Little Miracles · December 2016

Fun and Discovery at the Tech Dome

December 22, 2016 in Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Therefore, I try my best to get the kids out and about during these school holidays instead of being home all day in front of the TV or computer. We made an impromptu visit to the rather newly-opened Tech Dome in Komtar about two weeks or so back. I remember the location of Tech Dome as previously being the venue of computer exhibitions like the PC Fair years ago, back then the dome was called the Geodesic Dome.

Ethan and Hannah had already visited the Tech Dome last month during their school field trips, but they were rather disappointed that they didn’t get to participate in the activities like the wall-climbing and the G-force spin. These activities required parental approval and additional purchase of tickets, so perhaps that was why the school trip did not include that.

Here they are, doing the Speed Climb, where they had to scale up a vertical wall and hit the buzzer right at the top.

Here, the kids find out what astronauts go through with the G-Force simulator:

Kids had so much fun:

Emma enjoyed herself at a small play area pretending to be Bob the Builder:

Afterward, we visited The Top, which had some fun and colorful rides for kids.

Hannah’s First Music Competition

December 21, 2016 in Entertainment, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

Hannah has been taking piano lessons since she was 5 years old. Her interest has increased by leaps and bounds since then. Now, we are overjoyed to hear melodious tunes when she practises at home and it is indeed rewarding (and good on the ear).

I don’t intend to rush her through the grades, with taking examinations and all, even though her teacher says she is in Grade 1 now. When the time comes for her to take examinations and she is ready, then we shall cross that bridge.

Just recently, her teacher asked if Hannah wanted to participate in a music competition. There were several categories for the participants, segregated by age group, and Hannah was in the age 7-8 category. Hannah was very eager to, so we decided to let her try it out.

Looking at her perform that day, I think I must have been more nervous than she was. I practically held my breath while taking the video, and she aced it!

She was overjoyed when she received a trophy and certificate of participation for her efforts. There were 50+ participants in her category and she was selected as one of the Bronze trophy recipients. All the participants received a trophy, but that didn’t stop Hannah from being so proud of herself.

We are also very proud of you, Hannah! ♥

Music Through The Ages – A Variety Show Concert

December 15, 2016 in Entertainment, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

There was dancing and singing by the kids representing music from the 60’s till 2000’s.

An entertaining night for all, I’m sure the performers enjoyed themselves as much, if not more, than the audience.

Here’s an excerpt from the performances featuring Hannah and her friends:

Note: We fully respect your privacy and understand how and why it is important, so if you see a picture of your child in this post and would prefer for me to blot out his/her face, please email me at joyce.cheah (at) gmail.com and I will do the needful. Thank you.

Inter-School Football Tournament U11s

December 15, 2016 in Ethan, Exercise, Growing Up, Sports | No comments

Ethan participated in an inter-school football tournament for Under 11s in early November this year. The tournament saw several schools in Penang and one from KL compete in a half-day affair, which began with a rather wet and rainy morning.

This did not dampen the spirits of all the kids though, and they all had a lot of fun. It was a good experience and great exposure playing in a team environment, and we are looking forward to more tournaments such as these.

Can you spot Ethan in these photos?

The Completion of Yet Another Wondrous Journey

December 14, 2016 in Breastfeeding, Emma, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

My third time as a breastfeeding mommy was definitely much easier, and breastfeeding is such that it becomes easier and easier with each child. However, with Emma, I did not really have any time on hand to think about weaning her proactively, and she did not seem ready to be weaned yet. Also, deep down, I knew that I was not ready yet.

I read up on stories where the child self-weaned and often wondered if it would happen to Emma. I did try deterring her once using juice from bitter gourd, but I couldn’t discipline myself to do it often enough, so that did not go anywhere.

When she was a few months after age 3, I noticed that she started NOT requesting for milk when she awoke in the morning. She could go the whole day without needing the breast and she would only ask for milk when she was ready to fall asleep. Thus our breastfeeding bond was then reduced to once or twice a day depending on whether or not she had an afternoon nap. She did not wake up much in the middle of the night and when she did, she would just need a cuddle.

Then on October 4th of this year, she contracted a sudden fever that went up to 39ºC; I did not give her any fever medication, only Izumio…she fell asleep after lunch and after that her fever broke and she was herself again. On that same night, she had, what was to be, her last breastfeeding session. I doubted I had much milk left then, so it was mostly comfort suckling.

On the night of October 5th, she went to sleep on her own without nursing. I thought it was a one-off incident, but she hasn’t asked for milk since.

It has been more than 2 months now, and Emma has been fully weaned. No tears at all, and it was such a smooth transition. It was all I prayed for, and I had asked God to make it easy for Emma and for me, and truly He has made it all possible. At 3 years, 6 months and 23 days, my darling Emma is fully self-weaned, with no fuss, no threats and no tears. The timing was perfect as we were both ready then.

I’m so proud of her for being strong and growing up so beautifully. I’m proud of myself for going on this breastfeeding journey with her. Despite obstacles we faced, we battled through them all. Even though I am no longer a breastfeeding mom, the breastfeeding experience stays with me and I am so grateful that I had shared my personal views and experience with all moms out there, and I am ever willing and happy to help out with questions or concerns even now. I would never ever change a thing for all my three breastfeeding journeys, for they are all wondrous and special in their own ways.

I thank God for giving me this special role and task, and for the strength He gave me to provide for my kids. I pray that He will continue blessing us all as a family and allow us to let Him guide us now and always.

Everything is Awesome at Legoland!

December 13, 2016 in Celebrations, Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

In September (yeah, I know this is an extremely delayed post…so sorry about that, but hopefully the pictures will be more than enough to make up for that! The kids and hubby have been very good at pushing and encouraging me to finish this post!), we took a highly-overdued family vacation and headed down south to the kids-absolutely-love-the-place-but-it-is-so-freaking-HOT LEGOLAND in Nusajaya, Johor. We had been to Legoland in Carlsbad, CA seven years ago, but back then it was just with Ethan and I was heavily pregnant with Hannah. I doubt Ethan remembers much of Legoland Carlsbad apart from what I have recorded in this blog, so the visit to Johor’s Legoland could be considered a fresh experience for the kids.

We decided to stay in the Legoland Hotel whilst we were there, which would make it so much more convenient for us, especially with kids along. No complaints there and the room we had was spectacular. More on that later.

On the day we were to start our vacation, everyone woke up super early. Our flight from Penang to Johor was at 7:15a.m. so I had arranged for a cab to pick us up at 5:30a.m. that morning. It was pouring! But everyone was in a happy mood and we got on the plane, which departed and arrived on schedule.

We arrived in Legoland Hotel at about 10:00a.m. and because it was still early, our room was not ready yet. We decided to put our luggage with the concierge and go right in to Legoland.