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Baby Steps: From a Baby to a Toddler

September 29, 2014 in Emma, Milestones, Parenting | No comments

My little baby Emma became a toddler not too long ago.  Whilst we were expecting her to walk around 12-13 months, she had her own plans and preferred to take her own time and was so far only cruising and not walking unsupported.

Because she tended to scratch her skin due to eczema, I have had to dress her up on sleep-n-play onesies that cover her feet most of the time.  That could have caused her apprehension to walk sooner because it was quite slippery compared to stepping out on bare feet.  A few weeks ago, I decided to put her in regular onesies and allowed her to explore.

By and by, she gained some confidence and started reaching out from point to point and taking baby steps to reach places.  Over the next few weeks, she started walking more and more.  From two steps to three, then four, then all the way to the foot of the staircase!!  Oooops!!!

Awww…I’m feeling emotional just watching her attain this milestone of hers, officially elevating her status from baby to toddler.

I Am So Blessed…

September 15, 2014 in Emma, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

blessed

I am so blessed because…

  • I have three precious wonderful little human beings to dote after; three little ones who think the world of me and love me unconditionally.
  • Ethan, my eldest, is doing good in school.  Despite my initial reservations about having him start regular school when he had been homeschooled for eight months prior, I really enjoy listening to his stories and anecdotes about what happened in school.  Minor issues do occur, like leaving stuff in school and classmates who are rather “naughty”, but I suppose I will have to let go eventually, let him fight his own battles and watch from the sidelines as he gains independence and courage.
  • Hannah, my second one, is slowly but surely becoming more confident in her abilities.  She is very sociable and I can tell she has many friends in school.  She picks up languages really fast, especially Chinese and BM, and she does not hesitate to practise at home.  She is more or less a “mini me”, so to say, determined and stubborn, and she pushes herself to her limits.  She’s also very creative and loves spending time creating works of art: drawing, painting, coloring.
  • Emma, my littlest one, although rather timid, is getting very used to having her siblings around her.  She relies on me totally and she is slowly starting to explore outside of her boundaries.  I can see a combination of Ethan and Hannah in her.  It’s magical.
  • My kids are spending time enjoying music, and not doing academic stuff all the time. Ethan is enjoying his ukulele classes (though he seldom practises!), and Hannah is also loving her weekly piano lessons.  Emma too, loves to shake and move to music when we do play it. 🙂
  • I hardly have time to blog because my day is filled with the need to ferry the kids everywhere and anywhere.  School, music classes, playdates….
  • Although my kids don’t necessarily LOVE everything I cook, they still eat their meals and are growing up healthily.  I try to keep meals nutritious and healthy but I’m thankful sometimes for takeouts and fast food too.  Don’t judge me, I’m just a mom. 😛
  • I get to tuck them in at night, say our prayers together and give each one of my little miracles a hug and a kiss goodnight.
  • I get to see them grow up to be a responsible, caring individuals and I am there to mould and guide them as best as I can.
  • We all learn new things together every day and we all know that although we each are allowed to make mistakes, it is these mistakes that give us the opportunity to be a better person.
  • God blessed me with these miracles and they are truly my world and my all.  I love them so, so deeply.

The Sunflower Growing Competition

September 9, 2014 in Emma, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

Here’s an interesting and fun activity that we can all do with our family (regardless of age).

When September came around, we decided to have this little interesting competition of our own. Since I had just gotten hold of some sunflower seeds from my aunt, I suggested we each plant a sunflower and see whose will bloom first.

The planter I used could fit five sunflower plants just right, so we labelled the spots accordingly and each selected two sunflower seeds. Two for insurance… Just in case one didn’t sprout.

And then we waited.  And waited (and watered daily) …..and waited some more.

One week later… And this is what we have currently:

sunflowers

As you can see, only the kids’ seeds have sprouted.  Ethan’s sprouted first (after 5 days), followed by Emma’s and then Hannah’s.

I just hope mine won’t be the last one to sprout. Okay, I just hope mine will eventually sprout … and bloom.

Watch this space for more updates in time to come! 🙂

Emma’s Baptism

August 7, 2014 in Christianity, Emma, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

After procrastinating for so many months, what with the move and settling down and all, we finally managed to arrange for Emma’s baptism last Sunday.  We figured we had better do it now so that she would still “qualify” as an “infant”…after all, it’s called “infant baptism” for a reason, no?

A few close relatives turned up to witness the short and simple ceremony.  This time round, the baptism was held at a different church, one that is closer to our new home.  It lasted about half an hour and thereafter we proceeded to have lunch.

Photo-taking before the baptism commenced:

During the ceremony, Emma was busy blabbering away…  It was definitely an all-new experience for her, and certainly very educational for Ethan and Hannah too.  Ethan had been too young to remember what exactly happened when Hannah was baptised last time, so this time both Ethan and Hannah got to witness everything.

Towards the end of the baptism ceremony, it began to rain very heavily.  However, that did not dampen the ceremony.  It was a very special and meaningful one for us.

May the Almighty God bless us and keep us in his loving arms now and forevermore.

A Walk Along The Heritage Trail

June 29, 2014 in Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Exercise, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

Several weeks ago, a old friend of ours paid us a visit.  We had not seen each other for yonks, so we had a good time catching up on what’s going on with each other.  We also took this golden opportunity to visit the Heritage Trail in Georgetown together with our friend and his family.  Although we have been living in Penang for so long, it was Pete’s second visit and the kids’ and my first visit.  It was slightly cloudy that day but we managed to cover quite a few key places.

Khoo Kongsi

Obligatory Street Art Photos

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Little Missy Had a Little Pedicure!

June 13, 2014 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 2 comments

I decided to give Hannah a little treat for the holidays and took her for her first pedicure ever!  Well, it wasn’t exactly a pedicure because she didn’t get the foot soak and she had no callouses to treat, so she only got her nails trimmed and painted.

Nevertheless, she was very excited when the day came and kept reminding me to be on time because she did not want to be late.

First she got to sit in the big soft armchair while her toenails were trimmed.  While waiting Hannah chose her nail polish color.  She was so amazed by all the colors available!

Eventually she chose a golden glittery color… very “blingy” but a very good choice. 🙂

The pedicurist even offered to draw a little flower on each of her big toenails.  Cute huh?

We certainly have a very happy (and pretty) camper here! 😀

“I’m Geronimo Stilton Today!”

June 11, 2014 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

No need for uniforms in school today because as part of Book Week this week, all the kids are invited to dress up as their favorite book character.  Naturally, Ethan chose Geronimo Stilton…

It was very hard to find a GREEN suit just like Geronimo Stilton’s, so Ethan is going as Geronimo Stilton on vacation (in green t-shirt and shorts).  I painted and crafted the mouse ears for him yesterday and fixed it onto a hairband, and Ethan had fun making his glasses out of pipe cleaners yesterday afternoon.  Some eyebrow and eye liner on the nose completed the look together with the red tie Stilton wears.

Cooking Up A Storm with MasterChef Junior

June 7, 2014 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

Just over a week ago, Hannah and I were selected and invited to attend a MasterChef Junior Cooking Workshop inspired by the recent MasterChef Junior series on television.  Those of you who saw my Instagram picture might have thought that this was a competition, but on the contrary, it was just a cooking workshop, held mainly to encourage and foster a special bonding time between parent and child.

The cooking workshop was held at the Cooking School in Tropical Spice Garden, and that morning, since Emma decided to sleep in, Hannah and I drove to the venue first; and Daddy took Ethan and Emma a little bit later on.

Hannah, of course, was very excited about the whole thing, and was even more pleased when she was given her very own MasterChef apron to wear!  Mommy got a matching apron too…yay me! 😀

Together, Hannah and I made 3 simple dishes: Apple Crumble, Baked Chicken Leg and Coleslaw.  Hannah did most of the cooking except for using the knife and the stove.  The recipes were fairly simple but quite tasty.  I would make them again.

We had a lovely time that day, and we hope to be a part of more cooking workshops to come! 🙂

Just for fun now…here’s a shot of Ethan in front of the lunch buffet spread we had.  This photo was taken while waiting for Hannah and Mommy to finish our cooking workshop:

 

A Whole New Level of Independence

June 4, 2014 in Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 2 comments

Two nights ago, we crossed an important threshold in Hannah’s childhood:  She finally moved out of our room into her very own room.  We can’t say for sure now if this will work out to be a totally permanent situation, but it has been two nights now, and she’s doing really well.

We’ve moved into our new home here for close to 6 months now, and although we’ve already had her (pink and girly) room set up for her, complete with a queen-sized bed (decked in pink bed linens chosen by her), and a desk and chair, Hannah has been bunking in our room on a mattress adjacent to our bed.  She has been telling me that she will move to her room when she is ready and I have trusted her.

Two days ago, she confidently told me that she’s ready and would like to sleep in her own room now.  I figured maybe she was just saying it for fun…’cos sometimes she says things and bail out at the last minute.  However this time, she kept repeating it consistently, so I prepared her bed for her that night.  I told her I would stay with her in bed till she slept and then I would creep out.  I left the bathroom light on for her in case she needed to use it at night (she can’t reach the light switch yet).

She brought along 2 of her doggie soft toy friends: Sunshine and Cliffer, and they kept her company through the night.

I had half-expected her to show up in our room in the middle of the night, but that never happened.  I was awakened only by Emma, and Hannah independently slept in her own room the whole night through.

The following night, she asked to take her shower and brush her teeth in her own ensuite bathroom.  So I moved everything there for her: towel, shower gel, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and even her little step stool.

She’s done it two nights in a row now, and I’m so proud of my little girl.  Not entirely sure what really prompted this to happen: it could be due to the fact that she’s just gained some confidence or that I recently told her about a dear friend’s daughter who recently moved into her own room too. 🙂

Thing is….I’m missing her now. 🙁

The Accidental Green Juice Lover

May 5, 2014 in Emma, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Parenting | 1 comment

Just over 2 weeks ago, after some positive reinforcement and influence from some girlfriends of mine, I decided to start drinking fresh vegetable and fruit juices.  I stocked up on fresh vegetables and fruits and decided to use my immersion blender, just so I could get all the fiber too.  My sole intention of drinking green juices was to help to heal my eczema from inside out, and hopefully the goodness will pass on to my breast milk and that will in turn heal Emma’s eczema too.

The ingredients I chose were primarily green, with the occasional orange.  I added water or soy milk depending on my mood.  The resulting drink is a nutritious, and somewhat filling green smoothie.

On one occasion, however, as I was holding my cup of green smoothie, and carrying Emma at the same time, she quickly grabbed my cup and put it to her mouth.  I relented and let her have a taste.

Well, well…surprisingly she loved it and kept asking for more!  She drinks the juice and eats the fiber..maybe like 4-5 sips but it’s a healthy and promising start! 🙂

So now, since I have an accidental green juice lover in the house, I make my own organic soy milk from organic soy beans and use it to make the green smoothie.  That way, I can be sure there are no preservatives and sugars added to the smoothie for Emma to drink.

Have you had your green juice today? 🙂

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