Julia Gabriel - Last day in Term 4

JG Part 1 - 15th Nov:
It's the last day of the term & there will be a mini party in JG. As usual, we were 10 mins late for the class... :P

Here's some photos taken during the lesson and party. Well, he will continue the speech & drama lessons in Term 1 Yr 2009!! Teacher Zita and Shoba commented that this quick-witted kiddo is very advanced in speech as well as motor skills. Though he is only with JG for a term, he is very much ahead his peers. However, they suggested Ed should continue Term 1 with the parents' accompanied program for the fact that he newly started the term with JG & with the upcoming long holiday break might create a surprise separation anxiety when he's back next Term.


JG Part 2 - 8th Nov:

After his usual lesson, we brought him down to join the JG carnival. He enjoys the head-band making, dough play session & drama plays. Not forgetting the sweet goodies of popcorns & candy floss!


Right after the carnival, we brought him to E!hub @ Downtown East. Enjoyed the ride on the mini Ferris Wheel.


The day wasn't over for the little one. Our journey continues to the beach.

That's it for the day!

The next JG lesson for Term 1 in Year 2009: 10 Jan

My 1st birthday gift - From Ed

This gonna be one of the most memorable birthday year...

Celebrations came one after another...crazy moments...happy moments...bonding sessions...best of all, surprises!!

Started days before the actual one...when 2 buddies gave me a treat at the coffee club. Ed came along as his school was off for K2 rehearsal on that day...

It's always nice to have surprises from friends since we are all married and we got lesser time to party as compared to singlehood.

Oh, all of us were too engrossed with our main meal and I was occupied helping 'E' with her newborn Ethan, that I only captured the dessert pic.

...got a surprise sms late thurs night from 2 clients-turned-friends, who asked me out on the next day for a dinner. Initially, I thought it just some casual gathering. (on the other hand, I find it fishy...as we never gather for dinner before.) It turned out that to be a birthday dinner treat...A wide spread of Japanese buffet at Hanabi Japanese Restaurant. They made effort to finish their office work fast, asked their hubby to 'settle' out their own Friday night, picked me up to have dinner. That was such a sweet gesture and sigh...it was a pity that I did not bring my camera along on the amount of food we ate!

Hubby came over to pick me right after our dinner...which we spent 3.5 hours in there, eating, drinking and lots of crazy chatting. Surprises continued minutes after I got up the car, Ed couldn't resist the urge of opening the compartment and presented me his very 1st gift and said: 'Mummy, this is for you. Your birthday present.' It was nicely wrapped...with a kiddo-wrapper and when I asked what was inside, he just beamed at me 'You open lah!', refusing to tell me what was inside...guess he loves surprises too.

When I opened...I saw this. *Touched*

Doesn't this 'Breadou' looks like the bun sold in 'breadtalk'? In fact, it looks and smells like one! Ed thought so, and kept asking me to eat it! Keke...in fact, it was a squeezable stress relievers cum comfy wrist supports. It makes me hungry upon looking at it.

Few days ago, our conversation goes...

Ed: 'Mummy, I want to buy a birthday present for you.'

Me: 'What do you want to buy?'

Ed: 'I want to buy make-cake present.'

Me: 'Really? You know Mummy loves to bake cakes huh? Oh, Mummy...melts...'

Ed: 'You are not ice-cream. You will not melt lah...'

That certainly melts my heart...at least my kid noticed I enjoy baking...and wanted to give me something that relates to baking.

Con't...

Me: 'But do you have money?'

Ed: 'You put money on my hand then I buy lor.' (He raised his palm and say 'Give me money!')

Recently, he is getting very creative with words...
Hubby: Daddy treasure Edus.
Ed reply: You are not a pirate, so I am NOT your treasure.

Ha! Cheeky little one.

From what I know from hubby, they spent an hour in a shopping mall to get gifts...while waiting for my call when I finish my buffet dinner with my friends. Aren't they sweet??

Right after I opened up Ed's gift, I was presented a birthday card that reads...

'Because you're such a Great Mom, I was going to do a drum solo for you on your birthday! But on an occasion THIS special, you deserve a full-fledged PARADE!'


The surprises aren't ending yet...next, hubby took out another gift...that was from him. He thought I should have a casual watch...he chose something that is truly slim in White & Gold. Love it!

The birthday journey carries on...Hubby took a day off on my actual birthday and wanted to plan for some celebration in Genting together my parents...but it was such a rush...so I suggested Melaka on Sunday instead.

On Sat, we meet up friends to have dinner at Spageddies.

On Sunday, we went off to Malacca for great shopping of DVDs and food that is even better than KL! We even had both lunch and dinner at the all-famous restaurant in Melaka!! All meals were on my parents! ;) Thanks, folks!

Only managed to capture some photos taken in Melaka...before my camera went on riot. Arrrggghhh...no pics on the yummy-delicious dishes from the restuarant & the fun we had in Melaka. Remembering just 2 years back when we brought Ed to Melaka, we were there for 3 days-2 nights. This time was kinda short, though. I bet it must be tiring for hubby to drive 6 hours to and fro...as I didn't take over the wheels. I'm not used to driving at the speed of 140km/hr in Malaysia roads. Yet, I didn't want to stay overnight. Coz the next day is just for the 2 of us.

Some pics from Melaka...our tea-break:

On actual day...we left Ed with my mum and off we went to VivoCity. We didn't want to plan much for the day...we also skipped going the spa for massages as both of us constantly went for full-body massages during weekdays afternoons...

Walked around Vivo and popped in to any restaurant that we never tried before....this time it's Shin kushiya Japanese Restaurant. They serves lovely charcoal-grilled 'Kushiyaki'...

Right after lunch, we popped into the cinema to check out which was the next movie on screen, without any waste of time waiting. *keke*

We chose - 007 'Quantum of Solace', an exciting movie for an exciting day!

Next stop....hubby told me he wanna get me the 2nd gift....a new mobile. My current Sony T650i handset is about 1 year old and is working very well with the 3.2 megapixel camera. Saw the newly launched C905...which is packed with an advanced 8.1 megapixel cybershot camera with Xenon Flash, plus GPS, Wi-Fi, Photo-Fix, Video/Photo blogging etc, plus the extras which I don't use at all. What captivated me was the camera lens & flash. Got that in silver. Here's my technology toy...

and the previous glass-screen mobile which hubby bought last year... :)

After that, we went on for the 3rd gift...never-ending buffet. Hubby reserved a table for 2 at 'The Line' in Shangri-La Hotel. The buffet spread was awesome...impressed with the wide varieties of unique Indian food and the freshness of salads, oysters and sashimi...however, I wasn't impressed with the cooked food (rather saltish) and desserts. Maybe I baked often...based on my own judgement on a hotel standard, their dessert chefs failed my expectations. Overall looks is OK, taste is lousy.

Left 'The Line' with a full stomach at 8pm...to pick up 3 free tickets to watch 'Madagascar:Escape 2 Africa' from my buddy. It will be on 20 Nov...combo with hotdog, nachos, popcorn and drinks!

Lastly, hubby also upgraded my chosen built-in oven, hobs and hood for the new house...his initial budget of less than $1,600 in all...has upgraded to over $4,500 of kitchen 'toys'. Are those counted as my birthday gifts as well...since I got that promise on my birthday month?? (Hubby should get my hint when he reads this blog.) keke...*Feeling Blissful*

*Thank you everyone for all the gifts and treats!* :)

Con't - Kinderland Zoo Trip

His first trip with school...with his usual pose.

1st school excursion - ZOO

He's going to the Zoo today with Kinderland. It's an optional excursion (I wonder those who are not joining...will they still need to attend school?)

Well, I chose to let him participate as this marks his virgin trip to go on an outing without any parent accompanying...
When he was 2 yr old, he went to the Botanical Gardens with Learning Horizon...but all parent had to tag along with the school.

He was so excited that he woke up earlier than usual (before the alarm clock went off!)...get dressed up, sling on his bag and start pestering me to leave the house for his school bus! He was waving so happily to me, when he got up the school bus.

My 3 year old is growing up...independently! :)

My cutie emperor

Just a sneak preview of the trip in China...take a look at my supreme ruler of NG empire!

He is very co-operative when the guys in our tour group (total 20 in this tour) took turns to snap a picture of him. He kept his mega smile for everyone to complete their shots. Well, just as the Korea trip, he captures everyone's heart with his hyper-active & bubbly character.

His First official class photo

His school asked if we want to order a set of photos, so I thought it would be nice to get a copy. I can't recall the price....$16??

Besides this, the set came with 2 other copies of individual photos.

School: Something he enjoys...

Drama Classes! We have put him back to Julia Gabriel after he stopped attending for about a year. After being with Lorna Whiston, I felt the lessons are a far cry from what was taught in Julia Gabriel. Therefore, we shifted him over to JG this term. What prompted me to shift him back was he could still remember the songs/lyrics with actions taught in JG about a year ago...this shows how well the school impacts to little kiddos within a short period of time.

He loves the school so much that he would pester me to take him to classes whenever we passes by Forum (yes, he could still remember where the school was and which is Forum building along the stretch of Orchard road!)

For this term, he missed a weekend class in JG and 8 weekdays of school in Kinderland, due to the long holiday trip to Jiangnan, China in Mid Sept.

Hepatitis A Jabs

He's almost done with the optional jabs...Stopped for a long time after the Chicken-pox jab & the 2 Pneumococcal jabs...now it's time for Hep A. The jab that I dragged for a long time, coz I felt there's too many jabs before he turns 3.

Since we have been travelling so extensively this year, I thought we shouldn't dragged on the Hep A for too long...

Did he cry this time round? No...he just shouted out an angry "HEY" when the needle was inserted. Ha! Everyone was laughing at his reaction.
His 2nd Hep A jab will be on Feb 2009...

Kinderland - Parent Meeting Session

Another term has ended. Hubby joined me for this session & we met up with the new English teacher, Mrs Ho. I kinda like this enthusiastic English teacher...and here are the comments from the 2 language teachers...

• Extremely Alert...teachers are impressed with his learning pace & the speedy ability to grasp things.


• Good appetite...however, dislike 'Chee Cheong Fun' (maybe I ate too much during pregnancy. That was my daily 'must-have delicacy' during my preggie period)


• Socialise very well - very sweet & caring towards friends.


• Dramatic - Shown skills in role playing. Mimicked very well with endless imaginations.


• Willing to obey only if it's supported with convincing reasonings else harsh tone will only turns him to be more rebellious.


• Able to understand & speak Mandarin. (which is rather surprising to me. I thought his mandarin isn't as good as his Teochew dialets??)

Busy August

This month is an expensive one, I would say. Committed on a few big ticket items such as bags and property.

For a start, I got myself some extravagant bags. Here's 4 more bags adding to my collections - 2 from Louis Vuitton & 2 from Longchamp.

Louis Vuitton - Eva Clutch...with 2-in-1 shoulder/sling use. Great bargain!

Louis Vuitton - Particularly love this Monogram Vernis range with its elegant white glossy finish. Rather unique among the others. Chose this Roxbury Drive.

Voila...
Longchamp - Semi-casual for work kinda bag...just nice for A4 docs and my lappie.

Lastly, another Longchamp - I never once purchase any branded bags in RED. So I thought this time, why not have a change? Pinky are too girly for my age, anyway.

Other than the hefty purchases of bags, we have committed on a property.

We ended up giving deposit for 2 units. Ironically, the first one we paid for was the stack of units which I've aimed for the last 15 donkey years...yah...it's truly that long since my secondary school days...however, it failed on the fengshui aspects after we consulted a master. Initially, I thought...seems like helping others to sell a house is much easier than helping myself getting an unit. It took me months of intensive viewings to commit for an unit as there's totally no supply in the area I'm looking for. At last! My prayers were heard & there's one unit which popped out just in time with the right direction we are looking for to suit our family's 'Ba-zi'. Hope this house will bring us another good start, just like our current place.

Something to ponder...The whole buy & sell era seems to be all dramatic, freaky and unbelievably fated.

Coincidentally, the buyer who bought our place also gave us a deposit and back out the purchase. So...somehow we 'got back' the deposit we lost on the 1st unit we placed. Right on the very first day when we re-market our unit, the first buyer who viewed our unit placed a deposit on the spot and the price offered to us was even higher than the ALREADY sky-high price we closed the last round. Yippee!! What a sweet blessing! Not only the deal was incredibly fast one, the price was scrumptious! Another amazing truth was, both buyers who bought my unit were staying in the SAME block currently! Isn't that awesome?

In addition, with the fact that the rare unit that popped up for our purchase at a much much lower price than the 1st one we offered. Wow...couldn't believe the power of Buddhism prayers...who else to credit for? Everything seems to be spiritually well-planned. Simply miraculous!

New Savings Plan for little one

We thought it will be nice to have a new long-term savings plan since the last one we picked up for him was about 2 years ago...This time is a much bigger sum that will satisfy his education cost or part of a more comfy retirement.

Planning to pick up another big plan...in 6 months' time.

What are families for?

The conversation we had this morning...

I was soundly asleep & Ed pulled my pillow...
I grumbled: 'Why did you pull my pillow? Yours is the smaller one. This is mine.'
Ed: 'But we must share.'
Me: 'Why need to share when you already have your own pillow?'
Ed paused & said: 'Like that...we are not family already. Family must share one.'

Upon hearing, both hubby & I jumped out of bed. And of course, without hesitation, I told him: 'Yeah, you are right. We must share. You can have me pillow' *Bang wall*

*Sigh, in a couple of years, I bet he could counter any restrictions I gave him.*

Gender Education

Ever since he opened his golden mouth, he often surprises us with his incredible questions & answers...
Here's one that is rather embarrassing...

This toilet incident occured about 2 months before he turned 3 and that will be the last time he enters to a cubicle with me. While I was settling my 'business', he started this kiddy talk loudly enough to send giggles across the entire crowded restroom. And this is one really good entertainment for those waiting in the long queue outside the cubicle, though.

Ed: 'Mummy, you ngh-ngh or shee-shee?'
Me: 'Shee-shee'
Ed: 'Why you shee-shee like that one? That is ngh-ngh, you know?'
Me (astonished): 'I'm girl, mah.'
Ed: 'Wrong already le! Shee-Shee is stand one. Shee-shee not sit one.'
Me: 'I'm a girl, mah!' (By then, I already hear strings of laughter from outside.)

The worst came...
Ed: 'Then why you don't have ku-ku one?'
Me: 'I'm a girl! Arrrghhhh...Shhhhh....speak softly!'

Extremely loudly, Ed said: 'Orhhhh!! Girl don't have ku-ku one! Then Daddy have??!'

I quickly dashed out of the toilet with him. Naturally, pairs of eyes were looking at us & everyone were suppressing their laughter. Some even commented to me: 'He's very cute'

*Yah right....all I know was he often embarrassed me in public. I can't be angry with him since he is just 2 yrs plus of age?? *
Sometimes I wonder, he is such a late speaker, why of all sudden he can response with his reasoning in just a few months? IF he had improved in his speech gradually, maybe I will not feel so startled every now and then. It's barely less than a year before he is willing to speak...we still could not adjust to it.
At times, my mum went speechless by his very logical reasoning while he is at her home, as well.