Letting go of the nap.

Our 2.5-year-old teenager at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday.

I never thought I'd actually be happy to see this day come. We've decided to slowly phase out our 2.5-year-old's afternoon nap.

That's right, hell has completely frozen over. But let me explain...

We have a fantastic sleeper (not trying to rub it in, but... we do). Recently, Linna's been taking a 2-3 hour nap around 3 p.m., and she sleeps in until about 10 a.m. Yes, she is our dream child. However, with this long, late, afternoon nap, came a late (very late) bedtime. For the past few months, we haven't been starting Linna's bedtime routine until about 10 p.m., and she usually doesn't fall asleep until 11 p.m. (sometimes later).

*** SIDE NOTE: I now know what it's like to be "THAT" parent... The parent who is judged by other parents for having a toddler out after 10 p.m. It's cool though, judgers. I just smile, knowing we'll be sleeping in on Saturday until 10 a.m. :) 

This late bedtime-routine has worked for our little family of three. Papa Saigh doesn't get home from work until after 7:30 p.m., and since he leaves for work in the morning LONG before Linna wakes up, Linna's long afternoon nap and late bedtime gave the two of them some quality time together. This sleep schedule also gave us the flexibility to go out for dinners as a family, without the dreaded toddler-meltdown at 6 p.m. However, Linna's long afternoon naps and late bedtime, mean NO peace and quiet for me and my husband at night. So, in the last couple weeks we decided to drop Linna's afternoon nap. Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuun.

While I miss my quiet, late afternoons when Linna used to nap, I now get to experience these hours of peace and quiet with my husband. Linna's bedtime is now 7/7:30 p.m., and she is OUT by the time her head hits the pillow. The hardest part about even considering dropping Linna's afternoon nap, was the thought of "losing" my late-morning sleeper (I know, I know... we have it SO rough. I promise I don't hate you for secretly hoping our next kid is an awful sleeper). BUT, Linna is still sleeping until 9 or 10 a.m.

SUCCESS.

We're now about two weeks into the dropped afternoon nap routine, and it's working for all three of us. I know my husband loves spending time with Linna after work, but let's be real... he wants some quiet down-time too. He's trying his best to get home before 7:30 p.m., so he can at least read a book to Linna and say goodnight. I think this routine makes him more excited about taking Linna out on "father/daughter dates" on the weekend.

Since we ARE horribly selfish parents, we still have Linna take an afternoon nap if we want to go out for dinner, or do something as a family later in the evening. She's a pretty flexible kid, and still loves her sleep (she's like a 2.5-year-old teenager). As long as she's getting enough sleep (11 to 14 hours is recommended at this age) to function without a million meltdowns during the day, everyone is happy.

Back-flips in the pool.

Papa Saigh taught Linna a new trick in the pool today... back-flips! She's ALMOST got it. Pretty darn good for a 2.5-year-old!

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Charlie & Lola's Extremely New Play

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO SEE "CHARLIE & LOLA'S EXTREMELY NEW PLAY" IN SINGAPORE

Congratulations to CYNTHIA LAU! You're the winner of two tickets to the June 3rd (10 a.m.) performance of "Charlie & Lola's Extremely New Play"! Please email us (minnesotababyinfo@gmail.com) with your address and phone number, so we can verify, and get your tickets to you. Thanks for participating everyone, and stay tuned for another giveaway coming very soon!

There's two ways to enter for a chance to win 2 tickets to see the June 3rd, 2014, 10 a.m. (opening show) performance of Charlie & Lola's Extremely New Play at Singapore's DBS Arts Centre:

1. "Like" the Minnesota Baby Facebook page, and share the contest post with your Facebook friends (you must click "share" under the "Charlie & Lola's Extremely New Play" contest post on our Facebook page).

2. Comment on this blog post (below) with your first and last name, along with the area of Singapore you currently reside in.

Two simple ways to enter, and if you complete both ways, you'll double your chances to win! You must enter by Friday, May 23rd, 2014 at 8 p.m. to be eligible for a chance to win. One winner will be randomly selected to win two tickets to see the 10 a.m. show on June 3rd. The winner will be announced on this blog. Good luck everyone!

CHARLIE & LOLA'S EXTREMELY NEW PLAY

OUR REVIEW: I took our 2.5-year-old to a 10 a.m. show on Tuesday, June 10th, and it was SO cute! It's very different than any other theater performance we've seen in Singapore, as they use puppets and no speaking actors. The dialogue is on a pre-recorded track, but the cast does an amazing job keeping the show lively. Linna was glued to the show from the moment it started, and all the children in the audience loved when leaves and bubbles floated down from the ceiling. Even adults in the audience were enjoying the humorous parts of the show. The only thing I wish they'd change is the volume of the pre-recorded track, as it was difficult to hear the dialogue when the kids in the audience were excited about things floating down from the ceiling. Other than that, this is a fantastic show for kids of all ages, and it runs a little less than one hour, so it's good for short attention spans. Our 2.5-year-old is STILL talking about it, so it looks like we'll be getting into the Charlie & Lola TV series. We'd never heard of it until we saw this show in Singapore. Take the kids to a performance while it's still showing at the DBS Arts Centre!

June 3rd - 15th, 2014

Singapore's DBS Arts Centre

Tues & Wed: 10 a.m.
Thurs: 10 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Fri: 10 a.m., 4 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Sat & Sun: 11 a.m., 2 p.m. & 5 p.m.

Ticket Prices: $40, $50 & $60 (exclude booking fee)

Online Booking: SISTIC

Santa comes in may.

Our 2.5-year-old woke up from her afternoon nap today with non-stop talk about Santa. According to Linna, Santa Clause is coming soon, even though it's May. She also says it's going to snow in Singapore tomorrow because Santa is coming (again, it's May, and it never snows in Singapore). I'm blaming this thought-process on the meds she's taking for her upper respiratory infection. 

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Dora in singapore.

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO SEE DORA THE EXPLORER LIVE AT RESORTS WORLD SENTOSA

*** Congratulations MELISA WHITE! You are the winner of two tickets to the June 4th (6:30 p.m.) performance of Dora The Explorer Live at Resorts World Sentosa! Please email us (minnesotababyinfo@gmail.com) with your address and phone number so we can verify and get your tickets to you. Thanks for participating everyone, and stay tuned for another giveaway coming up soon! ***

NICKELODEON’S DORA THE EXPLORER LIVE! DORA’S PIRATE ADVENTURE

June 4th - 8th, 2014 (Wed - Sun)

Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Sentosa

Wed - Fri: 3 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Sat & Sun : 11 a.m., 3 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Ticket Prices: $38, $68, $88, $108 (exclude booking fee)

Booking Hotline: +65 6348 5555

Online Booking: www.sistic.com.sg

Tickets are also available at Resorts World Theatre

OUR REVIEW: This is a really cute show for all the little (and old) Dora fans in Singapore! My Aussie friend Renee and I took our two and three year old to an afternoon performance, and we all loved it. Our little princesses were glued to the show from the moment it started, and they asked us where Dora went during the show's intermission. The girls waved pirate flags around during the show, while the moms sipped on champagne! After the show, Renee treated the girls to some cute Dora stuffed toys, while we grabbed some coffee and a snack at the shops outside the Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Sentosa. See this show while you still can, and you'll have some happy little ones in your home!

Linna and her Aussie pal Chloe at Dora's Pirate Adventure!

Catching popcorn.

She wants to do everything her Papa does...

My first "made at school" mother's day gift.

Linna came running out of school at pick-up time today with a HUGE smile on her face! She was SO excited to give me the Mother's Day gift she made herself at nursery school in Singapore. It's a hand-painted flower in a cup, along with a laminated poem that she decorated with stickers, and her hand print along side it. "I made this flower for you Mama... and a card!", she exclaimed as she handed me the gorgeous gift. Thankfully there weren't many people on our bus ride home, because tears rolled down my face as I read the poem. It's mind-boggling how motherhood can turn a person into a big softy. My Mother's Day is complete, and Sunday is still a few days away. I love being the Mama of this amazing little girl!

Discovering her culinary skills.

Our table tops and kitchen counters have been looking like this lately...

... and I'm slowly learning to just let the mess go. Our 2.5-year-old has never really been an "empty everything out of the kitchen cabinets and drawers" kind of kid... until now. While Linna's MeMaw was visiting us in Singapore, the two spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and Linna quickly discovered her "culinary skills". She loves to help pour, dump, chop (with plastic knives), and stir. Now, every morning, afternoon, and night, Linna is emptying our kitchen cabinets and drawers, and asking me for ingredients that she can use to "cook" with. She fills cups and bowls with water in the bathroom sink by herself, and could mix, pour, and make messes all day long... and ALL over the house. There's always a puddle (or lake) of water to wipe up, and I can't even tell you how many pieces of rice, pasta, and oats I have stepped on in the last few weeks. Up until this point, Linna has been a pretty tidy kid. Oh how things have changed.

Linna and her MeMaw making potato soup in our kitchen in Singapore.

However, I'm REALLY trying to not let her messes bother me, because she is exploring her love for "cooking", which has resulted in her trying TONS of new foods. When Linna became a toddler, she also became a picky eater. I have to sneak veggies into her food, and she always requests her regular favorites for meals and snacks (i.e. peanut butter toast, peanut butter toast, and peanut butter toast). She NEVER wants to try new foods, unless we bribe her with a piece of chocolate or a biscuit (yes, we've become "those" parents). But lately, she's tried all sorts of new foods. Her teacher told me that Linna ate a fish cake at school the other day (I don't know what this is, but whateves), and she actually requested carrots during lunch at school. She's eating things like celery with peanut butter and raisins, oatmeal, gnocchi, etc. If she can help make it, she'll now generally try it! It's amazing how interested she is in cooking and baking, how how much this new interest has helped with her willingness to try new foods. My kitchen organization, however, has taken a huge hit (deep breath...).

Here's to just "letting it go" (yes, I'm singing the Frozen song in my head as I type this)...

Conversations with a 2.5-year-old.

I started recording Linna this morning, thinking I'd capture one of her dramatic meltdowns on camera. Instead, I captured a pretty cute conversation, featuring her bargaining tactics...

Giveaway: Dotty the dragon.

*** WIN 4 TICKETS TO SEE DOTTY THE DRAGON AT SINGAPORE'S DRAMA CENTRE THEATRE ***

Congratulations to JAIME CHAN! You're the winner of our "Dotty the Dragon" ticket giveaway! Please email us (minnesotababyinfo@gmail.com) with your address and phone number so we can verify and get your tickets to you. Thanks for participating everyone!

There's two ways to enter for a chance to win 4 tickets to see the June 7th, 4 p.m. performance of Dotty the Dragon at Singapore's Drama Centre Theatre:

1. "Like" the Minnesota Baby Facebook page, and share the contest post with your Facebook friends (you must click "share" under the Dotty the Dragon contest post on our Facebook page).

2. Comment on this blog post (below) with your first and last name, along with the area of Singapore currently reside in.

Two simple ways to enter, and if you complete both ways, you'll double your chances to win! You must enter by Friday, May 9th, 2014 at 8 p.m. to be eligible. One winner will be randomly selected to win four tickets to see the 4 p.m., June 7th performance of Dotty the Dragon. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on this blog. Good luck everyone!


SHOW INFO:

Dotty the Dragon is part of the 2014 ACE! Festival. Dotty is a baby fire dragon. She lives at the top of a mountain with her grumpy dad, Mr. Dragon. In the village below, everyone fears for their lives, for dragons eat children... Or so they believe. But, Dotty would never eat children! Instead, she loves to gaze down and watch the children playing in the orchard. One day, she decides to pay them a surprise visit. After all, everyone loves surprises... don’'t they?

Show runs June 3rd - 8th, 2014, and tickets are available through SISTIC.

Little daredevil.

We had our Australian friends (the Bryce family) over on Friday night for a swim, dinner, and cocktails. Our four girls swam well into the evening, and this is video of Linna doing some pool stunts with Papa Saigh. She's such a daredevil! All four girls had Papa Saigh doing this with them for about an hour. Linna was wearing a life-jacket because it was dark outside, the moms were drinking wine, and we only had one adult in the pool with all four girls. She is now doing this sans life-jacket:)

Memaw and peepaw's first visit to singapore.

Going for a walk on the first day
they arrived in Singapore!

I can't believe it has almost been a week since Linna's MeMaw and PeePaw (Papa Saigh's parents from Mankato, MN) left Singapore to head back home to Minnesota. We were thrilled to have them visit us for almost two weeks, and it seriously feels empty in our condo without them here. My in-laws haven't traveled much outside the US, so getting them on a 20+ hour flight to come to Singapore was a pretty remarkable event in itself.

Their visit seemed to come at the perfect time, as my father-in-law just retired a few weeks ago, and like everyone back home, they needed to get out of the crazy cold and dreary weather Minnesota has been experiencing. I'm not sure they were fully prepared for the "oven" we call Singapore, but we all had a fantastic time while they were here.

We took MeMaw and PeePaw to Bintan Island in Indonesia, the Singapore Zoo, Gardens by the Bay, Easter Sunday Brunch at The Equinox (Swissotel - The Stamford), their first hawker food center, Clarke Quay, Grease at Marina Bay Sands, and they tried their first Singapore Sling and Chilli Crab while they were here. It was heart-warming to see Linna with her MeMaw and PeePaw, as we've been away from our Minnesota family off and on for almost two years.

Saying goodbye this time around was REALLY difficult, and their visit makes us realize how much we're sacrificing being away from home. We are happy and thankful to be living in Singapore, but it's never easy being 10,000+ miles away from family. We miss you MeMaw and PeePaw, and we'll see you again in October (that's only five more months MeMaw!).


Here are some photos from MeMaw and PeePaw's visit to Singapore...

Chilli Crab at Jumbo.

Linna and her PeePaw at the Singapore Zoo.

Linna and her MeMaw being seals at the Singapore Zoo.

Making potato soup and eating MeMaw's "bumps on a log".

Gardens by the Bay at night.

Gardens by the Bay's Cloud Dome.

PeePaw in the water at our resort in Bintan.

Linna and her PeePaw on the beach in Bintan.

Clarke Quay/Robertson Quay/Boat Quay.

Coloring Easter eggs with her MeMaw in Singapore.

Opening Easter presents.

MeMaw and PeePaw's first hawker food experience - spicy Indian!

Swimming at the condo with MeMaw.

Easter Brunch at the Equinox. Ask MeMaw about the champagne!

Cool PeePaw.

Kisses for PeePaw in Bintan.

Bintan. I love this photo!

PeePaw is sleeping, and we have a photo-bomber. Easter Brunch at The Equinox.

PeePaw trying sashimi for the first time. He liked it!

Our Easter Sunday brunch view at The Swissotel (The Equinox). Fantastic!

MeMaw and PeePaw on the beach in Bintan - Love birds.

Playing cards with her MeMaw and PeePaw.

So we never forget (linna, 2.5 years).

As parents, we're constantly watching our children do cute, exciting, and amazing things, and it's so easy to "forget" these moments. Sure I've blogged about our daughter's big milestones since she was growing in my belly, and I think I'm pretty good about capturing her life in photos and video... but it's the little things I never want to forget. It's the things Linna does every day that make me stop, smile, and realize how lucky we are... the little things that make me so proud and thankful that she is my daughter. Here's a few from this week...

1. I never want to forget your toddler walk...

My in-laws say Linna walks just like me. I've never seen myself walk, but anytime someone points out similarities between me and my daughter, I beam with mama pride. I could stare at her cute little tushie and toddler legs all day long. At 2.5 years old, she still has her "baby" look, and I wish this would never change.

2. I never want to forget how great of a sleeper you are.

For three days now, Linna has slept in until 11 a.m. I actually have to go in and wake her up! She regularly sleeps until 9 a.m. or later, and is still napping two to three hours in the afternoon. For this, I am thankful. I swear I don't feed her booze or sleeping pills before bed. It's like we have a 2.5-year-old teenager!

3. I never want to forget your persuasive bargaining tactics.

Just like any other parents, we bribe our kid. Like today, we were running late for school (she woke up at 11 a.m., and we had to be to school by 11:30 a.m.), so I told her that if she got dressed and brushed her teeth really fast, I would give her an Angry Birds biscuit. Her response:


"I will get dressed, brush my teeth, and you will give me two... (pause) THREE biscuits, OK?!"


The way she says "OK?!" with a huge smile on her face is just too much. She usually (always) wins.