Family Trip to the Maldives

In countenance of our 3^rd wedding anniversary in conjunction with my wife’s birthday, we whisked off to Maldives for an amazing getaway in January. We spent a total of four nights at Cocoa Island in an overwater Dhoni Loft Suite and it was one of the most memorable experience.

“What’s there to do in Maldives?” “Is it safe for kids?” were some of the questions I got. Having previously been to the Maldives, we knew that the powdery white sand and clear turquoise waters would be perfect our toddler’s first beach experience. For a child as young as Miley (14-month old) there were more then enough to keep her constantly occupied. In the day we would watch the sunrise, chase baby sharks and stingrays that cruises in the shallow waters. When the sun gets too hot in the afternoon, we would chill indoor while Miley runs around in the spacious suite or takes a nap. My wife and I would take turn to take care of her when I go to snorkel or when she goes to the spa for a massage. In the late afternoon we would go out to enjoy the sea breeze, strolling along the beach and picking sea shells. In the evening we would go to the bar for a drink followed by dinner at the restaurant or room service. That's how we spent all our days there…super chillax. And of cos taking lots of pictures! 

Had a hard time selecting the pictures cos there were just too many! Here's some...

This is the view from the bridge between the Island and the suites. I probably took a photo every time we walked pass... can't help it! Just look at the colors!

A closer shot of the Dhoni Suite that we stayed in. Ours was CO-830 located at the end.

Amazing view from the living room where we chilled during the hot afternoons....

The deck outside with direct access to the water where I would go snorkeling.

Super love the spacious bathroom. This was also where we asked Miley "Do you want to pom-pom here?" She loves the bathtub and running around in this space.

Being so close to nature, Miley had many close encounters with the wildlife even without even getting wet. Here she's observing a crab that's sun tanning on the deck.

 Spotted a sting ray under our feet...

 a colourful fish that looks quite huge...

 a baby shark!

and a grey heron enjoying the sea breeze at sunset with us. :)

Miley playing by the beach and amused by the texture of the powder white sand.

Some of the sea shells we picked.

 Foot in the sand experience in a tu-tu skirt and hairband.... Doesn't she look like a little angel?

Who says yoga by the beach is only for adults?

Mummy's favorite spot. Feels like we owned the whole island! In fact the only time we saw other guest was usually during meal times at the restaurant.

Brought our own bubbles and it was her favorite! See how excited she got!

Time to play in the water!

Our surfer girl in a wet suit! Specially bought for this trip to keep her warm and to avoid sun burn especially on her back and shoulders. Slapped on lots of sun screen as well. 

A very tired girl after that.... zzz

Meals times aren't always easy, we had to prepare her food and make sure she's occupied before we could eat in peace. Good that she can take solid now so we would just give a a piece of bread to nibble. So what did we eat?

Pancakes at breakfast not only yummy but also photo worthy...

Cold soba noodles perfectly refreshing for hot afternoons...

Grilled prawns with salad for a light lunch...

The kitchen can also prepare puree for children on request at no cost. This one is probably chicken, carrot and potato puree.

In room dining when we are too lazy to go out or when Miley is asleep... quiet time for just the two of us. :)

Everyday we would wake up early to watch the sunrise before breakfast. Maldives is 3 hours ahead of Singapore, so not too difficult to wake up early.

And of cos dramatic sunsets to end the day...

Cya... till our next family trip!

Addicted to gadgets

I think most kids nowadays are addicted to mobile gadgets especially iPads and iPhones. This is unavoidable when kids loves to emulate their parents who usually owns one of these gadgets. It definitely sparks their curiosity to see an adult using the device everyday. Speaking of which, at times we had to use our phones secretly under the table, behind the pillow etc to avoid letting Miley see the device. My mum says her iPad is now Miley's as its loaded with all her apps and she has no priority to use it because Miley would snatch it away at the sight of it! haha... While some parents by all means and ways tried to disallow their kids to use these gadgets, we allow her to use it to watch kids nursery videos and play with interactive apps for kids now and then - whenever we needed a break or to distract her from something else that is a bigger no-no.

At 16 months old, Miley is quite an active girl. Definitely influenced by these videos she watches for she can now sing the last word of several nursery rhymes' phrases! When you sing "Twinkle twinkle little .....", she will say "Star!". She can count 1 to 7 and she grooves to the Gangnam Style song! Was at a friend's birthday party the other day and obviously most kids probably know this song through YouTube.

Someone said that kids who watched too much video or TV will become disinterested in books. That's a little worrying. However I also dislike reading despite there were no such gadgets during my time. Maybe in the future all learning will be become interactive as the technology progresses. Nevertheless, we still tried to make her enjoy books from a young age, by buying her a few children's books although it bored her after some time.

In a bid to save cost on books, we recently decided to borrow from public library. The branch at NEX shopping mall has a huge selection for children and a few shelves dedicated for babies. They also have reading corners with tables and chairs for kids. The conditions of the books are pretty decent. Try to select the newer ones if you are concerned with hygiene. Do make sure they wash their hands before meals. The library is also a great place to spend an afternoon together, browsing books and letting her run around the carpeted flooring. :P

We borrowed 4 books today. Returning 3 weeks later, just about time when the novelty wears off.

High Fever

Miley was’t her usual bubbly energetic self when I joined my parents and bro-in-law at the KK Children Emergency yesterday evening. When I carried her, she was weak and her body was very warm. She had developed a fever since morning plus rashes on her feet and arms. Fever went down after visiting the doctor but came back in the evening and peaked at 40.2 d.c. Worried that it might be dengue, cos she also LS the day before, my bro-in-law suggested that we bring her to KK for a check. My mum was so worried for her dear grand daughter that she had no appetite and skipped both lunch and dinner.

Her fever had came down to 37.1 d.c. when we left the hospital 5 hours later after consultation, medication, sponging, urine test, observation and of cos waiting…

Poor girl came home at about 1am looking for mummy. The voice recording mummy sent over from Beijing didn’t help but made it worst cos she then started tearing. My mum looked after her last night and said she woke up at 3am looking for mummy. Awww….

Hope she gets well soon by Friday otherwise would have to go for blood test.

加油 Miley Girl! ♥