it was a sooner or later thing, so I might as well do it now, even though I wasn't very confident about it.

We went to a mall near my place, and I carried him in our beloved Babybjorn Synergy carrier all the way. I still hadn't figured out how to bring Blake out with the stroller on my own then. It was a short 2½ hours trip out, but it was a real huge deal to me back then!

After this trip out with Blake on my own, I gained more confidence in myself as a mother, and brought him out more frequently since! Now, it's like a routine to bring him out at least once a week! I'm so glad for that kick-start. Thanks, Alex! :D

Tree & Bee

Advertorial

Motherhood is one of the most beautiful experiences a lady can experience, along with falling in love, and getting married to her man.

However, motherhood for some ladies means putting themselves at the lowest priority, with their children and husband right at the top of the list. This is especially the case for stay-at-home-mothers like me.

Fortunately for me, I have a really supportive husband who told me I should indulge in some retail therapy, like I used to pre-motherhood, to relieve some stress. Yet, the first thought of retail therapy was the money I might end up spending! Nowadays, I find myself saving up for my son’s education rather than spending money on myself (other than the obvious necessities).

Instead of going for retail therapy, I indulge myself with looking at pretty things online; swooning over them and telling my husband how beautiful they are, wondering how they would look on me.

That is, until I came across Tree & Bee – beautiful and unique accessories, bags and scarves at really affordable prices!

Each and every item you see on Tree & Bee has been specially selected by its two founders, and they come in very limited quantities!

Tree & Bee Earrings – Prices range from $4 to $12.90

Tree & Bee Necklaces – Prices range from $9 to $23.90

Tree & Bee Rings – Prices range from $4 to $11

Tree & Bee Bags and Scarves – Prices range from $16 - $29

From elegant to funky, from blings to colours, with so many different styles available on Tree & Bee, every mommy will be able to find something to bring out her own style and personality! Remember, becoming a mother does not mean you have to lose your personality and style while caring for your children J

Here’s a photo of me on Mother’s Day, wearing one of my favourite pairs of earrings from Tree & Bee, Mi Amor Heart Earrings!

And another of my favourites, Dainty Heart Earrings, when we went on a family outing to Underwater world!

I am thinking of doing a giveaway with some of my favourite Tree & Bee items, but I’m not sure of what the response will be like (I hope to have a giveaway every quarter of the year or more frequently, if possible!).

If you would love to see giveaways on my blog, do leave a comment on any of my posts, or email me, and I’ll definitely work something out!

Tree & Bee

Visit their website www.treenbee.com to shop online,

Or head over to Toy Outpost at Jcube #04-04 to see their items upclose!

psst… some of the items put on display at Toy Outpost are not found online!