Dairy Farm Quarry

It was a nice early evening stroll at Dairy Farm Nature Park on a Sunday. We wanted the dog to have an extended walk, so decided to re-visit the Quarry at this nature park.
I love this park much more than Bukit Batok Nature Park, simply for the fact that it has a proper walking path which is stroller friendly, and it is ants-free, woohoo! (Ants = My dog's biggest enemy!)

The last time we were there, it was 15 months ago, Miss K was 6 months old. And if you have spotted it already, the dog has the red-shirt on, both then and now.

I'm going to sidetrack a little bit, here's the story of the red shirt back then:

The dog just had a S$1200 surgery to remove a spikey, 2.5cm-diameter seed which she swallowed. That seed must have been in her intestine for a while, but we only noticed something amiss when she started to vomit puddles and puddles of water, refused food and water, one day, her body went limp and she lay motionless at one corner. On our way to the vet, she had problems breathing, she was gagging for air, I thought she was going to die! Greed almost killed her! Red shirt was to prevent her scratching her surgery wound.

This time round, the dog is having some skin problems (common in westies), so shirt-on again to prevent her (1) licking the steroids and (2) scratching which will worsen her skin.

It was a pleasant surprise for Miss K to see huge carps, and other tiny fish (and a turtle) swimming in the quarry. Her teachers at childcare have been bringing her class to the nearby pond every alternate days for 2 weeks in a row now, so when we arrived at the quarry, she squealed with joy and said "Mama, pond, big fish" , "There, turtle swimming" then ran to get the dog "Gigi, come here, see fish".

The outdoor really provides endless prospects for exploration and discovery. And bringing Miss K to the Dairy Farm Quarry this past weekend was great as it reiterated what she has learnt in school that week.

On a Bicycle

Would (she) be scared? or have any kind of bicycle phobia?
Will (she) like it?
Will (she) sit still?
Will I manage the bicycle and a toddler in FRONT of me?
(* she is in brackets because it applies to both child and dog)

Miss K and I totally enjoyed our first cycling experience together!
She was not scared and sat rather still, holding onto the handle bars, sometimes fiddling with the bell but most of the time, she sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the sea breeze.

She constantly turns her head behind to make sure her furry friend and Papa are close by....or will hasten me to pedal faster if Papa and the little furry one is ahead.
Well, the furry one enjoyed herself too! We were glad she's just right for the basket!

At $7 for each bike fitted with either a basket (for the dog) or a bicycle child seat (for Miss K) for a duration of 2 hours, I think its really reasonable!
Looking forward to more cycling at East Coast Park.

My Todd and I in Manhattan

Although Manhattan is not the most child friendly place on earth, Miss K and I managed to fit in some sightseeing, some fun activities and of course not forgetting the many food stops for quesadillas and pizzas along the way.

Central Park was our No.1 spot. We love the lush environment, the cherry blossoms in full bloom, the different breed of doggies taking their walk in the park and of course the ducks and squirrels who made the park their home.

Cherry Blossoms in full bloom.

I stumbled upon this nice park for toddlers at West 68th Street. There are actually many nice playgrounds at Central Park. Should we visit NYC again, we'll definitely explore the other playgrounds at Central Park.

A little too much fun!

A visit to New York will not be complete without visiting the Statue of Liberty. A cheap (free of charge) and less crowded way to see the statue of liberty is by taking the Staten Island Ferry. We had a nice cinnamon pretzel and coffee while waiting for the ferry. Ferry departs every 30 minutes to the hour. It was a nice ferry ride to and back from Staten Island. Miss K was free to walk around the half empty ferry, went out to the deck to look at the low flying seagulls and admired the view within.

It was lovely.

Miss K's first ferry ride :)

A visit to Brooklyn Bridge was totally unplanned. However, I was glad I got lost while taking the subway, hence ended up at the oldest suspension bridge in USA. It was a really HOT day in Manhattan the day we visited the bridge, too hot to walk the length of the longest suspension bridge in the world!

It was also on the bridge when we saw two NYPD helicopter flying really low, circling around while patroling the city. Yes, the heli kept the little one occupied throughout the 30 minutes walk along the bridge.

A very hot day, little one in a bad mood.

On the day we got lost and ended up at Brooklyn bridge, we got lost again on our way back and ended up at Wall Street where the NYSE is located. A place with high security, not interesting for the little one, however, this picture is just for keepsake.



I'm quite glad to say that this trip is actually not ALL about shopping, really!