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Saturday, 31 December 2011

Good bye 2011



While we sigh that time passes very fast every year, we can't help but happy that 2011 is finally over. 2011 has been too eventful for us. Didi's bad fall in March, maternal ah gong's major surgery in November, Xuan's hospitalisation in November... enough of 2011. However, we are thankful and grateful that everyone is well and good now!!! Well, among the hiccups, we do have some good progression such as papa's change of career path and promotion.. and most importantly, we are all well and together to welcome 2012! :D

We welcome 2012 full of hopes and well wishes!
Tomorrow will be a fresh GOOD start for you and me!
HAPPINES, GOOD HEALTH, PROSPERITY, JOYS AND LOVE, REUNION, UNITY.... :D

CHEERS TO 2012!!!!

Good bye


While we say good bye to 2011, Xuan is also bidding farewell to her friends in the pre-school that she has been for the past 3 years. Xuan has developed a lot of friendship with friends from various countries and has earned a lot of loves from her teachers.

We are very thankful of the love, attention and guidance from the teachers from N1 to K1. They have been great passionate educators who love the children and their job. Great teachers are hard to find and we are glad that Xuan met good teachers.

Xuan is leaving the school for better preparation for local education system for Primary 1 in 2013. The current pre-school has a very creative learning environment and adopts a less academic focus curriculum. Xuan has learned a lot of soft skill, language development, creativity, confidence, the ease of being with people of various background and culture. We see Xuan grow and mature and look back the 3 years with the school with good memories. We are still sure that the initial decision to join the current school is a correct one. With the multi-international background where children join and leave, Xuan has learned that people do come and go and we may meet again somewhere somehow in the future. So mummy and papa's initial concern on how to communicate the change in school to Xuan was eventually unfounded. Xuan understands and accepts the new school very well when we brought her for an orientation. In fact, Xuan has been asking when is the school starting. :D

Mummy and papa have a hard time hunting and we like this school environment equally as much and are confident that Xuan and didi will grow and learn as well in 2012, 2013 and many years down the road.

Art exhibition in school

Mummy attended Xuan's school art exhibition last month before school holiday.



Xuan was very elated to see mummy who made the trip to the school during lunch hour! How could mummy miss it, right!? hehehe ... Xuan was very happy to bring mummy around the compound showing and explaining to mummy all the work she has done. :D


Well done, my girl! :D

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Love for reading

Xuan has been an avid reader since young. Every night, Xuan will ask to read some stories before bedtime. We have no particular author so long the story line is captivating and interesting. And this definitely include princess like stories. :) Xuan also likes stories that relate to daily life experiences. Our library of collection has various series such as scholastic series, fairy tales, Eric carle, Disney collection, ladybird, geromino Stilton..

Xuan has been reading books with some colourful pictures. Well, which kid don't like that? haha... Last month, Xuan is starting to accept reading long stories with only a small picture (with no colour) in every few pages. Great! We are so proud of Xuan! Xuan could read independently, only asking for help for pronunciation of 1 to 2 words in every 2 to 3 pages. However, mummy and papa still enjoy reading together with Xuan every night. It is one of our bonding time. We hope that the love for reading will grow with Xuan as she widen her world of knowledge, creativity, colours and language.


Xuan @ a bookshop. She took a book and before mummy realised it, she had found herself a comfortable spot. :D

Saturday, 10 December 2011

Xuan and didi


Together we hold hands.
Together we share.
Together we laugh hard.
Together we gang up!
Together we get angry with each other too!
Together we grow up.
Together we are here for each other always.
Best jiejie and didi.

Happy Halloween 2011


Xuan is a fairy for School Halloween Party 2011! :D

Friday, 2 December 2011

iphone

See the power of gadget.



Just like every kid, Xuan and didi can't get their hands off iphone. Mummy and papa had already delayed getting their 1st iPhone cos they didn't wish to see us getting hooked on the phone.

Mummy and papa set limit on our time spent on iPhone games. There are also educational and learning games on the iphone where Xuan practice my addition, subtraction, phonics, memory games, colouring and drawing etc and of course games like angry birds, bubble burst, etc for Xuan and didi.

Wednesday, 23 November 2011

Happy 5 on 22 November 2011

On 22 November, we bought a small strawberry cake for home celebration. Why so small? So unusual of Xuan's usual home celebration. ... Well, Xuan is recovering from a bad cough and sweet stuffs should best be avoided. Xuan has in fact spent a 5 days 4 nights stay in KKH the week before.

Xuan was told of the reason for the small cake and we asked if we could all share the small cake. Our generous loving Xuan agree heartedly! Xuan asked to change into dress. And we decided to change Xuan into her snow white gown that we bought from Hk Disneyland last year! Fortunately, it still fits Xuan well! :D Xuan was in all smiles and gladly posed for many shots for papa. :)

We sang a sweet happy birthday song for our dear darling girl, wishing Xuan HAPPY AND HEALTHY GROWING UP!! HAPPY 5 YEARS OLD!!!! :D


Happy birthday to our dear Xuan!


Mummy with dear darling girl. :)


Birthday girl with ah ma. Ah ma takes care of us every day while mummy and papa work. It is not an easy daily mission. 3 cheers for ah ma! :D


See how simple joy can be achieved. A sweet strawberry cake. Happy family. Love and Unity.


Mummy with her 2 darlings. :)


1 2 3 Blow!


Birthday girl with papa.. Xuan is papa's most lovable darling girl.


Xuan received many presents this year. Thanks to all Xuan's classmates for the lovely presents from bags, to art and crafts materials, to beading crafts. Thank you ah gong and ah ma for the well wishes ang baos, da jiujiu for the princess house, shushu and shenshen for the Cinderella doll gugu and guzhan for the Hello Kitty beading set and pyjamas set, aunty Winnie for the happy melody lanyard and pencil case, aunty D for the Dora story and game set. :D

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Happy 5 celebration - school celebration

Months before Xuan's 5th birthday, Xuan has already decided that the theme for this year celebration is Care Bear! And so there is another additional request - to invite all her classmates to her party. hummm...mummy and papa thought why not! haha.. So birthday venue search, baker search, goodies pack search starts.. Eventually, we booked a party slot at MacDonald at Ridway Tea Garden. Baker slot with design confirmed. Big birthday banner bought..

However, plan didn't went on smoothly. Ah gong (maternal) was sick in mid October and was in and out of hospital. Ah gong eventually had to go for a major surgery in the week of Xuan's party. Mummy has to call off the party cos there was no way a party can be held at that moment. However, mummy and papa were also determined not to disappoint Xuan. Calls were made to MacDonald to arrange for off-site party delivery. Fortunately, the kind baker is understanding and agreed to change and slot in our order at the last minute. All done within half a day for a party in the following day. Phew...

We are happy that Xuan did not make a fuss and accepted the alternative arrangements. Thanks to er jiujiu who made time to drive while mummy can do the cake collection as papa had an important meeting that morning. Fortunately, papa managed to make it in time to school for the celebration. :)



A care bear theme this year. Xuan has specifically asked for it. We could not find care bears figurines in Singapore and eventually bought it over Amazon to save the hunting job. :)


Happy 4 of us!


Xuan's personalised 2 tier care bears cake for our lovely big 5!



Goodies bag for all the friends


All of Xuan's friends are happy and excited to have HappyMeal for lunch that day! :D


Thanks to Ms Yee who gathered the children together for a nice shot after the party.

Ms Yee who is Xuan's core teacher is an experienced educator. We are impressed with how she teaches and reminds the children repeatedly on remembering to say thank you before eating the HappyMeal, before receiving presents, after meal, and before we left the school.

I am 5!

Our dearest Xuan turns pretty 5 today!


Wish our dearest daughter, Xuan happy and healthy growing up!!

Sunday, 20 November 2011

A great relief

Ah gong is on the path to recovery. Thank goodness and all deities' blessing. A great relief to everyone in the house. :)

Sunday, 6 November 2011

Big challenge

It has more than a month since mummy blogged. Busy, tiredness.... and till recently completely not much mood cos dear ah gong (maternal) is unwell.

This is a big challenge for our dearest ah gong. Concern. Worry. Sad. Fear. Sleepless nights. Tears...

However, we have confident that our dearest ah gong will come out stronger than ever. Happier and healthier.

We pray hard. Mummy beg hard. Please all great deities up there, give my dearest ah gong the greatest healing power, the greatest blessing and help. We need it badly.

Saturday, 1 October 2011

蚂蚁弟弟

Our conversation at dinner time..

Xuan:Mummy, papa, 我今天打死了一只蚂蚁弟弟。
Mummy:你怎么知到是蚂蚁弟弟??
Xuan: 那只最小只吗!
Mummy and papa: 哈哈哈
Mummy: 那蚂蚁妹妹呢?
Xuan: 在家里!
Mummy & papa: 是吗??? 哈哈哈

Saturday, 24 September 2011

听我说。。。


These are MUST MUST document lines..

1) Papa and mummy were talking about medical check-up and Xuan overheard it..

Xuan: 谁要去看医生?
Mummy: 是爸爸。不是看医生,是去检查身体。
Xuan: 那你有陪爸爸去吗?
Mummy:没有。
Xuan: huh! 你是他的老婆,为什么你没有陪他去?
Mummy:!!! 哈哈!!
Papa: 那我的女儿呢?
Xuan:女儿要去读书吗!!

2) Last night, Xuan and didi kept running in and out of the bedroom despite mummy calling for them umpteen times to come back for bedtime. So Mummy raised her voice and ordered Xuan and didi to come in immediately for bed. Jiejie got angry and upset and started sobbing... she said, "我们是你的孩子,我们还这么小,为什么你要生气,为什么你骂我们?"

** Mummy was surprised with what she heard! She can't help but giggled out.. "是呀,你们是我的孩子,我这么疼你们,为什么你们不听我的话呢“?**
Xuan repeated the line again, "可是我们还小吗!"

Don't belittle what is in their mind even though they are only 4years+.. 哈哈哈

Friday, 23 September 2011

Lego time

We got our 1st Lego set just before National Day. Thereafter 2weeks later, papa and mummy added on 3 more boxes to our collection! :D Now we have about 2000 pieces and a Thomas the Train set for didi.

Xuan is getting better and better in creating interesting pieces this week compared to the 1st week. In the 1st week, Xuan wasn’t much confident and will ask papa or mummy to lend helping hand and build together with her.. car, castle, tall interesting buildings, long expressway, animals… Coming these 2 weeks, Xuan is independent in creating her own pieces now. She no longer asks for companion to build together. However, there is a rule to Lego time, i.e., the Lego set can only be taken out when mummy and papa are at home and permission must be sought before taking it out. This is to ensure that all the 2000 pieces are properly controlled. Hehehe…

Xuan and didi enjoy our Lego time!!


See our collection. :)


Xuan completing a piece with papa.


Xuan happily showing what she has created.


Didi happily "studying" his collections.

September Holiday fun II

September holiday is over and it is already the 2nd week of term 3.

Xuan has a different September holiday this time round as Xuan joined an external holiday programme @ Act 3.

Xuan had a fun-filled 4 morning at Act 3 in the week of holiday.

Xuan is already very independent when comes to attending classes. On the 1st day, she readily waved bye to mummy and marched into the room happily. During the break time, Xuan exclaimed, "mummy! It is fun!" the minute she saw mummy. hahah.. mummy was of course very glad to hear that.

Mummy also has a very pleasant observation. Xuan is so much more confident and at ease with unfamiliar crowds. She readily invites her new friends and even children from other classes to share the bench with her when she saw them sitting on the kerb eating their snack. All without hesitation and cue from anyone. Even though she didn't know all her friends' name well yet, she greeted everyone as "friend" when she sees them...so she goes," hi friend, hello friend.." She initiated a short chat with the coordinator as she was waiting to enter the class. She waved goodbye excitedly to every friend who we met along the way out of the class to wait for our chaffeur - our papa. :) I realised that Xuan is the only one displaying such friendliness among the 2 groups of 24 older children on the 1st day.

I am so so proud of my girl's friendliness and confidence! Well done!

Look at the fun times that Xuan has! :)

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Walk under the moon

2 weekends ago, We went to clarke Quay to get ourselves immerse in the Mid-autumn moods. It was so crowded the minute we stepped out of Central Shopping mall. Mummy and papa were careful to hold us close.

We had a good one round walk around the clarke Quay area. As we were about to pass by the Indo-Chine restaurant, we chanced upon the dragon and lion dance, up-close right in front of us! It was very loud but an interesting experience for Xuan and Kai as this is the 1st time that we were at such close proximity to a dragon dance.

Xuan and didi had a long walk that night. When we left the place at 10pm+, Xuan was so tired that she almost fell asleep on the way home. So papa has to carry our dear Xuan home as she said that she was too tired to walk. haha..


Beautiful skyline


Xuan @ the riverfront.


Xuan and Kai were sitting rather high up on the bridge for this picture. hehee... .

This is mummy


Xuan drew mummy... :)

Monday, 5 September 2011

September holiday fun

It is already the September holiday week. So fast!



This is the 1st time that Xuan is having September holiday away from school since Xuan started school . This is because Xuan's school always has holiday programme. However, in this year, the school has decided to let the children have a break in the March and September 1 week break.

However, Xuan will not be idling at home!

Just 2 weeks ago, Xuan saw on OKTO a programme scouting for young talents and Xuan was very very keen. For 2 days, Xuan repeatedly and reminded mummy to sign her up. Seeing Xuan's keen interest and euthusiam, mummy who initally thought that it may be just a passing remark then began to look for information on the programme. That programme in Okto requires audition where the children are expected to give 1 minute of singing, 1 minute of dancing and 1 minute of acting. Mummy thought that it could be quite stressful and demanding as Xuan did not attend any class on these skills and decided to drop this programme.

However, mummy is determined not to disappoint Xuan. Mummy explored other drama and theatre schools and found out that ACT3 has a holiday programme that sounds fun and just right for Xuan. It is a 4days programme with fun at drama, music and dance and creative art and craft programme. At the end of the 4 days programme, the children will stage a performance for all the parents!

And yes, we have signed up and looking forward to a week of fun! :)

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

My little cousin


This is my cute cute cousin, Enyu didi. He is very cute and fun to play with. He also likes mummy a lot and will always laugh whenever mummy plays with him!


Ai yo, didi, be careful of my hair...

Saturday, 20 August 2011

Fun @ JWT

Last month, Xuan and didi re-visited JWT @ UE sq. We last visited it about 2 years old during didi's 1st birthday. Mummy and papa feel that it is not a really a fun place. This time round, we went back for the 2nd time cos Xuan's classmates, Riku and Kaito invited us to their birthday party. It is so much fun this time round as there are party hosts to conduct the games with us.

Thank you for the invitation!

See the fun we have!

2010 HK ~ Finale

Finally, the last post on our Nov/Dec 2010 HK trip! hahaa..

On our 4th day, we decided to head back to Disneyland for the final time! Hahaa.. it is a relax day. Final day to take any ride for the last time, any gift and favourite left out, any corner not being to yet, any food wanna try yet, any photos not taken yet. That was the last opportunity!

And on this last day in Disneyland, jiejie asked to be dressed as Snow White! For the past 2 days, we saw a lot of little girls dressing up as princesses, walking around Disneyland. So pretty! So when jiejie made her request, papa agreed with no hesitation. We matched into the princess shop and jiejie picked her favourite Snow White dress with no hesitation too. The shop salegirl helped to dress jiejie up after payment is made. And off our photographer papa brought jiejie out for shooting! We are happy and excited! Hahaha.. A pity that there is no suit to dress uo boy as a prince! :p

And because we didn’t wear a tee before putting on the dress, jiejie complained of the dress prickling her skin and it was itching and so uncomfortable shortly. She asked to change and no matter how papa and mummy convinced her that it will be alright after we put on a tee before wearing the dress, jiejie just didn’t want to.

That noon, papa bought 2 jumbo sausages (YUMMY!!!) and 4 of us sat under the shady trees taking turn to grab a bite! We also have pop corn, drinks, and cotton sweet (Mian hua tang)!! Relax and nice as papa entertained us with his ingenious idea of eating the cotton candy. Both Xuan and Kai had a good time laughing! Mummy joined in the trick eventually too!

When we were back in our room, Papa tried hard to convince jiejie again to try on the Snow White dress and this time round, Xuan was very convinced and yes, we see our dear jiejie in Snow White dress again walking and posing around the room happily. Hum… too bad, there is no costume for boy to dress up as prince, nor buzz-like-ear, woody, mickey….otherwise, we have fun dressing up our cheeky didi too!

That night, both Xuan and Kai fell asleep early cos both of them have not taken any nap for the day. And this gave mummy and papa a great opportunity to pack our luggages and the only time when papa and mummy have on their own time to sit down to snack together and chat about the day.

We are ready to be home sweet home.

Due to strong winds, our flight took a while to land in Spore. Fortunately, on our return flight, Kai was so much so much more manageable. I was a happy boy. Kai fell asleep shortly after we boarded the plane. I lay on mummy and hug the cushions when I knew that I needed to nap and in no time, I jus doze off. When Kai woke up, he was a happy contended boy. Kai shared food. Kai shared ice-cream. Kai watched tv. Kai played his toy car on the seat. Watch Bob the Builder on PSD. Arrange magazines.. haha.. Kai did not attempt to walk around anymore. Thanks goodness. The return flight is a smooth and happy one. :D Mummy and papa were so glad that I was much more manageable on the return flight. As usual, jiejie, our almost professional flyer, is independent. She finished the yummy pasta and nuggets, finished her haagan dazz ice cream, watch DORA, Deigo, Smuffs on board, and took a short nap before plane landed. We are overall thankful.

Guess what! One of our luggage safety lock is completed knocked off! Fortunately, they did not rip off the zippers! So we spent time again at the “Lost and Found” section. Both xiao jiujiu and er jiujiu called and offered to come and fetch us home but mummy didn’t want them to hassle. Eventually, er jiujiu who was just nearby airport came but hahaha… his already occupied car boot has not got enough space for our 2 big luggages and stroller. We are thankful for his kind gesture to make all the way here but we eventually took a taxi back home. Hehe..

It was a wet evening in Spore on 3 December 2010. We are home. We are happy. We are thankful that we are safe and sound back home.


Sunday, 14 August 2011

Writing Chinese characters

Xuan can write my Chinese name now!


Mummy wrote the 1st line and the rest is written by Xuan. :)

With lots of encouragement and practice in school and home, Xuan finally could write my chinese name now. Starting with 宁 which is the easiest to begin with among the 3 characters to 暄 and then to 翁. :) Mummy's effort in reinforcing Xuan to practice writing her name and chinese words every alternate night has finally paid off. School's teacher plays an important part too.

Xuan is starting to gain more control in her stroke. Well, sometimes, it stil depends on her mood. On good days, she could really write nice chinese characters. However, on not some good mood days, the characters are not aligned, incorrect sequence of stroke... :p

Although we still need a lot of practise, we are glad to see Xuan's improvement and her increased confidence in writing Chinese words. 加油,暄!!

Family outing on National Day eve

Last Monday, we had a great family outing day.

We started off with a quick breakfast at MacDonald. Xuan finished a whole egg sausage muffin, almmost a cup of ice milo and some hash brown! So full so full! hahha....

Mummy and papa have promised to bring us to a new indoor playground at Vivo City recommended by da jiujiu. The playground is not very big but it is very safe for young didis and meimeis. It has bouncy castle like kind of set-up, a slide, big bear balloon mobile etc. Xuan didn't really like the bouncy castle kind of set-up and pretty confined herself to a few play stations. On the other hand, didi was thoroughly in the mood of joys, bouncing up and down, sliding down, catching the flying balloons! haha..

After 2 hours of play, all of us were thirsty and tired. We went to the nearby Burger King for a quick snack and drink before making our way to our favourite Toyrus! hehehe.. We were happy that the Toyrus was not crowded and we could venture everywhere easily. The happiest highlight was when papa decided to get a box of Lego set for me and didi!! And while papa was making payment, Xuan and didi got mummy to give us coins to try our luck at the machines. Xuan got my favourite Hello Kitty keychain and didi got a mini Transformer!

We had a great day! :D


Xuan enjoying herself.


Although this slide is pretty small, Xuan likes and enjoys it too. :)


I like this Pooh umbrella. It matches my top!! haha..


I didn't forget about didi. I got one for him too! :D

Monday, 8 August 2011

Looking at our 暄

Look at our girl, our darling 宁暄。



As I see our 暄, She has grown up so much so much. Not just in height, in build but also in her thoughts and mind too. She is definitely still our little 4years+ old Xuan where she still has her "mood" days (well, who doesn't has??!), her little princess's temper and tantrum on certain days, her refusal to give in to didi at times, her unreasonable demands at times but she has shown her own maturity in her very own way too.

She learns the importance of showing appreciation better. She tells mummy and papa that she loves us everyday before bed. She tells us that she misses us when she is in school. On some days, she brings mummy a cup of water from the kitchen when I reach home from work(!!). She is always quick to give papa a hug at doorway everyday when he comes home from work.

Xuan chanced upon an advertisement ad from a jewel shop when we were browsing through phamplets taken from the letterbox yesterday. She asked mummy, "Mummy, which necklace do you like? We buy for you on your birthday!"

She always remember to bring didi his water bottle at meal times when she goes to take hers. She is always ready to share her food/goodies with us.

She is more independent. She is so much easier to talk to, to reason to, to negotiate to and can understand and thus appreciate more and better now. Sometimes, mummy shares with Xuan her day of work in office and Xuan is always eager to listen and quick to comfort mummy with a hug and kiss if mummy mentions words like "tiring, busy, unhappy, angry, so much work".

This came from Xuan last Friday,
"我爱我的家人。我爱妈妈。我爱爸爸。我爱弟弟。Then she turned to ah ma and said, "我爱奶奶。"

We appreciate that Xuan is getting older and we can have a conversation now. Mummy likes that we can now ask her for ideas, suggestions on small matters like planning for a weekend, for activities, what to wear, what to cook and eat to bigger matters like what about buying a new sofa? It is a good way to allow Xuan to participate in home decision as well as to exercise her creativity and enhance logical thinking.


She is quick to give mummy a smile when mummy asks for her attention for a snap. Thanks for that! :D

We are happy that Xuan is growing up. Deep in mummy and papa's hearts, we miss the baby Xuan days, the bottle feeding days, the chuckles, the coos, the toddler's Xuan days.... how time flies..

Looking back..

This is so cute!! hahaha...


Our sweet Xuan!