Happy "Niu" Year (Moo)

Chinese New Year is here again, and 2009 is the year of the Earth Ox. In chinese astrology, there are 5 elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water and the lunar calendar is represented by 12 chinese animal signs in a 12-year cycle used for dating the years. The twelve animal signs, according to a repeating cycle, are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar/Pig.

On the eve of CNY ( 年除夕), we visited the "River Hong Bao" festivities/celebration at the Marina Bay Floating Platform. The "River Hong Bao" event is organised annually and typically comprises a festive light up, accompanied by a display of lanterns as well as chinese horoscope predictions for each of the twelve animal signs.

Visiting the "River Hong Bao" event has become somewhat an annual routine for us, and it is always accompanied by a steamboat reunion dinner at my in-laws' home.

"River Hong Bao 2009" at the Marina Bay Floating Platform

On the 1st day of CNY (大年初一), we dressed Chloe in her lovely pink cheongsam top & pants which we had bought from Chinatown barely a week ago. In addition, Chloe also has a separate pink cheongsam dress, and there is also the blue cheongsam top/pants which was a gift from my mom..... Personally, I think Chloe appeared the sweetest in the pink cheongsam below...... I gave Chloe two mandarin oranges, and she was all set to go !!

I'm all ready with 2 mandarin oranges in hand !!

As usual, we visited Clare's godmother's home on the first day of CNY..... Chloe tends to be a little shy when it comes to meeting people or relatives whom she hasn't met for a while.....but kids being kids, they also tend to warm up to people fairly quickly (especially when they're offerered sweets or toys !! ......kids are just so easy to bribe....haha...).

As you can see from the pictures below, Chloe was 'monopolizing' the sweets/mixed jelly and I could tell she was hanging on to it pretty protectively....

Chloe has also developed the eagerness to open her angpows immediately when she receives them.......maybe she's starting to understand the concept of money....hahaha

Chloe couldn't take her eyes off the sweets....haha

Chloe with her cousins

Chloe with 'uncle' Kelvin and 'auntie' Christina....

On Day 2 of CNY (年初二), we visited my in-laws' home. To my amazement, even Jovious (the family dog) was all dressed up in CNY clothing, specially bought by Kelvin from Korea !! haha....

One big smile for our family photo.....cheeeese !

Ang Pows........here I come !!!

Jovious (the family dog) smartly decked out in CNY attire....

Chloe and Jovious sharing a cozy moment together...

Gong Xi Gong Xi (恭喜恭喜)

Chloe presented both her grandpa and grandma with mandarin oranges.

We also visited Stella and Kangwei to 'pai nian'

On Day 3 of CNY (年初三), we packed our bags and were all set to depart for my hometown KL. Throughout my last 9 years in Singapore, this is probably the first time I'm able to take time off to visit my parents during CNY...... I decided it was best we took a flight back, as I've been hearing tonnes of horrendous news/stories about the massive traffic congestions at the Tuas 2nd link.... and it is unlikely that Chloe will be able to withstand the boredom of being stuck in a jam on a car journey. My parents were of course delightfully surprised that we could head home, and my mom started her shopping spree almost a month in advance.......toys, educational DVD, etc.... I have to say that both Clare and I truly admire my mom's stamina and patience - she could spend the entire day entertaining Chloe and adhering to all of Chloe's demands, from the moment Chloe wakes up in the morning till the moment Chloe falls asleep at night. Chloe also loves climbing up and down the staircase at home with my mom, and did so umpteen times......Clare and I would just sit back, relax, munch on CNY goodies and catch up on DVDs......(which seems like a dream, now that we're back in Singapore running after Chloe ourselves.....hahaha)

My in-laws sending us off at the airport

'Nana' tagged along as well..... Chloe never leaves home without her darling Nana.... in fact, Nana was at the top of our packing list !!! haha....

Chloe posing affectionately with her Poh Poh

Ooooh......this red packet 'feels thick' !!

Chloe 'fishing' with Poh Poh......

Pastries, anyone ??

Chloe in a picture-perfect pose with Poh Poh and Gong Gong

Chloe is Two

Time files and at the blink of an eye, Chloe is 2 years old, no longer the little baby whom I first held in my arms when she was born. These past 24 months have been filled with lotsa joy n laughter and I am cherishing every moment spent with her. Whenever she tells either one of us "Mummy / Daddy 我 爱 你" or hum the mummy mummy I love you song(her own invention), it really makes our days.

It has been such joy watching her grow, seeing her little face light up, her cute n cheery laughter and her comical moves.


Chloe looking like a little dainty lady in this lovely dress..very soon my little gal will be all grown up.

Happened to chat with her school teacher this morning and I got a very good feedback of Chloe. Was told that she could take instructions from the teachers very well, is a very independent gal and a keen learner. Chloe, daddy & mummy are very proud of you! Hope you keep up the good learning attitude.

Birthday Celebration in School

This year we opted for a small celebration in her school with her classmates. Prior to the actual day, I brought home a couple of brochures and asked Chloe to choose a birthday cake for her birthday celebration. Amongst the different characters like Barney, Looney Tunes, Dora and Hello Kitty, she has chosen the Dora design (not to our surprise). We placed an order for a 2kg Dora birthday cake from ecreative and had our mini party at about 3pm after the kiddos woke up from their nap.

Our Birthday Gal

Chloe distributing chocolates/candies to her classmates

Let's dig in!

Present from Citikids.

Cuddly birthday hug from daddy

Happy birthday our dear Princess! Please know that u'll always be Daddy n Mummy's little Gem. Stay happy n healthy always!

Field trip to the airport

Clare's brother Kelvin recently got married and went off to Korea for his honeymoon, and the entire family went to the airport to welcome him back.....

The flight back was at Terminal 1, but since we were there with the kids we took the skytrain to the newer/larger Terminal 3 as well....

These days, Clare and I derive our entertainment by observing Chloe's various antics..... for example when Chloe walks alongside us she would sometimes do the 'little hop', but strangely her feet remains firmly planted on the ground and she never actually experiences a "lift off".... which is probably due to her big tummy!! haha.....

Chloe is also getting more stubborn..... what they say about 'Terrible Two' can't be more true (she's turning two years old on 5 Feb). At the airport, there was a moment when Chloe refused to follow Clare and went on to wander about aimlessly..... whenever she does that to us nowadays, we would just hide in a corner until she realises that we went missing....... she'll then have this really cute and clueless expression as she goes round calling out "mommy..." or "daddy..." (wish I could show you the look on her face....haha). There were these few people who happened to be sitting there reading their newspapers, and Chloe even went as far as popping her head below the newspaper just to get a glimpse of the hidden faces to see whether they were indeed her mommy or daddy!! haha....

Getting ready for the "little hop".....

At Terminal 3, there was also this lovely set up with some of the Disney characters as backdrop....... Chloe and Anthea were immediately attracted to the bright and colourfully lighted Disney characters.....

"Wow, look at the size of that tummy! Chloe darling, I think it's time for you to shed some kilos off that tummy!!" haha....

Water play at IMM

Of late, Choe started to really enjoy her bathtime.....and that's only because she spends most of the time playing with water. Unfortunately, majority of the sessions ends up with her crying as she's reluctantly coerced by either her mom or myself to leave the bathroom.......if we didn't do that, she'll probably be more than happy to stay in there (in her small little bathtub) throughout the entire day !! haha....

Clare's sister Jaslyn thus suggested that we take the two girls to IMM, where there is a water themed playground.....

The water playground is usually pretty crowded on weekends, but I can fully understand the attractiveness of this place. The kids really do enjoy themselves, whilst parents can supervise their kids without having to actually get wet!! At first, Chloe was kind of apprehensive about getting wet - you could tell as she was just wandering around the place and merely observing the water features as well as the antics of the other kids. But she warmed up to the place pretty quickly as her cousin Anthea was there to 'drag her along'.......haha... and to provide the necessary encouragement.

After the water-play session, we bought some pastries for the two girls...... who were clearly exhausted and hungry!!

Meet my new cousin, Vera Poh

Let me introduce you to my new playmate. Vera 妹妹 arrived on 15 Oct 08 and she now joins the Hello Kitty gang which includes Anthea 姐姐 and myself. Oh no !! This means that I'm no longer the youngest in the family.....but I'm sure grandpa & grandma will still dote on me as much as before.... hehe....