Surprise visit

Truth be told, I've been looking forward to this day for a number of weeks. A surprise visit by someone special was in store for Chloe..... but she was oblivious to it. Clare was tasked (by me......haha) to dress Chloe up to look her best. Clare picked a new white baby Gap dress that we had bought for Chloe a while back and we were pleasantly delighted that we picked this dress at the right time 'cause it fit nicely - neither too big nor too small. I must say that Chloe looked really lovely in it - but then again I think I say the same thing all the time regardless of which dress Chloe is in !!

Well...... so who were the special guest we were expecting? It was none other than my parents....... who decided that they couldn't wait any longer to see Chloe..... the last time they saw her was about 3 months ago in January. As soon as they arrived in Singapore, we headed to Vivocity together to spend some family time window shopping...... Selfishly, I suggested that we head directly to the Samsung flagship store so that I could check out the newly launched Samsung i780 pda phone (which I've been dreaming about for weeks since I read about it online). As I was busy checking out the phone, it appeared that Chloe and her grandma was having an even more enjoyable time than I was....... the two of them were playing Peek-a-boo at the Samsung store !!

The amount of love and attention my parents shower upon Chloe amazes me. All grandparents share a special kind of bond with their grandchildren - it is a kind of bond which sometimes parents themselves may not fully comprehend. Seeing Chloe spend time with my parents, I'm fondly reminded of my own childhood days and the kind of relationship I had with my own grandparents. The type of relationship I had with my grandparents was perhaps typical of those that transpire over distance......... distance certainly wasn't a barrier to the quality of the relationship but it certainly played a big part in how frequently how I visited my grandparents - which was on average about once or twice a year. Being a parent myself now - I am somewhat driven and determined to inculcate a different kind of relationship between Chloe and my parents. I want it to be the kind that goes beyond Chloe recognising them as her grandparents - instead, I want Chloe to get to know them well enough to know how wonderful they are, and how they've helped shape her dad to be the person that he is today.

This is the 3rd time Chloe is spending time with my parents within the last 4 months, and two more visits have been planned within the next 2 months. I'm glad that I'm heading in the right direction......

My parents' visit this time round was one that could be aptly described as short and sweet. I bought them tickets to the highly acclaimed 'We Will Rock You' musical that was being hosted at the Esplanade Theatre. After which I scheduled dinner at a new place called Red Dot Brewhouse which was located at Dempsey Hill along Tanglin Road. As it was my dad's birthday two days later, Clare suggested that we buy a cake and celebrate early. We kept it a secret and my dad was indeed surprised !!

Chloe giving grandpa a cuddly birthday hug....



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For the benefit of the foodies out there, Red Dot Brewhouse serves a combination of Italian and BBQ cuisine and has its own microbrewery. I would definitely recommend Red Dot Brewhouse to any of my friends who would listen to my two cents worth...... hahaha...