Luca is down ....

Just hours ago we had our first reunion dinner with the family.

We wanted to beat the crowd as well as cater to Sandy's work travel plans next week thus we decided to do it three weeks earlier.

Luca fell ill yesterday afternoon. It started out with a slight temperature and this morning he woke up with 39 degree celsius.

Despite the temperature, he carried on his normal activities. Drumming, running around the house and drinking his milk as if he wasn't under the weather.

We decided this time to take him for TCM as opposed to the pediatrician we normally visited because we knew we would end up with more bottles of bifen or panadol to reduce his temperature and we felt we have enough of supplies at home.

So the Chinese doctor diagnosed him as having a viral infection and prescribed 4 days of herbal medicine after which it is our choice whether or not to return for a follow up after.

An appointment was made for Thursday to see the doctor again but let's hope by then his fever is long gone.

Seeing the boy ill breaks our heart but we know it is all part of growing up and we always remind ourselves it is very normal for kids his age to be down with some bugs and for sure he'll be bouncing up again after a few days. ( did I tell you he now likes to listen to Bon Jovi's Bounce?)

Let us hope he recovers quickly so as to be able to eat all the new year goodies.

And I forgot to mention Luca vomited this evening while at the restaurant and I have never seen such massive puke from Luca before. Surely my first but I know it won't be the last because my mum saw me vomit when I was 17 after returning home drunk and that too was an enormous pool of puke. :)

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A new year ... another beginning.

Spent the last few hours of 2011 having Korean dinner at Amara and a few glasses of single malt whiskey with close friends and Wei Sheng.

Luca was the only child amongst us as everyone else decided to leave their children at home so that they are able to enjoy the countdown.

Frankly the last two hours of 2011 was a little stressful handling the little boy. He was playing with whiskey glasses ( with whiskey in it).

He used a glowstick to dip into the whiskey and used the same end to draw on the carpets. Harmless yet creative but what followed scared me a little.

He decided to up the ante by drinking water from his bottle and spitting the water in his mouth into the whiskey glass. I seriously don't know how such an idea came about. He even did the same with some biscuits he had.

Other than the naughty act he did, he was pretty well behaved.

He enjoyed dancing to the loud music at the lobby turned disco and he sure danced for quite some while onlookers took videos and photos of the little rascal. He enjoyed the attention. He seems to have the art of performing.

I enjoyed the time with him spending the last hours of 2011 but he was very close to being disciplined while at the bar for his naughty actions.

Nevertheless I was happy he was discovering new things and learning to play without toys.

Happy New Year and may 2012 bring us lots of cheer, joy, great health and prosperity.

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2011 passes me by ....

Time seems to fly really quickly and with many blinks of an eye, I sit here typing this on the last day of 2011.

Looking back at how 2011 fared, I can only say 2011 made another great year for me.

Although there were many things I wanted to do in 2011 didn't happen for example - take my parents and siblings on a trip, visit Japan and India, save more than half my pay etc.

Despite all these not happening in 2011, it still made a fabulous year.

This year showered me with quite many memories and a memorable one was catching X-Japan's concert in Hong Kong with a buddy in November - a simple dream come true.

In terms of career, bigs steps were made and work turned out very well.

Luca who turned one in May saw his highest fever this year and perhaps the most number of falls as he started learning to walk earlier in 2011.

2011 also featured one of the biggest quarrels Sandy and I had which resulted in her crying again. (nothing abnormal about couples quarreling so do not be alarmed we too spar once in a blue moon)

Let's hope that 2012 will be another good year that will shower us with good health, prosperity and progress not only for the nation .. but for Sandy, Luca and I too.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year ...

Wet Christmas ...

The weather has been rather unfriendly this Christmas with flash floods hitting the city centre's shopping district - Orchard Road and some other low lying areas.

Our Christmas eve BBQ was also affected because we weren't sure how the weather will act up yesterday evening thus we decided it would be better staying indoors cooking the marinated food with the help of microwaves etc.

This is Luca's second Christmas and opening up presents have become a new skill as he happily unwraps them on his own occasionally throwing tantrums when he fails to remove the tape etc.

Luca getting more mischievous each day is learning a lot about our gadgets. He unlocks the iphone by punching in the key code (we of course have to tell him the numbers and he will press on them) , opening up the camera app as well as photo galleries where he swipes photos and sometimes deleting them.

He knows how to turn on my Bose system and attempts to change the disc as well as use the remote to turn on the tv etc.

I get really busy making sure he doesn't wreck any appliances at home or hurting himself while changing discs.

One thing I get really upset over his recent behaviour is his throwing tantrums and 'tear bombs'. He somehow learnt the art of using his wails and tears to gain his way. Whenever we take something away from him, he cries with really huge tear drops streaming down his face or whenever he wants something and cannot get it, he does the same thing.

What more can I say about this spoilt brat? He sure knows how to manipulate his way through ..... and that means very soon cane marks will form on his delicate skin but I guess even with all the caning, it is unlikely it'll help change his behaviour. He is a very stubborn boy.

Perhaps it really is retribution .....

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Take That ....

Luca isn't very fond of X-Japan and I'm a little disappointed that he fancies boy band Take That.

Right. It started off with The Flood (he named this song oo-ah) and now he is mad over the song Shine.

I am glad he likes Sarah Brightman too although she does look a little scary some times.

Over the weekend we took him out for Christmas gatherings with the family and he brought joy to all.

He currently ranks number 1 on the charts while I likely dropped a few notches in rankings.

I am glad he is well loved by all and hopes it remains the same when he attends school and at work next time - fingers crossed.

Recently we realised that he is someone who doesn't share and can be quite a bully. We witnessed numerous times how he pushed other kids or snatches a toy while others are playing with it.

It is scary to know he might grow up to be a big bully.

Let us hope he will get better over time and be a generous and someone who shares his toys.

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A day at Sentosa ...

Today marks Luca's first visit to the Underwater World. You could tell how excited he was upon arrival at the aquarium.

His footsteps quickened and his head busy looking around as if trying to size up the place. His first stop, the touch pool where one is able to place his hands in to touch the fish.

So we brought him to feel the sting ray and the star fish only to squirm after touching it. I was glad he didn't pursue to take the living creatures out of the water.

We also caught the dolphin show which featured pink dolphins and sea lions. Luca mistakenly called the sea lions 'dogs' and wasn't at all  fascinated by the capabilities oh their  flippers but still clapped when he saw them perform.

What really took his attention were the dolphins and their basketball acts. His eyes were fixed at the pool hoping to catch the dolphin out of the water.

After the aquarium, we headed out to Tanjong Beach Bar for some sand.

Like me when I was younger, he started off not wanting to walk on sand. I guess he didn't like the feeling of it sticking to his soles but after some time, he enjoyed the beach.

We spent about an hour in the sun playing with sand, a water gun and a stone. I guess Luca was fascinated with his stone throwing. Each time the stone lands on the sand, he grins.

What followed disturbed me a little.

He was actually aiming his stone at some random ant that appeared in the sand as if hoping to squash it by using the stone. Fortunately his aiming was poor because he to tried using the stone at his uncle's feet too. Sadistic kid.

Sandy took him nearer to the water but he just screamed out. It seems he hated the sound of waves. Its not the first time he reacted this way. Maybe he isn't accustomed just yet so we didn't wand to rush into it. His next visit perhaps.

As soon as the boy finished his meatball spaghetti at the beach bar, dark clouds formed above our heads.

By then the boy was already very tired and not long after into the ride out for lunch, he fell asleep in his car seat.

I can only say I too was very tired.

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Nightmares ...

Its funny how Luca wakes up in the middle of the night crying for a particular toy. Just last night he woke up at 5am ( ok, morning) shouting to hug his bear and the previous night he asked for his kite.

I sometimes wonder how a toddler's mind works at night. Will they remember their dreams or nightmares and relate the story sequence.

For Luca, it is very likely that he isn't able to recall or maybe he does not understand my question at all.

Nevertheless I just hope he keeps his nightmares minimum so as not to disrupt my sleep. It sure is a challenge to switch on the lights finding the toy he asks for.

A possible solution is to refrain him from playing too much but that sure is cruel after all children prefers play than anything else.

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