Little Miracles

Chinese New Year…and (more) Birthday Celebrations

February 17, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Milestones | 1 comment

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Our recent Chinese New Year celebration was nothing short of exciting. As is usually the case, this year saw us travelling from Penang to Taiping on the eve, then to Ipoh on the 1st day, and then back to Taiping for a pit stop before heading back to Penang on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year.

Some picture-snapping moments from Taiping…

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Kor Kor with Ethan and Hannah…

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3-Pek-Kong (a.k.a. Granduncle Albert) with the kids…

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…and with Taiping Ah Ma…

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Photo session continued in Ipoh… with Ipoh Ah Ma…

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And with both Ipoh Ah Kong and Ah Ma:

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…and of course, with Mommy 🙂

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We took the opportunity to have a simple birthday celebration for Ethan in Ipoh while we were there too. He requested for a really really simple chocolate cake with white wordings (yes, he was THAT specific!)

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And since cousin Collin was celebrating his birthday around the same time too, we decided to do a dual birthday celebration!

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Talk about a major cake overdose! 😛 Obviously the kids didn’t mind…here they are, patiently waiting for me to cut the cake and serve them.

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And then it was presents time! Gift exchanges are so much fun when accompanied by hugs and love!

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We arrived back in Penang on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year, which coincides with Ethan’s Chinese birthday (he was born on the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year). We had yet another birthday celebration for Ethan, this time at home. And since we could not get a freshly made cake from any cake shop we inquired from, and also, it was too late to bake a cake for him, Daddy very creatively volunteered to shape the cake we used during the Ipoh celebration into something new (perhaps he’d been watching too much of Top Chef!)…and voila! Looks a bit like a piece from a jigsaw, if you ask me…

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Dinner was pizza delivered to our doorstep, on top of the cookies and mandarin oranges we had at home. And here’s how you should eat a slice of pizza!

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Happy New Year everyone! Hope the Year of the Rabbit will bring you boundless joy and blessings!

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! 🙂

Ethan’s Birthday Celebration in School

February 8, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Milestones | No comments

The day Ethan had been looking forward to finally arrived. We had wanted to have his birthday celebration in school on his actual birthday on January 31st, but one of his teachers would not be around then, so we decided to have it the Friday before his birthday, i.e. on the 28th.

This time round, we bought the party gift packs well in advance, and I already had them packed up days before the event. Ethan had wanted a Mickey Mouse themed party, so we got stationery sets according to theme and placed them in party packs. Ethan wanted party hats too, so we got some to match as well.

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There was a reason we didn’t put any edibles in the party pack. All the candies, chocolates and sweets were going into this piñata!

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I spent days (and nights) making this piñata, and yes…Ethan specifically wanted to have one at his celebration. Initially I planned on making a piñata where the kids would take turns to hit it till it broke, but decided instead on making a pull-string piñata. It was a less violent alternative to the piñata game, and the kids would not be *tormented* by the fact that they were hitting their favorite characters on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse…(well, that and also because my balloon piñata burst the first time I set it up. LOL)

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Anyway, this Mickey Mouse birthday cake pull-string piñata had a trapdoor underneath the bottom layer, and I fixed the ribbons in such a way that only one ribbon would open the trapdoor, releasing all the goodies.

I managed to keep the piñata a surprise from Ethan until the day of his birthday celebration, and he was thrilled to see it that morning. Made my day when he exclaimed that he really loved the piñata, and that it was beautiful! 🙂

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So Pete and I arrived in his school and brought all the stuff up to his classroom. First his teacher requested Ethan to pass the party hats round.

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And then it was birthday cake time. Ethan had also spelled out exactly how he wanted his cake, and this year, it was my utmost pleasure to be able to bake and make the cake for him.

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As soon as the cake was put on the table, 21 pairs of little feet rushed to the table to take a look at the cake.

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And someone’s party hat very nearly fell into the cake…

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We sang Happy Birthday in English, Mandarin and BM, and then Ethan blew the candle and cut the cake.

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I was so touched when a few kids came to ask me for second helpings of the cake 🙂

Every child that is celebrating his/her birthday will get to sit in the teacher’s chair and give out party packs, and that’s exactly what Ethan got to do. Look how happy he is…

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The final part of the birthday celebration was the piñata game. Daddy had to stand on a chair and hold it up for the entire duration of the game. After the teacher had explained the rules, the kids each took turns to pull on a ribbon.

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And here’s the one who managed to yank open the trap door!

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Unfortunately somehow the candy and goodies got stuck in the trapdoor and I had to manually jiggle it so everything would tumble down.

And as soon as the goodies came tumbling down, sheer havoc ensued as all the kids rushed to claim whatever they could get.

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Here’s Ethan with whatever goodies he could get…

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… and the piñata that (thankfully) stayed intact during the game, finally fell apart when the party was over!

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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! 🙂

A week spent with Gramps…

January 30, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

There’s no denying the joy that grandparents bring to a child’s life. It’s that wonderful, magical bond that will bring on that cheerful grin and adorable giggle. The beautiful thing about this bond is that it’s a reciprocal one. 🙂

Recently when their Daddy was away in the States on a business trip, Ethan and Hannah had the utmost privilege of having their maternal grandparents around. A few days before Ah Ma and Ah Kong were due to arrive from Ipoh, Ethan had already started his countdown and kept asking me every day how many more days to go before Ah Ma and Ah Kong were to arrive.

During that one week that Ah Ma and Ah Kong were here, Ethan and Hannah were showered with loads of gifts, attention and love. Now that Hannah is more vocal, she was also able to *demand* things, like what songs she wanted Ah Ma to sing to her and what pictures she wanted to be drawn.

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Sometimes she would also “borrow” Ah Ma’s accessories to wear. Hannah’s becoming quite the little fashionista, isn’t she?

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Of course, now that Hannah can call “Ah Ma” and “Ah Kong” very very clearly, it makes things that much easier…surprisingly, the kids tend to behave a little bit *better* with Ah Ma and Ah Kong around too. (perhaps they bully me too much…SIGH)

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Ethan will be chatting non-stop to both Ah Ma and Ah Kong from daylight to daybreak. He would wake up very early every morning, so early in fact, that he sometimes reached school before his teachers did! He would tell Ah Ma and Ah Kong all about his activities, all about his friends, and wow his grandparents about facts he learnt from Wikipedia (which I looked up for him)…like when he proudly told Ah Ma and Ah Kong that Jupiter has at least 63 moons and that Saturn has 62 moons.

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Me? I’m just extremely thankful my parents were here with me to keep me company during Pete’s absence. It really meant a lot to me ! 🙂 … plus my Dad helped out a lot on the spring cleaning and Mum cooked some delicious meals too… hehehe… Thanks Papa and Mama! 🙂

And after a week of quality time spent with gramps, Ethan and Hannah bade a fond farewell to Ah Ma and Ah Kong, but not before promising to see them again real soon during Chinese New Year! 🙂

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Pasta Perfection

January 28, 2011 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, Hannah | No comments

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Sometimes it IS rather easy to make kids happy. Mealtimes are great examples, and one of the easiest, fail-proof recipe I use for my kids is PASTA. My kids love pasta in any shape and size. The colorful varieties just add to the excitement of it all.

The beauty of this traditional favorite meal is, of course, its simplicity in preparation. I only need to stir-fry some onions, add some minced meat (if I’m more hardworking, I’ll make meatballs instead), then pour in a can of tomato purée, and then add enough pasta sauce. Then I’d ask the kids which kind of pasta they want. Giving them that choice makes it that much more fun 🙂

And although it can sometimes get a tad messy, we all enjoy the great taste and balanced meal (carbs, vegetables and protein all in one) and the fun that comes with it!

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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!!!! 🙂

Our Christmas in Pictures

January 8, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Hannah, What's Cooking | 2 comments

Every holiday season is a perfect reason to stuff ourselves silly with food, no? Well, it’s a reasonable *excuse*, if you ask me… 🙂

In any case, we certainly utilized that *reason* to its max during the Christmas that just passed. We kicked off the eating marathon on Christmas eve itself. With a scrumptious Chinese course lunch at Starview in New World Park, everyone had a hearty meal and happy tummies could be seen everywhere!

One of my favorites from lunch: Peking Duck served in 2 ways: sandwiched between soft and fluffy mantous AND served in shredded salad form in pie-tees.

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Baby abalones cooked to perfection, and served on a bed of broccoli:

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And the prawn dish:

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Ethan and Hannah got to meet up with their cousins, Jonathan and Phoebe. While the kids were packed with boundless energy and had fun running around, chasing each other inside and outside the restaurant, the adults had to take turns supervising them…which was a good thing too, as it certainly aided the process of food digestion and calorie burning…

Pretty gals in a row…

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And just as the food from lunch was about to be completely digested, it was time for dinner. We had a simple gathering at Pete’s brother’s (Patrick’s) place, where the food was served buffet-style (kinda).

Jiu hoo char made by Paul, Pete’s brother, and my humble attempt at fried beehoon:

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Chicken rendang from Eng Ee:

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..and my chicken curry, which I’m a little sorry to say, was a tad too oily…

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Then it was time to unveil the big bird we ordered from Victoria Station:

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Yummy yummy…with lots of gravy! We kept the turkey leftovers to make turkey sandwiches, and up till today, there’s still some of that turkey in my fridge! I’m planning to enlist my Mum’s help to make kiam chye boey in a few days’ time 🙂

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While the grown-ups had dinner, the kids busied themselves having fun with the toys…

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And then the inevitable came…it was time to unwrap the presents:

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Technically, it was still a day early, but the kids were all too impatient to bother…never mind, they’ll have another gift-unwrapping session on Christmas Day itself!

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*****

On Christmas morning, we miraculously made in on time to church at 9a.m. Ordinarily, getting to church at 10a.m. was already a daunting task for us. It must have been a Christmas miracle! 🙂

Anyway, after church, we did a light breakfast at Kayu…yup, we had roti canai for breakfast! Haven’t done that in donkey years!

Waiting for our food to be served…

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Doesn’t Hannah look adorable in a girly-girl dress?

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Okay, Ethan…you look adorable too! 🙂

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After breakfast, we resumed our gift-unwrapping session, this time at a different venue… OUR HOME!! 🙂

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We gave Ethan and Hannah each a toy car garage set. Very very cool…and yes, it will definitely take up more space in our humble home, but at least they won’t fight over it…(well that’s what we think.. :P)

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Merry and Blessed Christmas everyone!

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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