Club Magic Show

The only time that I get to watch TV is on Sunday morning ... and it is my favourite show, Club Magic!!! 

Pink Dress

A big thank you to Ms Kristy and 宋老师 who gave this very pretty pink dress as my 5th birthday present last year.  I wore it for the first time, and it fitted on me very well like a little princess ready to do ballerina.

My teachers know me best ... my love for pinky things !!! 

Key Chain Painting

Got this art kit from Trisha's birthday gift pack.  So finally, I decided to take this out and started on my art and craft.

And the final masterpiece .... a cute little elephant that I painted it with multi-colours !!!

CNY - 大年初二

On  大年初二, we had a fabulous lunch (开年) at my place with 爷爷, 奶奶, 姑姑, 叔叔, 公公, 舅舅, 舅母 and 表妹.  So Mummy prepared her 'famous' 鱼生 .... and it was the second time of the year that I did my 捞鱼生 !!!

The 捞鱼生 ceremony started !!!

We had a total of 8 dishes altogether (including the 鱼生) ... look at the fantastic spread, all thanks to Mummy and 奶奶. 

1. 鱼生

2. 蟹肉羹 (somewhat like the shark's fin soup)

3. 鲍鱼菠菜

4. 烤大虾

5. 古法式蒸鱼片

6. 烤鸡腿

7. 闷猪手 (奶奶 prepard this dish)

8. 炒银菇 (奶奶 prepard this dish)

So after the 捞鱼生, everyone sat down for a festive meal ..... Daddy bought some sparkling juice to go along with the meal.  Unfortunately for Daddy, he had food poisoning the previous day, so he did not take much of the delicious spread.

See how 表妹 was enjoying her grilled drumsticks .... enjoying it just like the KFC style

We had mochi ice cream and 汤圆 (to signify 圆圆满满) as dessert after the main course.  表妹 took her afternoon nap while 爷爷, 奶奶, 姑姑 and 叔叔 played had a friendly game of mahjong.  Daddy was in-and-out, replacing 奶奶 in some games ... and in the end, Daddy was the biggest winner !!! Haha.  But since it was just a friendly game, the stakes were pretty small.  I was a 'good' helper, checking on them to see who won, encouraging them, and helping them to throw the dices. Haha

And when 表妹 woke up, we had to go on our next round to 拜年.  公公, 舅舅, 舅母 and 表妹 went to 太姨婆 place, while Daddy, Mummy and I went to Auntie Esther's place.  Has been a long time since we saw Auntie Esther since she was travelling between Australia and Singapore to take care of her sons (my cousins) who were studying there.

Before we left, 表妹 and I went crazy running around the house. Haha

Since I did not have my afternoon nap, we left Auntie Esther's place earlier at 730 pm, so that I could come home early to sleep, ready to go to school the next day. 



CNY - 大年初一

On 大年初一, I woke up at about 830 am since I slept pretty late the night before.  Had milk and then I changed into my new dress that Daddy and Mummy had bought for me. Wore the duckling necklace that 叔叔 bought for me as my birthday gift.

And then we were ready to go to 爷爷 and 奶奶 place to 拜年.  Each of us wore clothes which had some red pattern on them .... Daddy wore a red shirt, while Mummy had a red skirt. 

奶奶 made some yam cake for breakfast for all of us.  And then it was feasting time !!! Had quite a lot of new year cookies and goodies.  Then it was again playtime with 姑姑 and 叔叔, while 奶奶 prepared lunch.  The tradition for the Kuan family is that lunch on the first day of new year is always vegetarian, and that suited me a lot .... I can eat vegetarian meals everyday, with no problem at all. Haha

After lunch, I took some photos

Taking a photo with the plants and windmill before we left for 公公 place.

See, 奶奶 helped to do some decorations around the lift since the lift was shared only between 2 families ... almost like a private lift. May all fortune fall on all who come to visit the 2 families !!! Haha. 

Then we went to 公公 place to 拜年.  舅舅, 舅母 and 表妹 went to Johor to 拜年, so there was no one to play with me.  While the adults were chatting, I was happily doing my drawing ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then 太姨婆 came along, and together, we went to Vivocity sinec Daddy and Mummy wanted to go to Giant and Cold Storage to do some more groceries, to prepare a sumptuous lunch for 初二 aka 开年. All throughout the outing, I was sticking close to 太姨婆 and she was making me so happy ..... see how heartily all of us were ....

 

Managed to complete our groceries shopping by 815 pm, and then we headed back home.  Awaiting for the following day, when I will have lots of company and good food !!!

CNY Reunion Dinner

Reunion dinner this year is steamboat with 爷爷, 奶奶, 姑姑, 叔叔, Daddy and of course Mummy.  See the wonderful spread for steam boat, with my favourite udon noodles !!!

And after dinner, it was again playtime, especially with 姑姑 and 叔叔 to entertain me. Took out Zingo (a birthday present that I got last year) and I almost won every round !!!

Then we moved on to Monopoly .... was a long game since no one went bankrupt.  And the final game, 姑姑 decided to test my maths .... using abacus.  Got most of them right, although at times, I was confused over my formula ....

Slept at 1015 pm ... getting ready for the next day, where I shall receive lots of ang bao !!!!

CNY Reunion Lunch

 Since 除夕 falls on a Sunday this year, we went to have reunion lunch at 公公 place.  While the adults were busy preparing the lunch, 表妹 and I were engrossed in watching Barney DVD .... I still like watching Barney !!! See, each of us held onto the little dragon soft toy that Daddy bought for us.

And it was time for the annual dish - 鱼生, homemade by Mummy and 舅母.  Main ingredients are red carrot, white carrot, green carrot and cucumber.  Of course we had other dishes to go with the 鱼生.  Some more food in the kitchen, so that we can make space to 捞鱼生

Time to say all the auspicious blessings before we go into action



And then it was time to 捞起.  发啦 !!!!

After lunch, it was somemore play time, before we went home to catch my afternoon nap and prepare for reunion dinner with 爷爷, 奶奶 and family

CNY 2012 Preparation

With CNY coming, we decided to go and buy some new decorations to do up the house.  Then Daddy spotted this very little cute red dragon soft toy, and showed that to me.  Of course, who can resist the cute dragon, so Daddy ended up buying 2 dragons - one for me and one for 表妹.  So you can imagine how the dragon had to be assimilated into my family of soft toy friends .... that means, from then on, it was dragon huddling to bed !!!!

 

We bought these decoration to paste on the wall near the dining area.  Mummy did the pasting, while I looked how she did it.



Then I followed suit.  Took 2 dragon decorations, went to my door and then pasted them side by side, all by myself.  Meaning, putting the scotchtape at the back of the decorations, and making sure they were of the same or similar elevaton. Tada !!! Not exactly of the same elevation, but close enough !!!



So now, we are all ready for the CNY celebration !!!

表妹的财神到

表妹 has been listening and watching the DVD on CNY song collection .... and over time, she was able to sing along.  See how cute she was as she sang along 财神到 .... pronunciation not there yet, but you can still make out what the song was

Special Homemade 肉干

This year, Mummy decided to try her hands at making 肉干 for CNY.  She searched through the Internet for recipes, before she decided on one.

Went shopping for the ingredients ...  1kg of fresh pork can make about 700g of the end product, and it all cost only about $10 !!! Because our oven is small, so Mummy had to make a few batches, but within 2 hrs, the product was out !!!

Does it look like what you get in the shops..... the taste was quite like the real thing, and its very moist. Actually its very moist cos its grilled in the oven so all the meat are being grilled in their own juice. The commercial ones are grilled in an open grill so the juice can drip down. So Mummy reckon that it can't be kept long (and of course its preservatives free).

Its actually quite easy to make.... So Mummy is making them in small batches and going to do it again nearer CNY so that I can have preservatives and colouring free 肉干 :)

独一无二的肉干 !!! Yummy and healthy

School Excursion to Chinatown

As part of CNY celebration and learning experience, my school organized an excursion to Chinatown on Friday.  Each of us was given $3 by our parents for the excursion, and the intent was for us to buy something during our excursion ... to understand the concept of money and also, bask in the festive mood.

So when Daddy came to fetch me after school, I was so excited telling him what I have seen during the excursion.

Told Daddy that I saw a super duper L....O....N....G queue outside a shop that sells 肉干. Was rather dramatic, with lots of gesturing using my hands, while I described.  Daddy was pretty amused by my actions and guessed it should be 林志源.  Also told Daddy I saw a dragon (fake one), and also 2 财神爷.  Daddy was wondering why there were 2 instead of 1 ....

I also told Daddy about the bus trip, when the bus went into an underpass which was dark, all the kids just screamed for fun .... cos it was very dark .... Daddy can imagine the bus must be really noisy and pity the teachers. Haha

So when it was time for us to buy some CNY merchandise back home, I chose the following.  A bottle of CNY goodies, strawberry yoghurt, jelly, and a pair of special chopsticks.

Have my surname imprinted on the chopsticks. Going to use that as my designated chopsticks for all my meals in future !!!

Look forward to more school adventures !!!!

Preparation for CNY 2012

Time to do some CNY decoration at home ... took down the christmas tree and time to transfer the little branches into a 银柳.  I helped to put on the fluffy little decorations, while Mummy made some fishes and lanterns out of red packets.

See how serious I was at work. 

Getting into the festive mood ..... and that means, angbaos and delicious goodies to eat !!!

最佳辩论员 Part 2

Daddy and Mummy have always felt that I am the 最佳辩论员.  They labelled me as that last year in Apr.  And now, I showed them I remained as the 最佳辩论员 again.

My first soft toy that accompanied me to bed every night was this cute little Monkey that Daddy and Mummy bought for me, when they wanted me to sleep by myself, without patting me.  And from then on, I clung onto my favourite Monkey everynight without fail.  Even had Monkey accompany me on several of my vacation trips (he took airplanes as well !!!)

Then came along Princess that Daddy and Mummy bought for me from Build-A-Bear.  And yes, I admitted that I 喜新厌旧 ... clung onto Princess, and started bringing Princess to my vacation trips .... but then, I still loved Monkey even though I admitted (shyly) that I 喜新厌旧. 

And then Cho jie-jie bought me this Hello Kitty soft toy as my Christmas present last year.  And again, the 喜新厌旧 thingy kicked in.  I clung onto her every night as my bedtime companion.  Then Mummy asked me why I 喜新厌旧 everytime I have a new soft toy. 

I looked at Mummy and told her that I did not 喜新厌旧 at all.  The only reason that I clung onto Kitty every night is to make her feel at home .... she is a new member of my soft toy family, and she would be very scared if I do not cling onto her, and shower her with love.  Just doing my duty as a big sister, just like another other new friend who joins my class.  Mummy cannot find any fault with my reasoning at all ... haha

真不亏是最佳辩论员

Twister Fun

My friend bought me the game called Twister as my birthday present .... so I decided to take it out and play with Daddy.

After Daddy has read the instructions, he told me how to play and we started the game.  Initially it was fun, but then because of some imbalancing act, I knocked my head against the floor ... and I really cried !!!

But because I wanted to continue to play the game, my crying stopped after 2 mins, and my pain subsided ... the power of play !!!! Mummy was the referee, and she gave the instructions ... Daddy allowed me to cheat a little by letting me sit on the floor, since my legs and hands are not as long as his .... but I am super flexible. Haha.  In the end, I still lost.

Next round, Daddy decided to challenge himself by doing all the weird stunts !!! And in the end, he ended up twisted in all corners and lost the game to me !!! Hooray !!!

Next time, I shall find opponents of my size and see who wins in this game of Twister.  If not, shall impose some rules on the adults so that they do not have the easy way out .... But for now, I simply love Twister ... a game that allows me to show my flexibility. Haha

Playdoh Time

Received a Playdoh set as one of my birthday present, and I really loved the Playdoh set .... after dinner, I would take it out and start making different things (rather food).  Even dragged Daddy and Mummy to join in.

Mummy made this mini slice of water melon ... with seeds !!!

And chicken drumstick !! Yummy.  I made the mini one on the right, while Mummy made the 2 on the left

Daddy made a beef sandwich ....

If only the Playdoh set can make Japanese food, eg sushi and chawanmushi ... that would be perfect. Haha

Nature Lovers

Went with 公公, 舅舅, 舅母 and 表妹 to the Kranji Countryside to enjoy the morning nature exploration.  We started off the journey to Hausmann Marketing Aquarium, where we can feed the fishes and the turtles

Turtles enjoying a bath using the water hose

Next stop was the Hay's Dairies Farm, to look at the goats.  Saw a few male goats, with horns on their heads.

And enjoying the chocolate goat's milk after a hard day of "work" .... haha

And the last stop was the Fireflies Organic Vegetable farm.  See 表妹's awkward expression as I pressed down her hat from being flown off ... haha

And let me give it a go at farming

表妹 wanted to give it a try as well ...

Bought some organic vegetables home as well ... good nature exploration with 表妹

Magic Worm

We were shopping at Vivocity when I saw this man performing tricks with his magic worm. The worm just moved from one hand to the other, danced inside the cup, and even jumped over to my shoulder and back to him. Daddy was trying hard to decipher and magic trick (since this was the first time he saw that). Mummy thought she saw a very thin string attached to the worm, but because we were standing relatively far from the man, we could not confirm the presence of the string. Daddy thought it must be something more complex than a string ...

So Daddy bought a few, since it was the festive season, for me to give to some of my friends. And upon opening the package, Daddy laughed like he has not laughed before .... kenna tricked !!! Mummy was right, a very very thin black string attached to the worm. Because the man was wearing black, the string was invisible to the audience, and the audience was not standing near him (he said he needed space to do the magic trick) .....

So the surprise element vanished ... but to me, it was still magical. So 姑姑 taught me how to perform the magic trick in 30 mins, and when Daddy and Mummy came home, I proudly showed them I could also perform the magic trick !!!

Dun believe me ??? See this ....

 



Daddy and Mummy were impressed that I could actually learn the trick within 30 mins.  Not perfect, but good enough for a 5 year old kid

Mummy's reflections on my first 5 years

As cliche as it sounds, but time really just flew past. Has it really been 5 years since our little princess entered our lives? From the health scares during pregnancy (yes, Mummy had HFMD with you inside!), to the multiple food allergies, and the prolonged food strikes, everything still feels like it just happened yesterday. Everytime people ask why I don't have a second child, I always say that I am traumatized by your allergies and food strike to have the courage for a second one. While it is true that I don't have the courage to go for a second one because of these 2 factors, Mummy has been extremely proud of you.

From young, you have been a very smiley baby. Mummy and Daddy call you 快乐小宝宝. As you grow, you continue to be jovial, outgoing and enjoy every minute of your life. You have always been very mature, independent and sociable. You seldom throw tantrums, and even if you do, they always end very quickly. Whenever your requests are rejected by Daddy/Mummy, you will mostly accept it without any issue, although you will show your disappointment. You are also full of self confidence. You have no problem adapting to new environment and people. You thrived in childcare, and did not cry from day 1. You are able to make new friends quickly in public playgrounds, with children of various nationalities and races, in under 5 minutes without Daddy/Mummy's intervention! You are also able to charm adults into giving you little gifts, like the teddy bear from an Uncle in the car park (which we do not know), the chocolates that the "Today" news paper auntie brought specially for you, to the braised duck auntie that gave you a free braised egg just earlier today, Mummy is happy that you are well liked by adults and children alike.

Although you are the youngest in class, you never had any problems academically or socially. You are such a chatterbox, you really talk non-stop. But Mummy is glad that you have learnt that there are times that Mummy needs to talk to Daddy and cannot give you the attention, and you have learnt to wait for us to finish our conversation before cutting in (although Mummy understands that at times, you are so excited, you just can't wait to share your thoughts with us).

Although you are still very picky with food, but Mummy is aware that you are putting in effort to at least eat some even if its food that you don't like. (ok ok, I know you absolutely hate tomatoes, Mummy will not make you eat them ok?). You favourite food are tamago sushi, teriyaki salmon, onigiri, udon, soba. That's why Mummy always say you are born in the wrong country.

Your favourite character now is Princess, any princess. You always want to be a princess. But in Daddy/ Mummy's heart, you are our Princess, now and forever.

There are people who have asked Mummy if she ever regretted leaving her career to take care of you. Mummy's immediate answer is always no, not for a moment. Despite all the difficulties in taking care of you, plus the career sacrifices that Mummy had to make, Mummy and Daddy are very proud that you have turned out to be the confident, empathic, sensible, independent, sociable and jovial girl that you are today.

For the record, at 5 years old, you weigh 18 kg (slightly above 50th percentile) and is 115cm tall (90th percentile).

My New Blog !!!

Folks, welcome to my new blog for 2012 .... and wishing all a happy new year ahead, and may all your wishes be fulfilled.

As usual, Daddy and Mummy shall fill this blog with all my adventures and growing experience