She Ain't Heavy, She's My Sister...

...actually, she IS pretty heavy!

Ryan: Dunno why Mama and Daddy are so worried. This is a piece of cake!

Mia: Eerrrr.... Better hang on tight, this might be a shaky ride!

Ryan: Stop wriggling so much...

Mia: Ooh, this is fun...

Ryan: OK enough already. She may look small, but she's not as light as you might think!

Mia: Ah, what's the problem? This "chair" is nice!

Under Water

Ryan has always been a water baby. He loved his baths when he was a baby, and still does now. If we let him, he would probably spend all day in there playing with his toys. And as for the pool, trying to get him out after a swim is always a struggle. However, you wouldn't have thought so if you'd seen his reaction the first time we put him in the swimming pool!

Shad's been teaching Ryan to snorkle recently. He started off by giving him the mask in the bathtub, then when Ryan got comfortable with that, we let him use the snorkle. A couple of weeks ago we took him down to the swimming pool and let him put on the full gear. After the initial few mouthfuls of water, he's now really good at it. And he absolutely loves it. As soon as we get into the pool, he's off to find treasures under water! 

Here he is in action!

First Taste

Mia had her first taste of "real" food a couple of weeks ago. So out came Ryan's old high chair, his baby bowl and spoon. All three of us crowded excited around Mia to see what her reaction would be. Alas, maybe rice cereal with breast milk isn't all that appetising after all!

And it's always helpful to have an eager helper on hand!

Open up...

"Nope you're not getting that into my mouth"

Koh-koh waiting impatiently for his chance to "clean" Mia's mouth

No more please!

Another first - drinking from the sippy cup

A Date With Mama

 

I have been looking forward to this day since Ryan came home from school with my "invitation" several weeks ago. 

By 10.15am, all the mothers were waiting at the front of the school in anticipation for the big surprise. As soon as the doors swung open, we were greeted with a big "Happy Mothers' Day" banner in the classroom. The kids rushed out excitedly to find their mums. All week Ryan had been telling us that he had a surprise for me for Mama's Day at school but "I can't tell you what it is!" Well, it sure was a lovely surprise. Actually it was four surprises - two songs, one in English and one in Mandarin, a gorgeous gift and a beautiful card. :)

Here's the surprise song Ryan was talking about all week. He went all shy as soon as he saw me holding the camera.

 

My treasured gifts - a lovely card and jewellery box (pic looks a little distorted because of the wide angle lens)

After the wonderful presentation, it was snack time for everyone. As a special treat, the kids were given sweet pastries instead of their usual healthy snack of crackers and fruit. And didn't they all just love it! When he'd finished eating, Ryan took me on a little tour of his classroom, pointing out all his masterpieces. 

Trust Ryan to choose a sweet roll over a plain croissant

Watching him you'd think that we didn't feed him at home. He wasn't one bit bothered that he was the only one left at the table!

A mini sink for mini munchkins

Star Bears bus schedule

An aeroplane or "fei ji" as Ryan calls it

Free play 

We spent Mother's Day on our favourite beach, Big Wave Bay. Breakfast on a gorgeous sunny summer day with three of my favourite people, just the perfect day!

Just Ryan and I because Mia was asleep in her pram and Shad behind the camera as usual