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Celebrations

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We just got back from our family vacation in Singapore last week, and I am far far behind in my blog postings.  I’ve got so many drafts sitting and collecting digital dust, and other non-blogging things to do too, so while I gather my thoughts and (hopefully) publish alternate posts about our Singapore getaway really soon, here are some pictures taken at Pauline Kor Kor’s condo’s swimming pool, during our recent trip to KL for the Barney show…we had the whole pool to ourselves that day!!! 🙂

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Oh and by the way, check out this month’s issue of BabyTalk, where Hannah picture is featured in the Star Toddlers section. 🙂

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And if you like reading, you could also read one of my personal Christmas stories here, featured in that same magazine 🙂  Just click on the image to enlarge it.

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I made the cake, but it was the kids who helped keep it a secret.  We kept it a secret from Daddy for one whole week… 🙂

And Ethan helped it stay a secret right till it was unveiled before Daddy’s eyes!

Happy Birthday Daddy!  Hope you had a great birthday! (the kids sure enjoyed the cake though) — hopefully it will be a sign of great things to come for Liverpool this season!  Heh Heh… 😀

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Just to have a little bit of fun during the Lantern Festival night this year, I took the kids down to our condo’s swimming pool area for a night walk with their lanterns.  Both Ethan and Hannah received lanterns from Ah Ma from Ipoh, and these lanterns were battery-operated.  Ethan had insisted that I bring along and hold the paper lantern he had made in school too (pictured above), because that one required a tea light candle and he was afraid he would accidentally burn the lantern.

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It was a just a very simple walk round the pool area, but despite that the kids enjoyed themselves.  I had expected more kids to be around but it was just us.

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Stayed for a while in the area, enjoying the cool night air…up until Hannah started poking her whole leg in the water!

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We’ll be back next time!  Could you see the joy on the kids’ faces even in the dim light? 🙂

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When we told Ethan we were going to AdventureZone once again, he was ecstatic!  He had been asking and asking and asking to go back there and he was really really psyched up this time.

Took all of their effort to pose and smile for the camera before I let them run into the play area…

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Amazing how much energy these kids possess.  They had 2 hours to play in the area, and after what felt like an hour and a half, Pete tells me it’s only been 20 minutes.  Thank goodness the entire area was air-conditioned.  Hehe.

This time round, Ethan was more adventurous, and loudly proclaimed that he wasn’t afraid to go down the slides now.  His favorite was the “Hyperglide Astra Drop” (rainbow) slide, which had a height of 18 feet (5.5 metres) and a length of 50 feet (15.2 metres).  This one required the us to use a mat as we slid down.  Ethan also tried the  “Double Drop” (blue) slide, which had a ball pit exit, and stands 20 feet (6.1 metres) tall and has a length of 48 feet (14.6 metres).   The red slide is called the “Demon Drop” slide, and is not for the faint-hearted.  It has a vertical drop of 24 feet (7.3 metres) and spans 75 feet (22.9 metres).  Pete got on it a couple of times, and I got on just once (because Pete dared me to).

Since Hannah was not old enough to get on the Hyperglide Astra Drop on her own, she would either sit on Pete’s or my lap while we rode on the mats.  Ethan would go over and over again, each time gaining more and more confidence.  Initially he needed our help to carry the mat up, but in the end, he would carry the mat up by himself.

Here’s a video I took of Ethan riding the Hyperglide Astra Drop all by himself:

And after a two-hour PLUS workout, we headed nearby for a totally satisfying reward: The Rasa Sayang Seafood Buffet Dinner. *burp*

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Quite a lot, apparently.

August 31st (Merdeka Day) this year saw us making a one-day trip to Taiping.  Cousin Jonathan would be having his 4th birthday celebration, and Ethan and Hannah were really excited to go celebrate it with him.

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The *long* wait for the cake to be cut and served was incredibly excruciating…

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…but definitely a worthwhile wait!  All the 4 kids really enjoyed the cake… 🙂

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The idea for the game I initiated, “Who can stay quiet the longest?”, was eagerly received by the kids…

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Later in the evening, we took the kids to one of the huge playgrounds in Lake Gardens where they worked up a sweat (and appetite).

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Just in case you’re wondering, Ethan is saying “1 Malaysia!” and was asking Jonathan to do the same, but Jonathan wanted to hold up the “peace” sign instead.  Hannah and Phoebe, meanwhile, were just contented to look pretty for the camera.

And there you have it…all in a one-day trip 🙂

Daddy came back home on Sunday.  He had been away for a one-week business trip to US, and although it seemed like just a short while, we do miss him dearly.  Ethan, especially, told me how much he misses Daddy.

Therefore it goes without saying that when Daddy arrived at our front door last Sunday afternoon, he was greeted with cheerful faces, hugs and kisses.

…and then the kids swarmed around Daddy, saying, “Daddy, I want present…” 😛

Well…urm…we’re still working on steering the kids away from too much materialistic ideas, but you know, kids are still kids…

Anyway, here’s a glimpse of some of the goodies and surprises Daddy got for the kids…

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One could never ever go wrong with Cars 2.  With the movie release set for later this week, Ethan was definitely thrilled to see this 4-piece die-cast set.  He did not own any Cars die-cast *anything* before this, so he was overjoyed when he saw it.

As a bonus, the kids also got a new Lego set; Cars 2 themed as well.  That’s the box it came from, by the side of Hannah.

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…and it had all these new cool Lego pieces, from which awesome buildings could be constructed!

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And then, especially for Hannah, Daddy got her a pretty nifty little teapot set.  It had the sound effect of water/tea/coffee/Milo being poured out and also says things like “Why, thank you!”, “You’re very welcome!” and “More please!” to teach the child manners.

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The kids also needed some new shoes and sandals and Pete chose some really great ones, at unbelievable clearance prices…anyhow, Ethan was too busy playing with his toys to bother trying them on, but Hannah, of course ever the willing *tryer*, wanted to try out all her new stuff.

Aren’t her new sandals daintily pretty?

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Oooh…and I love her new pair of Mary Janes! 🙂

This year, Ethan’s School Sports Day (or Sports Carnival) was held on a Sunday morning, as opposed to a Sunday afternoon last year.  Coincidentally, the Sports Day falls on the Sunday following the Liverpool Asia Tour 2011 match in Bukit Jalil.  As a result, after the Liverpool match, we had to make a beeline all the way back home to Penang, so that we could attend the Sports Day the following morning.

We had to be in Ethan’s school by 8:30a.m. and we only reached home at 2:00a.m.  I was also worried for Ethan, because he was still coughing a little, but after he’d woken up and brushed his teeth, he said he wanted to go for his Sports Day.

Here’s Daddy and Hannah waiting for the events to start, with Daddy cleverly donning a pair of shades to hide sleepy and tired eyes 😛

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Ethan in the march-past, where all the kids assembled on the field and presented their class cheers in unison.  Look how happy and handsome he is…makes it all worthwhile to make the rush back from KL the night before 🙂

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Hannah, cheering her brother on, and happily joining in the clapping.

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Ethan’s event was the penultimate event of the day, but thankfully, it was not too hot.  Here are Ethan and his classmates, waiting for their turn.

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The event saw two teams (BLUE and RED), each with its members taking turns to hop on paper-shaped lilypads, whilst holding a ball with both their hands.  Ethan had briefed us on what he was supposed to do for Sports Day.  He said, “I’m supposed to hop on the lilypads like a frog, Mommy.  NOT like a kangaroo.  I have to keep my body low, like a frog.”

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He did very well, I would say, and it was a very close fight between the two teams, however, Ethan’s BLUE team came in a close second after the RED team.  His team still got a medal though…a silver medal, and everyone was given a goodie bag.

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Awwww…don’t look so sad, baby.  Daddy and Mommy are SO proud of you!  And you know, the important thing is that you tried your best!  *hugssss*

When we heard that Liverpool would be playing Malaysia as part of their Asia Tour 2011, we wanted to take Ethan to the match, but still, we were not sure if he would want to go.  We told him that it was going to be noisy, very hot, and the match was going to be a whole 2 hours.  He thought for a while and then he decided he wanted to go.

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We enlisted the help of Allan Aku, Pei Gee Ah Kim and also Ah Mah, who had travelled all the way from Ipoh to take care of Hannah for a few hours while the three of us went for the match.  We took an LRT from the Sungai Besi station, which was only a station away from the Bukit Jalil station.  It was Ethan’s first time ever on the LRT.

He was having a little cough but not once did he complain that it was hot or crowded.  He asked for a snack before entering the stadium.

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He only kept asking when the match was gonna start.  You see, we’d arrive in the stadium about 1 hour and 45 minutes before kickoff..and it was a good thing too, because a little later and we would not have been able to get seats.

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We didn’t bring any scarf or banners, but we were approached by a Standard Chartered representative to provide our contact numbers and in return we would get a Liverpool poster.  So that’s what Ethan held during the singing of the Liverpool anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone.  I also taught him to sing the “Liverpool…..Liverpool….” tune 🙂

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Ethan taking a catnap 45 minutes before the match started.

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Throughout the match (especially during the first half), Ethan kept asking us when the goals would come.  And when they did, he cheered as loudly as all of us.  I’m sure he wasn’t disappointed with the score 🙂

Tired though we may be, we had to rush back home to Penang after the match.  Both kids, especially Ethan, were very tired too, for they slept through almost the entire journey.  Thanks to Daddy’s safe driving (not to mention FAST), we arrived home at about 2:00a.m.

Well, if you’re wondering why we had to rush back so soon, there’s a very good reason, and here’s a sneak peek…

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For more pictures from our Liverpool Asia Tour 2011 match, please click here.

First off, I just wanna wish all fathers, including my hubby, my father (Papa), my FIL (Papa) and all daddies out there a Happy Father’s Day.  Belated, rather.  It’s a day that is oft overlooked and stays much in the shadows of Mother’s Day.  Psstt…maybe it’s because it’s so much harder to get a gift for daddies…some parties choose to have Parents Appreciation Day instead.

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In any case, last Sunday Ethan presented Daddy with his self-made laminated heart-shaped card with a Chinese written message, and a bag of self-made heart-shaped cookies (with colorful sprinkles; didn’t manage to take a picture of the cookies, because they all ended in our tummies.  He made both in school and had whispered to me on Friday that we ought to keep it a surprise from Pete.

For our Father’s Day lunch, we decided to head off to Victoria Station.  We had not been there in AGES, and it was a familiar comfortable surrounding that greeted us.  Plus, the kids were overjoyed to be dining in a “train”! 🙂

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Enjoying the bun and butter before the main course arrived.  Hannah preferred to dip her bun into Daddy’s Cream of Dutch Pea soup, before eating.

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They did not have a kids’ menu available, so we had to order a plate of spaghetti bolognese for the kids to share.

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Vanilla milkshake for Hannah and Chocolate Milkshake for Ethan:

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Pete ordered the Feast for the King of the House special (but of course!) and I ordered my all-time favorite rib-eye steak (which I am happy to say turned out marbled and medium just like I had requested).

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After our very satisfying lunch, Ethan and Hannah had the privilege to climb onboard the front of the train (which formed part of the restaurant).  Well, Daddy too…of course!  I declined the offer because I was wearing an above-the-knee length dress that restricted me from climbing up.

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About a week ago, Ethan’s school organized a Literature Night for all the Kindergarten-1(K1) students.  Apparently this is an annual event for just the K1 kids.  It was held on a Saturday night and there were 2 classes of K1 kids involved.  Unfortunately Pete had to miss this rare opportunity because he was away on a business trip.

The rationale behind having a Literature Night is to celebrate literacy amongst students, and also it is tradition that there would be short presentations from parents/siblings/grandparents who were sporting enough to volunteer.

Initially, because I knew Pete would not be around, I intended to give Literature Night a miss, but then I discovered that it would be only for K1 and next year, Ethan would not have this chance again.  Plus, he kept on telling me that he would also be performing with his class as Narrator 1.

He said, “Mommy, Teacher said I am Narrator 1 because I can read SOOOOOOO well.” And then he beamed with pride.

How can I say no to that?

So I checked with my Mom and asked if she could accompany us to Literature Night, and I was so grateful she said yes.  Even though she had to rush to Genting Highlands the next morning, she still came all the way from Ipoh to lend her help and support.  And for that I am eternally thankful. 🙂

Ethan was SO excited in the days leading up to Literature Night and kept giving me a countdown as to how many more days it would be  to Literature Night.  Here he is, all ready for Lit Night, and impatient for us to leave the house.

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On the way to his school that evening, he kept telling me that he had to arrive BEFORE 7:00p.m.  Well, of course we arrived on time, and the event was going to start very soon too, because everyone was incredibly punctual 🙂

Here’s Hannah posing for the camera before Literature Night started.

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…and with Ah Ma too:

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Ethan and his classmates getting ready for the Chinese presentation:

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…and Ethan doing a spectacular job at being Narrator 1.

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Ethan’s class did a rather ambitious performance in the form of a Readers’ Theatre.  His class teacher chose the story Skyfire by Frank Asch.

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Some of the kids gave very good recitals of poetry and song presentations.  And Hannah had a good time watching the presentations too.  She even sat close to one of Ethan’s classmates, Marcus, to watch. LOL

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When it was time for our presentation, we headed out to stage as the “Three Generation Quartet” (Grandma, Mommy & Kids).  We were supposed to sing a two-song medley comprising Do-Re-Mi and This Little Light of Mine, but halfway through Do-Re-Mi, the mp3 stopped playing.  Nevertheless, as the saying goes, “The show must go on”…so we continued singing Do-Re-Mi till the end.

Later on, when the school principal managed to make the mp3 work, we were asked to present the whole medley again, this time with no glitches.  Hannah more or less *grabbed* the mic from me so I was left without a mic for some time.  She even asked to go up to the stage to *sing again* after we had come down from the stage. 😛

Errr…pictures and video of our presentation are with a friend of mine, who has not passed me the downloads yet. 😛

All in all, a really enjoyable night.  And Ethan had a really great time.  So glad he managed to experience this night.

 

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