Cutie's Comics

My Cutie wrote something on a cardboard packaging of the stickers and then gave it to me.

She had actually drawn a net over a character and added some speech bubbles to the picture on the cardboard.  Then shared the story with me.  So cute.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wow, a Christmas tree made of bears.

Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011.

Ice Skating Fun

Read from a friend's blog that kid can skate for free after making certain amount of purchases at Velocity (so it's twice the amount for Mummy, hee...).  Mummy loves ice skating and would definitely not miss this chance to get my darlings to have a go. 

At first, my darlings were a little apprehensive, yet they also wanted to try.  There were "snow" falling from the "sky" in the skating rink and the place really seems like a winter wonderland. 

The trainers were great to get them to start with a walk on the ice while holding on their hands and then slowly encouraging them to take the first step to walk on their own.  So tho' it was just a half an hour session, my darlings have progressed from having difficulties to even stand on the ice, to being able to walk confidently on their own. 

The most wonderful news is that my darlings love ice skating too and this will mean this is going to become 1 of our family activities in future.  Here's a video to share and see my Sweetie having fun at the last minute of the session.  To the trainers: a million thanks for your guidance and encouragement.  My darlings had a wonderful session.

There's nothing better than to have lunch at our favourite Japanese restaurant after that.  Yummy.

Meet and Greet (Nov / Dec 2010)

December has always been a busy month for most people, guess it's even more so for the parents bringing their kids to meet their favourite characters in the malls.

1) Strawberry Shortcake

This is the 1st performance that my darlings went to.  They were not very excited (partly cos' Mummy did not accompany them to sit in front of the stage) and they were not used to the loud music from the speaker and screaming/shouting by other kids (see my Sweetie covering her ears in the photo).  They only brightened up when the place was filled with bubbles towards the end of the show.  

2) Elmo
We dropped by Plaza Singapura after knowing Sesame Street Characters are in town and my darlings were happy to see "Elmo".  We were there just in time for the performance, but my darlings were equally happy to watch the performance on the 2nd storey (near to Mummy).  After that, we had a relaxing moment in the Family Lounge of the mall after shopping.

3) Dora

We went to the Volkswagen open house to see Dora (haha... of course it's the cars for Daddy).  We spent the whole afternoon there, as the place was full of of fun-filled activities for kids.  Haha... not to mention about an hour's queue for the special balloon sculptures (cos' more sophisticated design = longer queueing time).  Hee.. we were smart to get Daddy to queue up while we went to the "Meet and Greet with Dora".  My Sweetie was very lucky to win the Diego's Bedsheet/Comforter Set and they also got the chance to hold Dora's hand and took photo with the mascot.  Most of all, they love their beautiful balloon princesses.

4) Hi-5

This is the only performance that we had watched twice cos' my darlings love the Hi-5 characters who have been tagged to each of us at home.  My darlings managed to do a hi-5 with some of the Hi-5 members and my Cutie told me that their hands are not furry, unlike Dora (hahaha... because the mascots and TV characters that they had met, ALL of them have furry hands).  As she had often been quite advanced for her age, Mummy had almost forgotten that she is still only 4 years old. 

After the show, when we were shopping at the merchandise area near the stage, my darlings was lucky to be able to do another round of hi-5 with "Casey" and "Stevie" (as we were really caught by surprise and thus only managed to snap this photo after the moment).  Later in the night, we bumped into both "Casey" and "Stevie" again at Suntec City again (hee... guess they were out for supper).  What a small world.

5) Thomas the train @ Millenia / Pokemon @ Tampines / Toy Story @ Parkway Parade

We didn't go to the Meet and Greet for the above events, we only took photo with the static display while shopping at the malls.  My darlings were very happy to have the Pokemon bags and also a Toy Story mug, which comes with some purchases.  They also had a great time playing at the outdoor Toy Story theme playground @ Parkway Parade.

December is the month of fun and shopping for us.  Yeah.

Dec Holiday Workshop

My Cutie attended the Speech & Drama Workshop at her Chinese Language School again, as usual there was a showcase at the end of the workshop.  We were glad to have the same teacher who taught her during her June Holiday Workshop.  Thank you once again, 潘老师.

Here's a video of my Cutie's performance on stage.  Good job, darling.

After that, Daddy gave us a lift to Ikea before going back to work.  Mummy met up with an "old" friend whom we seem to forever have endless topic to talk about for hours.  My darlings had a great time playing at the playground and kids' area in Ikea.  Mummy bought them an Ikea's mini log cake.  Guess what, this is already the 3rd mini log cake they have tried from different shops for the past 2 weeks.  Hee... hope they won't get too fat eating the yummy chocolate cakes.

Last Day at Little Learners

Today was the last day of school at Little Learners.

Mummy never regrets sending her to this school.  Her teachers are also the same ones who taught my Cutie when she attended the school for just a few months then.  Under their love and care, my Sweetie has grown and learned a lot.   

Thank you, Ding 老师 and Mrs Suppiah

Love you and will miss you.

Hippo River Cruise

We went for the Hippo River Cruise and it had been an enjoyable experience for my darlings.  Tho' they had been to the Hangang River Cruise in Seoul as well as another while going to Nami Island (the filming venue of Winter Sonata), doubt my darlings will remember much as they were still very young then.

Hee... guess we are the only Singaporeans on board the cruise (among the tourists).  This cruise has brought back sweet memories of the past. (1) during courtship years when Daddy brought Mummy to a Buffet Dinner Cruise; and (2) during our tour in Hawaii, we had gone for a lovely Sunset Sailing Dinner Cruise.

Whenever my darlings saw our photos taken in Hawaii, my darlings would always ask "where were they".  When Mummy told them that they were not born yet then, my Sweetie would always be eager to make sure that she was present in Hawaii then, by asking "I  was inside Mummy's tummy, is it?"  Hee....

Having been away for a while, the cruise helps us to view the new skyline of Marina area and that of the Singapore River.  My Cutie was able to identify some of the landmarks eg. the Asian Civilisation Museum, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyers and Merlion.  It was interesting to see these familiar landmarks from another perspective.

It's fun being a tourist once more. 

Popstar City 2010

How time flies, my Sweetie has been attending Popstar City for 3 terms. 

Mummy is glad to have signed her up for this enrichment activity.  My darlings enjoy singing all the songs that are taught and we could also have a relaxing weekend at the cafe - reading the papers/magazines and having a yummy lunch while we wait for my Sweetie.

Tho' her class is for the 3-4 age group, Mummy is surprised to learn now that my Sweetie is the only 3-year old in her group.  Nevertheless, my Sweetie still gives her best.

Here's a video taken during one of the rehearsals for the song "Top of the World" (she's on extreme right). 

Her final stage performance for this year with "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth".

A catchy tune and hereby, wishing everyone a Merry X'mas in advance.

Memories of Everland

Hee... having been back for almost a year, my darlings seem to have forgotten about Everland.  Tho' they still have some impression of that place, they no longer miss it as much as they used to be (guess it's because we have brought them to too many fun places).

So when Yeye brought back some gifts for them from Everland, it brought back sweet, beautiful memories of our "hometown".

Yeye has previously suggested to bring them along for the tour.  They do love to go back to Everland, but only if Mummy is to go too (but sorry, no more tour for Mummy at the moment - really needs a break from all the packing, aarrgh...). 

It warms Mummy's heart to learn that they would rather choose to stay with me, tho' I would be glad too if they had gone for the tour (hee... longing for a break from my "sticky" little darlings).

But guess I would be worrying about them too, had they gone for the tour.  Haha... contradicting, right?

Well, you would too, if you know that my lovely darlings are contented to just stay with Mummy in Singapore.  So sweet.

Thank you, Yeye.

N2 School Graduation

Finally, my Cutie has graduated from her Nursery Class.  It hasn't been a good start (no thanks to her ex-teacher), but Mummy is glad that all has ended well under the care of her new teacher.

The Graduation Ceremony was quite a success and the performance by the students have been great even tho' they didn't wear very fanciful costumes.  For this, the school got 1 thumb up from Mummy cos' the printed polo tees are equally presentable and is more practical whereby the kids will still be able to wear them on any occasion, bringing back sweet memories of their hard work put up for the graduation ceremony.

See if you can find her in the photo above (the only girl in pink who looks at the camera, hee...)

After the performance, Mummy thot that her make-up has smudged and spread from her eyes.  To my horror, it was actually a long scratch mark. 

According to my Cutie, it was scratched by one of the teacher accidentally.  It pains Mummy to see such a long line of scratch mark extends from her eye.  Luckily, she didn't hurt her eye. 

*Sigh*, think got to teach her the skill of dodging in future.

English Proficiency Assessment

Today, my Cutie went for her English Enrichment class and we were surprised that her classmates were either 6 or 7 years old (cos' my Cutie is only 4 years old!).  The pupils in the school are allocated based on their English proficiency level and not by age group.  Luckily, my Cutie is tall (looking like a 5-6 years old). Thankfully, the teacher is understanding and is able to make her feel at ease in class with the other older kids.

Altho' Mummy knows that my Cutie,has no problem reading most words (she has been able to read since at the age of 3 and many of her teachers have provided feedback that she's quite advanced for her age), Mummy is still impressed with her speed reading skills and great understanding of what she read, as shown during her assessment.  Her assessor was also impressed by her proficiency level at her age and decided to allocate her to this level 3 class (without the need to go through level 1 and 2).

For my Sweetie, she may not be as proficient as her sister (but still pretty good for her age group), she was also able to impress mummy with her Sweetie answers during her assessment.

At 1 point,  she was being asked about what she saw on the picture of a nest.  She answered 2 CHICKS, altho' it's quite obvious to be 2 eggs.  The assessor then probed her further by asking where are the chicks and guess what she told him.  She said they were INSIDE the eggs.  Hahaha... this little Sweetie really never fails to brighten up my day.

Forever my darlings.

Happy Birthday, Mummy

Yeye is flying off to Korea, so brought my darlings to send him off at the airport.  As Deepavali is around the corner, the airport is also beautifully decorated to the theme.  Tho' we've been to the airport for a countless number of occasions, my darlings are excited to be there again. 

Coincidentally, it is Mummy's birthday and so we had dinner at our favourite restaurant again.  See the way my Sweetie sit on the baby chair.  She has previously complained "tight" when she straightened her legs.  Hee... the baby chair is getting smaller for her, got to tell myself that she's no longer a small little baby.

The best way to end the day with, is none other than a yummy birthday cake.  Guess who's the happiest. 

Answer: My darlings. 

Darlings' 1st Karaoke Session

Today, we brought our darlings to the Temasek Club.  We didn't go for a swim, but my darlings had a fun time at the playground.

My Cutie enjoys being on the swing and she is getting braver to swing higher.  See her having a fun time on the swing in this video.

We chanced upon a KTV near the pool.  Daddy and Mummy just decided to go in to have some fun with our darlings. 

My darlings were very excited to hold onto a real microphone (it's a different kind of feeling even tho' their toy microphone also has a voice function).  Tho' we had been to a KTV lounge with a group of friends and kids while in Korea, doubt my darlings will remember much about it.

They had a fun time singing some kiddy songs and others like "Top of the World", " You Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog" and "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

They were also very sweet to sing a "Happy Birthday" song for Mummy.

We ended the day with a meal at this Pasta Stylo Restaurant which has very nice stylish ambience (click on link to see).

Spare the Rod?

Finally, Daddy and Mummy feel that the time has come to get a cane.  Honestly speaking, both our kids are not really that naughty as compared to some kids and at most times, they can be very sensible and sweet as to melt mummy's heart.  So why?

It's a long story to tell, Mummy is sure very displeased with her ex-preschool teacher who has an attitude problem and can't be bothered to inform the parents of any concern even tho' I've highlighted that this is the 1st year that my Cutie attends school (she did not attended Nursery 1 last year as we were overseas).

From what we had gathered, my Cutie was learning to adjust to school life and picked up the behaviours of other naughty kids (which I think the teacher can't control).  She had thot that it's alright to behave that way since that's how her classmates did.  She had a shock when we told her that those behaviours were not appropriate in school (after we learnt about it).

This situation could have been nipped in the bud, had this teacher bothered to inform us at the beginning of the year.  Without any feedback, Mummy had also thot that this Cutie had settled well in school (as it only happened when she's in school).  Mummy's heart aches to learn that her behaviour had gone uncorrected for so many months and knowing well that this couldn't have become an issue had we been informed earlier (definitely not after 2 terms of school life and even attended a Parent-teacher session which nothing was ever mentioned).

With a behaviour that had now become a habit, Mummy understands that it would be difficult and a lot of patience is required to help my Cutie to get it corrected.

But with her getting smarter day by day and learning to test limit, it is tougher to get her to unlearn those behaviours especially she knew now that there's nothing her teachers can do to her. *Sigh*

Daddy and Mummy felt that it is important to put a stop to this now before it worsened.  We had tried all sorts of reasoning and ways to explain and guide her.  We could have used the cane long ago, but we believe it should be used as a last resort.

As an educator, I strongly believe a child's behaviours should be corrected when they are young.  Being a parent, I have also seen and learnt that it is harder to correct a child once it becomes a habit.

It pains Mummy when my Cutie got caned, so I use these 2 phrases to remind myself that this has to be done for the good of my Cutie.

- "Spare the rod and spoil the child"
- "It's better to shed tears in peace time, then to shed blood during war time" (hee..., this one learnt from' my instructress during OCS days)

Here's a video to share, which was taken at the shop where we bought the cane.  See how my Sweetie behaved tho' she knew that the cane was bought for her Jiejie.  Her Daddy has then become her "enemy" in her bid to protect her sister.

Explorer Kidz

Finally, brought them to the eXplorerkid at Downtown East.  My darlings were very excited cos' it is a very big playground.

The big space area just made one feel so small here and there's 1 area with gigantic stalk of grasses and big toadstools.  My darlings told me they were ants (or pretending to be) and indeed walking through these grasses do give one the feeling of being small like an ant.  So interesting.  They should also paint a picture of a human's face on the ceiling, hee... then that would look more real.



Mummy is fascinated with the 6-metre wide ball pool which emits light from its bottom and is filled with soft, transparent and clear balls, making the pool look so magical.

But my darlings love the Toddler Play Area the most.  They kept on telling me it's BearyFun Gym (their gym enrichment class). 

Throughout they were so busy with the settting up of the gym equipment (imitating what their gym instructor always does) and then roleplay as gym instructor and student in class, hee..

They were also very excited at the Mega Play area, which is similar to the Gogobambini which we went to long time ago.  The moment we stepped inside, my Cutie was whizzing way ahead up to the 3rd storey with my Sweetie catching up fast. 

Mummy was in shock as I had expected them to be slow and cautious at the beginning.  After a while, Mummy gave up going after them , well...since I can't catch up with them.  

See the long slide on the photo (left), Mummy couldn't believe that both of them actually slided down that too, from the 3rd storey. *Phew*

Mummy really likes the following video very much.  Besides showing how these little 2 ones tried to overcome a problem at the Mega Play area, it also shows how my Cutie tried to help her younger sister and took good care of her.  It's so heartwarming :)

Ears Piercing

My 2 little princesses have finally worn real earrings.

Well, it was definitely not Mummy's idea.  Tho' Mummy was tempted to have their ears pierced before they were 1 year old, nothing actually materialised as mummy just couldn't bear to let them suffer the pain.  Now, it was these 2 darlings who had requested for it. 

My Sweetie was the first to have hers done in end September.  It was rather impromptu that day while my Cutie was at her enrichment class and Mummy was just checking out for places that provide ear piercing services. 

But once at the shop, no matter how Mummy tried to dissuade her of the pain, my Sweetie was just very persistent then (luckily in her sweetie manner).  Mummy was having cold sweats as only 1 staff was available for the service (usually for kids, it's better to have 2 staff to do the piercing at the same time).  My Sweetie told me that she would not cry even if it was painful and true enough, she was so brave throughout the session.  She didn't cry at all and both her ears were pierced one after another just within minutes.  Her courage is truly unimaginable.  She is just 3 years old.

It was only today that my Cutie got hers done (due to a big fat mosquito bite on her ear that took so long to subside).  Unfortunately, the other staff was not present again and my Cutie's threshold for pain is much lower.  Mummy had to assure her again and again before she agreed to get the other ear pierced.  *Ouch*

Despite the pain, both of them are extremely pleased to see the final results on their ears.  *Sigh*, why do women always have to suffer so much pain for the sake of vanity, hee...

Prawn Fishing

Been hearing so much about the Bottle Tree Park and driving past it so many times, yet we have never dropped by this place before (partly cos' the entrance is located far on the other side).  Today, we finally got to visit this place and indeed there is a big tree that shaped like a bottle.  Guess that's how it got its name.

It was the 1st time for all of us to have a go at prawn fishing, haha... that may well explain why the poor catch (partly cos' we were late too and the private pool had been booked for only an hour).  However, great to have nice frends who are willing to share their gain with us.  Haha... but most of the prawns were gobbled up by both my darlings, guess super fresh prawns are just too yummy.

My darlings were very excited to be involved in real fishing (cos' they have often seen the big catch on the National Geographic channel or only at most, seen others fish at the jetty).  It's their 1st time to see their daddy put the bait on the hook at close proximity and also got to hold onto a real fishing rod.  Too bad the hot weather just doesn't permit one to enjoy fishing for long.  Nevertheless, it has been a fun activity and think we may try prawn fishing again.  Hee... or should mummy simply use the money to buy the big prawns from the supermarkets instead?  At least we can be guaranteed of a certain number of prawns and a satisying meal in the comfort of home, hee...

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Today has been practically a "Eat, Eat, Eat" Day, filled with rich and "unhealthy" food.

We started off in the morning with a heavy breakfast at Toast Box.  Then after their enrichment class, we went to the N.Y.D.C. restaurant for lunch and barely a few hours later, we were at the Jumbo Seafood Restaurant in NSRCC for yummy crabs for dinner.

Now that should shed some light as to why daddy and mummy have put on some weight since our return from Korea, hee... what to do, Singapore's food is simply too irresistable.

At the N.Y.D.C. restaurant, Mummy was caught by surprise when my Cutie signalled to the waiter and then told him her order (which she did not even tell us about it!).  The waiter was smart to check with us as we had placed our order earlier.  Mummy thot that she was just asking the waiter for some kiddies' cutlery set as usual.  Haha... guess my shy little Cutie has really grown up now. (Photo top, Cutie with her order of Hammy Spaghetti). 

At NSRCC, there was a big pool filled with a lot of kois (as compared to the small pool at Suntec City).  I believe my darlings have learned from yesterday's incident and thus dared not to stand too close to the edge, hee...

In the restaurant, as our seat is just next to the water tanks with the live catch, we had a great time watching them while enjoying our meal.  It has been a satisying meal for mummy (hee..., crabs, crabs, crabs).  It has been years since mummy got to enjoy crabs in public places (cos' definitely must "ta pao", else how to savour every goodness of the chilli crabs without any unexpected babies' disruption),

We were so full that we didn't even have any thot of buying a cake to celebrate Daddy's birthday.  Anyway, he didn't mind cos' he's already very happy with the love showered by his little princesses.

Nevetheless, wish him a Happy Birthday.

Outing with a splash

While Daddy was out for a gathering with friends in town, Mummy got him to give us a lift to Suntec City Mall.  My Cutie, as usual, was fascinated with books and we were stuck at this corner of a pushcart stall outside Toys "R" Us for a long time. 

Luckily, Mummy had bought a number of books from the stall, else don't think the owner would have allowed them to read/browse for such long time. 

After that, we went to koi pond at Basement 1.  Initially, my darlings were just squatting quietly watching others feed the kois.  Then while Mummy was on the phone with Daddy, one of them started to play with the water in the pond and of course, the other followed.  My Cutie lost her balance and fell into the pond.  Luckily, the pond was quite shallow and Mummy was there in time to catch onto her.  So only partial of her clothes and shoes were wet.

With no extra clothes (well.. who could expect this?), Mummy got her to wear her sweater and also folded up her pants as only the lower part was wet.  Mummy was quite satisfied with the transformation, from dainty to a sporty look, hee... 

While shopping, Mummy has also bought the Math Balance and some craft beads with peg boards from Growing Fun,  So when home, Mummy got my darlings to decorate the heart shaped peg board with the beads.  Then after ironing the beads and pasting the heart onto a card, my Cutie wrote the words "Papa, Happy Birthday" while my Sweetie drew a smiling face on the card.  Hee... within half an hour, we managed to make a birthday card for daddy' whose birthday is just a day away.

Nursing mummies

Since last year, they have been acknowledging themselves as the mother of their own cuddly baby.

Today, they were having pretend play of looking after their new-born babies.  Seeing them showing so much tender loving care to the little ones, Mummy can't help but want to capture it down on camera.

Often, when I see both of them having fun together, Mummy can't help but feel that it's a right choice to have 2 kids instead of 1 (tho' 1 maybe able to have more parental love and attention, the feeling of loneliness cannot be substituted).

They are never bored with each other's company, tho' sometimes their power of synergy can be a little too overwhelming for Mummy to handle.  But I must say it's often a joy to watch them having fun together.

So for those with 1 kid only, it's time to add a new member into the family (haha... I am not referring to the soft toys lah!.).