Showing posts with label vera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vera. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Vera's 4th birthday at Abrakadoodle

Vera recently turned 4 year old. This year, we decided to do something special by holding her theme party at her favourite art school, Abrakadoodle.
Vera has been attending Abrakadoodle's art program for the past half year. There are currently 2 branches operating in Singapore - one at Cluny Court @ Bukit Timah and the other at the Playground@Bigsplash (aka former East Coast Big Splash). The school offers an art education program that is regarded to be one of the most popular creativity programs in the world. Its education curriculum was developed by artists and educators that exceeds US National Standards for Visual Arts Education.
Each offers at Abrakadoodle offers a unique experience that often begins with an introduction to a new artist and his technique. The class itself usually takes an hour with the last 15 mins allocated to "Gallery Time" when the kids will have a chance to explain to the class and parents what he/she has done. Having a relatively shy child (especially in front of strangers), I found this to be extremely beneficial in building up Vera's confidence as she learns to speak up in a classroom environment that includes adults. What I also love is the fact that the art work completed in each class is taken home in a frame which allows you to immediately display on your wall as a wonderful showcase of your child's art in different styles.
For Vera's party this year, we invited 15 of her friends to celebrate. It was a drop-off party which meant no adults allowed (good for poor parents needing a break). The kids were treated to two hours worth of fun and games which I cannot describe here because 1. What they were allowed to do in the name of creativity is beyond words and usually not allowed under normal circumstances. 2. Proprietary reasons.
What I am allowed to show you is the end product. Believe it or not, this wall of art was created by kids as young as 2yrs (Nadya's art above) through a series of art techniques employed by artists past and present.
As a party favour, each child brought home their own unique piece of art work which can be hung up at home immediately for all to admire.
For parents wanting to let your child have a taste of this wonderfully creative experience, you will be happy to know that Abrakadoodle is currently running a special promotion. Parents who "like" their page on Facebook will get to enjoy a 25% off trial class fee (usual price: $40). They are also waiving the $50 registration fee and giving a 5% off for camp fees for their Facebook fans.

Have fun and get colourfully creative!

Monday, June 21, 2010

A Wedding Engagement - Disclaimer



We love dressing up and being a part of your special day and thank all dear friends and family who have asked us to be a part of your wedding in such a special way...

However, this video serves as a gentle caution to anyone who wishes to engage Vera' Zagorodnova's services (henceforth referred to as "The Flower Girl") and releases Tan Su Ling (henceforth referred to as "The Mom") from any moral or legal obligations whatsoever for any events that may/may not occur during the actual wedding procession.

xoxo
The Mom

Pettitop and Pettiskirt from who else but the gorgeous Princess Ratbag of Australia.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Vera at play

Oh no, I think Vera has some of my perfectionistic and impatient streak in her.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Hot Soup

Anyone wants to engage me to do an ad for hot soup?

Friday, November 7, 2008

Contrasting schedules

With the blink of an eye and Nadya will soon be 1 month old. It has been quite a crazy month and each day just whizzes pass faster than the speed of light.

There is very little distinction between night and day for me. I am nursing Nadya every three hours, with each session lasting 40 mins to 1 hour. Which means that if I am lucky, I get 2 hours off each time to tend to Vera, answer emails, fulfil orders, blog, take a nap, eat, visit the loo etc...

We have not introduced expressed breast milk in the bottle with Nadya yet as I want to feed her direct for as long as I can. You can call me a "purist" in that sense but I believe the skin-to-skin contact and 1-to-1 time I have while nursing Nadya is very important. This is "our time" when I can enjoy bonding and getting to know her.

I was clearing out my old diaries just the other day and came across Vera's feeding "log book" which I recorded 2 years ago. I remember how stressed out I was then, trying to establish a schedule in the beginning, 20 mins each side, 40 minutes each time, every 3 hours. It was really hard, especially for a 1st time mom who gets grouchy when she doesn't get enough sleep (see below).

(above): Typical feeding schedule - click image to enlarge. It is pretty much the same schedule I am keeping with Nadya now although I am not writing it down. I recorded everything down back then as it was hard at times trying to remember how long I had fed and which side I last fed on. I actually also invented a code to record the time of feed, which breast I last fed on etc and was very close to inventing a stop watch just for recording the nursing time. I settled for a $2 kitchen timer in the end. As you can see, it is a 24/7 job.

Contrast the schedule above to the working schedule I had just before giving birth (see below). This is proof that being a full-time mom is really more taxing than a full-time job!! Say goodbye to leave, holidays etc!!

(above) Typical work schedule at the office before having kids - click image to enlarge. Ok, my time is up! I believe I am being called for another feed...

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Happy Birthday Vera!




It has been a long day today...On top of nursing Nadya round the clock, Vera is demanding a little more than her usual share of attention as she turns 2 today.

I have heard about the Terrible Twos....and hope and pray that Vera will skip this stage altogether. As it has been only 2 weeks since I delivered, we decided that we will wait till Nadya turns one month before we throw a little celebration for both. That is one of the advantages of having 2 babies born on the same month. You only have to do it once.

We had a little family celebration today by bringing the babies to Go Go Bambini. Vera absolutely loves this place and it is the perfect safe haven for any parent who has a hyperactive child. I don't think she stopped one moment when we were in the playscape.

(above) Picture taken in Go Go Bambini. Everything happened so fast we couldn't even get a proper picture of the birthday girl.

We also stopped by Toys R Us to let Vera pick a toy for her birthday. We got her an ATM machine which I know is kind of a strange gift for a 2 year old. But for some reason, Vera has taken a keen interest in rummaging through our wallets for notes and coins and chanting...money money money. Although we are a tad concerned about her latest fixation, we thought it may be an opportune time to teach her numbers and some math since she is so keen on the notes and coins. The ATM machine is really cool. You have to insert a card and key in a pin number before the "safe box" gets opened. I wish I had a toy like that when I was young!

Happy 2nd Birthday Vera! You probably cannot read this but Mommy loves you and pray that you will always stay as adorable, curious and fun-loving as you are! xoox

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Lastest pics

Dear family and friends,

At long last, dada has updated Vera's pics taken over the last few months (12-22 mths). The above is my favourite one showing her sitting on the ledge under the TV proudly (and quite seriously) peddling her movie collection. For more pics, click here.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Vera's friends



Vera's response when introduced to her cot mobile friends for the first time at 2 months.

Vera: oh dada...you are so funny and ridiculous!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Latest pics


Dear Family and friends,

In case you are wondering how Vera is doing, you can check out the latest pictures of this little girl here!

xoxo

Monday, August 20, 2007

Organic baby


Vera goes shopping in Daddy and Mommy's organic grocery bag.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Vera's latest pics

Dear Family and Friends,

We have posted the latest pictures of vera here. Do check it out if you are interested!

Daddy and Mommy

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Happy and Sad

9 month old Vera really amazed us today by showing us how emotionally sensitive she is to music. She loves happy songs and would clap to the tune. She also enjoys music by Bach and will sit and listen quietly on her own when we play the CD. However, we never knew she would cry when she hears a sad tune...until today. In this video, you can watch her reactions when she hears Daddy hum a sad tune from "Letters from Iwo Jima". Click on image above to watch.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Smiling for the camera

Picture of Vera taken at the wedding of Daddy and Mommy's good friends, Seiwei and Steph, over the weekend. For more pictures, click here.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Swimming

Vera goes swimming for the first time in Mommy's waterproof pouch!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Vera and Daddy

Above: Daddy Vitali.
Picture taken November 1974, Winter in the former USSR
Age: 8 months
Above: Baby Vera
Picture taken June 2007, err...Summer in Singapore
Age: 8 months

ps: The round doll (called "nieveleshka" in Russian or "bu dao ong" in Mandarin) at the left corner of both pictures are from Vitali's parents.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Standing up

The knees are a little wobbly but we are learning to stand!


Monday, May 21, 2007

First Leap Forward

double-click image to view video