Happy Birthday En and Yi

Yi and En turned 1 and 3, respectively, this July. How time flies when you have kids! It seemed not too long ago that En had his first birthday celebration, with a birthday cake in the shape of a yellow dog (he loved dogs then, note the past tense). The birthday party for both boys had a fireman theme. En is absolutely CRAZY about firemen! Let this be noted for the record. Hopefully, this blog still be around when he is an adult and is able to view this entry. So, this was a super fun party for him and the kiddos who came, I hope. Yi had fun regardless and I do not think he loves firemen, though he certainly loves destroying his older brother's toy fire station. We had a lovely cake from Strictly Pastry, of course, it was a fire engine complete with fireman and water hose!

En is at this fun as well as exasperating age. He seems to have a really good memory. Recently, I told him not to end his sentences with "lah". He actually caught me saying it a few times and rebuked me good naturedly, "mummy, no saying 'lah'". I tried hard not to laugh, though at the same time, I was, figuratively speaking, being 'hoist by my own petard' (phrase taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet). He is sometimes affectionate, sweet and generous. At other times, he is too insistent (from my view point at least), protective of his toy turf, always trying to negotiate his way out of discipline or for a better deal.

Yi is learning to speak some words. He tries to say "spray" (comes out as "pray"), "ma ma" (comes out as "ba ba"), "fish (comes out as "yi" or "yu" for the mandarin version). He imitates sounds very well, which is quite amusing. He cries when he hears the kitchen blender, vacuum cleaner or the full toilet flush! He is very sweet and affectionate, and loves to put his head on those carrying him, especially the people he is familiar with. He adores his brother. When En wakes up in the morning or returns home from school, Yi beams a super wide smile. He loves to creep up on En whenever En is playing, and tries to play along (though most times, En will find him trying to destroy the structures he has built).

Thank you God for blessing us with two wonderful and very lovable boys! May they come to know Jesus and serve Him all their days.

A Morning at the Park - Only $1.86!

Its been eons since I blogged. I have been having some time off work, 3 weeks plus to be exact, and I found myself very busy as a stay-home mum. I will probably blog once a month henceforth if I can even find the time to do so!

I brought the boys to the Hort Park at Alexander Road a few weeks ago. It was a really cheap and fun way to spend the morning. For $1.86 (the cost being that of the parking at the Hort Park), they boys had fun playing with sand, running around the playground and avoiding the many millipedes that love to crawl along the pavement!! The bad thing about reaching the park at 9.30 am is that the sun is scorching by that time. Maybe that explains the lack of people in the lovely park, save for a few avid photographers and park cleaners. The other bad thing that happened is that I slipped. In my enthusiasm to show En the herbal plants, I stepped on some wet, algae-covered sidewalk and fell with quite a loud thud! My back felt fine, so the first thing I did was ask En to come get the camera case from me, and the second thing, was to call for my helper (who was with Yi) to come help me up. I could barely believe how pragmatic I was at that moment! Fancy saving my camera cover from dirt instead of wanting to pick myself up first!

I will stay away from Hort Park for a while for it really was too hot! Will check out other free places for the kids to have fun in.