Bible Verse of the Day

Hannah

All about Hannah

Hannah’s Back To School – in Nursery!

August 19, 2013 in Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

Hannah had been looking forward to this day for the longest time.  We had been having nightly chats about school and she had become increasingly excited about seeing all her friends again, getting reacquainted and just plain doing anything in school.

The day before, she had helped me pack her bag, and chose her outfit for the day.  She even chose what snack to bring!  Today, she woke up extra early, and got ready without any fuss.  We reached school in time for breakfast and she met one of her closest friends who had arrived at approximately the same time as her.

Her teachers and friends were overjoyed to see her, and I think it was mutual.  I walked her to class, made sure she settled down for breakfast, gave her a hug and kiss and told her I’ll be back at 12:30p.m. to pick her up.

When I did, she proudly exclaimed, “I had so much FUN today, Mommy!”

And that just makes my day.  Absolutely. 🙂

All Bowled Over

August 14, 2013 in Entertainment, Ethan, Exercise, Hannah | No comments

Recently the kids expressed a genuine interest in trying their hand at bowling.  They had “practised” bowling in the iPad and also in the arcades, but never the real deal.

So yesterday, I organized a small kids’ bowling session with friends.  Someone recommended the Premium Lanes bowling center at Sunshine Square, as it was rather new, non-smoky and had suitable balls and shoes for kids.  Ethan and Hannah were literally counting the hours till we left the house, and yes…it was my first time bringing all three kids out on my own.  (Well, now that we have two cars, it’s easier for me to bring the kids out)

We chose the morning session because the rates were considerably cheaper (RM3.50 per person per game), and I had called earlier to arrange for the retractable rails to be set up for our bowling lanes too.  Retractable rails are the latest in bumper bowling, which is so cool if kids are bowling.  It ensures the bowling balls don’t roll down the gutter!

This bowling center had shoes to fit the kids too, even Hannah!  Rental of bowling shoes was RM2.00 per pair.  We paid for one game each first to see if the kids would like it, but at the end of the two hours plus, the kids went through 3 games!

The lightest bowling ball was the 6lb one, which Hannah used.  Ethan used the 8lb ball, I think.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering how I managed with 3 kids, baby Emma did the wisest thing: she fell fast asleep right through the entire bowling session!!

The kids had fun bowling.  Never mind that their technique was not correct.  Never mind that the ball sometimes deflected against the railings to score a spare!  It was certainly a great session, of plain fun and making friends…and guess what…the kids have requested to go yet again! 😀

My Three Little Miracles

August 8, 2013 in Christianity, Emma, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

I could ask for nothing more than my three little miracles, each one created with love, unique and special in their own way.

Every morning I wake up not knowing what the day will bring, but resting with the fact that it will be filled with their laughter and banter, “Mommy, can I have this, please?” and “Mommy, he did this to me!” and “Mommy, she’s whining!”

I want only to cherish them, nurture them and give them the best I can give.  I want them to grow up beautifully, knowing that they can always be confident in who they are and not have to live up to the standards of society, whatever they may be.

I am blessed because in their own little ways, I know, deep in my heart, that they love me too.  He still holds my hand when we cross the street, she says, “I love you a bajilion times, Mommy!” while giving me squeezy-hugs, and the littlest one’s gaze follows me wherever I go.  Can’t wait for her to start talking. 🙂

My life is filled with challenges, and yet it is filled with love.

And every night I go to bed, it is with a fervent prayer that God’s blessing be upon each one of them.  I’m so grateful for their presence in my life and I could ask for nothing more.

The Layover – Day 2: California Adventure Park

July 31, 2013 in Emma, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

You didn’t think we’d leave California Adventure Park out of the vacation while we were there, did you?  Well, we didn’t!

We had gotten ourselves 3-day park hopper tickets and Day 2 saw us make our way to California Adventure Park.  The queues to get in were unbelievably long and following Murphy’s Law, our line was the slowest-moving of the lot!  We also arrived somewhat later than the first day, though….haha.

Our first stop was at the newest section of the park: Cars Land.  I had been to California Adventure Park twice before, but this is the first time I stepped foot in Cars Land!

Modeled after the hit movie Cars, this was Radiator Springs in the flesh!!  How awesome is that!?

Can you just tell that the kids were getting so impatient to get moving into Cars Land?

Ethan and Hannah had wanted to get on the Radiator Springs Racers ride where they would ride in cars around a race track, like what you see in the movie Cars.  Unfortunately, the Fast Pass for this ever-so-popular ride was all taken up for the day, and the wait time was like 2 hours!  So Ethan was contented with just a picture (for now).

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The Hottest Planet

July 30, 2013 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

The kids were playing their own version of Cash Cab in the car one day.  They actually do this a lot, and it’s amazing to see how much they have learnt!  Also, it’s awesome to see Ethan imparting his knowledge to his sister this way.

Ethan: Okay Hannah.  Here’s the question, listen carefully, alright?   What’s the hottest planet in our solar system?
Hannah: Errr….
Ethan: Okay… A: Mercury; B: Venus; and C: Earth
Hannah: Ummm….. B: Venus!
Ethan: What about you, Mommy?
Mommy: A: Mercury!
Ethan: The correct answer is…. (pauses for effect) …………. VENUS!
Hannah: Yay!!!!
Mommy: Hey, no way!  Are you sure, Ethan?  Mercury is the closest planet to the sun!
Ethan: Yes Mommy, but Venus is the hottest!
Mommy: And where did you read that from?
Ethan: From my Encyclopedia of Knowledge!  I’ll show you when we get home, Mommy!  Venus is the hottest planet because it has a layer of carbon dioxide gas that traps the heat in!

And indeed, my little boy is right.

Refer to this article for more detailed information.

And I’m the happiest Mommy in the world to be proven wrong. 🙂

The Layover – Day 1: Disneyland!

July 22, 2013 in Emma, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | 1 comment

When I mentioned that we were heading back to Malaysia from Massachusetts, I just *might* have left out one eenie-weenie detail about our trip. 😀

You see, our first flight was a 5-hour-or-so one from Boston to Los Angeles, and we decided to give the kids a treat by taking them to Disneyland for a few days while we were there.

Believe you me, it was a decision Pete and I had been discussing back and forth several months before.  We weighed the pros and cons, taking into consideration the transportation aspect, as well as the commute and accommodation.  Finally we relented, and decided that this short holiday at the Happiest Place on Earth would truly be a memorable one for the kids.  It would be worth every hassle and every obstacle we might face.

After a one-hour shuttle ride from LAX to Anaheim, we checked into our hotel at about 10p.m. that night, had a really quick dinner/supper and called it a night.  Everyone was tired but excited about the following day.

Hannah woke up super early and whispered eagerly, “Today we are going to DISNEYLAND!”

She flashed me the widest, biggest smile EVER.  It was the most rewarding thing.  And it wasn’t even 6a.m. yet!

Here are some of our pictures taken at Mickey Mouse Land…. 🙂

We had a room on the 7th floor in Fairfield Inn, Anaheim.  It was quite a high floor and a great location.  We could see the nightly fireworks from Disneyland from our room if we’d wanted to (we saw a bit of it the night we arrived), and the walkway on our hotel floor’s balcony overlooked this:

 

Ain’t that festive?

We had booked a room at this hotel because it was one of those that was just walking distance from the entrance of Disneyland.  It took us about 15 minutes just to get to the park, and we loved the location and convenience!

Plus…we managed to get a complimentary upgrade to a Disney-themed room!  They had rooms with Disney Princesses themes, Cars themes, Toy Story themes, you get the idea….What we got was the Mickey Mouse themed room!  Complete with Mickey Mouse wall decals, and Mickey Mouse framed pictures, down to Mickey Mouse bed runners, it really helped set the mood!

For our first day at Disneyland, we all wore Disneyland-themed shirts, even baby Emma.  All of us, in fact, had Mickey-themed shirts except Daddy.  We couldn’t find anything Mickey in his size, so he wore a Goofy shirt instead!

Compulsory shots when visiting Disneyland:

We had fun on all the rides!  The waiting in line wasn’t too much fun though, but somehow the waiting time wasn’t too bad.  Most of the time, we managed to get on after about 20 minutes or so of waiting time.  I could only ride with the kids when Emma was fast asleep.

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Moving Continents – We Did It!

July 18, 2013 in Emma, Ethan, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting, Vacation | 1 comment

What can we say?  It’s a near impossible task but we did it!  It’s not easy though, but we persevered and overcame all obstacles, and we’re now back in Penang, having traveled across the globe with two kids and one baby.

We had a total of three flights to take: Boston to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Penang.  The shippers had arrived in our apartment in Marlborough, MA the day before we were to leave and took almost everything away.  I had forgotten to leave a couple of bed linens for our last night too, so that night we slept on our mattress with just our blanket.  Not even with pillows.  It was kinda okay because I guess we were all tired out anyway.

The next day, we almost missed our flight.  All the last-minute packing and rushing resulted in us reaching the airport in less than an hour before the plane was set to depart.  Thankfully, in true Amazing Race style, we managed to get priority check-ins and got on the plane in the nick of time.

On this domestic flight, Emma had a seat to herself.  We carried her in the infant carrier and I strapped her in rear-facing using the lap seat belt.  She seemed happy throughout the 5 hour plus flight and slept most of the time. Had to change her and clean her up a couple of times too, and let me just say that the restroom on this flight is not exactly spacious!  As for the seating arrangements, there were three seats on either side of the plane and so Hannah, Emma and I sat together, with Pete and Ethan across the aisle.

On the international LA to HK flight, Emma had to be placed in a bassinet, so Hannah and I occupied 2 of the 3 middle seats, with Emma in a bassinet, and Pete and Ethan were seated diagonally across the aisle behind us.  The kids missed their inflight supper that night too because when we boarded, it was already way past midnight.

We arrived in Hong Kong before 6a.m. in the morning, and had many hours to relax and chill because our next flight to Penang was at 3:00p.m.  Look at how red and rosy Emma’s cheeks were when we were in HK:

We spent our time in the Cathay Pacific lounge , taking our showers and having breakfast and lunch there.  The kids slept through most of the flight from HK to Penang, and after a quick dinner at the airport, we left for home in two taxicabs!

After that it was cleaning up the house and getting it ready to be lived in.  It was really an adventure and one that we will not forget for a long time.

Happy Trails…We’ll Miss It Here!

June 29, 2013 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | 2 comments

This afternoon, we will bid a fond goodbye to our home here in Marlborough, MA.  We’ve been in Marlborough for the past 7½ months, and we’ve created memories that we will cherish forever.

Our home here has been terrific to come back to, and it definitely feels a little more than sad to leave this place behind.

When we arrived, it was at the start of winter, and the forest behind our patio was all drab and grey, but we’ve seen it through winter in all its snowy glory and now that it’s spring going into summer, it’s a lush sea of greenery.

The kids love to look for squirrels, badgers, beavers and rabbits scampering about freely… this was taken sometime last week.  Can you see a brown rabbit/hare in the background behind them? 🙂

Well, we’ll miss it here, but it will forever remain etched in our hearts.  The kids definitely had the time of their lives, experiencing snow for the first time and in more ways than one, gained independence in their own individual ways.  Only time will tell if we’ll return, but for now, we’re just extremely happy to be part of this entire wonderful experience.

Farewell, Six Flags…Thank You For An Awesome Experience!

June 28, 2013 in Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

 

Last weekend, we took the kids to Six Flags(again!).  It was bittersweet because it was going to be our last visit there before we head for home in Malaysia next week.  The weather that day was spectacular: sunny, warm with a light breeze.  We didn’t forget our sunscreens! 😀

The kids enjoy all our visits to this theme park, although the crowds can sometimes be unbelievably HUGE.  As we bid goodbye to Six Flags, here are some pictures we took during our several visits to the park (five or six in total, maybe?).  Ethan and Hannah hopes to come back again when they are tall enough to ride on all the roller-coasters though.  Only time will tell when. 🙂

 

Emma and Bumbo

June 27, 2013 in Emma, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

We recently started putting Emma in the Bumbo.  We’ve had it since Ethan was born, but I had forgotten all about it until the other day when I was doing some blog housekeeping and happened to chance upon a picture of Hannah when she was 3 months sitting in the Bumbo.  So I checked the information on the Bumbo, and it indeed states that a baby can begin sitting in the Bumbo from 3 months up.

Haha, what can I say?  Caring for 3 kids makes me a wee bit forgetful at times.

Looks like Emma likes it, huh? 🙂

…and both her siblings were equally excited about Emma sitting in the Bumbo.

 

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