Mervyn Hoe: My Daily Happenings

What a great day to spend at Universal Studios with my agency people on Thursday. All of us wore green and we had fun! We are amazed that there are so many people present there. And after taking the rides, boy do I feel that I'm really getting older. My risk tolerance has dropped tremendously despite me having to take the ride before: Example at the Mummy roller coaster ride. My heart nearly dropped out, seriously! The queues are very long, minimally 35 minutes and we spent the time talking and taking pictures. My friends went to take the waterboat ride at Jurassic Park and I am the sprayer! There is a corner whereby after their dip, I can get to shoot water at them! It cost $0.50 for 1 minute of spray. This ride seems harmless. But once it set off, ohh! My heart sank! So scary! Ha! The Evil me spraying water at my comrades! My colleagues with my boss, Li Fen! They are so on! Initially I brought Eve and Josh to the USS. However, Josh di...

This morning, Kate was with me and I was munching my bread for breakfast. Then she wanted my bread. So I passed to her some crumbs. Later she climbed into the table and she quickly took the whole piece of bread, and she ate a small bite! So smart! Now her appetite has improved! She is a soup person and she loves to drink fluid such as water. So when she ate the bread, she drank a few mouthfuls per bite. Find that she is growing so fast! Soon she will walk independently, and talk!! Woo! Now she hums to songs, and would follow some of the words we say. But still, her loudest word is still, 'PA!' it means people or she is calling out to us. I'm teaching her going OUT, and she will sometimes respond 'OUT'. She mirrors our actions too! Now she knows to put cream on her hands, touch her hair, wink at you for attention, point to the direction that she wants you to go and the best, she dances and shakes her body very well to music!! Talented girl.. Here are some pi...

Hey! Today we went from our house to our in-law's place by walking and we carried the lit lanterns! So fun! Eve and Kate! They are so beautiful with the pink lantern. Family picture with Steady, our family dog. Happy Josh with this traditional lantern by the Bishan Park Couple picture with Kate. Love this with the lighting! Perfect! I'm helping Josh to blow his candle Actually we wanted to join our Bishan Community Club event for the Mooncake Festival. And we were shocked to know that the tickets were all snapped up! Then, we headed back and we walked ourselves. Find that it is also good. Yes, quite a few children were walking with the electronic sound lanterns. These traditional lanterns are good enough for us, as they are not noisy at all. We were all amazed that Josh was told to pose in some of the pictures and he did! So amazing. And love the pictures taken together. Didn't manage to see Chang-E but I can say that y...

Today, we went to SATA at Ang Mo Kio for a yearly routine check. And it's quite amazing that within this small premise, they contain alot of customers! I did urine sample, blood sample and X-ray. The results will take around 2 weeks. It was a National Day package, hence they charge $65 for each person. Eve managed to find this deal and so we just took it. We fasted from last night 12am to 10am and we headed to the Ang Mo Kio Market and they have a stall that sells great bean curd with jelly and nuts! I didn't manage to take a good picture! However, I will definitely patronize on it! It is nearing end of September and within less than 100 days, we will reach 2013! I have to make full use of October, November and December now! Spending time with my children and family is really fulfilling! And I enjoy cooking meals for them. Report Book ---------------- Eve managed to dig out her secondary school report book and it's quite nostalgic to read through the pages and to re...

Simply speaking, we are born to talk truthfully and with honesty! That's what I learnt from my children. When he smelt something smelly, Josh will ask me,"是谁大便?" I denied and he said again. Then I said it's me who farted. And he said,"是daddy大便." So funny right? And when he did something wrong, Eve will ask him and he will confess. It's really pure honesty and we will give him a hug after that. Between parents and children, we should be direct to them and honest too. They will feel it when we want to hide something from them. But of course, sometimes we have to tell a white lie, otherwise both Eve and I are unable to sneak out of the house! Kate, even though she is only 14 months old, she is able to communicate well with her actions! When walking, I will direct her and when she wants me to carry, she automatically will come close and hug my leg. And I will carry her. She will also want me to feed her water and food(if I'm eating). And if she...

Mothers, in my point of view, are amazing. They are able to sacrifice and shower their love to their loved ones eg babies and children. And I can really see a difference between those who physically take care of their children hands on, and those not. When the child is sick, it's usually the mother who will be the first person to take leave or rush down home to see the baby. I'm really amazed that they are able to have this sense of urgency. I got to learn that myself! As a Dad, I would say that I have to learn this from my wife and other mothers. What can a father do? I feel that all the more as a husband, he should shower more love to the wife. Not just to the children only. Taking care of children is BOTH parents' duty and as a guy, we have to do additional thing: take better care of your wife. Most of the time, work gets into the way. But i can tell you that work should be a secondary priority. Family should be the priority. Spend meals together, make time to go...

This afternoon, we packed our lunch and headed to Botanic Gardens, Jacob Ballas. It's a park filled with children and my children enjoyed so much at the pool area. It's Kate's first time playing at the pool and she loves water sprays! Can't wait for her to walk by herself and I can imagine her exploring water spray to water spray! Weather was great and I went to play with my children at the pool area! It's fun to be a child once again actually! I can still remember that time I brought Josh here and there were only expats, and not so crowded as it was a week day. Botanic Gardens has a wide array of plants. We managed to see ficus trees, giant water lily (which originated from Africa), banana trees and so much more! It will be great if I bring along a manual XLR camera with me next time. I'm quite amazed that there was a party area and people celebrated their one year old baby. They made it quite grand as they hired a host and there was children music and ...