New Bed for Noah

A while ago, in preparation for the arrival of baby Mango, I had asked Noah whether he wanted a big boy bed and give his crib to Mango or whether he wanted to keep his crib (now barless on one side) and we would buy a new crib for Mango. He did not hesitate: he wanted to give his crib to Mango and wanted a big boy bed. A few weeks ago, we went to Ikea to check out the beds and ended up buying a simple adult wooden bed, comfy mattress to go with it and of course new sheets. The plan was to paint the bed white to fit the colors in Noah's room and add some blue, green and red decorations. Below, Noah making dinosaur shaped potato stamps. 

First try at making dino imprints on paper...

A bit blobby but oh well. Next we painted the light wood color white and the little slates on the front of the bed, red, blue and green. Noah got to help paint the bed white and choose the colors and order for the dinos though I think all the waiting for things to dry was not very satisfying (to him or to me).

Stamping the side of the bed....

But, eventually, on January 12th, after a few days of painting, stamping and building, the bed was ready for Noah to move into. Below, Noah excitedly trying his new bed. 

Pretending to sleep - yup comfy!

Since he started sleeping in the new bed, he has slept like a big boy and has not had any night pee accidents - the crib with its new mattress has been reassembled as a newborn crib and is sitting in Mango's room. And, as a perk, we can now lie down next to Noah to read him his bedtime stories. I am calling this operation a success!

In order to accommodate the bigger bed, we had to move things around a bit in his room. Here Noah  (and rabbit) showing off his new and improved room. 

Sculptures: at home and at the museum

Since I took him to see some sculptures a while back, Noah has been very interested in making his own - his favorite medium: chairs and rubber bands.

Just the other day I turned around to find that he had made a musical sculpture (not sure where he got the idea from) - I quickly grabbed my phone and took a video of him. 

Upon reflecting, Seth liked sculpture and even took a sculpture course in college so maybe this is the beginning of a life-long interest - or maybe not.

A little before Christmas, we went to the Arts Science Museum to see the lego sculpture exhibit with Noah's friend Daniel. Below Noah at the entrance in front of the lego Xmas tree (it was raining out so we were a bit wet and the museum was heavily air-conditioned so he wore his raincoat the whole time)

Below with a lego T-rex skeleton.

At the end of the exhibit, they had stations where the kids (and adults) could play with legos. This was Noah's first time playing with actual legos (he has duplos but no legos yet) and he LOVED it - here building a house. I know what to get him next!

Big Noah (and family) visit Singapore: Can we keep baby Emma?

Our friend from Yale, Noah (now called "Big Noah" to differentiate from our little guy) came to Singapore with his family at the end of November. Below, Big Noah, Vivian, Emma, Jacob and Little Noah at the gardens by the bay.  

It was amazing seeing Big Noah again and getting to meet his kids, 4.5 year old Jacob and 2 month old Emma (at the time). Jacob was an amazing big brother to little Emma, affectionate and caring and attentive so hopefully Noah took some valuable cues from him! Below, Jacob and Noah at the zoo. Noah loves studying maps whenever possible and telling us where we are and where we are going. He has gotten pretty good at finding the "you are here" star on the board maps and following the zoo map which has little animal drawings on it to help one find ones way.

Jacob wanted to ride the elephant so he, Noah and Vivian did an elephant tour.... 

Noah had already been on an elephant a long time ago in Bali (see picture below - making the elephant sign) but seemed a bit apprehensive at first about going without me but then got excited and had a good time. 

One of the highlights of the zoo trip (I would add unfortunately but that is up for discussion) was the car ride... below Noah and Jacob driving.

That evening, we met some of Big Noah's friends for crab at a nearby restaurant. The kids had a blast with the serving cart...

One morning, we headed to Sentosa for brunch at Coastes and some beach time for the kids.

The weather held long enough for a nice brunch but we then headed inside to the aquarium.

And to see the dolphin show. Jacob wanted to pet the pink dolphins at the end of the show so Noah got to do so too... because he was over a meter tall he had to go on his own but our fearless animal lover had no fear and was very excited to meet the dolphin. 

Dolphin approaching...

Noah petting the pink dolphin...

A happy and wet Noah...

Big Noah was actually here on business so he and his family stayed with us for a few days/nights and then went to a hotel. Little Noah seemed very sad to see them leave and kept asking "can we keep baby Emma?". So I explained to him that we could not keep baby Emma as she was still drinking her maman's milk and we could not provide that for her but that we would keep seeing them while they were in Singapore and that soon he would have his own baby at home... that seemed to reassure him a bit. It was great seeing him take to her and kiss her and try to feed her (see below). Hopefully, he will act the same way with little Mango...

On another day, we went to the bird park where they were premiering a new bird show. The next day, in the newspaper... was the pic below.... can you spot us? 

Christmas with Elena and Little Guy's First Bug

I was waiting to receive various pictures from friends and hence got a bit late in the postings... so going back to Christmas... a few days before Christmas, the local HDB (Housing Development Board) Complex nearby hosted an Xmas block party with food and games and music... a bunch of us from our condo headed over there. Below Noah and Matthias on the blow-up castle/slide.

Our friend Elena arrived on the 24th in the morning and we took her on a bumboat ride along the Singapore river and marina and then to the Singapore flyer for a view of the city and some street food and fish massage and then drinks at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and visit of the Gardens by the bay... the next day, we went to a friend's house to celebrate Xmas. Delicious French food and great company! Although Noah seemed very happy and had a great time, something seemed a bit off with him. He did not eat as joyfully as usual, repeatedly left food on his plate  and seemed a bit lethargic at times. You would not really be able to tell from the pics below - he and his friend Alex definitely enjoy each other's company.

After the Xmas lunch and playdate, we headed to the botanical gardens. Noah complained about walking (which he usually does not do) and about his tummy hurting but then it seemed to get better. 

We went for dim sum for dinner and Noah refused to eat - now we knew something was terribly wrong. He just slept through dinner. Sure enough, on the way home, he slept on dad in the subway and suddenly without much warning got sick all over the place... our little guy's first stomach bug. Luckily we were just pulling into a station and got out of there. The next day he was a bit off and not eating much but did not get sick again. I was feeling a bit off too just as Elena headed to Malaysia for a few days at the beach. 

When she got back, we were all back to our normal selves and headed to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park for a 5k walk around the lake. But before the walk, Noah tried out the jungle gym...

A little snack break during the walk....

After MacRitchie, we headed to East Coast Park for a late crab lunch and walk along the seashore (and of course, watching the water skiiers on the water skiing pond).

Noah and Elena on the jetty. 

Little Ms. Mango

On December 11 (at 24 weeks), we finally got confirmation that Mango was indeed a little Ms. Mango. Noah is very excited about the prospect of having a little sister and talks about her all the time. He thinks a girl is good because then "there will be two girls and two boys" in the family. Recently, Noah chose a big pink poster for mango's calendar part 2, "we should get pink because mango is a girl". I guess they learn early that pink is supposed to be for girls? 

Below are some pictures taken on January 1st when Mango was 27 weeks. The belly is growing...

A kiss for maman.

Noah showing off "his belly".

The tummy....

Running around in circles...

Noah has been very cuddly of late - giving me and mango hugs and kisses all the time completely out of the blue and telling me "je te aime maman" or "merci mango" (mango gave him a present to thank him for coming to see her at the 20 week u/s). 

Three more months to go!