Etonhouse Sports Day 2009

29 May 2009, the last day of school for term 2, before the month-long school holidays! This day also marks the annual sports day at Etonhouse Vanda...where Gwendolyn missed the fun last year, as she had a fever that very same morning!

This year, our enthusiastic athlete was well prepared to face the challenges, which comprised of Treasure Hunt, Obstacle Course, Egg & Snake Shalom and last but not least, Gold Rush! This year, the N1s & N2s were separated from the K1s & K2s, so that the external arena was not so crowded with eager parents! Lyn Lyn told Mama proudly that she's in the Red Team, with Darcie and Lydia!!!

Before the race begins...K1s...Cheeeeezzzzzz

First was the Treasure Hunt...basically, the kids need to form into 3 in a team...taking turns to flip the coloured half-circles on the ground to look for balls to bring back to their home base. The team with the most number of balls at in their home container wins!

The ever competitive Lyn Lyn was trying whatever she can to get more balls in her team's container, whilst her relaxed team members were taking their sweet time in looking for balls...Mama say Lyn Lyn cheating as well, during the race...but she was really very eager to win...well...in the end, her team didn't win and she was kind of disappointed...

Red Team - Cheeezzzzz

After the exciting Treasure Hunt...the kids took a rest...not sure why though...but only after 1 game...they went under the pavillion and took their snacks and water...it was really hot that day and the parents standing at the side were all sweating...

After the short rest, the kids resumed at the Obstacle Course and started going around all the "obstacles"...Lyn Lyn was so proud that she's finished 5 rounds of the course, all by herself! Bravo...

The course was so easy for Lyn Lyn and she finished with ease...

Next in line was the Egg & Snake Shalom...basically, the teams, with the original 3 members, have to take turns to run from their home base to the water pool to scoop the balls out from the pool, but matches their own team colour...no doubt, Lyn Lyn was the ultimate cheater again, as she used both hands and fingers to make sure the ball goes onto her spoon...guess what? Without any surprises, her team didn't win again and she was very disappointed...

The ultimate last game : the Gold Rush...this game requires a lot of team work...where the whole team would run to the bucket at the other end from their home base, with a cup. One person will scoop a cup of water out from the bucket and everyone stand in a line and keep passing to each other, until reaching their home base and pouring into their own bucket. Repeating all these until their home based bucket is full...During this very last game, Lydia was already very tired and disappeared for a while...Lyn Lyn was kind of shouting to get everyone to hurry up, so that at least, her team can win this very last game...but guess what? Without fail, her team didn't win and she cried...

Mummy tried consoling her...telling her that winning isn't the most important thing in a race, but to complete something which she's started and keep the enthusiasm going! All of them were winners when they've completed all their tasks and no need to be sad! Luckily, these were reiterated by Ms Emelia in their class's debriefing session...Lyn Lyn was shouting the key points out loud and clear...in the end, all of their class members received a certificate for completion!

Well done, Lyn Lyn...Mama was so proud of you! Keep it home and be a good sportsman!

Learning to Drink with a Straw

Geraldine's been observing how Papa, Mama and Jie Jie's been drinking with a straw from a carton...unlike her, kept drinking from a teat. Mama knew that she couldn't suck from a straw, upon request, Mama casually let her try sucking from a cup of coke light! Oooops...it seemed that Geraldine's got the hang of it and was so pleased with herself by asking for more! Mama knew that she shouldn't be drinking any carbonated drinks. Instead of offering her drink for a second time, Mama opted to dig out a straw-cup with plain water for her to explore...she was addicted to the straw-cup and sat down quietly to explore this newly acquired skill...

Cold Storage Kid's Run 2009

About a month or so ago, Mama heard about the Kid's Run event and called up Auntie Lena to see whether she's interested in registering Summer for the same event, so that both Gwendolyn and Summer can participate in the non-competitive event for their age group : kids born between 2003-2004! Both mummies agreed and separately registered for the girls! Finally, 24 May 2009, the actual day of the event! It was a real hot and sunny day...the girls were expected to report at the hold-up area by 8:45am, half an hour before the event were due to start.

In high spirit @ the hold up area before the start of the race

The 2 eager participants didn't arrive until 9:00am and were due to enter the starting point. Luckily, theirs was not a competitive event, which required registration and collection of a time recorder...so both girls leisurely did some basic stretching and warm-up exercise (basically for 10 seconds), before the race officially began! Whilst waiting...Papa spotted Uncle Leon and Maximus Gor Gor within the same vicinity...as Maximus Gor Gor entered the same race, under the same category! What a pleasant surprise!

Turn left, turn right, stetch up, squat down...warming up for the race

The first 100m was a good attempt by both, trying to keep up with the rest of the kids! Lyn Lyn was trying to lend a helping hand to Summer by holding her, so that they could run together, but it wasn't a good idea at all!

Three, Two, One...Start...running as fast as they could

After the initial 100m, both girls have started to shown tiredness...and it was so obviously that they preferred walking for the rest of the race, than to continue running...still in good spirit, with cheering Gor Gor and Jie Jies at the side of the track, cheering for the young runners not to give up and to finish the race! Along the way, Mama kept encouraging Lyn Lyn that it doesn't matter even if she cannot win or cannot continue running. Most important of all is that Lyn Lyn has to finish the race...once she's started on something, she must complete it, despite how difficult it's going to be! Lyn Lyn repeated to herself and told Summer the same...

Low battery...walking slowly after the 100m sprint...

Eventually, when the girls spotted the green balloon arch, they knew that they were near the finishing line and hurried towards the exit...both couldn't wait to complete the race and collect their goodie bag and medal!

Yeah...we did it! We've completed the whole race!

Well done, Lyn Lyn and Summer! Both girls have completed a 700m track with a combination of running and walking!

The proud runners showing off their medal!

After the hot morning race, the kids sat at the bench to relax for a while, before receding to Raffles City for some brunch! Initially, both parents were thinking of bringing them for the carnival, but there were really too many people and it was really way too hot...in the end, all went lazing in the air con for a long brunch...the tired runners were eating at their own table, enjoying a relaxing time!

Sharing the result of good work...sharing a bowl of noodles after the race!

7 Days Quarantine Period is Over

To Papa and Mama's surprised, Gwendolyn recovered extremely fast! The number of ulcers in Lyn Lyn's mouth remained the same from the second night upon delivery, until the quarantine period was over! It was great that she didn't suffer the terrible pain of a full-blown HFMD and was eating and drinking very well! She found it extremely bored at home and Mama had to find different activities for her to keep her busy, whilst Mama tried to work from home and to take care of her...

In one of the 7 days, Mama and Lyn Lyn found a common set of clothing and wore them to be the same! Mama and Lyn Lyn took a few pictures to show Papa how sister-ly both were!

Sisters in action!

7 days quarantine period is over and finally, Geraldine is home! Cheezzzzzzzzzzz!

Cafe Standard, Kopitiam Price

Recently, there was this new-ish stall at the newly renovated kopitiam in Clementi Central. Since Gwendolyn wanted to eat her favourite spaghetti, Papa and Mama decided to try it out, due to the attractive price...S$4.50 for a chicken spaghetti bolognese! Papa was particularly interested in the steak and was really satisfied with the quality! Why? It was a real slightly "more than medium" standard, with a thick cut! The sausage was another good try, as good quality ham sausage was used, charging a hefty S$4 per portion! Mama was a little disappointed with the lamb loin...but well, it was lamb loin and not lamb chop, what would you expect?

Overall, it was a good try and surely, we'll be back!

HFMD - Hand Food Mouth Disease

28 March 2006, Mama posted something on HFMD before on this blog site
http://the-ngs-update.blogspot.com/2006/03/hand-foot-mouth-disease-hfmd.html
that was when Mama first learnt about the virus and that it is common amongst pre-school kids. 3 years down the road, unfortunately, Gwendolyn is down with it and has immediately been quarantined by Mama at home, with Geraldine being grounded at grandma's place. Geraldine has been ordered not to return home until at least 7 days later, after Lyn Lyn's been cleared and a full disinfection process has been carried out at home.

Mama is missing Geraldine so much...not sure whether Geraldine is missing Mama too??? But for Geraldine's benefit, this is the best transitional arrangement, until Lyn Lyn is certified fit...Mama is keeping track of Lyn Lyn's condition, as there is an obvious increase in the number of ulcers in her mouth tonight, as compared to the night before...hope that Lyn Lyn won't suffer too much!

Cultivating a Good Habit

Quite some time ago, Mama has started giving Gwendolyn her excess $1 coins for her to put inside her piggy bank, teaching her how to save money! Recently, after she's learnt more about money and value, additions and subtractions, Papa and Mama have added some fun element into the saving game! Once Lyn Lyn has 10 $1 coins, she may ask Papa to exchange for a $10 note, with 5 $10 notes, she can exchange for a $50 note! During this process, Lyn Lyn managed to feed her piggy and her ducky really really full...and to the extent that Papa and Mama think that it may be a good idea to start her to bank in the money...finally, in a boring afternoon, all of us excitedly "killed" the piggy (since there's no opening, Papa and Lyn Lyn had to literally cut it up in order to take out the coins)!

Geraldine, without knowing much what was going on, heard the noise and joined in the fun...Whilst Lyn Lyn was trying hard to count the $1 in 10s, recording the number of 10s which she's counted, with Mama auditing her work, Geraldine grabbed some of them and dumped them into the ones which Lyn Lyn has already counted...Papa was enrolled to keep her busy, so as not to mess up the whole counting process! Unbelievably, the little piggy was actually quite FAT...it had $240 worth of $1 coins! Lyn Lyn packed them up nicely into a ziplock bag and we've decided to work on the ducky as well...

Ducky is so much bigger than piggy...Papa was making a wild guess that it could hold up to $500 worth of $1...unexpectedly, it had $600 worth of $1, though it's not even at full capacity! Lyn Lyn's really a rich gal...$840 worth of $1 coins...how heavy was that? Papa put the 2 bags of $1 coins into the Dora backpack...it weighed a hefty 5.5kg...my goodness...that was half of Geraldine!

I Had Curry Fish Ball

After a long fluctuating fever, Gwendolyn was finally well...all of us went to Crystal Jade for a dim sum lunch and Mama offered Lyn Lyn some curry fish ball. Having tried teeny weeny bit of spicy food before, Lyn Lyn was brave to offer herself to have a bite! She liked them...Mama gave her more and she finished all...wow...maybe next time when we're in HK again, Mama should ask Auntie Annie to bring her to try the HK style curry fish ball...talking about them...Mama started to salivate...Poor Geraldine...staring at Jie Jie's food...and eating her baby porridge...

Darcie's Birthday Party

Darcie's invited her K1 classmates to her house @ Gallop Gables for a poolside BBQ party! Gwendolyn was all excited about it...however, Mama didn't allow Lyn Lyn to dip in the pool like the others, as she was not 100% well to start off with. Mama only allowed Lyn Lyn to play around the pool and splash water with her friends, with extra clothings to change afterwards! With the company of her own friends, she's totally forgotten about Mama...and Mama told her that she'll be back to pick her up in about 2 hours' time.

When Mama arrived to pick her, they've only just started cake-cutting and all the children crowded around Darcie when singing the birthday song!

After the cake-cutting, Darcie's dad took out some party toys for the children to choose and Mama observed the dynamics amongst them when choosing the colour that they liked : e.g. Darcie was telling Lyn Lyn and Ariel that it's her birthday, so either of them should give in to her request for getting the colour that she wants! So cute...

Post cake-cutting, quite a lot of the guests have started to leave and Mama was reminding Lyn Lyn that Papa is waiting in the car for them to get back and she'd better go and get changed! But Lyn Lyn insisted that she wanted to keep the birthday girl company and spent some quality time together by the poolside!

Finally, when Darcie's parents were trying to pack up and go home, Lyn Lyn agreed to back down and went into the changing room with Mama to get changed...she had a lot of fun!

Thanks Darcie for the great party! As usual...Lyn Lyn fell asleep on the way home and skipped her dinner again...

Geraldine's First Love

Geraldine has finally found her first love...ELMO cushion! This is the first and foremost item that she has chosen for herself whilst shopping for Darcie's birthday present! Once she has spotted it, she grabbed it, hugged it and refused to let go...the only moment that she let if off, was when Mama was about to pay...she knew that Mama needed to pay before she can bring it home...smart gal!

Mother's Day Celebration

Without fail, Mama promises Gwendolyn to attend the Mother's Day Celebration in school every year. This year, it was a breakfast tea party, with performances by all classes! Contrary to the previous years, snacks were served at the entrance to the school, with a display of snack items made by the kids! Mama was anxiously looking for the one by K1 Grand Canyon, but was a little disappointed...as there wasn't any. However, Ms Wahila told Mama that K1 did something different in "making" a tree! Well, Mama thought that it would have been something done after the Earth Day discussion (but Mama hasn't been able to verify up till today)?!

This year seemed to have more mothers turned up for the event and the room was all full...All the mummies waited for their kid's turn to appear in the room to perform their special deeds proudly in front of their beloved mummy!

When it's K1 Grand Canyon's turn, Lyn Lyn's class had 2 performance items : Poem Recital and sang a song! As usual, Lyn Lyn was the loudest and clearest when reading her share of the poem! Mama was exceptionally proud of her, when she realised that she's read her words wrongly. She would stop immediately, looked at her script again and correct herself, making sure that she read the correct words! Bravo, Lyn Lyn!

When the kids were done, they returned to their preparation room, leaving the mummies to have some fun...this was something new, as compared to the previous years! Mama enjoyed it, as she volunteered herself to play with the other mums, for a round of charade! Just when she thought that she'll wait to be the last one to be the one to draw out the clue, she's got the most difficult (or the teachers agreed that it wasn't easy) to draw, for the "Three Billy Goat Gruffs"! The only thing that Mama could think of at that time was to draw 3 goat-like thingie, with 2 horns and 4 legs...hoping that the other mums can take the cue from the "3"...Mama acknowledged that her drawing wasn't good and there were mummies laughing and shouted "3 ants"? "3 cockcroaches"...then...one shouted "Three Billy Goat Gruffs"! Phew...not a bad representation eh! [By the way, did any teachers took any pictures of the "3 cockroaches"? If so, may I have a copy please? Thanks!]

Peek-a-boo

Geraldine is really a funny toddler...she invents her own games and act funny to make the adults laugh! Tonight, whilst having dinner...she, the usual her (not a good habit though), ran around the house, avoiding to take her porridge...she ran all the way into the room, hid for a while, then reappeared to "scare" us with her cute little "peek-a-boo"...isn't she lovely?

Her classic cheeky but innocent smile

When Swine Flu Alert Met with Lyn Lyn's Viral Fever

Gwendolyn was down with viral flu, when the scary Swine Flu alert first gained publicity around the world! When Mama brought Lyn Lyn to see Uncle John, Mama gave her a Hello Kitty Mask, which she bought from Taiwan some time back! Lyn Lyn was so proud of her mask, though there were a lot of onlookers staring at her on the way...

Fun @ the Playground

As usual, Gwendolyn has asked to go downstairs to play at the playground, this time with her new toy (don't know what it's called though)...but Papa and Mama have forbidden her from playing at home, coz it flies...Lyn Lyn can control quite well by herself and she liked it so much...Since Geraldine cannot play with that toy, as it deems dangerous for young toddlers...she was only allowed to admire the baby pool and play at the playground. Her favourite is still walking up and down the stairs and sliding down the slides!

Lyn Lyn is still feeling strong to be able to hold on to the monkey bars!

Terrapins

During the March School Holidays, the kids at K1 Grand Canyon have been asked to take turns to bring the class pet - the Terrapins, back home and take care before returning to school the next morning. It was Gwendolyn's turn and she instructed Papa and Mama about the requirements in the next morning, e.g. remove the pebbles from the container, transfer the terrapins to a separate container, wash the container and refill it with water, before adding food and returning the terrapins back into the container...

The next morning, she woke up very early to wait for Mama to perform the above steps with her...she diligently did all of the above steps without fault and returned the terrapins safely back into the container! She was so proud of herself!

Washing in the bathroom

Taking out and returning them back into the container


Getting all ready to bring the terrapins back to school

Princess On Ice

During the March School Holiday break (slightly more than a week), Auntie Lena and Mama brought the 2 girls to watch Disney on Ice - Princess Story, at the Indoor Stadium at Kallang. Both gals requested to be dressed in their princess costumes...at first, Mama was quite skeptical about that...however, when we arrived at Kallang, we saw many little princesses around and gave Mama the comfort that they're not the only weird ones...there were more to accompany them!

Before the show started, we visited the merchandise stalls at the entrance to the Stadium and bought some popcorns, tiara and Ariel wand, so that both gals will be seated quietly to wait for the show to begin. Mama didn't really find the whole setting impressive, well, at least as compared to those that she's been to in Hong Kong...the impression was totally different!


When the show began, we were all pleasantly surprised to see Mickey and Minnie appearing as the hosts to the show...before the princesses appearing one by one, with a much shorted version of their own stories. Both Auntie Lena and Mama agreed that the show was more entertaining for the adults than the kids, as they didn't really know what to expect...they didn't really understand the skills involved in ice-skating. But at least for Lyn Lyn, she went to Festival Walk in Hong Kong in January and saw the ice-skating ring and learnt a little about it before this show!

It was a good show, with good music, good costumes and good choregraphy! Bravo! Lyn Lyn has asked for the next show, when there's another Disney on Ice!

Haagen Daz on Uncle Victor's Birthday

Still remember the birthday party for Auntie Yaya and Mama at Raffles City? The same thing repeated for Uncle Victor. After having a sumptuous dinner at No Signboard, Vivocity, we went to Haagen Daz for an ice-cream treat! The birthday song wasn't as loud as the one at Raffles City...as both Summer and Gwendolyn were eyeing on the ice-cream fondue instead...yum yum...

Summer was literally drinking the chocolate...

Fun Bathing Together

Ever since Geraldine has become too big for the baby bathtub, Mama has been bathing her in the big bathtub. To enjoy the fun and save Mama's time, Gwendolyn will always jump in and join in...see how much fun they're having together!!!

Lucas's 1st Birthday

Lucas Di Di's birthday party was held earlier than his actual day...we went to Gu Gu and Gu Cheung EC's function room for the party! The cake was very nice, with a main cake and some surrounding cupcakes, with many butterflies and bees on them!

Happy Birthday, Lucas!

Andersen's Ice-cream

This morning, Dai Gu Gu came over for a swim at our place and we went out for lunch and some shopping together! Suddenly, a wicked mind went cross Gwendolyn and she's asked for ice-cream...Papa was trying to satisfy all the sweet tooth of the 4 ladies (Mama, Gu Gu, Lyn Lyn and Geraldine), he's suggested a gastromical experience for all at Andersen...look at the chocolate fondue set, there are strawberries and bananas for Geraldine and Mama, chocolate ice-cream and honey dew for Lyn Lyn, strawberry ice-cream and strawberries for Gu Gu...

We were all so full after consuming the fondue set and when we reached Gu Gu's house for Lucas's birthday party, we were too full to eat...

Good value for money