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Samba in Rio!

April 15, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 1 comment

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Last Friday, on a whim, we decided to take BOTH kids to watch Rio.  We knew Ethan could sit through the entire movie, but for Hannah, it was a first.  True, she was only 2, but at home, she had displayed tremendous concentration when she watches videos and TV, we figured why not try it?  The worst that could happen was if she made a fuss, I would just take her out of the cinema.

We used one of those free child movie passes that came with a Happy Meal purchase.  We had to buy 2 adult movie tickets though, to get the free child movie pass, and it was only valid at TGV.  The only TGV in Penang is at 1st Avenue, so it was a first time watching a movie there for all of us too.  Hannah did not need a ticket, so she just sat on my lap.

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The kids went wild with excitement and waited eagerly for our cinema number to flash, so that we could go in.

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Inside the cinema, Hannah was kept busy eating popcorn, so she was very well behaved for about 45 minutes or so.  Once the popcorn was exhausted, she started playing with my mineral water, and fidgeting in her seat.  Note to self: in future, make sure the popcorn lasts the entire movie. 😛

She began to wander up and down the aisles and wanted to try out the couple seats at the back row, the other seats beside us as well as the stairs.  The suddenly she wanted to go potty (for a big one).  So I had to take her out to the toilet.  Thankfully the toilet was very clean, and just a few steps away from our cinema 🙂

When we got back, Hannah was still restless.  Good thing though, that the cinema was very empty that day.  She snuggled up and tried to get some shuteye, but couldn’t.  In the end, we managed to sit through the entire movie, without too much of a fuss.

Would we do it again?  Sure, if it’s a suitable movie, and this time, I’ll make sure there’s plenty of popcorn to go round!

Oh, and I’m still perplexed as to why Rio has already been released in Malaysia, whereas the release date in US is only on April 15th!  Ethan LOVES the show though…when he wanted to go toilet somewhere near the end, he said, “Mommy I need to go to the toilet.  Can you please pause the show?”

Haha…yeah, we’re currently on a collecting spree for all the Rio toys from McDonald’s…(see first picture at the top)

And Dale makes TWO!

February 24, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | 1 comment

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…or is it FOUR? 😀

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Couldn’t tell if Chip was happier or Ethan and Hannah were happier…when we brought Dale home a couple of days ago.  I can’t believe that we actually finished collecting 2 sets of ’em Guardian cards!

Dale won’t be lonely now, that’s for sure! 🙂

Ethan turns FIVE!

February 11, 2011 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Exercise, Hannah, Parenting | 4 comments

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My little boy turned FIVE on January 31st recently.  And I still can’t believe how much he has grown!  I look at pictures of him from a year ago, and the difference is so vast!  He has grown physically, mentally and spiritually, and I can’t even begin to express how proud I am of him.

I could tell he was really looking forward to turning five.  Before, he refers to himself as a “medium boy” but he tells us that once he turns five, he is a “BIG boy” 🙂

So where did we take our big boy for his birthday?  After we picked him up from school, we went to one of our favorite Japanese restaurants for lunch as a family.  Then we headed to Golden Sands Hotel in Batu Ferringhi, where there was a kids activity center called AdventureZone.  Admission was only RM20++ per child (since it was a weekday), and adults need not pay if accompanying the kids.

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AdventureZone had something like an obstacle course for the kids, and gigantic slides that were NOT for the faint-hearted.  See how scary those slides looked?  We only went on the colorful one and the blue one.

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For Hannah, there was a little play area specially designed for kids aged 4 and below.

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But of course, she wanted to do whatever her brother did…

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Actually we were allowed a duration of 2 hours in AdventureZone, but the kids were very reluctant to leave…in the end, we left after spending about 2.5 hours there.

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AdventureZone certainly tired us all out, for not only were the kids exhausted, we adults also had a good workout chasing after the kids.  Errr…. well maybe it was just the adults who were exhausted…

One thing’s for sure though, we sure worked up a HUGE appetite and we headed for dinner at Chili’s in Gurney Plaza.

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Birthday boy making like a “moose” when I asked him to pose for a picture…

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And how old are you now, Ethan?

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Because it was his birthday, Ethan was given a complimentary chocolate brownie sundae, complete with a candle, and the crew sang him a birthday song too!

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And then later that night, he opened up his presents from us.

This one’s from Hannah…

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…and this one’s from Daddy and Mommy.  We gave him something he had been hinting he wanted for the past month.  Ethan is very interested in all things planets, outer space, solar system, and the Earth.  And his expression was simply priceless when he unwrapped the gift from us.

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“Wow!!!  It’s the PLANET thing!!!” 🙂

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Happy Birthday Ethan!  You’re a BIG boy at 5 now! 🙂

Let’s take a trip to Candy Land!

January 31, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah | 1 comment

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Candy Land was one of the board games Ethan played while we were in the States.  At that time, he didn’t quite understand the whole works yet, but he certainly had fun with Venice and Aunty Van that time.  I had wanted to buy that board game before we came back, but somehow procrastinated because I felt that the price was a little bit expensive.

However, when Pete came back from his recent trip and surprised the kids with the Candy Land board game, let’s just say I was just as ecstatic as the kids were.  At only USD5, it was a great family game that we could all play together.

Ethan and Hannah loves Candy Land, and it’s a game where everyone is involved in it, as each player has a pawn to move.  When asked what color pawn she wants, Hannah always replies, “Yellow!”  Ethan will take the Blue pawn (because that’s his new favorite color, after previously being yellow and red), Mommy will take Red and Daddy Green.

It’s one of our afternoon activities together at home, and also sometimes we have a game of Candy Land before the kids say goodnight.  Ethan says it’s his favorite game yet! 🙂

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…well…better Candy Land than real candy, I’d say! 🙂

All Chipped Up!

January 27, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan | 1 comment

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Finally, after weeks and months of collecting the Guardian Disney Cuties stickers, I made it to 60 and qualified for a free redemption of a Disney Cutie soft toy!  Wheeeee!!!!!

I only had about 30+ stickers a few weeks ago, but when Ah Ma and Ah Kong came to visit from Ipoh, I managed to *earn* the rest of the stickers.  Talk about working hard for them! 🙂 Every time I did something good, like when I put away my toys after playing with them, or finished my lunch/dinner really quickly, Ah Ma would whip out her sticker collection and give me one sticker for each good thing I did.  Sometimes I would try to negotiate with Ah Ma to get more stickers too…hehe…

Anyway, last week, Mommy brought me to our favorite Guardian store, and we exchanged the sticker card for Chip!  I had already checked the box next to Chip on the redemption card and the lady in the store gave us Chip in a HUGE box!  For now, I am sharing Chip with Hannah…but I do feel that Chip is lonely without a squirrel friend of his own. 

Hannah and I are hoping to collect enough stickers to redeem Dale before the dateline.  We currently have only TWO…So if you have any extras, please kindly pass them over, yeah? 🙂

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My brother’s on TV…again!!!

January 24, 2011 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | No comments

For the past few weeks, Mommy has been diligently plonking herself in front of the television at certain times during the day, holding her camera in front of it, in the hope of recording a video with Ethan Koko’s face in it.  Mommy said that Ethan Koko’s face appears on the Playhouse Disney Birthday Book for January, and what’s more it’s his 2nd time so far!  Apparently he appeared on the birthday book last year too!

The thing is…even though we know he has been chosen, we do not know exactly when his picture will show up.  So Mommy has to get ready the camera every time the Birthday Book comes on. And we have been told to try to keep as quiet as possible when that happens…

But you know me…I couldn’t help myself when I saw my brother’s face on TV.  I mean, who wouldn’t be excited, right?  Yes, that’s my voice you hear when Ethan Koko’s face appeared…and errr….I *thought* the other girl looked like me…heh heh…well, a girl can dream, can’t she?

 

And yeah, Mommy FINALLY managed to record the video…I think it had something to do with me sitting on her lap while she was recording it.  🙂

Awww….how I wish I could be on TV too!!!! 🙂

The weekend before Christmas

January 4, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Vacation | No comments

(I had better post this before CNY comes around…gasp!)

We took the kids for a vacation in KL the weekend before Christmas.  It was just a little something we planned for the school holidays, and although we knew it was going to be quite tiring, it would be worth the while because the kids would surely enjoy themselves.

As usual, we had our fair share of “tummy-stuffing” (like a prelude to what’s to come for Christmas)…this was the steamboat pot that every table was provided with when we had buffet lunch at Shogun at 1-Utama.

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After Ethan had had his lunch, he began to tap into his Top Chef skills…

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A *yummy* creation made with his own two hands? 🙂  Amazing what he could create with the remnants of the cheesecake…

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Hannah, despite her young age, also thoroughly enjoyed herself … and made a PERFECT mess too!  Hopefully we won’t be banned from the restaurant after this…

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Had to give her a change of clothes too, after she spilled the grape juice all over herself!  Here she is, checking to see if there’s anything left to eat on the table:

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Hannah with Daddy…

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Hannah with Kor Kor…

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Ethan too busy being Top Chef, remember? 😛

Anyway, after that we walked off the meal by strolling around the mall.  The kids *insisted* on riding on these *animals*…

A kid-sized doggie for Ethan…

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And a small toddler-sized elephant for Hannah…

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Daddy wanted in on the fun too:

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After a whole day of fun, Hannah was totally knocked out by dinnertime!

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The Horsy Show

December 25, 2010 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | 3 comments

We took the kids for the Horse Show at Penang Turf Club a week ago.  We managed to find time on Friday, so it would not be so crowded.  Besides, we were due to go on vacation the following day, so Friday was the only day we could make it.

Ethan and Hannah were really looking forward to the outing, and Ethan kept asking us, “When will we be going to the Horsy Show?”  This was because we had to run a few errands before we finally drove to the Turf Club, but once there, the kids were ecstatic!  It was also my first time in the turf club and I must say that the Penang Turf Club is very well maintained.  Ample car parks located in a multi-storey car park, clean grounds and beautiful landscaping.

The kids immediately wanted to go on the horse carriage (RM4 per person), so we got tickets and got in line. 

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Ethan wanted to ride on the carriage with 2 horses, and I thought it would be fun for the kids to ride up front.  Since there weren’t many people in line, we waited to get in the carriage and sat in front.

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See how surprised and stunned Hannah looked?  She must have been amazed to get up close and personal with a horse for the first time in her life!  After she had warmed up, she kept saying and waving, “Hi Horsy!” and “Buh-bye Horsy!” 🙂

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The kids were treated to a splendid display of different breeds of horses, each one in its own stable.

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We also satisfied our curiosity as to what the Farriery Demonstration was all about.  There were farriers showing visitors how to make and shape a horseshoe, and also some real horseshoes on display.  Ethan was only too happy to be offered the chance to take a picture holding a hammer, as if he was shaping a horseshoe.  Of course, the person-in-charge had to look for a smaller hammer for Ethan 🙂

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Our next item on the agenda was the Pony Ride.  We got Ethan a ticket and was already in the queue when our plans were spoiled by the rain!  SIGH…we got refunded for our ticket, but we were sorry Ethan had to miss the pony ride.  Ethan, however, was very mature about it, and said, “Oh, that’s all right Mommy…”

With the rain storm, we practically ran to our car, trying our best not to get even more drenched than we already were.  And as we were leaving, Ethan asked me if we could come back again.  “Of course, baby…if they have another horse show next year, you bet we’ll be back!”

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Sunday at the Carnival

December 15, 2010 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

Pete’s workplace recently organized a carnival event at Gurney Plaza.  It was basically a family day kinda event, where the employees were allowed to invite up to 5 family members and friends for a fun-filled day.  Ah Kong and Ah Ma from Ipoh also came to Penang to join us for a day out.

Ethan and Hannah, as usual, were really looking forward to the carnival.  Ethan, especially was all geared up for the coloring contest, which I told him about.

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There were coupons for kiddy rides for Ethan and Hannah, but unfortunately there were only two coupons (i.e. 2 rides).

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There was also a booth for us to take a family photo, and a couple of coupons for a 3-minute back massage (Ah Ma and Ah Kong enjoyed their 3 minutes of pampering there!) 

We also wanted to get ourselves a footrub and manicure, but too bad, all the appointment slots for those were taken up for the day.

There were clowns giving out balloons and there was also a magic show for the kids.

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But what Ethan was really waiting for was the coloring contest.  It was his first one ever, and he kept asking me when the contest would be starting.  His set of color pencils was getting worn out, so just for this coloring contest, I specially got him 2 new boxes.  There were 3 categories for the coloring contest, and Ethan was registered into the Age 4-6 Category, where they were each given a picture of the sun to color.  Time limit was 1 HOUR!!!

…and he eagerly got down to work…

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Check out our little artist at work…Ethan’s coloring skills have improved tremendously!! 

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Hannah wanted to join in the fun too, but she was underaged for the contest, so I had to get her a random piece of paper from my bag, just so she could do some coloring of her own.

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Meanwhile, Ethan’s coloring was taking shape…

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He had to make the sun colorful, because nobody remembered to bring a pencil sharpener…and when the colors he was using ran out, he had to use other colors…hahaha…

And here’s Ethan with his mentor…looking on, as Ethan puts his finishing touch…

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Ta-daaaaa!!!!

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And now, we’ll just have to wait for the results…

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Here’s how pleased Ethan looked, after the magician gave him a sheet of Thomas & Friends stickers…

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The results for the coloring contest was announced after the magic show.  Ethan was in the category with the most number of participants, and the names of the consolation prizes were announced first, followed by the 2nd runner-up, 1st runner-up and the winner…and you know what?  We were all pleasantly surprised and proudly beaming when Ethan’s name was called up as the WINNER!  Woohooo!!!

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Look at that look of surprise on his face!

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Ethan got himself a medal, a set of color pencils, a crystal paperweight and a recorder. 

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 Picture of all the winners…looks like Ethan is the smallest-sized of all.. LOL!

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Congratulations Ethan!  We are so very proud of you…You must have inherited those “coloring contest winning” genes from Mommy, huh? *wink*

We also did some sand art before we left the carnival.  It was a first time for all of us too.

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Here’s Ethan with his masterpiece…

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He had wanted to do another one, but the person-in-charge told us that one child was only entitled to one piece of sand art.

So Hannah had one done too…with the help of Ah Ma!  Hannah chose the colors she wanted and Ah Ma did the “sand-arting”:

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It was a very exciting day for all, and Ethan and Hannah really enjoyed themselves to the brim!  Although the grown-ups were all tired out after the long day of events, the kids still had the energy to go on and on and on!

Butterflies and Lobsters

December 9, 2010 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | 5 comments

A week and a half ago, we finally took the kids for a fun trip to the Penang Butterfly Farm.  I use the word “finally” because all this time, we’ve been reading countless accounts about fellow bloggers and friends taking their kids there, but we had yet to make the trip.  Ethan was really looking forward to this trip and he was certainly very excited about it.

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We reached the farm at around 3:00p.m.  The weather was simply beautiful, not too hot and not too cold either.  Although it did rain a few drops, our experience at the Butterfly Farm was not fazed.

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Amid all the “Wow!”s and the running around, we managed to get some pretty shots of some butterflies too…

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The area was not very big, and we found ourselves making round after round and round.  The kids had a lot of fun, chasing the butterflies and also each other.  And when they were tired, they made a pit-stop at the exhibition room.  Ethan exclaimed, “Wow…it’s so cool in here, Mommy!”

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This was what he told us he wanted to do at the Butterfly Farm, and I’m glad he had the opportunity to do so…

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After our Butterfly Farm visit, we headed on to Rasa Sayang Hotel with our hungry tummies, and had a splendid seafood buffet dinner at the Spice Market Cafe.  It was our first visit there, and the food was simply amazing!

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It was a daunting task to take pictures of all the glorious food while looking after our hyperactive kids, and there were so many other dishes I left out.  For dessert, I adored the cheese cake, tiramisu, and the small bowls of crème brûlée.  Sorry, no time to take individual pics of these, but just a faraway shot…

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See how much Hannah enjoyed the food too?

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Ethan didn’t want to take a photo because he was too busy eating! LOL

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“Daddy…may we come back again, please?”

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