auni loves to push her brother’s minitruck/pushcart. but it seems aidin doesn’t look as thrilled to be pushed around! LOL!

settings
Exposure:0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length:5.1 mm
Exposure: +0.35
ISO Speed:160

taken with LX3, edited in lightroom 2

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somewhere along the kaki bukit expressway bridge. the only time when the expressway is empty for snapping pics is late at night.

settings
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length:5.1 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed:800

taken with a 10s timer on a LX3, edited in lightroom2

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taking a well-needed cycling break after travelling from east coast to serangoon road. somewhere in desker road @ usman 24hrs naan joint.

settings
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 5.1 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed:800

taken with LX3, edited in lightroom 2

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held our monthly friendly match at tampines saftra. footsie fc is on a roll! undefeated for the last 3 matches!
our team finally gelled and played as a unit. good all round play.

fyi, the score was 3-1. goals courtesy of rendra, saddiq and fadz. :)

settings
Exposure:0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/2.2
Focal Length:6.3 mm
ISO Speed: 250

taken with LX3, edited in CS3

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the macro function of the LX3 is simply amazing!
took this at the children’s garden, even the colours turned out great!

settings
Exposure:0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length:12.8 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed:80

taken with LX3, with minor cropping done using CS3

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we were at the children’s garden on chinese new year’s day.
aniq and adam enjoyed themselves discovering the many types of plants found at the garden – jacob ballas children’s garden.

settings
Exposure:0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture:f/4.0
Focal Length:11.1 mm
ISO Speed: 80

taken with LX3, edited in picasa 3

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good food, great company, nice ambience. what more could you ask for on the eve of chinese new year :)

thanks naz & rini for being such great hosts!

settings
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 5.1 mm
ISO Speed: 320

taken with LX3, edited in picasa 3

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now this is what keeps us entertained these days. :D

*head-butting action included.

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i don’t know how many times i’ve had to change or modify his routines so far throughout his three years. their needs change so much as they grow and they become bored so easily, it becomes a challenge each time to come up with new ways to establish a workable routine, and make them want to stick to it.

as they say, ‘daily routines can mean the difference between a chaotic or a calm house’. i think as young as they are, they do appreciate knowing what to expect every day, and will eventually be cooperative when doing what is asked of them. plus, it’s a great feeling when you see them start doing things on their own after having ‘trained’ them for a period of time!

but hey, who finds strict routines fun? certainly not me. heck, i myself have great difficulty following the clock. (now, who invented the damned snooze button? you are so not helping.)

the first part of the month, i guess with the children transitioning to different classes and me being away in hospital with auni, the boy began to be a little resistant to being sent to school by his oma. ‘i don’t like school,’ he said.

so i decided to tweak his routine.

my mommy instinct guessed that he didn’t like being forced out of bed and dragged into the shower in the morning. (mommy used to be small too, you know.)

ok, no need to shower, i told him. you bathe in school, ok?

ok, he agreed.

i mandi in school, he said.

(which he does lah, it’s part of their routine in childcare, and his sociable nature means he likes doing things with his peers, including showering. yes, conformity is a good thing when it comes to getting them to do something.)

so we’d do his toileting, teeth brushing, face-scrubbing, bed-hair-flattening, uniform-wearing, i’d let him choose a toy or a book, he’d grab his shoes, and out the door we go, both of us kissing and waving the little one goodbye.

i think what he REALLY wanted was for me to do all those things with him, and not his other caregivers. undivided time with mommy to start his day, even if it’s just a few minutes journey in the car, listening to the radio, talking about what to do when i come back, sealing it with a quick a peck on his lips before he waves me goodbye and disappears behind the school door.

and it’s paid off. yesterday he told me, ‘i like school.’

music to my ears.

i may have said it before, but there’s just something about your firstborn, however frustrating he is or whatever mischief he has up his sleeves, that when they are on their best behaviour, all the misgivings just instantaneously melt away and you’re reminded of what a sweet baby he was and still is.

===

our bedtime routine too is special one-on-one time.

he knows the drill. a cuppa warm milk, toileting, teeth brushing, and storybook reading.

a short note about the milk thing. remember the ceremonial milk bottle-throwing on his birthday last month? well, he hasn’t succumbed to the bottle since. (just like the b/feeding and the diaper thing – once it’s out of his system, it’s out.) but it DID take him a while to get used to the idea of drinking milk from a cup. the mommy instinct went to work again, and one night, i made his milk in a bottle, brought in his Ben 10 mug, sat down with him in his room, asked him to unscrew the bottle cap to pour the milk into the mug, and he downed the milk in one go, followed by high-fives and low-fives and a kiss on the lips. again, that was what he really wanted, i guess – a ‘special’ routine.

a few books and a chat about the day, and we say goodnight.

and that’s bedtime for him.

===

as for the little one, thankfully she’s an early sleeper compared to her brother, so that makes it easier to divide the attention between the two.

and her bedtime routine?

plonked in her cot, where she ‘sings’ herself to sleep.

nice or not, her song? lol.

goodnight!

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can you try to guess which iphone belongs to whom. :)

settings
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 5.1 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 250

shot with LX3 at newton hawker centre, edited in lightroom2

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we had our usual futsal fix today at safra. today’s turnout was very encouraging, we had more than 18 players!

settings
Exposure:0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture:f/2
Focal Length:5.1 mm
ISO Speed: 400

taken with LX3, editing done in lightroom 2

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kids, can be our source of happiness and sadness, perhaps even our source of strength.
my kids are usually the happiest in the morning, great for taking that kodak moments.

here, auni enjoys the crazy antics of her brother, who also enjoys his sister’s company. :)

settings

Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length:50 mm
ISO Speed: 320

taken with d80, 50mm f1/8 lens. edited in lightroom 2

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we were at funan yesterday to get some stuff, stopped by tcc for tea break. great ambience for a cuppa tea.

settings
Exposure:0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2
Focal Length: 5.1 mm
ISO Speed: 100

pic taken with LX3, edited in picasa

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picture was taken outside the shell petrol kiosk at loyang just as we are about to leave for the coastal road. its always been a weekly affair to cycle from home to wherever the legs could pedal. :)

settings
Exposure:0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture:f/2
Focal Length:5.1 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Taken with LX3, edited in Lightroom2

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