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Is Qianyi happier here in London? Some of you have told me she looked very happy in the photos. I guess you guys are right. She is a happier girl here. She laughs a lot and seldom throws tantrums.
She’s quite a good girl here. She seems to be very cheerful. Hubby will be sitting for an exam in early June. He has to study at home during weekends. She didn’t make a fuss although there’s no weekend outing. We brought her to Oxford Circus yesterday because Hubby needed to take a break too. She was so excited at the tube station. Before we entered the lift, she waved and said “bye-bye” to everybody outside the lift. Before we boarded the train, she waved and said “bye-bye” again as if she’s a celebrity. When we alighted, she said it again to those on the train.
Hubby told me she’s happier here too. Maybe she likes this tiny apartment. Our home in Singapore is much more spacious. We should sell it and buy a smaller unit. Hahaha…it’s just a joke! I think she feels good because she can express herself better now. The cooler weather makes her very comfortable too, I guess. 
Oh ya, this mummy has put more effort to make her happy too!
When Qianyi came home from the nursery, she saw the new flash card I made her. It’s a merry-go-round.
I knew she would love it. She’s a fan of Mary Poppins, the musical film. She’s “in love” with the character, Michael. She likes to make her fringe like Michael’s and say, “Michael’s hair!” She would walk like Michael and say, “Don’t walk like Michael.” She loves to open her mouth wide like Michael and say, “Close your mouth please, we are not a cod fish!”
There’s a scene where Mary Poppins, Bert, Michael and Jane are riding a merry-go-round. That’s why my girl was very excited to see it on the flash card.
I told her the boy (middle) is Michael and the girl on the right is Jane. Her eyes lit up when I said the girl on the left is Qianyi! I told her, “Look, Mummy tied up your hair! You’re wearing green shirt, green pants and green shoes.” Oops, this lazy mummy has used one color only… I continued my story, “Michael’s riding a blue horse. Jane’s riding a yellow horse. Qianyi’s riding a red horse. Qiany’s playing with Michael and Jane!” She’s very happy to hear the story. She kept laughing when I said , “Go faster Qianyi, Michael’s coming!” She started talking too, “Qianyi merry-go-round…faster faster…Michael’s coming!”
I didn’t expect a self-made flash card could bring her so much joy. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her.
I made 10 flash cards for Qianyi yesterday. It didn’t take long to make them. In fact, it’s quite easy. I drew something that my girl would like to see, colored them, cut them out and pasted them on a postcard. I bought a pack of 24 postcards. I will make another 14 flash cards later. It’s worth it. She’s so happy to see them. When I made her a new flash card, she took it happily and said “Thank you” loudly to me.
She talked a lot while playing with the flash cards. At first, she told me the color of each flash card. She smiled when she looked at the pictures. Every picture tells a story. She’s very interested in harp after watching one of the activities (features a little girl and a woman playing a harp) shown on the Teletubbies DVD. She tried to play the harp on the flash card!
When I picked her up from the nursery earlier, I sent her to the toilet first as usual before we came home. She said, “Open the door” when she did so. She pointed to the door and said, “Yellow!” Yes dear, the door is yellow. When she closed the door, she said it too. After she has done her wee wee, she said, “Flush the toilet”. Her teacher walked in at this moment and overheard it. She smiled at me and said, “She’s very good now. She talks a lot.” I was so happy to hear that.
I do hope the flash cards will help her express herself better. I’m going to make more flash cards for my little darling now.
There’s a restaurant here called “Kiasu”. This special name caught our attention while we were walking on the street opposite. We haven’t visited it. There are so many Chinese restaurants nearer to our apartment where we prefer to have take-away meals when we don’t feel like cooking.
We thought it’s a Singaporean restaurant but it’s actually a Malaysian restaurant. The walls at Kiasu are decorated with phrases like “afraid of getting fat”, “afraid of the wife”, “afraid of going mad” and “afraid of the police”. That sounds very interesting. We must go there one day to try out the popular dishes from different parts of the Straits (of Malacca)!
I don’t know why I get hungry all the time. I just keep eating throughout the whole day… When Hubby and I were dating each other back in our university days, my friends used to tease him. They said he would have to work very hard to earn a lot of money to feed me.
I usually cook dinner at 7ish pm. By the time Hubby comes home around 9ish pm, I usually have finished my dinner, but my stomach’s ready for supper already. He would pack some food from his company’s cafeteria. It’s called “late meal” after 7.30pm and it’s free of charge. So, I get to enjoy free suppers from Mon to Thu. There’s no “late meal” on Fri, unfortunately. 
“Darling, today is Mummy’s Day, you know? Can you say Happy Mummy’s Day?” Well, my little princess couldn’t say that yet. It’s alright. I hope she can say it next year.
We didn’t go anywhere special to celebrate it. We took a walk to Porchester Square Gardens so that Qianyi could have some fun at the playground. I wanted to see the lovely tulips but they’re all gone. The weather’s getting warmer now. I think they have been lifted to be stored over the summer. What a disappointment!
Hubby gave me a gift and a card. He even cooked us a nice meal. Thank you so much my dearest hubby! I was very happy to spend this meaningful day with my two darlings.
Hubby took a photo of me at the playground. He said it’s for Mummy’s Day. Do I look happy and contented? Haha…
Qianyi wanted me to carry her on our way back. I said I was tired so Hubby carried her although she was struggling. She would cry usually if Hubby doesn’t put her down immediately. She seemed to know it’s Mummy’s Day and allowed her daddy to carry her for a while. I asked Hubby if it’s tiring to carry the girl. He said YES and he told me she must have gained some weight.
Hubby went jogging in the evening. When he came home, he was holding a big bouquet of gorgeous flowers! It’s so funny that the little one was more excited than me. She kept saying, “Pretty flowers…pretty flowers…” Oh, I love the tiger lily…they are so beautiful! Thanks again, my darling Hubby! 
I was so happy when Qianyi’s teacher told me, “She talks a lot more now. When I asked her questions, she copied me. That’s very good!” The photos above were taken near the nursery after I talked to her teacher. She looked very happy. I guess she knew her teacher was praising her improvement in speech. It’s hard not to be stressful to see how “behind” she is for her age. Well, I shouldn’t worry too much. I guess I should celebrate all the small accomplishments she has.
Sometimes I do feel proud of her. She’s trying her best to talk more. She has picked up many new words after we arrived in London. She’s also started stringing words together. When I suggested to let her daddy blow dry her hair, she disapproved, “No, Mummy hairdryer Qianyi!” “Hairdryer” has become a verb here. We are happy enough because she’s trying to say a sentence. When I told her I wanted to clean her bottom with a cotton bud earlier after bathing her, she quickly corrected me, “Cotton bud is dry your ears.” Well, I was really happy to hear that although it’s not grammatically correct.
She loves going to the launderette. She can’t say it right. She calls it “laundry”. She would help me put the dirty clothes into the washing machine. When we make the second trip to the launderette, I would pass the wet clothes to her, one piece at a time. Before she puts it into the dryer, she would tell me what it is: Qianyi’s shirt, Qianyi’s pants, Daddy’s T-shirt etc. When we make the third trip there to collect the laundry, I would ask her to put them into the bag. So far, she did it once only. She found it boring.
She was trying to talk to the cleaning ladies too. When she saw the cleaning lady vacuuming the floor, she said something to her. I overheard some words, “…Mummy hairdryer…” She’s very interested in vacuum cleaner because we don’t have one in Singapore. I guess she wanted to tell the cleaning lady that it’s as noisy as her mummy’s hairdryer..haha.. Our apartment is cleaned once a week. Whenever it has been cleaned (They now come in the morning when Qianyi’s at the nursery), Qianyi would notice it, especially the neat bed and clean sheets. She would jump on the bed and tell me, “Aunty bedsheets… Aunty vacuum cleaner…” Whenever she says that, I would repeat them in full sentences. Hope she will say “Aunty changed the bedsheets, Aunty vacuumed the floor” soon.
When we told her we were going for a swim last Sun, she was so excited. She kept saying, “Go swimming…swimming pool…” When we were in a crowded lift, she was very happy because I have tied up her hair. She looked at me with her beaming face and said, “Qianyi tie up your hair. Qianyi’s so pretty ah…” She wasn’t shy at all. She’s getting more expressive now.
I was told all the teachers at the nursery are trained in speech therapy when I asked them to recommend a good speech therapist for Qianyi. I hope they are really well-trained and can help Qianyi to open up. Well, I don’t think she’ll show improvements if she’s with a speech therapist she doesn’t click with. We have seen two speech therapists in Singapore. The first one was young and inexperienced. The second one made Qianyi cry by forcing her to talk. So, I do hope she won’t need to have any speech therapy sessions.
I need to keep talking to her. I need a lot of patience. I need to recharge and unwind too. Hmm…I should go for a swim one morning after sending the little one to the nursery.
My darling Qianyi is not well again. She’s been feverish since last night. Since she couldn’t go to school, I decided to take her to the park. I planned to bring her to Porchester Square Gardens to see the lovely tulips but she told me, “Go to the park, Do Re Mi…” When she first went to Kensington Gardens, she ran around happily while singing the song Do Re Mi. Ah, I knew she wanted to visit the crowded Princess Diana Memorial Playground…
She walked all the way to Kensington Gardens. I was prepared to carry her when she was tired. When we reached the park, we realized the playground’s currently closed for maintenance. I quickly explained to her that we were not allowed to enter the playground. “We cannot go in dear. Do you see the uncles? They are cleaning the swings and the slides.” She understood and started running around. We walked to the pond later where there were a lot of lawn chairs. Many people were out to enjoy the nice weather although it’s a weekday.
My little dearie was already tired when I decided to walk to Kensington Palace. I carried her there and it’s really tiring. She must have gained some weight. Kensington Palace doesn’t look as good as Buckingham Palace..haha..
When I was exhausted, I told my girl I needed a rest. We both sat down on the grass under a tree. She was actually sitting on my lap, drinking her water. It’s great to just sit there and enjoy the beauty of the park. I kept telling her what I saw. “Look, the boy’s kicking the ball! Oh, now his daddy is kicking the ball.” She smiled while listening to what I said.
She walked all the way back later..lucky me! She’s taking her nap now. I do hope she’ll get well soon.
We visited Buckingham Palace last Sat. It was terribly crowded with tourists. We went there on a weekday when Qianyi was 6 months old. It was so much easier to move around then.
Changing of the guard takes place at 11.30am. The old guard comes off duty to be replaced by the new guard on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.They are in bright red uniforms and bear skin hats. Qianyi’s very excited to see them marching but we couldn’t get closer to take a good look.
The weather’s beautiful. It’s getting warmer now. As usual, we’ve taken a lot of snapshots. Hope you’ll enjoy our pictures!
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