Ashley's Sports Day

Fatin (good friend), Ashley and Elizabeth (school & church friend)

Ready, set... go!! Ashley's team trying for their 2nd medal

Finally, medals for Ashley! Today was Sports Day at Admiralty Primary School and Ashley was pretty excited... and anxious over it. You see, Ashley didn't win anything last year and she wanted to win so badly this year... she shared that she was blamed for last year's lost by some of her classmates as she was the team leader then :-(

Anyway, she got a silver and a bronze medals from two events; one relay race required the team to organize the Singapore pledge order, while the other race required them to dress a fellow classmate up in a Chinese costume.

Well done, red team!!

National Day Parade PREVIEW

Cool Slideshows!

Vernon's auntie managed to secure 2 National Day Parade (NDP) preview tickets - both Daddy & Ashley went for the show at Marina Bay's floating stage - the world's biggest floating stage - another 1st for Singapore.

The show was SPECTACULAR!! Besides the usual march past and mass display, there was also a segment called "Dynamic Defense Display" which showcased the lastest land, air and seas assets from the Singapore Army. It was a very well produced parade... it was like watching a show from Universal Studio theme park.

Did Ashley enjoyed herself...?? you bet she did! She did the Marina Wave and even stood in attention when the National Anthem was played. I guess her school (which specializes in National Education) trained the students well. Daddy enjoyed it too - especially with the military display. The only thing that daddy didn't like is this year's NDP logo - instead of focusing on the national birthday, sadly, its focus was on the venue "Marina Bay"... and the wording "NDP" at first glance appeared like "INDia" to him.

For our overseas family and friends - you can join us in celebrating the Nation's 42nd Birthday by tuning in to the LIVE webcast this August 9 (Thursday) at 6:00pm Singapore time. Click onto LIVE WEBCAST

Fingers Lickin' Good

Let's Play "Who's Who"

Can you guess which is Ashley and which is Brandon...?? if you think you know, indicate your answer on the right - under "Drop Us A Note". Type in your name, and the answer under "message" and hit "Go" once followed by "refresh". Give it a try...! I'll post the answers later. Have fun..!!

Thanks for participating... and now, here's the answer
Ashley - #1, #2 and #5
Brandon - #3 & #4

The Many Faces of Satochin

Brandon is today 9 weeks old and weighs about 5.6kg. He is wearing one of his many gifts - his romper reads, "Handle with care - Fragile" - well, looking at his arms, thighs and body frame - we don't think he's THAT fragile!

"Goo-Goo Gaa-Gaa"

Can anyone decipher what Brandon MAY be trying to say...??

Our Family

Ashley gave daddy a Father's Day card today with this picture of "Our Family" enclosed. She even gave daddy a gift - Marks & Spencer Instant Mocha Coffee & Jam Sandwich Creams!! Well, I guess she knows (even at her age) that the way to a man's heart (and in this case, her daddy's heart) is through his tummy!! How sweet ... and quite literally... mommy noticed that the instant Mocha coffee contains 43% of sugar ;-)


Yoko's cousin who is based in Singapore with his family gave Brandon a really cute rompers. It says "Will Work for Milk" on the front and "milk, milk...please" on the back of the rompers. Check out his cool sneakers.

Brandon's First MRT Ride

At Lavender MRT Station ^

Brandon went on his first MRT ride yesterday (June 11) after getting himself registered with the Japanese embassy. Now, Brandon officially holds 2 citizenships... at least until he's 20. Mommy also went to the Singapore Immigration to get her re-entry permit renewed (it expired on May 30) and was able to extend it for another 10-years.

Brandon - the 5kg baby ^

Oh... don't you think he's just adorable...??
All you need to say is, "Yes, he is..., just like his daddy!!" :-)

Daddy & Mommy went to Robinsons and got Brandon one of those cool "Infant to Toddler Rocker"... and Brandon seems to like it - at least mommy and daddy think so. Brandon sleeps better in it.

Guess Who's in Town

Yoko's baby sister, "Nontan", flew in on Wednesday... leaving her sick hubby (with a temperature of 39-degrees) alone in Japan - poor Yoshiki!! Heard he's recovered from his fever now!!

Nontan & Satochin ^

Needless to say, Ashley was thrilled to see her auntie again - and she gets to play with Nontan for 4 full days.

Both Ashley and daddy went to the airport to pick Nontan up. Armed with a "Welcome to Singapore"/ "シンガポーへようこそ" sign, she was extremely impatient as she waited at Belt 35 for Nontan ... occasionally running to the TV monitor to check the time of the plane's arrival... but Nontan was nowhere in sight even though her plane should have "LANDED"

As a matter of fact, we arrived early and daddy suggested having tea - something Ashley enjoys doing A LOT!!. And although she ordered something for herself, she could hardly drink her juice. Err.. actually, she didn't - she kept it in her bag. Finally, she saw Nontan waving to her from a distance... !

Eek...!! Ogre - they're everywhere...!! ^

Here's the FIRST picture of the SONG FAMILY - all four of us together!!

Mickey Mouse Infant Pacifier

Yoko's cousin sent this baby pacifier for Sato-chin all the way from Japan. Daddy was skeptical - does this cute Mickey Mouse doll actually works. Well, the doll plays both relaxing music in the tune of "If Your Wish Upon a Star" accompanied by a sound similar to those heard in the womb- and that is suppose to pacify cranky babies. You know what...?? It works!! Brandon falls asleep after a while...and it works on daddy too!! It's so cute that Ashley even wants it for herself.

Sato-chin's Adventure

Brandon in his "tin-tin" hairdo

Yesterday was Brandon's one-month old birthday - and to celebrate that, we brought him out for a shopping trip. OK - that is not entirely true - we went out coz mommy needed to buy some new clothes that would fit.

"Wow - I had a great time yesterday - we went our with daddy, mommy and my big sister. Daddy & Mommy bought me a set of wheels and I tried it for the first time yesterday. I was cool - wished I could go faster...!! Look at those strange faces looking at me as we go past them - am I really that cute...?? Well, daddy always says so - therefore I am!!" Hmm... what are those things I'm seeing above me - they're soo bright - are they stars...?? Daddy was telling mommy that I'm enjoying the lights - that MUST be it - they're "lights" and they're really nice. But all those lights were making me really sleepy. I fell asleep but mommy woke me up while we were on our way home to feed me so that I wouldn't be hungry.... what an adventure!!" - Brandon

"Gu-Ma" Wants Update

"Gu-Ma" (Vernon's sis) complains that he have not been updating the blog - and she has been bugging him with her SMSes - so, Viv - if you are reading this (you better be...!!) - here are some updates & pictures

About Annie
We have a confinement lady come in to help Yoko for 2 weeks (from 8:30am to 5:00pm) - started 2 Fridays ago and I'm glad we can't afford to have a domestic helper - otherwise, I'll have a problem. Was told by the agent that she will prepare simple breakfast and will cook depending on what we have in the fridge. She started out OK but soon I noticed she liked saying - "I don't know". "Annie what will you be cooking for lunch?"... "I don't know" There were days when I had to cook. I think she is using the excuse that since Yoko isn't local - she doesn't know what to prepare for Yoko.

Yesterday's dinner was one of the worst - her tofu dish takes like she dumped half a bottle of sake (Japanese cooking wine) in it. Though I enjoy airplane and army food - the tofu was too much for me. Needless to say, Yoko couldn't eat it too. Surprisingly, Yoko is OK with her - since she's only going to be around for a few more day - and I though SHE is the picky and difficult one ;-) We will say "bye-bye" to her this Friday... and honestly, I can't wait!!


"Sato-chin"
"Sato-chin" - that's Brandon nickname!! Well, everyone in Yoko's family has a nickname, so we decided to have one for Brandon too. In case you didn't know, Yoko is "kuri" (which means "Chestnut" - and don't ask me why) and Ashley is "Mame" (which means "bean"). I'm not going to reveal mine. You'd have to ask Yoko personally.

Last time we weighed him - he's 4.2kg (9.2 lb). He is definitely getting bigger and drinks a lot too. We've also giving him milk formula for the night, in addition to nursing him. This has allowed mommy to have better rest in the night. His last feed is at 11-ish and wakes up looking for mommy at 5-ish.

Ashley
Daddy will be able to go swimming with Ashley very soon (yeah!!) - she's now able to swim the entire length of the pool. Recently, she (and a classmate) was sent home from school because of hair lice (eek!!) We sent her for hair treatment and we took the opportunity to have her hair cut short. Anyway, we think she looks great with shorter hair.