It's a Popping April!

We have been popping up all over the place this month!

Check out our new arrivals for April at our online store, head down to our little pop-up in Wheelock Place for some touch and feel of our clothes, enjoy the many privileges from our partners all over Singapore, and see how beautiful our clothes are in print in not one, but two popular magazines!

Some of you also shared pictures of your children looking absolutely fabulous on Instagram (#privikids). Thank you and keep them coming. We love seeing how you put together different looks with our clothes!


New Arrivals for April!

 
Things are always kept fresh at PriviKids. A wide variety of new designs have just been released! They have a few things in common though - super stylish, good value and excellent quality!

A favourite piece from the new collection is this Green Polka Dot Dress which is ideal for garden play dates. A flattering cinched waist cutting & its sweet pastel green are a perfect match.

Check out our new arrivals today!


Pop-up in Wheelock Place

A specially curated range of 15 designs from PriviKids will be available in-store at Eclecticism from now till the end of April. As a special preview, super cool aviators for kids will also be on sale!

Eclecticism is a multi-label boutique that strives to offer Singaporeans an exciting array of internationally sought after brands from New York, Los Angeles, Australia, Singapore and London.

Pop by if you can!

Eclecticism + Lauren Jasmine
501 Orchard Road
Wheelock Place #B1-06
Singapore 238880
10am to 10pm daily 


Prints Charming

We just love the work done by the creative teams behind Mother & Baby and Young Parents magazines. We have a thing or two to learn from them on how to mix and match pieces.

We are excited to see our clothes being featured in both magazines this month! Grab a copy (or follow us on our social media channels) and check out the charming looks of the child models, with some help from us!

Embracing The Terrific Threes

Just as we thought we breezed through the terrible two toddler year, Aiden never fails to surprise us. Each new year brings it own set of challenges. Now at age three, he is more manipulative and engages in smart negotiating to get things his way. I find it tougher trying to balance discipline & managing his emotions. He knows what's right and often convinces me to let him have his way.

'Mummy, can I have a sweet please? I will only eat one.'
'Mummy, can I play with play dough then I will wash my hands and go to sleep?'
'Mummy mummy, can I play with this toy? I will keep my cars and then play with this toy...'

With such stressful years ahead of them as many parents of primary school kids have shared, I feel bad restricting him sometimes. With the small pockets of quality time with him, I remind myself to love, laugh and play with him within set boundaries. I especially enjoy talking to him as I discover his likes, his fears and sometimes that he makes believe things. As a parent, we are constantly learning and it's amazing what he has showed and taught me along the way too.

With super high energy levels that even Daddy Darren & I can hardly match on some days, we often bring him to wide spaces, playgrounds where he gets to run about, have fun and eventually go to bed exhausted earlier. The play area at Level 2 of Marina Square (near Mothercare) is ideal for toddlers and he learns new skills while at play. 

Learning to take turns with other kids

Balancing, he even ran down the slide on bare feet

Whee!

Hasn't mastered doing this independently yet

Love this expression!

Cool breezy evenings were hard to come by. We went to the Esplanade Mall and explored the installations and music performance.

Superboy or musician?

A cost free eventful day in Singapore. Where are some other places you visit as a family? Share them with us!

Ava's First Hair Cut

Daddy Darren & I each have very different hair texture - me with very fine, curly hair and him with a thick crop of straight hair. When we were expecting Ava, we wondered who she'd take after. I love the way Aiden's hair turned out - a nice head of wavy hair. We have brought him for a clean shave when he was four month old, and we decided to do the same for Ava.

We went to the Baby Spa at Harbourfront Centre for her first shave. I was preparing myself for a good cry out from the feisty girl, but surprisingly she wasn't the least affected and in fact enjoyed herself with 'encouragement' from Aiden.

Preparing her for the hair cut - diaper change first.

All caped up and ready.

Ava all at ease, Aiden tensed & anxious, Mummy grinning away.

Aiden had tears in his eyes, feeling worried for Ava as she gets her shave.

It was really surprising for us when Ava was all smiles as she looked at Aiden who was standing in front of her, encouraging her. But Aiden was so quiet as he stood in front of her, watching her and I could see tears well up in his eyes. When we were almost done with the hair cut, I praised both Ava for being brave and Aiden for being such a good support to his sister, and he wiped away tears from his eyes. That was such a sweet moment. This boy is such a sensitive soul and he was really worried for his sister, and thus the tears in his eyes. I can tell that he'd be a protective brother to her and I am really glad for that.

This cheeky girl making faces at her brother.

More funny faces.

Scalp brushing?

And we are done.

My two very hungry caterpillars, outfits from Out of Print.

Love these matching outfits? We couldn't resist getting them in sizes for babies & Daddy Darren. Check out the designs we carry for boys and girls at privi-kids.com.

Miss rubber face.

Happy caterpillar.

Eclecticism + Lauren Jasmine | Little Shopaholics

Come join us at the Little Shopaholics Party this Saturday, 5 April 2014 at Eclecticism + Lauren Jasmine, Wheelock Place.

Shop to your heart's content in this haven of specially curated labels in a comfortable setting akin to your dream walk in wardrobe, while your little ones play at this party created specially for moms and kids. 

Selected merchandise from PriviKids will be available for sale from 4 - 30 April 2014 in store.

About Little Shopaholics
"Little Shopaholics" is specially created for moms and kids, because Eclecticism + Lauren Jasmine understand the need for moms who want to shop without having to leave their kids at home.
So, while mommies shop in the store,  the little ones will be spoiled with art & craft activities, such as mosaic frame making, face painting, and even a caricaturist. Admission is free for all!

Venue: Wheelock Place #B1-06
Date: 5th April 2014 (Saturday)
Time: 2pm to 5pm

Activities:
2pm and 3.30pm - Mosaic frame making
2-3pm and 4-5pm - Face painting
3-4pm - Caricaturist   

Seen in stores: Whimsical clocks from Modern Moose

Buying the right clock for the house is often an interior design after-thought for the most of us. And that might not be a bad thing, as it is extremely difficult to find clocks in Singapore that are unique, beautifully designed and reasonably priced. I was searching high and low for the perfect clocks that are consistent with the design of our new home a couple of years ago, but the shops then offered choices that were either too common, crazily expensive or just plain ugly. I could still remember my excitement when I finally found these Lemnos clocks at Lifestorey (Great World City, #02-15).

In our living room. Beautifully simple, and comes with a stand which we needed.

In our kitchen. Looks like cookie dough don't you think?

I have been teaching Aiden how to tell the time every now and then (he knows how to tell the "o'clock" positions now) with a toy clock and the Lemnos in the living room. There's no clock in his room though, as we have not come across any that would match his room (or even his personality).

But my heart was sent racing again last week when these whimsical 3D clocks from Modern Moose at Individual Expression (Wheelock Place, #B1-02) caught our eye. Upon closer scrutiny, I was pleasantly surprised to find them very well made in the US and well designed. Just take a look at some of them here!

There are so many designs that would look amazing in his room. I especially love the 3D pendulum clocks! The shark pendulum clock would be perfect in Aiden's room which has baby blue and white stripes. Designed and made in the US by industrial designer Paul Ocepek, these whimsical creations are made from laser cut baltic birch plywood, printed with non-toxic water-based inks and pre-drilled with a hole for easy hanging.

However, the clocks are not exactly cheap, which was why we didn't get one on the spot. 3D clocks are going for $79, whereas the 3D pendulum clocks are going for $89. Listed prices on the US online store at www.modmoose.com are much lower, but comes up to about the same with shipping charges included.

Which one is your favourite?

Review: Learn to ride using a Cruzee balance bike

There are three life skills that I would love to teach Aiden - riding a bike, swimming and chasing girls (hopefully in that order).

Well, he still prefers playing with boys in school compared to girls, and he loves his float too much to even think about jumping into the pool without it. So that leaves me with the easiest task of teaching him how to ride a bike.

Frankly, I had no idea how to teach him. I learned how to ride a bike in about 15 minutes when I was about seven or eight years old, and I struggle to recall the exact steps.  It seemed to involve only two steps though - one, being pushed down a steep slope on a two-wheel bike, and two, holding on for dear life.

Something like that.

So when The Little Bike Shop offered the Cruzee balance bike to us, the most difficult decision to make was the choice of colours. It comes in seven (!!) beautiful colours - black, silver, purple, blue, green, red and pink. I eventually chose black to match with my own mountain bike heheh.

Lovely anodized aluminium finish

What is the balance bike?

Many of us would start off our kids with a bicycle with training wheels. Afterall, it looks very safe, extremely stable and less daunting than a two-wheeler. However, exposing your kid to it would actually make it harder for them to graduate to the two-wheeler in the future. That is because the training wheels allow them to lean against the opposite way when making a turn. As a result, they won't be used to leaning into the same direction when making a turn (which is how you ride a two-wheeler). More importantly, all this time that they are on the training wheels, they don't actually learn the most difficult aspect of riding a bike, which is to find their balance!

Leave the training wheels behind and convert to the balance bike!

The balance bike forces your kid to try to balance, but in a safe way as the seat is low enough for both feet to reach the ground. It has no pedals to make the task more complicated, so kids tend to get the hang of balancing pretty quickly.

We had a bit of time last week (with us getting some respite from the haze and scorching sun) to try it out in the open. It helped that Aiden was already an expert on his YBike which he started riding before he turned two. It teaches the same concept of balancing and control, but in a much more forgiving way (through thicker wheels). And so it didn't take Aiden long before he got the hang of it. Looking forward to a longer practice session at the park again!

Why is the Cruzee so special?

Other than the premium looks with its sparkling 'Saphire' finish, the very obvious feature you would notice is how light it is. With the frame made of aircraft grade aluminium, this is the lightest running bike in the world at 1.9kg. I might get Stomped for this because last weekend, I had ordered Aiden to get off his bike and bring it out of a restaurant. Imagine the shock on people's faces when they saw our three year old carry the bike out by himself! In my defence, it was very inappropriate for him to ride the bike there. :D

Anyway, the Cruzee is also super safe (rust-free, padded seats, no protruding bolts) and easy to maintain (tool-free adjustments, sealed bearings, flat-free tyres).

Personally, I think the Cruzee is so special because Aiden looks super cool on it!

How does it compare to others?

I must admit that we had shortlisted a few balance bikes before the Cruzee glided (permanently) into our car boot. Here's how they compare.

Frame:
Cruzee - aircraft grade aluminium
Valo - steel
FirstBike - injection molded composite frame

Adjustment:
Cruzee - tool-free
Valo - wrench required
FirstBike - almost tool-free

Weight:
Cruzee - 1.9kg
Valo - 2.6kg
FirstBike - 3.9kg

Seat height:
Cruzee - 25.5cm to 48cm
Valo - 28cm to 40cm
FirstBike - 30.5cm (with separate lowering kit) to 44.5cm

Braking mechanism:
Cruzee - no (use both legs instead!)
Valo - no
FirstBike - yes

Footrests:
Cruzee - yes, integrated near back wheel
Valo - unknown
FirstBike - no

Steering limiter:
Cruzee - no
Valo - no
FirstBike - yes

Colours:
Cruzee - 7
Valo - 5
FirstBike - 4 (street model)


Interested in the Cruzee? Find out more by visiting the Facebook Page of The Little Bike Shop. You can also buy them from our online store (Yes, that's how much we love the bike!). What's more, you can get a 10% discount on accessories. Details are in the picture below (click to enlarge) and our PriviKids Facebook Page.

Happy Cruzee-ing!