Potluck @ Aunty Susan's Place

Today, Daddy had his annual Chinese New Year get-together with his poly friends and we tagged along. This year, it was held at Aunty Susan’s place and it was a potluck – everyone just brought along an item so that the host didn’t need to prepare too much stuffs. We would be bringing fried bee hoon and NaiNai’s specialty dessert – ice jelly. Mommy and Daddy were busy preparing the food for the whole morning. I was an angel, spending most of the time watching VCD inside the room instead of disturbing them.

The response wasn’t really that good this year (only Uncle Jamie, Uncle Allen, Uncle Rongyao, Uncle Edmund and Aunty Susan were there). Luckily RuiFeng was there to entertain me.

RuiFeng shared his toys with me

I had my lunch (fishballs, fried bee hoon, steamed fish with rice) there. Aunty Susan prepared a plate of “鱼生" for us to 捞起. This plate of “鱼生" was very special as it consisted of only fruits. It was the first time for many of us and we liked it very much coz it was very refreshing and different from the usual one that we had (Mommy had servings after servings… hehe).

We spent the rest of the afternoon there. RuiFeng even taught me how to play basketball after lunch. He taught me to put the ball into the basket with his hands – he called that slam dunk.

Playing basketball with RuiFeng

After the potluck, we went over to pay GongGong a short visit before making our way home. We didn’t stay long as we had dinner arrangement with GuGu and Aidan in the evening.

Daddy caught me munching on some CNY goodies again

Dinner With GuGu and Aidan
Along the journey back home, I had a big fuss about not wanting to sit in the boaster seat and eventually fell asleep from the screaming. I continued my nap at home until I was dragged out of bed by Daddy coz it was time to pick up GuGu and Aidan for dinner (as GuZhang wasn’t around today).

The dinner venue was that same coffeeshop in Alexandra Village. The coffeeshop was really popular as there was a “reserved” sign on almost all the tables. Luckily Mommy had made a reservation beforehand. We ordered a 发财鱼生 and some simple dishes. It was my third 捞起 session of the year.

My third 捞起 session

Although the dinner, I was imitating Aidan. For example, eating imaginary rice from an empty bowl and drinking barley water via a straw. The barley water tasted so nice that I drank almost half a glass.

Imitating Aidan

Mini CNY Gathering @ Kelly's Place

I went out with Daddy and Mommy to ICA building to collect Mommy’s new IC in the morning. There were a lot of people even at 9am (and we thought we were early). Luckily the collection counter wasn’t really crowded and we were served immediately after obtaining a queue number.

After collecting the IC, we went over to a nearby hawker center for breakfast. We saw a lion dance troop at the hawker center. I wasn’t comfortable with the lion dance and the noisy environment and I tried to cling onto Mommy’s shirt as tightly as I could. Seeing this, Mommy suggested switching the breakfast venue to a nearby coffeeshop instead. Since the second day of the Chinese New Year, I was terrified by the noise made by the lion dance troop when they were making rounds around our flat. Each time I heard the noise, I would hid behind NaiNai’s back. Even when Daddy showed me that there wasn’t anything to be afraid of (by bring me to watch the lion dance) – I wasn’t really convinced.

Breakfast @ a nearby coffeeshop

Mini CNY Get-together @ Aunty Kelly’s
All of us went to Aunty Kelly’s place for a mini Chinese New Year get-together after our lesson. Athena and Irvin came over to join us too.

Athena and Irvin…

Sharwyn, Jeannieve and Gabriel (with his trademark smile)…

And me… =)

For the very first time, Daddy witnessed I actually resisted the snatching of toy by one of my friends. Before this, I would just let the person removed that object from my hand with a blank look on my face. Today I held my ground, resisted and said “I want”. Although it is not a nice thing to do (snatching toy with my friends), Daddy didn’t interfere coz he wanted me to be more independent. In the end, he stepped in to explain to me that I should share the toy too. Eventually, I did let go of the toy.

As usual, I had a lot of fun running around and munching on the snacks that Aunty Sharon had brought. It was a pity that we had to leave first coz Daddy had a wedding dinner to attend.

Chinese New Year Day 3: Rest Day

After two days of traveling around, Mommy decided to declare today as a rest day of all of us. It was prefect timing coz I started to feel feverish when I woke up this morning. To play safe, Daddy administrated a dose of paracetomol. He put the blame on the Chinese New Year goodies that I had been munching for the past two days. Mommy wasn’t feeling too well either. In the end, we even shelved the plan of paying Nanny a visit and decided to just laze around at home for the whole day.

Grand Uncle and Grand Aunty’s Visit
Grand Uncle (叔公) and Grand Aunty (姑婆) came by to visit us in the late afternoon and I manage to put up a “4 stars” performance. It was that first time that I was able to put up a smiling face when there were visitors on home (before this, I would either run into the room or hide behind Daddy/Mommy’s back whenever there were visitors at our place). Today I managed to shake hands with Grand Uncle and Grand Aunty, and even managed to give a short “no” and “yes” answer to their questions. Mommy was so pleased… =).

GuGu brought Aidan over as well coz it had been a long time since Aidan last seemed Grand Uncle and Grand Aunty. I was so happy to see Aidan here and we started digging out my toys to play.

Aidan was so smart – he knew how to open up the cover of the tin of love letters (coz GuZhang didn’t close it properly). I decided to hang around Aidan with an empty plate, just in case he managed to open more covers and I could tax some… hehe.

Hanging around Aidan just in case he had some goodies for me… =)

Chinese New Year Day 2

Today’s visiting schedule was actually the same as the previous years – we would be going down to visit TaiMa @ Toa Payoh (for lunch) before making a final stop at God-Grandma’s place @ Woodlands (for dinner).

Mommy got me into a brown tee and a green skirt – only to realize that the brown tee that she specially bought for me (to match this green skirt) was a bit too tight fitting. My whole tummy was sticking out like nobody’s business. Luckily Mommy had a backup – it was a red dress from GuGu that came with matching accessories (necklace and bracelet). The shoulder straps were a little too long and they kept sliding off my shoulder, Daddy managed to shorten them with the help of some safety pins.

All ready to go visiting

Lunch @ Toa Payoh
We were among the first few to arrive at TaiMa’s place. Like yesterday, I could warm up quite fast (i.e. I could move around in the house on my own) but I refused to say a word, not even the “恭喜恭喜” which I had been practicing for the past few days (Mommy also say that I am a “theory queen” – I can do it very well at home during practice but I fail to do it when I am at the actual scene).

Mommy tucked into her favourite steamboat while I was given my favourite fish balls and rice. After lunch, I liked to join in with the big JieJies (they are actually my little YiYis) but I was shy and I needed Daddy to bring me over to join them.

I wondered what YiYis were looking at???

We spent that whole afternoon there while waiting for the rest of the relatives to arrive. Eventually, I felt asleep on the sofa while Daddy was playing some cards game in the other room. We left for God-Grandma’s place after I woke up from the nap.

Dinner @ Woodlands
By the time we arrived at Woodlands, most of the relatives were getting ready to leave. Lucky for me, my two favourite cousins were still around (in fact, Aidan wasn’t even there yet when I arrived).

As usual, I required some time to warm up. And I only managed to warm up after dinner. Aidan, Keith and me were happily jumping and hopping around on Uncle Stanley’s mattress… hehe. Aidan even taught me how to do a somersault.

Jamming session with my cousins using a stool


Jumping and bouncing on Uncle Stanley’s mattress… =P

Daddy’s best attempt to take a group photos for the 3 of us

SideNotes: Happy Birthday Mommy
She just got older today. Yes… it is her birthday today. No birthday cakes, no birthday dinner, no celebration for her. Just two little presents from Daddy and me. And a little birthday wish from both of us:

“Happy Birthday, Mommy. We love you.”

Chinese New Year Day 1

恭喜发财，万事如意

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. Mommy and I had an early night last night and both of us woke up early this morning. Mommy brought me over NaiNai’s room to wish her a wonderful new year and good health. NaiNai gave me a red packet in return… =).

While we were dressing up and getting ready to go out, GuGu brought Aidan over to 拜年 with NaiNai before she left for her Sunday church service.

Aidan looked so handsome today…=)

First Stop: GongGong’s Place
Our first stop of the day was GongGong’s place. This year, we were the first to arrive. Somehow, the rest of the Grand-aunties and Grand-uncles were all very late this year. It was getting fun for me this year coz Daddy and Mommy allowed me to feast on most of the Chinese New Year goodies… =).

Do you want some love letters?

Mommy was delighted to see that I am more smiley now. I even let some of the relatives to carry me around (I didn’t mind being carried by them coz they would give me some goodies before doing so… =P). Actually, Big Grand-aunty (大姑婆) fed me a lot of goodies while Daddy and Mommy were having their lunch in the kitchen… hehe. This year, I was the center of attraction again as I was the only kid around.

Second Stop: God Great-Grand Aunty’s Place
Just like our usual Chinese New Year’s schedule, our second stop was God Great-Grand Aunty’s place @ Chua Chu Kang. GuGu’s family joined us @ Chua Chu Kang too and we were the last to arrive. And I started my second round of eating… hehe. Luckily Aidan was around and we entertained each other. If Aidan wasn’t around, it would be another boring Chinese New Year visiting session for me again.

More love letters for me… hehe

Third Stop: Uncle Dennis’s Place
Since we were nearby Uncle Dennis’s place and it was still early when we left Chua Chu Kang, Daddy decided to drop by his place for a short visit (and NaiNai tagged along with us). Both Uncle Dennis and Aunty Jenny were at home as Aunty Jenny was still in the midst of her confinement.

Playing with Renee

Today was the first time I had some interaction with Renee. Daddy told me that he could bring me over next time to play with Renee.

Chinese New Year Eve

No lesson for me today coz it is the Chinese New Year Eve. We stayed at home for the whole morning coz Daddy and Mommy wanted to do some last minutes spring cleaning.

In the afternoon, we made a trip back to Tampines coz Mommy wanted to help out with some preparations there. I fell asleep again during the journey (but only for the last 5 minutes of the trip) and was awakened by Daddy as he removed me from the boaster seat. After that, I refused to sleep again. Even my nap-time milk couldn’t do the magic this time. In the end, I spent my time arranging the stuffs (the CNY goodies and can drinks) on the table instead (while Mommy was helping out with the housework and Daddy was busy reading papers).

Arranging and stacking the can drinks

Reunion Dinner @ Home

GuGu’s family came over for reunion dinner just like previous years. And I got “promoted” and could join the adults at the table from this year onwards. There were plenty of food for me to choose from (unlike last year where I had only steamed fish and veggie with rice). I had fishballs, quail eggs, grilled salmon and cod fish and sausages… =).

After the dinner, I had a mini drawing session with Aidan. Mommy wanted me to teach Aidan how to draw a smiley face… =).

Drawing session with Aidan

School Updates: End of Second Week
It has been two full weeks since I started school. I have been having nightmares occasionally – Daddy could hear me shouting phrases like “I want to go home”, “Teacher Jamie… Teacher Jamie”, “I don’t want go school” etc in my sleep.

Every morning when Daddy and Mommy bide me goodbye, I am willing to say goodbyes and blow flying kisses to Mommy and Daddy but tears will still flow down the moment Mommy and Daddy left me to the teachers. I have no problem with the teachers as I can get along with all of them. In fact, all the teachers in the school know me by now… =P.

Other than the usual crying in the morning, I still cry on and off (whenever I think of Daddy and Mommy). I am fine as long as a teacher is accompanying me by my side.

Visiting Aunty Jenny and Baby Nicole

There wasn’t any program for us for today as the Chinese New Year is just round the corner. Daddy and Mommy wanted to spend some time at home to do some spring cleaning.

However, we did go over to pay Aunty Jenny a short visit at Mount Alvernia Hospital around noon time coz she just gave birth to another little pretty princess (Baby Nicole) on Friday. Uncle Rongyao arranged to meet us there too. We only managed to catch a glimpse at Baby Nicole through the glass panel of the nursery. We didn’t stay for too long since it would be my lunchtime soon and Mommy wanted to let Aunty Jenny get more rest as well.

After that we went over to the Adam Food Center for lunch. I didn’t want to have my lunch yet and requested for my milk instead. After lunch, we went back and stayed home for the rest of the day.

End of First Week @ School

It was a busy morning for us. We went to Aunty Irene’s (Mommy’s colleague) place to make a delivery. Mommy wanted to pass a kitchen set to Clara so that we could clear up some space at home in time for the Chinese New Year.

Before that, we went to Boon Keng area for breakfast. Daddy couldn’t find any hawker center and ended up in Mac for breakfast. I was fussing big time in front of Mac and requested Mommy to carry me while Daddy was parking the car but she refused. It seemed like Mommy has gained some immunity power from Daddy (totally untouched and unaffected by my fussing and crying).

I had some hotcake and shared Mommy’s Big Breakfast. During breakfast, I kept stuffing the food into my mouth and hoped that I could clear my plate quickly so that I could have some hashbrown… =P

Session 6 @ Ros SchoolHouse
Today was the last lesson of the year as we would be taking a Chinese New Year break next week. And in conjunction with the Chinese New Year, we made some “mandarin orange” decorations at the end of the lesson. Actually Daddy was the one who do it but the oranges turned out to look like orange lanterns instead… hehe.

Back to Tampines
Daddy collected lot of stuffs (a big plastic box plus 4-5 bags of clothing and toys, a bath tub and a highchair) from Nanny’s place and we didn’t have the space at home to keep them. In the end, Mommy decided to “borrow” some space in GongGong’s storeroom. And we went down to Tampines with some of those stuffs after my lesson.

While I was having my afternoon milk on the mattress, the milk bottle was leaky and part of my shirt was soaked with milk. I insisted in changing it but Daddy and Mommy didn’t bring any extra clothing and I started to fuss. In the end, Daddy improvised with Mommy’s old shirt by using a safety pin to close up the collar.

Me in Mommy’s old shirt

School Updates: End of 1st Official Week
Today marked the end of the first official week at school for me. I was still crying very hard and loud at the beginning of the week. As the days went on, I was getting used to the teachers in the school (Teacher Idayu, Lin LaoShi, Teacher Eugena etc) and my crying became on and off type of crying. My favourite is still Teacher Jamie of coz… =).

The thing puzzling Mommy and Daddy was that I was “fine” in the evening. “Fine” as in I said that I wanted to go to school every evening when Daddy and Mommy asked whether I wanted to go to school on the next day. However, on the next day, I would start chanting “I don’t want to go to school” or “I want to go home” or “I want to go to (Mommy’s) office” in the morning while we were on our way to the school. Every morning is still a painful event for both of Mommy and me.

Shopping @ Suntec City

Daddy and Mommy had been hunting for a boaster seat for me for the past few weeks. There was much space for me to extend my legs fully while I am in the current car seat. And we couldn’t shift the front seat forward coz Daddy needs that space too. We thought that Suntec City will be a good place to extend our hunt coz we could look in the Carrefour and there is a cluster of shops selling baby/toddler related products.

We set off early in the morning to void the crowd. Oh boy, we were very disappointed when we reached there – we didn’t manage to find any car seat in Carrefour and the section for baby/toddler is under major renovation.

In the end, we went over to Toys ‘R’ Us and managed to find one. Daddy was too lazy to look elsewhere and settle for that. He only realized that I was still too small for that when he tested the car seat when we came back home - he should have bought the seat backing too (Daddy bought the one without the backing). It will be safer for me as the seat backing will bring the safety belt’s height to a lower level. The mechanism for this one isn’t too safe as it tends to shift too easily. I guess we have to make do with this one.

Ladybird and Frog
While in Toys ‘R’ Us, I saw this attractive potty seat cushion and told Mommy that I wanted it. It has lots of ladybugs and frogs printed on it. Mommy bought it, hoping that it would attract me to pee in the toilet. And the cushion really works wonder, not only that I am willing to sit on the cushion, I also manage to pee inside the toilet bowl. Mommy was so happy. She mentioned that if she knew it would be so easy, she would have bought the cushion long time ago… =P.

The ladybird and frog cushion

Session 5 @ Ros SchoolHouse

I was a happy gal this morning as I remembered that there wouldn’t be any school for me today… =).

Although there wasn’t any school for me, I still had to attend the lesson @ Aunty Ros's place in the afternoon. It was session number 5 today and Mommy accompanied me. I am getting more warmed up with each session – more used to the teacher, more used to my friends and more used to the environment. However, I still wasn’t opening my mouth.

The highlight of today’s session came after the lesson, we got to create our own sundae…hehe. We were given some strawberries and Daddy gave me a hand in cutting them into small slices. I added in the strawberry slices, chocolate chips and chocolate syrup to form my final sundae masterpiece. And the best part of this project was to eat it down my stomach of coz… =).

Doing some cutting with Daddy

My masterpiece

The fun part – eating… hehe

Day 2 @ School

Today was the second day at school for me (and Mommy). And I started off worse than yesterday as I started to cry even before I entered the music room. From that point onwards, I simply kept crying and telling Mommy that I wanted to go home. At the same time, I clung onto Mommy (for almost half an hour) until she couldn’t stand it and decided to leave me with Teacher Jamie (she is the principal but prefers us to call her Teacher Jamie) and let her took over.

Still happy when I just stepped in

Even with Teacher Jamie on my side, I still kept on crying on and off. She brought me to the playground to play with my classmates but I wasn’t really enjoying it. I was just going through the motion and following Teacher Jamie around like a zombie (without any expression on my face).

Pictures taken by Teacher Jamie

At naptime, I didn’t see Mommy coming back for me (but I still managed to fall asleep with my bottle of milk). I did not know that Mommy was actually peeping at me for most of the time.

Teacher Jamie spent the rest of the day with me today. Finally Mommy turned up at around 5pm and we waited for Daddy to come and fetch us. I was much more relieved when I saw Mommy. And Mommy had a piece of good news to share – I didn’t need to go to school tomorrow… =).

My First Day @ School

The big day is finally here - today is my first day at school. Starting from today onwards, I will follow Daddy and Mommy to work in the morning (Daddy and Mommy will go to work while I go to school).

Just to make sure that I was fine, Mommy accompanied me for the whole of today. Everything started off fine while I was happily exploring the little area around me. But I was overwhelmed by the noise around me when we went to the music room coz there were too many kids around me. And I started fussing and crying for home. Mommy told me that I had to stay until Daddy came over to fetch us in the evening and told me not to be afraid as she would be around to accompany me. After that, Mommy brought me to the outdoor playground to play with my classmates.

Playing in the outdoor playground

My new classmate - Donavan

A new place and a new daily routine - I have to learn to do many things on my own now (eg putting on and taking off my shoes, taking my bag to shower, consuming my meals). I am fine with the eating and the showering but I couldn’t mix well with my classmates yet.

My breakfast and my lunch


It’s finally lunchtime

The day went on fine with Mommy by my side. I was given a bottle of milk before my nap and I knocked out after a short while – only to find Mommy missing from my side when I woke up from my nap.

My nap place and my naptime


Storytelling time in the afternoon

Finally, I ended my day at around 6.30pm when Daddy came over to pick us up. And I told Mommy that I wanted to go to school again tomorrow… =).