More Updates on Ning

This is definitely a cute one. Taken on Racial Harmony day, I got tired of dressing her up in Chinese clothes and happned to chance upon this cute Japanese Yukata in one of the shops. She gladly dressed up for that special day.


And this is taken for her school's Halloween party today. As usual, no girls of her age would want to dress up like some witches. Princess and fairies are the preferred choice. Amazingly, while moving house, I found the little flower girls dresses I bought in US, worn by my cousins during our church wedding back in 2002. And now the smallest one fitted Ning nicely. Not letting it waste, its her Halloween dress for this year:


Finally, a short video of her playing one of her music graduation pieces in July. She usually practised on the keyboard at home. And it was her first try on the piano that night which requires more finger strength. But she did a good job nevertheless.


Music Graduation

Updates on Ning

She's definitely progress a lot over the past 6months. And of course, a busy and very motivated kid. She's graduated to a higher level in ballet as well as music. And in December she'll take her swimming test which her coaches are very confident she'll pass with no issues.

If there's something I can learn from her, it'll be her dedication and effort. She makes sure I don't send her late for her classes!!! And she aims to be the first/best performer in class. Wow... so much for a slacker mummy.

Here're some photos & video of her ballet "graduation":

Ballet Graduation

Our New Place

I know... I have been MIA for way too long. House moving, settling in, holidays and work.

Friends thought I was "dead" after moving 140 cartons of whatever-junk-inside. Thanks for the concerns. We shifted to our new place on 31st July, still in the same area (East Coast) and with a huge space of our own. Requests had been coming in to see pictures of the new place.... here it is:

We didn't do much renovation to it or major hacking. Just the paintworks, polishing and clean up (thanks to ENJO!!). The only major projects came from the rebuilding of the outdoor kitchen (or wet kitchen), redoing the front and back garden with ponds and plants that we like, bar counter, the indoor quiet area with water feature, study room and also the additional space we opened up in the attic and convert into a huge playroom for the kids.

In fact, the indoor kitchen was so under-used by the previous owner that we didn't have to do anything by just re-varnished the cabinets. Likewise, we decided to keep the 12 year old spiral staircase intact since it is still strong and sturdy.

I supposed after three moves in 8 years, we're quite efficient in fixtures and furnitures shopping. And colour selection wise, both of us generally have the same preferences even with the two new paintings we added to the house.

We're now into our third month of stay... other than Zhi still trying to get used to this big place with mummy not being easily in sight, we're pretty happy here. I'm quite sure we'll be staying here for long. No more shifting pleaseeee...

Concert in the Garden

We attend the SSO concert in Botanic Gardens regularly. Though finding a carpark lot is a challenge, but the kids like the idea of a picnic with music. Of course, the yummy food I prepare is also a draw for them to go.

The last one was in April. We go a lot fairly easy, a good spot on the picnic grounds and of course, the pizza was finished without any left overs. Towards the end of the concert, the kiddos even started dancing to the music....

Night View from the Singapore Flyer

Getting ready for the ride with lots of 'Love' sign

When Zhi was 1 year old, we took the Flyer to celebrate his birthday. But it was during the day. Two years had passed and the landscape along Marina bay had changed. So we thought we can bring them again and this time, we decided we'll take it in the evening.

It was quite a mistake to bring them for the ride before their dinner. Because, they were complaining of hunger the full 30mins while we're in the cabin. Nevertheless, it was a different sight compared to the daytime view.


Looking out at the city night view


Night view of Marina Square

Zhi's 3rd Birthday

Just realised, I didn't post Zhi's birthday photos on the blog. And considering his birthday was in March! This is extremely late.

As usual, we had a family gathering with my in-laws and parents to celebrate his birthday. And this time, we had lunch at The New Majestic Restaurant. We went there during CNY with my ex-colleagues and we thought the food is really good. So we decided to go there again.

The restaurant is located inside the hotel. And the lobby is filled with many modernistic furnitures and decorations. From our private room, we can also see the kitchen preparing our food. Something new and interesting.

Needless to say, all his presents are Thomas and Friends related. He was very certain of what he wanted and he separately requrested from his grandparents to get 'Molly' the train and also the turntables. His wish was definitely granted.

Marina Bay Sands

We went to MBS for dinner two weeks ago. And I happened to have my camera in my bag. Quickly whipped it out and took a picture of the casino from the viewing gallery on top. Of course, this was definitely NOT allowed. And the next thing I know I kena warned by the securities. Some cheap thrills....

Too bad, I didn't get the chance to take a picture of 'the world's largest chandelier' which is atop the gambling area.

The jackpot machines:

The Playhouse@Rochester House

We discovered this new place where the kids can play and the parents can dine recently. Called the Rochester House, located at Rochester Park, its actually a colonial house that is converted into a playhouse for the kids. Of course, you need to pay an hourly rate for them to play there.

On some days, they conduct some simple art activities for the kids too. That was how I chanced upon it. They had a Mother's day card making activity on that Saturday morning and we decided to bring the kids there.

Good thing is, they serve decent meals too. For most of the indoor gym we go, the meals aren't very appealing and mostly sandwiches or simple pasta. This place does whipped up nice breakfast and steaks if you like.

Its a quiet and serene place to go on a morning. And we will definitely go there again soon.

Last Instalment for our HKG trip

The last two days of the trip was spent in HKG island. And unlucky for me, I kena stomach flu on the day I scheduled for shopping!!! So you can imagine, I ended up not eating much and not buying much!

What a pity. Because for our every trip to HKG, we make it a point to go Yung Kee for a meal. Reservations are highly and strongly recommended because its kind of like a 'signature restaurant' in HKG that every HKG people knows this place and go there. And I didn't even have the mood or taste to eat the roast goose. Sad...

And our last day was spent in Ocean Park. Well, after Disneyland, the kids and us felt that Ocean Park lags behind the variety and entertainment as compared to Disneyland. Even the rides were typical. But nevertheless, the kids enjoyed themselves though I can see they enjoyed more in Disneyland.

I must say, the two of them were very well-behaved and cooperative. Given that I was so sick the last two days, they didn't create much trouble for me.

Its a nice place to go for a short trip. And even till now, the two of them are still bugging us to bring them there again.

Disneyland Day 2

Half of 2010 is gone and I'm still stuck with a March event. Nevertheless, I'll continue before I go on to our current "family project".

I've uploaded some of the photos from the HKG trip. And its just a continuation of Day 1. Day 2 was the highlight of the trip. We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant and got to meet the entire Mickey Mouse and friends while having breakfast. And then we spent a full day at the theme park. The kids never get tired to Disneyland and was so full of energy that they skipped their nap totally.

The only sad news was, stomach flu striked me on the 3rd day of our trip. And I was totally K.O. Thankfully, it happened on our last day in Disneyland before we continue our trip in HKG island.

Disneyland Day 1

Because the last time we went there, we spent only a day at the themed park, we thought it was kind of rushed. So this time round, we decided we'll take things easy given that we've two to handle and to let them enjoy as much as possible. So we actually spent two full days in Disneyland.

They have a promotion when you stay one night at the hotel, you get to enjoy an extra day at the theme park when you purchase a one-day ticket. So it works out really great for us.

Disneyland has a tagline, i.e. it is the happiest place one earth. I supposed that is true. The kids really enjoyed themselves. No need to worry about nap time. They didn't sleep any bit the moment they stepped into the "land of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy". And of course, being parents, when you see your kids are so happy and excited even while queuing up at the forever long waiting time of Autopia, you naturally feels happy too.

Until now, they do bug me about going back to Disneyland. I think this place did leave quite an impression in their mind.

Hong Kong Trip

I realised I have quite a huge number of backlog entries to do. I must, I must update. The last two months had been crazy. I never seemed to get ample rest. Probably that was how I was down with stomach flu in March and then now, a terrible coughing spell and lost of voice.

Tried to do my poly's grading. But the server is down!!! Ah... late night later again. But a good chance to update this blog.

We went for a short HKG trip in March with the two kids. HKG seems like the ideal choice since Ning is so crazy about Disney Princesses and Zhi is now at the age where he knows who are Mickey Mouse, Pooh etc. Thanks for Playhouse Disney, Channel 34? Well, its also good place to see if Zhi is ok with flight.

Flight was ok. Ning is like a frequent flyer, no problem. Zhi was quite terrified when the aircraft went into an air pocket and dipped a few times. He was whining,"So scary."

To avoid the hassle of travelling from HKG island or Kowloon to Disneyland like the last time we did in 2008, this time we chose to stay in Disneyland Hotel for 2 nights where the kids can spend ample time in the theme park with just a 5mins shuttle bus ride.

We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel over the Hollywood version. The former gave me a more traditional feel, so I opted for that. And we quite like their decorations and bedrooms. Especially the bathroom, where the 7 dwarfs were craved on the frame for the mirror.

Two days we were due to depart, there was a sandstorm coming down from China to HKG. And the air pollution in HKG was pretty bad. We're pretty worried. But thank goodness, when we land, the air was clear. And best of all, because Disneyland is surrounded by hilly areas, we were quite protected from the dust and fog. Temperature wise, cool and we put our bermudas to good use.

More coming up...

This week...

We'll be away. To HKG and of course Disneyland. We decided to go back again because of Zhi. Just want to test out if he is ok with flight. Hopefully the air pollution happening in HK now will go away tomorrow when we land there...

Zhi's Favourite Song

Zhi has become more vocal and "open" to singing after he started school. Previously, he is always so passive when we asked him to sing even though he was attending gym classes for a year.

Of course, his favourite song is always the Thomas & Friends' theme song. And we thought it was a huge achievement for him to be able to sing the entire song at one go. The only issue, he tends to sing in a very very soft tone. And its quite difficult to capture on video. Nevertheless, WF still managed to.



Thomas Theme Song.AVI

They've Grown So Much!

I chance upon this photo while updating our photos:


I supposed he sometimes do "regress" and act baby. Too bad, he's really outgrown the rocker (see how his legs sticks out). "Inspired" I went on to find the baby version of Zhi on this plaything. This is what I found:

When he was 8 months old:


And the best find: See how the two of them had changed and grown.

Zhi at 6 months, Ning at 2+ year old.

The Cheeky Boy

As Zhi outgrows the 'Terrible 2' stage and entering the 'Terrifying 3' phase end of this month, we find that this little boy is getting more and more fun loving and expressive. We used to say he's such a mild and quiet boy, very much unlike his sister. I guess we said it too early. Nowadays, he does demand his way with phrases like 'I don't want', 'NOOOO' etc. And he also comes up with a lot of facial expressions that never fail to make me laugh.

He has this thing about orange as the fruit as well as the colour. He'll tell you he likes the orange and brown macarons from Bakerzin and he likes orange. Hmmm.... such a feminine colour for a male.

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned he can sit at a corner and finish his orange. This is one of the consistent behaviour we've observed over the past one year. And of course, he added a dose of cheekiness lately. The half naked boy eating and playing with his fruit:


See... I'm so 'pro' at eating orange that I can go handsfree!

I don't know how he learnt about muscles and stuff. He started to act really 'cool' and strong when I put on the jacket for him once. And he walked around with the hood on his head going,"grrrhhh... I got muscles."

The Two Kids Praying Together

We really like this video a lot. Both of them so innocent and angelic (with some mischief on Zhi's side). And the sister acting like a real big sister leading the brother into prayer before their bedtime. I hope this will lasts forever...

P.S: You'll also notice how Zhi speaks his chinese with that 'slang'.



Praying Together

Zhi Getting Ready for School

Zhi's into his 3rd month of attending full day school. And in the past three months, he's grown to be more mature and independent. He's learnt to feed himself without creating a mess, button his shirt, wear his shoes and even carry his school bags and buckle the chest harness of his car seat.

Of course, speech wise, his vocab is expanding but he still speaks mandarin with an 'ang moh' slang which we never understood why since we've been conversing in mandarin with him since young.

He's just achieve the huge milestone of buttoning his entire uniform and I was so proud of him, I took a series of pictures. Here's to share:

Halloween 2009

This is supposed to be posted up half year ago!! But I thought, since there're pictures of Jared and Natalie that Auntie Chloe can see, might as well.

Annually, the residents here will celebrate Halloween by decorating their doors and the children will go round the estate asking for treats from those who wants to participate. Last year, we missed this event because we weren't prepared to dress the kids up and we've just moved in. This year, we managed to get them some props and off they went to collect their treats which I think amounts to a half year's supply.

This would probably be their last time celebrating Halloween here. So for memory sake: