Back from the green

Have you seen the latest army advertisements? There is one that looks like a trailer of a war movie ( a little like Black Hawk Down with its washed colours).  It oozes patriotism as much as it oozes testosterone and I must admit that I am very impressed by the quality and scale of the advertisement.

“hmm..you mean I am part of this impressive force?”

I have just returned from my 3 weeks long ICT where I traded home comfort for a camouflaged discomfort, and whilst I am thankful that I do not have to rough it out in the wilderness, it is still a challenge to leave my life for 3 weeks to fulfil my obligations as a Singaporean.  It is amazing how the army can make you appreciate simple things in life we often take for granted.

And so Yes, the blogging daddy is back in action.  After 3 weeks of no action, we wasted no time in bringing Nathaniel out this weekend for some gym fun at this place called Fidgets.  I was visibly tired from my sleepless nights but it was like making up for lost time.. haha. 

Fidgets was loads of fun for us as we can witness Nathaniel demonstrating his motor skills without breaking out in cold sweat or heart attacks.  It had a nice play area for young babies and an even more elaborate play area for the older children (even I wanted to go play!).  Parents could sit at the cafe and have a cuppa while the young ones go do their thing.

We went home from Fidgets and as expected, a totally spent Nathaniel konked out on the way home (almost immediately after we put him in the car seat).  But the day has not ended for him as we rushed him out in the evening for another baby gathering to celebrate a wonderful first birthdays for 4 babies who were born in November 2007 (yes, that includes Nathaniel).

Watching Nathaniel’s reactions when surrounded by other babies is quite interesting.  He can be very friendly one moment, and feeling insecure the next, smiling one moment and crying the next..  We have noticed that Nathaniel tends to be a little shy with strangers and other babies, and as a result, we will definitely be bringing Nathaniel out a little more on baby outings to encourage him to socialise.  I certainly hope he takes on mummy’s talkative and outgoing character as opposed to my slightly more introverted nature.  Can’t imagine when its time for him to attend school!

 
Hmm, how come no one is stopping me?

Papa, I want more balls at home too!

He actually learnt to stack cushions so he could climb!

Flinstone car (must use legs).

Babies from left: Ardelle, Nathaniel, Collette and Ean Shaw.

Inevitability

In spite of the fact that I have to wear green for this 3 weeks, I am thankful that I am able to come home each night to see my boy as my unit works on a shift system. 

Its been 4 days since his birthday and almost magically, he has become our BIG boy!  We are letting him walk in the shopping centres on his own (today he walked United Square and selected the rides he wanted to take, and the books he wanted daddy to read to him).  And finally he has also begun nodding his head instead of shaking it all the time.  He roams the house freely now and is the busiest person at home.  At the end of each day, he is usually drenched with perspiration before he takes a bath and is drenched with perspiration again soon after the bath.  There is simply no stopping this boy exploring from room to room and from remote control to remote control.

Try spotting the inevitable bruises on his face in the 2 photos below..

Daddy had to get this pyjamas.

Erm…

I love the second photo so much that I did a large print of it..

Larger than Life!

The First Incredible Year

As we look back on the first year of Nathaniel’s life, we are full of thanksgiving to our Lord who has blessed us with this wonderful boy.  As I was preparing the slideshow that I wanted to show at his birthday party, I recounted the past 12 months of his life.. I found myself smiling from ear to ear (and sometimes even laughing heartily) as I recall the milestones and events I captured on camera/video.  It has been an incredible journey that no amount of books or websites could prepare us for.  It was an unadulterated parenting experience which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

And the best thing is, it had only just begun.

I also want to say a big thanks to everyone who came to his party and showered him with gifts.

Soccer buddy Edgar! Cadence looked like she was cheering them on!

Decked out in Papa’s favourite team colours!

Will be posting more photos as soon as I have them.

Bonding in Bangkok

It was approximately 3 weeks ago, my wife informed me that she will be going to Bangkok for a company retreat.  I toyed with the idea of going with her but surely I was not going to leave Nathaniel alone in Singapore!  So we came to one logical conclusion… all 3 of us will be going to the land of smiles!  As the day of departure drew nearer,  I started to imagine how it would be like for me to brave the fashion jungle(s) of Bangkok with Nathaniel in my arms, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy with the heat, the crowd and his approximately 10kg weight!  But I also knew this represented an excellent time for 3 of us to bond and to learn a little more about each other.  I was psyched up! It was going to be a wonderful trip for my family!

Packing wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be, it took me forever to decide if I should bring the stroller along as Nathaniel doesn’t really like siting in it and I wasn’t sure if the stroller would survive the terrain there.  But I thank God we decided to bring the stroller as it proved to be an arm saver in many occasions. :)  What I regretted bringing was my DSLR as I opted to use Yvonne’s compact most of the time.

In a nutshell, we shopped 4 hours on the first day upon arrival, 10 hours on the second day and 4 hours on the third!  We (she) raided Siam paragon, Siam Centre, Siam Discovery Centre, MBK, Platinum Plaza, Gaysorn, Central World and Chatuchak in the 4 days.  I ate about 4 dishes of pad thai, road side pork meatball noodles, mango sticky rice and a fabulous dish of Japanese, French fusion food. BUT the main event of this whole trip has got to be being with Nathaniel 24/7.

As working parents, such undisturbed time spent with our son was really what we needed to refresh us (plus we now also appreciated our helper a little more..).  I’m glad to say that at the end of 4 days, we have all learnt and grown to love one another a little more.  As the wife shopped, I thank God I had Nathaniel to keep me company as I talked to him, laughed with him, peek a booed with him, slept with him and watch him throw his little cute tantrums.  It was truly awesome, I honestly did not know so many facets of my son’s character even though we lived under the same roof all this while. 

Would I do this again? Yes, certainly, it was immense fun.  It doesn’t matter if Nathaniel will remember nothing of this trip in the future because I know the fun and family time we had in Bangkok will not return void. 

Thank you Lord for blessing us with these experiences.

Apologies if the slideshow above takes awhile to load, you can view the bigger version here:
http://www.yveon.com/albums/sawadee/

Walk On Video

Did a clip of Nathaniel walking.  He is pretty much doing this everyday now actually… Enjoy this clip starring Nathaniel and Kaizer as the official calefare!