I remember I started this blog when I was pregnant with Kaelyn. I was at 31 weeks then. Each gynae visit was documented, together with my weight gain as well as the foetus' weight. At 35 weeks now with Kaelyn's sister, I have yet to introduce her in this blog.
So now, officially introducing Kaelyn's little sister....
- No name yet as Daddy and Mummy cant decide yet
- Currently at 35 weeks, still comfortably relaxing in her mummy's womb
- Last weight check 2 weeks ago was 2kg
- A very active baby, constantly kicking around, sometimes so hard that it woke mummy from sleep at night
- Have been introduced to Daddy, Mummy and her elder sister Kaelyn. Kaelyn speaks to her once every few days - 'Hello, mei mei, I am Yixuan (Kaelyn's chinese name) jie jie. When you come out, I will play with you..'
- Official estimated birthdate is 2 Febraury 2010 (will be in confinement over CNY... sigh...)
Since we are having a girl again, there wasnt much that we needed to buy / prepare - almost everything can be recycled from her elder sis. We didnt seem to put as much effort or attention to this pregnancy - no singing / reading to the baby (she gets to pick those up when we sing/read to Kaelyn); no playing classical music at night before going to bed (we can do that when she gets out, meanwhile, too busy putting Kaelyn to bed every night); no shopping endlessly for clothes, toiletries, stroller, bed etc etc (she can inherit from Kaelyn most of these things).....
I actually feel a little guilty for 'neglecting' the little one. She doesnt even have a name yet! But I think this will all change when she gets out. All attention will be on her, and Kaelyn will be the one who will feel more 'left out' when we fuss over her little sister. Hope we are able to cope with this 'sibling jealousy' thing when the time comes!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Family cruise trip back in August
Helper went back on home leave for 2 weeks back in August (yes, this is a long overdue entry). I also took 2 weeks leave to help take care of the little angel. But not alone, with lots of help from parents and in-laws.
Over 1 of the weekends over this 2 week period, went on a cruise on Superstar Virgo with my parents. Kaelyn enjoyed herself very much but over this period, she didnt eat much as we just gave her whatever was on our plates. She didnt fancy any of the food at all - she's a fussy eater. Nevertheless, it was a good trip and I hope to be able to bring her on short trips like this in future, together with her little sister (more about this next time).
Photos of our happy weekend trip:
Over 1 of the weekends over this 2 week period, went on a cruise on Superstar Virgo with my parents. Kaelyn enjoyed herself very much but over this period, she didnt eat much as we just gave her whatever was on our plates. She didnt fancy any of the food at all - she's a fussy eater. Nevertheless, it was a good trip and I hope to be able to bring her on short trips like this in future, together with her little sister (more about this next time).
Photos of our happy weekend trip:
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Kaelyn turns 2
We celebrated Kaelyn's second birthday a few weeks back. It was a simple affair just within our immediate families. Just to sum where she is at 2 years old:
- she is talkative and a busybody at home, always asking people what they are doing, why are they doing what they are doing, passing comments on what she observes like 'Papa hui lai le' (papa's home), 'Mama bu jian le' (mama's missing), 'Gonggong qu mai mian bao' (gongong's gone to buy bread) etc.
- outside, she is shy and afraid of crowds. She takes some time to warm up to people she seldom meets.
- she knows and can identify all 26 of the alphabets (capital letters), and that P is for papa, M is for mama, G is for gonggong, K is for Kaelyn etc.
- she is conversant in both Mandarin and English
- sometimes she talks like an adult. When asked if she is full after her dinner one day, instead of replying a simple yes or no, she said 'hai ke yi' (just about right).
- she likes music, and likes to dance to certain songs especially the songs from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
- she tends to use her left hand more often, so she could be a left hander.
- she likes to draw and will describe to us what her artistic piece is about, sometimes it's an apple, or a butterfly, or a letter. At other times, we dont quite understand what she is saying.
- she is generally a cheerful girl, happy and smiling most of the time. But she has a short temper and gets angry easily if she is unhappy.
Here are some photos of her birthday celebration
- she is talkative and a busybody at home, always asking people what they are doing, why are they doing what they are doing, passing comments on what she observes like 'Papa hui lai le' (papa's home), 'Mama bu jian le' (mama's missing), 'Gonggong qu mai mian bao' (gongong's gone to buy bread) etc.
- outside, she is shy and afraid of crowds. She takes some time to warm up to people she seldom meets.
- she knows and can identify all 26 of the alphabets (capital letters), and that P is for papa, M is for mama, G is for gonggong, K is for Kaelyn etc.
- she is conversant in both Mandarin and English
- sometimes she talks like an adult. When asked if she is full after her dinner one day, instead of replying a simple yes or no, she said 'hai ke yi' (just about right).
- she likes music, and likes to dance to certain songs especially the songs from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
- she tends to use her left hand more often, so she could be a left hander.
- she likes to draw and will describe to us what her artistic piece is about, sometimes it's an apple, or a butterfly, or a letter. At other times, we dont quite understand what she is saying.
- she is generally a cheerful girl, happy and smiling most of the time. But she has a short temper and gets angry easily if she is unhappy.
Here are some photos of her birthday celebration
Practising for her 2nd birthday
Since a few months before Kaelyn's second birthday, we started teaching her to flash the victory sign so she could do it on her second birthday. So at every photo taking opportunity, we'll ask her to show us the number 2.
Did I get it right?
Posing with Mama
Practising even while drinking juice
Am I getting better?
And yet on the BIG day, her 2nd birthday - this was the best she could manage.....
Practising even while drinking juice
Am I getting better?
And yet on the BIG day, her 2nd birthday - this was the best she could manage.....
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The defiant gal
Wow, has it been 2 months since I blogged already? It certainly doesnt seem that long, especially when you have to pander to the every need of a rebellious gal in her terrible twos. Well, Kaelyn is 1 month short of her 2-year birthday but she's already showing signs of the defiant age, since a few months back.
We are all so exhausted by her - from Gong gong to Popo to Nai nai to Papa to Mama all the way to our helper. When mild, she'll just say 'I dont want' or run away from you if you try to make her sleep, eat or change her diapers. At times, she will be screaming, crying and kicking and grabbing everything in her way to hurl them as far as she can. 'I dont want pacifier! I dont want Ernie! (her fav toy) I dont want this! I dont want that!...... And the house is like a war zone after her display.
We've tried both the 'hard' and 'soft' approach with her. The 'hard' approach doesnt seem to work as well. e.g. scolding her or hitting her hand. Distracting her with something else usually seems to do the trick, but not before lots of struggling, coaxing, carrying etc before that.
We are all so exhausted by her - from Gong gong to Popo to Nai nai to Papa to Mama all the way to our helper. When mild, she'll just say 'I dont want' or run away from you if you try to make her sleep, eat or change her diapers. At times, she will be screaming, crying and kicking and grabbing everything in her way to hurl them as far as she can. 'I dont want pacifier! I dont want Ernie! (her fav toy) I dont want this! I dont want that!...... And the house is like a war zone after her display.
We've tried both the 'hard' and 'soft' approach with her. The 'hard' approach doesnt seem to work as well. e.g. scolding her or hitting her hand. Distracting her with something else usually seems to do the trick, but not before lots of struggling, coaxing, carrying etc before that.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
To all mums, my own mum too, Happy Mother's Day!
Kaelyn wished me a Happy Mother's Day this morning and gave me a hand made card, with lots and lots of help from her Dad of course. I think it's more like Dad drew the card and she helped to put some colouring. And Dad's drawing is like a kid's! Will post a pic up the next time. Nevertheless, it's really cute and sweet.
The girl also knows how to sing the Chinese nursery rhyme 'Ke Ren Lai' (When the guests come).
Original version:
Ke ren lai, kan Papa (The guest came to visit papa)
Papa bu zai jia (But Papa is not at home)
Wo qing ke ren xian zuo xia (I invited the guest to have a seat)
Zai jing yi bei cha (And served him tea)
Kaelyn's version:
Ke ren lai, kan Papa bu zai jia
Wo qing ke'en xian zuo xia
Airplane cha!
It's 80% accurate! I am impressed! Although i dont think she really knows the meaning. Note how the Yi bei cha became Airplane cha. We've filmed her on viewcam, will post it up next time.
My wish for Kaelyn is to be able to bite her food and vomit less! More of this in another post, it's a big issue for us now.
Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of Mother's Day with your mums/ kids.
NB: No photos these few blogs as David's hard disk got wiped out with all the photos too. So we are now in the 'desperately salvaging data' stage. Hence no photos / videos etc for now..
By the way, I used David's account thinking it's mine. So, no daddy is not wishing himself a Happy Mother's Day although he's quite sore about Mother's Day being more celebrated than Father's Day...
Kaelyn wished me a Happy Mother's Day this morning and gave me a hand made card, with lots and lots of help from her Dad of course. I think it's more like Dad drew the card and she helped to put some colouring. And Dad's drawing is like a kid's! Will post a pic up the next time. Nevertheless, it's really cute and sweet.
The girl also knows how to sing the Chinese nursery rhyme 'Ke Ren Lai' (When the guests come).
Original version:
Ke ren lai, kan Papa (The guest came to visit papa)
Papa bu zai jia (But Papa is not at home)
Wo qing ke ren xian zuo xia (I invited the guest to have a seat)
Zai jing yi bei cha (And served him tea)
Kaelyn's version:
Ke ren lai, kan Papa bu zai jia
Wo qing ke'en xian zuo xia
Airplane cha!
It's 80% accurate! I am impressed! Although i dont think she really knows the meaning. Note how the Yi bei cha became Airplane cha. We've filmed her on viewcam, will post it up next time.
My wish for Kaelyn is to be able to bite her food and vomit less! More of this in another post, it's a big issue for us now.
Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of Mother's Day with your mums/ kids.
NB: No photos these few blogs as David's hard disk got wiped out with all the photos too. So we are now in the 'desperately salvaging data' stage. Hence no photos / videos etc for now..
By the way, I used David's account thinking it's mine. So, no daddy is not wishing himself a Happy Mother's Day although he's quite sore about Mother's Day being more celebrated than Father's Day...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Mama mama mama........
Just a year ago, I was very earnestly teaching Kaelyn how to say 'Mama', repeating 'Mama' to her like 30 times a day to drum it into her head. Hoping that one day she would finally be able to call out to me. And when she did utter the first 'Mama', I was over the moon.
Today, one year later, she calls out to me like a broken recorder. Within a span of 5 mins, I think she can say 'Mama' like 20 times! And it is not as if I was ignoring her.
While having breakfast / lunch / dinner..
Kaelyn: Mama
Me: Yes, darling?
Kaelyn: Mama, come
Me: Mama's eating. I'll come and play with you after I finish ok?
Kaelyn: Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama..................!
While just walking around the house / reading newspapers etc
Kaelyn: Mama
Me: Yes, what do you want?
Kaelyn: Mama, mama
Me: Yes, mama is listening, why?
Kaelyn: Mama, mama, mama, mama..................................!
Me: ??!!!?!?!
Even when I am at work, this doesnt stop
Kaelyn: Mama, where?
Nai nai: Mama's at work
Kaelyn: Mama, where?! (even louder).
And she will go searching round the house for her Mama, and repeating Mama, mama, mama............!
Sometimes it gets really annoying, but other times it's music to my ears..
Today, one year later, she calls out to me like a broken recorder. Within a span of 5 mins, I think she can say 'Mama' like 20 times! And it is not as if I was ignoring her.
While having breakfast / lunch / dinner..
Kaelyn: Mama
Me: Yes, darling?
Kaelyn: Mama, come
Me: Mama's eating. I'll come and play with you after I finish ok?
Kaelyn: Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama..................!
While just walking around the house / reading newspapers etc
Kaelyn: Mama
Me: Yes, what do you want?
Kaelyn: Mama, mama
Me: Yes, mama is listening, why?
Kaelyn: Mama, mama, mama, mama..................................!
Me: ??!!!?!?!
Even when I am at work, this doesnt stop
Kaelyn: Mama, where?
Nai nai: Mama's at work
Kaelyn: Mama, where?! (even louder).
And she will go searching round the house for her Mama, and repeating Mama, mama, mama............!
Sometimes it gets really annoying, but other times it's music to my ears..
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Kaelyn loves to draw, write and read books
Kaelyn enjoys reading when she was very young.
As early as 1-2 months old, Hann Sze and me has already started reading out to her flash cards on numbers, "ABC"s and objects/things.
She is very keen whenever we read to her, and will sit quietly listening when we are reading to her.
She will also point and ask for "book", and will flip through the book (some mama's books with mainly words) as if she is reading..
Kaelyn at my sis place.. reading Koko Gaven's book!
She would expect us to read to her in car, whenever we are around. When we come home after work/or during weekend, she will take a book, hold our hand and say "come", then she will sit on the floor and expect us to read to her.
See Ma ma reading to her..
She also likes to draw. we taught her to the outline of our hands only once. Then she always like to draw outline of her hands and even legs!
Kaelyn drawing outline of mama's hand!
Kaelyn drawing in deep concentration at nai nai/ye ye's house
I wish that she will continue to be interested to read and write for the rest of her lives!!
In fact, we just bought her a new set of table and chair from IKEA for her to read and write yesterday!
As early as 1-2 months old, Hann Sze and me has already started reading out to her flash cards on numbers, "ABC"s and objects/things.
She is very keen whenever we read to her, and will sit quietly listening when we are reading to her.
She will also point and ask for "book", and will flip through the book (some mama's books with mainly words) as if she is reading..
Kaelyn at my sis place.. reading Koko Gaven's book!
She would expect us to read to her in car, whenever we are around. When we come home after work/or during weekend, she will take a book, hold our hand and say "come", then she will sit on the floor and expect us to read to her.
See Ma ma reading to her..
She also likes to draw. we taught her to the outline of our hands only once. Then she always like to draw outline of her hands and even legs!
Kaelyn drawing outline of mama's hand!
Kaelyn drawing in deep concentration at nai nai/ye ye's house
I wish that she will continue to be interested to read and write for the rest of her lives!!
In fact, we just bought her a new set of table and chair from IKEA for her to read and write yesterday!
English or Mandarin
English or Mandarin? This has been something which David and I had been struggling with since Kaelyn was born.
I grew up speaking Mandarin at home and David mainly Hokkien and some Mandarin. English, although I wouldnt say was a huge struggle, is something I wished I could master better. After all, all subjects through my entire school life was thought in English (except for Chinese of course). You have to do well in PSLE English, GCE 'O' level English and GCE 'A' level General Paper before you can progress to a good school. And as I am working in a British Bank working with many 'ang mohs', it is all the more important for me to express myself well in English. Whereas for Chinese, the subject never really counted as a core subject in school. You are still able to get into a good school even if you do badly in this area. And I thought Mandarin was only useful with the 'uncles' and 'aunties' in the market / supermarket / coffeeshop / hawker centre etc.
With all the odds stacked against Mandarin and so much pros going for English, of course English was the way to go! We decided that we wanted our dear gal to have a headstart so we began to only converse with her in English since the day she was born. The idea is for her grandparents to speak to her in Mandarin and everything will just fall in place.
So 19 months on from that day this decision was made, how have we fared?
Kaelyn's language report card 1 month back:
English - A
The tide has turned...
I just hope the poor gal doesnt get confused with Ye ye and Nai nai speaking to her in Mandarin, Aunty (our helper) speaking to her in English, and Papa, Mama, Gong gong, Popo speaking to her in a mix of both....
I grew up speaking Mandarin at home and David mainly Hokkien and some Mandarin. English, although I wouldnt say was a huge struggle, is something I wished I could master better. After all, all subjects through my entire school life was thought in English (except for Chinese of course). You have to do well in PSLE English, GCE 'O' level English and GCE 'A' level General Paper before you can progress to a good school. And as I am working in a British Bank working with many 'ang mohs', it is all the more important for me to express myself well in English. Whereas for Chinese, the subject never really counted as a core subject in school. You are still able to get into a good school even if you do badly in this area. And I thought Mandarin was only useful with the 'uncles' and 'aunties' in the market / supermarket / coffeeshop / hawker centre etc.
With all the odds stacked against Mandarin and so much pros going for English, of course English was the way to go! We decided that we wanted our dear gal to have a headstart so we began to only converse with her in English since the day she was born. The idea is for her grandparents to speak to her in Mandarin and everything will just fall in place.
So 19 months on from that day this decision was made, how have we fared?
Kaelyn's language report card 1 month back:
English - A
- Responds very well to her English name, Kaelyn.
- She understands English instructions very well.
- She is able to express herself with simple English terms. e.g. Mama hand walk walk (means asking me to hold her hand to walk); Papa leg pain pain; Aunty eat; Mama hand draw; Come, sit etc etc.
- Takes a while to register her Chinese name, Yixuan.
- She understands instructions in Mandarin sometimes, but still not very well.
- Usually doesnt use Mandarin to express herself other than 'Bu yao, bu yao'.I think she understands quite a number of words as her grandparents have been speaking to her, but she doesnt naturally use them. A ball will always be 'ball' instead of 'qiu'; and bird is never 'niao' to her although we have been repeating these words to her. It is only when we ask her where is 'qiu' then she will point to the ball.
The tide has turned...
I just hope the poor gal doesnt get confused with Ye ye and Nai nai speaking to her in Mandarin, Aunty (our helper) speaking to her in English, and Papa, Mama, Gong gong, Popo speaking to her in a mix of both....
Lady Kaelyn
Our Kaelyn is a typical girly girl.
- She loves it when we comb and clip her hair and tells her 'mei mei' (pretty) after its done. So she'll keep very still while we are at work.
- She loves her soft toys... from Ernie...
... to Pooh bear....
.....to Minnie mouse..... to Bert, Cookie monster, angel bear, care bear, bean toy etc etc... which we didnt have a chance to take a photo of all of them. Maybe we should.
- She loves shopping for shoes (high heel ones...) Yikes, hope she doesnt grow up to own hundreds of pairs of them!
- She loves to cook for us and her soft toys and feed all of us, behaving like a Mother hen at times.
- And last but not least, she 'nags' ! Yes, no kidding. If you dont keep your shoes away when you come home, she'll pick up the shoes and asks you to keep them. And when David carries my handbag for me sometimes, she'll show her disapproval and says that that's 'Mama's bag' and so has to be carried by Mama...
- She loves it when we comb and clip her hair and tells her 'mei mei' (pretty) after its done. So she'll keep very still while we are at work.
- She loves her soft toys... from Ernie...
... to Pooh bear....
.....to Minnie mouse..... to Bert, Cookie monster, angel bear, care bear, bean toy etc etc... which we didnt have a chance to take a photo of all of them. Maybe we should.
- She loves shopping for shoes (high heel ones...) Yikes, hope she doesnt grow up to own hundreds of pairs of them!
- She loves to cook for us and her soft toys and feed all of us, behaving like a Mother hen at times.
- And last but not least, she 'nags' ! Yes, no kidding. If you dont keep your shoes away when you come home, she'll pick up the shoes and asks you to keep them. And when David carries my handbag for me sometimes, she'll show her disapproval and says that that's 'Mama's bag' and so has to be carried by Mama...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
From Bs to Ws...
Kaelyn has progressed in her range of vocabulary.
Several months back when she first started to talk, her vocab was restricted to words beginning with Bs.
Bird, Ball, Baby, Back (means to put things back), Bao bao (to carry her), and of course her all time favourite even till now - Bu Yao Bu Yao (dont want)
Now she seems to take a liking for all things W..
Wet wet - used when she spilled (or rather intentionally poured) water on the floor, or when she wets herself sometimes.
Why - used when we asked her to do something or do something for her which she doesnt like. E.g. 'Kaelyn wear your socks, we are going out'. Refuses to wear her socks and screams 'WHYYYYY'!
Walk walk - used when she wants to go out. She will pull your arms / clothes etc and point to her shoes and door. Sometines also used in pretend play. E.g. she carries a basket in her arms and when we ask her where she is going, she replies 'walk walk'.
Wum (means I want) - used to indicate her preferences and demands. e.g. 'Kaelyn do you want to eat bread?' To which she replies 'I wum.'
Wait - used by us when we asks her to wait while we get her food / water / toys etc. Most of the time she will obey and repeats what we told her. 'Wait!' with the hand action.
What - used randomly, sometimes when she is angry or throwing tantrums.
I wonder what alphabet will be next..
Several months back when she first started to talk, her vocab was restricted to words beginning with Bs.
Bird, Ball, Baby, Back (means to put things back), Bao bao (to carry her), and of course her all time favourite even till now - Bu Yao Bu Yao (dont want)
Now she seems to take a liking for all things W..
Wet wet - used when she spilled (or rather intentionally poured) water on the floor, or when she wets herself sometimes.
Why - used when we asked her to do something or do something for her which she doesnt like. E.g. 'Kaelyn wear your socks, we are going out'. Refuses to wear her socks and screams 'WHYYYYY'!
Walk walk - used when she wants to go out. She will pull your arms / clothes etc and point to her shoes and door. Sometines also used in pretend play. E.g. she carries a basket in her arms and when we ask her where she is going, she replies 'walk walk'.
Wum (means I want) - used to indicate her preferences and demands. e.g. 'Kaelyn do you want to eat bread?' To which she replies 'I wum.'
Wait - used by us when we asks her to wait while we get her food / water / toys etc. Most of the time she will obey and repeats what we told her. 'Wait!' with the hand action.
What - used randomly, sometimes when she is angry or throwing tantrums.
I wonder what alphabet will be next..
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Kaelyn goes to school
'It's our time, let's sing together
It's our time, let's sing together
It's our time, let's sing together
Sing hello hello....'
This is the opening song at her weekly Kindermusik class at Tanglin Mall, which we have been bringing her to for several weeks now.
She's the youngest in the class, so she cant really catch everything the teacher says or follow closely. She is also one of the more 'disobedient' ones, always running around the room when the teacher is conducting an activity.
But I think she does pick up some things from attending the class. At least at home when we sing the song to her, she responds by swaying side to side. And she learnt how to hug people and keep her toys after use.
Where's papa? (who's outside the class taking this photo)
Let me perform somersault for you! (actually i dont know what she's trying to do)
Kaelyn's favourite time - playing with balls! Not sure why she is so fascinated with balls.
Time to keep the balls away..
I dont know whether I should continue to send her here after this series of sessions end in 2 weeks. It's quite ex, and very far from our place...
It's our time, let's sing together
It's our time, let's sing together
Sing hello hello....'
This is the opening song at her weekly Kindermusik class at Tanglin Mall, which we have been bringing her to for several weeks now.
She's the youngest in the class, so she cant really catch everything the teacher says or follow closely. She is also one of the more 'disobedient' ones, always running around the room when the teacher is conducting an activity.
But I think she does pick up some things from attending the class. At least at home when we sing the song to her, she responds by swaying side to side. And she learnt how to hug people and keep her toys after use.
Greeting teacher 'Caelin' (ya, same name but different spelling) for the first time
Where's papa? (who's outside the class taking this photo)
Let me perform somersault for you! (actually i dont know what she's trying to do)
Kaelyn's favourite time - playing with balls! Not sure why she is so fascinated with balls.
Time to keep the balls away..
I dont know whether I should continue to send her here after this series of sessions end in 2 weeks. It's quite ex, and very far from our place...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Festive season
Christmas
With the Christmas lightings all around the island and Christmas songs playing repetitively round the clock, it is hard not to soak in the festive mood. We dont really celebrate Christmas but it is one of my favourite times of the year (apart from Chinese New Year). Everyone just looks so happy, and many people go on leave, which means much quieter in the office as well.
With the Christmas lightings all around the island and Christmas songs playing repetitively round the clock, it is hard not to soak in the festive mood. We dont really celebrate Christmas but it is one of my favourite times of the year (apart from Chinese New Year). Everyone just looks so happy, and many people go on leave, which means much quieter in the office as well.
Papa, all I want for Christmas is the BIG teddy bear!
Christmas tree at Vivo City
A pose for the camera
Candy house at Changi Airport - grab as much as you can fit into the small container
In front of the candy house
Hi, I'm a little bunny and I want the carrots over there
A pose for the camera
Candy house at Changi Airport - grab as much as you can fit into the small container
In front of the candy house
Hi, I'm a little bunny and I want the carrots over there
Chinese New Year
Ahh... another favourite time of the year. This time with decorations all over the house, clothes hunting, inserting crisp new notes into red packets, attempting to clean up the house (but not very successful). Although no one's visiting our humble little abode, I like to create the CNY atmosphere at home.
I put up the decorations 2 weekends ago while Kaelyn was asleep. When she woke up, she immediately noticed there were many new red objects hanging around the house. She excitedly pointed to them and made many comments (which unfortunately none of us could figure out what she was saying).
To me, every year's CNY is the same. On the first day of new year, we would visit both sets of parents and grandmothers. And on the second day, we would visit David's uncle and stay for dinner. Same as the year before and the year before last ..... I always look forward to CNY not because of the visitings or giving out red packets. But more of the festive mood and new year food and goodies which I indulge in only once a year. It is only during this period I get to eat my grandma's home made fried glutinous rice and 'kong ba pao' - Hokkien dishes that I love for as long as I could remember. There would also be my mum-in-law's home made specialties like 'ngoh hiang' and 'popiah'. My mum will also whip up my favourite 'chap chye'. Not forgetting abalone and yu sheng are a must as well.
Although I was nursing a bad throat infection hence missed out on the yummy goodies, and had to rush a bit of work over the CNY period, it still didnt dampen my spirits too much. I will still look forward to next year's CNY (a little too early, you think?).
On the first day of CNY - getting ready to start a day of visiting with the cheeky gal
Tradition to have a family picture taken on first day of CNY
My grandma, Kaelyn's 'ah zu'
Kaelyn's 'ah zu' and 'gu po' (my aunt)
'ah yi' (my sis) and 'gu ma' (my sis-in-law) found Kaelyn too cute to resist, especially in her new Japanese outfit with bells, which we bought from Hokkaido.
Kaelyn with cousin Gaven at their ye ye / nai nai's house
Kaelyn's outfit for second day of CNY - another one we bought from Hokkaido
Posing for camera
A grouchy Kaelyn with her 'biao gu' (David's cousins)
She refused to be carried by them so we had to plonk her on the sofa between them
Ahh... another favourite time of the year. This time with decorations all over the house, clothes hunting, inserting crisp new notes into red packets, attempting to clean up the house (but not very successful). Although no one's visiting our humble little abode, I like to create the CNY atmosphere at home.
I put up the decorations 2 weekends ago while Kaelyn was asleep. When she woke up, she immediately noticed there were many new red objects hanging around the house. She excitedly pointed to them and made many comments (which unfortunately none of us could figure out what she was saying).
To me, every year's CNY is the same. On the first day of new year, we would visit both sets of parents and grandmothers. And on the second day, we would visit David's uncle and stay for dinner. Same as the year before and the year before last ..... I always look forward to CNY not because of the visitings or giving out red packets. But more of the festive mood and new year food and goodies which I indulge in only once a year. It is only during this period I get to eat my grandma's home made fried glutinous rice and 'kong ba pao' - Hokkien dishes that I love for as long as I could remember. There would also be my mum-in-law's home made specialties like 'ngoh hiang' and 'popiah'. My mum will also whip up my favourite 'chap chye'. Not forgetting abalone and yu sheng are a must as well.
Although I was nursing a bad throat infection hence missed out on the yummy goodies, and had to rush a bit of work over the CNY period, it still didnt dampen my spirits too much. I will still look forward to next year's CNY (a little too early, you think?).
Reunion dinner with my family on eve of CNY eve - lao yu sheng followed by steamboat
On the first day of CNY - getting ready to start a day of visiting with the cheeky gal
Tradition to have a family picture taken on first day of CNY
My grandma, Kaelyn's 'ah zu'
Kaelyn's 'ah zu' and 'gu po' (my aunt)
'ah yi' (my sis) and 'gu ma' (my sis-in-law) found Kaelyn too cute to resist, especially in her new Japanese outfit with bells, which we bought from Hokkaido.Kaelyn with her other great-grandma (David's grandmother)
Second round of lao yu sheng at in-laws on first day of CNY
Second round of lao yu sheng at in-laws on first day of CNY
Kaelyn with cousin Gaven at their ye ye / nai nai's house
Kaelyn's outfit for second day of CNY - another one we bought from Hokkaido
Posing for camera
A grouchy Kaelyn with her 'biao gu' (David's cousins)She refused to be carried by them so we had to plonk her on the sofa between them
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