Uncategorized | Nyan Thomas L's Blog

Omelettes, Lego Robots and More

Nyan’s life is often a moveable feast, with lots of different dishes for him to try every day. Places to travel, museums to visit, friends to hang out with, books to read, sometimes even actual new food dishes to try! Here’s a look at a few dishes from his daily feast.

Let’s start with an actual dish. At school one day, they made Spanish omelettes (egg, cheese, potato, onion) and Nyan ate and enjoyed it! This is a very positive development, given how he claims to dislike eggs (truth is, he never would try them prior to this). Of course, he still won’t eat eggs even after this breakthrough. But, whatever: baby steps.

Our hero, eating eggs!

Shall we check in again on Lego robotics class? He’s in a Saturday morning class now (rather than Saturday afternoon) with a few more kids. Still enjoying it. Here he is showing off his recent creations, including an X-wing fighter from Star Wars, and a model of the Solar System, with the planets spinning around the sun. Sure, he follows instructions to build these, but still pretty amazing, we think.

He’s creative when he’s just freestyling, too: check out these drawings. To reuse a phrase: pretty amazing. (Click on the pics to enlarge. It’s worth it, we think.)

Finally, amazing in a different sort of way: our hero, dancing machine.

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Posted by Chris L. on August 14, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: dance, eating, school

Nyan Does Universal Studios Singapore

11 Aug

To continue (and wrap up) Nyan’s birthday events this year: we took him, Jayden and Kyle to Universal Studios Singapore, our local theme park. Kyle’s parents and sister came along too, so it was a great group of people. Jayden had been to Universal Studios many times before; it was a maiden voyage for the rest of us. And in spite of the heat and the crowds, we managed to have a great, super-fun, super-exhausting and super-sweaty day.

There was so much to do, so many rides to go on. Let’s start with a random assortment of shots of the boys (and some of the others) just hanging out:

Can’t keep Nyan from dancing, no matter where he is:

More dancing:

(In that last video, there was a moment, about 14 seconds in, when Kyle accidently bumps Nyan’s knee. No big deal, except he happened to have a scab on there from a recent tumble, so it was tender and hurting. That’s why the dance paused for a moment and Nyan sort of whined momentarily. I love, though, that Kyle – one of the sweetest-natured kids you’ll ever meet – immediately got down to inspect it and make sure Nyan was okay! He was just fine, of course, and the dance resumed.)

It was a big day for both Mommy and Nyan: their first roller coaster ride! Mommy and Daddy went on the adult one, which uses mag-lev technology to get going really fast, really quickly. She did great! Nyan was a bit skittish about his own first roller coaster – a more tame ride, though still relatively fast and twisty. But he passed the test with flying colors. His verdict at the end, said with a huge smile: “It was scary!”

Here he is, with Daddy, just before the ride started.

There was a ride in the Jurrasic Park section that involved pyterodactyls spinning around, and going up and down. Considerably more mellow than a roller coaster, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Videos by Mommy:

Not far away was a giant T Rex head that the kids had fun playing around. So did Mommy and Daddy, actually.

Inside the Shrek’s Castle exhibit was this pretty cool indoor ferris wheel. If you look closely you can see the birthday boy peeking out.

Here are some nice (and silly) photos of Kyle with Kara, Sara and Bryan:

And finally, at the very end of the day, we happened upon the boys’ hero, Optimus Prime. (He’s one of the Transformers.) The big guy was just about done with his day’s work of posing with little boys and girls, and it so happened that Nyan, Jayden and Kyle were the final three guests of the day. They insisted that Daddy join them for a meet-n-greet.

(By the way, those glasses were for the 3-D Transformers ride. The boys loved it.)

So overall, was the birthday outing to Universal Studios Singapore a success? Yep. Exhausting though, as we mentioned. Check out this snapshot from the taxi ride home:

Nyan claimed to not be tired. Sure.

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Posted by Chris L. on August 11, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: birthday, friends, Singapore

Nyan Turns Six!

08 Aug

We couldn’t quite believe it, but the calendar didn’t seem to be lying: on July 26, our boy turned six years old. Where does the time go, and all that. But there wasn’t much time to ponder the sifting sands of time, because we had a birthday to celebrate!

His birthday this year fell on a Wednesday, which means a school day. So we did what we did last year: ordered a special cake and brought it in to share with all his classmates. Here’s the cake:

There were candles of course. And songs.

As Mommy cut the cake, Nyan played the gracious host, passing out napkins to his friends.

Then everyone patiently lined up and got cake. Nyan helped here, too.

Here are all the kids, enjoying the cake and the party.

Of course, it’s not a birthday without presents! Nyan was quite happy as he opened his various gifts. When he saw that he was getting a Lego Batwing, he exclaimed, “Yes! All my dreams are coming true!”

Coming soon: a look at a very special Sunday with Nyan’s besties to celebrate his birthday.

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Posted by Chris L. on August 8, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: birthday, friends

Dinner at Nyan’s Favorite Place

05 Aug

Every so often – too often for Mommy and Daddy, to be frank – we treat Nyan to a meal at his favorite-ever cafe, a place down the road called Batter Fluffy Flaps. He’s always loved the place. Not sure why, but probably part of it is because the staff are lovely and friendly and let him run around all he wants. There’s also a chalkboard where he can draw, a couch to hang out on, a small bar areas where he likes to eat, and cool post-industrial decor combined with cute Japanese cartoon characters. It’s an odd but charming little place.

It also happens to be just down from another restaurant that has a disabled motorcycle on display out front; on our way home from BFF, Nyan often loves to climb aboard and pretend to be riding.

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Oh, and there’s ice cream. Sometimes they give him a little taste for free; sometimes he gets a full scoop or even a cone. No matter what though, a sticky mess is guaranteed.

Bonus: in writing this blog post, the author learned the real name of the place (Battery Fluffy Flaps). We’ve been calling it Batty Flappy Flaps for three-plus years now. Live and learn.

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Posted by Chris L. on August 5, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: eating

A Great Day at the Circus

02 Aug

We had long heard of how wonderful the animal-free Canadian circus called Cirque du Soleil is. So when they launched a six-week run here in Singapore, we made sure to get tickets for a late-Sunday-afternoon performance. We were definitely not disappointed.

Here we are outside the tent, pre-show. It was a *very* bright and hot afternoon.

In our seats:

And the circus itself. It’s hard to describe, really. There are some traditional circus acts, like contortionists and tightrope walkers (also tightrope bike riders). And there’s things like a dude stacking chairs to 40 feet in the air, then doing handstands from atop that stack. And the Wheel of Death – two giant hamster wheel-type things that spin independently and also spin around a central point between them, with two guys running and jumping inside the wheels and then climbing on top, running in place as the wheels spin, jumping and flying for a moment as the wheels rotate away from them. You can find examples on Youtube, and it’s well worth checking out. Just spectacular.

We were all quite impressed overall. Afterwards, we snapped some pictures of the Singapore skyline at dusk:

And then had dinner at the nearby Marina Bay Sands mall. Our hero was pooped and started to fall asleep in mommy’s arms at the table:

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But by the time we’d paid the bill and headed for home, he perked up more than enough to toss some coins into the black marble fountains to make a wish or two.

All in all, a great day.

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Posted by Chris L. on August 2, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: Singapore

Sweet Home Singapore

01 Aug

After a month of traveling, we got back to Singapore in late June. There was some jetlag that had Nyan and Daddy up at 3am several nights in a row, but we made the most of it, including a 90-minute stroll around the quiet neighborhood one night.

Nyan continues to be quite creative, whether he’s drawing or building things with Legos or just laying out his toys in creative ways:

Finally, some random photos from in and around Singapore in the month of June. Massages from Mommy, hugs from classmates and more!

And being a little silly outside our condo one evening.

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Posted by Chris L. on August 1, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: silly

Still a Great Traveler

31 Jul

As we’ve seen, Nyan racked up a lot of frequent flier miles this summer. He’s been traveling across continents and oceans since he was literally four-and-a-half months old, so he’s very much old hat at it. Let’s check him out as he showed off his expertise on this most recent trans-oceanic voyage.

He knows his way around an airplane, whether he’s watching a video, having a meal or a snack, or passed out:

He’s also adept at navigating airports themselves. He still loves watching planes on the tarmac, goofing around at airport cafes, pulling luggage, and – when he can – hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

And sometimes, there’s nothing to do but wait. And be silly.

We also did a fair amount of driving. He’s good at that too, whether he’s drawing, napping, or – once again – being silly.

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Posted by Chris L. on July 31, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: travel

Fun Times in Iowa, Part Two

27 Jul

As we wrap up our photographic look-back at our time in Iowa, here’s a final sampling of various little moments of fun.

He spent a lot of time down in the basement with Grandpa, working on the model train:

That list you see there? That’s a notebook Grandpa gave him when we left; he immediately started filling it up with ideas for things to add to the train layout.

I can hear you asking: did Nyan have any time to play while in Iowa? Oh yes. Yes he did.

We did a little shopping too, including for his snazzy new backpack:

And he showed off his silly and creative personality:

Here’s just a few miscellaneous pictures, including a robot fish he drew, and a birdhouse he painted:

Whew. So much fun! Between jetlag and all this activity, he must have gotten a lot of sleep too, right? Right.

That’s it for this season of Nyan’s visit to Iowa. But have no fear, we shall return.

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Posted by Chris L. on July 27, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: iowa

Fun Times in Iowa, Part One

25 Jul

As we’ve seen, Nyan had a blast during his summer trip to the US in June. Train museums, pedal boats, household chores, picnics and playgrounds…. the list goes on.

But Nyan’s the kind of kid who can have fun pretty much anywhere and anytime. Let’s take a look at some of these random spots of fun he managed to have.

There was the time Daddy got him a beginner’s science kit, and Nyan made crystals, globules and all sorts of other science-y stuff.

Or the time we visited some friends of Grandma and Grandpa, and they showed Nyan their pet rabbit.

What about drawing dinosaurs on the sidewalk in chalk? Check.

Probably the most fun he had, though, was just hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. Working on math homework, reading, just chilling.

We think Grandma and Grandpa were happy to have Nyan stay with them for a couple weeks. Check out all the gifts and goodies that were waiting on Nyan’s bed when we arrived:

Oh, and how could we forget? Nyan ate quite well in Iowa too.

Up next: even more random photos of random fun in the heartland.

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Posted by Chris L. on July 25, 2017 in Uncategorized

Tags: Grandma, iowa

Hot Fun in the Iowa Summertime

23 Jul

Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best. Like the day when Nyan, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa went for a casual hike in the woods. Or at least through a meadow. Grandma and Grandpa wanted to check out the site of a future residential development, and Nyan was happy to go along. He even got into the rural life, happily chewing on a grass stalk. (Nyan wore his camouflage shorts especially for the occasion; the black and white striped shirt, he added, was so that he could be a zebra. A camouflaged zebra.)

Another day we headed up to a place a little ways out of town called the Devonian Fossil Gorge. It’s an area of ancient rock that was exposed a decade or so ago when a nearby river burst out of a dam and gushed for weeks, scouring away millions of years of topsoil and rock. It left behind what was the ocean floor some 375 million years ago, and now is home to lots of clearly visible fossils. We had taken Nyan there a few years ago, but this visit is hopefully one he will actually remember. He certainly seemed to enjoy it.

On yet another beautiful and warm summer day, we visited a place called Trueblood Recreation Area, just south of town. It’s an old quarry that’s now filled with water and has been developed as a place to fish, hike, or take pedal boats out on the water. So that’s what we did. Grandpa and Daddy pedaled while Grandma and Nyan chilled and luxuriated. It was a lovely ride at a beautiful site.