CNY 2012

Contemplated and hesitated on writing this post for sometime as my mind kept thinking that ern is turning THREE tomorrow!!! So technically I still have another year with her before she turns four – the not so cute stage (so i’ve heard) and then five… Six… Then Primary one! If the first three years and zoom by so fast, so can the next three years. I guess even more so with the arrival of our second princess. Since no one has yet invented a time machine; I had better “savour” every moment I have with her.

So for our CNY we did the usual things visiting, feasting and more feasting.

Pictures pictures pictures!!

She knows what to expect and understands the “procedure”. Equipped with an empty bag; she is ready to go!! Hahahaha…

Family picture first!

Taken at my inlaws; with her favourite dog MILO!! Look closely at them and you will notice both the little owner and her pet has the same facial expression.

“jump Milo! Jump!!” Ok … Clearly she thinks she can handle 25kg anytime.

Picture with her favourite shu shu. (she hasn’t a choice really. She has only one shu shu)but see the smile on her face? It says it all…

Okay, her cousins from china came to visit. But ern hasn’t learnt how to be a gracious host – yet; otherwise this seat must so special and only one of them can seat on it.

It’s quite unlike ern not to give in because she usually does. But from what we have observed, since the trip we made last year to visit them in Hangzhou, these 2 little angels become monsters when you put them together. Refusing to give in and always want to vie for anything. I think it started when Jenny (the cousin in question) refuse to share anything with ern. It’s rather funny. Jenny will bring her “treasure” (tortise, books etc…) to show ern (just a glimpse) after she has caught ern’s attention, she will run away with it and refuse to let ern take a second look and that made ern so mad. So it started from that trip; they made “enemies”. On the surface, ern dislikes Jenny. But ironically when asked she says she likes Jenny. Interestingly ee fann told me that usually the youngest will not share and the eldest are more willingly to share. After thinking about it; it does make sense.

These were taken at ee fann godpa’s house. Ern was kept entertained the whole time she was there; exploring the house, identifying the different animal ornaments. Here at the pond, she force fed the duck water and food by dunking it’s head in the water. She was at it for a good 20 mins at least!

“duck!! You are hungry! You must eat fish. Come, eat your fish!”

Second day of CNY. A picture with papa. I really like how it turned out.

With her other cousin; dancing away.

She also helped with the beansprouts ; )

She saw the toy box and told me “Jack in the box”. I didn’t get it until….

We got her tickets for Disney on ice! She kept looking intently at the brochure from carrefour till we reached home. Hence we are so sure she will enjoy it!

Ah… This garlic thing is made by my mum!! It symbolizes wealth.

We also went too ee fann’s office to witness the dragon and lion dance. It was so loud and ern wasn’t bothered by the noise but was so engrossed in the performance.

My darling distributing sweets to uncle.

That’s pretty much it for our CNY celebration! I know and I can feel that 2012 will be a superb year.

Before CNY

Bought a chocolate cake for her (she chose) it as a reward of her outstanding “performance”, undeniable concentration and enthusiastic participation in shichida this morning.

We were at suntec rushing for last minute shopping and ended up having breakfast at macdonalds as no other restaurants were opened yet. Ern had her fill nontheless ; ))

After her nap, we had our very own yu sheng at home. Topped with extra salmon sashimi.

That’s all for now!! The feasting starts tomorrow!!

CNY performance

Ee fann couldn’t be there with us and it’s the first time she is leading a dance before a large crowd. The last concert performance was a proper one with lights and stage but the lights were dimmed so she couldn’t see the crowd. This time it was held under a HDB void deck in the morning. So I wasn’t sure if she will have any stage fright jitters but I badly wanted to take down her entire performance on video.

Not equipped with a proper video recorder this time so I had to rely on my iPhone.

I was blown away once again by all the performances that the children put up especially the one lead by ern! Hee hee… She was a natural and definitely thrive on attention and applause. She danced like the song belonged to her. Each and every step were deliberate and confident. She is always smiling or giggling(certain actions were really very entertaining) throughout the dance.

So after it ended, I retreated back to a corner wanting to replay to see if what I’ve just saw was for real. Then I got the most disappointing shock. It wasn’t on video mode. All I took was a picture. I was so upset!! Full of regrets … Obviously it still upsets me till now.

After the event was over, I was congratulated by her teachers and the principal. I definitely am very proud of her. I forgot to mention she had only 4-5 practice sessions. She did not even attend the actual rehearsal as she was … Sick. After she got back for her final practice session; I thought she would have been replaced. But she wasn’t! Her form tutor had absolute faith in her ; ) and they were right, she was absolutely charming.

The next performance would be during mid autumn festival which will only happen during the final quarter of the year. But from now till then, it’s packed with excursions ; )

This shot is taken in the morning with papa before she went to school.

The venue

Getting ready … Can spot her? Front row, in the middle.

Lastly, their very own in house lion dance put up by the principal, mr Jeremiah.

When the performance was over, we went back to her class for potluck lunch. Every parent contributed something.

This is ern, waiting for her food.

Think she was famished! She asked for second round.

And that’s not all. While I was talking to the principal, she happily helped herself with big servings of jelly. Sneaky little fellow! She wasn’t feeling well so I wanted to restrict her intake on sugar… But oh well..

Anyway, happy Chinese New Year to all!!! Wishing you a prosperous, healthy and happy new year!

It’s likely a girl ; )

That’s what the gynae told us ; )

Like I always tell ee fann “this is what you get for wishing for many women in your life!” hahahaha

It’s my 18th week now. Baby is growing very well. Life for me has resumed to normal again … At least for another trimester ; )

Still thinking of a name.. Will be something ern as well! We love the word ern because the true meaning of “en” is gratitude. Ee fann studied higher Chinese so trust him ; )

Gratitude is such a beautiful word. It’s beautiful in every sense. A person without gratitude will not be a happy person. And usually well liked by everyone. So that is what we want ; )

And tomorrow is yet another celebration in school – welcoming of CNY! I heard that there will an in house lion dance! How interesting! Unfortunately ee fann won’t be able to be with us (ern will be leading a dance) yet again due to a seminar that he has to conduct.

Hopefully I can get some decent pictures of the event! Will post soon!

Parainfluenza

That was the reason why she spent the last few days of 2011 and the first few days of 2012 in hospital.

I know that ern has been in and out of hospital since young. Tried as I might, changing her diet but there’s no way to prevent it from happening. Although I do see her immunity building up as she didn’t fall sick for a long stretch of time; attending school daily and all… But the problem comes when the virus or infection catches her. Unlike other child who can cough for weeks or even a month or more, ern will result in further complications easily.

I’ve heard rude remarks that she isn’t eating healthily or not getting enough exercise and “thankfully the virus is not spread to their child.” and it hurts. So please… Watch your words.

Eventhough ern has medical condition, I can’t possibly cope her up at home can I? She still needs a normal life like other child. Though I must say ee fann and I gets wary whenever anyone sneezes or coughs near ern. We are very sensitive to such situations. And we pray that she recovers fast whenever she falls sick.

Parainfluenza is different from common cold. It is a virus that can cause either upper respiratory infection or lower respiratory infection (bronchiolitis, bronchitis, pneumonia etc..) or both. For an adult, the symptoms usually go away without treatment. It starts with a common cold (sneeze etc…) then fever with mucleache. Ee fann got it. So I know. Then comes the cough which will last a few weeks. But if it happens to infants or younger child; in the case ern (with sensitive airway) it will also be common cold symptoms first then HIGH fever then the cough. In ern’s case, the virus caused lower resiratory infection. Hence the difficulty in breathing, wheezing. (the airway gets very congested) and this definitely calls for prompt treatment. As usual we go to gleneagles (no need to queue)

When I spoke to the doctor who is on duty, he just told me to continue with the medication at home etc…. But I know my daughter better than anyone. I insisted on admission and a specialist immediately.

Upon checking ern, the PD ordered blood test, mucus test, antibiotic via drip (yes. Needles, needles and more needles). And of coz nebulizer. She did a total of 3 blood tests!!! I almost wanted to faint each time needles were used. But my only comfort was that ern was very calm and brave. She is perfectly ok with that little cast on her hand, only thing is that she complains of her hand being itchy and couldn’t scratch it. When the results came, after knowing that it’s a virus, we can’t do much but to let it run it’s course.

Ern has antibodies against the virus now (you will have antibodies against the virus after recovery) but the unfortunate thing is the virus will never be the same. It mutates. But if she gets it again it will not be that serious.

That is the reason why it is advisable to take flu vaccinations every year coz the virus is never the same.

Pneumococal (spell check pls) vaccination is able to prevent certain types of virus that causes pneumonia. Not all. There are way too many viruses that can lead to pneumonia. And pneumonia itself comes in several forms too. (complicated. I know) But it is still worth getting the vaccination done as the virus that the vaccination prevents can be very destructive or even deadly. To parents with weird mentality – please. It does not cause autism. (get your facts right. Speak to several professionals to get them verified if you must. Since one shouldn’t take newspaper articles as gospel truth; much less information on the Internet right?)

Nope ern is not vaccinated yet. Coz each time when I want to call for an appointment, she falls sick. Now she is nursing a runny nose. I’m praying.

In the ward. I think it’s day one or two.

When she is much better. Looking prettier too ; ))

She is now an informal leader

In school. Last year she was one of the three PG (playgroup) students. Her classroom is a mixture of N1 and PG students. This year, 2012, all the N1 has shifted to the other classroom and her present class has an influx of new “recruits”.

Teacher Daz; her form teacher told me that since PG days, she is the only one (in PG) that talks. This year she talks non-stop. She talks to everyone and even assist her to get the class to drink water.
Ern, with her finger (pointer) in the air:
“hey, you, drink your water ah, drink more! Drink!”

Sounds more like a tyrant to me!!

Her new senior teacher likes to tell me things about ern that impresses her… Like her ability to recognize and name countless animals, all shapes, colours, counting, etc… But I’m not that impressed. Ok maybe I would be if she had told me this like 2 years ago. She knew all her stuff when she was barely 2 years old…

But what I’m happy about is the updates that’s written in her progress report. It said that ern’s social skill has improved. When faced with conflict, she is able to compromise. In fact, I’ve noticed some time ago that ern is very willing to share her stuff. Toys, food … Whatever. It just makes me feel so proud of her. But don’t try asking her to share when she is in a bad mood (cranky) she won’t.

Then i got a pleasant surprise when i took her to playground this evening. (she still needs to work on her motor skills) As she was climbing up the stairs to the slide she suddenly said “this is the word seal.” Then I looked closely at what was distracting her. It was a small sticker that read “safety seal”. My gal can recognize more words now. Either that or she can read it. I must say that she is phonetically advanced. Whenever we have a conversation, any conversation. For example:
“ern, can you help teacher daz lead the team in the dance practice later?”
Ern:
“no problem.”
“teacher – T” “tiger also T!”
“dance – starts with “D” “dinner also D!”
“practice – starts with P” “pig also P!”
She gets very satisfied with doing this. And I’m more than happy to help her with even more words. To some, this could be insanely boring; but to us, it’s fun ; )

Next Thursday the school will be putting up a performance for CNY. This time round; ern is the lead dancer! Teacher daz said the rest of the students are still new to the school and still crying so needs ern to lead ; ) lead the team? Ern’s reply will be “no problem!” (it’s music and dancing. How can she ever say no?)

Berries trial class

She attended her berries trial class yesterday. So far the reviews for berries has been good. I cannot comment or conclude the effectiveness of berries yet as it’s afterall just her first lesson.

But what I can tell you is the experience when I was there. A mere 15 mins experience with her in class; after which I was politely invited to leave the room.

The staff/receptionist (2 young ladies) speaks perfect mandarin. Not the china slang type but you can tell that they definitely aced their second language during their academic years. In such situation one would be compelled to converse in mandarin (possibly as fluent as one can) – which is fantastic. It creates a 100% mandarin speaking environment. Even when a parent speaks to them in English; the reply will be in mandarin. Awesome.

Ern was early for class as I wanted to settle the payment and administration etc… So there was a little room with some kids inside watching TV (chinese educational stuff) ern just walked right in, sat on the floor with the rest. She turned her head occasionally just to make sure mummy is still in sight.

When time is up, we were invited into the classroom. If you have been to bibinogs; the classroom setting is exactly the same. Sit on the floor type. White washed walls with toys laid on the floor to keep the children busy while waiting for the other children to arrive.

This is the part which I wasn’t ready. There were 8 students including ern. Except ern and another boy, ALL the rest were crying hell. It was bad. Real bad. Almost defeaning. I sat on the floor shell shocked. I just kept very quiet and in my mind struggling with a thought “did I make a mistake to bring ern for berries?” I think it was a good 5 minutes that I just sat there speechless. Then one of the teacher (there were 3 of them) came to me and said “rou ern is totally unaffected. Well done!” (in mandarin of course) That was the saving grace. Ern wasn’t bothered by the screaming and crying at all. She just continued playing with the toys, exploring the surroundings and even invited me to join her in a puzzle game.

Okay so while the two of us minded our own business, the teachers busied themselves carrying the children and trying hard to pacify them as best as they could. I think these N1children hasn’t been to a drop off class before and hence seperation anxiety is bad. But some parents were still with their kids; but that too didn’t help.

When the class finally starts at 5.15pm, as expected, it was music and movement. Ern’s favourite! She was a natural. Then teacher performed a skit (they are damn good) to elaborate or introduce the word of the day which was “mouth” and “nose”. When teacher asked ern a question, she answered in perfect diction in mandarin which amazed the teachers. Hahahaha I think they thought most kids attending berries don’t know a word of mandarin. There are lots of participation from the children. Ern kept laughing at the teachers as the skit was rather funny to her; silly to me. Hahahaha. The skit also teaches the children how to recognize the Chinese character (impressive). For instance; teacher will pretend to have bad runny nose by sneezing a couple of times (real loud) then next thing you see; teacher used scotch tape to attach tissue to your nose. The clear tape was meant to look like mucus!! The word 鼻 (nose) has two “horizontal” strokes at the bottom and that symbolizes the mucus. How cool is that?!

And then upon seeing ern nicely settled down… I was invited to leave.. I told ern I will be waiting outside and left.

So I went for my dinner and came back at 6.30pm and saw ern happily running towards me with a sweet in her hand and asked me to open for her. Hahaha! Soon after ern said to me “mummy cannot go inside. Only ern can. Mummy have to wait outside.” I asked if she wants to come back here again and she said “yes.” So yes, she is ready for berries.

P.S: we took home some materials which included flashcards of the words taught that day and “tested” ern. She CAN recognize them. Not bad for a start yah?

Belated post on Christmas

Finally able to write something here… Let me try to recall …. Couple of days ago I had tonnes to write but so many things happened and my limited brain cells can hardly load new info. So it was a case of “delete” and “save” but thankfully I had some pictures… Here goes..

In shichida:
Queuing up for stickers and handmade Christmas gift from her teacher ; )

Choosing her stickers… She has been selecting princess only stickers for the last few weeks. Very likely a “girl’s thing”?

I think it was Christmas eve. We had our dinner at chef eric’s restaurant “red chef” fantastic food! In his restaurant, children are free to scribble anything they want on the walls. The comical pictures on the wall are drawn by chef Eric himself. A very friendly, pleasant person. He makes you feel very comfortable talking to him. If you ever patronize the dessert “sogurt” is a must try. (the machine that makes the desert costs $100 000!)

The pi

Picture above is the “sogurt”.

Then we went to watch a bowling tournament which was located just above the restaurant.

She was so so so enthusiastic!! Shouting “well done kor kor!” each time he strikes!! Super cute.

This was when he didn’t strike she said “oh no! Almost!”

These are some gifts that we bought and gave them to a children’s home. More on that in a seperate posts. The wrapping was a nightmare. Ern tried helping but I guess in the end… It’s really the thought that counts? Hahahaha…

All done!!

Gifts for all her teachers in school… We have yet to distribute to all of them. But will do so soon ; )

We wanted to do a couple more things with her, something typical like walking down orchard road to see Christmas light ups etc … But she soon felt sick. More on that later.

But I’m sure most of us had a fantastic 2011. For those who did not enjoy a rewarding 2011; we still have 2012!! *winks* here’s wishing everyone good health this year and many more years to come!! Cheers!!

Updates

Just when I thought self weaning seemed not possible, ern self weaned couple of weeks ago. It started with one feed (breast milk) per day (it’s usually night feed or nap time) then it became one feed every 2 – 3 days and then it’s off the boobs. It may be because the supply isn’t significant anymore and also the taste of the milk may have changed during pregnancy. After breastfeeding for 34 months I do feel a sense of loss but at the same time welcoming it. Ern isn’t on any form of formula milk nor fresh milk (she doesn’t like it) but we are perfectly fine with it as her appetite is good.

Next in the news… as I was putting her to sleep, she told me “I don’t want tutu (pacifier). I just want to hold it.” in case she changed her mind I congratulated her on being a big girl now and if she can share her tutu with someone else who needs it more – her dinosaur. (her sleeping partner) To which she gracefully agreed. It’s really cute seeing how she cuddles her dinosaur and “feeding” it tutu at the same time while keeping her eyes closed trying to get to sleep. Maybe I’m rejoicing too early. But it’s a progress nonetheless ; ) let’s see if she can keep it this way.

Her concert performance

The opening speech by the K2 graduates made ee fann and I teared quite badly. It was sooooo moving. It was almost a 10 minute speech and I could really feel their sincerity when they thanked the teachers and that they really didn’t want to leave their teachers but they have to move on etc…. Recollection of their speech still has the same effect.

I hope one day, ern will also be the one on stage; giving the graduation speech. In mandarin ; )) the words they use on the mandarin version was really power!

Her segment was the 4th in line and then we waited the next hour or two for the finale where she came out waving to everyone. I took video of her moves and if you have a chance to view it, you will notice that there were lots of “shaking”. I really couldn’t help tearing. She was one the 2 flowers in the dance; standing at the far left. When the curtain was drawn I saw her face lit up. The lights on the stage added to the drama and with the audience’s applause, she knew it’s time for show down ; ) she was the youngest of the lot while the rest is one year her senior. (it was a mix with PG and N1) she danced accurately to the beat and not once was her face without a smile. She even screamed in delight during climax of the dance where the kungfu pandas came out. Oh the theme was kungfu panda meets madasgascar. At the end of the play all of them got together and did the final pose while waiting for the curtain to close. But when the applause came, ern stood up to bow. Hahaha don’t think she was supposed to bow but I guess she couldn’t help it. ; ) I’m now still trying to load the video which I took to her personal website but it’s taking forever!

Here are some pictures:

After the concert which ended at 5pm, we collected ern from the stage. The first thing she said “mummy! Mummy! I had so much fun today!”

We were then urshered outside the auditorium for the much needed refreshment. Ern was so hungry! Hahahaha. We bought the official DVD and just can’t wait to get my hands on them. you see, I was taking video of only ern and really didn’t know what the dance was all about. I need to see it!

Just before she slept, I asked if she wants to perform on stage every year. Why did I even bother asking?! The answer is obvious ; )