Sunday Brunch @ Wine Company

Mama's friend brought us to this new place near the Botanic Garden, called The Wine Company. They've good food and nice ambience. Mama was in love with the place and suggested to return for brunch...here we are, at The Wine Company for brunch!!! S$12 per pax, with a full basket of bread, fruit juice and a cooked breakfast to complete with freeflow tea/coffee! Not bad! The best is the ambience...it was quiet, without a big crowd!

Hungry baby couldn't wait to eat the bread by herself!

Venturing outside at the outdoor eating area

The breakfasts : main difference is in the eggs!

When asked about whether the good was good, both sisters raised their fingers unanimously

Geraldine Swimming with Armbands

Unlike Gwendolyn, Geraldine disliked the floaty and Papa and Mama were having some problems bringing her to the pool. Why? Because Papa or Mama must carry her around and make sure that she's above water! But recently, Mama tried her out with the armbands...miraculously, IT WORKED!!! She loved them and was willing to put them on! She even titled her legs up into a lying position for fun! Mama remember that when she was small, slightly older than Geraldine, her parents put her on arm bands and brought her to the pool...Mama hated it and was scared to death, screaming and crying loudly! Mama is so impressed with Geraldine, being so brave and kicking away!

Look at me, I'm swimming by myself!

Trying all sorts of postures...her favourite is to lift both legs into a lying position!

What's more? Papa brought a cuppa for Mama to drink at the pool. Without hesitation, Geraldine ran to Papa, peeped into the cup and started scooping the coffee into her mouth! Initially, she had a bit of a struggle, because the armbands got into her way and her hand couldn't reach her mouth. Slowly, she tried twisting and turning, until she can position the spoon into her mouth! Clever baby!

Happily sipping away! Baby, don't drink so much coffee!!!

Halloween Costume

Gwendolyn chose to be a mermaid this year, at her school's Halloween Party!!! Don't ask Mama why mermaid and how does mermaid relate to Halloween...but Lyn Lyn's intention is to dress up in a "costume" other than her own clothing!

Pretty mermaid, no need to put any make up this time!

Where to find this costume? In case Mama couldn't remember next year...it was at the party shop at Centrepoint! They have a huge range of Halloween costumes and decorations. For those who celebrates Halloween, this is a good place to hunt for the preparatory materials! A bit pricey, but super good range!

Oscar's 3rd Birthday Party

We haven't met up with Auntie Angela for a long time since Uncle Cedric has returned to Hong Kong. It's a good opportunity to catch up with her family, during Oscar Di Di's 3rd birthday party @ Yishun Orchid Country Club's Ozone. It's a smaller version of Go Go Bambini, but the facilities were quite good for birthday parties, though a little too far for us! There were fun games with a pretty host! Most of the kids there was Oscar Di Di's classmates! When the cake was presented to the kids, all the kids were crowding around awaiting for the cake-cutting ceremony! What's more? Oscar Di Di couldn't wait, but kept digging the cream and licking his fingers!

After the games and cake-cutting ceremony, all of us proceeded to the outdoor area for some food and drinks! Since this place is a childcare centre during the week, there was a designated play area with kiddy tables and chairs. The two sisters sat down and munching away by themselves!

After a quick lunch, both couldn't wait to head towards their respective favourite game area to continue playing. Gwendolyn went back indoors for the padded playground, whilst Geraldine was outdoor going in and out of the cubby house and climbing up and down the kiddy slides!

What a fun day! If not because of the distance, Mama was considering this as the next prospective birthday party location!

Dinner @ The Wine Company

Mama's friend, Auntie Florence suggested a new dining place for us to try and Papa and Mama brought Gwendolyn along for this ad hoc friday dinner! When we arrived, Mama couldn't find Auntie Florence's booking. Instead, could only find a booking under "Mr Lawrence", but with Auntie Florence's phone number recorded! There must have been a mistake! We went in to find ourselves in an old bungalow, with small floor tiles, full-housed restaurant! Surprisingly full for a remote location, near the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

When we sat down, Uncle Mark called the shots and suggested quite a few dishes, with Lyn Lyn asking for mushroom soup.

When the appetizers arrived, the adults couldn't wait, but to indulge into the sinful cheese and deep fried dishes...the food is reasonably priced and quite palatable! The cheese dip and platters were great! It's not easy to have a group of friends, who enjoy eating cheese so much!

The main course were good, except for the Hawaiian pizza, as it tasted a little dry. Contrarily, the spinach pizza was yummy, just like eating quiche! The surprise was the lamb dish, where it didn't look palatable at all, but ended up being our favourite!

Not to forget about dessert, where we've ordered another 4 to end the meal with...

This was a pleasant surprise and we'd definitely coming back. Let alone the white wine that we've had, which Lyn Lyn didn't shy away from having a drop and liked it!

What's the highlight of the night? Not only the food, but Lyn Lyn going round the table, playing kiddy games with all the adults! What were the games? Thumbkin fighting and "Siu Ming" (a Hong Kong childhood game, involving the clapping of hands!)! It was a fun scene that she was getting everyone, including all the uncles to play with her. But it seemed that everyone was enjoying that bit of kiddish fun too!

Uncle Charles, Uncle Mark's friend, playing thumbkin fighing with Lyn Lyn

After dinner, the adults still wanted a round of karaoke. Lyn Lyn tagged along and sang some songs with us. What did she sing? Not just Mary had a Little Lamb and all, but A Whole New World, I Have a Dream, Edelweiss, etc etc...not bad eh! However, when she sang some kiddy Chinese songs, it gave Uncle Mark a shock of his life! Never sang in karaoke before...but here you go!

Rainy Night

As with all other kids, Gwendolyn loves to use her own umbrella. She will use it even with the slightest drizzle...With Geraldine...both sisters were having fun in the "rain"...look at mei mei...she was holding her "own" umbrella, with a little assistance from Papa...

Punky

Papa was away on business trip, Mama has asked for the help of Uncle Victor to bring Gwendolyn for her saturday class, as Mama had to attend class as well. After that, all of us met at Vivocity and guess what? Lyn Lyn asked for a haircut at Toys R Us (without fail)...why? There were pink and shiny hair spray, with stickers as a souvenir...all costing S$20!!!

After the haircut, we went over to Harbourfront Centre, Pastamania for dinner...they used to have Spizza @ Harbourfront Centre, but have since changed to PizzaHut...what a waste! Anyways...Auntie Yaya, Uncle Victor, Lyn Lyn and Mama had an enjoyable dinner...

When we reached home, Lyn Lyn was so tired that she fell asleep on the couch!

Messy Baby

Geraldine is not the type of girl who would cry and scream after waking for her sleep. She's the quiet but distructive type, where she'll reach out to anything and everything within her surroundings, make a mess out of it and remains quiet...this was just one of the mornings which Mama managed to caught her in the act and not considered serious!!! There were numerous occasions of baby wipes war and tissue paper explosion!

Gwendolyn's Latest Favourite Books

Not sure why, but recently, Gwendolyn has fallen in love with the Little Men and Little Miss series + Charlie and Lola...Mama was hunting high and low for them and only managed to find more variety at Kinokuniya! For such "foreign" books, which are generally more expensive, they aren't really stocked up at Popular, which is a predominantly middle to lower end books. Though Mama is more than willing to invest in books, these are just seriously over-priced. The small Little Men and Little Miss books are priced at $7.90 and Charlie & Lola are priced close to $15 for the sligtly bigger sized ones. Even Mama finds it unbelievable and been trying to look for compilation and other alternative publishers. Such a pain. But Mama does agree that these books are fun to read and very interesting indeed!

Fishing Game

Fu Fu bought this fishing game for Gwendolyn quite some time ago. It's been Lyn Lyn who was playing by herself. Recently, Geraldine found this toy and loved playing with it. It takes 2 to tango: Lyn Lyn loves to play with someone and win; whilst Geraldine loves the fun of scooping her "fish fish" only...the 2 sisters found their match and played well together...well, some observers would say that Lyn Lyn was taking advantage of mei mei, but both got what they've wanted and are happy...why not?! Adults would think that jie jie bullied mei mei...but in their own eyes...it may not be!

Both sisters were actively engaging in the activity

Geraldine Enjoys Durian!

The last time when Gong Gong and Por Por came in April, Geraldine was still running away from the smell of durian. Only 5.5 months later, when Gong Gong and Por Por came again, she started loving durian. She kept asking Gong Gong for more...just look at how she enjoyed herself in biting off the flesh from the piece placed at her mouth by Gong Gong!

Papa and Mama concluded that she only liked the real fruit and not the processed durian puff or durian mousse. Clever girl!

Gong Gong : more more...mum mum

Little Nonya

This year, instead of having a traditional dinner and dance at Mama's office, there was a Fiesta @ Marina Barrage, with some display of the staff's efforts after a "heritage trail", in search of a UNESCO Heritage site in Singapore. It was kind of fun. Why? Mama's team went to Joo Chiat / Katong, where there was this rich cultural heritage of Paranakan and Eurasian mixture. Mama was the lead co-ordinator in the event for her team. She was thinking of a different way in displaying her team's effort. * Ding * Mama thought of bringing Gwendolyn as a display...how? There was a hype with the Little Nonya show in Singapore last year...since Lyn Lyn likes to be "seen" and "displayed"...Mama thought of bringing Lyn Lyn, dressing her up as a Little Nonya, to add in the fun...(by the way, she was the only kid presence at the event, with expressed permission by Mama's bosses).

By seeing the pictures below, you know how much fun Lyn Lyn had! She was a darling at the event and was playing with different people, whom Mama didn't know! She added spice to our exhibition and in the end, Mama's team won some kind of award for the stall too!

Lyn Lyn @ the stall and with the big bosses

Body-painting...Lyn Lyn had a butterfly and a heart on both feet

Lazy or Grumpy?

What do you think? Mama didn't have a clue...

Hari Raya Monday

It's been some time since we've last had a monday as a public holiday, Auntie Ronnie and Uncle Victor came to our place for some tennis game again...this time round, Gwendolyn got to take part as well...Uncle Victor took a short while to be her coach, volleying with her in front of the net...Lyn Lyn managed to catch a few balls...not bad!

Auntie Ronnie helping Lyn Lyn to pick up the balls

What about Geraldine? She was not privileged to go to the tennis courts to play, as she was still asleep when Papa, Mama and jie jie went to the court. She only managed to take part in the Wii game and to play her favourite "chupa chup" arrangement at home...

Note: After the tennis game, Papa had a serious back pain and ended up at NUH A&E that night...what a terrible A&E experience...waited for 5-6 hours just to kill off the pain...

Lyn Lyn, Eat

After dinner, Mama prepared fruits for the sisters...Strawberry for Geraldine and grapes for Gwendolyn. Somehow, Geraldine was a little bored with her strawberries and have started eyeing on Lyn Lyn's grapes...not to eat, but to pluck. She was amazed to see that grapes were attached to something, where in grandma's place, all the grapes have been removed from the stalk, ready for immediate consumption. Finding this new thing...Geraldine started digging into the container and plucking the grapes from the stalk and push them into Lyn Lyn's mouth, saying "Lyn Lyn, Eat!", pushing each and every grape, one after another, into Lyn Lyn's mouth. Mama couldn't stop laughing...as on the one hand, it's such a nice gesture that Geraldine makes sure that Lyn Lyn is eating her fruits. However, Geraldine can be quite demanding sometimes, forcing people to do things that she wants, not allowing the other person to stop doing that thing at all, unless some notice has been given. It's so funny...

Trip to Cold Storage (without Lyn Lyn)

Gwendolyn was t00 tired after the morning swim and fell asleep, "hibernating"...Papa and Mama have decided to cook dinner at home and brought Geraldine to the Jelita Cold Storage, where they have the kid's trolley for the kids to use. This time, without Lyn Lyn's intervention, Geraldine had the trolley all by herself...she was cruising happily on her own!

After the pushing...Geraldine was so tired...she asked Mama for "der der" and curled up her legs to enjoy her water...just look at how she positioned her feet...she really knows how to enjoy life!

I Only Want My Swimming Costume!!!

Gwendolyn has swimming lesson every sunday morning and usually, Geraldine will join jie jie after waking up from her long sleep. This special sunday, as Geraldine was not very well, having some cough and runny nose, Mama tried avoiding her from thinking about going to the pool. But, being a stubborn little one, she insisted...how did she? She refused to get change into any other clothings/costumes, except her swimming costume...Mama wondered how she knew it was Sunday, as she didn't see Lyn Lyn change and head down to the swimming pool...Anyways...Mama had no choice, but to get her to change into her swimming costume...not to the pool, but to feed the fishes. Mama brought bread along and let her feed the fish by herself...she's actually doing quite well...after feeding, on the way home, she insisted that Mama bring her to the pool to find Jie Jie...and guess what? Without a single question...she requested Papa to bring her down and play in the pool...

After the short 10 minute session, she was all happy and smiled at Mama to say "pay pay, der der" (which means play play water)! She was contented to be bathed and change into her normal clothings...

Results From Comex

The annual Comex show will attract a lof of IT followers, do really splurge on the IT sector. So happen this year, Mama needs to but a netbook and Papa wanted to buy another DVD recorder for her mobile arrangements. In the end, we rushed there and stayed for like 1 and a half hours, trying to finish buying everything before Geraldine wakes up from her nap...we managed quite well, as we've bought all the things that we've planned to buy and everyone is happy : Lyn Lyn's DVD player, Big monitor for Lyn Lyn's laptop, Mama's netbook, and even a new DVD player which has a USB port, which is supposed to be able to play "downloaded" shows directly from an external device on the TV. Sounds good, but hasn't tried yet. Just a snapshot of the few things that we've bought!

Whilst Papa and Mama were trying to open the boxes and setup all the necessary, Geraldine was posing at the kiddy sofa...she looks so "mature" and tall in this sofa and posture!

Day Trip to Malacca

1 September is a designated Teacher's Day in Singapore and most of the pre-schools are closed. Papa and Mama took leave to be with Gwendolyn and have decided to do something different...instead of wandering around the shopping centres wasting money, we've agreed to make a day trip to Malacca. Not too far away, about 2-3 hours from Singapore, depending on the traffic. Since we are going to Malaysia, we agreed that it is not appropriate to bring Geraldine along, due to the fact that it's a long car ride and the hygiene condition, she is to stay at grandma's place with maid jie jie for the day! We set off by packing our essential items: cold drinks, tidbits, portable DVD, etc etc...

Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect. It was drizzling when we arrived :( Less than perfect, but surprisingly, the town was very quiet, Mama would have thought that some Singaporean parents would have taken leave for some short trips as well. First stop is our lunch stop : Chicken Ball Ball Rice, something special in Malacca! Initially, Papa and Mama wanted to go back to the "original" chicken ball ball rice, which they have tried before. However, there were so many new ones that looks so attractive, we've decided to try one with "choi-san's" face, as a recommended location...but that was the worst mistake, as the food does not live up to standard...

We ordered chicken (misture of white and roasted), 10 pieces of "ball ball rice", beansprouts and asam fish...all were disappointing, except for the condition of the beansprouts~! We swear we've never seen such short and fat beansprout before...that was an interesting one. Other than that, the food was horrible...

At the back of this restaurant, it had a little exhibition on China Qing history (weird...can't understand why this historical display was up in a Malaysian restaurant. anyway), with costume rental for photo taking. However, since this is a weekday and no one was manning the "site", Lyn Lyn just put on the costumes and tool a couple of pictures to pretend to be a Qing dynasty princess! Her modern look betrayed her, as she didn't look as "cute" as wearing her original Hellot Kitty outfit!

After the not-so-impressive meal, we went for some typical sightseeing : the infamous red church, the windmill, the "river", which are places that you must take picture at, to proof that you have really been to Malacca!

Since we don't think Lyn Lyn would understand the special war sites and why Malacca managed to qualify as an UNESCO World Heritage site, We've decided to drop the idea of visiting the "museums", war sites, etc and jumped striaight into the big shopping complex! Lyn Lyn had the most, as she bought a pretty dress, which is half of what we would pay in Singapore, some towel sets, snacks, etc. All Malaysia trips will not be complete, until we've purchased the handy-pack of Lyn Lyn's milk. This time round, Papa and Mama grabbed 10 boxes and that was truly value-for-money!

The shopping was rather short, as we still need to drive back to JB for Bah Kut Teh and return to Singapore, to prepare for work and school the following day! As expected, Lyn Lyn fell asleep on the return trip and almost skipped dinner. Luckily, she managed to wake up and tasted this special Bah Kut Teh that we liked!

It was such a tiring trip, espcially for Papa, as he was the sole driver along the way. But Papa and Mama are very sure that Lyn Lyn had the best Teacher's Day ever!

My New Friend - Marcus

Mama's colleagues came to our house for some weekend activities. Unfortunately, it was raining and the adults can't proceed with their planned tennis game...instead of playing Wii in the afternoon, Gwendolyn requested to play Wii with Auntie Ronnie, whilst Mama prepared for our lunch!

After lunch, the adults started their mahjong game, which ended up playing for 12 rounds...exceeded any of Mama's records so far...it was a very fast 12 rounds and all the adults were very tired afterwards!

When the adults were playing mahjong, Geraldine played with her new friend, Marcus, who's only 2 days younger than her...how cute!