January 2012- The celebrations continue...

We gathered at Derek's 3rd aunt's place for the annual family gathering on 1 Jan 2012. Usually, this gathering is on Christmas Day but as some of the family members were vacationing in Genting during the Christmas period, the gathering was held on New Year's Day instead. The adults took hold of this opportunity to catch-up while the kids played happily as always. My sister-in-law bought a packet of bubble balloons and it kept the kids entertained while the adults were busy blowing the balloons for them. It was very funny looking at the exasperated looks of the adults when their 3 mins effort of blowing each balloon was destroyed by the kids in like a split second as they grabbed and popped the balloons. The relatives also took a family portrait this time round to kick-start the new 2012.

We had a quiet and mini celebration on 6 January 2012 for Derek's 35th birthday. As it was a weekday and we both had to work on that day, I rushed to buy a small cake after work and we sang the birthday song after dinner at home. Gerrard was excited to see the cake and eagerly helped Daddy to blow out the candles. I think one of Derek's best present is that Gerrard said "Happy Birthday, Daddy" to him that morning when he woke up. Despite it being a small celebration, I really wish my hubby all the best at work, health and everything else in this new year =)

December 2011 - Happy Birthday to Po Po & Gerrard's first movie

We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday at Changi Village Hotel on 18 December 2011. It was a small gathering with Derek's immediate family and as it was also the Christmas season, the place was decorated with huge Christmas tree and the joyful trinklets. It was raining rather heavily that day but it sort of gave a "wintery" feel to the whole season, where it was pouring outside but we are enjoying great food and company in the warmth of the quiet restaurant indoors. And what's a celebration without some picture-taking to remember the ocassion by? Here it goes...



My dear boy watched his very first movie at the cinema on 26 December 2011. Alvin & The Chipmunks 3 happened to be showing at this time and I decided to "give it a go" and see if he is able to sit through a movie and most importantly, whether he enjoyed the experience. Hence, together with Shirlyn & Wendy, the 4 of us were off to the movies. In fact, this is also my first time watching a cartoon movie!

I brought along some bread for him to snack on in case he was hungry and water as well. I could see that he was paying attention to the movie and rather, it was me who was rather anxious and kept asking Gerrard whether he is ok. Until he got a little fed up and told me, "Shh... you ask Yi-Yi!" Overall, I think it was a good experience for him and the choice of movie was excellent. It's duration was slightly less than 1.5 hours that is just nice for pre-schoolers and the main cast were animals that most kids love. Additionally, the chipmunks & chipettes love to dance and sing and this provided great entertainment to the overall plot.


Up till today, he still talks of the movie and I will start to be on the lookout for future movies we can enjoy together in future.

November 2011- The month of celebrations

This year, I had a fabulous birthday with my family, thanks to thoughtful Derek who planned a dinner celebration with my family members. The food was sumptuous and we had a delightful time at our house thereafter, enjoying the cake, chatting and laughing.

22 November 2011 marks a significant milestone in Gerrard's learning journey where he performed in his very first concert. This is also a form of celebration of completing his first year of school independently. The event was held in NUS Cultural Centre and this year's theme is "Festivals Around The World". Gerrard's class carried out the second item, Japan Taiko Drum Festival and he is a "drummer". Seeing him on stage stirred up a whole lot of emotions in me that I almost teared... it just seems like my baby has grown up so much. My mind went back to Jan 2011 where he was reluctant to go to class without me, overcoming his fears and now reaching the stage where he waves me goodbye and tells me that he can go inside the class himself. He has been practising his moves and despite their young age, they are so courageous to go up and stage and complete the performance. Kudos to all our future leaders of Singapore!

My little japanese drummer

At the end of the concert, every child went on stage and sang the finale song, "We Are One" and Gerrard was really tired at the end of the day, especially since it was an almost full day of rehearsals and performance. I am sure this memorable day will stay rich in his memory and added on to his life experiences.

The best I could take from my trusty old camera + my limited photo-taking skills

Following the year end Zoophonics concert, we quickly dived straight to 26 November 2011, where it was Shirlyn's big day and Gerrard had the imperative task of opening the car door for the groom that morning. This year, he is a bit older and understands a bit more. But he is also more playful and knows how to test his limits with us. He was running up and down at the wedding solemnisation hall & during the wedding banquet. As we were still maidless then, Derek & me had to take turns to take care of this "whirl of tornado".

We took the opportunity to book a one night stay at Conrad Centennial as the banquet was expected to end late and I didn't want to rush all the way back home. It was a very quick staycation because we only reached the evening before, stayed in the room for a while to doll up & prepare, attend the banquet, slept, woke up for breakfast then we checked out. Nevertheless, Gerrard had great fun with his 7 "adopted Conrad bears" that he kept throwing & playing about and also the huge bed he jumped about in.

Tired as we were from all the events and activities, it was great joy and fun. With children, you can never have a minute of downtime, but at the same time, you will never have a minute of sadness- I guess this is what being blessed is about.