Our Christmas Party

Our customary Christmas party was held as usual on Christmas eve. This year it was held in the condo (the house is not ready yet). Everyone arrived early this year. Why? Because there were several other units in the condo having a party and our guests also wanted to avoid the crowd heading out for Christmas celebrations.

So by 7.00pm everyone was here. Including our Christmas turkey that Uncle Sin Tien had brought along. Our guests were kept entertained with a movie and later some music while Ah Ma was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. On top of the turkey there was roast chicken thigh, prawns, sausages and 2 salads. Everyone certainly enjoyed the dinner. It was delicious. Even you enjoyed yourself, sitting at the "children's table" with your 2 cousins, tucking in your dinner (sausages and chicken).

After dinner, we relaxed a while and then you kids picked your Christmas stockings. It was hung low enough so that you could take them yourselves. You were all excited when you discovered a stuffed toy, a handmade gingerbread man, smarties, candy cane and a boxed drink. Ah.. but that was not the end of it. You kiddies had to "work" for it. Yup, you had to give out the presents to the rest of our guests. Well, it was more like Anna che-che working (it's her 3rd year working! *grin*) while you and Abby were preoccupied with your toys in the Christmas stocking.

Everyone opened their presents and next was time for dessert. What was on the menu? Cake and ice-cream. Ah Ma had bought the famous chocolate mud cake from Sunflower while 5th Great-Grandaunt baked an apple cake. Uncle Sin Chuan brought with him Movenpick ice-cream. It was a wonderful party and I'm sure everyone had a wonderful time. I know you did. You got so many presents. I'm also sure that Abby had a wonderful time. She did not want to go home when everyone else left!

Here are the pictures. Daddy took quite a lot, so I put them in a slide:

Who Came Visiting?

Ee-ee came to spend some time with us. I had initially planned to leave you with daddy, but after giving it some thought, it was easier for me to leave the house with you than to leave with you crying away with Ah Ma as I close the door. Ee-ee had to work half day so she left work at around 11am to pick us up.

She stayed around to play with you before we headed out for lunch. She treated us to Dim Sum in Forum in a place that you can recognise, Island Plaza. You certainly enjoyed the lunch. I guess best of all is the pau. You love to eat pau.

After lunch, we went to kai-kai a bit in Metrojaya. Nothing much to see, so we headed home. By then, daddy was already back from his golf game and playing his games. Ee-ee chatted a while and you kept her entertained (or is it stressed) with your new fishing toy. She even tried to take pictures of you. Of course, being the cheeky you, you quickly looked away the moment she takes out the camera! In the end, she managed to get around 8 decent looking ones.

We had a great time with ee-ee. Here's a nice shot of you and her in Forum:

Bye-Bye Sing-nang-por

Wow.. time sure flies. It's our last day and we woke up early to say bye-bye to Ee Poh and Teo Kong before they went to work. Also our flight was at 11am, so we had to get ready and head to the airport. We chatted with Ee Poh while Toe Kong got ready for work. You kept telling Ee Poh "We're going to the airport a-ginnn" and kept repeating the "a-ginnn" word. Haha..

Managed to get this picture of you with Zowy. You sure love to pet her. She's a very patient dog.

By the time we arrived at the airport, Ah Kong and Ah Ma were already there. You'd dozed off on the way to the airport but the moment I got off the taxi you woke up. We checked in and took this beautiful picture:

Wow, even the airport is all nicely decorated for Christmas. While waiting for our flight, we took the train to Terminal 3. You loved riding on the train. Too bad we didn't have more time to let you ride more. Before heading to the departure hall, we quickly stopped at the toy shop for you to pick a train.

The flight was full and the moment we sat down, you asked me why the chair wasn't red, like the one you sat on our way to Singapore. You next question was where was the pink Smarties that you'd dropped on our trip to Singapore. You sure do have elephant memory. you even thought that we'd be having fried rice like we did on our way to Singapore. Instead they served pizza or fried noodles. Daddy ordered the latter for you. And you ate 1/2 of the portion.

We arrived and Uncle Sin Chuan was there to pick us up. You must be very tired as you dozed off in my arms again on the way home. We're home and I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I know daddy and I had a great time with you.

Our Day Out

Daddy woke up really early. Why? Because he had to reach the ferry terminal by 7.30am. Where did he go? To play golf, where else. He was to meet Ah Kong, Uncle KK and Uncle Phang to go to Bintan Island to play in the Ria Bintan golf course. What were we going to do while he was off? Well we slept in until around 8.30am. Mummy had initially planned on going to IMM but Ah Ma insisted that we headed to town to join the ladies. Sigh.. there goes my plans.

So we had breakfast and Aunty Connie helped call us a taxi which came 5 minutes later. They sure are efficient there. Thankfully you sat (rather) quietly throughout the whole trip to the city and we headed to Ah Ma's room. When everyone arrived, we headed to VivoCity. Looked around, bought some stuff and even went to Toys R Us. It was so crowded and the queue to pay was so long. So gave up and since Aunty May wasn't feeling well, we left. We wanted to go back to rest but since you said that you weren't tired, we headed to Tanglin Mall (if I recall correctly) for tea. You had ice-cream while the ladies had some Chinese desserts. Yummy. Before we left, you managed to see Strawberry Shortcake make an appearance.

Went back to the hotel for a rest. It was already close to 5pm by then. Instead of sleeping, you insisted that you wanted milk (darn.. should have brought along that box of milk that Aunty Connie wanted to give you). So we had to order room service and after a rather lengthy wait, the milk came. You finished the whole cup before finally falling asleep. Ah Ma woke us up and mummy quickly gave you a shower before Aunty Ruth arrived. We headed to Long Beach Seafood Restaurant and the ladies ordered some fried rice for you while waiting for the men to arrive. Of course, you were up to no good and being naughty and spat out your food. What to do? Mummy was already very tired and you got a good scolding from me. At last daddy arrived and took over from me. The seafood was delicious. Uncle KK even ordered the special Sri Lankan crab that was very big (around 2.5kg) cooked Chilli Crab style.

Aunty Ruth and Uncle KK dropped us home and as usual, everyone was sleeping by then. It didn't take us too long before we all headed to la-la-land.

Wedding Dinner

We had no time to rest after the zoo trip. Your Ah Pek (Uncle Eu Jin) and Ah Mm (Aunty Lourdes) wanted to meet up with you too. So we quickly got ready and Teo Kong was kind enough to give us a ride to Ah Kong's hotel. Shortly after we arrived, your Ah Pek and Ah Mm arrived. What did they bring with them? A Christmas present just for you. You're such a lucky kid. They never fail to get you something when meeting you. In fact, the same goes for all your other uncles and aunties! They were kind enough to even include the batteries. You wanted to open the present, but when told to open it at our party, you happily obliged and did other things to keep our guests entertained instead.

Soon it was time to go down to wait for Uncle Phang and Aunty May who were also staying at the hotel as well as Uncle KK and Aunty Ruth. Dinner was at the Grand Shanghai Restaurant which was just across the road. When everyone arrived, we walked to the restaurant. Or should I say: we walked and daddy carried you....

As with all wedding dinners, it started late. In fact, a lot later than the dinners in Malaysia. While waiting for dinner to be served, you fed yourself the peanuts and luckily mummy brought along a packet of biscuits for you too. Oh yeah this Katie, Uncle Stanley's daughter's wedding dinner. On top of that we were kept entertained by this lady who sang songs from the 1940s (I think). And you loved the songs. (Eewwww...)

You clapped and danced to the songs especially when the bride and groom made their entrance to the song "Cha cham-bo"! That really amused the other guests sitting on our table. Dinner was fantastic but by 9.40pm, we had to make a move. WE needed to catch a taxi back to Ee Poh's house which was 30 minutes away. Since it was late, we waited and there was no taxi in sight. In the end, we walked to Ah Kong's hotel and asked for them to help us get a taxi. After a short wait a taxi came.

By the time we reached home, everyone was asleep. Walked up the stairs and as usual, you had a lot to ask:

Evan: Mummy, where is everyone?

Mummy: Shh.. they're sleeping. Talk quietly

Evan: Why is everyone sleeping?

Mummy: Sshh... not so loud, you'll wake everyone up!

Evan: Why?

Hhmm.. try as I might, you refused to whisper. Instead you chose to talk loudly. Went up to change and you decided that you wanted milk. Sigh.. our room is on the 3rd floor! I wanted to sneak down quietly to get your milk, but by the time I struggled with the lock you heard me and so we had to head downstairs with you talking loudly again! Up we went again and shortly after drinking up all your milk we were all asleep! What a tiring day.

What will we see at the zoo?

What will we see at the zoo? What will we see at the zoo-zee-zoo?

And that's what is sung in your Barney DVD that you have. When asked this question, you'd say: nai-yan (lion), monkey and tiger. Sometimes you'll also say gi-yaff and zebra. We hoped you'd like the zoo as much as we did when we visited the zoos when we were studying.

We woke up early in hope of spending a lot of time at the zoo. So by 8.30am we were ready. But er... your uncles (Julian and Ashley) were not up yet. So we watched TV while waiting for them to get ready. At last we packed into Teo Kong's car and headed for brunch The Prata Place. The Sinagpore Zoo is actually very nearby to Ee Poh's house. Mummy ordered some banana prate for you, but you weren't too interested. Instead, you downed all my Milo so i had to order another one. After breakfast we headed to the zoo.

Goodness me, it was crowded! I guess with it being a Sunday and a school holiday, the zoo was one of the places to be with children. So while Teo Kong queued for the tickets daddy went to see if he could rent a stroller. We didn't want to bring your stroller along from Penang since we've experienced MANY occasions where you refused to sit in the stroller. Daddy said he managed to get the last stroller available for rent. While waiting for Teo Kong to buy the tickets (it was a VERY long queue) mummy pushed you around in the stroller which you were keen to sit in (very much to our surprise).

At long last our tickets were bought and in we went to the zoo. The first stop (for everyone entering..) was a place where you could take a photograph with the parrots. We just stopped to look for a while before heading to look for the crocodiles. Daddy wanted to take you out of the stroller to have a better look at the crocodile but shortly after lifting you out of the stroller, you insisted to be placed back in. Ok.. looks like you've taken a liking to the stroller.

We stopped and looked at many animals, including the kangaroo and monkeys and the white tiger, and stopped for a drink before you decided that you'd had enough of the stroller. That was when you got daddy very angry. You wanted to push the stroller and the zoo tram was moving on the road. Try as I could, I could not convince you to get back into the stroller. In the end, we had to force you into the stroller (which included a lot of wailing and crying from you) and pushed you towards where there was an elephant show. We rested a while while looking at the elephants. After that we walked a little more but seems like everyone was getting tired. In the end, we headed towards the nearest tram stop and hopped on to the tram for a ride to rest our weary legs. WE hopped off at one of the stops since it was feeding time for the polar bear. But it was so very crowded and by the time we arrived, the polar bear had eating. So back we went onto the next tram and took another round until we came to the stop near the orang utans. On one of the tram ride there was a nice man who even shared his son's KFC nugget with you.

We walked and looked at all the giant cats: lion, cheetah, leopard. Enjoyed the beautiful flowers hopped onto the tram again to head towards the nearest exit. By then it was already 2.30pm and we needed to rest before our dinner. It started to drizzle a little, so it was perfect timing that we'd decided to go off. Before that we headed to have some tea since we only had brunch. Instead of eating, you fell asleep on the way to brunch and only woke up after we finished. So we went home to get ready but before that, Aunty Connie made you some bread and Milo.

Sing-nang-por, here we come!

Have been trying to get you prepared for out trip to Singapore and the airplane ride. But you only seemed to be interested in going to the airport. Maybe it's because most of our visitors will "go to airport" when the time comes for them to go home. Anyhow, of course last night I tried to get you to sleep earlier, but the excitement of packing kept you up. And you finally went to sleep past 11pm.

This morning, we woke up to have a leisurely breakfast but let you sleep on. We didn't want a grouchy little guy to bring along to Sing-nang-por (that what you called "Singapore"). You finally woke up by yourself in a very cheerful mood at close to 9am. Fed you your breakfast and got ready for our trip. We packed Ah Ma's car and off we went to the airport, dropping y the golf club along the way.

We checked in while daddy parked the car in the factory and waited for Uncle Sin Tien to pick him and drop him at the airport. While waiting we looked at the fish and since it was almost noon, we bought some of your "favourite chippies" for you to enjoy. When daddy arrived, we went into the departure hall for you to enjoy looking at the airplanes.

Enjoying your chippies

Soon it was time to board and as expected, you refused to sit on your own seat. Nevermind.. the plane was not taking off yet and it was very hot inside the plane. At long last we took off and I managed to convince you to sit in your place as we took off. Lunch was served and you had fried rice. In fact, it was a full course with jelly and juice (which you didn't want) and also plain water. After that you ate some of the Smarties that was in my bag (which caused my handbag to be scanned twice!). You got a bit upset as you finished all the chocolate and dropped one pink one on the floor.

We arrived in Changi airport and on the outside of the departure hall you saw this:

Of course we had to stop to take a picture before going to clear immigration and collect our luggage. 4th Ee Poh was already waiting for us. Aunty Ruth and Uncle KK was also waiting for Ah Kong and Ah Ma. We went off in Teo Kong's car while Ah Kong and Ah Ma went with their friends. You dozed off in the car but woke up as I carried you into the house. Why? Because their dog, Zowy barked at me. Ee Poh gave you some toys to keep you entertained, but after a while we were too tired and the 3 of us went off to take a nap. Woke up and freshened up before dinner time. What was on the menu? 4 Teo Kong had cooked up a storm! He was showing off his "culinary skills" with a full course dinner: lentil soup, steak and gravy complete with salad, mashed potatoes and green peas and complete with ice-cream for dessert and of course wine.

Yummy mashed potatoes

Steak.. oo-la-la

Picture time with Teo Kong, Ee Poh, Uncle Julian and Uncle Ashley

After dinner, we headed down town for a look at the Christmas lights along Orchard Road. By then it was close to 9.30pm and yet there was traffic jam! Can you imagine that? Still, no trip to Singapore during Christmas time is complete without looking at the lights and decorations on Orchard Road.After enjoying the sights, we headed home for a late night drink of milk for you before going off to bed. We have a busy day planned for day 2 in Sing-nang-por.

Early Morning

I guess since you had enough sleep yesterday and also had been sleeping in over the long weekend, you had enough stored. Why do I say so? Because you decided to wake up at 6am and ask me to sing a song for you. So I sang a (half-dead sounding) Jingle Bells. But noooOooo... that's not what you wanted. You asked me to sing you another song, but I ignored you and tried to continue with my sleep. Thankfully you decided to lie around (and on me too!) until my alarm clock rang. Even after that you were lying around and I thought that you'd gone back to sleep.

My mistake. You let me get out of bed and give me a few minutes alone in the bathroom before I heard a "mummy.." and the sound of little feet running towards the bathroom. Sigh.. there goes my morning. I had to help you brush your teeth and you wanted to help me with my contact lenses.. Asked you to go accompany daddy in bed, but you refused. Sigh...

When I told you I needed to get ready to go to work, you told me that I needn't go to work. Aiyo.. then you also said that daddy didn't have to work too. So of course you had to be persuaded to let us go to work when the time came for us to go off. At first you asked me to wait for you to finish your multi-grain. Then you stalled further by asked me to feed you your milk. When that was finished you still insisted that I stay with you.

At long last after telling you this and that you finally agreed to let us to go work. Of course before we left, we were each given a kiss and a big hug from you. What a way to start our day. Makes me wish I was back at home playing with you instead...

How did it go?

Sigh.. I have been relaxing so much over the long weekend and totally forgot to post on how daddy's birthday celebration went. A week ahead I had asked Ah Kong and Ah Ma to keep their day clear. So we were all set for dinner. But where to? The first place I had in mind did not accept reservations. So after thinking for a while, I decided to scrap that place. What if we ended up having to wait a long time for a table in the non-smoking area?

On Thursday morning as we were driving to work, daddy lamented that there is no chance for him to go to the new Irish restaurant with me. Why? Because I don't drink. So.. I decided to try my luck and booked a table for the night. In fact when I called the manager, he said that they didn't have a baby chair, but he'd go get one for you. Lucky you...

Good thing daddy didn't have any late meetings, otherwise dinner could easily be as late as 8.00pm. Anyhow, we arrived home earlier than other days of the week and everyone freshened up before heading to Shenanigan's Restaurant and Bar. It's only been open for 4 days. Hehe.. so we ordered our food, but had to wait quite a while before we were served. Sadly the food left much to be desired for. The service was slow and nothing spectacular about the food. But.. at least daddy and Ah Kong enjoyed their Guinness and Kilkenny.

Went home for this:

You were so excited when you saw the candle. In fact I had to light the candle a second time because you blew out the candle even before we finished the first line of the birthday song. The lady who made the cake could not deliver. So lucky thing Ah Ma could go pick up the cupcakes.

Happy Birthday to daddy again...

Birthday Pictures

What did you do yesterday?

Daddy took leave to accompany you yesterday. Why? Because there was supposed to be no electricity in the house and he worried that you'd get too hot. So he planned to bring you out to one of the malls. There was supposed to be a generator, but we thought that it would be for the lifts only. It turned out to be for the whole condo. Anyway, since daddy had already taken leave (and mummy couldn't..sigh) we met up for lunch. You guys picked me up and we went for lunch.

Before we could eat, we needed to wait for Ah Ma to come to QueensbayMall. First stop was to look at the Christmas tree. You were so awed and excited to see the beautiful decorations. Next we took you to sit on one of the rides and then bought you a pair of dungarees and Ah Ma wasn't there yet. So where to next? Went into Jusco to play drum. I'm surprised that you can still remember and even how to get to the amusement area since it's been a long time since we've brought you to Queensbay Mall.

Ah Ma finally arrived and we had lunch in Dragon-I. We ordered some food and you enjoyed the fried beef noodles, ate 2 of the "Siu Long Pau" and even ate the "Chung Yau Peng" (I saw that you had noticed the greenies on it.. but you ate without a sound and even asked for more!). After lunch Ah Ma dropped me back at the office while daddy brought you to continue with your kai-kai. You didn't even look back at me after saying "bye mummy". Sob... So excited about playing that you just about ignored me when I walked away. Then again, it's better this way than for daddy to struggle with a crying toddler.

You were there at the mall for another 30 minutes before you both left and daddy called to say that you'd fallen asleep on the way home, despite telling daddy that "Evan not tai-yad (tired)". In fact you napped for almost 3 hours. So when mummy arrived home, you were all alert and happy.

That wasn't the end of your day. We went out to have dinner at Starview with Nanna, Ah Chor, 4th Ee Poh, 4th Teo Kong and your 2 uncles. After dinner we went to their hotel to cut daddy's cake, chat a little before leaving at close to 11pm!

Way past your bedtime, but you stayed awake longer than daddy! I guess daddy was all tired out from taking care of you for the whole day. I think you had a wonderful time yesterday. To make things worse, you refused to let us go to work this morning. Yup, you slept so late, but you were up at 7am. I wonder where you get all that energy from.

Happy Birthday to Daddy

More New Words

Mummy hitched a ride back home with Ah Kong one of those days since daddy had a dinner with his friends that night. And Ah Kong mentioned that you had picked a new word. What was it?

I think so..

Of course, this big procrastinator never got around to posting about it until now. In fact, you have picked up a few new verses. What else?

I don't think so

And even when we're talking you'd tell me O course. So many new words. This morning you woke up early and we were drawing in the small room and you told me One for you, two for me, one for you, two for me. But when you said "two for me" you gave yourself one marker only.

And you've started to negotiate too. You didn't want me to go to work, so what did you tell me? Wait for Evan to minish (finish) Milo first. Then mummy can go. BUT you drank some of the milo and stopped. So how can I leave if your Milo was not finished yet?

Worst of all are the little ears listening and copying. We were driving out for dinner on Friday and you heard "Why the h*** did I take this road?" and shortly after that the owner of the little ears also repeated the same phrase (twice!).

So lesson to everyone (everyone at home has been warned)... Little ears are always listening. Be careful of what we're saying..

Our Morning Rendezvous

And it was a very early morning rendezvous!

I had no idea what time exactly it was when you decided to wake up, and tell mummy to turn on the small lamp which is placed by my bedside. At first I thought that you were talking in your sleep. So I ignored you. But you repeated the request so I had no choice but to reach out and turn on the lamp. Ok so I thought that you'd go back to sleep after that. Nope..

After lying around, you asked mummy to sing a song. Sigh.. Ok "twinkle star" for you. But noooOooo... You requested for "Three songs, mummy. Twinkle star, Row boat and Happy Birthday to you.. " Sigh.. so in my half dreamy state I had to sing those three songs. Luckily you didn't ask for anything else and rolled around before continuing with your sleep.

Really wished that it was a Saturday when I woke up this morning...

Our Xmas Tree is Up!

We have been thinking of putting up the Christmas tree since last weekend. I'd usually bug daddy to bring out the tree when 1st December comes around. Why did we put up the tree earlier this year? It's because you were so awed when we went to Gurney Plaza on Saturday. You were so excited and every floor that we were on (in the new wing) you'd want to have a look at the tree and tell me: Big BIG Christmas tree!3

So I could not wait for this weekend and after dinner and your bath yesterday, daddy brought down the tree from our wardrobe and I took out the decorations. The pictures tells it all... You were so happy and excited as we put up the decorations and helped to put up some of them too.

We even turned off the lights to show you our completed tree. And you loved it! And guess what happened when it was time for your bed... As with every night, you'd look for an excuse to go outside. Your excuse used to be to ask daddy to come into the room with us. This time, you said you wanted to say goodnight to the tree. And when you walked out, I could hear you exclaim excitedly "wow! wow!". Daddy said you'd hop around the tree exclaiming! Haha..

I guess since we brought out the tree earlier, you'll have a longer time to enjoy the tree... Maybe we don't need to keep the tree away.. ever.. *grin*

Picture Time

When we had visitors a few weeks ago, we had picture time. Daddy also brought out his camera when Uncle Guo-Sen from China requested that we have a picture taken together for him to bring back with him. There was another picture including daddy and mummy, but we don't have it because it was taken using his camera and Kakak Wati cannot handle daddy's camera.

He brought along with him a VCD of the opening and closing ceremony of the recent Olympics to show us the fireworks that was created by his brother, Cai Guo-Qiang. It was amazing! We were awed the first time we saw it and still watched it intently the second time around. This time, you were there too and thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks display. In fact, on Sunday you told Ah Kong that you wanted to "see fireworks" again. So you watched the show again with Ah Kong and loved it. A pity we didn't make a copy to keep. Maybe he left that copy in Ipoh. We'll go check and make a copy of it if it's there.

Mummy...

It's funny how you have evolved from calling me Ma-ma to mummy and now you have decided to call me something else. What is it? "Mum" plain and simple. And you do it intentionally (you give me your cheeky grin when you say it). Where did you pick that up? I'm not sure. I call Nanna "mum" but it's been a while since we went back to BM. Is it possible that you learnt it from me then and only put it to use this weekend?

Actually somedays you'll call me "mummy" and others when you are in the "mood" you'd call me "mum". Hhmm... I heard you calling Ah Ma "ma-ma" also. What's next?

Uncle Sam and Aunty Pam

They are Ah Kong and Ah Ma's friends who live in US. And they usually come to Malaysia for a holiday. The last time they were in Malaysia, you were not born yet. In fact we went to Chiang Mai with them when mummy was 7 month's pregnant with you. So this is the first time you were meeting them.

Looks like you're better with strangers now. After a while you were happy to play and entertain our guests. In fact when they went to the airport for their holiday in Kota Kinabalu with Ah Kong and Ah Ma, you kept asking me where they were. After they came back, Ah Ma said that the moment you woke up every morning, you'd go look for Uncle Sam. Why? Because he lets you sit on his lap and play with his notebook. In fact he even downloaded something from the Disney website for you to play with!

Now that they've left for Singapore (to continue their vacation), you still miss them. On the day that Ah Ma dropped them at the airport, you cried. Not sure if you understood that they were going off or because you wanted to go along. Anyhow, whenever we ask you where Aunty Pam or Uncle Sam was, you'd say "Gone to airport"

Everyone feasting on the yummy dinner that Ah Ma cooked

Full Moon Party

We had a party to attend today. Nope, it is not a birthday party this time. It's a Full Moon party for Kaitlyn. It was a lunch party at Sarkies Corner in E&O Hotel. We arrived a little later because daddy had a morning golf game. We met daddy there and the moment we walked into the restaurant, you told me that you wanted a balloon. Sigh.. so I told you to wait for daddy and he'll try to get you one. The moment daddy arrived from the carpark, you told him that you wanted a balloon. Off you went with daddy while I went to take some food for you. It was way past your lunch time. What did you have? Chippies and daddy took you out to take some roti canai. There was one with banana's inside and you ate some of that. I also got you fish which you loved since you got to dip it in some tartar sauce.

Food was delicious. And since we arrived late, there was no more baby chairs available but you were quite happy to sit on your own chair in between mummy and daddy. Here are some of the pictures that daddy took:

Kaitlyn

Enjoying your purple ice-cream

Of course, before we finished with lunch, you had your pick of ice-cream and what did you pick? The purple one of course. We went out to enjoy the sea breeze and take some pictures before heading home for a much needed nap for the 3 of us.

By the way, if you're wondering why there is no pictures of you and daddy, it's because daddy said it's ok. He probably doesn't trust my ability to handle his camera!

BBQ Time

Mummy had some friends over on Friday for a BBQ party. To my surprise your shyness only lasted 5 minutes. After that, I could leave you alone with them (all 16 of them!) and you were happily entertaining them, showing them how to draw and charming them.

In fact, I could leave you with them while I prepared the garlic bread and when it was time to go down to the BBQ area, I could not find you. Why? Because you'd already gone down with one of the aunties. After showing them the area, we went up and you were in the house with daddy and Ah Ma. Lucky for me, you didn't want to stick to me like you usually do and I could entertain my friends while you were upstairs with daddy.

Just before we were done, it started to rain and we all went up to the house. Of course, you were delighted with the big crowd. After your bath, you were happily playing around when you lost your grip (while walking on all fours) and fell down. Poor thing, you wailed in pain like mad and almost immediately a "bungalow" was seen on your forehead.

The aunties and uncles left at around 9.30pm. After the accident, daddy took you into the room and kept you entertained with your latest favourite past time.. What is it? "Working on the com-tu-te" i.e. playing on the computer with the online Thomas and Friends game.

Home Alone Part 2

You woke up at 5.30 yesterday, giving me enough time to finish off most of my work. As usual, you were your grumpy self. The only response you gave for all my questions was "No need". After a bit of coaxing, you finally agreed to have your Milo and some cookies. Then we headed downstairs for a walkie-walkie (and feed the mosquitoes since mummy forgot to put the repellent for you). The security guard was delighted to see you. And he happily showed you the drain cover which would make a loud noise when you stepped on it. That's your daily ritual with Ah Ma in the mornings. Stepping on drain cover has never ceased to amuse you ever since you "discovered" them when we went on holiday last year.

As with yesterday, you woke up at around 8.30 this morning, so mummy had time to freshen up, get breakfast and log onto the company's network before you demanded for my attention. As usual, you asked to play with my computer. So anyone who heard our conversation this morning would hear a lot of "EVAN!!!" "Don't touch that" and "Go watch TV!". On top of that in all my excitement, I clicked on something that turned on the paragraph marker in my Outlook and I cannot seem to turn it off! Arghhh.... I will get daddy to help me remove it tonight.

Thank goodness these 2 days are slower days in our reporting weeks. If it were last week, I'd probably be the one at work, and daddy at home with you. Fed you your moi and of course you had to "tell" me about the veggies in your moi. Then you shared my pizza lunch with me. TO my surprise, you wanted to go to the room at around 1.10pm. Of course that didn't mean that you wanted to nap anytime soon. After another round of "persuasion" you finally napped at around 2.00pm. I got out to do some more work and you woke up at 3.15pm, wailing since no one was by your side! Sigh... So short? You're now sitting on my lap, supervising me.

We've had our Milo and biscuits (you persuaded me to have some, like yesterday telling me how delicious it was. Yup, using the word "delicious". I wonder where you picked it from). Ok, I'm going to entertain you before you ask me to go to the Thomas website. Where did you learn that from? Aha... Uncle Dennis introduced it to yuo.

Cry Baby

You've been a big cry baby lately. Every little thing will make you cry. I just don't know what to do with you. It's been worst this past week and I realised it's probably because we've got visitors.

Once before that when mummy told you not to do something, you promptly put your face on my bed and made crying sounds. I ignored you and after a while, you looked at me and said "Evan, crying wor.." with that sad face. But daddy says I'm evil, since I just told you that I didn't like cry babies. And you stopped after that! Hehe...

Well with our guests around, it got worst. Just a little louder and the flood gated will open!

Don't touch... Wwwwaaaaaa

It's hot.... Wwwaaaaa

Be careful... Wwwaaaaa

But when we went out, just the 3 of us (Evan, daddy and mummy) mummy could tell you off in any ways and you'd be fine. See? Just playing up in front of other people. Problems is that if we reprimand you in front of them, you'd only cry louder. If I were to reprimand you later.. you don't know what that was about.

What can I do with my little cry baby? Will all these naughtiness stop when you turn three? Or does turning 3 only brings on the "Horrible Threes"?

Home Alone

... with mummy.. also Kakak Wait and Furbie.. Hey, not that alone after all!

Ah Kong and Ah Ma have gone off on holiday with Aunty Pam and Uncle Sam. So since daddy was the driver, he dropped them at the airport and continued for work. As for you mummy stayed at home to take care of you. My boss was kind enough to allow me to work from home today. The initial plan was for daddy to take over on Friday (it's only fair for us to each get tortured by you one day!), but daddy had a meeting scheduled on Friday which he had to attend, so mummy had to be tortured by you on both days! Hehe.. Thankfully my boss was ok with that.

I woke up early this morning, just after they left for the airport, freshen up and logged into the company network before you woke up. In fact, you decided to sleep in a little and only woke up at 8.30am. Maybe it was because we had a late night yesterday. Daddy had another late meeting and we rushed to meet you all at that new Bulgarian restaurant on Hillside. Dinner was delicious and ended quite late. As usual, you needed some time to calm down before finally falling asleep. So you finally slept only at 11.30pm. Well, it ended up as a blessing since I had some time to myself before you woke up.

The whole morning was spent entertaining you, peeking at my e-mails and trying to do some work. And of course throughout this you tried to help me work on the computer. Sigh.. So very helpful. Even when I said I had to talk to my boss, you said "My boss is coming". Huh? Who's your boss? I know my boss at home is you... You have a boss too? Hahaha.. I guess you don't even know what "boss" means!

Fed you your lunch and ordered delivery for my lunch. Of course you had to help me finish up my pasta. Let you entertain yourself with some TV (you told me: Evan's channel 613) until around 2.30 before going to our room for your nap. Had to read and sing and sing again until you finally went to sleep. Kept asking you to sleep as I had a meeting at 3.30 and thankfully you did. You were in deep sleep at around 3.20, giving me some time to plug in the headset for the meeting.

Halfway through typing this post, you woke up and wailed. Had to go back to the room to accompany you before you went back to sleep. You seem to like to wake up in the middle of your sleep or nap to check that someone is sleeping with you. Ah Ma says that if someone is beside you, you can easily sleep for up til 3 hours!

As for now, as long as you nap for 2 hours I'd be more than happy. That will give me more time to finish some work. Maybe when you wake up, we can go downstairs for a walkie-walkie..

Tiring Weekend

It was one of those (VERY) rare occasions when Mummy had to work on a Saturday. Something like once a year, since it was our year end close. So daddy was the baby sitter for the day. I woke up early so I was ready and sitting around when you woke up. I could hear you asking for mummy but daddy indicated to me to let him try to settle you. In the end, daddy gave up and brought you out to the living room. The moment you saw me, you came to give me a big cuddle. Sigh.. why did I have to go to work???

Anyhow, daddy called a few times to let me know how it went with you. You all went to Butterworth so that Ah Ma could pick up her car. You'd already had lunch before leaving for Butterworth, but daddy said that you were upset when you could not eat some of their noodles too. It was hokkien mee.. too spicy for you. Poor little guy. You fell asleep on the way home and only woke up when the security guard called to say that Chek Kong, Chim Poh and some other relatives had arrived. Furbie was barking, the phone was ringing, you woke up from the comotion crying and daddy had to try to settle everything at once because Kakak Wati was taking a bath and Ah Kong and Ah Ma were both out.

Came home and you were so happy to see me. What a sight for sore eyes! Rested a while and got ready to go out for dinner when Ah Kong and Ah Ma came back. We drove out in two cars, bringing them to see the sights around Penang before heading for dinner in Nyonya Breeze. Dinner was yummy. We ordered a plate of fried rice with specific instructions for it not to be spicy AND no veggies.

Went home and you played a while before heading to bed.

On Sunday, you did not want to sleep in. Sigh.. we up went got and went out to entertain ourselves while daddy continued his sleep. When everyone was finally awake and Ah Ma back from the market with Chim Poh, they all headed out for more sight seeing while we rested at home. Later on we joined them for lunch in Lorong Selamat. Headed home and played a while with you until our visitors came back from their sigh seeing.

Mummy walked away while you were "drawing" with your magic pens (a present for your 2nd birthday). What a big mistake. You took it on yourself to decorate your play mats. Yup.. it was all green and Ah Ma yelled at you to stop. Too late. You'd already created a work of art out of 3 of the mats! You later came into the room to show me your art work. Even your fingers and sole of your feet were green. No pictures.. I was about to faint from the sight and had to use nail polish remover to try to clean most of it. I ended up with green fingers too. But it all looks quite clean now. Phew...

We both took a nap for 2 hours. Felt so much better then. Ah Ma was already back by then with Aunty Pam. We had some tea and later when all the golfing people were back and ready, we headed to Aunty Jenny's place for dinner. Dinner was amazing and the company great. We headed back home at around 11pm, way past your bed time, but you were still so excited and refused to go to bed. Finally after a lot of persuasion you went to bed. What a tiring weekend...

No Veggies

I have a big headache. Don't know how to get you to eat your veggies. The only time you'd take your veggies is when it's all cooked together with your moi-moi. Even then, you'd sometimes take a look at the porridge and say "Got beh-ggie wor", hoping that we'd remove the veggies. But usually Ah Ma will just sat "Eat it!" and you'd eat it without more fuss.

When it comes to dinner, where you'll eat rice and the same dishes that we eat, you'd flatly refuse to eat the veggies. You used to love the cabbage and now you refuse to eat them. Even fruits have become a no-no. You used to love the pears and apples and we could not bring out the fruits until you've finished with your rice, since you'd refuse the rice if you saw the fruits. Now, you won't eat the fruits and on Sunday you held on to the apple for a very long time (after being forced to at least eat one slice) before finally eating it. No form of persuausion or threat could make you eat more.

Daddy tried to introduce new fruits to you. But this is what he got:

P/S: Just got you to pose for this picture.

What do we do in Jusco?

You used to say "Go to Jusco.. Pi dum, bom bom bom" (play drum). Well it's been a long time since we've brought you there since we've moved. These are a few of the pictures that I found taken a while back of you playing drum:

Nowdays you'll say "Go Gurney?" as we pass Island Plaza and again when we pass Gurney Plaza. On Sunday, you told daddy "Go Gurney, buy cookie for mummy". Ok, since daddy and Ah Kong had no golf plans, we headed to Gurney Plaza. We met mummy's friend Angela and her son Joshua just as we arrived. They were leaving and Joshua's grandma even gave you one of the little cakes that Joshua was having.

We bought the cookies that you were going to "buy" for mummy then walked a while and left. Before we left, I took you to look at how the donuts at Big Apple were being made when you told me that you wanted donuts (darn.. mistake to bring you there!). So we bought some and headed home before you wanted more things!

I wonder if we're going to Gurney again this weekend...

Swimming today

Went for another swim today. Daddy had promised you that he'd bring you swimming today after he got back from golf. I had thought that he wouldn't make it since he wasn't back at 6.15. Daddy has not been playing golf for the past 3 weeks. Too many things and he's having a great time at home with you. He jokes that he can no longer recognise a golf club.

But shortly after, he arrived and we quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed downstairs. We've got to make full use of the pool, before they close it temporarily in 2 weeks time. What's happening to the pool? They're extending the pool from it's current size. So we wont have the use of the pool until it's ready.

You seems to be happier in the pool nowdays. You used to be terrified and now you happily came into the water with mummy. You even know to kick in the water. We need to get you those arm bands that I have been saying soon. Maybe we should go swimming in the club while the pool is unavailable. We'll see how it goes when the time comes...

It was an Accident

What happened? Look at your "naked" carseat:

Sigh, it happened yesterday after we went back to Nanna's house from dinner. We had to wait a while for Nanna and Grampy to reach home, since they were in Ee-ee's car. So... You peed in your pants and never said a word. I only realised when I carried you out of the carseat. Sigh.. Why? Because mummy had forgotten that you were diaper-less after your nap. And in the excitement of deciding who's going on who's car, I had forgotten to put on a diaper for you.

So while mummy gave you a shower, daddy had to assess the "damage". Luckily only the seat cover was wet, and luckily we had the "neat seat" in case it flowed through, which it didn't. Daddy brought up the carseat so that when the cover is dry, we can slowly fit it back before bringing the carseat down to be fitted into the car. We cannot figure out why you didn't say that you wanted to wee wee since you always know to tell us when we're at home. Maybe you also forgot that you diaper-less. Nevermind, accidents will happen.

Back to BM

It's been a while, so since Ah Kong and Ah Ma had a wedding dinner to attend yesterday evening, we decided to head back to BM to visit Nanna and Grampy. Also 2nd Ee Poh and Alex Ku-ku was back too. So we left after a late morning. Mummy woke up earlier while you slept until after 8am. We bought lunch for Grampy and ourselves before heading to the ferry terminal. Daddy had promised you that we'd take the ferry over to BM.

After waiting for a long time for the beef noodles, we headed to the terminal. To our delight, there was no wait and we even got to ride on the upper deck of the ferry. Wow! You enjoyed the wind and the sights and all the many ships that you could see. Daddy even told you that one of the ships had "Cranky" one of the characters from Thomas and Friends.

We had lunch as soon as we arrived in Nanna's house. The noodles were delicious. And you even had most of one packet for yourself. Later Nanna and Ee Poh arrived and after an initial shyness you warmed up to Ee Poh and she showed you the book that she bought you. It was a nice book with 3 stories and you liked it as the pages were embossed.

We dropped Ee Poh off at Ah Chor's house and dropped by to say hi to both your Ah Chors and you played a while with Jayden until mummy said that we had to go back since Ee-ee was coming over soon and you hadn't had your nap yet. This time you didn't protest when you were told to take a nap. You only insisted that you wanted to sleep in the room (mummy's old room). You slept after a while and mummy brought you downstairs again where it was cooler and daddy could watch you while I chatted with Ee-ee.

When you woke up from your nap, you were rather groggy and you looked around for mummy, spotted me and walked towards Ee-ee and hugged her. A moment later you looked at her and said "Eh, wrong one" and walked towards Grampy before finally spotting mummy again.. That was so funny.

We had dinner with Ee-ee , Teo-teo (which you pronounce as "Tor-tor"), Alex Ku-ku, Nanna and Grampy. We finally agreed to have Bah Kut Teh, which is your favourite. Luckily I didn't bathe you before dinner. You were a mess after dinner and you had a shower before we headed back to Penang. These days we have to leave earlier since we don't reach home after crossing the bridge. We've got to drive some distance to Tanjung Bungah still. Hope you had fun yesterday. You're such a lucky boy. You had 3 presents: a book from Ee Poh, another jigsaw book from Ee-ee and a Thomas mat from Nanna that 4th Ee Poh had bought a while back.

Going to Sleep

Getting you to sleep seems to be a challenge for me all the time. Just like today's afternoon nap. You'd negotiate and ask for this and that before you finally would sleep. What needed to be done today before you finally went to sleep. First to watch your Barney VCD. So after the first episode, I said we'll turn it off.. Or so I thought.. Nooo.. You said that there was another episode. So finish that first. Then when it was over, we had to go to wee wee, put on your diaper, close the curtains, arrange the pillows and finally lie down on the bed.

But no.. you weren't planning to sleep so soon yet. You needed to cover blanket for mummy, give me "lumpy" to cuddle and a bolster too. And next you needed to pick a "nice" spot to sleep. I finally gave up so I closed my eyes pretending to sleep and ignore you. There was no sound and I didn't feel any movements. So I opened my eyes to peek. Were you sleeping? No such chance! What followed next? From "Please go to sleep" to a stern "GO TO SLEEP" to "If you don't go to sleep...." which all failed to get you to sleep.

After a while to moving around and looking for a comfy spot. You finally fell asleep. How long did this process take? I honestly cannot tell you, because (not surprisingly) I'd fallen asleep before you *grin*

Sigh.. why does it take you so long to fall asleep? I wonder how difficult it is for Ah Ma to get you to nap on weekdays.. Probably a lot easier than me!

Cupcakes..

I've had this recipe from Charlotte's mummy for a long time, but I never got around to making them. So after lots of nagging from daddy, I finally got around to making them. Since the portion was rather small, I doubled it and on Tuesday, I made the cupcakes for the second time.

The first time had less banana's and wasn't fluffy enough. The second time, it turned out better. I made 20 cupcakes and 30 odd smaller ones since daddy said that you had wanted the smaller ones. What was the result of my baking? Here:

Hehe.. not the nicest looking things, but hey, I have my "fans" you and daddy. I guess they taste better than they look. This second batch had some raisins it it too. Some of them didn't have raisins because just as I was about to drop the raisins into the batter, you came into the kitchen and declared that you didn't want them. But I added to the rest of the mixture, and you ate the cupcakes with raisins anyway. Mummy also gave some to Annabelle che-che. Abby was in KL with her daddy and mummy, so I didn't pass any to her this round. I hope that you like these cupcakes. I've taken Nanna's recipe book for cookies and cakes. Maybe next time, I will bake some cookies.