April [ in pictures ]

April has been a fun and tiring month! 

The active little bub has been more hyper and adventurous these days and this means that mommy over here has to catch up with her alot more.  I honestly don't know how I could do this motherhood thing if I was 35, so I have immense respect for those who can and who have more than one child to handle. 

Kaitlin has also been talking alot more these days..and that includes imitating the things we say and even talking back! She's also been quite the rebel. It has not been exactly easy dealing with that..but one step at a time I guess. 

Besides that, I'm glad to be able to meet up with friends this month and also being able to spend special moments with Kaitlin. 

I don't know about you, but I feel like the past few months have just flew past. I don't know how the next few months are going to be like..especially with there being lots of ups and downs. I hate uncertainty, but I guess life's mostly like that. For now, I'm just trying to learn to be thankful for what I have and appreciate it. 

Hope you had a good Labour Day with your loved ones..now on to May and hehe I'm actually counting down to the next public holiday :)

Good Friday & Easter Weekend

The long weekend last week was just what I needed (yes, even as a SAHM a long weekend is better than a regular weekend cos that means an extra pair of hands to help out around the home!), and I was happy that I managed to spend time with people that matter the most.

Spent Good Friday morning having brunch at Strangers Reunion and going to the playground with Kaitlin and her new best friend ;)

Strangers Reunion was pretty crowded and Kaitlin was restless, thankfully I could still manage her and I was surprised that I didn't have to scold her or resort to technology. That same day I had wanted to bring her to an indoor playground/go out to grab some eggs to decorate but since it was pouring heavily so we stayed home instead and did arts and craft with babygirl.

On Saturday, Daddy Li went to work while Kaitlin and I spent the morning together. We did more craft work and played around the house.

After Kaitlin woke up from her afternoon nap, we brought her to Happy Willow! It's been sometime since we last brought her to an indoor playground, and since they were having Easter activities, it was a perfect time to go.

I think it was not just a workout for Kaitlin, but a workout for us as well!

On Easter Sunday, we finally went for brunch! It was a last minute decision, but yay for spontaneous decisions like this :) We had wanted to go to Symmetry, but we had to wait quite abit so we decided to walk a little further down to Artistry and we were pleasantly surprised with the place. In fact, I actually liked that Artistry wasn't as crowded.

Daddy Li ordered the Big Breakfast and I got the Squid Ink Crabmeat Burger. Both were yummy and I definitely recommend trying out the Squid Ink Burger. The cakes on display looked lovely too, but we decided not to be piggish.

After Kaitlin's class, we checked out Shrove Tuesday to have some waffles. Kaitlin got to play at the playground nearby as well, and she totally enjoyed herself. She's getting more adventurous and is able to play independently now. 

Our weekend was a good mix of chilling around and having lots of fast-paced fun. I'm thankful for weekends like this where I get to enjoy the company of people whom I love dearly. Can't wait for the upcoming weekend :D

March [ in pictures ]

March has been a pretty fun month! We've been out and about more and Kaitlin never fails to give us a good laugh with her funny antics.  These days, after Kaitlin takes her afternoon naps I would bring her out to the playground or nearby. As a result, I kind of took a break from doing home schooling activities with her. It's sort of a good break but I would like to try to get back on track with it.

This month, I also got to take a few breaks which I'm very happy and thankful for. Got to have a relaxing session at Nimble/Knead, met up with friends, and had two nights out!

It's also been pretty busy and we haven't really been following our usual family routine so I'm hoping that for April, things will be back to normal or at least more consistent. Besides that, I also want to try to get back to being more healthy like going for more runs and more juice/smoothies. Hopefully that happens cos I wouldn't want my body to start failing on me.

1/4 of the year has passed by just like that! Pretty fast if you ask me, and real soon it would be May, September and then December! Kaitlin's been randomly singing Jingle Bells, so it does seem like the little one is getting ready for Christmas already.

iLight Marina Bay x Pasarbella and Friends Go To Town

Thanks to Instagram, I found out about iLight Marina Bay (i know i've been living in a cave) and I just had to get our family to check it out, and I'm so glad we did cos Kaitlin loved it!

We don't usually head out in the evenings much, and even if we do we try to go to places near home so that we can get back in time for Kaitlin's bedtime, however this time we decided why not! 

In fact, we had planned to go, but when I was about to meet Daddy Li I kind of felt that it was too far and we might all get grumpy but eventually after all that indecisiveness, we made our way to the Marina area.

Since Daddy Li left work early that day to settle his citizenship matters, we got to meet pretty early and since I was feeling a little peckish (as always!) we headed to Pasarbella's pop-up event at Marina Bay Sands.

Not much was open at that time, so we just got a small bite and some booze (just a little cos Kaitlin was around!).

The roasted pork belly from Keith Crackling Roast was really good!! I even tried to offer Kaitlin some, but she wasn't interested, so more for Daddy Li and I :) 

Despite the really bad haze, it was lovely just being there with Kaitlin and Daddy Li especially since we don't go there very often. For once, it felt really chill! We roamed around outside abit more before going back into the aircon to escape from the haze. 

We ended up at Zara and omg I love this branch because it's so huge!! Anw, I think Kaitlin likes Zara too cos she was touching everything and she would let us put on stuff for her to try like scarfs and hats! That doesn't happen very often actually cos she's quite picky about stuff that we put on her and will resist at times, but not at Zara hehe. 

After roaming aimlessly, we went back out to settle our dinner at Pasarbella's pop-up market. We tried the Lobster Pasta from Oceans of Seafood and of course couldn't say no to getting an Omakase burger!

The pasta was so-so and the lobster wasn't as fresh as we had expected it to be as well, so go for it only if you are not fussy and want a filling bite. The burger from Omakase was as awesome as we last had it at The Grandstand. It's a definite must-eat!

We had no problems feeding Kaitlin at all. She totally helped herself to the truffle fries and nommed on our pasta. Daddy Li and I loved the atmosphere and I kept telling him that we totally need to return. I actually felt young and alive again! Like I said, we rarely head out at night so this was like a rare night out for all of us and I didn't feel like an old woman for those few hours. No offence to people who like to stay at home. I'm just more of a going out person, and the last few years before I gave birth I never stayed home for an entire day until my confinement period came and I had new responsibilities as a parent. That evening was really relaxing and so much more fun that just hanging out at the malls like how we usually do.

After our yummy dinner, we went to check out the light installations for iLight Marina Bay. 

We didn't finish checking out all the light exhibits but enough for Kaitlin to say that she wants to return for more! Yes, till today she still tells us that she "wants to go see the lights" and I might just give in to her small request cos afterall she did behave herself (till we got home and she went into cranky mode cos she was overtired) and it happens once a year.

iLight Marina Bay 2014 is happening till the end of March (this weekend!). I really think it's worth heading down to the Marina Bay area to check it out. It's really prettyyyyy, super romantic for couples and the kids would totally love it. 

Don't forget to check out the 'Pasarbella and Friends Go To Town' event as well for some good noms and if it gets a little crowded in the evenings, don't worry cos there are food trucks near some of the light installations. 

February [ in pictures ]

February felt like such a short month and I honestly felt that I didn't get to do many things. One thing that I'm happy about though is that I got to spend some quality time with Kaitlin, just the both of us.

The early part of Feb also saw the hubs and I having some misunderstandings and conflicts. I guess it's pretty normal for couples to be like that. It's not always going to be happy and dandy, but I guess it's when you get through all that and decide that you still want to work on things and not give up that matter the most. If you're wondering, we're okay now and of course it'll be great if things stay this way.

We spent a nice Valentine's Day together. Our fourth year now and of course Kaitlin joined us as well. Except for one activity that I brought Daddy Li to. We definitely love to experience new things and spend time with babygirl but I felt it was important for us to spend some couple time esp with all that was happening earlier. We can't deny that we both thought about Kaitlin at the back of our minds, but we also agreed it was definitely nice that we had some time just to ourselves and having our attention on just the other person.

Well onto March we go! I definitely hope to be more productive for the coming months ahead so we'll see I guess.

January [ in pictures ]

A new year, a new start but to be honest I don't feel like much has changed since 2013. The entire month felt pretty busy and sort of like we were rushing through it.

First, Kaitlin moved up to Nursery 1. Definitely an important milestone to us. It kind of felt like she's a big girl now, and no more the baby of the school. Well, I'm happy to say that she adjusted pretty fast. It wasn't easy, so I'm really happy that the crying didn't last long. Kids do really adapt well, so I believe give them the space, and encourage and reassure them without giving in and that will help them be more confident and adjust faster.

While that was happening, we also celebrated Daddy Li's birthday! Birthdays, monthsaries, anniversaries etc are all important days to me. I like to celebrate them no matter how old or how long we've been together, so of course it had to be planned well. The only thing is...I have yet to get him his present. He was supposed to get a set of weights and we actually walked around Queensway Shopping Centre a few times and decided to get then went for dinner and he suddenly said he doesn't want me to waste the money and I'm like -.- so yes, I still have to get him a present, afterall he really deserves it.

Luckily, we managed to catcher a breather in the middle of the month and started spring cleaning slowly. I know, so early by the time CNY comes it will be dusty again. But cos there's so many things in the house, we kinda had to start early. I decluttered a little, and even till today I decluttered and packed some of my clothes (not nicely...but at least back into the wardrobe from where it was on the hanging rack for the longest time).

So fast forward, CNY came and gone. The usual reunion dinner over at the in-laws and dinner at an auntie's house where we met more relatives. Best part, was having our friends over and them hanging out with Kaitlin. Oh yes! We also went to the pool on two of the days and finally got Kaitlin to use her float and get back in the water!! Woohoo! For a really really long period of time, Kaitlin just didn't want to go into the water or use her float. I guess cos we hadn't been to the pool for a while, and then when we did she was not used to it so she didn't go in but has been playing by the side all this while. So her going into the pool, feeling afraid for awhile, and then kicking and laughing later was pure awesome. Not to forget, she was talking about how she wanted to go to the pool "tonight" and "tomorrow".

Typing the above makes me wonder how did we even get through the busy month. I'm kind of glad January is over and am looking forward to the new month (it's already 3 days into Feb!) but I'm also regretting that I didn't make full use of Jan. Well, too late for regrets so I'm definitely diving into Feb and I hope I don't get distracted midway and lose my momentum.

Here's to a Fabulous February! P.S. 10 more days till one of my favourite days - Valentine's Day! Don't judge, I'm a sucker for romance.

Visiting Farmart

Late last year, I surprised Daddy Li and Kaitlin by bringing them to Farmart. It was our first time there..and since it was a quite a distance away from home, we set off early. 

That's Kaitlin, all excited to leave the house! I had wanted to bring them in the morning, but by the time we reached CCK, it was almost time for Kaitlin to nap and I was afraid she would get cranky. So after we had our breakfast, Kaitlin napped at Grandma's.

When babygirl woke up and had her tea time, we set off for Farmart.

Farmart provides shuttle services from the bus stop opposite Lot One, so that's how we made our way there. When we reached, the place wasn't crowded, and most of the shops had closed. However, we were still able to check out the animals.

The first we spotted were these really beautiful birds. Now, I'm not quite the 'bird' person, and never thought that birds were interesting..but these few birds that were there made me see the beauty in them. It was quite amazing to see their brightly coloured feathers, and how smart these creatures actually are.

Of course we had to visit the rabbits! We bought some food to feed them, as well as other animals like guinea pigs, hamsters and goats. Besides that, we could also feed the fish, turtles and frogs.

I'm so glad that Kaitlin was such a brave girl, and fed the rabbits. She enjoyed it so much that she only stop when there was only a few sticks left.

I felt that it was also great that we managed to go through the farm theme with Kaitlin that we had previously done at home. It made Kaitlin more interested of what was going on around her, and she seemed to really enjoy herself. 

I would definitely recommend visiting Farmart. It's definitely not as awesome as the Zoo, but I think it's just right for toddlers. It's a smaller area and the animals there are all pretty tame, so it's just right for the younger ones. Also, it's not as crowded or at least at the time that we went..which was about 3/4pm. If you are thinking of checking out Farmart, do note that they also have eateries and tours as well so you can grab lunch or a light snack while you're there. Not forgetting, admission is free. 

December [ in pictures ]

December felt like such a rushed month. I admit that I had wanted to complete quite a number of things on my to-do list, but sadly I have not even started on more than half of it. What a bleak way to end of 2013, but it is what it is, so I shall just do whatever I have yet to finish in 2014.

December also felt like a month of celebrations. Looking back, I'm glad to have been able to meet with close friends before the year came to an end. So very thankful to have them in my life, and it was just what I needed to make 2013 end off on great note.

Besides that, I got to spend a little more time with Daddy Li because of Christmas and New Year's. It was nice to have him around abit more and I shall be selfish and childish to admit that I wish he would be around more. Don't be quick to judge me alright. It's just what I would prefer, but of course it is not going to happen. I mean who would not want their other half, and the father of their child to be around more to spend family time together. In a perfect world, everyone would want that right! So while that isn't going to happen anytime soon, I am thankful to have been able to have him around a wee bit more.

We are into the new year already, and I shall leave whatever I have left to reflect and say about 2013 and going on to 2014 for another post. Something different this year is that Daddy Li and I have yet to make any resolutions for the new year. I'm still thinking if I want to or not, cos honestly who really looks back on their resolutions and have achieved at least half of them, or who even remembers what they are? I'm sure there are those who do achieve whatever they have set out to do, but I'm pretty sure majority of us give up or forget about it halfway through. I definitely want to set resolutions but if I'm not gonna bother about them halfway through (I know myself, sigh) then that's abit pointless. But oh well, we'll see. So far, 2014 has started out pretty slow for me. Hoping to get some sort of drive and enthusiasm for the new year within the next week or so. For now..it's birthday planning for the husband who's birthday falls on Monday!

Christmas 2013

Merry Belated Christmas if you're reading this!

On the night of Christmas eve, Daddy Li and I kind of had this feeling that Kaitlin would wake up early on Christmas Day, and she did! This girl always wakes up early when she doesn't have school and on school days she refuses to wake up. I'm pretty sure if you're a parent, this is familiar to you.

So while I got Kaitlin to start eating her brekkie, Daddy Li got changed into Santa Claus! Yes! Santa delivered presents to Kaitlin on Christmas morning. A little different from the usual tradition of Santa bringing presents before Christmas morning, but this way Kaitlin could get to see Santa up close.

We aren't sure if Kaitlin knows that it's indeed Daddy Li under the costume, but she was just pretty neutral about it. She wasn't terrified, but neither was she keen on saying Hi to Santa. She did want the presents though!

After breakfast, we showered and headed for our Christmas Day brunch at Spruce at Phoenix Park.

Food and service wasn't fantastic and in fact we felt it was worse than our first visit, so I doubt we'll be returning to Spruce anytime soon. Other than that, we had a nice time just chilling as a family together and watching Kaitlin nom on pancakes (which really weren't that great).

After brunch, we did some grocery shopping cos Daddy Li and I were going to cook Christmas dinner together! It was kind of like our couple bonding activity. We went home, and a cranky Kaitlin had her nap.

We had wanted to start prepping dinner before she woke up, but this little girl got up earlier than usual so we just made do and prepared our ingredients for dinner while entertaining her.

We popped out of the house for a little while to rent some dvds and to get a little snack (yay orh luak!). Kaitlin wanted to have some watermelon, so I got her a slice and she finished everything that was on the plate! We rushed home after and started cooking dinner.

We made cream of corn soup and steak with a huge a** bowl of mushroom sauce. For desserts (didn't take a picture!) we had chocolate fondue with strawbies, kiwi and blueberries! Though Daddy Li and I didn't talk and joke around much while cooking (at first my tummy was feeling unwell and then later on we were in serious mode rushing to finish cooking dinner!), I super love the bonding time we had. We should totally do this again hubs *winks*!

After all of that, we showered Kaitlin and accompanied her to sleep. Daddy Li and I ended the night off watching one of the dvds we borrowed.

It wasn't a happening Christmas, like we weren't out and about much and celebrating but it was sure nice to be able to spend time with Kaitlin and Daddy Li. This is family life isn't it? You skip the parties that are fun and sometimes might be memorable and instead spend time with the people that matter most, and those are the memories that are really going to last a lifetime and that you'll always treasure close to your heart. 

I won't lie, I do miss the parties and hanging out at night without having to worry about anything at all. I could do that now if I wanted, but I know full well that I could never be really happy or not feel worried cos Kaitlin would be at the back of my mind. It might sound like I'm the one that has separation anxiety issues, but really..once you've your own child, one that means the world to you and that you can't help but love and care for unconditionally, everything is different. But definitely different in a good way and I wouldn't exchange this family and this life for anything else. 

Snowy Fun at Tanglin Mall

It's kind of been (and I hope it will continue to be!) a tradition for us to head to Tanglin Mall during the festive season to catch some "snow".

We had a fun time with Kaitlin riding her scooter to Tanglin Mall and then when we got there she was pointing out the Snowman, Santa Claus, Horse etc to us and getting a wee bit excited! Though Kaitlin isn't too crazy about the snow, this year she seemed to be less afraid of it. In fact, at times when we are home she'll talk about it.  I think she liked the decorations and statues more than the snow..but well there will be many more years ahead. Perhaps in a few years even if I want to go home, she'll want to stay and play with the snow!

If you're interested to bring your kids to check out the snow and take pictures with the beautifully decorated place, it's still not too late to do so!

Till Jan 1st, there'll be an avalanche and snow session everyday. On weekends and public holidays, there will be two more sessions. Of course this will be subjected to weather conditions. There will also be a Santa's workshop till Christmas Eve where kids get to take photos with Santa Claus.

For more info on the snow timings and Santa's workshop, head on over here. Happy Holidays!

Home Learning - Decorating a Christmas Tree

I kind of took a pause with the home learning activities at home..but now I'm back! I just did an activity with Kaitlin this afternoon to get her more excited for Christmas. I say more because she already is quite excited about it. She'll say "Christmas is coming" and she can sing a little of 'Jingle Bells'. Yes I taught her that but she says it on her own when she sees Christmas related objects and starts singing randomly or when she sees the Christmas tree at home. Sometimes, she'll want to on the Christmas tree lights too.

Our home learning activity was to decorate a Christmas Tree using stickers! Of course you can use any other materials like pom pom balls and twine, but stickers are the easiest and I kind of prepared this whole activity in less than 5 minutes which explains the not so nicely cut tree.

Before we started, I asked Kaitlin if she wanted to decorate a Christmas tree. At first she said yes and wanted a "big one" (she was referring to the Christmas tree at home) but I told her she's so small and she might not be able to decorate an actual big tree.

So since Kaitlin said yes, I quickly cut up the tree. I showed Kaitlin the book we had been reading about Christmas and pointed out the tree to her and took the chance to teach and reinforce words like "christmas tree", "ornaments" and "baubles". 

I also pointed out to her the ornaments on the tree in her book and told her let's decorate with these stickers and there she went decorating without needing any further help or instructions. It was quite cute seeing her so serious about it and I was quite surprised she could take out the dot stickers herself cos they were pretty tiny.

Kaitlin was able to correctly name to colours when I asked her. She could also identify shapes like  "heart" and "star".

After pointing out the star at the top of the christmas tree in her storybook, Kaitlin finished off decorating hers the same way. When she was done, I asked her if she wanted to show it to anyone and she said she wanted to show it to her friends and Daddy Li and even started naming her friends in class. Some names came up three times!

It was a really simple no-mess (yay!) activity, but I think she learnt quite a fair bit while having some fun. She had the opportunity to decorate on her own independently, and got to practise her fine motor skills, observation and communication skills. I think next up..I'm gonna prepare a bigger tree or perhaps a snowman since she seems to like the activity alot. 

Kaitlin's Playgroup Year-End Concert

Kaitlin's school had their year-end concert last Friday and boy was I excited for it!! I think I was more excited than Kaitlin and it was such a special day for Kaitlin and us.

The concert was held at the Singapore Post Theatrette. Lucky for her playgroup class, they did not have to arrive as early as the other kids so Kaitlin got to wake up at her usual time. We dropped her off so that she could prepare with her teachers and friends, while Daddy Li and I had some rare couple time where we mostly stoned and eagerly waited for the performance to start.

After the usual speech and all..the show was about to begin! We got to see slideshows of all the kids in the school and of course I had to snap away when they showed Kaitlin's class. Basically it was a compilation of them in class and also during their rehearsals for their performance.

Seeing them practice for the performance totally made my heart melt! It's like they did all that for us?! And they are only 2! They may not know that the performance was for us, but the fact that they practice and then did it on stage later was such a sweet moment that I almost teared.

Here's the performance:

I didn't edit it at all and it's a little shaky here and there. If you get to the end of the video, you'll realise that Kaitlin didn't move much as in she didn't do most of the actions but that was totally fine by us. I think it was already awesome enough that she went on stage and didn't start crying. In fact, I'm not too sure if she saw us while on stage, but as you can see in the video she seemed to be looking at us for awhile.

Oh...I don't know how to really describe the entire moment. It was such a mix of being excited and us trying to snap and film away that when the performance ended I was like "what just happened?!" cos there were just so many emotions. Thankfully though we had the video above so I could totally re-watch (I've already watched it at least like 5 times over hehe!) it and see what really went on.

We spent the rest of the concert with K seated with us, which was a great move on the school's part cos obviously all the small kids would want to be with their parents. Kaitlin basically just snacked the whole way through the other performances. She wouldn't stop eating all her puffs that by the end she had almost finished all of it. Thankfully she was a good girl as well and didn't get cranky or fidgety at all. We didn't stay through to the end of the concert like we had wanted to cos of K's naptime. Luckily the only time she got cranky was when we got on the cab to leave and by then she was starting to get tired so it was totally understandable.

Daddy Li and I are both very proud of our little girl. It's not just this performance that made us feel this way..but in a way the concert was kind of the icing on the cake. I think the performance just shows how much Kaitlin has grown since she's started school. She definitely picked up both good and bad habits, but I think it's safe to say there are more good ones than bad. I remember how it was such a tough search looking for her school and how undecided I felt. Even on the first week of school, watching her cry in tears totally made my heart ache and I always questioned if I did the right thing and I always did consider if I should just pull her out from school. After the performance, I finally felt like I did do something right after all..and I feel even more assured that Kaitlin's doing just fine in class.

With the year coming to an end, I'm definitely getting a little worried about how Kaitlin is going to adjust to moving up to Nursery level with new classmates, a new classroom and new teachers. I know it's not going to be a smooth transition, but I can only hope for the best. And like always, I'll just have to hold her hands, hug it out with her and reassure her that it will all be fine.

--

To my dearest Kaitlin, you've done mommy and daddy so very proud, and we are so happy with how much you've learnt and achieved. You've always been surprising us with what you've learnt and what you are capable of doing. Sure, you might be slower than your peers in certain aspects and I was always the worry wart, but we really couldn't ask for more from you. As for Nursery, we'll get through whatever transition you've to make Kaitlin, mommy will always be here. Always. For now, just enjoy the rest of the school year my little sweetheart!

November [ in pictures ]

We're into the final month of the year!! I would love to feel a little bit more "Christmas-sy", but the truth is that this year I feel like we are so busy we don't have time to bask in all that Christmas joy and fun. I'm contemplating letting Kaitlin skip a few days of school just so that we could all enjoy a little more (going to play with fake snow at Tanglin Mall, seeing the Christmas lights along Orchard Road etc. + some hot cocoa and snuggling under the blankie for all three of us) and sleep and wake up late..but we'll see about that. 

November has been a great month except for us falling ill and passing it to one another and it's not ending at all! It's like a horrible vicious cycle :( Kaitlin has also been terribly cranky and rebellious this month. I thought we had already seen the worst of the Terrible Twos..but oh my..I surprised there's more. Really hoping this will be all over soon and I can get my forever sweet and angelic little girl back. I still love her lots..but you know sometimes..she really knows how to drive you up the wall with that attitude and spunk of hers.

We started off the month happy, with a surprise staycation for the husband..it was sort of a good getaway for us all even though it lasted only a day! November ended on a sweet note as we watched K's first ever school performance. So exciting!! I honestly think I was more excited than her. She did fabulous, and even if I sound bias, I've to say she was pretty kick-ass awesome this whole school year. More about that in another post cos it totally deserves a post on it's own.

Our Christmas tree is up, except for that shiny star that has to go right up..but I'm not gonna let that and our busy lives stop us all from feeling the Christmas spirit! I'm gonna be a mommy on a mission - getting the whole family excited for Christmas and tying up as many loose ends before the year ends..just cos certain things have been dragging on wayyyyy too long.

In any case...HAPPY DECEMBER ALL and enjoy this special time of the year :)

Thankful for...

It's Thanksgiving today, and honestly we don't celebrate it but I like to take this time to look back on the year and count my blessings. Of course, I strongly believe that being thankful for someone or something shouldn't happen only once a year but the fact is that we are all so caught up with everyday life that sometimes we overlook just how lucky we are. So I guess, in a way this is sort of a reminder to stop hating on life, and to really learn to be thankful for what we have.

I'm thankful for the same group of people that have been a constant in my life. Kaitlin and the husband, and of course my friends. I'm even more thankful for friends who I've not talked to for quite sometime, but are still able to maintain contact with.

I feel very blessed to be able to spend another year staying home to look after Kaitlin. It's a rare thing for someone my age to be doing, but I personally feel that it's the best way to bring up my child. I'm not saying I'm the best mom in the world or that I'm a MOM 101 guru, but I feel that nothing beats watching your child grow up everyday with your own eyes, and under your own care. This brings me to the point of how I'm thankful for Daddy Li's understanding and support in my decision.

Without doubt, I'm thankful for Kaitlin. So very thankful for her existence, her smiles and the joy that she brings us. Every kid cries and screams, and honestly no one likes it, and I even lose my patience at times..but in a sadistic kind of way I'm thankful for her tantrums and her stubborness. It reminds me so much of myself as a kid (I guess it's karma), but it has taught me so many things. Besides all the general baby/toddler caring aside, Kaitlin has made me learn to be a more patient person (I'm still impatient in general, but it's better!), to be more tolerant, to understand that things don't always go my way and that I've to just suck it up. It has taught me that even with your have a grand plan that you think is foolproof, it won't always work when your throw a kid into the equation and when that happens you just have to be flexible, deal with it and move on.

This year I'm thankful for my relationship with Daddy Li and our family. Daddy Li finally got out of army and is working and I'm just so thankful that we got through those two years of him in army with little fights and arguments and lots of 'give and takes' instead.

Well, that was pretty wordy and still I'm thankful for so many more things...but I think the rest I'll just make known to myself.

I think Thanksgiving is a great day to tell your loved ones just how thankful you are for them. It doesn't have to be on Thanksgiving day, it can be any other day or everyday, but if you haven't done so in awhile..why not take this opportunity to :)

Halloween and Deepavali 2013

Due to the fact that I'm so backdated with my posting, I decided that I shall blog about two events in this post rather than to totally skip blogging about it.

Kaitlin celebrated Halloween And Deepavali in school slightly less than a month back, and in fact the celebrations happened on consecutive days that I think she got a little traumatized from it. She had been crying when I dropped her off at school the entire week after the celebrations, and being a worried mom I was discussing it with her teachers. It turns out that babygirl was probably a little traumatized as there were lots of kids around during the celebration days, and Kaitlin is such a timid (yes I know you can't imagine her being timid) girl that she doesn't do well with crowds. In fact, I heard that she was clinging on to her Mandarin teacher the whole time and wanted to be carried. This girl can be such a princess!

Well, thankfully though the crying has stopped and Kaitlin is happy as ever to attend school.

Back to the point of this post! On the two days, Kaitlin was actually in a very chirpy mood when we were going to school so that was pretty good. I was worried that she wouldn't want to wear the costume and outfit I got for her, but she surprised me and loved it! Huge sigh of relief, cos my efforts in searching high and low paid off.


Halloween 
I went to lots of places to find costumes for K and even considered ordering through the net. However, by the time I had decided on a costume, it would not have delivered in time for her Halloween celebration in school. So I stuck to just searching around shops in Singapore. The problem is that it is quite to hard to find costumes for toddlers between 1-2 years old. Costumes that usually can be found in SG are more for babies or 3 years and up. So unless you have a very tiny toddler or one that's tall and big enough it would be quite a problem to find an outfit that would fit.

Thankfully though, I managed to find a costume for K!

Can you guess what Kaitlin was for Halloween?

Hehe babygirl was a bumblebee and coincidentally it matched her school bag which is a bee! They did trick or treating in school with kids from the different levels and Kaitlin came home with lots of candy. I'm not sure if she ate any in school, but she made sure to let me know that the bag of candy was hers.

When I picked K up she was not in her costume already cos of course she couldn't possibly eat in it, but when we were on the way home she wanted to put her costume on again, and she did! So I guess it's safe to say that she liked it! Double yayy! 

Our neighbourhood didn't have any trick-or-treating going on this year, so K didn't get to go collect more candy and wear her costume again..but I'm thinking of letting her wear it just for fun around the house when she wants to do some imaginative or role play. In fact, she can still fit into her spider one from last year's Halloween!

Deepavali 

K's school celebrated Deepavali the day after their Halloween celebrations! It was also Kaitlin's very first time celebrating Deepavali.

I got K's costume from Mustafa and you should really check the place out. They have everything and anything. Especially Deepavali costumes! I was worried I might not be able to find one that would fit Kaitlin, but I was so relieved that they had costumes for all sizes. What's more I didn't have to worry that I would be charged more than I should be paying for if I were to go to Tekka market. I also managed to find bangles that would fit her tiny hands without falling off. 

Since K's school has AC on throughout the day, I got her to wear a long sleeve shirt underneath so she wouldn't feel cold in class. She loved her bangles and for the fun of it, she kept taking them on and off by herself. Before she even reached school there was glitter all over her.

See how happy she was even before we reached school! I love that she likes to go to school, and it definitely makes me feel assured that she's having a good time and is enjoying class. That last two photos are her doing her version of a happy face. We usually show her the twist, but I guess she ended up with this unique version of hers. Kaitlin came home with a crepe/prata..I guess it had something to do with the Deepavali theme they had for the day. Her teacher also sent us images of K learning more about Deepavali with her classmates and trying some snacks. Seemed like a pretty fun day to me!

I'm really glad that Kaitlin has these opportunities to celebrate and socialise with her classmates, teachers and the older kids in school. Plus, I'm sure she learnt a thing or two about Halloween and Deepavali. She knows "pumpkin", "ghost", "costume" and "spooky" and when I read a book about Halloween that I borrowed from the library she was fake laughing and saying funny. I'm glad she didn't find Halloween to be a scary affair, but more of a fun one. Though she did get a little over stimulated in school, I guess it's part of the growing up process for her and it's good for her to be more exposed to other kids since she rarely interacts with children her age. Hopefully this will help her to learn to control her emotions better and be less shy. 

Kaitlin's 2nd Birthday - School Party!

We ended off Kaitlin's 2nd birthday celebration at her preschool! Babygirl was supposed to celebrate with her classmates and teachers on the actual day of her birthday but since she was still ill (talk about wrong timing!) we decided the best decision was to stay home and postpone it.

I had initially wanted to get a "healthy cake" for her classmates as I'm not a big fan of toddlers having junk food, especially since you don't know what kind of dietary restrictions each kid might have. Luckily though, according to K's teachers, the kids are all fine and can eat anything. So I decided on getting her a Hello Kitty cake.

I didn't go with a whole fancy fondant cake cos we all know how much sugar there is in that and how sweet that'll be. They would probably have been on a sugar high..So I just went for a simple cream cake with fruits.

On the day itself, we dropped Kaitlin off and then went back to her school a little later to celebrate. Like one hour later! I had ordered and collected her cake from the branch where her school was at, so it was easy for me to collect as I didn't have to travel at all, and that meant that I could collect it the same morning as her celebration..and sort of ensure that the cake was "fresh" for the kids.

When we arrived at K's class, it was so awesome to see K surprised and happy to see us..loved that look on her face! Well, of course she stuck to us once she saw us, and was afraid to leave our side.

Here's Kaitlin with her cake!

Her classmates were all so super adorable. They were so well-behaved and excited to sing the birthday song.  They sang an English and Mandarin version of the song, and it was kind of cool that some of them knew the entire lyrics. I filmed the celebration process on my phone, but seeing that it's best to respect the privacy of the other parents and their kids I did not post it on social media, and it won't be up on this blog either.

Instead..I have more pictures of Kaitlin!

I think she was pretty unsure with what was going on cos she was giving the 'huh?' face, but at least she blew her on candles and cut the cake. As for eating the cake..all she had was a mouthful and she didn't want more. I guess she really isn't into cake (yet! seriously who does not like cake?!). 

What's a party without treat bags right?

I took the above picture before packing the bags. DIY-ed labels for the treat bags, and I ordered a mix of organic snacks via iherb to fill up the bags. Plus I also made a trip to the party shops at Bugis to get some stickers and bubbles. I just wanted to make sure that what I filled the bags with was toddler friendly and useful.

I totally forgot to take an 'after' photo of the treat bags D: but oh well, there's always next year and hopefully I'll remember to. After cutting the cake at school, K distributed the treat bags to all her classmates. It was such a cute sight seeing her happily distribute it to them, and them being excited to open the bags.

Our celebration for her at school ended after that. Obviously Kaitlin didn't want be apart from us and continue with her programme in school so we brought her home. 

It definitely was fun celebrating with Kaitlin and her friends in school, especially since she does not have friends her age outside of class. It also brought back memories of celebrating my birthday in kindy. Celebrating in school was always fun cos you would be the most important person for the day, and there would be cake + lots of goodies and everyone in class would be excited and happy.

I'm looking forward to next year's celebration! Hopefully by then she likes cake, and she would be able to tell me what kind of birthday she would like (and not be too picky and demanding if not it'll sure be a headache) and be all excited and looking forward to it :D

Kaitlin's 2nd Birthday - A Picnic Affair

Besides the birthday celebration we had with Kaitlin, we also planned another one for Kaitlin to celebrate with her Godparents!

We had a picnic at the Botanics and set up the place as well! Here's the set up:

It definitely was not easy bringing everything over and then setting it up. Thankfully, I had the help of Kaitlin's godparents! To think I even wanted to head over earlier to set up first, but that failed and we ended up being late to meet them!

As for the decor..I know it's so pink and girly..but I'll be thick skinned and say I LOVE IT! I had actually made the streamers as a photo backdrop for photos that I had wanted to take of Kaitlin on her birthday. But she was cranky then and hence we have no photos :( I just recycled that backdrop and brought it over with us to Botanics and it became our picnic party backdrop. It was so easy to make and didn't cost much at all!

The pink favour bags were treat bags for her Godparents. I went to the party shop at Bugis and got old school snacks and toys to fill them with.

Despite being really hungry, we definitely had to take some pictures before we started eating! The photos in this post are really just a super tiny portion out of the many photos we took on multiple phones!

It was getting dark fast, so even though we brought Kaitlin's cake out, we and her godparents decided to quickly go back to our place to continue the celebration and for her cake cutting.

Kaitlin's second cake was from Smitten Micro Bakery. It was a rose based flavoured cake with raspberry jam, raspberries and pistachio bits as filling. I also requested for a vanilla buttercream pink ombre frosting to go along with the pink theme of the picnic. 

I bought the candle separately, and DIY-ed the felt cake bunting (here's last year's DIY-ed cake bunting) It was a little tough to do the bunting cos of the cutting out of the alphabets, but still pretty manageable when you find the right pair of scissors and have lots of patience.

K didn't want to try her cake (yet again!), so it was only the adults who ate it. Which was quite a pity! Cos I really wanted her to try the raspberry and pistachio filling..but oh well..next year, next year!

After all that cake cutting, babygirl got to open all the wonderful presents from her godparents. Needless to say she liked them all! What's not to like about hello kitty kitchen toys and a princess car right! Every little girl's dream if you ask me. 

Definitely got to thank Kaitlin's godparents for their time, co-operation and help! Not forgetting the awesome presents. We truly appreciate it, and I'm sure when babygirl's a little older, she too will know and appreciate their love for her. They are truly the coolest and sweetest godparents. Kaitlin surely is one lucky girl to have 3 godmothers and 1 godfather (who has so many godparents!) who dote on her so so much. Thank you for celebrating with our little one Ronald, Enna, KY and Val <3