knock knock jokes...

Bryan: Knock, knock! 

Me: Who's there? 

Bryan: Knock, knock! 

Me: Knock, knock who? 

Bryan: Knock, knock, why don't you go open the door? 

Bryan: Knock, knock! 

Me: Who's there? 

Bryan: Radio. 

Me: Radio who? 

Bryan: Radio doesn't say "who". It sings a song to you. 

--------------------------------------

Yes, we have been quite our corny selves this weekend and these were two of his funnier ones. 

Kristin was also eager to give knock knock jokes a try too.

Kristin: Knock, knock! 

Me: Who's there? 

Kristin: Toothbrush! 

Me: Toothbrush who? 

Kristin: Toothpaste!

Me: LOL

I had to laugh very hard. Coz every time I asked her for a knock knock joke, it's always the same one. And it was hilarious when she said it. It's like she couldn't make up her mind between toothbrush and toothpaste. Actually, it really isn't that funny. Alan thinks I'm just encouraging her when I roar with laughter. 

Admittedly it's still a long way to go comparing hers with kor-kor's, but it's a knock knock joke for a start. Besides, knock knock jokes are meant to be silly, aren't they? 

Hope your weekend has also been a good one filled with chatter and laughter! 

May Day

Not crying out in distress, but just a little out of nostalgia. 

May First this year falls on a Friday, which means if we had still been bACk in Germany, we would definitely be travelling. It's a wonderfully long weekend, who wouldn't travel with perfect sunny spring weather of about 20 centigrade? Unfortunately, there isn't much to do here. A getaway has to be planned with Alan's and my working schedules. So we had to find contentment in the parks and nature reserves available in Singapore. 

We started the day in a garden. 

After a few rounds of slides, the heat was unbearable. And we retreated to the water play area to cool down. Actually, only the kids had a shower, the parents waited in the hot noon sun, baked! 

Then to avoid crowds in the city, we decided to make a detour to another park to have lunch among the greeneries. Yes, retreating into romanticism :) 

We ended the day with yet another destination into the greeneries.

All in all, we drove quite a substantial distance - peanuts compared with the distance we would have covered in Deutschland, but still we did do a little travelling today. 

The highlights of the day had to be bubbles. Our ever faithful play group decided to have some bubbly fun. What's there to do when the heat is unbearable?That's the only way we can think of to chill out: Kids had fun and adults didn't have to clean up :p 

Don't bubbles make you happy too? 

making childhood memories...

This is the second time we're back on this beach this month. 

Love it! 

Look at the kids, having a whale of a time during our regular play date last week. 

RK and Bryan, setting up a mining company... Notice how these boys only mine in the shade... 

Gabe and Christian, looking for hermit crabs... Can't help but think of the Sharing A Shell song by Julia Donaldson. 

Kristin, ermm, practising Tai-chi? :) 

Oh what carefree life! 

random shots

It has been hot, extremely hot. All over, people are just pushing buttons, yes, just the buttons that will get the fan to oscillate faster or just the buttons that will get the temperature to drop lower in an air-con room and of course, the actual kind of buttons too with all the meltdowns under this unbearable heat. The sweltering heat gives no respite, my flat is turning into a furnace. I could even dry 4 loads of laundry within an afternoon! Who needs a dryer now? 

But it's also days like these we get wonderful shots, no? 

Here are some random shots: 

This is the view from our flat. However, it will be soon gone with 2 blocks of condo and 5 giant HDB flats ready in 2 years' time. 

Our city skyline will be gone soon... buildings are climbing, with an added level each day. Sigh... but at least the hot days have given me some clear skies to quickly snap a couple of shots. See, the condo... no kidding. They are already there. It's like you're watching a street performance and you thought you had the best spot and then someone had to come and squeeze in front of you. Except this time, I can't exactly say, "Hey, I was here first." I reckon we won't be able to see much of NDP's fireworks from this year onwards. 

I'm an aunt!

I was so excited when the phone rang this morning. It's my mom. 

My first question was: So is he here already? 

Yes, we have been waiting for Jon expectantly for months now. And finally, it is time. 

He arrived at around mid-day, weighing in at almost 3 kg. 

We finally got to meet him... 

The feelings are often indescribable and magical whenever one cradles a newborn. The making of a life is such a mystery that we human can never fathom. And it feels... oh the elation this blessing brings. I feel so happy for my brother and sil. And yes, in that tiny moment I was cradling Jon, motherhood was being renewed. I wouldn't deny that, for a fleeting moment - just a twinkling instant that shot past me - it's nice to have another baby again. 

What are these trees/plants?

  

Mangroves? 

But don't mangrove leaves sort of have round tips? 

These children discovered their secret passage way - as usual. And when the camera came out, they were all posing. Hmmm... where did they learn this from? 

Can you believe it?

    

Beach used to be 11 hours' drive away, but we are now only 10 minutes away from sun, sand and sea. 

the first alumni reunion...

WARNING: KIDS, THIS IS HOW YOU LOOK WHEN YOU WATCH TOO MUCH TV!!!! Not very pretty eh? 

Once upon a time, three families from different corners  of the world met in a tiny German city. Today, they all meet again in our corner of the world. By sheer coincidence, work has brought these families back together. And can you believe it? We are neighbours again too! :) 

I think the staff @ Carl Schurz will be proud to see this picture... ok, maybe not that proud, considering the zombie-faces. 

not a typical library...

How big are these books? 

Pretty huge... 

Good enough for a game of hide-and-seek too....  

Yes, it's all about perspectives... :) 

Brought to you by bACk @ the Comic Strip Museum in Brussels. 

a typical work day...

Disclaimer: This isn't me complaining. Just a reminder to self on how much time I spend with the kids on a day like this one. 

I woke the kids up at 7 am. They were brought out of the house by 7.45am to wait for their school bus. I only managed to spend 45 minutes with them. 

I worked for 8.5 hours. 

When I came home, I hardly spent 2 hours with the kids and off I packed them to bed by 9.45 pm.

So how much time did I spend with them in total today? 

Barely 3 hours! 

In between the 3 hours, I ate my dinner, listened to Bryan read to me, played a couple of "I spy" games with Kristin, watched my kids write some Chinese characters / numbers on the white board, put up with incessant whining from Kristin and made them milk, herded them to brush their teeth and change into pj's, tucked them to bed and prayed with them. 

Ok... not too bad eh coz the Daddy only spent 30 minutes with them today! He's still not back from work yet. 

Anyhow, in our absence, the grandparents did the following with the kids on top of caring for the kids, bathing them, cooking lunch and dinner etc! 

My dad taught Kristin the first stroke in Chinese writing. The character for one. She still doesn't have much strength in her grip yet. 

My mom taught Bryan to write the character "faith". Of course, she's truly the master teacher. Rewind this some 30 years back, it would have been me writing with my mom at the table. 

     

More Chinese characters with the same "ren" side. 

Bryan decided he had had enough Chinese writing for the day. Of course, grandpa had to help him with some numbers. Otherwise it would be "so tiring for his arms"! 

Yes, we are indeed blessed with grandparents! 

And yes too, we are quite voracious, kia-su Chinese students now! 

appreciating art...

While we cleared off the old stuff, Alan and I went through postcards, pictures, books and essays that were made/written of the yore. Oh what memories! 

On Sunday afternoon, Alan decided to go through some of the photos again. This time with the kids. He had two photos similar to these here: 

Bryan was asked if he found the place familiar.

"Er... yes, yes. That Gaudi guy made it, right?" 

Absolutely! Yes. He calls it the five-finger church. Don't ask me why. There are more steeples than 5. 

We were in Barcelona, just before flying back to Singapore last year. Gaudi's buildings were such fun for the kids. They felt like they were in some fantasy-land. While creating space, Gaudi sought new structures in nature to break the convention of normal architecture. Since young, he developed a love for nature and this is evident in his mainly gothic yet with a romantic touch of style. What a true artist of his time. Of course, some people labelled him mental at that point of time too, and Gaudi's works were met with much criticism. 

And of course, the audio guide that we got when we were in Casa Milla (La Perdera)had a great impact on Bryan's appreciation of Gaudi's buildings. One great souvenir we bought was also a book on Gaudi, written for children. 

Unfortunately, Kristin was still too young to enjoy Gaudi's fantasy land. Hopefully she'll discover the beauty herself one day. 

first times in Sg...

Chinese Characters

We only realised that we didn't attempt to teach the kids to write their Chinese names as school started this year. 

Daddy panicked and decided he would teach his son how to write the family name on his own. 

Father and son did a pretty good job doodling and at the end of the half hour session, Bryan managed to write his surname. 

1.5 months have passed since the first time Bryan started writing his name in Chinese. 

And finally he can write his full name in Chinese, no longer Yang Bryan. 

A tiny step at a time. Hoping that he'll be ready for P1 by next year. 

first times in Sg...

First CNY since 2005

Last month, Kristin celebrated her first CNY in Sg. It's her first time visiting most of our relatives, and it was also her first time uttering wishes to others in Chinese. 

After being away from Singapore for a while, somehow CNY isn't quite a big deal anymore... Maybe not for me, on the giving end of "ang pows" :) 

Really, somehow this CNY didn't quite feel like it's CNY. I wonder if I could blame it on the economic downturn. 

Anyhow, there's still something to remember by, 

e.g. our city skyline. 

By next year, this view will be gone forever. There are 5 more giant blocks of flats coming our way. Yep, what's new. We love to live at construction sites. 

This was probably the only tidy spot in our home. Everywhere else was cluttered with boxes. 

cousins

These two lovely kiddos were born just one day apart. 

Look at those eyes... same shape! *Gasp* I really think they look a lot like their grandfather... 

This is Kristin and her cousin, Ivan. 

first times in Sg...

A couple of weeks ago: 

First time for us @ Tiong Bahru Market since we came back. 

First time ice-kacang for the kids! 

Terrible pics from my handphone cam. Sorry!