Who's the Boss?

Who else other than ourselves to call the master of our own lives....... right?? We were so wrong !!! Clare and I recently reflected on how our lives have changed and realised how much of what we do now is dictated by Chloe...... just as how any other parents would attest to. The places we dine at, the outings/holidays we take, the type of language we use, the food we consume, the lullabies and Barney tunes we listen to in the car, and the books/magazines we read.... everthing depends on what's best for Chloe....

Matter of fact is, things aren't always a bed of roses..... there are certainly days when Chloe gets so irritatingly cranky that Clare and I feel totally lost, and then there are those days when Chloe is physically unwell which leaves us heart wrenched and emotionally exhausted.... it pains us to see her suffer. Notwithstanding these 'lesser than perfect' days, a bright and cheeky smile from Chloe never fails to warm our hearts and remind us of how blessed we are..... so I guess in a way we could say that Chloe is the 'boss' of our emotions too...

Should anyone ever ask us who is the boss in our family, Chloe would definitely win hands down.....*grin*.... The pictures below speak a thousand words...







"Yes yes Chloe...... everyone knows you are the Big BOSS!"

Cycling at East Coast Park

I read somewhere that the East Coast Park is the one and only bicycle path in Singapore – not sure if this is true though….. The path sways around bushes, runs along the coast and is 9 kilometres long. During weekends and holidays, it is normally quite crowded with cyclists, roller-bladers and families taking leisurely walks….

I used to cycle quite a fair-bit when I was young, so it dawned upon me that it would be a great idea to take Clare and Chloe cycling.... this would be our first time cycling together as a family. Clare too was really looking forward to the outing (even though she bravely admitted she can't remember if she still knew how to cycle....) - imagine our dismay when it started raining on our way to East Coast Park ! We kept our fingers crossed and our prayers were answered - the rain eased and the sky cleared up. Our friend Stella joined us too - and we were all ready to do some serious cycling...

We rented two bicycles - one mountain bike with a child-seat attached, and another twin-bicycle so that Clare & Stella could ride together.....





"Hi mommy !!"

Chloe practising cycling "on her own".....

"Is that the bell? ring ring ring......"

We took a breather and stopped by along the beach....

Re-strapping Chloe into her seat for the ride back....

We spent about one and a half hours cycling - and to be very honest, my bum was really aching at the end of the session (I believe it was the same for Clare and Stella.... haha). We had a pretty enjoyable evening and I'm already looking forward to our next cycling session....

Cart no.28

It was pure coincidence - nonetheless a much welcomed one. We rented a little 'car' for Chloe at IMM (which also functions as a shopping cart via its very tiny basket) and was randomly allocated cart no. 28 !

28 in chinese (cantonese) essentially means 'easy wealth'.... haha...

The rental of the cart - S$3 per hour.

The smile on Chloe's face - priceless. ("Daddy - can you pleeeeease stop being so cheesy")

Pink tricycle

We were shopping at Kids Mall at IMM when Clare spotted the bright pink tricycle.... the colour and design was lovely, and we appreciated the fact that it came with a hood and a little basket behind. It just seemed so child-friendly. And so it was.....there was no further debate. We were definitely buying it for Chloe. The tricyle even came with a battery-operated musical chime!

We were looking forward to the weekend so that we could bring Chloe out on her first ride. When the weekend finally came, guess what - it started raining ! As they say, all good things come to those who wait - the rain finally stopped... and we sat Chloe into her new tricyle for a nice spin around the garden...

It was quite funny seeing how curious Chloe looked when she inspected the tricyle.... and how she started 'peddling' herself forward on her two little feet. I even showed her the button to press for the musical chimes.... she picked it up really quickly and before we knew it she was even checking out for blind spots (see last 2 pics below) ! hahaha....

Chinese New Year - 7 & 8th Feb 2008

Gong Xi Fa Chai !!!! (ang pow na lai..... haha)...


Chloe in a lovely deep-red cheongsam. "Happy new year Ah Ma...."




Received one more angpow !!! Yippee...."


Yummy a chance to taste some chinese new year cookies ....

Wow.... so many toys for me too....


Let me give my new "friend" Cola a hug....

Cousin - what's that? Can I play too?"


"Hee hee......finally my turn to have a go at the Sony Playstation PSP !"


"Anyone wants mandarin oranges?"

Eve of CNY - 6 Feb 2008

It was the eve of CNY and as always, the whole family will head to the park at Esplanade to soak in the festive atmosphere....





The God of Wealth..... may 2008 be a year of good fortune.


The eve of CNY wouldn't be complete without the steamboat dinner..... look at the amount of food on the table!