curl_exec function is disabled in php.ini - Social Networks AutoPoster needs the CURL PHP extension. Please enable it or contact your hosting company to enable it.

Little Miracles · Hannah
Bible Verse of the Day

Hannah

All about Hannah

Day 2 Singapore Getaway: Jurong Bird Park

December 28, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

One of the first things we prepared before Day 2 was to get our ez-link cards to use on the MRT and the buses in Singapore.  Kids up to 0.9m in height can travel for free, and Hannah just barely made it 🙂  However, for preschoolers over 0.9m and below 7 years old, like Ethan, we got him the Child Concession Card, which entitled him to a 50% discount on all fares.  Of course, Ethan was all happy and felt grown-up when he could also tap his very own card and walk across the gates.

On Monday morning, armed with our day backpack, camera and loads of energy (somewhat), we made our way on foot to the nearest MRT station near Bernard & Pei Ling’s house…..but….halfway there, Pete turned around and asked,

Pete: Did you bring the (Bird Park) tickets?
Me (giving him a blank stare): Nooo…..I thought they were in your bag!

So while the kids happily whiled away their time playing in the play structure in one of the HDB flats, I walked back to the house to get the tickets.  It was a little extra exercise for me, and we haven’t even gotten on the train yet!

day2-1

day2-2

We had actually left the house quite late and when we boarded the MRT it was close to lunch time.  So we decided to stop at Jurong Point Mall for lunch…instigated by pictures of Burger King’s food in the MRT too, actually!

Ethan was busy looking at the MRT map and telling his sister which station would come next and which station we would get off.

day2-3

…and finally we arrived!

day2-4

It was our first time at the Jurong Bird Park and one of the highlights the kids wanted to go to was the Lory Loft Feeding.

“Mommy, Mommy, can I feed the birds?” Hannah would ask, and hold up her hands as if holding the bird feed.  But when we arrived, as soon as I was handed the sweet bird feed in the little plastic cup, I daresay at least 4 or 5 lory birds swarmed towards me and started eating from the bowl.  The kids would not hold the bowl, and they were visibly afraid.  We tried to cajole them into feeding the birds, but the most we got was them touching the feeding bowl together with Daddy (missed the chance to take a picture though. Boo.)

day2-5

day2-6

Other pictures from our enjoyable Bird Park trip:

day2-7

day2-8

It was a hot, hot, hot day that day (contradictory to the weather forecasted then), and the kids had their Kidz Banz sunglasses to protect their eyes (and look cool at the same time)!

day2-9

day2-10

Read the rest of this entry »

Children’s Christmas Party

December 21, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Hannah | No comments

christmasparty1

Last Saturday morning, Hannah’s parent-toddler class was more or less “transformed” into a Children’s Christmas Party for all the kids and their siblings.  It was an annual affair for all the kids in the parent-toddler classes, and they had a garden party with Teddy Bear tents, splash pools, ball pits and also art and craft areas for the kids to explore.

christmasparty3

Both Ethan and Hannah had a fun time making a Christmas wreath with Daddy.  Check out the level of concentration on my little girl’s face… 🙂

christmasparty4

And of course, a Christmas Party is never complete without food!  Each family was asked to bring something to share with the rest and for a change from my usual cupcake fare, I decided to try my hand out at making Christmas sugar cookies in the shape of Christmas trees 🙂

christmasparty2

I’d forgotten that I did not have enough icing sugar for the frosting, and my last minute attempt to buy it from Tesco the night before the party failed because Tesco had run out of it too.  So I had to use whatever icing sugar I had left to make the royal icing and improvised.  Not bad for a first attempt, eh? 🙂

christmasparty5

The party ended with some songs and fun for the kids, and finally an appearance by “Santa Clause”, who gave away the presents to the kids as part of the gift exchange.

christmasparty6

It was a fun Saturday morning for all, and a great way to end the year… 🙂

Day 1 Singapore Getaway: Southward Bound and the Marina

December 20, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Vacation | No comments

It was a Sunday on December 4th when our long-awaited family vacation was to begin.  Both Ethan and Hannah had been eagerly looking forward to this day for weeks, and I had told them that they would need to get up extra extra early that morning, for our cab would arrive to pick us up to the airport at 8a.m.

day1-1

Well, miracles DO happen when the kids excitedly got ready and did not dilly-dally.  We got to the airport well on time and even had time to grab a quick breakfast at McDonald’s in the departure terminal first.

day1-2

It was another short wait for our plane to arrive, but you know…the kids got restless and kept asking, “Why is our airplane not here yet?”, “When are we boarding?”, and the like.

day1-3

day1-4

day1-5We’d redeemed airplane tickets using our Krisflyer points (finally), and it was an exciting occasion for the kids because I felt this was the time they would both remember they were in an airplane together.  The last time Hannah boarded a plane, she was only 4 months’ old, and could only lie down in a crib!

The kids occupied themselves with complimentary doodle pads from SilkAir and drank some milk and juice that was served, and before we knew it, we had already landed in Singapore.

Read the rest of this entry »

Water Play and a Surprise in December

December 15, 2011 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Exercise, Hannah | 3 comments

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!!! 🙂

swimming1

swimming2

swimming3

swimming4

swimming5

swimming7

swimming6

**********

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

babytalkdec

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.

img_5651_pic

With a Great Big Hug and A Kiss From Me to You

December 1, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 3 comments

Mommy: Hannah, we’re going to KL this weekend.  Do you know who we’re going to see?
Hannah: Barney!!
Mommy: Yes..
Hannah: …and Baby Bop!  And BJ!
Mommy: Oh yeah…and..?
Hannah: And Riff…and Mother Goose…
Mommy: Hehe…oh yes..
Hannah:…Oh…and the kids.. 🙂

barney1

Turns out we did see all of the above at the Barney’s Space Adventures show, held at Plenary Hall, KLCC last weekend…well, save for Mother Goose and the kids though.  Mother Goose did not make an appearance because I suppose she doesn’t take too kindly to anything “outer space”y, and as for the kids, well,…they were replaced by some singers and dancers who looked quite like adults to me.

barney2

Hannah was in total awe when Barney and his friends appeared on stage, so awestruck was she that she could hardly sing and dance, and could only watch in amazement.  During the 20-minute intermission in the middle of the 90-minute performance, she was visibly upset for a while, asking me, “Where’s Barney, Mommy?”

And when I told her Barney and his friends had to make their way to the perfectly purple castle and the journey would take them 20 minutes, she wailed, “Nooo…:(”

Her brother Ethan, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, singing and dancing and clapping to almost every song during the performance.

In fact, Daddy looked more excited to watch Barney than he was when we went to watch Cats some years ago. 😛

It was an enjoyable show, and fun-packed with great songs the kids enjoyed.  I might add that the seats were really comfortable too, and the sound system was superb.  There were some people who showed their true Malaysian kiasu colors by moving from cheaper seats at the back to the front more expensive seats, since the hall wasn’t full…ah, but that’s a story for another day.

barney3

We had a great family time together watching Barney, and if that wasn’t enough, later that night, we celebrated cousin Caitlynn’s birthday at Friday’s at Alamanda too!

barney4

barney5

Feverish Nightmare

November 21, 2011 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 2 comments

hannah-ok

Today marks the completion of a 6-day antibiotic course for Hannah.  She had been taking Cefaclor, a yellowish liquid form of antibiotics, which I suspect tastes a little lemony.

Prior to her antibiotic course, I was in great distress last week when Hannah suddenly developed extremely high fever.  On Monday morning, she woke up with a low-grade fever of 37.5ºC, which shot up to 39.9ºC at lunch time.  We brought the fever down with some PCM, but it went up again at dinnertime, and I decided to give her Bufren.  At that time, her fever was 40.1ºC, and I was going out of my mind.

I tried to remain as calm as I could, and called the doctor, who said we could continue sponging and monitoring her condition first.  The hospital’s pediatrician on duty was not Hannah’s usual doctor, and I preferred to wait till morning.  It was a very worrying situation because at that time, Pete was away on a business trip overseas, but thankfully his parents were staying with us.  Another worrying factor was that besides the immensely high fever, there were no other symptoms like sore throat, cough, earache…

Anyway, we got through the night and I brought her to the doctor early the next morning.  Her fever was registered at 39+ºC at the clinic, and after she was given a dose of PCM, we were sent to the pediatric ward immediately for sponging.

Although we did some sponging of our own at home, I learnt the correct method of sponging a child, and here are some pointers to note:

  • Strip child completely, but diapers and undies can be left on.
  • Using lukewarm/tepid water (NOT cold, NOT warm), wet some towels and when slightly dripping place towels on child’s body.  I used traditional nappies to sponge at home, because I find that they are lightweight enough, yet can hold sufficient water for the purpose.
  • Leave the towels on the child for some time, and repeat where necessary.
  • Wipe dry when sponging is completed.
  • Temperature should drop about 10-15 minutes after sponging.

Because of her high fever (and no other symptoms), Hannah had to take a blood test to rule out dengue.  We went home after that, but because her fever was still high, I gave her another dose of Bufren (Bufren is not to be administered if a patient is suffering from dengue).  She didn’t mind the Bufren because it was orange-flavored.

Bufren brought her fever down somewhat, and when I called the doc for her blood test results, it was negative for dengue (thank God), so that only meant and indicated that Hannah was suffering from a bacterial (and NOT viral) fever and infection, which meant she needed a course of antibiotics.

Because she was in a lot of pain and suffering, I had to sometimes overlap her dosage of PCM and Bufren (yes, I had also just learnt that we can do that if necessary), and continued with sponging whenever she allowed me to.

After a dose of the Cefaclor antibiotics, her fever subsided to around 38+ºC and throughout that night, I made sure it did not go above 38.2ºC.  In the morning, Hannah woke up with a smile and when I took her temperature, it was 36.9ºC ! 🙂

“I don’t have fever anymore, Mommy?” she asked.

No you don’t, baby…and I am so glad to have you back to your usual cheerful, cheeky and adorable self.  Her appetite is improving now and I’m so very pleased.

Saturday Evening at Straits Quay

November 19, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | No comments

When I heard that the Penang International Kids Storytelling Festival (PINKS) was coming back to Penang for the second time, I was undecided about bringing the kids there.  Last year, they had it at Youth Park and it was scorching hot, even under those tents equipped with strong-blowing fans.  But this year, they changed the venue to Straits Quay, and since my Mom expressed her interest in checking out the festival, we decided to bring the kids there.

straitsquay1

The kids had been looking forward to this event and were very excited when we finally arrived.  Got slightly delayed due to the heavy traffic.

We only managed to arrive in the evening, close to the end of the program, but we were still in time to witness Jeeva Ragunath (from India) entertaining the audience with storytelling, song and dance.

straitsquay2

The Christmas decorations at Straits Quay were already up, and my “models”, as usual, were ever ready to pose. 🙂

straitsquay3

We had a simple dinner at Secret Recipe and were just about to leave Straits Quay for home when we heard a very mesmerizing rhythmic beat coming from the foyer near the sea.  Turned out it was a group of talented performers from The Performing Arts Center of Penang (PenangPAC), making rhythm and sounds using drums, tambourines and other percussion instruments in a Drum Circle.  Ethan and Hannah started dancing to the beat, and some of the musicians started asking some of the kids to join in with the musical instruments.  Ethan and Hannah were not excluded. 🙂

straitsquay4

Ethan got to play with some rhythm sticks, and Hannah played a triangle.  They enjoyed themselves so much and could be seen shaking their booty along to the rhythm.  They even sat in the circle together with the rest of the players.

At the end of it all, it was all in great fun and the kids were tired but definitely happy.

No wonder they’re both knocked out now!

Hannah at 32 months

November 15, 2011 in Hannah, Milestones | No comments

hannah_32monthsScrap Credits

Natural Freshness Kit from Manue Designs
Boys & Girls Corner Alphas from Nathan Design
It’s Only Natural Alphas from Scrappy Bug

Weight

13.5 kilos

Height

92cm (she has grown!!)

Teeth

I just noticed that her 4 back pramolars have begun to emerge.  So she’s going to get 19 teeth soon.  Right now, she has 4 incisors on the upper jaw, 3 incisors bottom jaw;  2 canines upper jaw, 2 canines bottom jaw;  4 pramolars and 4 more back pramolars are making their appearance slowly but surely.  This would explain the bout of “nightmarish screamings”.

Developmental Milestones

  • Hannah is learning very quickly, judging by the amount of questions she asks all the time.  She asks Why, Who, What, Where, How endlessly and is fast becoming a chatterbox.  She is always fighting for “talk time” with her brother.
  • She takes pride in her achievements, however big or small they are.  If she discovers a particular pose (e.g. stand on one leg while lifting both hands up), she would do it and proudly and loudly proclaim, “See, I can do this!”
  • Hannah is showing a certain degree of shyness with people she is not familiar with or people whom she chooses to be shy with.  If she doesn’t want to verbally say hi, she would be contented just to wave.
  • Stubbornness is beginning to show and she has exhibited instances where she adamantly wants to get her own way.
  • Loves (jigsaw) puzzles and can occupy herself doing it.
  • Loves to point out little girls who “look like her” in videos she watches.  She’ll ask us, “Which one is like me, Mommy?”
  • Curious and inquisitive.  When I take her around, she’ll almost always ask, “Where are we going now, Mommy?” or “Where are we going first, Mommy?”, followed by “Then?” 🙂

Toilet Training

Very keen on peepeeing and poopooing in the toilet, even when we are not at home.  I need to get her those trainers soon so that she can utilize them properly when we are outside.

As soon as we come home from anywhere at all, she has a habit of going to the toilet and putting her kiddy toilet seat on the toilet bowl, and then she will carry the step stool by herself next to the toilet bowl and climb on it by herself.

Food and Feeding

Still very much a food lover and is not choosy when it comes to food.

Dancing and Exercise Go Hand in Hand

November 4, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Exercise, Hannah | No comments

I’m always amazed at the amount of energy my kids have day in and day out, and even at home where space is kinda limited, they can find some activity to indulge in.  Whether it is building an imaginary house on the bed or running their own little restaurant, I love to watch their antics and know that they are having fun.

Recently Ethan asked me to bring their Veggie Tales audio CD from my car back to our home, because he and Hannah wanted to dance to it…oh, and did I mention that Hannah also tried singing to the songs?

We’ve Reclaimed Our Bedroom, but…

October 24, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Sleep | 3 comments

Ethan and Hannah have been sharing our bedroom space ever since they came into our lives.

Ethan, who started from the crib, and moved to the cot and then to our bed and then to the mattress on the floor, had been indicating that he is all ready to move out to his own room, on the condition that the bedsheet is a Cars bedsheet.  You see, he currently has a Cars bedsheet, but it’s on a single mattress.  We figured it’s time we moved our little big man to his own room with his own bed, and currently our only available option is our 2nd bedroom which has a queen-sized bed.  So we had to get a Cars Queen-sized bedsheet set.

Hannah, on the other hand, has been wanting to sleep on her brother’s single mattress for the longest time, and has requested for a Barney bedsheet.

Coincidentally, we finally found the Cars bedsheet (in Queen size) last weekend, so we got it for Ethan and he was very excited when I washed it clean and laid it out on the bed for him.  He happily said goodbye to our room and moved to his new room with his new bedsheet.

The plan was for Ethan to sleep in the other room and for Hannah to move to the single mattress in our room, as a form of gradual transition.  But what we hadn’t expected was when Hannah requested to sleep on the single mattress in Ethan’s room too.  She wanted to be with her brother, apparently.

bedroom

That’s not all.

She asked me to LEAVE the room and said that she could sleep by herself.

On the first night, I sat at the foot of her mattress till she fell asleep.  On the second night, she asked me to leave the room.  On the third night, she wanted to lie down with me.   But now most of the nights, she can fall asleep on her own.

I was still a little apprehensive if she would be able to sleep on her own, so since Ethan and Hannah moved out, we have left both the room doors open, and on almost every night, Hannah has either wandered back into our bed in our room, or she has cried and I’ve carried her into our bed.

I say “almost every night” because last night was the very FIRST night that she slept through in the room with Ethan.  I woke up in the early hours of the morning and discovered that she wasn’t by my side.  When I checked on her, she was fast asleep, albeit she had rotated 180º!! 🙂

That’s a HUGE improvement and we are so proud of both Ethan and Hannah for making this transition.  Shows that they are growing up in leaps and bounds…

…but why does our room feel kinda empty now? 🙁

« Older entries § Newer entries »