2nd Lesson @ Gymboree

The lackadaisical couple finally get their butts off the sofa once again and head to Gymboree @ Tanglin Mall.

Yes, we were late again.
Nothing unusual.
We were late on Saturday music lesson and we were late yesterday.
We were so lazy that we didn't bring any camera to capture Ziv having fun.

But FORTUNATELY, I managed to get some pictures from one of the wonderful mommies, Phyllis whose daughter, Vanessa attended the same Gymboree II session as Ziv.

Phyllis had brought her cutie-pie daughter, Vanessa to Gymboree for her first time trial. Unlike Ziv, Vanessa is jovial and amiable. I still remembered Ziv being uptight during his first session.

Nevertheless, that uptightness feeling in him was gone yesterday! In fact, he was among one of the few babies who crawled towards the pool of balls to grab some balls!

Has Ziv adopted "laziness" from his parents? Cause, he likes to lie on his stomach, instead of crawling (despite knowing how to crawl), it seems like he crawls only "when necessary", once he is there (the place he wants to be), he will relax and lie flat. See the 'hardworking' boy besides him...




Here's a peak preview of Vanessa...

30 Things That Change When You Have A Baby

Adapted from a baby information website. Some of them really make sense.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
(Smell the roses? More like smelling the shit... everyday is a mad rush)

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
(I am always afraid of him falling down on his head, not enough sleep, being too short, too fat...)

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
(What are sacrifices?)

4. You respect your body ... finally.
(My parents and in laws do not respect my body, they think I just skin and bones!)

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
(A fall, a cry, a whine from Ziv is enough to break my heart. Even a harmless red spot on his face will set me thinking, "What is wrong?")

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
(Even if I am busy... I still pause for a while and think of him.)

11. Every day is a surprise.
(All the little tricks he learns everyday is enough to send smiles to my face.)

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.
(A super morning person!!)

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

16. You discover how much there is to say about one tooth.
(Hahaha... its like you strike a lottery that you have to annouce this to everyone!)

17. You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth.

18. You now know where the sun comes from.

19. You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to
have.
(True, lesser personal shopping but stepping into toy shops frequently)

20.You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers.
(So do pacifiers)

21. You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night.
(Sometimes I still lament...)

22. Silence? What's that?

23. You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having.

24. You discover an inner strength you never thought you had.

25. You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule.
(I am the lucky one... not having Ziv as the alarm clock is great! But it hurts me to wake him up when i need to leave the house with him while he is sleeping)

26. You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one.

27. Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog.
(It is sad, but true. Trying to work on it...)

28. You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late.
(So don't blame me for being late for work!)

29. You learn that taking a shower is a luxury.

30. You realize that you can love a complete stranger.

Ziv goes to Gymboree

Procrastination is irresponsible. Kevin and I decided to put an end to our dalliance and enrolled Ziv to Gymboree. This was a promised made long ago to Ziv, way before Chinese Lunar New Year and no action since then.

A typical conversation:

Kevin: Are you sure you wanna go Gymboree? HFMD, you know?
Me: Yeah, wonder how safe are these places.
Kevin: Are you going to hold responsibilities if he contacted HFMD?
Me: Hell no.

Nevertheless, this morning Ziv woke us up at 10am and we gave Gymboree a buzz and within seconds, Ziv’s first lesson was fixed! We didn’t opt for the trial lesson cause, we thought, so be it, just engage Ziv in some interactions with other babies will be good.

Verdict? The first lesson was alright, some singing and physical activities. It allowed me to gauge the development of Ziv since, the class is mainly for infant between 6 to 9 months (Level 2). So far, Ziv can catch up with his ‘classmates’ since the consultant told us, it was better to enroll him when he is able to sit unsupported, stand with support and crawl for the Level 2 class. Of course, the courses do not come cheap. Membership alone already cost us $50 and the total cost for 12 lessons cost us a whopping $358! Not a lot of money, but to spend on some play group IS expensive. What to do?

During certain part of the lesson, Ziv was chuckling and he was extremely chummy to his classmates and wanted to touch them. He was usually aloof and afraid of strangers.

See how he enjoys the class...

Digress a little, I had a rejuvenating spa on Saturday, everything seems so copacetic until I fish out my mobile phone and saw a sms by my boss it reminds me of the stress at work. Hate it.

Rambling entry

Recently I took a break from Ziv and strolled along Orchard Road. The queue outside Louis Vuitton seemed to scream, "FREE BAGS, FREE BAGS". It's hard to fathom the mentality of these people queuing. What's the big deal? You mean you queue and you only have to pay half the price of a bag?

I walked to Chanel instead, which was just opposite of LV. And deeply regretted. Cause I found a new target in 'life'. A teeny wenny sized bag which cost $3500++. I stood in front of the mirror, having the coveted bag across my shoulder, I stared at my reflection, puffing up with pride. The bag was PERFECT! While I was imagining where I can go with the bag, a humdrum nagging interrupted my thoughts. Kevin.

I say, If cars are the wives of these clueless men, then bags are the boyfriends of us women. The more the merrier!

Guys... guys... they simply have no inkling of what bags means to us. Bags means
1) envious stares from fellow IT bags "worshipers",
2) where-the-hell-do-you-get-it-from face when they saw your limited edition bags,
3) such expensive bag you have remarks
4) mine is more expensive than yours look
etc...

In short... PRIDE. (AKA Hao Lian - Hokkien)

Ok, its sad to say that I am in my late twenties and still so childish. But I am frank enough to say that this is what I think, or else, why do people splurged on a $3000 bag, don't tell me they last longer? The quality? Complete nonsense! I am sure an Espirit bag can serve you as long as a LV.

Nevertheless, who cares about Kevin's rambling, and I declared my new target to him. Its time perhaps to find a job that offers higher pay. As Rebecca Bloomwood (from Shopaholic series) once said something like this, "If you cannot minimized spending, then thrive to earn more money." Absolutely agree to that.

Oh, its Saturday, hand me my RECRUITMENT papers please.

A Decade of Love

It takes 6 years to build world's tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101.
It takes 3 years to build the renowned Effiel Tower.

It takes 10 years for us to achieve what we have today...
Wonderful companionship.
A place we call home.
A precious boy.

Kevin surprised me with balloon bouquet which was sent to my office. It was humongous - 1.5m (to me) and I was bashful while I signed off for the bouquet. Prior to the day, he did mention that he bought something for me and he dropped a clue each day (for 5 days) for me to guess, and he was right, the gift was something super unexpected cause, he always tell me he won't-do-such-things.

Kevin really sweep me off my feet this time. I was happy not because of the balloons, the attention, but Kevin did something which he will never do for me. It was much better than the T&C rings we bought.

Who wants to work??

Recently, I am overwhelmed with the heavy and never-ending workload. This job is turning me off day by day. I often wondered if those things which I do are supererogatory, resulted in making my work life taxing. The daily lined-up (mundane) tasks are enough to kill me, not to mentioned those adhoc and unreasonable requests by some colleagues. The only time where I can take a breather will be LUNCH time and on-off skyping session with Emily. And of course, when it is time to knock-off.

David always asks me if my watch had actually stopped whenever he stills see me around after 6. That is funny and yet pretty depressing, and recently my ‘neighbour’ in the office will often joke with me by ‘apologizing’ for being home earlier than me and reminds me to switch off the light for him. I brushed him off with a painful smile. Well, at least someone knows that I am staying back LATE.

These days, I seldom vanish in the thick black smoke when the clock strikes 6. I feel bad and guilty when I have to let Kevin wait for me outside my office, especially I can often see him at the window next to me, waiting aimlessly. That is so unfair to him.

Anyway, forget about the unhappy things, of course the happiest thing will be going home and have a warm welcome from Coby, hugging Ziv and watching HK serials with Kevin. You know, sometimes, I wish I can be a housewife. Not a ‘yellow face’ one though.

Some pictures of Ziv before bedtime...

He has learnt a new 'trick' which is to stand with support.

He often laughs out loudly whenever he sees me taking picture of him. Kevin says he likes the flashlights. Who knows, kids are very interesting being.

Oh, 9 more days to our 10th Year Anniversary... no plan yet, but we bought each other a T&C ring. Was forced to only wear it on the 14th. What's wrong with Kevin, I don't understand!