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Literature Night 2011

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

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.

 

(Late) Morning Exercise at The Botanical Gardens

May 22, 2011 in Ethan, Exercise, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

Time and time, we had planned on going to The Botanical Gardens for a family exercise session, but time and time again, circumstances, (reasonable) excuses and sheer laziness got the better of us.  Granted, Ethan and Daddy do go there quite often…well, it’s either there or the Youth Park.  Ethan and Daddy has about an hour or so of bonding time on Saturdays when I accompany Hannah to her parent-toddler class, so they’ll either go for a walk/jog or football session.

Anyway, I digress.

I was gonna talk about our recent family exercise session at The Botanical Gardens. 🙂

It was the long Labor Day weekend, so Monday was a holiday too.  I remember years back I used to arrive at The Botanical Gardens before 7:30a.m. for a hike up Penang Hill.  But now, I’d be happy to reach there by 10:30a.m. 

Anyways, we decided against riding the tram and decided instead to take a walk around the park.

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Ethan, who was brimming with boundless energy, kept on asking us to “Hurry up!”

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His stamina was quite good, and he could run for a long while before he got tired.  When it was obvious it was a shorter distance to walk on the pavement, Ethan decided he wanted to make a detour and climb up and down a mini hill by the road instead.

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Every time either one of us caught up to him, Ethan would quicken his step and try to outrun us.

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…and every time that happens, little Hannah would ask us to “Catch Ethan!”  Not a problem at first, but when she started to get tired, and whoever was in *charge* of her had to carry her AND run after Ethan…well, let’s just say it’s a combo of cardio and strength training at the same time.  Try carrying 13 kilos and sprinting! 😛

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After the workout, the kids were all rosy-cheeked and exhausted (we thought).

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Well actually, the adults were also rather tired out themselves…but that is certainly not a deterrent.  We’ll definitely do this again.

I’d very much like to take the kids along to the gym too…that is, IF I can find a gym in Penang that has a section/classes specially catered for the kids. 🙂

My Mother’s Day Gift

May 8, 2011 in Celebrations, Ethan, Parenting | No comments

Last Friday, when Ethan came back from school, he told me he had a Mother’s Day gift for me in a little brown baggy, but I was not allowed to open it until Sunday, because it had to be a surprise.  I asked him if I had to keep it in the fridge, but he said no.

However, just to be on the safe side, I asked him to show it to Daddy and then Daddy can decide if it needs to be refrigerated.  Well, turns out it did.

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Ethan did drop *hints* here and there, so I had more or less guessed what it was…so when I opened the baggy this morning, it wasn’t really a surprise to me,…well, the only surprising thing was the star sprinkles on top of the blueberry muffin.  Nevertheless, regardless of whether it was a surprise or not, I was more touched by the effort he put in and the genuine excitement and pride he felt when I told him I LOVED it.  It was a gift from the heart, with words that he wrote all by himself and it was really yummy too (I shared it with both Ethan and Hannah)…

Happy Mommy’s Day to me, and to all the lovely mothers out there too!  Take the day off if you can…you so deserve it!

Cheeky Bulats

April 26, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

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I call him Mr Bulat and I call her Miss Bulat.

She absolutely adores him, and obeys his every word.

He loves her to bits, although sometimes he claims she makes him SO angry.

She copies whatever he does and follows whatever he says.

He holds her hand as they walk across the road, and he supervises her when she washes her hands.

They have their fun times, and their *naughty stool* times…but at the end of it all, they still hug each other and say sorry.

They are both generous with their kisses and hugs, tickles and giggles…and they light up each others’ lives as they lit mine up each and every day.

I love them so…

They are God’s miracles.  And I am so thankful to be blessed with them.

A Rainbow Sky

April 15, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 2 comments

Recently, Ethan’s school had a fund raising campaign to raise funds for the people in Japan in the wake of the natural disasters that had affected the country.  The children were exposed to what happened in Japan and the teachers explained how and why it was important for us to help in whatever way we can.

Apart from organizing a donation and food fair, the K1 and K2 kids in the school were also given the chance to paint a picture to express themselves.  These pictures would then be displayed in a silent auction whereby proceeds would be channeled to the Japan fund. 

I attended the food fair, where all these paintings were displayed.  Ethan told me, “Mommy, I used REALLY strong paint to paint this picture!”

It was a very colorful and I would say abstract piece of art, and I was very proud of him.

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Bidding starts at RM20, but I don’t know why I put down RM50.  Anyway, I was incredibly impressed with Ethan’s work of art and also of what he felt and expressed in words.  You see, the kids were asked to express and explain their painting in their own words and the teachers would then note them down with a little piece of paper next to the painting.

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It was a very sincere message, straight from the heart of a 5-year old.  Ethan told me he hopes the funds collected from his painting can be used to help the Japan people build their homes back, “because Japan is broken”, he said.

As a mother, I couldn’t be prouder.  It was RM50 well spent. 🙂

However, the framing was not done very well, and because I was afraid the splinters would hurt the kids, I did what any mother would do: I took it to an art shop and had the painting reframed.

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…all ready to be hung in Ethan’s room! 🙂

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)

She had Croup

March 28, 2011 in Breastfeeding, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

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A couple of weeks back, Hannah suddenly awoke in the night, coughing really badly.  She was completely all right when she went to bed, and we were very surprised that she had suddenly developed a cough.

Her cough was very forceful and in between coughs, it sounded as though she was drawing in a lot of air, and trying very hard to breathe.  It wasn’t asthmatic wheezing, that I know for sure, having suffered that for a few years of my childhood, but rather, it felt like she was trying to clear something in her throat.  The sound of her cough was similar to that of a barking seal.

I suspected she had croup, because the “barking seal” cough was a dead characteristic giveaway.  Croup is a respiratory condition caused by acute viral infection of the upper airway.  Upon checking my favorite childcare book by Dr Miriam Stoppard, I confirmed my suspicions.  The forcefulness of her cough made her throw up a few times that night too, and in the end, I carried her over my shoulder instead and patted her back to sleep.

The following morning, she seemed all right, with just a slight cough, but no “barking seal” syndrome.  I called up the pediatrician, who advised us to monitor her condition that day, since it sounded like a mild case of croup.  We weren’t really fans of going to the hospital, so we monitored and prayed that it would all be okay.  And we were glad that she recovered soon after.  As always, I have to say it must have been some of the breast milk that helped the recovery 🙂

Anyway, it was our first experience handling a child with croup (pronounced “kroop”), and we learnt a few things from it:

  • Croup will come suddenly without any warning.  A child who seems okay might suddenly wake up at night with croup.
  • Croup attacks usually occur at night, but are thankfully shortlived.
  • Air-conditioning should be turned off to reduce the dryness in the air that may cause a dry throat that could bring on the croup attack.  To make the air around Hannah moist and damp, I placed a bowl of water under the bed.  Dr Miriam Stoppard also suggests bringing the child into the bathroom and turning on the tap.
  • A child suffering from croup that causes vomitting due to forceful cough should not be fed anything.  I learnt this the hard way 🙁
  • If it is mild, the condition can be monitored at home.  After all, croup is a viral infection and antibiotics is not needed to cure it.
  • In any case, call the doctor to check for what needs to be done.

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She’s okay now, and I really do hope the attacks won’t come again. *prays hard*

My (almost) Foolprof Plans

March 22, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

The one week school holidays is over, and we’re back to our usual routine.  We didn’t travel anywhere for the holidays this time round, but the kids (Ethan especially) did get a good rest at home.  For one, he was allowed to sleep in and watch a few kiddie shows on the telly in the mornings.

But the kids can’t be sleeping, eating and watching TV the whole day long, right?

I knew I had to think of things for the kids to do to occupy their time..something that would (hopefully) keep them active and alert, tire them out so that they would be able to retire earlier at night… hehe.  An idle mind is the devil’s workshop, no?

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My plan backfired, of course…the kids didn’t get tired, on the contrary, it made them hungrier for more activities.  In the end, it was Mommy who got tired cleaning up after them. 

My Morning Sunshines…

March 22, 2011 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

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Every morning I am greeted with two happy smiles
With hugs and kisses that never go out of style
Looking sweet and adorable is only their morning call
But they’ll be up to their pranks and mischief in no time at all!

Questions, questions and more questions…

March 15, 2011 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up, Parenting | 1 comment

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Extremely wise beyond his age, and extremely talkative too, Ethan has been asking a gadzillion questions.  In fact, there have been so many questions that I could hardly keep up with them all…some have really stumped us too!

“Mommy, how did God create the earth?”

“How did God know how to create the earth?”

“On what day of the week did God create the earth?”

“Why did God put us on the earth?  How did he know the earth is the best place for us?  Why didn’t he put us on another planet?”

“What year was it when God created the earth?”

“If Adam and Eve are the first man and woman in this world, who got pregnant with them?”

“Why is it only girls can get pregnant?”

“Mommy, when I become a teenager I will have LOTS of hair, right?  Will Daddy and Mommy lose their hair then?”

“Mommy, why is it that when I use these letters to form words, they don’t turn into things like WordWorld?”

“Why is it only boys wear underpants and girls wear panties?”

And when we ask him why he has SO MANY questions for us, his reply is very simple, “Because Mommy, I’m VERY interested in everything that God makes!” 🙂

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