Wonderful Week

It's been a month since D started his assignment in China. We've had our fair share of ups and downs, but it's also made us realise how much we treasure each other and family time.

D was back for a week from 4-11 June due to factory shutdown. And it was definitely the best week ever.

1. We went home to Seremban, mainly to see my grandma who is ill. I am really grateful to D for making this trip possible. I haven't been at ease for a while, since knowing that grandma had gotten more ill. Seeing her, being able to hold her hands and touch her, this has been one of the things I had wanted to do most. I will always remember & treasure the precious moments.

2. We managed to squeeze in some fun time for Isabelle at my parents. Never realised there was such a beautiful playground on top of the hill. The slide was perfect for Isabelle's age. There was a see saw (rare to me... I still have not found one yet in Singapore playgrounds so far), swings, and some bouncy animals. I wonder if any kids play with them as they were in such perfect condition. Anyway, Isabelle had a great time. Not to mention, the vast space at my parents for her to roam and run freely.

3.We registered Isabelle for school finally. I hate to be that kiasu parent, but I guess we did not have much choice. It is hard to find a school you are comfortable with, which is of reasonable distance to home, has a good cirriculum and at a relatively reasonable price. Isabelle should be starting school/playgroup in November, and we really hope she will adapt well & enjoy it.

4. D was a doting daddy during his leave. He rushed back from his appointments by 4+ to bring Isabelle out to the library and playground. He also brought Isabelle to pick me up from the MRT station after work every night. I think Isabelle must have missed this routine very much as I hear, after her snacks these days, she would pick up her Hello Kitty bag (which we usually use to pack her water bottle), pick up her shoes and sit by the door. She must be waiting for daddy to be home to take her out. Awwww.....

5. We brought Isabelle to Lower Pierce Reservoir for a walk. And though she loves walking very much, she still can't take too much walking...hahah. After some time, she just wanted to stand still! Well, unless if you carry her of course. We also saw some wild monkeys there. Not really sure how much Isabelle registered that she saw a monkey...but I guess she must have been thrilled in some way!

6. We brought Isabelle to Sentosa. Well the plan was to go to Tanjong Beach. But we let Isabelle skip her afternoon nap so that we would have more time out...which made her rather listless initially. She wasn't really in the mood to walk or smile for a while. BUt after much warming up, she was alive again...we had some good fun taking photos, and we did a good 500m walk on the new walkalator linking Vivo City to Sentosa. Thanks to the walkalators, it did not feel like a 500m walk. Isabelle was thrilled that she could walk at such a fast pace with much ease. Still it was tiring, cos it was so damn hot & humid!!!! I think we may just take the monorial the next time.

7. We ended the week sending D off at the airport. We wanted to let Isabelle try the free inflated slide at T3, but unfortunately it only opens at 12pm. Not realising that it opens so late, I did not have any back up plans for lunch and had to head home. And no, I'm still not very much in favour of letting Isabelle eat outside food for now as it may be too salty, oily, etc. So instead, we let her free roam at Candy Empire where she was thrilled to see many colourful sweets, candies, chocolates, and finally picked a candy bar. We also saw Singkids Playstream which is a very interesting indoor playground. Definitely in our KIV list in the next visit to the airport. Since there was some reasonable time left, I thought of letting Isabelle experience a MRT train ride....which she enjoyed very much. But unfortunately she also pee-ed on me! We had to get off at City Hall and hop into a cab to quickly head home.

And so all the above sums up a wonderful week for our family. I'm looking forward to D's next trip home. Not sure how much activities we can squeeze in the next trip given he has to work, but I'm sure we will definitely have a great time.