Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Wishing everyone good health and prosperity in the year of the snake! :)

Overheard - Kids Say the Darnest Things

DD (5 years old): Mummy, is Papa older than Grandma and Grandpa?
Me: :O

I was pretty much speechless while DS started exclaiming, "Of course not lah!", and proceeded to tell DD the ages of the grandparents compared to Papa's age.

Taipei, here we come!

22 Nov 2012
Finally, school is out for Casey and we are on our way to Taipei. After spending 5 days in Taipei, we head to Hong Kong. :) DH will be speaking at a conference in Taipei, and doing a poster presentation at a conference in Hong Kong.

This is also the first time that I'm traveling on Cathay Pacific. Cathay flies direct from Taipei to Hong Kong, so it's much cheaper to fly via Cathay on all sectors. Unfortunately, Cathay doesn't fly direct from Singapore to Taipei, we have to transit in Hong Kong first, before heading on to Taipei.

Below are some pictures taken at Changi Airport and some in the airplane. There's a picture of DD trying to show us the wart on her toe, which is going to drop off soon after it was burnt off a few weeks back.

Mini-Master Chess Players?

DS and DD seem to have taken an interest in chess recently. I have no clue how to play the game, so I think they know more about chess than me at this point in time!

DS and DD playing the game very seriously.

Of course, DD couldn't resist the opportunity to give me one of her funny poses for the camera.

A very special pedicure. :)

It's not everyday we're going to find a brother painting the toenails of his little sister! But DS likes painting and DD likes painted nails, so I guess that works out well. :) However, I'm not sure if DS will be repeating this anytime soon because he wasn't very happy with DD's grumbling that he didn't do a very good job! Haha!

Happy Grandparents' Day!

(This post was written on 6 Sep 2012)

It's Grandparents' Day this Sunday, and DD's preschool celebrated it with a mini song-and-dance performance by the kids and breakfast for the grandparents.

While waiting for all the grandparents to arrive, Dr Khoo, the founder of DD's preschool and a grandparent herself, held a sharing session for the grandparents. I joked that it looked like a self-help group for grandparents. "I really don't like the way I feel when I allow the kids to walk all over me...". "How do I tell my son that I really don't want to look after the grandchildren this weekend?". LOL!

Grandparents waiting patiently for the concert to start.

Dr Khoo giving a speech before the concert, to thank all the grandparents for their continued support and all the things they do for their grandchildren.

The K1 and K2 kids performing. Later, all the kids (including the nursery and toddler classes) sang the Barney song "I Love You".

DD with her granddad! All grandparents received a  "garland". :)

Breakfast with the grandparents!

DD enjoying the food too. :)

The kids whose grandparents were not present helped to clear away the plates and cups after breakfast. DS, being ever so helpful, enthusiastically lent a hand too.

And finally, a lovely picture taken by one of the student teachers on attachment with the school.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents, who have always been ever obliging and ready to help out with DS and DD whenever I need them to. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa! We love both of you very much! :)

My Brave Little Girl!

Well, we really had lots of things happening in August! A day after DD celebrated her birthday in school, she was scheduled to have grommets inserted in both ears. Grommets are tiny tubes inserted into the eardrums to help drain fluids out of the middle ear. She has been having fluids in her middle ear since the start of this year due to recurrent middle ear infections, also known as recurrent otitis media. Due to the fluid in the middle ear, DD has been having a mild to moderate hearing loss in first one ear, then both ears by the time she was last seen by the ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) doctor. This resulted in the need for grommets. No wonder she was talking so loudly the past few months! Haha.

I was taught in university that by the age of 3, 80% of children in Australia would have had at least one episode of a middle ear infection. In the US, otitis media is the second most common childhood disease after upper respiratory tract infection (ie cough, cold). So I knew that middle ear infections were very common in children in western countries, but not as common in Asian countries. However, the ENT doctor told me that it is still fairly common in Singapore, affecting children in the age group of 3-5. And never did I expect one of the children to have recurrent middle ear infections! Thankfully, it is something that is easily manageable, except that the grommet insertion would require the child to undergo general anaesthesia. :(

Topical anaesthetic cream applied to the back of both hands to numb the area. This is to allow the anaesthetic doctor to set a plug on one hand later on without inflicting any pain. (But both hands have to be numbed just in case the doctor finds it difficult to find a vein in one of the hands)  

In the waiting area just before the surgery. I love the mini armchairs! Lots of toys to keep the children entertained.

DD's favorite corner in the waiting area because of the pink furniture! She loves the play kitchen too.

And finally, the surgery is over. DD recovering from her general anaesthesia.  She had to be monitored for 2 hours after waking before being allowed to go home.

A reward from the nurses for being such a brave girl! :)

DD wanting a final picture of her plug before the nurse removed it. She said she was close to tears when the nurse removed the plug because it was so painful. I think the topical anaesthetic cream was already wearing off by then.

DD's hearing is back to normal now, after the fluids were drained from her ears. We hope that that's the end of her middle ear infections!

Piano Recital 2012

A day after DD's birthday, DS and DD had their piano recital, jointly organised by their piano teacher and two other teachers.. This was DS's second piano recital and DD's first. DD was very excited to be able to go on stage like her brother, whom she admires dearly.

Pic of the piano and trophies in the background before the concert started.

Shiny trophies and medals waiting to be won

DS and DD both got a trophy for participation and DS also won a medal for  performance excellence.

The Little One's 5th Birthday - Pt 3

And finally, DD had a cake brought to her school for her to celebrate with her kindergarten friends. :) This is the first time we've ever done this.

DD was overjoyed and distributed Brave-themed stickers to her friends. Yep, we got a different Brave-themed cake for her for school.

The Little One's 5th Birthday - Pt 2

The night of DD's birthday, we had dinner at Summer Pavilion, the Chinese restaurant at Ritz Carlton, where my granddad and 2 aunts were staying. They were on holiday here from Australia, en-route to Hainan Island. My mum and her other 2 sisters in Singapore will be joining them to Hainan Island.

My granddad with 6 of his daughters, 4 sons-in-law, 2 grand-daughters and their respective husbands, and 2 great-grandchildren. 

DD had her 2nd birthday cake here, courtesy of Ritz Carlton.

On a side note, this is the view from Granddad's room in Ritz Carlton, looking straight onto the platform where Singapore's National Day Parade was held 2 days back. I'm planning to book a room there next year so that we can watch the National Day Parade "live"! :)

The Little One's 5th Birthday - Pt 1

I'm way behind in my blogging and so much has happened since the last time I blogged. :) I have no idea where to start! OK, let's start with DD's 5th birthday celebrations. She had a record 3 cakes this year! And I thought the 2 cakes she had last year was plenty. :)

I wonder if we had the first Brave-themed birthday party in Singapore.

Brave-themed stickers and cup for the goodie bag, ordered in from the US. I couldn't find any Brave-themed party supplies in Singapore yet!

Our family, with Grandpa. :) Grandma was absent as she was spending time with her dad, who was on holiday here from Australia.

With our wonderful friends. :)

A very colorful Brave-themed cake, with Brave cake toppers, also ordered from the US.

The kids were very intrigued by the thick layers of colorful cream, needed to create the Brave-themed background on the cake.

And the moment both kids have been waiting for...presents!!! :)

June School Holidays! Wednesday 30 May

Which school holiday would be complete without a trip to Changi Airport to take the Slide@T3? :) 

Slide@T3 is the world's tallest slide in an airport. Slide@T3 comprises 2 slides. The shorter one is free for anyone above 110cm in height. The taller one is 4 storeys tall and to ride this, one would need to spend $10 in a single receipt at Changi Airport to get one ticket. Of course, thanks to Grandma (who works in Changi and spends money in Changi Airport), the kids get many many tickets to ride to their hearts' content! :)

With good pal, R. Lunch before the fun!

Showing off their tickets

DD is still too short to take the slides, so she waits patiently at the bottom of the slide for the two boys to come down. While waiting, DD keeps herself occupied by looking at kids doing craft work at the Arts and Craft Corner. I think this stall was set up to entertain kids like DD who are too young for the slide.

June School Holidays! Tuesday 29 May

Everyone, especially the kids, have been looking forward to their dental appointment today. It took us almost 6 months to find a date when everybody, including DH, is free to go to the dentist together. DD was very excited and she was the one who kept reminding me in the past 6 months to make an appointment with the dentist.

DD, as usual, insisted on going first even though she was the only one among the 4 of us who has never had her teeth cleaned.

 DS got to go next!

Overheard: Kids say the darnest things - 2

All four of us headed to the dentist on Tuesday to get our teeth cleaned. This was what happened afterward:

(As written by DH)

After dental scaling. Daughter whisper in my ear, "Can I go a second round?"

(When DH said 'no' to DD's question, DD came to ask me the same thing later on!)

Overheard: Kids say the darnest things - 1

DH was being his usual self the other day, poking fun at the kids and telling them (corny!) jokes. And this was what happened:

(As written by DH)

Me (DH) to son: Isn't it nice your daddy jokes around and we can have more fun that way.

Son to me: No, I prefer you to be more normal.

Me: ..............

I Feel Redundant at the Zoo :)

DD trying to read the Zoo map

DS and DD discussing where to go next

And off they go, with DD trying to navigate with the help of the map!

Maybe soon, I'll be able to drop them off at the zoo and go have afternoon tea with some friends! Haha.

June School Holidays! Monday, 28 May.

OK, I give up. I could not finish blogging about the March school holidays before the June holidays started. Oh, how I wish there were 72 hours in a day!!! Oh well, nevermind, we shall look ahead and blog about the ...drumroll please ... June school holidays! This being DS's first year in primary school, he was pleasantly surprised to find out 2 weeks ago that the June holidays would be 4 weeks long! Yay!

We celebrated the first day of the June school holidays by going to the Singapore Zoo. We have been to the zoo more than 10 times since DS was born, about 2-3 times a year in recent years and I think we've still not done all the activities nor seen all the animals. We would probably go more often if the Zoo was closer to our home!

One of the first few animals we saw was the White-faced Saki monkey. I'm always amazed at how these monkeys and some other animals do not need to be caged. Yet they stay in the trees and not jump on some human being trying to snap a picture of them! I didn't bring a camera to the Zoo this time and this shot was taken using my iPhone 4. The monkey was barely 1.5m away from me.

Another animal found near the entrance to the zoo is the otter. We usually don't go around the enclosure to see the otters underwater, but today, we did just that. Look at how cute the otters are swimming underwater!

The Singapore Zoo has 2 white tigers and every time we visit the tigers, one would be pacing back and forth, and another would be sleeping. I'm wondering if it's the same tiger pacing back and forth. It sure does look hungry as it eyes the visitors looking at it from the opposite side!

Animal feeding! DS's favorite activity at the zoo! Today, he got to feed the giraffes and the white rhinos for the first time. Look how long the tongue of the giraffe is! A giraffe's tongue is about 45-50cm long. Another interesting fact is that the number of bones in the neck of a giraffe is the same as that of a human being (7!), even though a giraffe has such a long neck.

Look at the giraffes curling the tip of their tongue to get the piece of carrot stick DS is holding. DS later told me that he enjoyed getting his hand covered in the giraffe's saliva while he was feeding them!

A picture taken from afar showing how tall the giraffes are. I think it's really ingenious that the platform was built to allow visitors to be able to feed the giraffes.

This is the first time we watched the Animal Friends Show at the zoo. The show goes on for half hour and the kids really enjoyed it! Guinea pigs, cats and dogs were featured and children get to pet the dogs at the end of the show.

Petting the dogs after the show. :)

Ah Meng memorial to remember our beloved Ah-Meng, the orang utan.

DS feeding the white rhinos. The white rhinos' nose and mouth were dripping wet with mucous. I was so worried that one might sneeze or snort and DS will be covered in mucous! Haha! DS later told me that he could feel the strong "suction" created by the rhinos' mouth as it was trying to suck the fruit from DS's hand.

And finally, this is actually a video of the back view of the pygmy hippos. I found it interesting to see the fish eating dead skin and other deposits off the back of the pygmy hippo.