Fort canning

A somewhat impromptu outing to Fort canning park a few weeks back. We had an hour on Saturday morning before Wayne's art class and squeezed in a stroll amongst the greenery. We certainly do not explore Singapore enough... And the kids, with their hats, look every bit touristy in this tourist spot! 

Amanda-licious @ 3 years and 1 month

Amanda-licious @ 3 years and 1 month

Our tomato journey

Our National Day project with the kids - doing some urban farming. 

Bought two of these cute little grow-your-own fruit kit for $8 each. Consisting of a small ceramic pot, some soil, cherry tomato seeds and an instruction booklet, it looks simple enough... until I read the part that "fruits should come three to four months after germination". What - so long??? Haha I am not sure if we would be able to maintain the plant with the required tender, loving care for three to four months!!! But we will try!!

Day 6 update : After six days and a few days of forgetting to water our plant, we see some progress in our plant! Yay!

P1 transition program - Here I come, P1!

Scroll through Facebook posts or mommy blogs, and you’d know that one of the hot topics for parents of six year old kids this period is the P1 registration. I think Singapore is the only country where a primary school registration can actually evoke so much attention and stress among parents. We are lucky that we have a primary school that Wayne can enter into without too much effort on our part, so the registration for us was pretty much a non-event, but just hearing nervous parents around us awaiting results were enough to make us feel quite kan chiong for them too.  We actually saw ourselves worrying whether Wayne’s friends managed to get into the school of their choices.

No 65, one of the last few for the phase

We took the day off for the registration; it was nice to have a first glimpse of the school our boy would be attending for the next six years. The principal seemed like a really nice person. While waiting for our turn, we saw these few young boys greet the principal, ask him if he had his lunch in Mandarin and heard them tell him that they liked the stories he told at assembly… which was really cute and for some reasons, to me, very heart-warming. I wondered how Wayne would take to primary school. It is indeed quite a big adjustment for them, isn’t it? I worry about silly things, like if he knew NOT to sit on the toilet bowl in school. Sigh. Haha. 

Mindchamps have already been preparing the kids for primary school since this term, which has actually been quite assuring for us parents. 

They call it the Primary 1 Transition Programme where he arrives in school to recite the pledge (in both English and Chinese!) and sing the national anthem at 9am each morning, pays for his own lunch and has his lessons in half hour blocks just like in primary school. I hope he will be able to adapt quickly and enjoy primary school. His school is one of the few that still runs double sessions and so, he will be in the afternoon session for two years. It is a challenge to pick both the kids up in time in the evenings, for which the logistics we have not sorted out yet, but I am sure we will get there. We have a few more months to think about that!

Here is a video of Wayne reciting the pledge:

Exciting times ahead!

Our ever precious, ever dearest first born

Amanda's Peppa Party in School

Amanda's first birthday celebration with her little friends in school. 

After a Sofia the First theme for the family party,  this time she chose Peppa the Pig for the friends. I'm sure all her 3 year old friends love Peppa as much too!

A cute lil cake from ever reliable Charlotte's Grace.

Little friends delighted by a Peppa themed goodie bag consisting of a storybook, a handheld balloon, keychains and stickers.

And photos of her simple party in school! Always thankful for these happy moments we share together. We love you Amanda!

330am - When was the last time we lasted that late into the night?

Last night the kids had a sleepover at grandma's house, and that meant a night  of fun for the kids AND for us. Thanks grandma, grandpa and yiyi! 

So happy were the kids that the next day when they came home, Wayne was sulking. What???? Hahaha. 

As for us, we had such a night. With the kids out from about 8 at night, we headed out for coffee and desserts at Five and Dime (slurps, famed custard Lava cake!), caught a midnight movie at Lido (hello, Tom Cruise!), put on some calories at Spize (oh my, sinful prata!), and you'd think that was all for the night, but no, we proceeded for grocery shopping at a 24 hour supermarket despite it being 230am by the time we had our last mouthful of prata. Reaching home at 330am, it was indeed a long long time since we had such a late night out... since having Wayne 6 years back probably! 

Popular Golden Custard Lava Cake by Five and Dime

The start of a long weekend

Decided to go for a nice Italian dinner at Pete's Place to start off the long weekend! Long weekends are just soooo good. 

You can't tell from those smiley faces in these pictures, but although we had planned for a relaxing meal to kick off the weekend, reality was that it was hardly so with Amanda (and to a lesser extent Wayne) deciding to be in one of her naughty bossy temperament last night. How unpredictable she can be! I had to whip out a packet of gummies and finally the phone, just so we could squeeze in and savour that last tiramisu I so wanted!  

But yes, so worth it!! 

P/S: Once we got home, I was about to send her to her naughty corner for whining so much at the dinner table, but this cheeky little one started to make funny faces at me which got me laughing out loud instead - so yes she successfully escaped punishment!

And this photo here.. it was taken by Amanda. Not bad for a 3yo, right? 

Celebrating THREE

Princess Sofia and her royal... magician.

One of my favourite sibling photos. :)

When we had Amanda, Wayne had just turned three and now, even this baby girl has turned three. How I love this little girl - a little overweight, but no less princessy. Our little sunshine, she is always so full of emotions. Both the up and down. She laughs hard but also fights hard (which Wayne would know). She says the funniest things, sings and dances like there is no tomorrow and adores her big brother. She has indeed filled our lives with much joy. And as I always say, she, our baby girl, is really the completing puzzle in our little family jigsaw of four.

Last night, it was just mommy and Amanda at home and we were sitting side by side in the kitchen, mommy reading my book and Amanda having her supper of milk and biscuits. We chatted in between, she giggling and flashing her cheeky smile at anything and everything, ever so playful. I realised how much I enjoyed being with her, just listening to her and looking at that face. I really can't ask for more. Sometimes I wish we didn't have to be so busy, rushing through the day.. every single day. How we need to constantly remind ourselves to slow down and just enjoy such moments together. Before we know it, another year would have passed and Amanda would be four.

Meanwhile, at her cutest.. our little princess at THREE. Happy third birthday, my sweetest!

Theme for the party, chosen by her, was Sofia the First. 

For the the birthday feast, we decided to have seafood from Melben instead of the Western we usually opt for. We toyed with the idea of having the party at an external venue, but after much thought, we still felt home would be more comfortable for everyone, and it would give flexibility for all to arrive at a time convenient for them. Grace, nainai and grandma further contributed to the spread with the mouth-watering dishes they whipped out. Thank you very much!

Wayne on the other hand, took care of the entertainment aspect of the party, stealing the limelight with his debut magic show, after round and rounds of training by his guru who was none other than his daddy dearest. Haha. Thank you audience for so very kindly making him feel like the most superb magician in the world that night. At least, I am assured he has a career should he fail in his studies in future.

Cake cutting got our birthday girl happy, smiling and eagerly awaiting to savour her chocolate cake. Actually it was the cream she was after, she literally cried for more! Oh those calories... you have enough our dearest girl! I love how she looked in her Sofia dress and tiara, vanity is truly part of her genes!

As usual, she was blessed by all around her. Thank you to all of you - for the presents, for being part of the celebration, and most of all for loving our little birthday girl the way you do!