Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

When Vai had his late morning nap, I told Anya that today we’ll be finding out stuff about butterflies.

I showed her a butterfly ornament my Mom gave me a few months ago. I let her count the number of wings and showed how each wing has the top and bottom bit. And how it has two antennas. Etc.

Then we went to my computer and I showed her stock photos of butterflies from gettyimages.com (their photos are just so nice and the vivid colours are very appealing to kids).

The images really allow her to see how God has created SO many different types of butterflies. So colourful. So beautiful.

We also talked about how God has made butterflies so unique. How a caterpillar becomes a cocoon, then a butterfly. How the process of change is so beautiful and amazing. And how it does take a long time for it to change.

[I let her know too how the same goes with us. Through time, we are – and should be – changing too. Our characters should become more refined. Become better.]

Then we watched a video clip from youtube, on its amazing transformation (honestly, the video wasn’t that nicely captured, but then I guess it’s sufficient for us to see how it all takes place).

After that (of course) we MADE a butterfly. Hehe.

What we used:

>> Coloured paper carton for the wings

>> Our old watercoloured styrofoam (brown, for the body)

>> Coloured matchsticks for the antennas

>> Glue and scissors

>> Crayons to colour the wings

>> Black markers to mark the eyes

I cut the wings and the styrofoam. I then explained to her what she needed to do. Anya did the rest of it herself.

Once it’s done, Anya wanted it to somehow ‘fly’. Hmm. So this is what I did next.

What we used:
>> wooden chopsticks (the ones we get from ordering take-aways)
>> scotch tape and plastic rope.

I stuck the two chopsticks together, making it a bit longer, then taped both sticks together. Then I taped the plastic rope to one end of it.

I then made a small hole on the butterfly body, let the plastic rope go through it, and tie a knot on the other side.

And there you go. You have a flying butterfly on a stick!

Oh, she drew butterflies too (errr … they look more like aliens with antennas and two round hands on the left and right though. Hehe!)

In the end, I personally learn so much too about the world of butterflies.

I get to see beautiful butterfly images and clips I otherwise would never see.

So yes, Mom gets to learn too. Not just the kid.

…

For more readings on this amazing creature, just click the links below:

>> The Butterfly Website

>> Sentosa’s Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom

>> Children’s butterfly site (comes with colouring pages, etc)

… this is what you sometimes get!

(read: ‘let’s-defy-gravity-and-make-Mommy’s-heartbeat-goes-real-fast’ acts)

Just this morning, Vai held on and climbed up and down the gate all by himself.

He’s just been so into climbing lately.

He climbs up the library’s book shelf, our sofa, boxes and stools. And the interesting bit, instead of getting stuck ‘up there’, he somehow manages to come down all by himself in the end.

Feels like I’ve got a little spiderman at home.

I just feel he’s growing up SO fast!

[And the sentimental me asks … awwww, where’s my little baby boy?]

Went to Will’s 1st birthday party today!

His Mommy, Nic, made him a big and yummy durian birthday cake herself too!

How cool is that!

A year ago, this is how I looked like.

Very pregnant. Couldn’t really see my feet. Couldn’t bend down without feeling like I was about to gag or something. Couldn’t sleep well. Ate a lot and yet I felt good about it (since it’s FOR the baby too! Ha!)

I still remember how I wondered if I could handle everything without any help from a fulltime maid or anyone from our family.

I wondered if I would manage to do anything else other than caring for the two kids.

I wondered if later on everything is going to be ‘normal’. You know, … like how it was before.

And now that one whole year has passed, I look back and frankly am amazed at how I’ve somehow survived it all. Until today.

Yes there are SO many moments of joy and laughters with the kids. But there are also many physical, mental, spiritual and emotional challenges (among many others!) we parents face each day.

Each and every one is tough. Realistically.

And really, I just have to say that I sure am not able to go through any single day in the past year if it’s not because of God’s strength, grace and mercy.

And looking ahead, I realise how the days will get tougher too.

The kids will grow, become more independent and adopt lots of stuff from their friends and surroundings. Both good and bad. And raising these little ones in the right way will be a real challenge.

Well anyway. At least I know I can always put my hope and trust in God alone.

That HE who’s always been there with us before, will sure be with us too in the hours, days and years ahead.

Today we decided to do something different. As a family. We went to Wild Wild Wet at Downtown East, Pasir Ris!

We reached there at 5pm and the crowd wasn’t too bad. Which was good!

Once we’re in the pool, Anya held on real tight to Wilson while Vai kept on wanting to jump in.

We sat on tubes, went down the children water slides (yes, Vai went down too together with me) and enjoyed the rhythm of the artificial waves in one of their many pools.

After a while, Anya kind of got used to the idea of the whole water fun and went down the children slides alone too (which I think was a great improvement, considering her naturally-less-daring character)

As for Vai, well … he crawled and played along the shallower poolside with me. I made him go under water a few times too and he was totally fine! I think he’d even be happy to just float on his own on the deeper side using just his life jacket! (which of course did NOT happen, btw)

The pools were closed by 7pm and so we showered, got ourselves nice and clean and had some dinner around the area.

Ah. We had lots of fun.

Public Holiday. Out by 9.30am.

Warm fellowship. Great friends. Grass field. National Day show. Nice weather. Fighter planes. Helicopters. Huge crowd, mostly in red. Glimpse of fireworks. Food and food.

Back home at 10.30pm.

[note: out of the twelve shots above, five were taken by Anya]

Oh, and here’s how the grass field I was talking about (read: the Padang) looked like today.

As captured by my hubby.