ABC with Xavier

Lilian have been secretly training Xavier. I was surprised when Xavier could call out animals or things that some of the alphabet represents. Moments like these bring a smile to any parent's face.

Lilian: "A for"

Xavier: "Apple"

Lilian: "B for"

Xavier: "Boy"

Lilian: "C for"

Xavier: "Cat, meeoowww"

Lilian: "D for"

Xavier: "Dog"

Lilian: "E for"

Xavier: "El-phan (Elephant) *proceed to do the elephant trunk action"

Lilian: "F for"

Xavier: "Fish *proceed to do the fish action"

Lilian: "G for"

Xavier: "G-raf (Giraffe)"

Lilian: "H is for"

Xavier: "Horse *proceed to gallop around"

Lilian: "I is for"

Xavier: "Ice-cream *pretend to put it in his mouth and eat"

Merry Christmas 2010

Our tree is filled with Christmas gifts this year, mostly for Xavier. And he would like to says a big THANKS to all the generous uncles and aunties by doing a song, a dance and some piano playing. 

First, a Christmas song. Xavier would sway to the Jingle Bell song and shout out two words of the song. 

Next, a "piano performance". We went to my cousin's place for Christmas feast and Xavier seems to be having fun with the piano. 

Lastly a penguin dance. We head to my in-law's place to visit the newly arrived nephew (born one day before my birthday). Xavier gamely don the penguin suit and did the penguin dance.

Hope all of you like what Xavier has performed.

Let's dress the Xmas tree

It's almost Christmas again and this year, Lilian decides to bring out the Christmas tree and dress it up. And we have a little helper Xavier.

Actually we had the tree up a month ago but I been slacking on doing the photos. And I said to myself I better have it posted before Christmas. So here it is.

Xavier did a little dance in front of the tree when we were just starting. He then choose those ornaments he likes (mostly the balls) and put them onto the tree. Actually Lilian did most of the decorations while I was busy taking photos.

Xavier did the honour of putting the star onto the tree. Now what's lacking are the presents...

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Challenge - Not Good Enough

The Hot Pursuit Challenge has ended today. I believe the winning timing remains at 1:21:22 and top five were below the timing of 1:46. The best I did was 2:15 during the contest which is not good enough to win the Bravia TVs. But I did walk away with a PS3 Move Pen that blinks. It's perfect for times when Xavier is whining and crying in the car.

A Page on Xavier's Milestones

Everyday passes by so quickly and before I realise, its almost the end of the 2010. Xavier will turn two soon and although I try my best to document his interesting moments on this blog and on facebook, the facebook entries gets erased after a week or so.

Hence I decided to add a page on the blog where I could put in one liners about Xavier's milestones or interesting day to day comments. You can go to the page either from the header above titled "Xavier - Milestones" or you can click this link to go to it now.

I will try to recall the previous milestones and document it.

DND 2010 - Shanghai Night

This year's dinner and dance is one of the best I been to. Funny MC, 8-Course dinner, fun games and heaps of prizes in the lucky draw, it's hard to go wrong. This year's theme is 夜.上海 Shanghai Night. A few colleagues of mine decided to go for the group best dress.

Unfortunately the Nerdy Girls not only won the "Chicken, Water, Stone" game (full body movement version of Scissors, Paper, Stone) against our table, they also beat us to the group best dress.

Nonetheless I did win something in this year's lucky draw, a MontBlanc coin case. Although I wished for the Macbook Air, the iPads or the Japan holiday, a coin case is better than not winning anything.

Project "Get Xavier off our Bed"

Xavier is used to sleeping on our bed before we transfer him to his cot. And almost every day in the wee hours he would wake up and call for us to take him out of his cot to our bed to sleep.

However, Lilian and I gets disturbed sleep as Xavier likes to kick us. And his kicks are becoming the "back-breaking" sort. His usual bedtime routine is milk followed by brushing of his teeth, some water then sleep. Today I manage to make him drink his milk, brush his teeth, drink some water and sleep, all in his cot.

I think partly was because he has been naughty today and got an earful from me twice, so he didn't complaint when I told him "You are a big boy now, you have to sleep on your own". Although Lilian still bring him from his cot to our bed in the morning, I think it's a good start. Let's hope he starts to sleep in his own cot very soon. After this, next stage would be to move his cot to his own room.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Challenge

In case you are wondering what I been busy with, I been practising for the Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Challenge. EA Singapore is giving away 5 Sony LCD TVs to the top 5 timing for the course "Snake Pit".

Basically you play a cop and try to bust 5 racers in the shortest timing. Not an easy task. The current fastest timing is 1mins 52sec but people have been posting the possibility of sub 1min 30sec. To get a timing below 2mins need a certain amount of luck.

So far my fastest timing is 2min 11sec. Below is a Youtube clip so someone in luck and doing it in 1min 22sec.

Will give it a shot this weekend at Compass Point Best Denki.

Thank you Dads for Life!!!

Christmas came early for us. I joined The Joy of Being There contest organised by Dads for Life and my entry won both Ikea and Crystal Jade vouchers. The Ikea vouchers were from the pick of the week for week 2 which was chosen by the Dads for Life panel. When I picked up the vouchers, a staff from Dads for Life said she liked my ending "I'm still learning the ropes on how to be a better father but whatever happens, I will always be there for him, for better or for worst."

And the Crystal Jade vouchers were from being one of the top 15 highest voted entry. Like to give a BIG thank you to all those who voted for us on Facebook and Dads for Life for organising the contest. Xavier couldn't be happier. THANK YOU!

Richard Franiec S95 Grip

 The S95 grip I ordered from Richard Franiec's Camera Accessories just arrived. It looks like a shark's fin on first look. Made from aircraft-grade aluminium, you will feel the weight and the quality of this product once you have it in your hands.

Essentially what the grip does is it allows you to hold and operate the S95 using a single hand. There are two common methods people use to hold the S95. The Pincer Style using both thumbs to support the base of the camera and gripping the top using the index fingers or adding the middle fingers against the front of the camera body for added support.

The grip allows the right middle finger to warp around the camera body natually and grip the camera in an assuring way. Now one hand operation is possible and the grip makes two hands operation more comfortable and less tiring. People with a DSLR and using this as a second alternative camera will definitely welcome this grip with open arms.

JJ SalsaRengue @ SISF 2010

Singapore International Salsa Festival (SISF) 2010 happened last weekend while we were in Bali. If you missed it like we did, below are some of the video clips.







Seeing these guys performing on stage makes me wanna dance again. I would definitely want to salsa (and maybe tango) again once Xavier is much older and more independent. Maybe I might bump into Xavier on the dance floor. If you wish to move like those dancers on the video or simply learn something new and make some friends in the process, JJ SalsaRengue is the place to go.

Crumpler The Grub

Front of The Grub (L)

I wanted to have a look at Crumpler's Thirsty Al (M) as a possible pouch for my Canon S95 but they were sold out. My eyes however caught a red hot sleeve with an orange imprint of a retro camera on the outside, The Grub (L).

Tried it and it fits well on the S95. It wraps the S95 like a glove and there is also sufficient space for the Richard Franiec's grip which I have ordered pending delivery. This would be the new home of my S95.

Back of The Grub (L)

Front with S95 inside

Top with S95 inside

According to the staff, this sleeve is a new arrival to the store, so new that I could not find any information about it on their website or Google.

This is NOT a Kaka

This is not a Kaka, it's just a black particle on the floor.

I am referring to Kaka as in insect (in Hokkien) and not the super rich and handsome soccer player from Brazil. Earlier in the after I spotted a black insect about 1cm long. Thinking it would be good to teach Xavier a new term and that he shouldn't catch it and put in his mouth if he sees one, I brought him near the insect.

Xavier was smart enough to stay a distance from the insect and ask me to catch it. So mission accomplished and I caught the insect using a piece of tissue and dispose it.

However, moments later, he began calling out to us. Thinking he spotted another insect, we came to his "rescue" only to find that he is now pointing out every single dirt and black particles on the floor thinking it's an insect. And he actually climbed up the sofa to get pull out tissues to pass to us to "catch" those particles.

These are the moments we didn't know whether to laugh or to pull our hair...

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

I bought a t-shirt with the above graphics from Bangkok many years ago but it still puts a smile on my face whenever I wear it. Guess it sums up what a Geek I am.

I haven't been playing much games on my PS3 ever since I decided to use the time to shred some weight. I am on my mandatory leave these two weeks and decided to gathering some friends over for a PS3 night after some super value, yummy and sinful dinner at Tung Lok Signature (we used the voucher from the Nike 10k Run race pack and the total bill come out to only SGD83.55 for four adults and 1 troddler).

As I do not have much games on hand, I thought it would be nice to have a new racing game so we can have some high speed fun. There are two highly anticipated racing games out this November; Gran Turismo 5 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.


Gran Turismo 5 is only launched in Singapore on 24th November 2010 so this game is out. To say that the whole PS3 community is waiting for this game is an understatement. I heard of XBox fans vowing to abandon their XBox and buy PS3 and the Logitech G27 steeling wheel just for this game. This is the closest gaming experience ever to real driving experience. With over 1,000 cars to choose from, it would probably take you close to three years to try out all the cars if you play a different and unique car every day (simplified thinking). I will want to buy this game at a later stage, probably on secondary market when some rich kid gets sick of the game and wants to sell it off.

So that leaves me with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. I bought this brand new as it just launched 4 days ago and nobody is selling their copies yet. Turned out this game is heaps of fun. You can rise in rank playing either as a racer or a cop and the cars featured in this game are all the super fast and exotic cars which would cost many, many, many times my annual salary, if on sale at all. So imagine the pleasure of going over 250km/h in these cars and crashing them in spectacular, slow motion fashion. Currently I addicted to this game (having played it till 4am for two consecutive days) but I am going get a hold of myself from tomorrow onwards and play this in a sensible fashion. I must fight my geeky side!!

Anyway check out the following awesome promotional video using real cars. Remember to wipe your saliva after that.

Dads for Life Turns 1

Dads for Life turns 1 today and they had Ms Erika Chen perform their commemorative sandart piece for their Dads for Life 1st Anniversary event. I have only seen sandart performed on Taiwan variety shows but never knew we have a sandart artist right here in Singapore.

Canon Powershot S95 - The Mighty Mouse

I haven't been able to shoot as much as I would like to on my Canon 50D. The thought of bringing out the heavy DSLR sometimes (or most of the time) puts me off, especially when going out with Xavier (he has become very needy, wanting us to carry him most of the time). Hence I've been on a lookout for a small compact camera that has full manual functions like those DSLR. I was very tempted by Canon PowerShot S90 so when Canon launched the S95, I took the bait.

An upgrade from S90, it added HD (720p) video recording capability to its host of powerful functions. This is a very welcoming feature for me as it doubles as my video cam. I can now capture more videos of Xavier (like his dancing moves) in HD clarity going forward. It also has a Control Ring surrounding the lens which you can use to control various functions depending on the shooting mode you are in. This is one of the main selling point of S90 & S95 and it really is a wonderful feature. Controls and settings could be easily adjusted with a small turn of the ring.

At the back there is also a rotating  wheel that enables fast setting of parameters and scrolling through photos in review mode. This is very similar to the wheel on 50D and I absolutely love the wheel.

It has a very fast F2.0 lens at 28mm. Paired with a high sensitivity sensor which keeps noise at bay, it enables low light shooting that was previously very noisy on our old IXUS 800IS. And at a price of SGD531.00 after trading in the super old IXUS V2 (under the Canon Privilege Purchase Program), it looked like a steal.

I manage to get this camera in time for my Bali trip and it comes in very handy. Most of the time I just took the S95 out to shoot during the trip, leaving the 50D in the resort room. I haven't been able to review the photos yet as Adobe Lightroom 3 does not support the S95 raw file as of now. But it should be by version 3.3. I'll probably make do with the Canon DPP program for now.

This camera is so feature packed yet in such a small body that I nicknamed it Mighty Mouse. You can google its specifications online easily. My only complain is that it doesn't come with a hardcopy manual and trying to read the PDF format on the tiny iPhone screen while on holiday is !@#%$#^%^&! Hopefully I can master most of the functions before the end of my long leave.

Clubmed Bali - Day 4 & 5

We decided to bring Xavier for a early morning beach walk on day 4. Clubmed has this big Trapeze were both kids and adults can try out for free. We didn't try though, just took a photo of it. On the way to the beach there were many squirrels sighted on the trees and roaming about the resort.

The shots below of the beach were heavily processed. I wanted to have the white sandy feel and sort of bleached the colour away.

We walked towards a few locals who were doing some fishing. Took a shot of their catch too.

As we head back to the bar, a group of guests were having fun with the daily aqua-aerobic.

We met up with Elsie and Zachary at the bar where they were having "Happy Croissant Hour". Elsie had a taste of bringing two toddlers out and I think her tee-shirt sums up how she feels.

One of the rare family shots capturing Xavier's cheeky face.

I think Eric's face sums up how the holiday went. Taking young kids out for holiday is no easy feat. I sort of concluded that Xavier would have the same amount of fun with a Sentosa Staycation, so long as there's a swimming pool.

If you missed the post of Xavier's first experience on aeroplane, you can read about it on Day 1 post.

Xavier's first pool experience is in Day 2.

More beach and pool fun coming up in Day 3.

Clubmed Bali - Day 3

A good breakfast is the best start to you can have to any day. And both the kids and their parents love the variety Clubmed offers for their buffets. They have these kid's tray where you can put different food on a different colour.

Clubmed offers to take care of kids age two years and above. For kids below two like Xavier, they require us to engage a nanny (with their contacts). We were initially planning for that so that we could do some activities on our own (like try wind-surfing etc.). However, after speaking to the external coordinator to arrange for a nanny, we didn't have the confidence in the service. Hence we decided to look after Xavier on our own. I guess being first time parents we tend to treat Xavier like our little precious. 

Its playtime at the pool again. This time, we got the kids a beach ball to play. And boy did they have fun.

We decided to bring Xavier to the beach after lunch. It's just a stone throw from the Bar. Something caught my eye when we pass by the bar. It's a mini table-tennis table. The GO was having a game with the old man. I too join in the fun and play a game with the old lady, and lost! The old couple is from Korea.

The first time Xavier been to a beach was at Sentosa during our Staycation last year end so this would be his second time going to the beach. He had fun picking sea shells with mummy. The wrist bands you see in the middle photo are Clubmed's form of identifying we are their guests.

Eric and I decided to try out Archery in the afternoon. And I won a medal by being 2nd in the mini competition.

And while we are shooting arrows, Xavier was keep himself busy throwing tennis balls in the tennis court.


Before we know it, it was dinnertime. Clubmed has a daily theme and the Ang Mos really dress up for dinner. And I talking like dresses ladies and shirt and pants for guys. We obvious were not prepared (or bothered). Today's dinner was somewhat special though, as the chefs prepared a number of food carvings. I find the watermelon carving of the crab and rabbit very interesting.

If you missed the post of Xavier's first experience on aeroplane, you can read about it on Day 1 post.

Xavier's first pool experience is in Day 2.

More beach fun and squirrels sighting in Day 4 and 5.

Clubmed Bali - Day 2

The rooms we booked came with a small balcony. There were coconut trees all over the resort and a small pebble pool near our block. Our room was closer to the main pool whereas Eric's rooms (yes they gave his family 2 rooms as they have 4 occupants) were further away from us. Lilian commented that the rooms looked nicer on my photo than it actually is. There was no bath tub, just shower facilities. But they did provide a tam pui (baby toilet bowl) for toddler use.

We were up bright and early to make full use of the day. Met Eric's family at the restaurant for buffet breakfast. Food and drinks are never an issue in Clubmed. They have buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner and an Ala-carte restaurant for the other times when you want to eat something in between the timings. Plenty of baby chairs upon request and heaps of food to choose from. The kids love this place and who wouldn't when you have unlimited raisins, yoghurts and coco crunch. Even I couldn't resist the humongous food spread ("eating selectively" pledge was thrown out of the window). I rate the spread (in terms of variety) second only to The Line at Shangri-La Singapore. Its just too good to pass.

We went for a guided tour of the resort after breakfast. The GOs showed us where the various facilities are and what we could do. We went back to our rooms to rest after the tiring walkabout as the kids needed their naps. Rest and relax was the order of Day 2. Next program, fun at the pool in the late afternoon.

Its the first time Xavier's going to the pool to play. You can see his excitement in the top left photo. He gathered his bag and rushed off when we said we are going to swim at the pool. Below are three video clips of him having fun with Lilian and myself in the pool.







Sidenote on S95's video capabilities: You can only use digital zoom during recording and not optical zoom. It also doesn't refocus once you start recording. Despite the shortcoming, it shoots in HD (720p) and the recording in stereo is very clear. Afterall, it's a camera that shoots HD video and not a videocam.

While Lilian puts Xavier to sleep, I went to shoot the night with my 50D. The party had just started in Clubmed. The GOs were bringing the crowd to a high to the tune of YMCA. They even have a surprise treat with some male GOs dressed as party girls. The free flow of cocktails help gives everyone the party spirit.

Sidenote on shooting party night shots: The S95 did well to capture the poolside bar (top left photo). I steady it by the ledge and used long shutter to soak in the night colours. The rest were shot using the 50D at high ISO of 1,600 and 3,200. I didn't want to use flash so I used high ISO to allow shootable shutter speed. I then used Lightroom 3 to take away most of the digital noise.

If you missed the post of Xavier's first experience on aeroplane, you can read about it on Day 1 post.
More beach and pool fun coming up in Day 3.
More beach fun and squirrels sighting in Day 4 and 5.

Clubmed Bali - Day 1

Clubmed recently had a Natas 1-for-1 promotion for some of their resorts and we take the opportunity to plan for our first family vocation to Clubmed Bali with the Leong family. As we had to take into consideration flight timings that were more child friendly, we only had 3 full days in the resort although the rooms were for 5D4N.














There are many first for Xavier on this trip, including his first experience on an aeroplane. We were lucky to have an empty seat on our flight there so Xavier had his own seat. He was had "Talking Tom" on iPhone to keep him company so he was in great spirit. Below are some photos on the plane and a video clip of Xavier during the take-off.





We choose Clubmed Bali as it is family and kids friendly and one of the better Clubmed resorts in Asia. By the time we reached the resort it was late night, just in time for us to dump our luggage for dinner before the closing time.

The fun starts in Day 2 with Xavier's first pool experience.
More beach and pool fun coming up in Day 3.

More beach fun and squirrels sighting in Day 4 and 5.

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Happy 5th Anniversary My Dear!



It's amazing how time flies when you are with the person you love. Lilian and I were lawfully married on 20/05/2005 but the wedding ceremony was on 12/11/2005. You can view the rest of the scanned wedding collarge on my Flickr.

I remember spending sleepless nights before the wedding doing our photo montage to be shown before our first march-in, partly to save some cost and partly because I wanted something at the dinner which I did myself for us. It was done as a slideshow on Powerpoint.

Recently I took it out from the wedding folder in my PC and wanted to link it for this post. That was when I realise how scrappy it was. So I decided to redo the whole thing and call it Wedding Montage 5th Anniversary Edition.



Although we have been married for 5 years, we have been together for 15 years already. It was  a wonderful journey filled with heaps of love, laughter, hugs, kisses and some tears and frustration. I believe we understand and love each other even better now. Thank you Dear, for always being there for me. Love You Always! xoxo

Xavier, 21 months on...

Xavier is 21 months today and he is showing heaps of curiosity for things around him. He is also seeking more attention by calling us (papa or mama 101 times) till we give him attention and then tell you the "fresh" object/subject he saw. And he will keep repeating the object/subject even after you acknowledged him, until something else grab his attention again.

At the same time, he also shows his timid side, telling people he is afraid of the very same "fresh" object by his frown and his gentle patting on his tummy (instead of on his chest) and saying "怕怕".

He wouldn't go near mascots, or even fake animal status like the crocodile near the zoo entrance or the cows outside Marché.

He is able to sense our displease or anger when he does something we disapprove. He would bow his head and let out sobbing sound.

I find myself enjoying fatherhood more as I adjust my expectations and control my temper better. I found my previous outbursts of anger usually worsen the situation.

What I do now is I would repeating (or nag) what I want from him (could be behaviour, action, item, etc). Example: he wants me to play "Row your boat" song in the car. So we nag to him that he has to ask nicely, "Daddy please, play Row". Sometimes he would throw tantrums. We just have to be firm and let him know he will not get what he wants by throwing a fit. We usually say, "Daddy cannot hear what you want when you are crying. Stop crying and tell daddy nicely what you want." After a few times, he gets the message and it works nicely now.

Of course there are times when it doesn't work for Xavier, especially when you are refusing him food/snack after he spotted it. Someone told me before that kids usually look for short term gains. They do not have the patience to look long term. So I either try to divert his attention or if that doesn't work, I would then "bargain" with him.

Xavier saying "bye bye horse" to a
cartoon of a camal after finishing the jelly.

Lastly, something we found useful is the "bye bye technique". We taught him to say hello and bye bye to people on the street, at the market, in the lift, etc. Then it was applied to animals like dogs on a stroll or birds in the park.

Then we found this "bye bye" is actually very powerful as it signals to him its time to detach from a certain object/subject and leave.

Example: He loves those coin operated rides now, especially the Barney and Thomas the Train rides. So if we are just passing by and do not intend to let him sit on the rides, we would tell him" Xavier, say bye bye to Barney". He would happily wave the ride goodbye.

Or if we are in the toy section, it works wonder too. "Say bye bye Xavier, we will come back another time" and he completely detach from the toys and happily leave them.