Little Miss 4

Two years later... still, better late than never!

Come to my party!

We're under the sea

Flounder 's here to welcome you

Checking out the goodies table

Flounder cookie pops

Under the sea birthday cake (before Ariel and Sebastian arrived)

Girlfriends

Patiently waiting to have their faces painted

Birthday girl asked for hearts

That's what good friends are for ... holding the mirror while you check yourself out!

While the girls get pretty, the boys get physical

Getting crafty

Making "ocean" photo frames while the girls at the table behind are beading their bracelets

Now we move on to the body

Mermaid crazy

No girlie tattooes for the boys, it's fierce birds instead!

Food taste so much yummier eaten off Ariel plates!

Mia with her friends from her new kinder

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

How quickly they grow... 

With her little friends and their big brothers and sisters

Sharing a secret

Cake for everyone!

Our family

Our two babies ... not so little anymore :(

 Three days before the party, the "flounder" production began....

After baking

My very enthusiastic helper at Step 1 of the decorating process

An hour later...

Dotting the eyes

The final product!

Hair Clips Model

This is what happens when you leave a seven year old boy alone in his room to do his homework!

Victoria Kindergarten

Mia started at Victoria Kindergarten last week. We withdrew her from Woodlands mainly because we wanted her to go to a pre-school with a stronger Mandarin program. She was very excited on the first day, however by day three, she realised that two of her teachers (she's in the bilingual class with two Mandarin teachers and one English teacher) do not "speak normal like me", i.e English, and that most of the kids in her class speak Mandarin. It's not easy being the only new kid in class, and on top of that, being the only one who doesn't understand or speak Mandarin. She misses her friends and her teachers at Woodlands and tells me that she wants to go back there. Sometimes there are tears when I drop her off at school but we're slowly getting there.

All serious ready for school, in her PE uniform

Ah this is more like the cheeky girl we know

After school, still in good cheer

Day 2 in her summer dress

Ballerina

Mia had her first ballet lesson a month ago. I signed her up for a summer camp over five days to see if she would like it and she absolutely loved it. Immediately after the first lesson, she ran out of the room and said, "Mama can I come back tomorrow?" I suspect the leotard, tights, tutu and pretty little ballet shoes played a big part in her enthusiasm for it! At the end of the week, parents were invited to attend a little performance. After some basic ballet steps, the little ballerinas danced to several songs from Beauty and the Beast. Our little girl danced beautifully.

Pre-show photo shoot...

Paparazzi and his starlet

Warm-ups to start off the lesson...

Let the show begin... Beauty and the Beast...

Demure little Belle

All ready for the grand ball

Posing princesses

Finally, an encore at home for Koh-koh who missed out on the concert.

Smiley face pose (kiddie speak for first position)

Saturday night fever...ballet-style

Our little man

I asked Ryan what he wanted for lunch on his actual birthday and he answered, "surprise me Mama". So I served up his favourite foods, fish burger, unagi fried rice and prawn crackers. The look of joy on his face when he saw the spread brought a huge smile to mine. As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and with this boy, it is so true!

Seven... how is it possible that seven years have passed by so quickly? I still vividly remember the day we found out that we were pregnant, the moment he was placed on my chest after he was born, his first word, his first step, his first tantrum, his first day at kindergarten, his first day at school. And now seven years later, this little being who Shad could carry in one hand when he was born reaches up to my shoulders, is more than half my weight and eats more than I do. He is a cheeky, kind, strong minded, confident, playful little boy. He loves the company of other kids as much as they enjoy his fun loving ways and sense of humour. He can also be very stubborn and at times extremely trying as we muddle our way through this phase of childhood. But for all the frustrations and trials that he puts us through as he grows up, this little boy has brought unmeasurable joy to our lives with his loving nature and cheerful, cheeky disposition. 

At seven, he still loves being cuddled and giving cuddles, although there is some slight resistance when Mama asks for kisses in public nowadays :(. Shad and I love the way he stumbles into our bed in the middle of the night and snuggles up to us. We love the way he gives us hugs and kisses when we are unwell, and we especially love it when he hugs us for no apparent reason other than wanting a cuddle. And while he will soon grow too tall and heavy for me to pick up and cuddle, he will always remain our "baby". Happy Birthday big boy!  

Lunch at home

Our yearly birthday ritual - dinner at the "restaurant where the chef cooks", ie Nadaman teppanyaki

A mini cake for a big boy

Birthday boy and his number 1 fan