at the end of the rainbow ii

capturing moments from birth till 2010

2011-01-14T20:37:00.000+08:00

did a slide with moments that are important, simply love the pics and they record our little family's progress. am truly happy when we are doing something together as a family... i hope that we can have more family time this year, baby R grow beautifully into a little lady, hope that we can be truly happy each day. i need to be more positive! started a new blog, not totally decided if i want a separate blog... to continue blogging... getting busy having time with my gal, teaching her, hugging her even more than before... happy when i see the photos! truly i want to be happier...

hi5 Stop Look Listen

2011-01-14T13:55:00.004+08:00

hi5 happy house

2011-01-14T13:55:00.001+08:00

hi5 dancing bus

2011-01-14T13:54:00.001+08:00

Hi 5 Martian Groove

2011-01-14T13:47:00.000+08:00

hi 5 farm

2011-01-14T13:41:00.001+08:00

Hi-5 Hey Presto!

2011-01-14T13:38:00.001+08:00

the simple wedding cake for bro

2010-12-29T10:20:00.000+08:00

i still wanted to do something for my bro but all my plans needed time and hands which i didnt have... wanted to make Xi cupcakes or Xi cookies, wanted to make this and that but in the end really i can't make anything as baby R is really active... and time consuming projects are impossible missions.

then i tot of icing room... the white cake and when we were done with the flowers, ann came and i grab her to head to compass point with me while baby R is still napping! so glad cousin A popped by to lend a helping hand! when we were at the mall, we were still brainstorming how to decorate the cake further... and when we chanced upon wedding figurines we were done! next i did a mocked up when bro went down to meet up with the florist. one tier was too short, and 2 tier i had a problem... then seeing the flower gals' bouquets gave me an idea and soooo glad it fitted perfectly!

the figurines sink into the cream when i placed it on the cake! lucky with lots of brains around, Aunt K wins the day with her white cardboard solution! we made a circle cropped from the cake box and the bad patch from the fallen figurine was hidden and the figurines could stand on the cake and its almost invisible!

simple but hopefully my bro and sil like it...

Bro's wedding morning

2010-12-17T15:25:00.001+08:00

23rd October 2010. Sunday morning. wee morning.... never really slept... cos i closed my eyes prob 12.30am onwards and by 3.30am mum and i were awake... my aunt k was next and we wre busy in the kitchen preparing the things needed for the prayer... cooked the tangyuan, make tea, arrange the fruits... woke the groom up to prep and he wore his new pj that make him looked like he is gog for kungfu session.

thansk to Uncle K who esp made the tablecloth and my mum's CS top fr SH for the occasion!

for the boys, after the parents comb the hair for the groom, parents would tie a red cloth ribbon on bro and like my bro he has 2 bro-inlaws, they would also help to hang over my bro a red cloth and tie a knot to symbolise something good... not sure what it is..... mum said it in cantonese and i dun remember... but if the groom doesnt have bro-inlaws, he will only have the one tied by the parents.

all the early relatives who made it for the comb-hair ceremony! its great effort and i really appreciate.

gx helped bro to pin the corsage.... my bro is a big boy...

the only thing i could do for him was to be his morning photographer!

the items to bring to the bride's house.

the pig will only go over on the 2nd trip, when the couple return to the bride's side for tea ceremony.

bro wrote mum a card... touching...

some moments i helped to captured ... bro got 10 brothers to gate crash with him!

when my mum ran out of Xi angbaos... i came up with an idea of giving Ji Xiang for the wee morning packet and Ru Yi for the tea-ceremony angbao for the relatives so that everyone who came to give their blessing has got Ji Xiang Ru Yi angbaos!

flora

2010-12-16T17:11:00.001+08:00

seriuosly not in the best mood to keep my updates now... but when i checked the next update was my bro's wedding... i want this in my blog as a record for baby R... cos she attended her very own Fufu's wedding... also its my bro's wedding.

22nd October 2010. Eve of my bro's wedding. bro came and get baby R and me to go Far East Floral to buy flowers to decorate the house for his bug day. my job was to get the flower for the flower gal's hand bouquet.

my bro has a super liking for calic lilies! he simply loves them! my aunt arrange the rest of the arrangements for the house... dun really like to work with her... she stole my flowers for her arrangements and make me end up with insufficient flowers for the hand bouquets and i end up with 2 different sets of hand bouquets...

bro's florist came to do up the cars and deliver the hand bouquets and the sisters' wrist corsages... all very nice except that i found the groom's corsage too similiar to the jiemei's wrist corsage... wished the florist did up my bro's corsage alittle more...

mum specially got this in shanghai when she chanced upon it for my brother's wedding.

Little Miss 18th Mths baby R!

2010-12-11T14:04:00.000+08:00

10th Dec 2010 = baby R is 18 mths old!

baby R is little Miss Sunshine every morning... smliing at me when she wakes up and i love it when she calls Mama...with a little slur with the 2nd ma... she is still very very active, she do what she wants and she seems to have lots on her mind.

Things that she can do can be rather rascal! i mean it! she would turn her standing toy all over the toy mat, go over the toy's standing legs and climb all over everywhere! She now can sit for longer period if she is watching her favourite program. she loves to dance to Hi5 and Barney whenever they sing and dance in the show.

Lots of mumbling and new words... still very cheeky esp when calling my mum popo sooo softly but on occasions when she reached popo house, she dashed in to check on my mum and she would accidently called out Popo loudly then she will become cheeky and call softly again... she sure knows where to find popo if she wasnt the one opening the door! She did managed to call yiyi YI cos she really wanted the ice-cream! Some very clear pronouciation would be ELMO... when we went to catch Sesame Street Show, Mil heard her calling Elmo really clearly, she used to se Mo... yesterday when i showed her the clips we recorded from the show, i heard her very clearly say, ELMO. daddy heard her this morning.

when we were at the doctor for her 18th mths jabs, doc gave her a packet of cookie to distract her from the 2 jabs. i carried her and told her to thank the doc and say bye, she gave kisses and waved... then she spotted the cookie jar behind the doctor, she pointed at it and let out a loud MORE! doc was surprised and she broke into a smile and told me she is so smart! Doc gave her another packet and told baby R since she had 2 jabs, she can have one more packet. baby R was a brave gal, she cried and look horrified when she was jabbed and gave me a very painful and sad look, cried a little and i encourage her and she stopped tearing and watch barney on the MP4... when she got the 2nd jab, she did the same but stopped quickly when i praised her, saying she was very brave and i would tell daddy how brave she was.... a very strong gal.

she makes us all clap to the music and i mean everyone! she would go grab everyone's hand and encourage them to clap along... started becos i wanted to teach her to clap to the beat as we watched the photo montages that i made... at shows, when she is not too sleepy and warmed up for the shows, she would dance on her own esp at Sesame street and Hi5 where we got to go into the performance sitting area. loved the way she swayed and did concert waves... at Hi5's performance, she even tried to follow the dnace steps! she would do the main steps like knock the door, hug teddy bear and of cos Hi5!

good thing that happened within the month of dec was, she got under peer pressure and finally she wants her stroller! Yipee! best thing that happen for mummy and Ah ma! i have been nagged so many times by my aunts about bringing her out on a stroller... baby R isnt one who loves to be strapped on the pram! Since i started to bring her for xmas show at malls, the first 2-3 shows, we went the usual carry-her-in-arm way... i ended up painful shoulders, arm and waist... after the shows, she saw many children in prams and they didnt need to be carried or they didnt have to walk on their own... everytime we were about to leave for shows, my neighbour's kid would be sitting her her stroller, pushed by the grandparents to go out... so it was good that she decided to give it a try cos the result was great, thou still tiring but its not so taxing on the shoulders and we can run faster with her in the pram to get a place for the show! many of the shows we go to needed to queue to get in!

baby R is growing well, thou sometimes she is rather picky with homecook porridge... she is turning out to become more adventurous with food, always looking at what we are eating and i started feeding her outside food if its not too salty. she loves eating outside food! Now baby R loves to get her hands on my camera! whenever i am busy unloading all the many pictures taken each day, she would sneak near to get the camera and she would hang the camera on her neck and she start to seriuosly take photo, aiming the camera at things or me... at one of the show, baby R grab my mil's phone aimed at the stage to take the characters from Sesame Street!

baby R is learning everyday and she is getting very good at doing certain chores at home. she love to help me throw trash into the bin in the kitchen. she would put away her clothes into the laundry basket when i get her ready for shower. she is now learning to help me pack the bed in the morning! she has her own bed now. i would set up the mattress ready for her, but she still prefers to sleep next to us... so after she falls deep into lala land... i would transfer her to her own mattress. i miss having her next to me, snuggling right next to me... but not when she punches or kicks us! daddy loves his space on the bed thou...

baby R is lovable but she got many bad habits still, i need to chase those away... i jus hope that i have more support then questions why i dun allow those habits - i hate it when she throws all the books out of the bag! toys everywhere as she please... i am one who hates it when things dun go my way and others being way tooooooo helpful cos sometimes things are worse off and habits are hard to change but i will continue to help my gal... i dun want to see her climbing or sitting near the edge of the sofa which is right next to the window anymore... cos that makes me worried and boil cos i say many times and still i see her there.

haiz. parenting is never alone and easy esp when i stay with elders... i appreciate the help showered upon us but certain things there is a line but the line is not visible to everyone so people tend to cross the line and it affects my mood, affects my relationship with baby R and also my hubby... sometimes i feel so trap... but i know baby R loves it when there are others than me at home... i hope that everyday will be better and that baby R grows up well.

i am so tired esp this dec cos i have been arranging many events for baby R to attend, bringing her everywhere, arranging surprises for her cos i started on a special project Giving=Receiving esp for her and daddy... started on the Nov25th after i receive baby R's first present for xmas, i wanted to do something special with her everyday till christmas... now i have another 15days to go! thats why i have been so busy to update my blog... but soon, i might stop blogging... stop my facebook... to do even more with my gal... might start a new blog to do a scapeblog for her... i need to make some changes for the year 2011... maybe this could be my last entry...

Lost & Found - We Love Europe!

2010-12-03T14:28:00.001+08:00

found this too! somehow i dun have this in any other cd and its not in my external drive too!

Lost & Found - Wedding Growing Up Slideshow

2010-12-03T13:29:00.001+08:00

the good ole days... baby R does look like daddy but she has my looks too!

so glad i found the disc!

Lost & Found - Wedding Shoot Slideshow

2010-12-03T13:13:00.001+08:00

the dust is a killer to my nose as i am in the midst of cleaning up the room... but i am glad i found this VCD!

i didnt have it in my system and didnt know if the hard copy is still around! So glad cos my sis and sil's com dead and won't be able to retrieve the wedding slideshows i made!

Sour Grapes? haha... read on

2010-12-01T09:59:00.002+08:00

jus have to get it out of my system... no offence to anyone. read my fren's post on BRANDED and i agree. Can't agree anymore... haha cos thru my life since i learn of brands in my school days, cos my uncle teaches me about them... carried a real prada haversack to school cos my uncle lent it to me... what have i learnt? its different... the material and the cut... its a good buy!

So from then on i learn to buy something i really like if i have to spend alot on the item. Yes the lesson is to buy something i like, not something everyone has to have or everyone is carrying it! i am talking about really EX items.

Is your response SOUR GRAPES? haha told my fren that everyone might think that way of her but not me... i totally understand what she was writing about.... i do envy but not having it is not the end of the world... unless its something i can afford and match.... MATCH?

yes i believe that very EX items have to match... YES match WHY? talking more about bags... and this is jus the way i think... if i carry a chanel... i want a pair of chanel sandals to match... cos thats how it is... i see and its perfect... yes thats how its should be! impossible - not only one bag but many and shoes to match that what i call a MATCH. the outfit, the hair and haha the mode of transport too! Crazy? no i dun think i am crazy...

but call me weird but i think that watches are a better buy... more worth it and it can match anything. its the best accessories and it is a very useful accessory! well... my call would be get something you like, you can afford and its everyone's freedom to buy but really... i still stick to what i jus said... other very ex items has to be a match!

well.... Chopard, Patek P, Piaget, Cartier, are all my favourites but i can only admire for now, hopefully someday but if it never comes i will jus continue to admire... life goes on... dun take it too hard. i count myself lucky that i ever come near these items at very close range and that makes my day.

really i know at least there are 2 friends who are with me and i know they think and feel the same way as me! the rest may laugh, snigger well... i am not rich and i am not working right now and i am jus green... whatever... if u are on my side... thank you.

this was triggered due to dec parties coming up and i think its the season to be jolly and not comparing.... haha ... Hohoho....

Taipo

2010-11-25T12:59:00.000+08:00

4th October 2010. Monday, went to my uncle's house for my grandma's death anniversary... met my mum who took half day at central but she had to rush off to meet my sis... so i travelled with my aunt S. Mum and sis came back with good news and it was a good day thou i felt so drained, maybe the grey skies made the day terrible... gx didnt make it and my uncle J gave my aunt K and us a ride home... wish my grandma was around... she would be so thrill to be a great-grandma... my little gal knew how to pray and it felt good to see her offer her prayers to my grandma... my dearest popo.

Presents from Popo

2010-11-25T12:45:00.000+08:00

Mum didnt have anytime to really shop so when she was at the SH airport, she asked the little yiyis to look out for some items suitable for baby R. mum chose the cheongsam herself and the nesa found the bag which totally matches. When my mum saw my aunt O buying this set of dvds, she grabbed a box for baby R too!

baby R loves bags

2010-11-25T11:14:00.000+08:00

Little Miss Pipi loves bags!

she is no kitty KITTY!

2010-11-25T10:12:00.000+08:00

i ordered this top and when it came, baby R was amazed with how big the hello kitty was! if there was a halloween party i would wear this! if not it would be a nice top to sleep in! she wanted to wear it so i let her try. it was too long and she lifted it up alittle so that she wont trip and make her way to show her Ah Ma! then she was game for a shoot and she even look like she posed with scary halloween look, making creepy finger pose... another reason why she wants this top is prob she loves hoods alot!

t O m A t O !

2010-11-25T10:06:00.000+08:00

she didnt like it when i sliced it up into wedges for her... she loves sinking her tiny teeth into the tomato and prob feel the juice fill her little mouth! she really enjoyed herself very much with the tomato and she sat to enjoy her little snack! this is something daddy won't join her cos he dislike fresh tomatoes!

Kwok Leoooong

2010-11-25T10:03:00.000+08:00

We got mum home and my bro came back with our dinner. He got us some zi char and mum was calling my bro to join us. "Kwok Leong come have some" in cantonese... then i called my bro "Kwok Leong, thanks for dinner..." Mum called again loudly to my bro who wasnt answering us, cos he was captured by the tv... then we heard a voice... "Kwoook Leoooong!!!!" it was loud, a small voice... baby R turned her body to look at bro and she prob used her might to call to try to help popo get fufu's attention... and for sure she got ALL of our attention! My bro is the 1st person who baby R called by name! that thrilled my bro! i am amazed...

Mum's back from SH

2010-11-25T09:42:00.016+08:00

We head off to the airport to pick my mum up! she is returning from SH! We had plans to fly there with them... but GX was very worried about the air-pressure for our little one and we scrapped the plans... i was rather disappointed as i was made to believe the trip was on but with all the factors considered we decided to push the plans back and can't help feeling a little sad.

baby R was super excited when she got to the airport! she dashed everywhere and daddy had to keep chasing her! she sure can run! when a little prob 4-5years old boy saw baby R running, he ran over but when baby R approach him, he ran away and baby R chased him! so daddy had to run after our gal! she almost caught the boy! daddy says baby R rubs her little nose just like how i rub mine when i get all affected by dust!

Daddy's solution to stop our active one from running and so that he doesnt need to give chase... the airport trolley! baby R enjoyed her ride on the trolley and it solved daddy's problem - to keep baby R entertained and calm. she was excited when she saw her 2 little yiyis running towards her and she was so excited to check out their luggage! popo was happy to see baby R and couldnt wait to show baby R what she bought for her! baby R is the only one popo bought gifts for, so lucky! Popo bot her a little panda handbag, a little cheongsam and a set of dvd, the most popular cartoon in China Xi Yang Yang and Hui Da Lang!

chicken stew

2010-11-24T23:37:00.002+08:00

chop, chop, chop!!! i diced carrots, potatoes, onions, shallots and chicken as tiny as i can and i cooked it for almost an hour to make chicken stew esp for my gal. baby R has started to be picky with her food... she is prob getting sick of having jus fish porridge... i also wanted her to try chicken... chose this dish as i hope she would get nutrients from the chicken and the vegs.

told gx my plans to try out this chicken stew and when i told him we are having it for lunch too... he freaked out and he didnt want any... but he changed his mind when he smelt the aroma of the stew! gave him a small bowl to try and he wanted more! he took almost 3 small bowls of it!

i had plans that if gx wasnt gog to eat any and if i had left alot, i would buy ready-made puff pastry and make some chicken pies for lunch the next few day! but i was glad that not much was left. daddy loved it as i seasoned it more for him, didnt dare to season baby R's portion too much... she ate but reluctantly she took a few spoonsful and she jus doesnt seem to like meat that much! will try this again some time...

Lazy lazy Sunday ... Sunday is a lazy day!

2010-11-24T23:24:00.002+08:00

while i pranced about the house to do stuff, my 2 darlings laid down on the toymat to rest and

they looked so cute together...

I love Sunday family breakfast!

2010-11-24T23:19:00.002+08:00

when we are not staying over at my mum's on Saturday nites, i love it when baby R wakes up and disturbs daddy... EVIL of me but baby R is the only one with the power to drag daddy out of bed! it had to be right timing too. baby R woke up really early so we could head out for breakfast at Mac where she shares a Mcdeluxe with me.

she doesnt eat much of the hotcakes but she is sits long enough for daddy and mummy to eat our breakfast! if there is a balloon for her, that helps alot to keep her occupied for awhile. We dun do this every week and i dun want it to be an every week affair either, rather keeping it to once in a blue moon, depending on the timing baby R wakes up so that its not so stressful if we dun wake up in time for it! cos i would be super grouchy if plans dun go according!

sadden

2010-11-24T22:47:00.000+08:00

jus saw on my FB that a few ex-col wrote their goodbyes to Mr Brown. i was shocked. in the morning i read alittle of what one of my ex-col wrote but i didnt want to read more cos i am so scared of thinking -ve stuff for the whole day... she wrote to treasure friends and family cos she didnt get to give her last smile to her fren... and only now i knew who she meant... He was my class IT teacher for 3 years... i hardly talk to him beside work. He is a nice "grandpa", always so giving... i am saddened by the news. reading what happened, i feel so much for his wife... RIP Mr Brown...

out of the blue 10-course dinner

2010-11-24T22:42:00.011+08:00

Oct Saturday. My aunt O donated 2 tables for charity and invited us to attend the dinner. She brought her family, my mum, aunt K and nesa to SH, so we had to try to arrange on our own to fill the 2 tables. i called dap along for the dinner as most of my cousins can't make it. so sis, bil, dap, my uncle and aunt shared table with our little family and the other table had 7 too...

the dinner is at Mandrin Orchard and with its layout changes, it was hard to find how to get to the ballroom! the dinner was not bad, the MC was really funny and interesting. he was very good at making people laugh! the dinner was enjoyable becos of the entertainment minus the horrable funny dancers thou... the music played thru the nite was pretty loud and baby R wasnt very comfortable with it... we left before all the dishes were served as we had to pick gx's parents from work. Still glad we made it for another scumtious free meal! didnt take pics cos i wasnt at all in the mood. was feeling tired and baby R wasnt that easy thru the dinner...

15!

2010-11-24T16:46:00.001+08:00

jus before baby R woke up i type my last sentence and today i typed out 15 entries! trying to chase my september and start on my october entries tomolo... possible? not so sure as baby R is very awake from her nap but it was a good crazy chase! i want to finish all my post till nov before december comes.... haha i am dreaming!

stacking tins

2010-11-24T16:13:00.001+08:00

while other babies are stacking blocks, mine stacks tins!

while i cook, baby R loves opening the kitchen cabinet and start looking about and of cos in a short while, she starts to fiddle with the things in the cupboard... and she take them out and stacks them! well, its a mess and at the same time its a blessing that something keeps her occupied while i prep her dinner. she is rather good when told to keep the tins back in the cupboard she would try to put them back in but sometimes she ends up throwing them back in...

baby R's 1st Opera!

2010-11-24T16:08:00.000+08:00

Its Monday and daddy made it home for dinner. Drove to our favourite monday haunt - TPY lorong 8 for Kueh chap. we drove past a temple and they were having a celebration. there was an opera stage and many people stopped to watch. so after dinner, we drove back to catch alittle opera!

its so weird, there is keyboard used in this opera and the actor even say ChioToMade, i know my spelling is incorrect but it was really funny kind of opera! the volume wasnt very loud so its kind of straining your ears to hear what they are saying sometime and i wonder if the old folks could hear them clearly! think with all the restriction on the volume, it makes the opera so hard to understand!

banana pucca

2010-11-24T16:00:00.000+08:00

my dear fren dap never forgets me!

so sweet of her to get me a box pucca - new flavour but i still like the maple syrup one better!

wooo i want 10 boxes of that!

new toys for baby R!

2010-11-24T15:59:00.000+08:00

i was trying to sort out the new toys we received and baby R didnt like that i packed away some toys that she isnt playing with and some of the new ones that is not really suitable away! esp the puzzles... i really dislike when pieces goes missing, making it incomplete and she is definitely not good at keeping the puzzles together cos she loves to throw her toys!

when we were at the children clinic, baby R was fiddling with the toy and now we have one of our own!

she has now more than one ways to learn her ABC!

the toys that she loves most out of this batch are the musical instruments!!! so many rattles!!! think there are 3 sets and 2 single not matching rattles! there is a huge drum, a Tambourine, bells, cymbals, trumpet and her favourite was the drum!

this was taken upside down and i didnt get to flip it and can u see what daddy drew on baby Rs doodle board?

my little FAN!

2010-11-24T15:44:00.000+08:00

my baby R is my fan... i love my dearest Fan cos she appreciated the videos i make!

she wanted to climb up on the chair so much by herself when she heard the song playing... it makes my day cos someone besides myself like the video as much as i do! she enjoys the song and she like to see the pictures we have taken!

wooooo soooooo gooooood!

2010-11-24T15:28:00.000+08:00

when i type this... it mit be a bad choice for me, not sure who read my blog, how many follows my blog... but if u believe me then i am in big trouble for myself.... cos that might increase my wait for my favourite malay chicken rice!!! thanks to dap who introduce this very very sedap chicken rice that is in lucky plaza. very very nice... i am drooling as i type... i want to eat this!

the rice is soft and fragrant!!! the chicken is crispy and freshly fried and served out of the wok! the chilli is very nice and its jus so good. jus 2 weeks ago, i brought my cousins there to take away for my dinner and they were so tempted to eat off my box! the smell is so strong and it stays on making it so tempting for them to keep off my dinner! after my first visit in Sept, i wanted to go all the way to town jus for this but made impossible cos i have things to clear every morning, prep my gal for the day... met up with dap 2 times and we had this for lunch!

then dap brought me to another shop to grab dessert - turon a philippines dessert that i learnt how to make from my ex-col. i love this and its a chore to clean up the kitchen after frying these so being able to get a bite from this store is good to know!

car rides and playground

2010-11-24T15:19:00.000+08:00

lucky baby R has a pair of very active grandparents who are so ready to bring her out to have fun. thou the weather was pretty humid, we left the house almost 5+ hoping that when the sun is setting, the weather would be alittle cooler... my fil and i brough baby R back to the roof top garden so that she can sit in her red car.

we went quite a few rounds about the garden and as we were about to leave, my mil appeared! She must have walked very fast cos she was doing her hair at a salon and when we told her we were almost done, she made it before we left! so we stayed awhile longer and baby R got to play alittle at the playground.

i dun feel that this playground is very clean... in many ways... dun know why... the 1st time we were there for the lantern fest, baby R fell ill after that... it does gimmes me uneasy feeling when we walked about the garden even in the late afternoon... also i am not very keen to let baby R play in the playground yet cos her immunity is still buildling up.....

stitchy stitch!

2010-11-24T15:11:00.000+08:00

Lucky baby R - present from dearest Gugu!

sil got baby R a Stitch bathing robe from the HK airport! she is so lucky!

of cos baby R loves it! i realise she loves hoods!

baby R is jus so cute! love the pic she took with gugu! very candid and they both looked so pretty!

books recommended

2010-11-24T15:03:00.000+08:00

My dear fren/ 1st teacher i worked with, is a great find on my FB! i reconnected with her, shared some of my problems with her, seeking advice from her and when i tot of the books she used during class but can't seemed to recall the names, i asked her and i ordered books thru Open Trolley, also recommended by her. These are some other titles she suggested but i have yet to make purchase... Jamie Lee Curtis' books Human Race is cute, Mummy hung the moon and It's hard to be Five. Cranky Bear from Bookaburra. i got the BIG RED BUS for baby R and reserved the book esp for daddy to read to her and baby R loves the book and also the moment with her daddy... Thanks Ms Helen!

i love snoopy!

2010-11-24T14:59:00.000+08:00

these are from Japan Universal Studio... so nice....

i want to go JAPAN too!!!

Star Wars - Local Edition!

2010-11-24T14:50:00.001+08:00

not sure what you call the 2 sided-lightsabre but that made the birthday boy really happy and excited!

and the battle begins!

i urge the boys to play with L cos he is the only young boy among all the rest of the girls... so they took up the lightsabre for a pic and we managed a few good shots with the birthday boy still calm... till he couldnt take it anymore, he launched an attack on the big boys!

the small one uses all his might to fight so the boys are not pretending to be scared!

if you think the helmet would save you - WRONG! L hit it repeatedly so hard all my cousin W could hear was tong tong tong! and its wrong to pose with a stormtropper mask and drink beer so he was punished!

the battle indoor stopped and everyone took a break before heading out for an outdoor battle!

ROUND 2!

got the boy calmed down to take a pic 1st cos i know it would be impossible to stop the fight!

almost like a comic stripe...

it wasnt pretend fight... the sabres really hit.

No one was hurt as rules were stated before the""fight"" began!

gx is L's favourite opponent!

L took a break when neighbour came by to check out the fun!

during the break, we asked L for a group shot with our family

ROUND 3!

the boy had so much energy to release! he was really enjoying himself, i say he is so longning to play with boys that he didnt want to stop... the rest of the girls wot play this with him and less to say he is so rough and tough, the girls wot be able to take it!

notice gx gets L all the time while the rest take a break to see the fight!

when the fight is far, they "fight" among themselves but when danger is near, they spring up!

Cousin B still can try out the balancing board (not sure whats the name) while holding his lightsabre! GX finally took a rest from the fight! he was the 1st and he continued to play with L thru and never stopped entertaining the kid... wonder who is entertaining who! i think gx enjoyed himself too! a BIG kiddo himself! i love the shot where B jumped trying to escape the hit! then peace was made when L say STOP...

but not for long, he started attacking his favourite Star Wars buddy!

Star Wars Party Partii

2010-11-24T13:32:00.032+08:00

the party didnt end yet... we head over to the house for present unwrapping session! we had mooncakes for teabreak and of cos more chocolate cake with my favourite jap earl grey tea! i was so thankful baby R was asleep on daddy while i sipped my tea... but she didnt nap long... cos she was awoken with all the excitment the kids had when it was time to unwrapped the gifts! she joined in too of cos thou she was still so sleepy... party gal!

she wanted to tear off the tape slowly haha but she is way to slow for her little yiyis and fufu! the older ones rips off the paper without a blink... i like the way baby R is... i always look at the wrapper, check out the prints and cards before tearing slowly... when younger, sometime now i still do it - if the wrapper is nice, i would keep it to wrap up notebooks or recycle in other ways!

baby R isnt afraid of the dog... i was more worried for the dog as she can be quite rough at times! baby R is alittle like mummy ... haha actually quite like me cos i checked out the snoopy container too! its so pretty! lucky baby R was a winner too... i am so blessed. aunt o passed us some more toys that is age appropriate for baby R... sweet!

not very age appropriate but she joined the 2 little yiyis with a lightsabre too!

the real thing happens when the boys hold the lightsabre!

a pretty unique family shot - we just lack the costume!

my next post would update a local version of Star Wars sega... after the long fight, daddy brought us for a walk around the place, we explore the area we have never walked and we went thru a bamboo garden and we got to the long lap pool which daddy is very interested in... and we make a round back to the house and we call it for a day!

Perla's

2010-11-24T13:29:00.000+08:00

ripped the sticker of the cake box... this is where the delicious chocolate cake is from!

bambini

2010-11-24T13:28:00.000+08:00

26th September Sunday. After the Shangrila past midnite wedding we attended Lucas' bdae party at noon! we head off to dempsey and enter bambini for the first time. its a place for kids for sure as we enter we could hear alot of running footsteps and of cos screams and shouts! We walked passed the whole setup for the kids to crawl, run, swing around on the left and on the right were 1 or 2 smaller private rooms that had parties going on in there. then we reached a bigger area that had a few tables and there were 3 party groups and the biggest area which was right at the back was my cousin L's party area.

sadly again i dun know why the boys in the family have their butts stuck to the chairs. i am voicing out cos they need to stop being so stuck to their chairs. i am disappointed as they should learn to pay back in a way they can, i am sure they can handle the camera, help my aunt chase the kids and take some shots. i dun know why i am the only one who has to do it. i have my kid and i too want some time to be with her and lucky she has daddy who played with her in the noisy environment and protecting her when rowdy kids were around. pretty fed up with them after being asked so many times. think we need to sit and talk as i am not the only one who feels they are super bo-chap. my aunts are asking me too why are the boys like that... at my fren's gal's party, Martina's cousins and siblings are all armed with camera helping to take pics more than eating or chatting and she has so many nice shots of her gal and the other guest who attended the party. she is so lucky. i was lucky my sil and her bf took the most and my aunt k and uncle k helped to take some shots on their camera for baby R's bdae...

think if baby R would enjoy herself more if she was older! its really pretty fun but i am too tall and big!

the kids can climb up to the highest 4th level that looks really high up cos the kids all look so small when they are up there! most of the adults spent the time sitting down to have their meals. after a sip of drink, i was back to try to capture more shots for my aunt who needed to entertain the parents of the kiddos.

all the kids have to have sock on and same goes to the adults who wants to be in the playarea with the kids. i am glad that daddy took good care of baby R while i was all over the place and i wished i had more time with them... baby R wanted so much to be with her little yiyis and i am thankful that nesa and Lety stopped to play with her! it was very sweet of them.

thou i am big, i managed to climb and go thru the tunnels cos they are big enough for adults to go thru... i decided to climb to bring baby R to the 2nd level! the 2 yiyis stick with us and gave us a helping hand and help to block out rowdy kids! i like the shot that daddy took of us in the tunnel! we gave up climbing to the next level as there were many kids who are very fast in action and i didnt want to risk getting baby R hurt... so we head down instead.

baby R loves climbing up and down... good workout for daddy!

wanted to captured the kids's looks when they slide down from the higest point in the playset, so they would call my name in the tunnel as they round-about their way down and when i hear they loud and clear, i press the button on the camera hoping i capture a nice shot... they had so much fun doing it that they climbed all the way up and called me so many times and their frens joined in too... "Lai Ching Jie JjjjjjiiiiiieeeeEEEe"!

i have to say this place is pretty well-designed for all age groups. we found another corner that suited baby R - a tiny slide! somehow the 1her 1st few tries, she landed on her tummy and slide down facedown! after a few tries and she managed to come down sliding on her bum and not her tummy! she loves the slide! too bad for baby R, we do have a slide and swing set given to us early this March... but its still in the warehouse... it was too big for us to ferry home as we only dismantle one part of it... so it followed my aunt's stuff and its now stuck in there... anyway there is no room for it at home.

thou there are many areas baby R can't go but i know she enjoyed herself alot! she wasnt sleepy and wanted to play more! we had to catch hold of her tightly and head off to get water for her! its a Starwars themed party and its all self-brought decor items. my aunted decorated the long kids table with starwars table cloth and the kids have pizza, nuggets, fries and tiny sausages for meal!

for the adults we ordered from the menu and the food take some time to come so we played with the masks given out to the guests! so many darth vadar of all sizes at the party! L's little frens were very game to take their photos with gx! so glad my gal was game enought too to wear the mask and she make sure hers didnt fall off as we posed for a pic!

the Star Wars spaceship cake!

the cake brought alot of excitment! the kids love it and the adults were fascinated with it! my aunt bought the figurines and this cake is very very nice! the chocolate cake was so moist and rich! its an italian cake according to my cousin nesa who followed to collect the cake! originally there is suppose to be rum in the cake...wooo but its for kids party so rum was omitted!

here comes the lightsaber! happy 5th birthday Uncle L!

the potato balls were highly recommended by the adults who had their lunch and the salmon veg salad was an extra order... cajun fries was a must, shared a carbonara with gx and sadly, they were out of wings! while daddy and i gobble up, the adults were kind enough to take turns to help us out with baby R.... she was a fighter, with so much strength that all the old folks had very short turns and they were all scared to carry our gal... cos she turn and twist so much, making it so hard to hold on to her and they were afraid she might fall or they might hurt her while trying to hold onto her... haiz... and they always tot i was rough with her... haha.... till they try they now know how tough it is to handle my active one!

the lightsabres were fun! haha... to have a calm down time for our gal, we played her some videos on her portable to get her rest alittle so that the rest of us all can take a breather! holding a party here at Bambini isnt cheap... the adults' menu charges were like restaurants and for each kid to play in the play area, they are charged per head...thou they have packages for the group of children then additional they are charged accordingly... had fun with the kids and thank you to aunt O who brought us here for a great family outing!

Shangrila Wedding Dinner

2010-11-24T09:43:00.002+08:00

25th September 2010. Another reason why we didnt go for a lavish dinner for our 5th wedding anniversary... we have too many good dinners on our September calendar! Recap : 15th Sept - Mum's chinese 60th bdae at Imperial Treasures and 19th Sept - bro's wedding food tasting. Almost every week, we had bdae cakes and good meals at parties and this wasnt the last for September!

thanks to my sis and bil cos i totally forgotten to bring my camera! they lent us their camera so that we could take the many shots of our gal! she wasnt scared of the huge crowd gathering,waiting for the doors to the ballroom to be opened... she was good, she found a spot where she stood for awhile and she entertained herself... she was checking out her dress infront of a mirror!

my sis looked fab! the dinner has many distingush guest cos my sis's new bil's dad is someone. i had a hard time deciding what to wear... haha and of cos i want to look good thou i have piled on tons of weight! my hair was still pretty wet when it was time to go and i didnt get to blow my hair so i tied a tight ponytail. with this dress i think i look neater with my hair tied up, jus glad i had my hair long... and so glad baby R's hair is kept too!

no way to keep our little gal still and it was so crowded we didnt want to lose her so we entered the ballroom 1st. I spotted someone on the main VIP table! the staff had to arrange something on the huge table think it was a 20seater? she or he has to step onto the table itself, can't remember if her shoes were on or off.... daddy show baby R the many tiered cake and of cos baby R wanted to go nearer...

its my 2nd time here in the same ballroom. the menu looked so long.. with lots of description cos i heard from my sis that some of the dishes were specially designed for the FIL as he knows the head chef... the dishes were nice but some pretty unusual cos green mustard was served as veg, not many liked it cos i think only Cantonese uses that alot in soups... love truffle oil but for me it didnt really go very well with the braised duck... think the best braised duck goes to my popo's family recipe, the one my mum makes is the best!

other than that the dishes were nice and the music sang by the live performers was nice. the couple chose a luggage tag and wine charms for their wedding flavours and i love the wine charms! useful and pretty! think wine charms are fun to have, this may spark me to get more but when will i get to use them... haiz... really wish we could have our own space...

daddy's little girl

mummy's little darling...

baby R loves the music and she broke into her dance naturally! she recognise most of the songs as i have used them in my videos and she would look at me and Ahhhh - so proud of her as she has pretty good memory and she shows she pays alot of attention to my videos! love my gal! the shoes are new and they were suppose to be for my bro's wedding but we realise it mit be too small for her in OCT! so she got to wear these and they look so sweet on her. it was a pair i saw at taka baby fair, one pair among the boys shoes and its less than $10 after discount.

a very happy party baby!

baby R is not afraid of thunder but very afraid of lots of cheer and when many people clapped their hands! so thou we were sitting right at the front, next to the VIP table, i only managed to catch one shot of the bride in her wedding gown. Quite unique was the groom in a brown suit.

mini portrait shoot!

it was time to change baby R's diapers so we head out and also to give the little one some time to move about before she ran out of patience to stay at the table... while daddy head to the loo, i tried to do shoot for her on the nice reddish velvet sofa... but she was so active, moving all over the place, not many nice shots.

we saw the famous lawyer Subash while our gal was running around outside the ballroom with daddy keeping a close distance near the active baby. after a good run-about we head in... daddy walked the red carpet with our little one... think daddy would be pretty emotional when she sees her gal down the aisle in 20++ years time... i would be too!

the bride was in a rosy pink gown...

pretty emotional not becos of the yumseng... its when my bil's youngest sis sang and dedicated it to her sis, i was holding onto my little one and swaying her to the music... it was a very warm moment. baby R was given the flowers taken from the back of the VIP chair and of cos she loves it! half way thru the dinner she napped... how come... cos the dinner somehow stretched and ended after midnite!!! yes the dishes were served very slowly and our whole table skipped dessert. somehow being next to the VIP table, but we were always served last...so weird and the other sad thing that happened to me was i lost my little black jac which i didnt wear the whole nite as i was feeling so warm from taking care of my gal.

5th anniversary 10 course lunch = bro's treat!

2010-11-23T17:12:00.001+08:00

injustice to my nice dear bro! i almost forgot to post this! the SD card was hidden in my baby bag pocket and it was till i check my calendar that i saw i have missed out this important meal! oops and i shall post first and change the date to put it back int place!

19th Sept 2010. a beautiful Sunday! one day after my 5th wedding anniversary, we head out for lunch! 10 course meal and its my bro's treat! wooohooo! Its all good timing! i am thankful that my 5th anniversary fell on a Saturday which means my hubby no need to take leave and dap was available to help us out. Then bro arranged his food tasting session jus a day after and it was just coincidence but i am extrememly pleased with the dates!

Grand Park Cityhall hotel for our lunch treat - job: to help decide the dishes and comment to make it better!

i remembered the roast duck was nice and also the squid from the cold dish was pretty good. the sharkfins soup was alittle lacking in fins but we did mention in the review and during my bro's wedding we were pleased to see more fins... for people who preotect the sharks would prob dislike my comment... i personally loved the asparagus dish! there were enough scallops to go around and i love the capisums too! gx doesnt like capiscums to when baby R grows up, if she dislike it = daddy, love it = mummy! the crispy bits are sure a hit! love this dish!

woooo the best wasabi prawns so far besides the ones from humble house where i first tried this dish! think i requested more sauce not sure if bro wrote that but i was very please on the wedding day cos the prawn was so well-coated! the grape and strawberry not only brings colour to the dish but it was a nice combination! the herbal chicken drew a few draws... cos the outlook when it was served was alittle messy but the chicken was nice! the herbs were flavourful and the dish was to stay on the menu!

pretty lucky for me baby R managed to sleep in the pram for awhile. she arrived the restaurant sleeping and i managed to enjoy my meal till 6th dish... count my blessings! fish was fresh but i have never been a real fish fan and the udon noodles were nice! a little spicy in XO sauce not sure if kids find it hot and overall the dishes were very good! the dessert was changed to my favourite of them all among dessert - yam paste!

after lunch was a walk-about to check out the rom venue and ballroom. at first bro wanted the rom outdoor. All parents were pretty against the idea... they all gently dropped hints that the weather is a factor! it was about the same time in the afternoon that we were in the courtyard and it was scorching hot! and if it rains then that would be a problem too... then it was pretty near the road and the trafiic was pretty noisy... so when we head to the indoor venue for the rom, everyone agreed it was a better choice.

Gx and i have ever stepped into this hotel 5 years ago. then the hotel was not as nicely done up as now. we were surprised when bro told us the hotel he chose but after the food tasting and seeing the nice ballroom we were glad the hotel has revamped. we didnt stay for beer but we got baby R flags from the pub... have never attended a germany beer fest but my gal was excited with her 2 new flags and she couldnt stop swinging the flags in the car all the way back to my mum's hm!

Noisy lantern fest ...

2010-11-22T18:41:00.000+08:00

lunar 15th of the 8th month ... its my chinese wedding date but there was no celebrations like previous years... cos i didnt have a chance to arrange anything cos i was busy.... and daddy was super busy at work that he came home very late.... wanted to go bishan park but it was late and we changed our venue to the garden above the carpark... hoping that theres activities there...

my mil bought the little one 2 very noisy lanterns... techno songs... BOoooom booom booom i want you in my rooooom... ERGH! haha i can't take such lanterns and i seriuosly dun like them. not only that its got glaring lights... hurts my eyes!!! 2 one bee and one ladybug... haiz. well i am not the only mum who can't stand such lanterns... one of my gfs wrote on her fb the next day : whats with these techno song lantern... i am a mum who has 2 of these unwillingly...

in all we took 4 lanterns to the garden... 2 from last year and 2 techno ones... baby R was excited to walk about, she see other kids and she ran towards them warm-heartedly but the rest of the kids all ran away... baby R sure can run very fast! she dashes every time she feels like it or something attracts her attention! her 2 noisy lantern sounded and broke the silence as we took a walk about the garden.

the grandparents took a day off work to be with their precious grandaughter... they really treasure the time they have with her... i just pray that next year we can do the quiet lanterns... the ones with the candles... miss the times at my mum's place... those were the 2nd best memories of mooncake festival... we would like up candle-paper lanterns and hang them about the garden, sip tea, crack jokes, solve riddles and eat mooncakes...

the kids are weird they run towards my gal and when she make contact with them, they sped off... weird!!! to prevent my gal from falling cos she ran after those kids, grandpa has to grab her and hold her in his arms tightly!

not long baby R broke free but we got her to hold hands and walk not run... then the kids appear again... and so did daddy! when daddy settled his work over the phone which took up so much time, he was finally joining us in our walk and also our chase after the very active baby R!

it was humid and tiring to keep chasing after the little one who dun seem to feel tired at all!

5 adults VS 1 baby R!

2010 Mooncake festival Family Pics

daddy is always the knight who save our little gal from being Cinderalla! after walk-about the same place 2-3 times then we realise that the garden had another wing... there were more famlies there on the benches with lots of candles lighted everywhere!

as usual our little one is so curious she wanted to get off to go check out the burning candles ... so how well will she do with lighted candles next year? hmmmm. jus wish that there is more lighted up places to go check out on lantern festivals... but these places will surely be really packed thou... i jus hope that the tradition goes on... its pretty sad that chinese dun really have alot of traditions that the younger gen carries on like in the past... my grandmother used to make alot of chinese new year goodies, make her own tangyuan for dongzhi, make and steam our own dumplings... we will sure have a feast on big days like lantern festival followed by eating mooncakes and sip tea... and of cos the children play with candle-lit lanterns... those were the best kind of lantern fest i had. i miss my grandma and the way we used to celebrate these festivals...

the only pic i took with gx and my gal for our Lunar 5th Wedding anniversary...

ear infections and rashes

2010-11-22T13:51:00.000+08:00

a debate that went on and on in the house - to cut baby R hair.... becos it cause her ears to itch...

i objected to the hair-cut... i wanted her hair longer for my bro's wedding! NOooooo i dun want her hair cut! she is a GAL and not a boy and i didnt believe i can't get her ears cured without hair cut... i was thinking since it reoccurs from time to time i can't possibly have her hair cut like a boy thru her life! i brought her to a doc again and used the new med and her ears were better...cured but...

as i type now in Nov, her hair is still long thou my bro's wedding is over and her ears were fine till 2 days ago, it came back again but theres no push to have her hair cut short as i have proven her ears can be cured even with her hair covering her ears! she persire easily and there is no way to stop it from happening so i jus have to monitor her all the time!

mini-cone afternoons

2010-11-22T13:44:00.000+08:00

the last 2 in the box!

baby R loves mini-cone afternoons lox!

buzzzzz bag!

2010-11-22T13:43:00.000+08:00

my little bumble bee!

there were many different ones to choose from...

i love the pink mouse but daddy insist this suits our gal better!

daddy says she is our little ms busy bee and this bag looks more like her!

kiss the gal!

2010-11-22T13:40:00.000+08:00

camera in my hand and i grab my gal to take a few shots...

i wanna kiss my gal!

she is soooo kissable!

i love kissing her cheeks!

coke baby

2010-11-22T13:37:00.000+08:00

Nope she didnt drink any! its an empty bottle!

but she sure knows what to do with the bottle!

mooncakes sampling session!

2010-11-22T13:36:00.000+08:00

battle of the mooncakes!

traditional Vs snowskin. HK vs Tai Chong Guo - family all time favourite. Atas raffles vs Dong hai restaurant... who wins the day - MY TUMMY! haha no matter who bought what, where its from, what type it was... the fact is glad no one repeated the same kind from the same place and the best thing is that its a feast of mooncake! everything on the table was spectacular!!! but the winner for me this year is....

this teochew traditional mooncake bought by my cousin A's hubby. its somewhere in Geylang and they only sell this once a year during mooncake fest and its REALLY YUMMY! my cousin A ate too much till she had sorethoart and i almost did too cos i ate alot of it as there were quite a few pieces left at mums and with so many mooncakes, mum told me to tabao! its really good and i want a box to myself next year!

our 5th wedding anniversary cake

2010-11-22T13:11:00.002+08:00

no dinners as we can't find the perfect nanny... we had lunch and that was it... but when we were at mums, my aunts, nesa were all around... so gx asked if we could sneak out to jus have some time on our own... so we went patok at the nearest shopping mall - compass point. nothing much to see, we jus walked and hold hands which is something that we haven done in a long time.

i wanted to check out the Icing Room at the basement and so glad gx agreed to do our very own anniversary cake! its definitely something i like to do and i am happy i dun have to do the cake, the coloured creams on my own and no washing up is needed for this session! for $11.80 i get my hands busy decorating a cake for US!

i piped the heart and gx filled it up with red jell!

the only thing about the place its very open and noisy and the work space is pretty tight if its crowded.

simple design - we pipped stripes down on the side of the cake!

Our1st cake that we decorated together!

the challenge was when we decided to pipe the words on the cake!

we managed and i think we did a pretty neat job - my 1st try with so many letters!
and i think there is a spelling mistake...

nice fusion pink box to bring the cake home to show our little baby R!

she was rather a good gal except that we hear alot of "she is very active!!!" she really didnt stop moving about and tire out my aunts and cousins! she loved the cake! she was very excited when we showed her the cake!

baby R loves whenever there is a celebration but she always look very seriuos, making sure things are done right!

Baby R's favourite thing to do is to cut the cake!

thats all we did for our 5th wedding anniversary - a simple day together as a family

part ii was suppose to be IT but unexpectedly we had Part iii!

2010-11-16T18:54:00.001+08:00

Mr Tan threw in the towels and say thats it for the photoshoot. too hot and he didnt want to take anymore pics. we walked in the sailing club to take alook. Mr Tan decided to go to the loo, while dap and i with baby R, we took a walk around.

it isnt a big place but i immediately fell in love with a corner! not sure if we were allowed to settle ourselves there but i just head over! dap took a few shots for baby R and i - love the mood! the coconut trees made the corner look so relaxing!

felt like we werent in Singapore.... dap had received a msg that she is welcome in Indonesia on her mobile!

when Gx came to find us, i asked him to take shots for us! he was the one who didnt want anymore photos but i guess he couldnt resist the swing! it brought me to KSM's swing on the island.... maybe he was thinking of the same thing? i loved it under the coconut trees, swinging in the shades but baby R didnt seem to like the swing too much. she tried to struggle off me a few times or was she afraid the swing mit collapse?!

so daddy took baby R for a walk... while dap and i shared the swing!

so sweet daddy took her gal for a walk jus infront of us on the platform and they did a peek-a-boo, almost like an indian dance peeking out of the coconut tree! took pics without leaving the swing! i was the 1st to sit and still i sat on the swing not moving away from the comfort spot!

caught some nice shot of the father and daughter!

*

my favourite father and gal pic

love how the leaves make the composition beautiful.

then daddy came back to the swing to join me again... dap was off to take some more shots for us but i was still on the swing! then i was chased off the swing by daddy and it was my turn to bring my gal for a walk. so daddy started taking some shots for baby R and me.

i started to dance with my gal on the platform!

i love how the pics turnedo out... glad we chose this place for phototaking!

can't remember why did baby R and mummy laughed so hard! but it must have been really funny!

my gal and me

daddy remembered that i complained that i dun have many nice shots with my gal thou we are always hm cos i am the one who always take her and not shots together and i suddenly have many many nice shots! i like all of them...

somehow my little gal isnt that little oredi... she has grown so much

my 5th wedding anniversary

thank you Dap for doing me, my family such a big favour... THANK YOU!

dun know why but my gal got daddy to start clapping his hands... and they looked like they were doing the dance steps for the korean song Sorry Sorry! haha... and baby R didnt spare Dap... she made sure she clapped along with her! then the nicest thing that happened... baby R hugged dap. my little sweetheart fell into her arms and gave a hug with her tiny hands tapping on Dap's back... baby R did that for another 2-3times and i was touched... cheers to you dap!

love the shadow of the coconut leaves on the wooden platform...

its been so long since we did couple self-shots.....

not sure when will we be back but it was a beautiful day filled with nice light breeze and many photos!

i really hope we can go on till we are old, hold hands till old, pace our journey together.

I LOVE YOU deardear...

5th Wedding Anniversary shoot with Photographer Dap - Part ii

2010-11-16T14:56:00.002+08:00

after lunch, back to shoot. weather remains beautiful and sunny! gx hardly could open his eyes! he found it way too glaring! baby R was opposite, she seemed to love the sun rays on her! she was beaming with energy too! i am thankful that we had such a lovely fine day for our shoot! also the pink sail was a pretty sight to have on our photos!

what you see in the videos are of cos specially selected by me... the reason why i slowed down so much with my post is not only due to the parties and wedding we attended... i spent quite abit of time editing the photos and creating new ones from jus one photo and i see which one works out better. before the shoot haha i did think of what can we do during the shoot... lots of brain power put into thinking, something simple and easy and it will turn out nice and not look silly... but we are dealing with a very active baby who doesnt listen to instuctions very well... even thou she understand... she doesnt do according! but it was worth a try!

i wanted a back shot of jus me and gx... fat figure but i want the shot as i love back shots... but it didnt turn out as romantic as i wanted the pic to be and its not dap's fault! cos either gx or me couldnt take our eyes off our little one who is suppose to stand next to dap and dap had to stretch out her hands to hold when baby R tries to run while taking our photo! then u see baby R infront of us and running past us! wanted her to run thru our hands but she ran past instead! but i still love the photos cos its very natural and reflects what happens on the day! when she finally ran thru, she was dashing hoping to get away from us so that she can have her freedom to do whatever she wanted....

but of cos we caught her and she got back to the same spot and we decided to hold her hands for a shot!

love it that dap takes far shots for us. she did discuss with me cos she was worried that i might not like it.. but i told her to work her magic and i put my camera to the highest resolution so that i can crop in for details. she did such a great job of not following us and took a beautiful shot of my little family strolling across the field. from one photo, i created another 3 and it all gives a different angle, different feel and i managed to crop out jus US without baby strolling ....

when i told baby R to go get dap, she ran a dn fell and i was glad dap caught a shot cos she look so cute on the grass - evil mummy! but she seriuosly looked like she was posing! daddy urged her to stand on her own and they hugged when daddy got nearer to pick her up! sweet moment....

Gx wanted to show baby R the waves and we head back out towards the sea...

dap loves to take slanted photos too.. i love the huge sky portion where it make it look endless and so blue and beautiful. i am very affected by the palm trees that is blocking the waterway ... so i usually have to crop away the trees! also i will turn every slanted pic and crop them to give the photo another feel and usually these are closer shots.

when we took for dap... haha... we took it straight.... nothing artistic! OH NO.... her photo really is better than the ones we took for her... so i tilted the photos and crop it alittle to give it a better composition.... still not as nice as the ones she took, cos i can only tilt but not enlarge the sky area.

baby R was afraid when the airplane flew past! she found them loud and she hid her face and hugging me very tightly! we told her thats is the little aeroplane cos everynight i sing her a chinese song about planes. we told her theres nothing to be scared about and we managed to make her overcome and she even waved goodbye to the plane. Dap was great as she managed to take a shot of us with the plane and i cropped the plane out for the video.

You & Me

when i first heard the song by Olivia Ong, i liked it. if you ask me if i choose the song first or look at the pics then decide, it all depends. if there is a song i like, sometimes i keep it in my mind and i find a chance to use it. usually i load up all the photos, go thru the list of songs i have and i place them in to see if it fits... sometimes the song has alot of meaning to me and it suits the occasion. for You and Me, when i heard the lyrics with the photos, it was perfect. cos i love the part where it says, even those days are gone, they will have each other - then i show why those days are gone with baby R's pics! the mood of the song was just right for the feel of the photoshoot day!

we decided to get to the ground to be near baby R to take some shots. she was trapped bewteen us! her expressions caught on the camera were priceless. on a sunny day but it doesnt bother her and she is always showing her pipi tongue! baby R looked so cheeky when we did the family cheer!

my dearest GF and Me!

haha i think we look so nature together! dun think Mr Tan will ever be able to pose like that with me!

love these shots alot!

daddy oso had a best fren... his darling gal. theses are some shots i love of them!

still i need to thank one more person - the pink sail for being there at the right time!

Lunch break from photoshoot - em, but we didnt stop shooting!

2010-11-15T17:06:00.002+08:00

2nd destination, we were so uncertain if the place is still around! many years back, gx and i celebrated his bdae, with ser's recommendation, i fell in love with this place! its not yet changi beach area cos gx says its still consider the end of east coast. then the restaurant was interesting cos we sat on the beach to have dinner. last time not many people would take out their cameras to take pics... so i recall if i have any or even if i had its in the com that dropped died years ago... lost many precious photos in that com... ever since i learnt to back up but i yet to do any back up since baby R came along!

we brought frens here for dinner before, its very relaxing and i love the idea of getting our feet sandy and haha almost eating in the dark when the sunsets! we went there several times with my fila-excols a couple of time for dinner+ ktv session above the restaurant but that was years back too... ever since i left fila i never got to go back there. when we turned into the little lane that also leads to the army chalets.... i really hoped that the place remains... but sadly it has changed... grass replaced the sand and theres railings across blocking access to the water....what a waste! the breakwater also was blocked with lots of plants... alot of couples used to come here for shots.... so much changes.

we almost tot theres no biz gog on... we were the 3 group of people in the indonesian style restaurant. the chilli served with the tapioca crackers burns tongue! but i tiki, have to dip to get the shiokness! i find the menu cover ugly... weird design!

the view we got was nice but we arent really facing out when we eat... how baby R tells us she is hungry? she eats herself! kinda miss the old restaurant cos i had very yummy cheesy baked crab.... but it was nice to have indonesian too cos we had our honeymoon in bali! as baby R waited for me to set up her lunch, she somehow keep doing this chicken dance routine! she would swing her bend arms left and right vigorously!

dap and i had avocado drink with chocolate sauce but we had to ask for more chocolate sauce thou! gx had chendol. i can't remember what soup we had! think it was beef soup! cos i didnt drink any! gx ordered nasi campur but it was jus fried rice with an egg... the kang kong if i didnt remember wrongly caught us all on fire! the chicken was ordered wrongly as i wanted it grilled but it came with sauce but it was not too bad. the best dish we ordered was the grilled squid! its very good but the only problem is that it wasnt really HOT it was warm... the tofu was ok i think cos i dun really remember much about it... the food overall ok not fantastic but edible.

daddy was sleepy after a sunny morning walk and heavy lunch. aunty dapdap looked recharged after lunch! beauty of aunty dapdap is that she has no complains for the day and she has good appetitate and its always nice to eat with her! as for baby R, she was recharged too! she didnt seemed to mind the hot sunny shoot we had in the morning and she wasnt going to nap! she even did her spanish dance move with her tongue doing a series of leh-leh-leh sounds!

lazy daddy was given a job - to take shots for baby R+my dear fren+me! baby R sure knows how to pose with us! she is very comfortable with dap around! she spread her hands behind us to give us a sweaty group hug! neh, it wasnt sweaty jus kidding. baby R loves dap for another reason - dap's accessories! baby R loves all her accessories!

can't remember what baby R did but we sure laughed hard! she was the happy nut that kept us smiling thru the hot afternoon Saturday! took us some time to get baby R to return dap's bangles! she had so much fun transferring both bangles to one hand, had one on each of her tiny hands... she jus had so much fun with them!

then we hid one corner in the restaurant to change baby R's diaper. the manager suggested us to do at the seats cos they dun have a place for that purpose... when she was done, i put her down from the bench and she started running! dap tried to help to block her but she "escape"! daddy who was settling the bills came to corner her but she managed to turn and ran the other way! when i was done packing, i joined int to block her and daddy managed to get her off her feet!

Our family shoot with Photographer Dap - Part i

2010-11-13T01:12:00.002+08:00

Alot of tots for what i wanted for 5th anniversary. wanted to buy a new pair of rings with blue stone - sapphire... gold price is ridiculasly HIGH! with bro's wedding a month away, new rings were out of the question and the more i look around with gx, even semi-precious stones, coloured ones on silver doesnt seem reasonable at all.

Eason was in town on our very anniversary, of cos i wanted to go... even if it was the cheapest ticket and i was prep that if baby R was afraid of the loud sounds... we would leave early but at least we were there but we didnt .... cos gx didnt want. i was rather disappointed. he was not a concert-goer and he was afraid that the sound system will hurt baby R's ear and she might be frightened with all the screaming fans...

it was a Saturday and no one can really handle baby-sitting our baby R esp without me around... so no fancy dinners. also not when we had so many parties to attend and my mum had a expensive bdae dinner which was so good...

i need to thank of cos Dap again for being such a dear fren, for your help and great works. also to Agnes and Martina who helped me source for photographer! i appreciate your help but do understand it was GX who wasn't comfortable with someone he didnt know as photographer and of cos we were lucky to find our fren who could help us out. thanks so much ladies!

if i didnt remember wrongly, the days prior to the shoot, it was gloomy and raining. so i prayed hard and i got my wish granted - hot sunny day! the places i had in mind was Hort Park - gx say its like gog back to work, the route to his office. after considering a few place, he name one similar place as me - Changi but different parts thou. i wanted to go to 2 places so i suggested a very near one to ensure we at least get some shots first if it was good weather cos if by the time we reach Changi area and if its raining, we wot get any pics at all! Our first stop - Toa Payoh Gardens. the monument of TPY gardens dates back very long time ago. thou they have painted it green, covering what was beidge before, it is stil the icon of TPY! alot of married couples in the 80s prob came here to do their photoshoot! my uncle was one of them!

GX parents also brought him to the park to celebrate his 1st bdae. they had a pic taken in one of the sitting area. Everything was fine till my long-time never wear heels decided to make my walk in the park alittle more challenging. the strape broke. daddy didnt wait for me as he was feeling really hot! he hates the sun glaring at his face... but i was glad that the photos turned out well with his eyes mostly opened! baby R was very natural!

dap took it her way and i love that her shots and my sil's shots are different. dap loves far shots and that allowed me to do alot of cropping and tilt the images and gave the images a different perspective and feel. i love the way she captured the park, making it such a nice backdrop!

the beauty of the park is that the trees here are prob really old! they have done new works but they kept the trees and i love the way the old trees bend towards the pond! love the way the trunk is so low and so bonsai looking!

love that dap jus shoot as its difficult to capture baby's attention always and she has not all posey shots. there were hardly any couple shots taken at tpy as the park is all about walking around the pond area! with our active baby and she sure can out run us and she knows how to trick us too! but i still managed to crop some pics of jus gx and me.

when we got to an area nearer the bridge connector, with the space far from the pond, we took the risk of a couple shot! gx ran and put baby R next to dap who has the camera aimed at us and once gx ran and stood next to me, dap shoot and he grab baby R once it was done! so with one photo i cropped it in 2 ways and effect of the pic look so different.

as i was struggling with the shoes, daddy was the main person to carry baby R. so when i see a pic i could crop daddy away, i did! cos i have very few pics of jus me and baby R! we did a hi-5 to indicate our 5th wedding anniversary but it looks more like 15 cos 3 hands doing hi-5! baby R is sure comfortable with dap as she has seen dap so many times, the most among my frens!

i was glad we did come to the park for the shoot cos as we walked along the wooden platform, the backdrop changes. i love all the elements that make up this park! the cement hexagon bridges are rather special to me, a contrast to the greenery and i am glad its not a wooden bridge! i love the way the plants are scape in the pond!

baby r's patience ran dry after walking halfway around the pond! she was prob feeling the heat too! daddy had to hold onto our struggling little one and she wanted her way - she wanted to walk on her own, she doesnt like to be restricted! so dear daddy held her hand high and stroll next to her while she walked on the cement bench next to the pond.

when the bench had a gap for pavement, daddy make her fly in the air to get to the other bench! she isnt afraid at all... she LOVEs it! then daddy make her leap thru the next bench! this made our little one very happy!

daddy was tired and he stopped and helped dap and i take a shot while he held baby R very near him as she stood on the cement bench. daddy managed to take 2 shot and i cropped one of it to give the photo more greenery and a different feel.

the stoned curve bridges are unique too! there were 2 arch bridges towards the end of the park. i like the pic of baby R with her arm up like indicating she is strong! then i sang Nobody nobody to her as i held her on the bridge and she pointed her tiny fingers when i said But YOU!

now that baby R walks, she likes to explore on her own... she wants to walk. not that its not a good thing as it relieves our hand muscle but chasing her is more taxing! she struggled to come down when she saw the the stepping stones pavement cos she saw how near she could get to the water!

no way she could cross on her own, not even when daddy hold her as the gap between the steps, she could fall into the pond and i kept nagging as i dun want to risk having a wet baby! so daddy carried her across! then we got to the "maze" bridge! old feature of park makes me really happy as it was a nice place to catch some shots!

where did baby R go? we each held onto her hand.... and she was nicely covered by the cement hexagon!

daddy and mummy jus want another couple shot!

becos baby R was standing low, she saw dap and dap was so professional to get low to get a shot of baby R and she told us to get down too as she saw interesting compostion! love our hexagon shots alot! baby R was of cos most excited as she was captured in the camera cos she prob tot its playing peek-a-boo with aunty dapdap!

love the cat-tail plants and the trees and bridge in this garden!

the park is home to a breed of dragonflies which is golden in colour. forgot the name of the breed

and there were tortoises in the lotus area.

while dap tried to take one more shot for daddy and mummy... the baby sneak and ran very fast away from aunty dapdap! gave us all a shock! daddy went chasing her and she really ran very far from us! this is the same tiny flower i took a few years ago in botanic gardens. it resembles orchid but a really tiny breed! the stems are zigzaggy!

the blur shot taken by me wasnt intentional but it was a perfect ending shot for the video!

daddy walked really fast... he was really trying to get out of the hot weather! he was also tired walking thru the park being the sole person who carried the 10kg baby! i was glad we went to tpy park as i love the pics taken there and the place wasnt crowded! there were people jogging, youngster taking portfolio too, lucky not many people sitting around the park so we had very nice photos without others in them!

i hope to walk the years with you, holding your hands, till old.

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary!

2010-11-12T11:11:00.000+08:00

18th September 2010, Sunny Saturday - Special thanks to my dearest fren Dap! Can't thank you enough aunty dapdap for waking especially early on a Saturday and for travelling all the way to meet us! The photos yuo took were spectacular! it captured alot of moments that i can't stop smiling when i saw yuor works! i am very thankful that you agreed to help us out as Gx was most comfortable with you and baby R sure loves having you around and nevertheless i am most at ease that you shared our special day! THANK YOU DAP!

its our fifth year... before the day came, i was thinking of having of having alot of things for our 5th year. Wanted to get a matching pair of rings, but the prices of gold escalated till everything seems unaffordable and not worth it. Wanted to go on a holiday, a short trip and then suddenly we even had plans to fly all the way to Shanghai... but we scape the plans cos we got worried for baby R's ears, not sure if she could take the air pressure.... wanted a studio photoshoot, wear something glam and take shots with baby R.... but Gx wasnt game for the idea... but he agreed to take shots outdoor... and i was to find our photographer. So glad dap, you came along cos we love your company!

Part 1 at Toa Payoh Gardens

Part 2 at Changi Beach

far from catching up and caught up with my very 1st post

2010-11-12T09:50:00.001+08:00

been busy. sourcing for things for my gal from books to clothes to toys and i want everything but i can't afford all but we are still lucky to have very nice handdowns from my little cousins, baby R's little yiyis from toys to clothes. jus took out a new set of clothings from the hands down big bag and got her some new pjs and new sweats, dress, tees washed! she has grown bigger and her existing pj pants leave marks on her waist!

we attended all the major events and i am happy that everything went smoothly. still working on my next post which is the photoshoot dap took for our family! Super big thanks to my dearest fren! she did a great job capturing beautiful pics and moments for us on my 5th wedding anniversary! thanks so much! alot of parties and weddings - i loved it that i got to dress up esp for my bro's wedding! i am still so stuck with my entries dated back to Septemeber and its oredi Novemeber! alot happened in October too....

irene suggested me using wordpress to load my photos easily imported from FB but i somehow am an idiot.. haha dun know how in the world to catch up with my drafts saved in blogger so i did set it up but so far i still decided to stay with my blogger account... then i discovered my very very 1st blog when i was looking for an email for a scone recipe. My space with msn was the 1st place i started grumbling and dating some pre-wedding stress and events that happen up to my wedding and after. so since i have uploaded the present entries from blogger, i decided to move the entries from my space to word press too.. so now i have a complete collection of all my posts here at http://elsiethng.wordpress.com/

how in the world am i gog to catch September and October and November? slowly but surely i guess.

words at 16th mths

2010-11-02T16:02:00.000+08:00

GO!

(she would be at the door ready to GO!)

GOAL!!!

(she would shout GOAL when anyone watches soccer!)

ball

(daddy is pretty worried cos she loves to kick ball!)

GO OUT!

(just last Saturday baby R told my mum and she pointed to the door!)

Where?

(when she is looking for something, she would ask)

Whereee's it?

(just yesterday, in SIL's room, she kept asking!!!)

there!

(she would exclaimed when the thing she wants is found!)

jiejie

(she mouth the words out last week when she was looking for the little gal next door!)

Mmmalk! (milk)

(whenever i ask her if she wanted milk and she has to reply to confirm her order!)

GONG!

(always calls my fil very loudly! funny thing is that she doesnt call my dad yet which is gongong!)

ah Ma

(she is the 3rd person to be called by her! baby R master this long ago)

Papa

(she always wakes up and say papa...looking for papa who is at work!)

DADA!

(for fun baby R will call her daddy, dada!)

DaaaaDiii!

(in a very angry tone sometimes she would exclaimed loudly, esp when she is frustrated

- gx say she imitate me! cos when i need help urgently or

when baby R is very out of hand i would scream DaaaDi!)

Mami

(hardly she calls for me as i am always near her! once in a blue moon she would call me sweetly)

Maama

(when she wakes up in the morning and i dun seem to see her, which i pretend, jus to hear her call me!)

popo

(my funny girl would mouth these words with her softest volume!

and to make things worse, Popo say she can hear.... ergh!)

these are some words that she has been saying and some very new addition this month! baby R at 16mths understand alot of things and she know 4 languages - english, chinese, teochew and some cantonese. she listens to korean and japanese songs too! she watch pretty much 2-3 hours of cartoon in the morning with my mil... something she enjoys as she loves songs and of cos dance too! she loves watching advertisments when i catch my tv serials. she has a great sense of humour and she knows how to get her way... which is something i need to correct her as i am having difficulties carrying out my discipline when there is more than one voice and not all grandparents are on the same line as i have set the rules to be... very playful, climbing all over, curious little one, willing to learn, very expressive and very loving. i wish only that she is alittle more tone down so that people around her won't feel their heart pop-out everytime she starts to run about!

18th September Morning Sun

2010-10-30T16:05:00.001+08:00

18th September 2010, Saturday. beautiful weather! i woke up early as i needed to prep baby R's porridge early as we were planned a photoshoot for our 5th wedding anniversary! when i saw the rays in my room, it looked so orangy and when i took a look at the sun, it was so round!

when i was in the kitchen, the sun shone so brightly at me, i couldnt help running back to my room to grab the camera to take a few shots of the beautiful sun! its sure a good sign to see such warm sun rays in the morning as i prayed for a good day for our family shoot!

mischievous baby R and mummy surprise daddy

2010-10-29T17:34:00.000+08:00

baby R was the only one who know where i kept the surprise gift.

baby R kept pointing to the gift after she saw me placing high up on the shelf and she kept saying "there, There...." so i told her that she would have to help me tell daddy where to find the present and she knodded her head!

baby R wrestled daddy and had so much fun till she forgot what she was suppose to do... she didnt point to the present and she wanted to play with daddy till i had to hint very loudly where daddy could find his 5th anniversary gift! then baby R suddenly pointed to the shelf and told daddy "there!"

baby R was excited when daddy took the present off the shelf!

she wanted to help so much with the wrapper!

somehow she always sticks out her tongue!

daddy was surprised that i had gotten him a gift.... i knew he would exclaimed "another belt" and he sure did! this is prob the 4th belt i got him! this time i got him a casual fred perry belt so he can wear on weekends and not having to need to get one of those black belt which makes him feel as he is going to work!

as papa is busy examining the belt, baby R is busy trying to put the box together again! when she tried so many times and she failed, she wanted to remove the ribbon on the box and she went on with her own fun while i sat there taking pics of my beloved little family members.

wonder when she grows up, will she be able to keep surprises a secret?

my comfort food

2010-10-29T17:28:00.000+08:00

a bowl of hot soupy soury laska maggi noodles with 4 meatballs warms my heart and fill my tummy!