Hanging on- a simple task and yet so significant

Last weekend in early March 2013, we were on our typical weekend outing to Changi Airport. Derek was accompanying Gerrard at the Singkids indoor playground and it is the first time that I see Gerrard is able to hold onto the spinning carousel independently. This may be such a simple task to others but it is so memorable for me because Gerrard has taken another step to build up his confidence. His smile is so genuine and I am sure in his heart, he is so proud of himself for conquering this. Thanks to Daddy!!

 

 

The FIRST time we had Western Food as a family outdoors

Sometime in mid February 2013, we had our FIRST western food meal as a family outdoors. A "proper" one meaning everything in the menu is western food. Western food has never been our choice because Gerrard prefers Chinese cuisine that contains his 4 main must-haves: Rice, Vegetables, Meat and Soup. Maybe it could be due to too much of Chinese food dining (plus the recent CNY feasting), we wanted something different for a change and the experience was really nice as we went to one of the best western food casual dining I've eaten- LENAS at Tampines 1. 

LENAS is an American Italian restaurant that serves decent food at decent prices. Although the main course serving is not very huge, the side dishes are and it tastes great. Overall, we felt satisfied and full after our dinner and Gerrard was happy with his first attempt at Western food =)

The first time he donned a Chinese ethnic costume - Feb 2012

We decided it's time to get him a set of Chinese ethnic costume as he is now older and school is always asking them to come dressed in ethnic costumes on 1. Chinese New Year celebrations & 2. Racial Harmony Day. I think he looks pretty suave =)

This is also the first year I had a real CNY plant at home- we got the pussy willow from Ikea at a cheap price.

See? He is now almost taller than the plant!

Hi FIVE!- 30 January 2013

In a twinkle of an eye, Gerrard is now a 5 year old big boy. Big boy indeed because it seems just not long ago where I was wishing time to pass faster so that he'll grow up sooner. This year, it felt especially 'real' when I look at him and see, oh boy, how much he has grown, physically and emotionally. And I did a silent prayer that time will pass slower, let me enjoy more kid-moments with my boy please. 

We had a family celebration at our place a week before his birthday. Gerrard was really excited and had a really fun time with his cousins. I was just busy with the guests, checking sure the kids are ok, the food is ok etc that I didn't have much opportunities to take pictures with him. However, seeing that everyone is happily enjoying themselves, this means more than anything. 

 

It's my party!

 

Goodie bags for the kids

Our lovely relatives

Gerrard & his cousin, Faith

 I ordered the cake from eCreative and it was a good choice I've made. I did some research online but couldn't find many nice (and affordable) 'Alphabet' cakes. Given that Gerrard loves Alphabets, I didn't want to disappoint him and I was delighted to find a nice one from eCreative and he chose it himself when I showed him the picture online. The 2kg cake was quite a good size for our crowd of about 40 pax and although it had a plain vanilla flavour, it still tasted pretty good! 

Gerrard looks on curiously- he was really surprised to see the Alphabet cake in real life!

 

 

 

  

 

What a busy day- we could only find a chance to take a family picture in the kitchen!

Gerrard had more than 3 servings of the cake and we let him =)

On his actual day, we took leave from work and planned to spend a day with just the 3 of us. As it was a school day, we fetched him to school in the morning and only managed to go out after he woke up from his nap. We decided to explore a new place, Polliwogs at Robertson Walk as I've heard some good reviews about it. Overall, the place is good but Amazonia is still better as it's bigger and the wave slides at Amazonia is still the best. After the indoor fun, we took a leisurely walk along Clarke Quay before settling for dinner at Swissotel Merchant Court which coincidentally was the place we had our ROM ceremony so it felt special when we revisited the place with Gerrard now. 

I hope Gerrard enjoys the celebrations as much as the efforts we've put in and wish him many many many more great celebrations to come!

The FIRST Passport Stamp- 2 Dec 2012

Gerrard had his FIRST trip out of Singapore today! We drove to visit Grandma's hometown in Malaysia and plan to stay one night there and coming back to Singapore on 3 Dec. Sounds relatively straightforward? Well, our bags were filled to the brim with the usual "staycation" kind of stuff but somehow, it felt like there are more things to pack because it's in the kampong and I just had to bring extras of everything in case I can't get it there. I even brought along an extra tin of milk powder!

Just for fun, I tried to wiki Sagil (the kampong we went to) and true enough, there isn't much write-ups as it is a small village. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagil

Sagil is a small town in Tangkak, Ledang in Muar region in the northern part Johor, Malaysia. Sagil is situated not far away from the border of Johor with Melaka. Air Panas Water Fall is located here, and to access to the peak of Gunung Ledang.Gunung Ledang is around 5 minute drive distance from sagil town.
We didn't go to Air Panas Waterfall as it is a distance away and is not really safe for small kids to play in.

An idea of where Sagil is situated..it's about 250km from Singapore!

It was a rather long drive, about 4 hours from Singapore and our bodies were aching by the time we reached in the afternoon. We spent the 1st day visiting our relatives but the weather wasn't good. By dinner time, it was a huge downpour and Derek was drenched to the skin while sheltering us with a small umbrella that was the only one we had. We didn't sleep well that night as it was very cold so as expected, I woke up with a very bad case of running nose and was sneezing non-stop since morning.

Had a "farewell" lunch of Bak-Kut-Teh at Tangkak (the nearest "town") and started off for Singapore. Upon reaching the causeway, it rained heavily again, in fact, I think it was raining the whole day in Singapore too. Came back, did 2 loads of laundry and felt really tired. Poor Gerrard also had 6 mosquito bites on his hands and legs =( Although the trip was nothing exciting to talk about, I felt truly grateful for 2 things:

1. Derek is such a great help during the trip, he entertained Gerrard, helped to carry him, chatted with my relatives and encouraged me when I am feeling upset over the minor things eg. weather too hot, room too cold, waiting too long etc. 
2. Gerrard is such a good natured boy during the trip. Despite us making wrong turns on the way, the food not to his liking, no internet for him to watch Hi-5 and so many mosquito bites, he didn't complain and made me laugh instead. 

I love these 2 boys in my life. So much.

Disney Live! Mickey's Rockin' Road Show 28 November 2012

We went for our First ever theatre show today - the Mickey Mouse Rockin' Road Show. It was at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre and the story was about Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy setting out on a zany road trip to find "talents" around the world to perform in their talent show. Gerrard was really excited for his first theatre show and kept hurrying and reminding us of the time throughout dinner. 

 Very happy with his popcorn that he wants it in every picture!

The Grand Theatre is really huge- it is a world class theatre that can seat 2,155 guests over three levels. I had a majestic feeling the moment I stepped in and imagined the number of great shows that must have taken place there since it opened. 

 Waiting eagerly for the show to start

 Popcorn again!

Through the incorporation of a giant video screen and multiple scenic projection panels, we were treated to a truly visual experience and whisked away on literally a road trip with Mickey & Friends! The moving backdrop took us through country hillsides, a cactus-filled desert, a royal village and even underwater!

  

  

 Cinderella- the singing talent

 

 Tigger, the bouncy talent

 Buzz Lightyear 

 The Grand Finale

Gerrard enjoyed the show although he was disappointed that he couldn't see his favourite Daisy Duck! And guess what, the characters he remembered (and liked) from the show are Cinderella's 2 step sisters! I think they are really funny and made him laugh with their performance =)

The duration of the show is just right for kids and I think 4-5 years old is a good age to bring them to such shows. If the kids are too young, they may not really understand the performance or be startled by the loud music and exaggerated movements. This show is a combination of hilarious escapades, hip music and modern choreography that fuse together to present the Disney characters. It is a fun filled getaway in the middle of the week!